A/N: I have never written a story for Final Fantasy before so I hope I can do the characters justice. The characters from FFVII are my favorites, but I don't remember all the canon so I may get a few facts wrong. I haven't played the games for a long time and am to lazy to do so lol. Ideas for this story just popped into my head as I was reading some great...and some not so great fan fiction here on the web. Also I was listening to a song by Krewella called "Human" and the lyrics reminded me of Vincent...my most favorite video game character ever created and my first ever fictional character crush lol. Anyway...here goes...please no flames, although I do like constructive criticism.

Oh! I forgot to say that this fic changes the ending of DOC. Basically Vincent was never found by any of his friends so they all think he's dead. This is also a SLASH Fanfiction. What this means, for those of you who don't know, is that there will be boy on boy love in this story. M/M, Yaoi, shounen-ai, these are all other names for the same thing. This will be a Vincent/Cid pairing with a little Cloud/Tifa on the side.

-Update 2-26-2017- I have made a few clerical changes as well as added to some chapters.. So a reread might be prudent. I am bound and determined to finish this story, however, my muse is throwing temper tantrums. Hopefully 'Only Human' will be finished soon.

Chapter One: Only Human

Vincent slipped soundlessly through the trees following the sharp, metallic scent of blood. It was a smell he knew well and like most predators was drawn to it. His crimson eyes glowed in the darkness of the night, a trait that frightened most people away, but gave him perfect vision in the almost complete black that surrounded him. He paused, spotting a dark smear on the white bark of a tree a few yards to his left. The gunman flitted to it. The smell told him it was blood. He slid a gloved finger through the stain and touched it to his tongue. Human blood. A frown tugged at his lips as he realized that while he had not tasted this blood before, it was familiar. A distant part of himself stirred with a sense of urgency. He resumed his flight through the trees, his cloak swirling around him.

Was this really how life was going to end for him? Alone and being eaten by a monster after he had survived multiple battles against Sephiroth? Cloud stared up at the creature that had him pinned and swore weakly. His sword was a few feet away, too far too grab and he was seriously regretting coming to the forest. He'd heard rumors that Vincent Valentine had been spotted around the area and had raced here to check it out...without telling anyone. "Stupid." He muttered and closed his eyes as the beast's maw descended on him. Suddenly the heavy creature was gone from his chest. The blonde opened his eyes in shock and looked around. Nothing. He was alone in the small clearing once again. Cloud scrambled to his sword as a terrible animal like cry was cut short by a wet ripping sound somewhere in the trees to his left. He managed to get to his feet then froze as a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness surrounding the moonlit clearing. His grip tightened on the hilt of his buster sword. He promptly dropped it in surprise when the figure to whom the glowing eyes belonged stepped out into the light. "Vincent?" He gasped. What he could see of the legendary sniper's face was spattered with blood, as were the golden claws of his left hand. It was damn scary and was the last thing Cloud saw before he blacked out.

Vincent watched the blonde collapse and bit back a sigh. He would now have to carry his injured ex-comrade to safety, not that it was a problem for his demon and mako enhanced strength, he just didn't like touching people. Deciding to get the chore over with he moved silently to the fallen man's side and carefully lifted him up. Cloud was unsurprisingly heavy. The kid may have been shorter than him, but he had a lot of muscle packed onto his frame. He'd need it to wield those huge swords he insisted on using. Once the blonde was secure in his arms Vincent brought him to the small cave he'd been living in since defeating Deepground almost a year ago.

The cave no longer resembled the bleak cavern it had once been. Vincent had been able to create a comfortable enough home within it. When he'd stumbled across it after returning Chaos to the planet it had been infested with monsters, which he had destroyed with one of the demons living within him. Hellmasker had taken much delight in ripping the creatures to shreds. Quite literally, in fact. After the slaughter Vincent had woken in a virtual lake of blood and gore. Unfortunately he had been too weak to do more than crawl to a, mostly, dry place on the floor and go back to sleep.

