Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
By Zepheren
Rated M for Mature. Cid's cursing is just amazing.
(Rating N+17 in later chapters)
Chapter I:
Summer Breeze
It was that time of the year where everyone wore shorts, tank tops, and bikinis. Summer time is here. This year however, seemed hotter than ever before. The sweltering sun rays came harsh, and everyone wanted to just stay inside with their air conditioner. Thank goodness for the invention of electricity, through other means besides draining the planet of its life blood. A few summers ago, Cloud had promised Tifa that he and a couple of their friends would finally give her Seventh Heaven Bar that spruce up that it needed. The final touches. Needless to say, Tifa waited a long time. But last week, Cloud had given her a call telling her to get ready, because he, Cid, Barret, and for some reasons unknown, Vincent were all coming to start reconstructing parts of the establishment. They were adding on more electrical outlets, and an expansion. Tifa was happy and thrilled the entire week. Finally, her bar can fit more than just one hundred and twenty five people. She had great customers who all wanted to be in the bar all the time. And maybe people will finally have room enough to have that big dramatic bar fight they've been waiting for.
That weekend, Cloud had called Cid and told him to pick him up from Kalm. Cid did just that, without much complaint, besides the fact that he was trying to do work on Shera's car. The heat had finally given the old piece of junk a minor heart attack. And to Cid interruptions were a bitch. But Cid made a promise.
The two headed to Nibelheim. Cloud called Vincent several times, but for some reason the man wouldn't answer. Cloud figured something bad must have happened. So when they landed, Cloud trotted down to the ghostly city. Cloud then made another call to Vincent's cell phone. Again Vincent's phone went to voice mail. Cloud started to feel uneasy. Why wasn't the gunslinger answering? The blond walked more into the city. He came to the inn. He wondered if anyone had seen the lone gunner.
The man behind the counter stared at Cloud like he was some kind of an alien. The blond walked up to the counter, regardless of how the man was staring him down.
"Excuse me, have you seen a man wearing a long red cloak, dark ha-"
"Yes. He's currently staying in one of our rooms. Room 213." The man answered his voice rather nasally.
Cloud bit back a look of repulsion, and just walked away heading up the stairs. When Cloud reached room 213, he was almost afraid to enter, due to the fact that he knew Vincent could potentially shoot him directly through the chest with no problem. Breathing a sigh of anxiousness, Cloud turned the door knob, startled to find that it was unlocked.
The room on the inside was dark. But Cloud could make out a figure seemingly asleep on the bed. Cloud tip toed over to the sleeping form. He took in a breath of surprised when he saw how peaceful the gunman looked. His face wasn't contorted with worry, or showed any of his usual stoic manners. He was just asleep. Cloud never noticed before how Vincent really looked. His chiseled face…his blood red eyes. How handsome his face was.
Cloud shook his head and took a step backwards. What the hell was he thinking? Vincent isn't that type of a man. And it was wrong to think of Vincent in that sort of way. Although Cloud deep down, for some reason he really wanted to think of his good friend in that way.
Wiping the thoughts away for now, Cloud needed to figure out some way of waking up Vincent without being killed, or pistol whipped. Cloud then smiled slightly. He had an idea. Cloud gently went over, and reached out to pull out Vincent's Death Penalty. But before Cloud could even get his hand around the handle, Vincent jolted awake. Vincent then sat up; pulled Cloud around so that the blond was beneath him, pinning the smaller man down. Vincent was growling, and eyes were glowing. But then when Vincent realized who it was, he was almost embarrassed.
Cloud just blinked and didn't move an inch. Their bodies pressed together like this made Cloud blush. Vincent just looked at the blond, confused at the feelings that were suddenly stirring up inside him.
Cloud turned his head away from Vincent's intense gaze. The smaller man didn't really know what to do or say. Why were they staying in this position for this long anyway?
"Cloud," Vincent spoke softly, "Why did you try and take my gun?"
Cloud's eyes looked over to Vincent. "I was…I don't know." was the nervous reply. Cloud mentally smacked himself in the face. He sounded like a little school boy.
