One Step Away—Cradle

by Taitofan

Rated PG-13 for yaoi and crossbreeding, plus language courtesy of Cid

Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy, I'd be rich. And I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, now would I?

Author's Note: Jeez… This is a perfect example of why I shouldn't write angst. But it kinda wrote itself anyways… And it stop being angst by the end, cause really, I hate sad stuff. Hmm, not too much else to say, other than I managed to stick in another crack couple near the end, just because I can. Yes, I am evil, thanks for noticing.

30kisses theme: #22-Cradle

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 04-15-06

When Cait simply shut down one day, without any prior notice, everyone was confused. The robotic cat went into standby mode at night, but never had he just stopped. They hadn't been fighting or anything, just walking through a field, when all of a sudden they here a loud pop… And Cait and his Mog slumped to the ground, silent and motionless.

And no one had any idea why.

But perhaps even odder than his sudden malfunction was one of their teammates reactions to it. The noise had grabbed their attention, allowing them to turn around as Cait was shutting down. And mere seconds after that, Vincent had rushed over to the cat, picking him up and cradling him in his arms. Frantic but quiet words spilled from his mouth, trying to rouse Cait from whatever had come over him. It was almost surreal; the gunman had never shown this much emotion to any of his teammates before, so why was he starting now?

Three days went by without any change. Cid and Cloud had gotten the duty of moving the Mog to the next town, as Vincent refused to put down the cat or leave the Mog. They'd made it to town before nightfall, heading straight for the inn. Rooms had been secured, and Vincent automatically took Cait into his, not saying a word.

No one had questioned why he stayed with Cait that entire time. They wouldn't receive an answer anyway. Even as they entered the room to bring him food, which he barely touched, not a single one could find the courage to ask, "Why?" Perhaps they didn't want to know. Perhaps they already knew. Regardless, the question never came.

The fourth day was almost over before anything happened to change the hopeless situation. It was Cid's turn to try to make the distraught man eat, and quite frankly, he wasn't looking forward to it. He was used to Vincent hiding in the shadows, not acting like he was watching his lover die a slow and painful death. But this was Cait Sith they were taking about; it wasn't like that, right? Cid couldn't help but wonder if Vincent would act this way if any of the others, himself included, had fallen comatose… He didn't like the answer his brain supplied.

"Valentine," he grumbled, barging in without knocking, "if ya' don't fuckin' eat soon, Tifa's gonna shove it down your throat and—" He would have said more, if the sight of Vincent clutching one of Cait's gloved paws with his good hand hadn't shocked the words right out of his mouth. Now, he knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Vincent would never have done that for any of them. But still…

He opened his mouth to demand what was going on between the two when a spiky blond head poked in the room.

"Vincent?" Without waiting for a response, Cloud came into the room and held out his PHS. "It's Reeve. He wants to talk with you. You can bring it back whenever you get the chance." The gunman's eyes widened and he hastily dropped Cait's hand in order to accept the phone, a grateful look on his face. Cloud merely smiled and left without another word, not giving any indication that he'd seen anything out of the ordinary. Cid almost followed him, knowing that their "leader" must know what the hell was going on. Or at the very least, he knew more than Cid himself did. But his curiosity kept him in place as Vincent started to speak.

"Reeve? What's going on? … I know that— … Are you sure? … Then he'll be fine? … When will it happen again? … All right. Thank you. … Goodbye." The conversation hadn't been very helpful, as whatever Reeve had been saying constituted the large gaps between Vincent's almost-desperate questions. Now that the executive had hung up, the gunman sighed heavily and tossed the phone to the end of the bed. Whatever he'd learned, it didn't put his mind at ease for him to leave the cat's side long enough to return it.

"Well," Cid spoke up after the silence went on much too long for his liking. "What the hell was that about? The fleabag gonna turn back on or what?" Vincent gave him a half-hearted glare, most likely from the fleabag comment, but it was obvious he wanted to tell someone the news.