The next time he'd woken it had been to Death Gigas complaining that he was hungry, so he'd gone hunting. Once sated the demon had allowed Vincent to return to himself, which hadn't been as welcome as it normally was. The gunman had been covered in congealing, and fresh blood...not to mention small chunks of flesh and chips of bone. He'd wrinkled his nose in disgust and made his way to the lake that was nearby. After washing the blood and...other stuff, from his body and clothes he'd looked around and realized that he had no idea where on Gaia he was. He'd also had no way of contacting the outside world and had discovered no remorse over the fact. He'd paid for his sins and had no desire to return to the world...it wasn't like anyone would miss him. No one would shed tears over his grave. He was also feeling unsettled. His demons had been fighting him and what little control he had was quickly fading.

So he had turned the cave into a home. It had natural vents so that he could build a fire if he so chose. In an abandoned village he'd found enough raw materials to make some furniture as well as some musty old blankets and rugs, enough to cover the stone floor of the cave. He now had a bed, some cabinetry, and a couple trunks. It wasn't perfect, but it was his home and he liked the quiet peace it had afforded him...a peace that was now shattered. He laid the injured Cloud on the floor near the pit he had dug for the fire. He used one of his materia to light one then. Biting back another sigh, turned and knelt next to the blonde swordsman.

Cloud's injuries were few, mostly small scrapes and bruises that would heal within a couple of hours, but there was a deep gash across his chest that needed attention. Vincent removed Cloud's armor before using his claw to cut away what remained of his knitted shirt. After cleaning the wound carefully the gunman stood and walked over to one of his trunks. Inside were some materia he rarely used. After rummaging for a couple minutes he finally found what he was looking for. When he reached for the small, glowing green orb he noticed the blood covering his gauntlet. Damn. It was a bitch to clean. He heaved a sigh as he stood then returned to Cloud's side. The young man hadn't moved, which wasn't surprising given the fact that Vincent could see part of his ribcage through the wound on his chest. He knelt next to the unconscious man and activated the Cure 3 he held in his hand. He watched with an odd fascination as the wound slowly began to knit back together. Muscle covered the visible bone and slowly built up to be covered by a thin layer of yellow fat cells, then skin. The rest of his wounds healed as well. Once the healing was complete Vincent lifted Cloud onto his bed and covered him with the thick blankets. He then left the cave to retrieve the swordsman's belongings he'd left behind in the clearing.

Cloud groaned and opened his eyes. His entire body ached, but oddly didn't seem to be in as much pain as it should have given the fact that he'd almost been sliced in half from what he could remember. He looked down in shock at his chest...nothing. There wasn't a single indication, besides sore muscles, that there had been a gaping wound there not very long ago. It was then that he realized he was in a bed...in a cave? His blue eyes took in the rough stone surroundings and comfortable furniture. What a strange dwelling. He wondered who lived there and if it was the same person who had saved his life. The last thing he remembered were glowing red eyes and blood...he sat up with a gasp. "Vincent." The swordsman looked around, but the older man was nowhere in sight. He saw his own armor in a neat pile along with his sword and pack near the entrance to the cave.

A soft sound, like the whisper of the wind through leaves, but unnatural in the prevailing silence had Cloud tensing. Red glowing eyes appeared in the entrance to the cave, which had Cloud wishing his sword wasn't so far away, then Vincent, fucking, Valentine stepped into the light cast by the fire burning merrily in the center of the cave. Cloud had to fight down a multitude of emotions. Anger and fear being the most prominent. Anger because the bastard hadn't let any of his friends know he was alive and fear because...well a man with glowing crimson eyes, covered in blood, and carrying a dead, skinned animal was pretty fucking terrifying. Vincent's eyes met his only briefly before he went on like the blonde wasn't there. In complete silence the gunman slid a metal pole through the meat of the animal he held and set it to roasting over the fire. Cloud's anger rose as Vincent continued to ignore him.