Vincent's head tilted a little, looking at Cloud strangely. Vincent felt something inside him become warm. His heart was beating faster than usual. Vincent could see the sweat drops forming on Cloud's forehead. He traced every inch of Cloud all the way down to his collar bone.
Every breath that Vincent made, Cloud could feel it on his face. It was warm. He liked it. And it was making Cloud a little too happy. So Cloud tried to struggle from Vincent's grip, only to find himself still pinned, and his efforts in vain.
"Why are you trying to leave?" Vincent spoke, his monotone voice returning. Cloud still didn't know what to say. He couldn't understand why he could not form the words to come out of his mouth.
Vincent didn't want to let Cloud leave. He was content with Cloud being underneath him. Vincent knew this was wrong, but it felt so good, so right. At this moment, Vincent found himself becoming a little frightened. Why hadn't he felt these feelings before? Why right now?
Vincent felt the demon move around.
"You have feelings for this small human…" Chaos sniggered.
Vincent growled, which made Cloud's head snap back to look up at Vincent in return.
Not knowing how to reply, Vincent instead gave Cloud a apologetic look. Cloud looked up at him, and got a feeling of understanding wash over him. Vincent moved suddenly, locking his lips with Cloud's soft sweetness. Cloud moaned lightly, and gave in to the kiss. Neither of them understood why they were letting themselves do something like this. The kiss continued for several minutes, before they finally broke apart. Vincent sat up quickly in the sudden realization of what just happened. Cloud moved off the bed faster than a chocobo on fire. The two looked embarrassed, and stricken with confusion. Vincent just left without a word, and Cloud followed suit.
"No, Chaos. I don't." Vincent finally replied. He sounded angry. Maybe he was angry at himself.
The demon just smiled. He already knew that this was going to happen since the beginning.
Meanwhile, back on the Highwind, Cid was pacing around, cursing at every little thing he could get his bad mood on. He then stopped when he saw that finally, Vincent and Cloud were emerging from the city. Cid was also mad that the air conditioner on the ship was not in working order. Being hot and pressed for time was two of the things that Cid hated most.
The two men made it on board. Cid sensed some kind of awkwardness between the two of them. And Cid figured because it was Vincent and Cloud, it was probably something that he didn't want to get involved in. Cid just started the engine and flew back to Midgar, where Tifa was there waiting for them.
Today started like any other day at the Seventh Heaven Bar. Tifa Lockheart opened the store, while her employees were clocking in. Tifa set up the chairs and the tables for the customers. She also set out shot glasses, napkins and paper plates, with all the bowls and snacks to boot. This was just a typical day, in Tifa's book. But today just wasn't an ordinary day. Tifa was excited. Her bar was finally getting that upgrade it needed, all thanks to her good friends. They had arrived several hours ago. They were working their asses off just for her. It made Tifa feel special.
Tifa sighed happily as she set the last beer mug down. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand. She was already tired, and the day hadn't even begun to be busy. She turned quickly when she heard the bells hung at the door ring, which let her know someone was coming in for a drink. She smiled as she saw a sweaty Barret come in, walking towards the bar counter.
"Hey…got somethin' da drink, Tifa?" Barret huffed tiredly, not caring to say the least that he was dripping sweat everywhere. Tifa chuckled. "This one's on the house, Barret." She said as she was already pulling out a glass, and filling it with the cold beer. She slid the glass over to Barret, who immediately snatched it up, and guzzled the drink.
"How's the work coming? I know you guys have been at it for hours now." Tifa spoke, trying hard to hide the immense joy in her voice. She was really excited to see the finished work.
Barret took a seat on a bar stool, parallel to where Tifa was standing. "Well, Cloud's up there righ' now fixin' up the electric box." Barret replied, and then took another swig of his beer.
Tifa crossed her arms, and sighed. "He better be careful." She said, "I don't know if he knows how to do that kind of stuff. Shouldn't Cid be the one who handles that department?"
Barret laughed, "Cloud and him flipped a coin to see who goes up there."
