My first uploaded fanfiction, just to warn you. This is my second Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children fanfiction, as well. It's most definitely not my first yaoi.

I'd like to make it quite clear that I don't give a damn about negativity. If you flame my stories, I'll sleep just as well tonight as I would any other. I don't appreciate rudeness, but I will ignore it. I accept constructive critisism, and I'll gladly accept nicer comments.
And for the record, I do take requests.

Please enjoy "Exotic", a Final Fantasy VII fanfiction.

Main pairing: VincentxCloud
Side pairings: CloudxTifa, VincentxReno
Rated: M - Adult language, violence, and sexual scenes.
Planned Chapters: 10+

E x o t i c
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Chapter 1
Expectations

Why did nothing move at night?

Why did nothing move at night? It made it so hard not to concentrate on everything Vincent tried to get away from. Even the flashing brightness his television emitted couldn't distract him from his troubling thoughts.

Damn him, Vincent thought bitterly. How does he do that?

It was so complicated. He didn't know why it was like this. He didn't know how it got this way. He didn't know why these mixed feelings tortured his already injured mind.

He didn't know, and it scared him.

The first – and quite frankly, the only – one was Cloud; that was obvious. The two hardly talked much, but when they did, there was a strong, thick line of trust between them. Ever since that day…

Vincent's lips twitched slightly, but he stubbornly refused to smile at the moment.

And yet… he couldn't help himself. Mentally screaming at his lips to form a frown again, Vincent shook his head and sighed. It was hopeless.

He was in love with Cloud Strife.

"Cloud! I wasn't expecting to see you today… I thought you had deliveries…" Tifa smiled brightly at the blonde entering the bar before turning again to finish the dishes she was washing. Cloud shook his head, mostly to himself.

"No. I mixed up the dates. I only had two this morning," Cloud said quietly. His head was angled towards the floor, but his eyes were fixed on the back of Tifa's head. "That would mean I'm not busy for the rest of the day, and since you haven't had any customers since eight… why not close up early? We could do something together."

Tifa froze. The tone in his voice… it… it made it sound almost… as if he were…

Cloud's head lifted when Tifa turned to look at him, and he became confused at her expression; it wasn't what he thought it would have been. She seemed thoughtful, but suspicious. It almost worried Cloud until she spoke the words, "Cloud, are you asking me to go on a date with you?"

He'd hoped she wouldn't put it that way.

"Tifa, I don't think that's what I would call it. More like… two friends just… hanging out?" There was no emotion on his face, so Tifa wasn't sure exactly how Cloud felt about the situation. She bit her lip and turned again to put up the dishes. Well damn it, Cloud, she thought. Why didn't you just say that before…?

"All right, then. But just this once; I can't keep closing the bar early whenever I want."

Cloud nodded and sat at one of the booths to wait for her. Inwardly smiling, he closed his eyes. Yes… I knew you would say yes. Thank you.

"Shit!"

"Reno…"

"Oh shut up. Like you care."

"About your obscene language, no. Not so much as the fact that your driving skills are horrific. Are you sure you don't want me to…"

"Yes I'm sure, damn it, Christ. Get the fuck off my back, Valentine."

Vincent narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. He didn't know why he was doing this, but hell, it beat spending 24 hours in a room with close to nothing in it. He silently cursed Cloud for never answering his phone.

He'd called Reno – literally as a last resort – and asked him to take him to Shinra's training grounds. With much hesitation, mind you. And now he sat in the same small car as Reno with just as much regret.

Reno glanced to his right to look at the man sitting next to him. There was something about him… something other than the incredibly eerie aura he had. Something other than the fact that his stare could make you freeze.

Reno was positive that Vincent Valentine had a secret. He'd been sure about this for quite some time now. Most of his life was published to those that Vincent knew, but Reno could feel something else. There was something that this man didn't want the rest of the world to know. Didn't everyone? But as far as this man went… Reno was clueless. Vincent had spent half of his 'life' locked away from civilization (if you wanted to call it that). What kind of secret could Vincent possibly create in such a short amount of time?

He figured it had something to do with one of the people he knew; that was all Vincent knew. Well, that and the insides and out of his gun.

Reno's eyes widened. That was it… Vincent must have feelings for someone – it was either that or he wanted to kill one of them (he mentally pictured his own name at the top of Vincent's hit list). But for some reason, that didn't feel right. Vincent hardly showed any emotions at all, much less towards other people.

But of course, that was where the secrecy of it all came in. Reno thought about this for a moment as he smoothly came to a halt – with the slightest of smirks on his face – at a stoplight. Could it be Tifa? No, probably not. Reno would admit it any day; Tifa was a good catch, but she was more attracted to Cloud than anyone he'd ever seen.

Yuffie? Reno blinked; it was more likely that she was the second name on Vincent's hit list. He doubted there was some woman none of them had ever met that Vincent had his eyes on.