"You're alive." He stated flatly. "Why the hell didn't you call and tell one of us?" Red eyes met his then looked away. "We've been worried you know. We thought you were dead." Vincent shrugged, returning to his task of seasoning the meat. Despite his anger at the motion, Cloud's stomach growled as the delicious smells of the cooking meat reached his nose. A hint of amusement touched the gunman's eyes when he looked up at the sound, though his face remained impassive. The ex-SOLDIER felt his face flush and he looked away in embarrassment. He fiddled with the blankets covering his lap and wondered why Vincent wasn't answering him. The gunman had never been much of a talker, but he was acting as if he didn't care about his friends.

The uncomfortable silence lasted for almost an hour. Cloud refused to speak until Vincent answered his questions and the ex-Turk didn't make a sound. Nothing. No clearing of the throat or sigh, nothing. It was starting to creep the swordsman out. All Vincent did was stare into the flames. Every once in a while he would reach over to turn the meat. Cloud just watched him, wondering what was going through his head. He was also starving as evidenced by the loud growling of his stomach. Cloud flopped back on the bed and rolled so that his back was to Vincent. If he'd had the strength he would have left a long time ago, but he could feel how weak his muscles were from the loss of blood he had suffered and didn't trust himself to stand let alone walk back to where he had left Fenrir. His motorcycle was in a garage in the small village near the forest entrance, which was a good twelve hours away. He would not make it there without taking some time to recuperate. "This sucks." He muttered quietly. He'd never really gotten on well with Vincent, but it had fallen to him to search for the raven haired man after he'd disappeared with Omega.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and he looked up into Vincent's half hidden face. The damn cloak had always kept Cloud from being able to see all of the older man's features. Add to that the red band around his head and the dark hair covering most of his upper face and Cloud knew without any of it he'd never recognize the ex-Turk. Hell he'd never even seen the bastard in anything other than his black leather armor that hid every inch of skin, and his cloak that hid everything else. He opened his mouth to speak then saw the plate Vincent held. It was piled high with slices of meat with a knife and fork resting on its side. "Eat." Vincent's voice was rough from disuse and it startled the blonde. "Then we will talk." Cloud nodded as he sat up and took the plate. As he ate he watched Vincent take the rest of the meat from the spit. He removed the bones before placing the meat in a metal box that he then set in a pool of water near the back of the cave. Cloud knew it was a primitive way of keeping meat and other food items cold.

"You aren't eating?" The swordsman asked in surprise when Vincent sat back down by the fire without a plate of his own. The gunman only shook his head and returned to staring into the fire. Cloud quickly finished eating. He didn't know what kind of animal Vincent had cooked, part of him really didn't want to know, but it had been delicious. He set the dishes aside and turned to look at his dark friend. "Now talk Vincent." He said quietly. "Why have you let us think you've been dead this whole time?"

"I am...unsafe...to be around." Vincent said haltingly. Cloud's eyes narrowed in confusion. "After I was rid of Chaos...the others have been fighting for control." Crimson eyes met his. A war no one else could see raged behind them and Cloud felt suddenly nervous. "Even now they..." He trailed off with a shake of his head. "It was better that I died." He said quietly sinking into his cloak.

"You're wrong." Cloud tried not to sound harsh, but his voice was hard. "We could have helped you...we still can." Vincent looked up at him, his eyes flashing with a violet light.

"I would have ripped you all apart." The gunman said in a hiss, startling the blonde. Cloud flinched as Vincent stood and took a step towards him then, with an agonized cry, the ex-Turk fled the cave.

Kill kill kill KILL! The demons screamed and cackled in his mind. They were fighting his control with every step he took as he ran from Cloud. This was why he had stayed away from them. He didn't want them to see the monster that he had become, nor did he want to end up killing one or all of them because he lacked control over his actions. For the first few months he'd lost all control over his transformations and had slipped from one demon to the next killing everything in sight. When the transformations had finally ended he'd been covered in blood and couldn't remember anything except the feel of the warm, crimson liquid running down his throat. It had scared the living hell out of him. Living with demons inside of him was hell. He couldn't trust himself and had no desire to return to the rest of the world.