I've decided not to write a disclaimer anymore. If anyone wants to know, they are kindly asked to refer to the first chapter of the story. I'm also gonna attempt at least some Reeve/Shalua here. I hope the story is enjoyable. I also tried a bit of humor. Tell me how I did!
Adios!
Kyyrin
Chapter Seven
Vincent's already foul mood had now officially hit rock bottom.
He groaned inwardly. If Shalua had found him lying on the floor, he might have been able to handle the situation. But in his current position, there was no way out. The least he could do was hope Reeve didn't say anything stupid.
But no one gets everything they hope for.
Seeing that Vincent wasn't in bed, Shalua set the tray of food she was holding on the bedside table, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the two men standing there staring at her.
It was a picture to entertain gods. Shalua began to grin before she could help herself.
Reeve had his arm wrapped around Vincent's waist, and had slung the latter's arm around his shoulders, to support him. Vincent was practically clinging onto Reeve for dear life, in, what seemed, an effort not to fall flat on his face.
"So…..guys. What…..happened?", Shalua asked tentatively, desperately trying not to laugh. And it worked for a while. Reeve's explanation and Vincent's reaction however, set her off.
"O-Oh…..", Reeve stammered, fully aware of how strange their current position must look. "Well, Vincent……I guess he had to use the bathroom-----"
"Reeve!", Vincent hissed in his friends ear, frantically trying to salvage at least some of his dignity. To no avail. Reeve continued, without even acknowledging him.
"-----and he was probably to weak to make it back to bed, so he was lying on the floor and counting the-----"
"Reeve!", Vincent pleaded more urgently. It wasn't like him to beg, but this was hopelessly embarrassing. He felt heat rise to his cheeks as Shalua started to giggle. For Planet's sake. Now he was blushing too.
Reeve paused momentarily in his explanation to glance at Vincent, and gaped at what he saw. The face of the great and mighty Vincent Valentine had turned as red as Nanaki, and was glaring at him with a stare that would probably freeze the flame of said creatures tail.
"What?", Reeve hissed back, oblivious to the look of mirth Shalua was giving them.
"Stop", Vincent whispered in a voice that allowed no arguments.
"But why------"
"----Just stop!"
Vincent said the last word with such venom, that Reeve immediately broke off his tale and averted his eyes, looking once again at Shalua, whose giggles had now turned into full blown laughter.
"It's fine, Reeve", she managed between chuckles. "I get the picture. No need to embarrass him further. Although I'm laughing with you, Vincent, not at you…….I hope you understand." She studied Vincent's face, and seeing the abashed but angry look, broke off her laughter, still smiling.
"It's not gonna kill you to be laughed at once in a while", she continued gently. "It's human!"
"And there we go starting that again……" , Vincent thought morosely, seething inside. "Reeve, if you had just kept your mouth shut……" His thoughts were interrupted as Shalua addressed them once more.
"Vincent, while you're standing, I'm gonna change you're bed sheets, alright? Reeve, can you hold him there?", she asked innocently, smirking again.
Reeve's mouth opened and then closed. He probably decided it was best not to argue.
"Of course you'd shut up for her, but not for me", Vincent thought, fuming. When it came to women, Reeve was a total suck up.
So the two of them stood there, awkwardly, as Shalua moved to one of Reeve's drawers and began pulling out various bed sheets. She seemed to know her way around in here well. Really well.
If he hadn't been in such a perilous position, Vincent just might have snickered.
Shalua and Reeve? He would have never guessed. Okay, that was a lie. He would have probably noticed eventually, but now everything was blatantly obvious. And it worked to his advantage. Now he had something to tease Reeve with as revenge for earlier.
Once certain that Shalua was out of earshot, Vincent glanced at Reeve wryly.
"So. You must have taken her on a extremely detailed tour of your bedroom since she knows her way around so well", Vincent whispered putting on his renowned poker face. "Nice job, Reeve".
Reeve's reaction to the comment told Vincent all he needed to know. His friend turned a shade of crimson that gave Vincent's eyes a run for their money, and stared at the floor, shocked that he had been found out.
Vincent gave a soft snort. He knew Reeve. For a former Shinra executive, he was pretty easy to read. His eyes said it all. The man was completely in love with her. Vincent wasn't sure if Shalua felt the same for Reeve, but by the looks of it, the love definitely wasn't one sided.
Sighing, Vincent turned his attention back to Shalua, who had finished changing the bed sheets, and was now eyeing them curiously.
"Well come on, Reeve. Help him back to bed!", Shalua said, looking at him in exasperation. "Or were the both of you planning on standing there all night?"
Reeve's head snapped up, and he swallowed, tightening his grip on Vincent. They worked their way to the bed, and Vincent sat down heavily. He felt exhausted and sick, unaware that he was showing it.
"Vincent, in bed", came Reeve's concerned command. It seemed his friend had found his voice again.
Feeling too ill to argue, he obliged and let himself be guided onto the pillows and under the covers, only to be hauled up against the backboard again by Reeve.
"Don't think you're going to get off with not eating anything, Valentine", Reeve muttered grudgingly, obviously still a bit peeved by Vincent's earlier comment. He shoved the bowl of oatmeal into Vincent's hands, and watched him to make sure he ate it.
