I Do Not Own Final Fantasy VII.
Cid sat as his kitchen table, scribbling frantically onto a blank piece of paper. Shera stood in front of the stove cooking them dinner, oblivious to her fiance's writings. The mousy girl hummed a soft, east tune as she worked diligently. She slowly got louder with her humming as she worked harder.
"Shera, please shut up," Cid said as he wrote faster, imagining the music notes and the playings of a gentle guitar in the background.
"Sorry. . ." she said, and finished making their food quietly.
Cid grunted in return, slowly holding up the now covered piece of paper. He sighed as he read the words over again. "Where are my cigarettes?"
"In the living room, on top of the television. Your lighter is on the kitchen counter by the door," the brunette explained to the gruff man.
The blonde went and grabbed the lighter, then practically ran tot he cancer sticks, lighting one before he stuck it in his mouth. He puffed on it slowly as he went back to the table. Cid quickly covered up his work as Shera placed the finely cooked mean in front of him.
The couple ate without haste, enjoying a meal Cid realized wouldn't be happening for much longer. He would make this last for her, and try not to break her heart. She may have stopped him from reaching his dream but he wasn't that cold hearted.
"Cid. . . Is everything OK? You've been a bit distant, and all you do is indulge yourself in work."
"I realize that. Sorry."
"It's alright. I just wanna start planning the wedding soon."
"I-i understand," Cid stammered out hesitantly. He didn't want to marry her anymore, and it had taken a long time to realize this.
.~X~.
Vincent stood in the snow, letting the soft, white puffs land on and around him. He just stood there, not paying attention to his surroundings as he looked at the sky.
He was all alone now, he realized this. And he had no reason to place his burdens on anyone or anything else. They were just his to deal with.
He had no family left, at least none he knew of, and his friends had their own problems. Vincent had no place to go, and he certainly didn't have a place to belong. He just knew their was no way he was putting his body back in that coffin.
He slowly came back to the real world as he started to trek onward. The white ice was thick and heavy around him, almost caging his pale body in. Like a vice, but the ravenette just went forward. He had to make it farther than this if he wanted to be out of everyone's lives.
He had no reason to stay anymore anyways.
Especially since. . .
.~X~.
Shera was working around the house when the knock first came. She went to open the door since the pounding hadn't ceased even a second. She opened it, intending to chew out the person who was banging on her door. She froze when she saw the last remaining members of AVALANCHE.
The mousy girl smiled at Tifa and the gang as she went to find Cid. They all ushered themselves into the living room, sitting down anywhere they could.
The aviator walked into the room, with Shera, with a smile on his face. That smile dropped when he saw the expressions of his friends. It didn't take long to realize that one of them was missing.
Cid asked where the missing person was. They told them they didn't know. The older man sat down slowly, trying to take this in. He analyzed what had happened.
It had only been a few months since they had finished Spehiroth off for good, the Geostigma had been taken care of, and everyone was finally settling down. The one missing member hadn't been around, or home since then.
Cid kept going over the information. Thinking and rethinking as much as he could. he couldn't find a reason for his friend wanting to leave. Everything had been settled and completed.
Apparently it hadn't.
The group decided they would all look for him, trying their hardest to find the missing man. They all looked where they knew best, but couldn't find him.
They all looked for weeks, months maybe but just couldn't find him, or think of a reason why he would go missing. . .
Shera realized, while thinking about the past few months, that Cid hadn't been the same since he had gotten the news on his friend. He didn't talk to her much, didn't cuss nearly as much, always threw himself into his work, and smoked nearly two times the amount he used to. Plus, whenever Cid's friends came over, she soon go the message, she was never allowed to listen in to the conversations.
It hurt her more than her fiance could understand, but maybe it was just because she was insecure. . .
.~X~.
Cid was working at the kitchen table again when Cloud walked in for the thousandth time since the search began.
"We think we have some leads on him."
"That's good."
"Are you coming to help look?"
"I don't have the time anymore. I have a wedding to plan, and far too much work to do. Sorry."
Cloud scowled at him. "You care more about work than finding your friend? Your closest friend to be exact."
"I have a woman to look after now. . ." Cid sighed and looked down, clearly drained, but with a look that said "I don't care about the girl."
"So do I, though he's not much of a woman. I understand you've had a lot of work, but can't you help a little?"
"I've looked more than any of you guys, and I understand who this is, but I don't got the time right now."
"Fine then. Be a stubborn asshole that couldn't give a shit about his closest friend," Cloud stood to get up and walked to the door, getting ready to leave.
Cid breathed in slowly, flushing as he told his friend this. "If you find him, tell him that I love him."
"It's not my place to say, Highwind," the blonde snarled at Cid as he slammed the door on his way out.
