Nicotine
By:Albedosreqium / Soyna
Setting: During the game.
Rating, Genre and Warnings: PG. Humour. Some swearing. Smoking. BROMANCE. Vincent is a jerk, but a loveable jerk.
Characters: Cid and Vincent
Disclaimer: All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©. I do not profit from this endeavour.
Summary and Additional Information:
Cid has run out of smokes and is having some issues with the fact that one that Vincent has come from a pink package.
Vincent wore a smug look on his face, and Cid didn't like it. Stupid vampire look-alike could crawl back in his coffin as far as he was concerned.
"Shuddap," Cid snarled, despite the fact that the gunman hadn't said a word.
Vincent snorted, but that amused look remained on his face as he stood there with his hand held out. Cid looked at the offensive, small pack that contained the only source of nicotine in a hundred kilometre radius.
"Are you sure you don't want one?" Vincent asked in his smooth, deep voice. Cid was sure that he was taunting him.
"I ain't smokin' no dame's smokes." Cid growled even though his hand twitched as he desperately tried not to reach out for the pack. He noticed that his leg was twitching too. He forced it to stop and made himself stand still.
"Suit yourself." Vincent smoothly pulled one of the long, thin black cigarettes out of the ugly white and pink package with his brass claw. "If you're sure."
"I'm sure."
Vincent shrugged and Cid watched as he put the cigarette to his lips, put the package of smokes back into some mysterious pocket that he had in the cape, and then held out an empty hand. Vincent's hand twitched as he wanted him to put something in it and Cid was not in any mood to humour the gunman. "Your lighter?"
Cid was tempted to tell the smug bastard to stuff it up his ass, but he didn't. He grit his teeth together, muttered a few curse words, and dug through his jacket that hung around his waist to find his lighter.
Vincent was waiting patiently in that still manner of his and Cid was now tempted to throw the damn lighter at him for being so arrogant with that cigarette dangling out of his mouth.
"Here," Cid snapped as he put the lighter in the gunslinger's hand. "I hope ya get cancer."
Vincent didn't even acknowledge him as he focused on lighting the slender stick.
The lick of the flame touched the end and then glowed brightly as Vincent took in a breath. The lighter clicked shut and the glowing embers grew bright for a moment as Vincent tilted his head back and took another deep drag on the cigarette. He then pulled the cigarette from his mouth and blew the smoke to the side as though he were sighing.
Damn smug bastard.
It was the best-smelling smoke Cid had ever smelled before; it was like a mistress, surrounding him and demanding his lips be on her. He refrained from slapping the tempting smoke out of his hand and instead watched Vincent put the cigarette back into his mouth.
"Are you sure you don't want one? They are quite flavourful," Vincent said in a tone for which Cid didn't care; he was certain that Vincent was enjoying his misery.
"Fuck you."
Vincent pulled the pack out of his cape. "It will be a couple of days before we can get to the next town where you can get your regular smokes." He paused and puffed more of that delicious-smelling smoke from his mouth. "Can you last that long?"
"Not fuckin' smokin' dame smokes."
"Are you saying I'm a 'dame'?"
"Hell, no," Cid said as he waved his arms trying to get the smoke away from him. It made him want to reach for the pack. "Just a pansy." He may have wanted one of them, but it was the principle of the whole thing.
"Pansy?" Vincent's voice deepened and his eyebrows shot up.
"Ya know, fruity."
"Are you calling me gay?"
"Yer smokin' ladies smokes, so yer wrist must be a little limp," Cid said as he contemplated the fact that his fingers were just itching to get a hold of the lady cigarette.
"I have never had complaints about being limp." Vincent took a deep drag off the smoke and pulled it away from his lips. He let out his smoke-filled breath right toward Cid. Vincent was no longer being courteous. "At least I am solid enough in my manhood to get over such petty insecurities as having a cigarette out of a pink package."
"I guess wearin' a cape will do that to a guy, eh?" Cid grumbled. The cravings for the cigarette were getting almost painful. He was tempted to grab it and run and screw the fact that he would look like a douche after all the things he just said.
The smoke smelled so good.
"Oh, and your pseudo-skirt jacket getup doesn't scream your desire to explore your more feminine side?" Vincent said as his eyes wandered down to the jacket that was tied securely around his waist. Cid liked to keep it handy was all and it looked nothing like a skirt.
"If ya add a whip to yer ensemble, I'm sure ya could pass yer self off as a dominatrix," Cid growled back as he got another face full of smoke.
Cid noted that the cigarette was halfway finished. He folded his arms across his chest to prevent himself from grabbing the pack or taking the one out of Vincent's mouth.
Vincent's eyes narrowed slightly. "Let's add a few prongs to your spear, and we can set you to work on the nearest chocobo farm," Vincent said as he looked over his shoulder and Cid found himself turning to see his weapon — which happened to be a trident — leaning against a tree. "Oh, it looks like you have the whole ensemble."
Cid really wanted that smoke. "Jerk," he spat out.
"Hick."
"Vampire wannabe."
"Crash-test dummy."
"Coffin rot!"
"Tea-bagger!"
Cid snorted at the last insult. Vincent only had a quarter left on the cigarette. He was looking quite smug as he blew some more smoke into his face.
"Fine!" Cid yelled and grabbed the stick out of the gunslinger's mouth and took a deep and satisfying drag of the cigarette. It was a relief as the nicotine hit his system and started to take the edge off the craving. "Fuck, this shit sure hits the spot."
Vincent held the pack in his hand and offered it to him.
"Oh, by the way, the pack is just faded," Vincent said with a smug grin. "They are quite old and it faded to this lovely shade of pink which you are so appalled by."
Cid got a good look at the name and branding on the pack and cursed. It was the same brand that he normally smoked; it indeed was just an old package and the normally vibrant red was faded.
Vincent's lips turned into a smirk. "I hope they aren't too stale for you."
Cid glared at Vincent. The bastard had been playing with him. "I thought ya were a nice guy."
Vincent snorted. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
Cid took a deep drag and finished off the last of the cigarette. "Don't know." He dropped the butt of the smoke to the ground and snuffed it out with his boot. "Now I could use some tea."
"As long as I add my own tea bag, I will join you." Vincent started to walk ahead of him. Cid shook his head at the strange sense of humour of the gunman, but he didn't care. He finally had cigarettes and he was going to have another one. Cid pulled out one of them, put it between his lips and began searching his jacket for his lighter.
"Goddamn it, Vincent! You're a complete jerk! Where's my goddamn lighter?" He ran after the gunman but he disappeared into the trees that were surrounding them, and was no where to be seen when he returned to the camp to join the others.
He had to resort to lighting his smoke with Nanaki's tail, who protested being used as a lighter.
It was a little stale and they tasted musty, but he was going to make sure that he didn't run out of smokes and have to deal with the testy gunslinger … even though he was curious now as to what else he was hiding in that cape.