Author's Note: After checking an online Lunar Calendar, I learned that the full moon in October (2008) is, in fact, on October 14th, the day after Vincent's birthday. That's just too cool. Also, in February 2008, it was on the 21st, the day before Cid's birthday. Hooray for fun facts! The full moon in July (2008) is the 18th, aka TODAY! One of the names for the July full moon is the Thunder Moon, while a name for the February full moon is the Storm Moon and a name for the October full moon is the Blood Moon.

A note on spelling: I've seen it spelled 'Galien' Beast and 'Galian' Beast, and honestly have no idea which one is correct – it probably depends on the translation anyway. I'll be using 'Galien'.

Disclaimer: I do not own, blah blah blah. Honestly, if I did, would you be reading this? I thought not.

Strange little growls and hisses woke Vincent Valentine in the middle of the night. At first, he had thought that it had been another nightmare, but a quick once-over revealed nothing unusual. The noises, clearly animal in nature, were coming from his inner demons (the all-too literal kind, in Vincent's case), but – as far as Vincent could tell – the Highwind wasn't under attack and/or crashing, he hadn't missed any meals or important events, and nothing particularly angst-worthy had happened. Frowning, Vincent shut his eyes and relaxed himself, cautiously probing the inner depths of his mind for his demon's hideout.

Within his mind, the pale gunman could see what Hellmasker affectionately referred to as "Home Sweet Home" and what Chaos constantly called "Prison". It was a rather nice place, all things considered; the demons seemed to have a decorating taste close to that of a vampire, but Vincent, having slept in a coffin for thirty years, didn't mind. Stone walls had been put up by his mind in an attempt to keep the demons enclosed, but they held candles and the occasional tapestry. Dark red and deep purple cushions dotted a black leather couch, and a fire was crackling in the fireplace, lighting up a chessboard. It seemed to be something like a living room. Dark passages lead away from it, but Vincent was in no mood to follow them. The sounds of a scuffle brought his attention to a passage on the far left, and Vincent took a step back.

The Chaos in Vincent's mind was not the slightly more refined, Vincent look-a-like that often appeared when he wanted to cause trouble. It was, instead, the black demon that appeared in the middle of battle, bat-like and enormous and animalistic. Vincent took another step back, crimson eyes widening. Chaos and Galien Beast were hissing and spitting at each other like a couple of cats, Galien's claws coming out to swipe at the slightly more agile Chaos. A low growl escaped the purple demon's throat as he missed, and at the clearing of Vincent's throat neither demon looked at him – instead, they went tumbling back down the passage, Chaos now using his wings as leverage against the other demon. Still slightly in shock, Vincent didn't notice the slumped-over form of Death Gigas approaching him until he spoke. "Happens every year."

Vincent turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "What, the fighting?"

A hacking, rasping cough, almost like the crackle of electricity left the slouched demon before he answered. "You'll see. Best be going now, Hellmasker's calling and so is that pilot friend of yours."

Sure enough, when Vincent focused, he could hear a panicky drawl and faint pressure on his shoulders. Inside the demon's realm, he shut his eyes, only to open them physically. Cid was kneeling next to him, shaking his shoulders. "C'mon Vince, wake up!"

"Chief. I'm fine." And Vincent was fine. The demons hadn't done anything to him, and other than their strange behavior nothing was wrong. However, when Cid looked up in relief, grinning slightly, Vincent felt his stomach do something strange.

"You scared th' crap outta me, Vin. C'mon, just 'cause Spikey picked Cait and th' brat today doesn't mean we ain't got stuff ta do. I'll meet ya on deck after ya eat somethin', 'kay?" Nodding, not trusting his voice, Vincent watched Cid get off his bed and leave his room. Trembling slightly, the former Turk let his head slump back against his pillow, mind racing. He'd never really looked at Cid before, at least not as anything other than a friend and comrade. The man was loud, rude, brash, utterly incompetent when it came to things like table manners, and had a strange concept of personal space. That wasn't to say he wasn't a valued member of their little motley crew. After all, Cid was the only one out of the lot of them that could fly a plane, he knew how to fix just about everything, he made delicious tea… and those were just the practical, domestic qualities. The Captain was fearsome in battle with his spears and sticks of dynamite. Vincent had known since the beginning that he was strong; all you had to do was look at the man's biceps and abs, for Gaia's sake.