"I'm sorry. . . Vincent. . ." Cid whispered as he, so unlike himself, broke down in tears.
.~X~.
Vincent laid out in the snow, not caring about how cold or wet he would be. His ruby red eyes looked up at the dark sky, trying to get a glimpse of stars through the thick, gray clouds..
Once again the dark haired man tuned his surroundings out, only paying attention to the sky. It relaxed him, the glow of the moon, and the twinkle of unseen stars through clouds, but the sky also made his mind wander.
He wanted to go back, he truly wanted to go back, but he knew he couldn't. He had no place, and it wouldn't be right to invade others lives. Especially since. . .
His eyes opened, though he hadn't realized they were closed, just a fraction when he heard the blaring noise of a helicopter. More importantly, the brand Turks used. He angled his head to catch a glimpse of the sleek black machine before it landed in a clearing just beyond the trees.
Finding the airship unimportant, he closed his eyes once again, the small noises of the surrounding forest calming his uneasy mind and lulling him into a dreamless sleep. . .
.~X~.
Two heads, one blonde and the other red, scrambled out of the helicopter as they raced through the thick forest to the area where they had seen black and red. Their faces were grim and they were silent as they ran. Neither knew what condition Vincent would be in, but they would die before they saw that man hurt once again.
Speeding up their movements the two ran for the clearing faster, the trees thinning as they got closer, and they fell to their knees as they made it to the freezing body.
Two sets of eyes met as they looked up at each other and nodded, picking the lifeless body up carefully and, as quickly as possible, brought him to the warmed noisy machine. Vincent was easily placed on a heated stretcher and stripped of his wet clothes. The two even took his gauntlet off so it didn't freeze the already damaged arm underneath. Blankets were then wrapped around him as the sleek model flew back to the nearest town. . .
.~X.~
"Cid, open up!" We found him, and he's freezing to death!"
Cid ran to the door when he heard this, opening the bolted hatch as quickly as his large hands could manage, and ushered the three inside. The aviator had Shera set their bed back up and get warm clothing.
The mousy woman did as she was told, not wanting to be the reason her fiance's best friend died. She swiftly got the pale man a pair of sweats and one of Cid's old work shirts, both just out of the dryer, and when the man was dressed and in the bed, she went off to fix everyone food.
"Thank Gaia he's okay."
"No thanks to you, yo," Reno said with a stern look.
Cloud grabbed Reno's hand and shushed him. He didn't want to make Cid feel any worse, even if the gruff man deserved it.
"It's fine, Cloud. . . I understand I didn't do anything to help, but I'm still regretful. Thank you."
"He's our friend too, Highwind," said the blonde as he took Reno out to the main room.
"I know. . ." Cid said slowly as he grabbed the still cold man's right hand in his larger one. "If you find him. . . Tell him that I love him," the blonde aviator quoted from his writings as he laid his head on the ravenette's lean chest. "Please be alright."
Shera stood shocked outside the door as she heard her fiance speak. She set the cooling food onto a nearby table settled against the wall and walked into the guest bedroom, laying down alone for the first time since she and Cid had moved in together.
"Why. . ."
.~X~.
Vincent looked up into the darkness and felt warm sating confined around his. He rose a hand, feeling the harsh wood of a coffin lid. He instantly freaked out. He did not want to be back in that coffin! No matter what, he just didn't want to be back there.
The Chaos embodiment pushed at the lid, trying his hardest to get the heavy maple wood off and to the side. He found it was impossible, even for his strength. Vincent lashed out at his covering, trying to break it instead of push it off. That, too, he found was impossible.
Finally he just gave up, realizing that even if he was back in Hell, he would be out of everyone's way. It was for the better anyways. . .
.~X~.
The gruff blonde watched sadly a his black haired friend lashed out and attacked the item-less area above him. Cid had been able to soothe Vincent for awhile by petting his matted hair softly, but that only worked for so long.
Since petting the older man softy didn't work, Cid decided to hum, though his voice was rough and a bit harsh. He coughed so lightly so as to not wake the black haired man and tried humming the sweet tune again. This time around he sounded better, nicer, and most definitely not as harsh.
The southern man watched as Vincent calmed down once again, and Cid smiled as his companion clung lightly yo his pant clad leg. At that moment Shera decided to walk in and ruin the scene the blonde was basking in.
"How is he?"
"A lot of nightmares, but he seems to be relaxing a little. I haven't seen his eyes open even once, though," Cid told the brunette woman, his voice holding a tone of dejection in his voice. He looked at his fiance and sighed. He did not want to call her that anymore.
"Oh. . . Alright. Do you need anything? I'm about to fry some chicken, maybe hamburgers if they want, for the guys."
"No. I don't need anything, but make sure you have something leftover for when he wakes up."