Tifa stopped and looked at Barret and proceeded to face palmed. "Oh you've got to be kidding." She groaned, "He better not get hurt up there." Tifa looked up at the ceiling, as if she was trying to warn Cloud somehow through the concrete and insulation.
The door rang again, and this time it was Vincent. The pale man wasn't wearing his usual attire. His cape and top were missing, including his gun that was always at his side. His normal long pointy golden boots were now carpentry boots. To Barret's and Tifa's surprise, even Vincent was sweating up a storm.
"Damn, Vin. The hell you doin'?" Barret asked, setting his beer mug down.
Vincent found a place that was close, and sat down. Amazingly, the stoic man looked worn-out.
"I'm just taking a break, then getting back to work." Was the scruffy sound that was Vincent's usually covered voice. They could actually hear how he sounded like, without that big red cloak masking his expressions all the time.
Tifa walked around the bar, and came over to Vincent. "Want a drink?" she offered, holding a mug of beer.
Vincent breathed in, and then with small apprehensiveness, took the mug and almost, almost wolfed it down. But instead, he drank most of the yummy drink, and set the mug down on the table in front of him.
Vincent nodded his head in thanks, and continued taking small sips. Tifa smiled, and walked back over to her usual spot behind the bar.
Cid came in, huffing and puffing, his sweat drenched face red as an apple. He staggered in tiredly, and sat down. He flopped on to the table, and sighed in relief. "Oh god, it's actually cold. It's hotter than Ifirit's hell out there!" the man managed to groan, and then lifted himself from the table. "It's fuckin' HOT as HELL." Cid huffed, proclaiming again.
"Want something to cool you off, Cid?" Tifa asked, already pouring the alcohol.
"Yea, yea. Thanks Tifa." Cid said as he was readying to light a cigarette.
"Isn't that the reason you came in here sounding like your lungs had left your body, Highwind?" Inquired Vincent, while sitting back in his chair comfortably.
"Shut the hell up, you walking corpse. You're one to talk. Look at ya," Cid motioned his hand, "You're a walking stick, with no color to ya."
Vincent raised an eye brow curiously, "And just what are you implying, Highwind?"
Before Cid could come back with a wise cracking remark, a really loud crash was heard, and then the sound of something, or someone rolling off the roof top of the bar. Alarmed, Vincent was the first to get up and flee to outside.
On the ground was Cloud. Face down, in the dirt, with blood pouring from his head. Quickly, Vincent went into action. Vincent leaned over and turned Cloud over. He kneeled beside him and checked his pulse. It seemed fine. But the blood that was seeping from his head was not. Vincent knew he needed to get Cloud some medical attention, or that small cut could grow into something much more life-threatening.
The others finally came out of the entrance, when they heard nothing from Vincent as to what was going on. Tifa almost screamed as she ran to Cloud's side. Vincent stopped her from moving Cloud any more than need be, as it could harm Cloud even more.
Tifa sighed dreadfully, tears being held at bay. "What happened?" she cried, picking up Cloud's hand and holding it tight.
"I'm assuming Cloud fell from the roof and landed on his head." Vincent said, a frown of worry on his face, still looking over Cloud to see if he could discover anything else that he could have hurt during the fall.
Cid grunted. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Sherlock." He grumbled. "I better get the Highwind ready. I'm thinkin' he'll need a trip to some place that's medical savvy."
Barret shook his head. "Awh, man! So much for home improvement! Man, Cloud you're always screwing up somethin'!" Barret complained as he was following Cid back to the airship.
"It's not his fault! Don't blame him!" Tifa yelled after Barret. "Come one, pick him up! I'll run and lock the bar."
Doing as he was told, Vincent picked up the bleeding blond, and rushed off to the Highwind.