"Reeve says this is normal. Cait's database occasionally needs to be updated with him turned off, so it did what it needed to do. Reeve has been busy dealing with Shinra and hasn't been monitoring him lately. That's why he didn't tell us sooner. But Cait should automatically turn on soon" Cid was sure which was more surprising at this point—Vincent saying more just then than he usually did in a week or the familiar use of Cait, sans the Sith. He stayed silent for a few moments, trying to decide how to ask what he was dying to know without sound like a total bastard…

"So… Ya' really care about him, huh?" He wasn't really expecting an answer, but he wasn't confused when Vincent hesitantly nodded. At this point, there wasn't much involving the gunman that was going to faze him.

"After what happened to Lucrecia, I swore I'd never let anyone else I love be hurt. So when he shut down…" It had to be hard for him to admit, the pilot assumed.

"He must a' known he'd be shuttin' down. Why the hell didn't he warn ya'?" The sad look that took over his crimson eyes told Cid that wasn't the best thing to ask at the moment.

"...I don't know." Cid had never been good at comforting others, so he decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being. They might not have been the closest friends, but he still liked Vincent more than a lot of the others and didn't want to cause him more grief than he already had.

The silence didn't last for long though. The sound of the buzz of processors and machinery soon filled the room, followed by a light groan. Cait slowly sat up, sensors readjusting after being off for three days.

"Vince?" The gunman merely took his hand again, though the worry in his eyes had changed to relief. "You didn't stay here the whole time, did you?"

"He sure as hell did!" Cid exclaimed, causing the cat, who hadn't noticed him, to turn his way. "Man's barely eaten in three days 'cause he was too worried 'bout your selfish ass. What, ya' get your kicks scaring him? What kinda lover are ya' anyways?" Cid was pleased to see the cat had the decency to look ashamed, a look that soon morphed into shock.

"Wait, what are you—"

"Save it," the blond interrupted. "Kinda hard not to notice when Mr. Antisocial's cradlin' ya' like a fuckin' baby and refusin' to leave your side. Look, what ya' do together is your own damn business, and more power to ya' for drawin' Vincent outta his depression, but if ya' hurt him…" The threat was left unsaid, but Cait got the point. He was honestly surprised that Cid didn't have a problem with their relationship, but he wasn't about to question it…

"I won't." Cid nodded, the simple answer being good enough for now. He snatched Cloud's PHS from the bed and headed towards the door.

"Good. Now talk this whole mess over so we can get outta this hellhole tomorrow." He paused, hand on the doorknob, and threw his head over his shoulder to look Vincent in the eyes. "And make sure ya' eat something." Vincent nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips, and Cid swiftly exited the room, his original mission finally completed.

When he got into the hallway, he wasn't at all surprised to see Cloud waiting for him. With a grunt, he tosses the younger man his phone, an annoyed glint in his blue eyes. Cloud stuck it in his pocket and nodded his thanks, patiently waiting for the questioning he knew was coming.

"Ya' knew." It wasn't a question, and Cloud knew exactly what he was talking about. He didn't deny it. "How long? And why the fuck didn't ya' tell me?" Cloud could have told him it was because he was a loudmouth, but he decided to be nice.

"It wasn't my secret to tell. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't heard them a few weeks ago when I went to find them." Cid remembered the day in question, when Vincent and Cait had both disappeared, and Cloud, as the leader, took it upon himself to find them. He hadn't thought they'd disappeared together though.

"So they were…?" Cloud chuckled and the older man's reaction.

"No, they were just talking, but I heard enough. And speaking of things I heard…" He took a few steps forward until there were only a few inches between them. "Mr. Highwind, I do believe you were acting rather protective of Vincent. Should I be jealous?" The pilot snorted, bringing their faces even closer together.

"Why don't ya' shut the hell up and put your mouth to better use?" Cloud smirked before doing just that. Cid moaned into the sudden forceful kiss, wondering if his lover realized they were still in the hallway where anyone, including the girls that had a crush on their blond leader, could see them. He decided that yes, Cloud most likely knew but didn't care. But this wasn't the way for anyone to find out either, so he pushed the younger man away and gave him a grin.

"So, your room or mine?" Cloud's answer was consisted of grabbing Cid's hand and dragging him to his room. They wouldn't be seen again for quite some time.