Shera nodded and shuffled back outside the room, sulking quietly in her own way. . .
Days passed without any results. Vincent didn't wake up, though he continued having his nightmares. Cid never left the man and he ignored Shera, which meant the women was only there to cook dinner and clean the house up. The only thing that changed was the group of people that slept in his living room kept getting larger. At least everyone they had known was at his house supporting Vincent. Even Reeve and Cait Sith were there, despite the fact that Cid hated that cat.
The large group always slept in the main room, and most came by to check and talk to the sleeping man once a day. At the least anyways. It was hard for anyone to sleep, they were all far too wound up for sleep. And that small little fact that some members had insomnia. They ate, bathed, cooked, and slept in Cid's house, but the blonde man didn't care even a single bit. He was just happy his friends were there. Except Cait Sith, who he still didn't like.
Those short days soon turned to weeks. Tifa had called a doctor to set special life-lines up in Cid's room, not wanting to take any chances. Vincent was still in his frost-bitten coma, though things were looking up. He sometimes responded to the people around him. The ravenette would make different facial expressions, or would twitch in different areas when different AVALANCHE members talked to him. He'd once even made an expression of content when his lanky body was pulled into Cid's lap, like he knew who it was. It had been an odd sight to see.
Most of the group, not because they were watching Vincent, never saw Shera. Yuffie, Tifa, and the brunette had talked a few times, but only a few. The men only ever saw her, who they renamed "the mouse", when it was time to eat. No one ever saw her after that. It was different.
Especially considering she was Cid's fiance and would son be their family just as much as the aviators. . .
.~X~.
He was stuck. Still stuck in that coffin and it was killing him. He tried everything, even after vowing to stop trying to get out. He just couldn't handle it and it was driving him insane. He wanted out. He wanted to be with his friends, wanted to see Cid get married, wanted to see him have children.
He wanted to be there when Cid got his first child.
But most of all, he didn't want to be a bother to them. Didn't want the rugged blonde to find out his secret.
He wished he could figure out how to get out of this coffin, it was killing him knowing he wasn't out there with everyone. No matter how much he knew he didn't belong around them, he still wanted to be. But he just couldn't get out of this death trap!
He missed everyone.
But he was trapped in the nightmare, unable to get away no matter how hard he tried. . .
.~X~.
Two more months passed without Vincent waking up and everyone was getting anxious. Cid most of all. The raven was still showing signs of life, reacting to people in the outside world, but he wasn't waking up. And everyone felt like they were dying inside. The doctor had even come by and told them Vincent had a week left before he took him off life support. The doctor didn't think the man would last.
Even Tifa, as optimistic as she was, was starting to wither to the side of doubt. She wanted her friend to come back, not just for her but for the man she was sitting next to as well. She could see the way Cid looked at the black haired man, and the way he was treated so differently from everyone, but she was just starting to have lingering feelings.
Everyone was.
And Cid wasn't making it any better. The man was always by their friend's side. He never left, unless to shower or use the bathroom. Shera always brought him his meals, and clothes to change into. It was rare to catch Cid Highwind away from Vincent.
He didn't even smoke anymore, and he barely talked to them. It was eating her up inside to see the gruff man this way.
.~X~.
Another week passed, and the doctor came to take the life support away. He apologized for doing this, but he said it was needed. Everyone walked into the room, clinging to the walls as they watched the aviator curl up beside Vincent. They watched as he wrapped himself around the small frame to warm it up.
Tifa wept inside, Yuffie was crying on the outside. Cloud held Reno's hand and hid his face the red head's neck, not wanting to see this. Nanaki had a paw over his eyes and Barret had his arms around Tifa as they watched.
Shera soon walked in, bringing everyone tea and a small snack, as they had been in there all day just in case anything drastic happened. She handed them all glasses, and she slowly moved her tiny body over to the bedside. A steaming glass of tea was set on the bedside table as she watched.
She eased her hand towards the in coma person, flinching when she saw Cid watching her. Gently she ran her fingers along the smooth pale skin of Vincent's cheek, her eyes watering as she did so. She nodded at the blonde haired man curled up behind the demon inhabited man before she pulled her hand away and left.
The blonde ran his large fingers across the pale skin in the same manner as Shera had just done, his fingers slipping to caress soft pale lips and to pull Vincent's head towards his way. Not caring that everyone was in the room, or that he still had a fiance, Cid laid a chaste kiss on the other man's lips.
Pulling away, he stroked his thumb across a thin jaw bone. He started humming softly.
"If he hears you, ask his heart to come. . ."
.~x~.
He could hear humming, light with a melody, but gruff, most definitely male. He closed his eyes, making his surroundings disappear as he listened to the gentle words mixed along with the hums. His hand twitched, raising his hand to the lid of of his confinement. His gauntlet scratched against it, leaving deep indentions in the old wood.
