Squaresoft owns ff7. I dinnae.

Also, I would like to thank my first fan! THANK YOU! Loads of love is being sent to u! the fan is called Li. Thank you very much!

Every review person will be named and shamed, nah, they won't be shamed but they will get named. Lol….anyhow, on with A True valentine, part two.

A very big thanks to the lovely emerald embers, (go read her fics! There really good too! Better than mine!) she explained how they got the cream icing in the eggs! thanks to tir as well. Love you guys!

Chapter 2

Is friendship something that I can attain? Something that I don't have to feel bad about? Vincent thought as the water ran down his back, he smiled faintly as the water was warm and very pleasant.

Every small thing he did was new to him, he had none of the luxuries that this world took for granted thirty years ago. Showers were only for the rich then and now, every one who wanted one could have.

Vincent closed his eyes and raised his head to the water. His long dark hair soaked to his skull and hung to just below his scarred shoulder blades. Those wounds would never heal fully. Not as long as he had Chaos residing within him, every time he summoned the beast, it's wings would tear through the shoulder's flesh and return just as painfully. It amazed him as to how the others avoided losing there lunch when they saw him transform.

It can't be a pretty sight, he thought.

Cid was still sleeping in the next room, the pilot had came to him for help but had ended up helping him. He felt bad at showing the pilot how weak he really was but he was surprised at how readily Cid was for admitting that he was just as flawed. what had surprised him more was that the blonde had held him in his arms with no hesitation or fear. What was the pilot thinking when he embraced him like that?

Vincent lost himself in his shower, finding small pleasures like the shampoo smell to focus on. Personal hygiene products had definitely gotten better last time he used them. Some of the smells were fantastic to him, he very rarely thanked Hojo for anything but the heightened sense of smell at this moment was simply fantastic. The strawberry scented soap made his mouth water and his nose tingle with the sweet smell. That was odd to him, he absolutely detested the small red fruits.

On board the Highwind, he'd once heard a bunch of the engineers joking about the captain. Saying that the pilot was a neat freak when it came to the airship but when it came to himself, he always looked so scruffy. Like he always rolled out of bed a few minutes before. Another had joked that if you bought the pilot a packet of smokes and could make a decent cuppa, you had a friend for life.

A few moments later Vincent decided that he'd had enough of showering and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his slender form. He felt light headed but the feeling passed within seconds. It must have been because he'd washed all the dirt out of his head and he was starving.

He was surprised at how many bruises and scars they were on his lithe form. Some were old, from Hojo but a whole mess of them were from the more recent battle to save the planet. He wondered if any bruises were on the sleeping pilot in the double bed. It was something that he would enquire about later. The blonde had moaned about the amount of bruises he had gotten just trying to claw his way out of the icy cavern at Gais Cliff.

The sun tried to shine through the heavy curtains that was favoured by the Nibelhiem inn. Narrow sunbeams managed to squeeze through the cracks and cut across the dark carpeting of the room. The double bed the captain slept in was barely touched by the sunrays.

The former Turk's stomach growled in hunger, he placed his good hand on it and thoughtfully rubbed it.

"If ya can pat your fucking head while doing that, you're a genius," Cid's voice drawled. The pilot sat up on the bed and stretched out the kinks that had formed in his body. Wincing as a painful cramp started to make itself felt just above his left shoulder and slowly and very painfully make it's way up to his hand.

Vincent blushed, "I'm just a little hungry."

Cid rubbed the sleep out of his blue eyes and blinked a few times. His blonde hair sticking out all over the place, running a hand through it didn't help the style. It made him look like he'd been playing near a plug socket.

"Hungry…breakfast time isn't it?" Cid yawned, he leaned over the bed to reach the small table and grabbed his watch. He almost fell flat on his face as he stretched out abit to far for his form to handle. He managed a muffled curse as he landed face first in the covers.

The pilot sprang up, his eyes widened for a moment but they quickly closed before he sleepily opened them again. He hated drinking and staying up far past his bed time. The drive home to the town really wasn't that appealing.

Cute wasn't the word Vincent wanted to use right now to describe the pilot, irresistible was the ideal word. He quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind, Cid would never entertain the notion of a relationship with him. He was his friend. Nothing more.

Cid was going to be a father to Shera's child. Cid would be much happier with the timid engineer, she would look after him. All he could do was bring the pilot was pain and misery.

Cid stood up and headed for the now vacant shower. He stopped at the window and peeked out of it, it looked like it was going to be a clear day. He should be able to get home and start work on the Tiny Bronco or the Highwind. He was filled with the sudden urge to fly, to get away from the life that had now been placed in his lap.

Get away from everything and everyone for a few short hours.

