AN: Thank you to everyone for their support so far!
Pairing: Hojo and Vincent
Warnings: Insanity, Vincent in a bath, bad language, references to past violence.
Hojo peeled away the stained fabric, a deeper red closer to the other, and found himself faced with flawless pale skin. The only mark was that bullet scar from the mission that went badly. But Vincent had clearly just been bleeding heavily. He turned to Vincent to ask what was going on, mind jumping, realizing that something in this scenario was very wrong.
"Vincent?" Hojo whispered, staring between the other's undamaged skin and the blood soaked bandages. "Vin vin, what happened?"
Vincent shook his head, unable to explain, unable to put into words what had happened, what the other had done. He was frightened of admitting it, concerned that by doing so, he would lose the man that he had only just got back.
"Please Vinvin…" Hojo murmured, raising a hand to stroke Vincent's cheek. His thumb left a red smear behind, blood picked up from the bandages. Vincent closed his eyes and shook his head.
Hojo decided to let it drop for now, laying Vincent back in the water, running delicate fingers over the thick mass of scar tissue on his left arm. The ridges were back, and circles under his fingertips. As his lover was bathing, the water was becoming dirty from the blood and sweat encrusted on the other's body. Hojo kissed his cheek, flinching again as the other tensed. Vincent was damaged, he could see that. He'd have to give him time.
"How'd your hair get so long huh?" He spoke out loud, more asking himself than his companion. Vincent remained silent, washing his hair as best as he could with one working arm. After a few seconds, the ex-Turk spoke.
"It's been a long time. It grew. You always said you'd like me with long hair." Vincent fought the urge to spit out the last words, knowing how the other had changed him until he was just as he wanted. Long hair, eyes brighter than ever, arm so damaged he couldn't hold a gun. Meeting the other's twisted view of perfection. He hated what he had become – a perfect doll for the man he loved.
"I know I did… I still do, but I think you need a haircut, then maybe just grow it a bit longer than it used to be?" Hojo suggested. "We've got to get you out of here first. You really need to tell me what happened…Are you okay getting out of the bath?"
"Yes." Vincent said, closing his eyes and struggling to pull himself into a sitting position. Hojo supported him, stroking the other's chest, fingers lingering over the bullet hole.
"I'll make it alright Vin-Vin. If you're right that these people, these bastards, are our friends, that they're from ShinRa, well, we'll still just find a way to escape. ShinRa hasn't got control of the entire planet, we'll find somewhere."
Vincent suddenly felt close to tears, desperate to believe in the other, for everything to be alright. He smiled shyly at him.
"We can go outside?" He whispered, trying to recall what it was like to have the freedom of movement he used to possess. The two of them could walk through fields, and he would be able to go swimming… The loss of his gun hurt, but he would be able to live a semi-normal life again. That delighted him. It had been what he had dreamed about for the past three decades. He was a little concerned about his demons, but sure he would manage to keep them under control.
"We can…" Hojo answered, cuddling Vincent close, stroking his tangled hair. He could see how much of an effect that offer had on his love, and in a way that was concerning – the simple chance of going outside should not have meant this much.
"You ready to get out of the bath now?" Hojo asked, and he turned away at the other's nod. "The towel is just to your left."
"Thank you." Vincent murmured, beginning the difficult process of slowly heaving himself from the bath. It was difficult to adjust to his new freedom of movement – for most of the time he had either been locked away in a coffin, or else strapped to a table. He was determined to do this for himself though, to prove that he had some independence left.
Hojo had his back to the bath, and was staring straight ahead. It took a few seconds, but suddenly he realized exactly what he was looking at. There was someone in there. He ran closer to them, to push them away, to make them leave, when he saw that what he had taken to be a window was in fact a mirror, reflecting the room within. Which would make the slightly elderly gentleman with long hair, beginning to go grey, and faintly wrinkled skin him. He gagged, moving back from the mirror, shaking his head. That couldn't be right. Vincent was still the same age as when he had seen him last, at worst he had forgotten a few months. There was nothing that could have caused this.
Hojo glanced down at his hands and saw that the skin on them was loose, wrinkled. He raised his fingertips to his face, and he could feel what the mirror showed. He walked closer, staring with a sick fascination. His mind desperately grasped for some explanation, and the idea that he had also been experimented on came to mind. That explained everything. His lack of memory, his headaches and confusion. Why he had aged. Why he knew his way around. He had been experimented on as well.
Hojo continued staring at the mirror, trying to accept that this was his new appearance, at least until the two of them had escaped. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Vincent wrapping the towel around his waist. He tried not to stare, but his attention was drawn to the other. Not just his gorgeous body, which was always distracting, but also the other's damaged left arm. Now that it was clean, he could see the pattern carved within it. There was a line of symbols, and beneath a circle, a curve, another circle and then two vertical lines with a horizontal one between it. He wondered what it meant, before his mind suddenly registered that he was looking at it in the mirror. Cut into Vincent's skin was 'HOJO'.