Cocking an eyebrow at his friend, Vincent gingerly took a spoonful of the oatmeal and sniffed it. He wasn't much a fan of the gooey substance, but he supposed it was better than nothing. So he proceeded to eat the offending cereal, all the while painfully aware that Shalua and Reeve were scrutinizing him intently, making sure he finished it down to the last spoon.
It actually hadn't tasted that bad, but it would still never belong to the category of his favorite foods. And the items in that category were beyond sparse.
Looking up, he shoved the empty bowl into Reeve's hands and stared back at them placidly. His nose had begun to run again, and he looked around, realizing that he had left the tissue box lying on the floor. Thinking of all the trouble his pride had gotten him into lately, he decided to be straightforward.
"Reeve, could you get me the-----", was all he managed before letting out a furious sneeze into the crook of his arm. Seeing his friend's plight, Reeve stood and retrieved the tissue box, pulling out a wad and handing them to Vincent.
"Bless you. Now lie down and-----"
"Wait", Shalua cut in. "I brought something that'll help you sleep better. It'll hopefully bring your fever down as well. Might do wonders for your congestion too."
She produced a bottle of cold and flu medicine from one of the pockets of her lab coat.
Vincent let out an irritated sigh. If there was one thing he hated, possibly more than Deepground, it was medicine. Taking it made him feel like an invalid. There was no way they could possibly force him to swallow it. Not without a fight.
He opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by both Shalua and Reeve at the same time.
"Vincent!", they both exclaimed at once, looking at him in frustration.
"Me first", stated Shalua, giving Reeve a glare. He backed down, and Shalua turned on Vincent.
"Don't even try and argue with me, Valentine. I don't care what your stand is on medicine because you're going to take it willingly, or I will personally shove it down your throat. Understood?", she said sweetly, with a smirk on her face.
Vincent didn't even bother to shut his gaping mouth.
"Right……what she said", Reeve began, but was once more cut off by Shalua.
"I am not finished, Reeve. Vincent, you'll be taking it three times daily and don't even think about skipping it", she continued in a tone that would have frozen more than just the flame on Nanaki's tail. "Reeve and I are only concerned for your well-being, therefore it's our duty to make sure you get well. I mean it's the least Reeve can do for you. He did get you into this mess after all." Shalua shot a glare at Reeve that was obviously meant to get him to agree.
"Erm, right. Of course. My fault. I completely agree with you, Shalua", Reeve stuttered, looking back at Vincent, helplessness evident on his face.
"Wow, Reeve. You've managed to fall in love with one head strong women", Vincent thought wryly, as he watched the two. Oh well. It was most likely for the best. Shalua could probably teach Reeve a thing or two.
Gazing at the couple, a soft expression crossed his face. They reminded him so much of how he and Lucrecia had been thirty-three years ago. He squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. The pain was almost too much to bear.
Clearing his mind quickly, he decided there was no real point in arguing anyways. He turned back and gave Shalua a curt nod, waiting for her to pour him a spoonful of the offending liquid. She did, and all but shoved it into his mouth. He swallowed painfully, and glared daggers at her afterwards.
Shalua's lips quirked into a smile. Damn. Reeve hadn't lied when he had told her that offering assistance to Vincent Valentine was like asking the late President Shinra Sr. to stop killing the Planet. Both parties would always turn you down.
But she would persist. She could see in Vincent's eyes that he had suffered more than enough in his life. It was time he learned that not everyone was against him. There were people out there that actually did care. So she decided to take charge, since Reeve was doing an absolutely dazzling job of handling the circumstances, she noted sarcastically.
"So, boys. Let's analyze the situation here, shall we?", she began looking at each man in turn. "Since Vincent's fever is obviously too high for him to be left alone, Reeve, you and I will take turns watching over him. And do not protest, Mr. Valentine", she uttered quickly, before Vincent's brain could even formulate a comeback. "You were in pretty bad shape earlier, and I won't let it happen again, understood? If both of us are busy, then there's always Cait. Now that we've got that sorted out, I believe you have more work to do then me Reeve, so I'll take the first shift. Now, shoo", she chided, as she all but dragged Reeve out of the room, ignoring his shocked look.
Closing the door behind her, she moved back to Vincent, and gently pushed him down onto the pillows, just as skillfully ignoring his surprised expression. Feeling his forehead, she sighed at the fact that his fever had only subsided a little. That trip to the bathroom had evidently done him more harm than good. He looked haggard and sickly pale.
Grabbing the discarded, damp cloth, she went to the bathroom, and returned with a bowl of water and a fresh cloth.
"Shove over", she commanded lightly, and planted herself next to Vincent on the bed once he moved. Dipping the cloth into the water, she began to stroke his face with it, in an attempt to cool him off.
Vincent tensed up. It wasn't that he despised people touching him, but when anyone did, it made him feel very, very uncomfortable. "I suppose I have Hojo to thank for that as well", he mused darkly. Any touch meant pain. That was what he was used to. To make matters worse, the uncomfortable feeling escalated profoundly when he considered his currently helpless, weak, and degrading state.
Yes. That was the word. Degrading. It was degrading, being cared for like this, after contracting such a……human illness. And he considered himself far from human. He vehemently cursed Hojo for mixing beast with man. If had at least been a complete monster, than he wouldn't have to deal with this humiliation.
His current situation was beyond degrading.
His existence was degrading.
He was degrading
This chapter's humorous, but at the same time, quite angsty, I find...strange.
