AN: Well, I guess you could call this my triumphant return after... Umm... A while. Sort of. Well, here's a short little Vincent X Cloud one-shot inspired by a conversation in Dirge of Cerberus (which really isn't as bad as everyone says it is.) I'm kinda happy with this... I guess. It's not my fav, but I'm proud of it. Also, I know I promised an AkuRoku, but it's still in the works. (I just need the right inspiration!)

Constructive criticism is welcome, but no "you suck" or "you're so lame I wish you'd die." Thanks! Please enjoy and review!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or any of it's characters. (Oh, the things I would do if I did... Kehehe...)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Together Happy With Our Sins

Maybe it was the way he looked at me, or the way I looked at him, or perhaps it was the faintest glitter of a smile that passed his lips when we spoke (though only on rare occasion would we ever talk like this.) Maybe it was the way he so carelessly tossed aside the criticism of others and became content with his own devices. Or maybe it was something hidden, back deep inside his crimson stare…

I sat in the window, my eyes cast away, my mind thinking of all the things I might say to him. The breeze was wonderful against my skin; cold, yet a wonderful chill that keeps me awake and aware.

He broke the silence first.

"It's… not very often that things are this peaceful…"

I felt his eyes on me, yet I allowed my gaze to go farther away from him, to indulge in the sight far away from those imposing optics of his. Perhaps, if he couldn't look into my eyes, I could keep everything under cover.

I've always been one to hide away everything; to keep the secrets of my soul under a shield of disregard. But on the inside, I'm always bleeding; wishing to spill out the words I dare to never say.

"I suppose."

Oh, the things I wished to tell him, yet were better left unsaid.

I heard a small chuckle and a clink of his golden-plated boots as he took another step into the room.

I can just picture him: His eyes scanning over the walls decorated by childish little cartoons fashioned by the orphans; his red cloak whisking along the currents of air coming through the open window; his clawed gauntlet scraping over pieces of the furniture; every part of him feeling the place with all of his senses. The usual visions that came to my mind when I thought of him.

Come to think of it, I'm not even sure when I remotely even began to dream of Vincent this way. Of course, he was charming; the sort of devil you'd find sitting in a saloon, his back against the wall with boots kicked up on the table, a cigarette dangling loosely from his mouth. But, we were both men, and an attraction like this was somewhat... foreign... to my mind.

But still, there's no denying the feelings that grew each night, heavier in my chest until they felt they may burst.

Yet, if I told him... would he feel the same? Or would my emotions go unreturned...?

And further still was the thought of being inadequate in wording my thoughts. I'm not the poetic type; everyone knows that. I would probably trip over my words and end up in a puddle of rejection.

I'm not even sure why Vincent had decided to come to my small house on the very edge of, well… Edge. Maybe he had just grown weary of staring at Lucrecia's radiantly lifeless form, and had finally decided to get more… animated… company.

Though, some would say, I'm about as "animated" as a dead person.

"So, tell me, what have you been up to? I have heard that Tifa's grown tired of you leading the secluded life."

I looked at him, but only is it a fleeting glance. I still dare not hazard a look his way for fear of being found out.

"Tifa doesn't understand how hard it is to lose someone…"

Of course, with Vincent being Vincent, he had his perfect comeback all set out.

"What about her father? Wasn't he the one who was slain so mercilessly at the hands of Sephiroth…?"

I pouted momentarily, something that I try not to let slip. Honestly, it's not something I do often. Heroes don't pout.

"That was eight years ago, and plenty of time to recover… Plenty of time to--"

He cut into my sentence.

"Lucrecia's been dead for twenty-six years, and still there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of the horrible sin that I have committed… Not a day goes by that I wish for myself in her place; a place where I must sleep for eternity, where I belong."

His words stung like a hot knife being dug into my skin and remaining unremoved.

I was used to pain; being bruised and beaten to a pulp and still trying to stand even through the affliction of broken and crushed bones that would turn to powder if I refused to respite a fight. But this was a pain like no other; an anguish so deep that even my heart quit beating for a moment.

Why did they hurt me so…? Why did those bitter eyes crush me the way they did…?

When all the things I never dared to say nearly came tumbling out of me, my chest grew tight and my breathing grew short, and yet through all of my erratic confusion, I found that my eyes had strayed over to his, and had become entangled in those fierce vermilion irises.

"Is it pity that you want…? Because I fear that I have no pity to spare for you save for myself. I didn't come here to give you sympathy, I came here to--"

Before my mind can catch up to my body, I place a finger carefully to his lips.

"I didn't say I wanted your pity. We've both gone through the same thing, and I think that maybe… maybe we could help… each other."

That glimmer of a smile comes to his lips, and that look that I love surfaces to his face.

Oh, how I love that look.

"I'm just saying that maybe… there's comfort in those who have suffered the same fate."

He blinked slowly, his lashes shading those russet eyes I could get lost in.

I could see it-- that look of understanding cross over his features in that one instant.

I removed my finger and placed a small chaste kiss on his cheek, causing his eyes to widen slightly as I walked around him to open the door. I decided I ought to go on out and check on Tifa, just to see how she was doing.

I decided to take a few minutes to place a level 3 Fire materia and a mastered Enemy Skill materia into the two of the small slots in my weapon that rested against the wall left of the door, just in case I encountered any rouges on my travels to Tifa's new 7th Heaven.

I examined my Buster Sword once and thought about how it used to be the only thing that meant anything to me, but now, maybe I have something else to treasure more than anything else on the Planet.

"See ya 'round, Vin--"

But as I turned around to look at him one last time, I saw he had already retreated out the window.

I felt a pang of dejection fill my heart until I noticed a small note on my desk, blowing ever-so-slightly in the breeze wafting through the window.

For a moment, I forgot to breathe.

I realized that this is why he had wanted to come; he had wanted me to have this note.

I took a few steps and picked up the note, my azure eyes almost spurting tears of anticipation. Really, it could have been anything, my mind thought. But my heart hoped and prayed differently.

The note was simple; browned and dulled paper written in crude rust-coloured ink. I expected as much from him; he was always simple yet elegant.

My eyes scanned over the words quickly, taking in every detail that I could, my everything excited to see what he had written for me.

I couldn't help but allow a rare smile pass through my lips as I read the words. I finally understood that he was just like me... that all he felt could not be expressed in spoken words, that he had to write it down to make it make sense.

With that, stuffed the note securely into my pocket, headed out the door, and repeated the lines over and over so I could forever memorize them in my heart.

"After pondering many a night, I have finally cumulated the audacity required to tell you what must be told. Perhaps you are someone to love… Someone to hold on to who has the will I lack to exist… Maybe we just belong this way… Together happy with our sins."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like I said, please feel free to review! It would be very welcomed, and I'll return the favor!