Inside the cabin, Cloud laid sprawled on a bed, as he was quickly plopped down almost carelessly. Vincent had already wrapped Cloud's wounded head, and found that Cloud had also managed to break his arm. So Vincent put a brace on Cloud's arm, and wrapped that up as well. Tifa was in the room too. Pacing, and checking on the blond every five minutes. Although he tried not to let it get to him, for the sake of Tifa's worry, Vincent was finding himself getting agitated at the way Tifa was acting. Though Vincent didn't understand why, he'd seen Tifa act this way before. Maybe it's because of what had happened before…
Vincent placed that behind him, for now and concentrated on getting Cloud ready for landing.
Being the only city with a fully functioning hospital, Mideel was where Cid had taken his poor wounded friend. The ship doors opened. Waiting on the outside was a medical team. Cid had called in advanced, and told the hospital about the situation. And since Cloud was once a patient there, they were all welcoming, and ready to help their friend get healed.
The medical team had a gurney, so Vincent carried the blond and laid him on to the mobile bed. The whole group followed the team into the hospital. But once they reached a certain set of doors, no one was allowed to enter. Tifa raged, while Barret tried to calm her down. Cid went out for a cigarette, and Vincent stood in the hallway, waiting for any news.
Outside, Tifa was fuming. She wanted to be by Cloud's side. She couldn't stand to lose him. Tifa stopped marched up and down the sidewalk, and began to cry. Although the wounds didn't seem too bad, it still pained her that Cloud had gotten hurt on the account of her. She sighed, her tears stopping. She sniffled, and wiped away the droplets from her face. She needed to be strong. Cloud was going to be just fine. He always was.
Waiting inside, Vincent stayed stationary in the hallway. The medical personnel refused to tell the brooding man to move. Vincent didn't look half as scary as when he wore his usually outfit, but his blood red eyes was all he needed to warn people to leave him alone.
The female nurses, and other personnel, however had no problems undressing the man with their eyes. Their looks of lust and desire, was little to nothing to Vincent. He didn't care for the females who were looking him over like a piece of meat. All he cared was for Cloud. …Care. He cared?
The demon inside him snickered. "You love this small human?"
Vincent scoffed mentally. "What makes you think that, Chaos?"
The demon made no more sound, and left the man alone.
Love. He couldn't love again. Not after what he had done to her. Not after he'd let her down. Love was not strong enough to stop the horrible things Lucrecia was doing to herself, and her unborn child. He didn't want to think of that right now. So he began to pace, which was something that a Vincent Valentine never does.
Just as Vincent was turning around for the hundredth pace in the hallway, the doors opened, and a man with a white coat came out. This man was tall, with a muscular build. His hair was military cut, and he wore slim glasses that looked like it could barely fit on his big face. The man had dark toned skin, with sea-green eyes. The man walked over to Vincent without any apprehensiveness, and reached out to shake the pale man's hand. He was greeted with nothing.
So the doctor cleared his throat to try and clear the sudden tension. "Hi. My name is Dr. Douglas Luke. Nice to meet you." The doctor said in one breath, and then looked around expectantly. "Don't tell me you're the only one waiting on Mr. Strife's results."
Vincent just stared at him. He loathed doctors. "No. There are others." Vincent replied lamely, "I'll take the report now."
The doctor again cleared his throat. "Oh right. Yes." He dug into his paper work, adjusting his glasses. "It seems that Mr. Strife has had a concussion. He hasn't woken up yet, but when he does, we'll let you-
"That's all?" Vincent interrupted crossly, "I've been waiting for hours, and this is all the information you have to give?" something inside Vincent broke, but he didn't understand what. All he felt was fury.
At this point, Cid had come in, along with Barret accompanied with Tifa. They all stopped behind Vincent, not knowing what they were walking into.
The doctor looked around, seeing the new faces before he decided to finish with his report.
"Sir, you have to understand. The condition cannot be seen until the patient has woken up." The doctor explained carefully, as he could tell that the small bit of news did not settle well with his patients brooding friend.
Tifa stepped up hurriedly, "Is he going to be okay?" she questioned a little bit too fast, almost so that the doctor nearly missed it.
