Vincent groaned as he rolled over in his bed on The Highwind. Cid was giving everybody a lift home after the issue with the Deep Ground affair and he was the last one. Well, him and his demons, and currently Chaos, the most intelligent of the entities trapped in his skull, was giving him a hard time. Not that this was particularly unusual, but that Galien Beast, the second most sentient and definitely the most emotionally charged of the gunner's inner demons, was also echoing Chaos in its own way wasn't helping matters at all.
Their complaint was very simple. They wanted action. The other two had quieted down and didn't much give a damn, but ... Vincent growled at the two complaining voices in his head, a verbalisation that both understood, Galien more fully than Chaos, but the message got through. Not that it helped matters. His frustrated growling only served to goad them on to an even greater extent.
He knew what they wanted, and he was resisting, dear Gaia he was resisting, but it would have been a lot easier if he didn't also want it. It would have been easier if they simply didn't know he also wanted it.
"Heya Vince, you alright there?"
And here approached the true source of his current inner-conflict with Galien and Chaos. The captain of the ship, Cid Highwind himself. Why did the pilot have to be so nice about helping him to move on from Lucretcia? Why did he have to be such a good conversationalist and listener? Why did his tea have to be so damn good? Why did he have to be straight when Vincent had decided that it was time to stop pretending to be anything other than the quiet gay that he really was? And why did two of his demons also have to want the highly attractive pilot?
"Not just now Chief," Vincent answered, his clawed hand pressed to his head in an effort to hold in the explosion he felt erupting inside his skull from Galien and Chaos reacting to the pilot's presence.
"Want some tea?" the blond man offered gently, lowering his voice in deference to what he could only suppose was a headache, with the way Vincent was holding his head.
"Please," Vincent managed, backing away from the object of his affections and his demon's lusts to sit firmly on the bed in his room on The Highwind.
Cid nodded and left the cabin. He was starting to really worry about Vincent, this headache seemed to have been going on from the second day of the trip to take everybody back home. The tea he made seemed to be helping his friend a bit, but the headache was resistant to removal. As he brewed the pot, Cid re-visited the theory he had begun to form that the headache was probably related to Vin's demons in some way, to hang around this long. If it had something to do with the demons, then something was bugging Vincent, and if something was bugging Vincent, then Cid wanted to help him get over it.
Mind made up on the matter, Cid resolved to get his friend talking about whatever it was. Seeing the mysterious beauty in distress always tugged at his heartstrings, and he hated Lucretcia for ever hurting the poor dear man.
He knocked on the door more to announce himself than ask permission to enter, but the sight that greeted him was one that stopped him in his tracks. Vincent was writhing on the bed, claws periodically appearing and disappearing on his hands while his eyes flashed different colours and feral growls issued from somewhere in his chest.
It seemed Vince was beginning to really lose this fight.
Cid put the tray down quickly and rushed over to his friend – alright, crush – and wrapped his arms around the struggling gunman, raising one hand to pet and stroke that gorgeous black hair and cooing gently to try and calm down Vincent and the demons that were trying to take control without permission.
"Cccciiiiiiiid..." Vincent managed to say, his voice strangled and choked, as if he were crying.
"I'm right here Vin, I gotcha," Cid answered, trying to be reassuring.
"N-no... you need – Gaia! - you need to get away. I-it's y-you they – fuck! - that they want. I... I can't... dammit Highwind why d'you ha- have to be so -" Vincent's eyes turned gold completely and his struggling stopped.
"Ah, there now host," Chaos purred with Vincent's voice. "Now I am going get what we all want."
Cid was concerned for Vincent, now that Chaos had taken control of his body, and was very confused that a full transformation had not taken place, as it usually did. He was even more surprised when those glowing golden eyes locked onto him and Vincent's hand brushed against his own stubbled cheek before those lips he had, though he would never admit, dreamt of more than once, pressed against his own.
When he pulled away, Cid saw the smirk on that beautiful face with the golden eyes that didn't belong there, and then Chaos disappeared, leaving Vincent's perfect red rubies in his face just as they belonged.
"I'm so sorry Cid," Vincent whispered, curling up on himself, pulling away from the captain.
"For what?" Cid asked, laying a gentle hand on Vincent's shoulder, trying to get the gunner to open up to him again.
"I couldn't control them. I lost all control and you got caught up and I know you don't want me that way, and you really didn't deserve such treatment from my demons -"
"Now back up there," Cid interrupted, a surprised chuckle in his voice. "Who said I didn't want you?"
Vincent looked up at Cid in shock.
"But... I thought you and Miss Shera..."
Cid shook his head. "Nah, none of that. Just you. So, do you still want me to drop you at the inn nearest New Neibelheim, or do you feel like moving in with me at Rocket Town?"
A smile like Cid had never seen before lit up Vincent's face, but he only got a moment to enjoy it before the highly emotional – though usually very restrained – man launched himself at him, arms wrapping around Cid's neck and lips planted firmly, wonderfully, against his once more.