In all of Vincent's ninety-seven years of life, he had never smoked a cigarette. He never found them appealing to taste. He also knew what was in the cigarettes and that never made him want to try one. What he didn't get though is that why did his lover, Cid, love the taste of the 'death sticks' – as Tifa ingeniously called them.
Cid smoked morning, noon and night - twenty-four seven. Even in the mist of a battle, he always found time for a smoke. Vincent sometimes wondered if the blonde loved his cigarettes more than he loved Vincent. The gunner didn't doubt that, after all, who would love an immortal monster like himself?
As Vincent walked down the steps of the Highwind, Cid's air ship, he pondered the qualities of a cigarette. What did they have that he didn't have? Well sure, they were much more portable than Vincent and they didn't need to be paid attention to often. Vincent sighed in defeat; maybe Cid enjoyed the presents of his 'cancer-bringing-friends' more then he enjoyed the gunner's.
The ruby-eyed man reached the bottom of the monstrously large staircase and – speak of the devil- there was Cid smoking a cigarette.
"Hiya, Vince how are ya'?" The pilot called form the empty deck that overlooked the ginger and gold skyline.
"Fairing well, Highwind." Cid rolled his eyes, "We're together and yet ya' still callin' me Highwind? C'mon Vince, seriously – call me Cid."
"As you wish, Cid." Cid beamed which in turn caused Vincent to twitch his mouth into a small smile. "See, now tha' wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"No, it wasn't – Cid." They both looked out to the sky in a silence. Cid gripped the steering wheel and turned it a tad to the right, avoiding a small flock of birds. They stayed in that silence for a few moments until Cid broke the tension in the air by talking.
"So, what's on ya' mind, Vince?"
Vincent frowned. "It's just that… it's nothing, Cid." Cid mirrored Vincent's expression. "Fuck, if that ain't nothing then I'll be a triple-headed chocobo that farts breath mints." Vincent cracked a grin, "Resorting to crude humor to make me talk?"
Cid laughed, "Damn straight!" Vincent sighed for the second time today. "It's just that…" Cid looked at Vincent expectantly, "Just that…what?" Cid pressed.
"Do you love cigarettes more than me?" Cid looked at Vincent as if he was a triple-headed chocobo that was indeed farting breath mints. "Wha' brought tha' on?"
He finally managed to say.
"Nothing, I just noticed that you spend more time smoking than we do together."
And then Vincent muttered under his breath, "Not that I would blame you for not wanting to spend time with a monster like me."
Cid took a drag on his cigarette and then yelled, "Ya' ain't a monster Vince! Quit thinking like tha'!" needless to say, Cid's sudden outburst scared Vince senseless. Cid took notice, "Sorry, jus' I hate it when ya' think like tha'!"
"It's okay – sorry I brought it up Cid." Cid sighed, "No need to apologize, Vince." They relapsed into another silence, this one more awkward than the last. This silence also outlasted the other by several long minutes. It was Vincent this time who broke the tension, "So what does a cigarette taste like?"
Cid chuckled "Never had one before, huh?"
Vincent shook his head, " Never in all of my ninety-seven years I haven't." And that was the truth; Vincent had never smoked a cigarette – even if Reno was pestering him to do so after an exceedingly long mission.
"Close yer' eyes, Vince I wanna' try something." Cid commanded. Vincent looked at the pilot as if he was crazy. "Your not going to do anything irrational, are you?"
"The hell I ain't." Cid only confirmed Vincent's worries. "Cid, just tell me what you're going to do and then I'll let you do it."
"No" Cid said childishly. "Now, close yer' damn eyes!" Cid repeated.
Finally Vincent Valentine gave in. He closed his eyes, pulled down his ruby jacket collar and opened his mouth ever so slightly. Just as Vincent suspected, a cigarette was pushed into his mouth and quickly lit up. The gunner gagged at first, trying to spit the 'death stick' out of his mouth – but to no avail. Said 'death stick' was being held forcefully in place by one very – and let me repeat: very- determined pilot.
"Now breath in – slowly, or you'll choke yer' self to death." Cid instructed.
Vincent didn't want to do as Cid told but he was left with hardly a choice; he had to breath sometime soon. So Vincent breathed, taking a drag from the cigarette and letting the nicotine destroy his lungs.
Much to Vincent's surprise, the 'death stick' tasted…good. Who knew dying could have a glorious taste? Certainly Vincent did not expect it.
The gunner was just enjoying the flavor when it was quickly popped out of his mouth. Vincent gave a small whimper in protest but just as quickly as the cigarette left, something much more sweet was replaced instead.
It took Vincent a second – the cigarette had addled his brain a little bit - but when Vincent did finally realize what was pressed up to his mouth, his eyes flew open. Cid had replaced the cigarette with his own lips.
Vincent melded into the kiss with eagerness. He had forgotten the last time they had kissed like this – it felt really, really good. The blonde and the brunet stayed lip-locked for a few minutes until Cid had realized the Vincent had yet to breath in the past few minutes. Sometimes it was handy having a demon vampire boyfriend that didn't require air all of the time. Still Vincent did need to breath.
Cid pulled away from Vincent, thus ending the kiss. He smirked "What did you think?" he pulled Vincent closer, if that was possible. "Did you like it?"
Vincent bit his lip in thought. Cid had to use some major self-control just to stop himself from passing out at Vincent's cuteness. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been." He shyly smiled.
Cid laughed quietly, "Wha' the cigs' or my kissin' skills?"
Now it was time for Vincent to smirk, "Defiantly the cigarettes, I expected them to be quite pungent to tell you the truth." He muttered. "Now as for your kissing…well…"
Cid couldn't have been happier with Vincent's response. He wrapped his arms around Vincent's waist and proceeded to capture the gunner's lips once again. Vincent laced his arms around Cid's neck – devouring the taste of the pilot. When it was finished, the kiss left both men gasping like fishes out of water for air.
"What about my kissin'?" The blonde challenged.
Vincent smiled at Cid's playfulness and blew a stray lock of dark hair out of his face. "It was the most wonderful kiss you've ever given me. How's that for an answer?"
"Jus' the one I've been lookin' for." Cid flashed a toothy grin and pulled Vincent tighter into what was becoming more of a possessive death grip rather than a hug.
And so in the end, Vincent finally got his question answered. Cid did love Vincent more than his cigarettes. He even loved him enough to show him how to smoke, and kiss him.
That's exactly how Vincent liked it.
He even smoked from time to time – when tensions were high in the AVALANCH group. Of course, he only did it with Cid's help though…
OWARI 3