Vincent swiftly turned around and walked away. He almost decked the doctor for his impudence. He couldn't believe that the doctor didn't know anything more than he himself already knew. 'How stupid can these idiot doctors be?' Vincent thought haughtily to himself. 'How can I trust them after what they have already done to him and I.'
Cid walked over to Vincent, a look of concern on his face. The smoker was not used to seeing the quiet man so stressed out the entire time the pilot had known him. So maybe, Cid figured, he could give the man some kind of comfort, someone to talk to.
"Hey…" the gruff man started slowly, not really knowing what to say. He looked down, a little embarrassed. "I know this is all fucked up for you and uhh stuff." The older man felt awkward talking to Vincent like that. It felt weird, and strange. Cid felt stupid when he looked up and noticed that there was no one there in the first place.
"You know what?" Cid bellowed to no one in particular, "I ain't doin' that shit again." He stormed off, going back outside.
Vincent himself had gone outside to cool off. He couldn't understand why he was having such trouble controlling his feelings. But that wasn't the biggest of his worries. He also felt like Cloud wasn't getting the help he needed to recover. He had a concussion. Vincent needed to be in there to make sure they didn't screw up anything else. Vincent looked up at the sky, that was now covered in the sweet blanket of darkness, with nothing but the glow of the moon and the stars. He felt a little chilly, so he decided to go back into the ship and change. He then decided that afterwards, he was going to be in the same room with Cloud weather the medical personnel liked it or not.
Back in the waiting room, Tifa and Barret were flipping through magazines. Cid had also returned, but he was on his cell phone with Shera, who could be heard a crossed the room complaining to Cid about the cars radiator going out again.
Tifa sighed. She was tired. She wanted to go lay down, but she wanted to stay awake in case Cloud had woken up. This day had just gone from something great, to something bad. She wished that she'd had actually went out and told Cloud to get down off the roof. But she thought that Cloud could handle himself. She shrugged. Not that she doubted Cloud's abilities as an electrician, but she knew Cid could probably do it better. Tifa flipped through another page. There was nothing else she could do now but wait and see if everything was going to be okay.
Meanwhile, the young blond was sleeping soundly in his bed. He looked comfortable enough. But Cloud had heart monitors and even an oxygen mask on. Even if he looked comfortable, he still looked like hell. Vincent continued to stare at the sleeping form. Something inside him was trying to show him something…but what, Vincent couldn't figure out for the life of him. Then, Cloud's eyes fluttered open. He looked confused as all hell. Vincent pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning on, and went over to Cloud's bedside. Cloud looked up at Vincent with a bit of innocence in his baby blues.
Vincent looked down and almost gasped at Cloud's expression. He looked so lost, so small and fragile. Vincent suddenly felt a feeling of protectiveness over Cloud. The rooms door then opened, Doctor Luke coming in to check on Cloud. He wasn't too surprised to find Vincent standing over Cloud with some kind of unspoken tenderness.
"It's good to see you awake, Mr. Strife. I'll be right back. There's some people here to see you." The good doctor told Cloud, as he came in and left quickly.
Vincent turned his attention back to Cloud. "How are you feeling?" Vincent asked a hint of genuine concern in his voice.
Cloud blinked at Vincent with utter confusion. "Who am I?"
Vincent was flabbergasted. What? Cloud…doesn't remember. Oh great.
"What did you say?" Vincent responded, still maintaining his gaze.
The blond let out an aggravated sigh, "I said," Cloud sounding upset, "Who am I?" at that, Cloud's voice broke. He tried to hold it together, but the tears wouldn't stop coming down.
"Cloud…" was all Vincent could manage to say. Vincent was dumbstruck. Cloud has amnesia.
The door suddenly busted open. Tifa, Barret, and Cid coming in all at once.
"Oh Cloud! You're okay!" Tifa squealed with glee, relieved to see her best friend awake and all in one piece.
Cid laughed warmheartedly. "I knew you'd be okay. Fuck man, don't do that to us again."
Cloud just gave everyone a blank stare. His face paled, and he sat up slowly, then jumped out of the bed and hid behind Vincent. Everybody's face looked taken aback as they watched their friend hide inside of the taller mans cape.