Oh no. No. He did not just think about Cid's biceps or abs. Nope. Vincent Valentine was perfectly straight and still pining over Lucrecia, even if sometimes he wondered what it'd be like to kis-

Kill. Yes, kill. Kill… Sephiroth. Right, that was the mission.

Standing up with a quiet groan, Vincent made his way to the bathroom. Pausing in front of the mirror, the gunman blinked in surprise. When most people look in the mirror, all they see is a reflection of themselves. When Vincent Valentine looks in the mirror, he sees himself and all four of the demons who live in his head. He'd gotten used to it, assuming it was some sort of way for him to keep track of how badly the demons were messing with his mind. Nothing could have prepared himself for looking in the mirror and seeing Galien Beast shyly licking Chaos' neck, or seeing Chaos eyeing the Behemoth-like demon with something that looked incredibly like lust, even with all the scratches and bite marks the two were now sporting. Glancing over at Hellmasker, he noticed with a slight bit of panic that he and Death Gigas seemed unconcerned by this and were instead comparing weaponry. Noticing his gaze, Hellmasker looked up. "They'll be out of this room soon enough, the floor isn't that comfortable."

--

About fifteen minutes later, the gunman met Cid in the kitchen, nodding to him briefly before grabbing a piece of toast. "What is on today's agenda, Chief?"

"Well, there's been some weird noises coming in the ventilation shaft near the girl's rooms, so we're going to go in there, check it out, and fix whatever's wrong. Also, there's…" A moan from within Vincent's mind distracted him from the blonde's words. Another moan, and then slight pants and possessive growls forced him to choke on his toast. Were his demons… were they really...?

"Hey Vince, you alright?" Looking up, the former Turk was mildly surprised to see Cid so close to him again. How was he supposed to respond?! 'Oh yes Cid, I'm perfectly fine, except the demons appear to be having sex in my head, which is making it very hard to concentrate.'

"I'm fine." Cid frowned; he'd never seen Vincent do anything like choke, not even cough. The man was always keeping his cool, stoic appearance up, although he had gotten him to laugh before. Cid shrugged it off. "Alright then! I'll meet ya outside Tifa's room."

Vincent nodded, unable to open his mouth. One of the demons (Vincent had a feeling that it was Galien) has mewed, and Vincent could now hear Chaos saying something that sounded disturbingly like the words 'hot' and 'tight' and 'good'. Shutting his eyes, Vincent immediately opened them again. He had not needed to see that.

Wrapping his cloak around himself and doing his best to ignore the panting and moaning inside his head, the former Turk walked towards Tifa's room, absentmindedly clenching and unclenching his claw. Cid was already there, cheerfully placing the vent cover to one side, chewing on an unlit cigarette. "Okay Vince, I'll go in first, an' you follow with the tools." Not waiting for an answer, the pilot climbed in. Ducking down to grab the tool box, Vincent looked up, his throat tightening. The space was small, and Cid was crawling down it on his hands and knees, presenting the gunman with a very nice view of his ass.

Apparently Chaos and Galien enjoyed the sight, because they both let out a very loud moan, and the fact that Vincent's throat was dry, his pants tight, and his hands shaking around the toolbox were most certainly not signs that he was enjoying the view. Swallowing, Vincent pulled his collar up so it hid more of his face and climbed in after his friend, trying to keep his eyes away from Cid's rear end and failing miserably.

"M'kay, now, let's see here… What th' fuck, how'd this get up here?" Cid swore, stopping suddenly, and Vincent almost ran into him, mentally cursing the demons in his head for distracting him.

