Cid was alive. No, he was more than alive. He was walking toward Vincent without the traces of a limp or cringe, looking almost stronger than he had been before the fight. Vincent felt a bit of his energy swell, and grateful for the lack of people around them, fell into Cid's arms and buried his face in his chest, body racked with dry sobs. Cid lifted him up by the undersides of his thighs, carrying him off of the battlefield and into the thickness of the woods at the edge of the plains.

Once they were completely in the shade of the trees, he dropped him onto the soft bed of rotted leaves. Vincent looked up at him with those dark, wine-red eyes. "You're alive," he breathed. Cid lowered himself on top of him, straddling Vincent's waist and inhaling the dirty, coppery smell of his hair. He pulled Vincent up into a sitting position and let out a small groan as he felt their growing arousals brush. "Show me how alive you are," Vincent demanded in a low croak. Cid, for once, said nothing, but bowed his head to assault the pale, scarred neck with warm kisses as he unbuckled Vincent's cape.

Vincent stopped him. "Tell me," he whispered, his hands clutching at Cid's back, clawing at his shirt. Cid's tongue ran up Vincent's neck, up to the hollow behind his ear. "Tell me, Cid."

"I love ya."

"Tell me how much. I need to know." Vincent clenched his teeth as Cid bit down on his ear lobe, rough hands unbuttoning Vincent's shurt and running over his chest. Vincent took Cid's face in his hands and brought it up to his, their lips centimeters apart. "After that, I need to know."

"Enough to fuck you in the middle of the woods in the rain," Cid said, and for the first time, Vincent noticed it was raining. It was raining hard. And after he peeled Cid's shirt off of his chest and back he could hear the drops beat against his skin. Cid took a break from taking their clothes off and pulled Vincent close for another kiss, every inch of their bodies seeming to touch until they were both soaked.

Vincent let out a low moan as Cid's knee nudged one of the bruises he'd sustained in the fight, and the pilot pulled away, concerned. Vincent shook his head, dragging Cid's head down again and rolling them over until he was lying on top. Breathing heavily, Vincent pushed himself up, straddling Cid's thighs as he unbuttoned his pants. The moment the pilot's arousal was exposed, Vincent's mouth was on it, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked. Cid let out a low groan, arching his back to push himself further into Vincent's mouth.

Vincent's tongue ran along the entire length, from base to tip, biting lightly at the skin of the head. Cid pushed himself up into a sitting position, hands fisting in Vincent's hair as he felt the pressure build in his pelvis. "Ah... Vince..." Vincent looked up at him, red eyes hooded and dark as he recaptured Cid between his teeth. Cid's fists tightened, fingernails digging into Vincent's scalp as he felt all of that pressure release into the gunman's mouth. Vincent swallowed hard, wiping his lips on the back of his flesh hand before starting to work on unbuttoning his pants. Cid was content to help with this, still panting slightly as he helped Vincent pull the leather down over his hips and off of his legs.

"Again," Vincent breathed, taking Cid's member in his hand and starting to roughly pump it back to full hardness. Cid squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth. "It's going to hurt," the gunman muttered, more of a warning to himself than to Cid, as he raised himself onto his knees and lined himself up with Cid's erection. Before the pilot could suggest any further preparation, Vincent pushed down, filling himself with Cid to bursting.

Both of them let out a moan in unison, Cid's louder and Vincent's more constricted, staying still for a moment as they waited to regain their senses. Eventually, Cid took initiative and arched his hips upwards, inspiring another low moan from Vincent. They ground against each other, for once not trying to outlast each other or drive each other insane, but out of pure desperation. Vincent buried his face in Cid's shoulder, biting into the slope of it and leaving dark scratch marks on his back. "Nngh... Cid..." he panted, as the pilot pulled his head up for an open-mouthed kiss. Vincent's hands clutched at Cid's hair as he felt them both release, Vincent slightly later.

They both gasped for breath, clinging to each other and sweating even in the cold of the surrounding air. "Fuck." Cid let his head drop onto Vincent's shoulder. The gunman looked down at the muscular back, mouth quirking slightly as he saw all the scratches, bite marks, and bruises that he was the cause of.

"Your back's going to hurt tomorow."

"I'll get my revenge eventually."

"...Cid?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for staying alive."