As much as he loved Shera and Vincent, he wanted to get away from them as well. Space was now a distant dream and so was flying. Spending last night with Vincent made him realise how high maintenance friends were.

"How ya feeling?" Cid asked as he walked by his friend, he smelt better for a start.

"Better," Vincent admitted truthfully, he still had his fever but it was slowly breaking.

Chaos…for once I thank you for your healing powers, he thought with a small smile.

The pilot stopped just outside the bathroom and turned round, a thought struck him. This was the first time that he'd seen the former Shin-Ra assassin without the hindrance of his hair or the ever present cowling that covered the lower half of his face.

"Shit…you call yourself a monster?" Cid looked at Vincent.

Vincent looked away for a moment, hurt flashed across his face before returning to a fairly emotionless mask.

"…Yes," his pale jaw twitched in anger.

"Shit! Sorry, it wasn't meant as a fucking insult," the pilot rubbed his eyes and sighed, "I'm still have asleep."

The damage it seemed had already been done. The work that had been done last night was over within a second and Cid watched as Vincent turned away from him. Was it his way in life to screw him any chance of happiness? He had managed to put his old boots in it as usual.

He watched as Vincent gathered up his clothes and gave Cid a very pointed look.

…can we all say Shera? Shit, I didn't even mean to make it sound like I was being mean, all I meant was that he's damn good looking. Why is he so damn bitchy all of…no, wait. He's being Vincent. A sure sign of him feeling better, the pilot rolled his blue eyes mentally and closed the door. It was going to be one of those horrid, why-did-I-get-out-of-my-bed days and spending it with Vincent was really going to make it hard.

Cid rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He wanted to do lots of things at the moment, the number one being the chance to get his head in order and things to go back to the way they were. He'd give the stars to just have only the worry of trying to get the rocket back up in the air and into space.

He had came to Vincent for advice, he just wanted a chance to talk about how he felt. He didn't want to get to deep, he wanted to get totally drunk. Block out all the thoughts in his head and hopefully forget them.

Ever since Cloud Strife had entered his town, things had gone from bad to worse. The first was watching as AVALANCHE stole his Tiny Bronco from right under his nose, the second having his materia stolen from him by the teen ninja and then, things had went downhill. Watching as Aeris was stabbed by Sephiroth in the Forgotten city, to the destruction of Midgar.

He felt tears sting his blue eyes and he rubbed them away harshly. He wasn't going to cry, no way. It wasn't his way of dealing with pain. He wasn't like Cloud or Barret or the rest of AVALACHE.

The people of the world were looking to AVALANCHE as potential leaders, hoping the eight victorious savours would return them to a very normal way of life. Didn't the planet know that the eight who had saved them had their own motives for doing it? None of them had done it for the planet. He was sure as hell that Vincent didn't do it. Barret had quite openly admitted that he had done it for his daughter, what the others reasons he didn't care.

Why had he done it? Why did he risk his life for a small round seemingly insignificant sphere and the residents who he didn't know from Adam? He had always thought that it had been for Shera. That she was his reason for fighting but she hadn't been there for him in the dark, cold, hostile place the North Crater. AVALANCHE had been, Vincent and Cloud had took the long dangerous road with him. Cloud had been so determined to fight the winged freak, Vincent looked on the edge of a nervous breakdown the closer he got to killing the son of his beloved Lucrecia.

Cid had said very little, Vincent and Cloud had looked over to him. Hoping for some kind of encouragement from the Shin-Ra pilot. He had swore at them, telling them that if they wanted optimism, then they should of picked Tifa. He was just here to enjoy the scenery.

"Cid, could you take this a little more seriously? Now isn't the time to be joking around," Cloud had all but screamed at him.

Vincent had look relieved at the chance of some humour but he had merely kept his emotionless mask. His metal claw of a hand had never strayed to far from the menacing looking shotgun called the Death Penalty.

Cid had shrugged, "So fucking what. Do you want me to be all fucking depressed?"

Cloud had gave him an exasperated sigh, "Cid. A little decorum would be nice. What we're doing is rather serious!"

Cid had given him a foul look, "Shit, if ya want me to mosey, then just tell me."

Cloud was slowly losing his temper with the pilot. He always found some little thing to comment on and to bitch about. Didn't the man know anything about how important this fight was? Didn't he even care? The former Ex-Soldier took a deep breath, trying to sooth himself, they were all edgy. Cloud wasn't to sure but had he heard Vincent chuckle at the comment of the pilot moseying?

"Cid, I don't wanna lose to Sephiroth," Cloud crossed his arms, "So for the last time. Grow up."

Vincent had came to the older blonde's defence, breaking his own forged silence, "Our colleague here has the right idea. We may lose the battle anyway. There is no way in knowing that if we do take this seriously, we will indeed win."