"What is it, Chief?" His voice was calm as ever, but he spoke quickly, wanting to hurry up and get out of here before the tightness in his pants got any tighter.

"It's some materia. Probably Yuffie's… stupid brat can't even keep her hands on it. What's the good of stealin' it if you can't hold onto it?" Grumbling to himself, Cid rolled it back towards Vincent, who placed it in the toolbox. "Looks like that was all it was… There's a way out just up ahead, but it gets a little tight. Jus' follow me."

Vincent followed the pilot without answering, his red eyes still fighting him as they continued to drift over the man in front of him. Suddenly, Chaos' feline purr broke the silence. "He would be so tight, so fierce… clawing, biting, writhing…mm, just like my Galien here…"

The lower growl of Galien broke in. "Or maybe he's huge, driving, pulsing, like Chaos…" There was another growl, and then a moan, and Vincent shuddered slightly. They were going at it again, and he was in a gradually smaller air conditioning vent behind Cid Highwind, who had an amazingly tight – no. No, no, no.

When the two of them finally emerged outside of Cloud's room, Vincent breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing, Cid grinned sheepishly. "I forgot… you prob'ly don't like enclosed spaces 'cause of the coffin, huh?"

Startled, Vincent turned to look at him, recognition dawning a second later. "Oh… yes, it gets uncomfortable, sometimes." Like when the voices in my head keep talking about having sex with the person in front of me and then start having sex themselves. That makes it pretty uncomfortable.

"Why don't ya go help Tifa an' the others in the galley, then? I've got a few more repairs ta do in tight places; wouldn't want ya to pass out on me or nothin'. I'll see ya at lunch!" Resisting the urge to inform Cid that he was quite capable of taking care of himself, thank you very much, Vincent simply nodded and walked away.

--

Surprisingly, as Vincent helped Tifa and the Highwind's crew prepare lunch, no dirty comments interrupted him, not even any comments about Tifa's amount of cleavage. The moans and grunts were still there, but the hustle and bustle of twelve people trying to make lunch drowned them out rather nicely. It was when Cid walked in, whistling, and asked what was for lunch that Vincent was forced to finish chopping the carrots and sit down. A loud, appreciative moan echoed in his skull as he watched the pilot move about, barking at one of the crew for not making his tea the right way. As the rest of AVALANCHE, minus Cloud, Yuffie, and Caith Sith, came in and sat down, helping themselves to the food, Vincent gripped his chair, ignoring the way the wood splintered under his claw.

"Vincent? Are you okay?" Tifa asked suddenly. Everyone else went quiet, heads swiveling towards him.

"Fine," he breathed, just as the moans and groans in his head began to be accompanied by words. He looked at his companions and quickly wished he hadn't; when his eyes met Cid's, his hips gave a tiny lurch and his fists grew tighter as he tried to restrain himself.

"Are you sure? You don't look so hot…" Tifa pressed, looking worriedly at him from across the table. "Maybe you should go lie down."

Vincent nodded, abandoning his meal as he made to stand up, making sure his cloak covered the obvious sign of his distress. Once he was gone, Nanaki spoke up. "He smells… strange. Like Chaos, and Galien Beast, and sweat, and…" Pausing, the creature shook his head, tail twitching. "Maybe someone should go check on him. Someone he trusts."

Cid looked up. "I'll go. I kinda thought he was actin' funny earlier…" He glared around the table, making sure no one thought about questioning him. Everyone knew that the pilot had a soft spot for the quiet gunman, and that he could get very defensive over the man – when they weren't fighting themselves, that is.

Nanaki watched him leave as everyone else returned to eating before quietly following him out. "Cid?"

"Hm? Oh, hey Red. What is it?" Cid asked, sounding distracted. It was no wonder – his best friend was acting very strange.

Nanaki paused, choosing his words carefully. "Cid, be careful. I don't think Vincent is going to hurt you, but if my suspicions are right, you could be getting more than you bargain for. Besides that, you could hurt him… probably not physically, but emotionally."