The voice got louder, so he ran the sharp fingers along the wood again, not stopping till he could faintly feel air seep in. He breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of lingering cigarette smoke and airship oil. It was a familiar scent.
He pushed up against the lid this time, against the gouges left in the rotted wood he had made. The coffin cover gave way, wood splintering and breaking off, as Vincent rose up to get out. His movements were shaky at best, but he did his best to climb out. His feet tripped over themselves and he stumbled, catching himself on a nearby rotting wall.
He was out, but the familiar scent he had smelled earlier was gone. He could still he the soft humming though. His legs moved, starting him off into the direction he heard the music coming from. Vincent quickened his pace as he walked up the stairs, hearing them give out behind him.
He passed many doors, hallways and openings before he made it to the entryway of the Shinra Manor, the song seeming to be louder here. The ruby eyed male slowed to an almost halt as he continued to walk towards the large over-bearing door. It was pushed open with as Vincent walked out into the sunlight. . .
Cid stared as he watched the older man struggle and then with difficulty open his eyes. Ruby red eyes laced with drowsiness blinked a few times before they lazily opened all the way. Vincent could hear the people around him gasp in surprise and joy, the warm body behind him hugging his body even closer to the large frame.
"Vincent!" Tifa yelled as she flew from Barrett's arms and to the edge of the bed. He was fussed over as the two girls check and made sure everything was right. Then they were told to back off by a growling blonde, which they promptly did.
Everyone except Cid and Vincent left the room after the raven told them what happened and in turn the others told him what happened. Tifa went off to tell Shera and help her make food, while the others waited in the living room once again.
"Vincent. . . I'm so glad you're okay."
"Was it really that bad?" Were you really that worried?, was what Vincent really wanted to ask.
"Yea! A doctor had you hooked up on life support for two months. . . He took you off today, so that's why we were all gathered in here. You scared the living shit out of all of us, Valentine. What in Shiva's name did you think you were doing?"
"Trying to get out of everyone's way. . ."
"And you did that because?"
"I don't need to be around you guys. I'm not wanted."
"Not wanted? You idiot! They all want you, we want you. Vincent, I'm freakin in love with you!"
The deceleration could be heard all around the house, and the members not in the room held their breath when they heard, listening for an answer or a reaction from the other side of the house. Shera was holding her breath too she she listened in. Tifa just smiled knowingly as she stirred what was on the stove.
"What. . .?"
"I said, I'm in love with you, Valentine."
Vincent stared up at the large man, eyes filled with confusion as he tried to process the meaning of those words. He knew what they meant, but hadn't heard them in such a long time that it took him a minute to comprehend them.
Then, it just hit him and he pulled Cid down for a long love filled kiss.
.~X~.
Tifa stared at the mousy woman standing next to her. "I'm really sorry, Shera."
"I-it's alright. . . He broke it off with me weeks ago, I was expecting this to happen. . ."
"Wait, when?"
"You all were out getting supplies and he asked me to come in, said we needed to talk. He told me then and there what he just told ," she smiled in a sad way as she continued to help cook.
The gang had piled into the kitchen just before the woman had said anything and stood there with relief on their faces. They were happy Cid at least broke it off with Shera before he went and blurted everything out.
Yuffie walked over and gave the woman a small hug, but was dragged back by a large automail hand. She looked up at Barrett questioningly and he just shook his head, then pointed to the room where Vincent was staying. She took his hint and walked off towards the room to spy on them.
.~X~.
Cid broke the kiss of, cradling the pale beautiful face in his hands as he placed small kisses everywhere. Their bodies were melded together, both finding comfort in the other. Vincent had one hand thrown over the blonde's side, the other pushed up against a broad chest. He had a light smile playing on his now red lips.
". . . Love you too, Chief," was all that he said as he was thoroughly kissed again.
I've been working on this one for a long time now, and I finally finished it! First Valenwind. It may not be my best, but I'm proud of it, so I do hope you enjoy this. I know Cid seems out of character, but that is a bit of the point. He's so distraught he just isn't himself. And I didn't make his southern accent because, well, though I love the accent it sometimes annoys me when it's there in writing. Not always, but when it's something like this it does. Sorry if it does seem a little sweet at the end, too. It just seemed to feel it should stop there.
The song that inspired me is called If You Find Her by Future of Forestry. Not my normal music, but it had its purpose here.
Si Vous le Trouvez means If You Find Him in French.
Again, I hope you enjoyed this!
Criticism that helps me is VERY MUCH WELCOME! Reviews give you chocolate cake and Earl Grey Tea so you should review! Any reviews that are cruel and mean in nature WILL BE IGNORED! I do not take kindly to sleaze bags that are jealous of someone else. Thank you very much~!