Author's Note: This is a return-request fic for Eldariss from Gaiaonline. Being a follower of Vincent's storyline religiously, I put this in where I felt it would be interesting for it to begin! Of course the time-line is a little mussed with, seeing as in the original game he mentioned having seen Sephiroth, where as in Dirge it seems he didn't.

l

l

How many years had it been? Sleep tended to knock off the time tables a bit, blurring even his few waking moments into nothing but vague dreams. And his dreams, oh, did he dream. Vincent's dreams were unending, long and lucid, so much that he even seemed to feel them on his skin.

But what had become more interesting to him than even his dreams lately, was being awake. The first time he had seen that head of silver hair, he didn't quite know what to think. He had spoken with the boy a bit, who seemed a bit frightened of him. It wasn't until that man, that bastard doctor who had done this to him, had come in to interrupt that he had heard those words.

So, that boy was Lucrecia's son? Even with the otherworldly allure about him, or maybe even because of it, Vincent felt himself drawn to that boy. However, the next time he opened his eyes, it was no boy that stood before him. Perhaps it was those eyes that had woken him. They stared into his own, holding him captive in their subtle glow long before either one of them even spoke. And when he did speak, the tall and silver-haired man that was now before him, his voice was smooth and low.

"Why are you here?" He asked simply.

Because of you. The dark-haired man caught himself from saying. This was not Sephiroth's fault, but his own. "To repent." He said simply.

"What have you done?" Sephiroth asked, his expression slightly curious.

"I..." I failed to protect someone. How could he say something like that to the child of the woman in question? Saying that would make it seem like Sephiroth was at fault. As bitter as he was, Vincent knew that the only man he should curse was Hojo. "Many things."

"Have you killed?"

"Many times."

"Are you sorry?"

"Not particularly. Why... Are you here?" Vincent got his own question in, sitting up slowly. He glanced around himself, not recognizing this place. Must have been one of Hojo's back-room labs for all of his rejects. Huh, so he still thought him to be useless? Good for him.

"To watch you." The silver-haired one spoke again, and Vincent's red eyes snapped back to his face.

"Wh...what?"

"I've been watching you for a long time. You sleep for so long, so much that the last time I caught you awake, I was young. I found that for some reason... Watching you sleep was peaceful for me." Sephiroth explained, as simply as if he were not just admitting something so slightly creepy. Vincent swallowed slightly.

"Oh..." He said, his voice soft.

"You don't age."

"No, I guess not." The dark-haired one looked over himself, but there was no reflection anywhere to confirm this, only his youthful good hand.

"You're like the sleeping beauty in some fairy tale."

"What are you here for!" Vincent demanded, and this time his cheeks burned a little. What the hell was he saying?!

"..." Sephiroth's expression didn't change, but he turned his eyes away for a moment. "I told you... To watch you." Before Vincent could protest, he continued. "I'm having trouble with a few friends, that's all. It calmed me to watch you sleep."

"Sorry for being awake, but I suppose someone watching me woke me."

"It must be fate." The younger one spoke, a bit quietly.

"...I don't believe in fate anymore." Vincent countered, but Sephiroth continued.

"I've long been wondering what it would be like to kiss your lips while you were awake." He finished. Vincent's body tensed, but his reflexes were slow from years of sleep, and he was not prepared for the stronger body that pressed against his own so quickly.

"Mmph!" He protested the kiss as it covered his lips, hard and chaste. A knee was slid up between his legs, and he felt a jolt move up through his body. His hands clung to Sephiroth's armored shoulders, but he couldn't shove him away. No... It wasn't that he couldn't. He wasn't trying to. It came as a shock that the kisses that he had felt in his dreams were suddenly real, and the memory of them was unmistakable. This kid... Sephiroth was telling the truth, he had kissed him before, as he slept! The kiss broke suddenly, but he felt a hot, slick feeling on his lips instead. "Wha—stop!" Vincent tried to shout, but the younger man took advantage of his slack lips to slip his tongue past them.

Vincent's body tensed, hands clutching the straps of the armor. The metal claws of his left hand dug into Sephiroth's skin, but the other didn't seem to notice. The thigh between his own pressed none too subtly, and Vincent's long dormant body was responding against his better wishes. His heart racing, he was nearly panicked. He was responding to the kiss before he knew it, and his grasping hands became holding, his back arching into the other's touch.

A sharp ringing shocked them both out of their spell, breaking them apart swiftly. Vincent's whole body was humming, but Sephiroth seemed less phased. He looked to his phone, turning it off. Both of them were quiet for a long moment, eyes averted.

"...They need me." He said simply, turning his back. "...Thank you. For the good luck kiss." He said. And he was gone, just as he came. Vincent swallowed hard. He didn't know what any of that was, but he knew it wasn't good. Becoming so involved with the son of Lucrecia... he couldn't do it. His heart hadn't hurt this much since he had failed to stop him being conceived, and now he was in pain over leaving something that hadn't even begun. What was he looking for, a second chance? If not the mother, maybe the son? It was sinful, unforgivable. He was going to have to move where he slept.