"What're ya talkin' about?" The pilot frowned, brows furrowing. The protector of Cosmo Canyon had been the one to make him realize his feelings for Vincent, after offhandedly saying something about Cid's hormone levels and heart rate. Pausing, Cid took that into consideration. Nanaki could smell things, and knew things, that most humans didn't. Besides, for all he knew, Vincent was just having another angst-fit over Lucrecia. Nodding, he looked down and awkwardly patted Nanaki's head. "I get ya. I'll take care, then. Thanks Red."

Not waiting for an answer, he hurried down the hall.

--

After fleeing the dining room, Vincent chose not to return to his room. He needed fresh air and open space, and he needed it now. Cloak swirling behind him, the so-called vampire hurried up the steps that led to the Highwind's deck, breathing a sigh of relief as the warm sunlight and slight breeze hit his face. With his enhanced senses, he could see Cloud, Yuffie, and Cait Sith in the distance, but he didn't focus on them for more than a minute. The night's full moon hung in the sky already, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was day, and Vincent wondered for an insane moment if he could touch it if he stretched his hand out far enough. Instead, he slumped down against the railing as a sudden surge of arousal and pleasure sent his mind reeling, crimson eyes straining to stay open. Suddenly, it was much too hot; the sun's warmth, at first a comfort, was beginning to burn – it was so unlike the cold gaze of the moon. Panting slightly, he worked at the buckles on his cape, pulling it off and tossing it to the side. It wasn't enough, and so long, pale fingers began to pull frantically at the black leather they had so meticulously labored to keep intact. Approaching footsteps made his head swivel, looking like a trapped animal.

"Vince, hey, calm down!" Tan fingers were reaching out to him, and Vincent was reminded of the sun – that accursed sun! – as his friend tried to soothe him. Heat roared through his body, and deep within his mind teeth and claws claimed each other.

"It's so hot," he heard himself say as Cid knelt down before him, concerned blue eyes looking into his slightly crazed red ones. A calloused hand touched his face, and suddenly the heat was moving faster. Grabbing Cid's arm, Vincent gasped; the heat, so unbearable, didn't hurt as much anymore. Cid was the sun; he could stand the heat, he could take it away, and he, Vincent, the moon, was willing to give it to him. Surging forward, Vincent pushed the pilot to the ground and was on top of him, kissing him desperately. Another kind of heat purred through his senses, but this heat was comforting, enjoyable, and not the painful warmth that he was trying to pour into the man beneath him.

Something like a yowl reverberated through Vincent's head, and he paused, staring at the blond man beneath him. Cid didn't seem to be angry or disgusted, just surprised; his were goggles askew, his dog tags hung the wrong way, and his scarf was on the ground next to Vincent's cloak. He shifted, his hand coming back to cup Vincent's face, and pulled him back down. "Let me help you."

After that, it was utter bliss.

--

Back in the recesses of Vincent's mind, two demons curled around each other, tired but satisfied. Elsewhere, two others were doubtlessly engaging in their own activities. A satisfied purr rumbled out of Galien Beast's chest as Chaos stroked his back, one wing covering the other demon. "For his first Thunder Moon awake, he did a good job of finding a willing partner."

There was a scoff from Chaos as he lazily examined a bite mark on the other's shoulder. "The pilot had been oozing arousal for awhile – all we had to do was help our dear host out a bit. I do hope they move inside before someone catches them out there on the deck; as entertaining as it may be, I have no wish for the annoying ninja girl to be more annoying than usual. I want to be able to properly enjoy the guilt later."

Wincing as a loud gasp interrupted him, Galien sighed. "I don't think the pilot will allow him much guilt." There was another moan, and his ears flattened down. "I wonder what Vincent would say if we told him we could feel everything he was doing."

Chaos purred, a mischievous glint lighting up his yellow eyes. "We'll just have to return the favor."

Outside, the full moon glowed brightly.