Reno bit his lip. Maybe I'm going overboard with this, he thought. Doesn't he still like that scientist chick? That was decades ago, though. But this has to be his secret, if there is one. And he has to have one. But if he doesn't like any of the chicks he knows, and he sure as hell has no interest in guys, then wh-

Reno's hands froze on the steering wheel. His body went numb, and his breathing was uneven for a moment. That… that was it…

"Reno!"

"Oh, fuck!"

Reno snapped out of his thoughts and gritted his teeth as he forced his hands to move the steering wheel to the right; he'd been oblivious to a curve in the road and started moving into the other lane. Out of shock, however, Reno turned the wheel too tightly, making the car swerve and jerk violently off the road. He felt himself tense as the car headed straight for a hide-and-seek galore.

The collision between the car and the fifty-foot tree created an incredibly loud sound. Reno wished he could have covered his ears, but for some reason there was pain stinging in every part of his arms. He felt something smothering his face, and he coughed and gasped as he jerked his head around, trying to move it; his arms wouldn't move enough for him to get it out of the way. Hell, they wouldn't move at all.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. It was becoming harder for him to feel his pain, and he started to wonder what kind of miracle was making this happen until he realized his body was going numb. There was a sudden movement to his left (as a trained Turk, even without his sense of hearing and eyesight, he could tell what was where).

Something was removing his seat belt. Seat belt… car… air bag… Reno's confusion was spurting tiny, randomly related thoughts in his head. He growled when he felt something grab his waist. Not because whatever it was had a hold of him, but because he couldn't move to get it the hell off.

He was on the ground. Everything above him was grey and blurry. He felt something digging in his pockets, and he soon felt something being removed from one of them.

There was a sudden noise next to his ear, and Reno's heart skipped a beat from scare. The sounds of mumbling could be heard above him, and he squinted his eyes to see what it was. It was dim, but it was clear that someone was talking.

It was Vincent; he had Reno's phone, and he was speaking into it. Vincent's eyes were on Reno's, and Reno couldn't tell if Vincent was glaring or if he was focused on the person speaking on the other line.

"…just off the highway," Vincent muttered. He paused. "Yes. Thank you." Reno heard the snap of his phone shutting and cursed several times in his head when he realized he couldn't get up to take it back from the phone-snatching bastard above him. He closed his eyes, trying to figure out what had just happened. He could still feel Vincent's eyes on him.

"You're one hell of a lucky person, Reno," Vincent growled. Reno wanted to roll his eyes, but he felt too tired to make the effort. Instead, he lifted his eyelids slowly to glare at Vincent, but the he was gone. Reno panicked; where the fuck did he go?

Causing him a great deal of pain, Reno clenched his fists – with even more pain, and some difficulty – and turned his head. His eyes slowly widened in horror; his car was trashed. The front of it was crushed to the section of the car just where the driver's seat was. He was amazed that he'd lived that, but what amazed him even more was the fact that the passenger's side of the car had been thrown straight into the tree, and yet Vincent was the one up and walking around, stealing phones and scolding Reno.

Reno gasped slightly in pain as he turned his head to face upwards again. He knew Vincent was immortal and all that shit, but was he really able to avoid being crunched into pieces in a car accident?

"You know, if you keep moving like that, you'll make it harder for the paramedics to care for you." Reno's eyes narrowed at the sound of Vincent's deep, monotonous voice, and even more so at the fact that Vincent was more concerned about the paramedics' jobs than Reno's comfort.

"It… wasn't my… f-fau…" Reno groaned as his chest burned in pain when he spoke. He heard Vincent chuckle in amusement; either at Reno's pain or at the sentence Reno would have said.

"It most certainly was, and if you keep speaking, you're going to die. The air bag hit your chest with such force that the wind had literally been knocked out of you; you've probably broken at least two ribs as well. So keep quiet and lie there until help arrives."

"I d-don't… need… your s-symp…ath… y…" Reno hissed the divided words through his tightly gritted teeth. Vincent only continued to stare at the immensely injured man.

Reno didn't know what to be surprised more about; the fact that he'd actually gotten an entire sentence out that time, or that Vincent had shown some type of sympathy. Well, sort of. Apparently he cared whether or not Reno died, but that could just be because he didn't want to explain it to anyone, or be blamed for it, or waste the damn paramedics' time…

He could feel himself slipping, and he fought it. He fought it with everything he had, no matter how much he hurt. It'd be a cold day in ten hell pits if he ever let himself be vulnerable in front of Valentine.

Before he could think twice, Vincent was above him again, kneeling this time. Shit, Reno thought. How does he do that?

Vincent placed a cold hand on Reno's forehead. The redhead was outraged; the fucking prick was touching him! Reno arched his back as much as he could without causing himself too much pain so that he could move his head back. Vincent didn't object; he just pulled his hand back. Reno fell flat to the ground again, and Vincent sighed in exasperation.

"You're already starting to get a fever. Quit fighting your pain and let yourself sleep. You'll be all right, I promise. You won't die."

Reno tilted his head to the side to look up at Vincent, and gasped.

Vincent… was smiling at him. It wasn't a caring smile, it was a reassuring smile; something someone would do just for something simple, just once.

Reno didn't know what faded first… the smile, or his vision.