Tifa took a few steps forward. "C-Cloud? What's wrong" Tifa spoke softly, "You're okay. You're in the hospital."
Just then the doctor walked into the room. "Oh good!" exclaimed the doctor happily. "Good to see you up and at full strength."
Vincent looked at the doctor like he had two heads coming from his eye sockets. "No doctor. There is something wrong."
Tifa's attention turned to Vincent. "What do you mean?" Tifa looked back at Cloud. "What's going on?"
Cid sighed. "Here we fucking go again." Cid said irritably. "If you need me, I'll be outside smokin'" and with that, Cid left the group.
Vincent looked back behind him. Cloud looked so frightened. "It's going to be okay." Vincent said gently.
"But who are they?" Cloud peeked up at Vincent from behind the cape in terror, "Who am I?"
Vincent felt really bad. Cloud didn't know what the hell was going on. Vincent turned to face Cloud fully. The smaller man looked at Vincent like he was the answer to everything.
Barret heaved a sigh. "Are we gon' have to go through his past again?" he asked, looking over at Tifa.
The woman crossed her arms, and frowned. "We might have to." She answered. "Why is this happening?" the fighter stomped childishly.
Vincent looked back at her. "Enough, Tifa. This is not helping." He told her, and then looked back at Cloud.
"I want you to lie back in your bed. You got injured. You need rest." Vincent spoke to him quietly.
All Cloud did was nod and climb back into the hospital bed. He covered himself up, all while giving Barret and Tifa a look of being annoyed.
Vincent took this time to go outside, where he was greeted with Cid.
"I thought you went back to the Highwind." Vincent said.
"Yeah, but I decided to give Shera a call. We got some place for his spiky ass to stay until he's well enough to be on his own." Cid informed the gunner.
Just as that was being said, Dr Luke strode by. He stopped and waited to see if the two men were done conversing, and then pulled out some documents from his folder. The two men paused their conversation and looked at the good doctor.
The doctor cleared his throat. "Oh. Good. I have some information for you that may make you feel at ease."
"Go on." Vincent encouraged impatiently.
The doctor looked down at his papers, and held one up to read it. "Okay. Mr. Strife has suffered not only a concussion, but also heat stroke, which probably caused him to faint, and then fall off the roof…according to the story that Ms. Lockheart told me." He said as he placed the document back into the folder.
"Yeah that's right." Cid confirmed, putting his hands on his hips, "So how long is the kid going to be in the hospital? I ain't got all fuckin' night to wait."
The doctor seemed a little unsure about Cid with his sailor mouth. He wasn't used to being around someone like Cid. But the doctor carried on anyway.
"Well I'd say Mr. Strife should stay in the hospital no longer than a week. Two weeks, at most." The doctor said.
Vincent stood there, taking in all the information. So Cloud was going to be here for a week. Vincent decided right then that he was going to stay right beside Cloud the entire time he was residing in the hospital, despite his utter dislike of doctors.
The doctor bowed his head. "Well alright. I'll see you all later."
Cid watched the doctor walk down the hallway. "That sure as hell didn't make me feel at no fuckin' ease." Cid spat.
Vincent nodded agreeing with the pilot.
Barret and Tifa walked out of Cloud's room. Tifa looked depressed, and Barret…well he just looked like Barret. Though he was worried, Barret was more worried on how Tifa was taking the fact that her best friend didn't recognize her.
"I'm gon' take her home." Barret told Cid, walking up to him. Cid nodded, knowing he was the only ride they had. The trio walked away, silently leaving Vincent in charge of taking care of their amnesia stricken leader. Vincent took the duty promptly. He was already thinking of ways to help Cloud regain his memory.
It was going to be a long two weeks, and Vincent hoped that Cloud would recover soon. Vincent had many things to talk to Cloud about. His feelings…that kiss they shared. Could it be possible that Vincent was falling in love with the blond? Beneath his cloak, Vincent cracked a small smile at the thought.
-End Chapter I-