Cid pulled out another of his ever present cigarettes and expertly flicked it in his mouth, "Cloud, let me be honest with ya. I couldn't give a flying fuck."

The wind had howled all around them, the ever present smell of evil filling around them. The roar of the life stream ever present below them and they could all feel the ever present presence of Sephiroth.

The two blondes it seemed to Vincent were going to duke it out. Both looked ready to rip each other to shreds, well, Cloud looked ready to beat the crap out of the pilot. They were all scared but to start fighting in the very bowels of the planet…? Even his demons knew the only way to win this particular fight was to work together. Not to fight each other.

"So why the hell are you here then? Do you think this is some kind of game?" Cloud hissed, his electric blue eyes were sparking with anger.

The older blonde seemed to lose his willingness to fight the younger blonde, he took a step back, "Shit if I know, Spike. Just seems like the right thing to do."

The right thing to do…was it the right thing to do? He had felt like it was. Saving the planet, it would certainly look impressive in the old C.V.

World hero, pilot, astronaut, mechanic and eco terrorist, well maybe not the eco terrorist but the other four would surely impress people. However, it seemed to fail to impress him. He just saw it as another role he had to play. He was just a helpless bystander in the great scheme of things, no matter what people would say.

He shrugged the thoughts out of his head, they weren't his concern anymore. He'd just live out his days in the sleepy Rocket Town. Get the old team back together again and build a new rocket. One better and way bigger than the Shin-Ra Number 26.

Tank number 8 blew…so it really was malfunctioning…, the words he'd said back on the rocket rang in his head. He'd been caught in the debris and had pretty much given up on ever trying to return back to the planet. Until Shera had walked calmly up and helped pull the large tank off him.

He'd never ever had been forced to eat so much humble pie in one serving before. He thought he'd choke on it as he and the others followed her down to the escape pod. He hadn't said a word to her until they were at the pod and he had the gall to ask her if the damn thing actually worked. Shera had simply nodded and said that she'd been checking it until now.

Desperately he tried to get rid of any thoughts that were trying to invade his mind, he started to run his shower and watched as the water ran down into the drain. Slowly, he peeled off his clothes, wincing as his hands hadn't quite recovered from the various bumps and bruises they'd received. His lower back screamed in pain, it seemed yesterday's game of leap frog on the stairs had finally caught up with him. It was, he thought with a grim smile, going to be a pain in the backside until they heal.

He was brought out of his silence by Vincent's ever soft voice, could that guy raise his voice or was he stuck with a permanent whisper? Fearing that if he raised it even the slightest, something bad would happen?

"Captain," the softness had a tone of anger to it, the ex-Turk was still sulking about the comment, "Do you care for some breakfast?"

"Nah," the blonde called back, "I just wanna get back home as soon as."

What's the rush? The town's going to be there when ya get back, a voice offered, sides, I thought you wanted to get the hell away from those guys?

Cid listened for a response but none came. It seemed like Vincent wasn't that fussed if he starved or not. Another sign that the man was regaining some control over his sanity.

**********************

Vincent sat on the bed and listened to the water running in the bathroom. He was angry at Cid. The comment had hurt him.

You call yourself a monster?

He did but he didn't want to be reminded of it every second of the day.

His right palm stung, he's completely forgotten about it until now but he needn't of worried, the wonderful restorative powers of his demons had the wound closing and in a few hours wouldn't even be there.

He pulled his boots on, he'd be gone in a few minutes. By the time the blonde pilot had finished showering, he'd be out of his life for good.

Master…why? If you ask him, it may be a simple mistake. You may of caught him off guard, Chaos offered.

Why should you care? Aren't you supposed to want to kill and hurt?

Chaos shrugged, This world has seen to much pain and death already. We do not wish to add to it. Our time is near the end.

Time? Our time? Vincent stared at Cid's mud covered boots blankly, what had the beast meant by that?

Hojo…never meant for us to exist for that long. He wanted you to suffer, Chaos explained sadly.

I am dying, Vincent Valentine, the winged demon stated.

************************************

Ok, chapter two is now up!!! I really don't know about this chapter and sorry it took so long. I've been working and I really like doing this when I have plenty of time. But I should be doing a big old chapter in about a week and a half…as in, expect something fairly decent by the end of the month! Again ,thanks to all the really nice people out there! Emerald embers….you've managed to cause fights at my work because we all disagree about the freshness of a cream egg…..!

Oh yeah, shamless plug of my other fanfic! Another way to live! Go and read it! It has Vincent and the guys but it's set 7 hundred years later…..dud duh duh!

Well, anyhow, I'm off to stop the wedding of the evil photocopier and the water cooler at my work!

Chapter three will be coming soon!!!