A/N: sorry this has taken so long, but my computer decided to crash and destroy ALL of my files -sadface- . Anyway, after a good long wait, here's the revision of Chapter 14. Enjoy :)

Warning: Yaoi.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of its characters.

Deep, Dark Desires Chapter 14

The paper slammed down on the desk, an enraged President's loud voice following. "A Rush of Materia in Corel!?" Dark blue eyes narrowed at the two that had 'stumbled upon' this miraculous pile of magic.

"You IDIOTS!" there was a pause in which a hand raked through that strawberry blond hair, fierce blue eyes narrowed in a frightening glare. "Do you have ANY idea what you've done?!"

Reno waved a hand slightly. "Boss, if we bring Corel back into the picture, their materia industry will BOOM!" Rude shook his head. Normally, such a question was rhetorical. Did NOT need a response. But, then again, Reno would be Reno, now wouldn't he? "They'll get loads of money and they'll owe it all to Shin-Ra!"

"No. What's going to go boom is your head when I shoot it." Rufus continued his pacing. "When they find out that materia is fake, they're going to retaliate. We can't handle that retaliation!" still, the pacing continued. "We have little to no allies, and the allies we DO have can't win, even if they did want to fight for the company's cause."

The red-head sank back in his chair. The President had a point... like he usually did. But all Reno was doing was trying to help the company get out of the ashes, if only a foot above. Of course, he failed (much like he usually does what with the President's temper nowadays).

An angry sigh escaped those lips, followed by a deep intake of air. It was hard for him to calm himself once he got angry, simply because all of the idiocy that occurred around him could be prevented so long as he was consulted first. Being the President and all, he should be consulted before having such actions carried out. It seemed he was more of a figurehead than anything nowadays, considering none of his staff listened to him until he got angry. They simply loved pulling his strings, just to see when they'd simply lose their elasticity and just snap.

A finger rose to push Rude's glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Due to the heat, the glasses seemingly enjoyed to take advantage of sweat's lubrication and slide down to the end of his nose. Oh well, there wasn't much he could do about it really, other than push them back up when they happened to fall. It was then he realised the President was still rambling on. Rufus' lectures could go on for hours now, normally repeating over and over, so it was rather easy to simply 'space out' during the majority of it. The worst thing was, if he asked you what he said, you could still pretty much repeat it back word for word, just because he'd given you the same lecture for the past three days.

"Let's just see what happens, boss. It's all we can do, right?" Reno attempted reasoning with the blond, but it was no use it seemed.

"All we can do? Well, for starters, I could send you out there to dig all day in attempts of finding all of the materia." which he most definately would, no questions asked. Of course, in this heat, it would probably kill both Rude and Reno before any sort of accomplishment was made. Not like the President really cared much at that moment, but still. It was vaguely inhumane.

"Boss, we were just trying to help." Rude said, the first thing he'd said the whole 'meeting'.

"Well you're not." he grumbled. "There are many who dislike Shin-Ra still, so Corel wouldn't have much trouble finding people for a means of retaliation."

Rude nodded, and Reno made a sound somewhat relevant to 'hmph'.

o0o0o0o

A shrill gasp snapped Cloud out of his thoughts. "MATERIAAAA!" The voice obviously belonged to Yuffie. Not only because she was currently squealing because of materia, but because no other person there, not even Tifa, could manage a squeal that high.

"What the hell's got yer Chocobo's runnin'?!" and, of course, that was Cid. It... really wasn't hard to tell that either. Not only was he one of the loudest people on the airship, aside from Barret, but he was always the first to respond to Yuffie's sqwaking, no matter what it was about.

"Ciiiiiiiiid!!" the ninja all but leaped out of the cabin and launched herself at the Captain, dealing a fair amount of nuzzles to the man's cheek. "Can we got to Corel? Can we, can we, can weee?!"

Cloud couldn't help the small laugh that spilled from overly pouty lips. It was hot, damnit! That was more than enough reason to be pouting. Despite the fact that they were in the air, travelling at a fairly good speed, there was absolutely no wind reaching him.

"Why in the hell would we go te Corel?!" came Cid's bellowed response.

"Because there's materia!!"

"What?!"

"There's materia!!"

Cid shook his head. "Why would I care?!"

Yuffie pouted. "Ciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddd!"

The argument went on much like that for a good twenty minutes, around in circles, before Cid finally agreed.

"FINE!!" His yell was loud enough for everyone to hear it, even Tifa, who had been sleeping in the cabin. Of course she had thought something bad was going on, which it was for arguments between the two never resulted in the both of them being happy, so she came tearing out of the cabin.

"What is going on?!" Oh shits. Pissed off bartender that, no pun intended, really knew how to pack a punch.

Yuffie and Cid stopped their banter instantly, the ninja having let go of the man and scooted a good three meters away. Tifa, her hair dissheveled and her previously grumpy mood not yet dissipated, glared at the two. Food poisoning was never a good thing and thankfully no one, aside from the brunette, had eaten any. Never trust Barret's cooking. Never.

Cloud's eyes shifted away from the bickering and over to, you guessed it, Vincent. He was just standing there, looking off into the distance. How he could stand the heat wearing the clothing he did downright baffled the blond, for he could barely stand the few layers he had, let alone Vincent's countless ones.

For a moment, Cloud blocked out all of the sounds around him, the only thing registering in his mind being how downright gorgeous the dark haired man was, even when he happened to not be facing the blond. Cloud shook his head, hand wiping the sweat off of his face. Gods it was hot.

After what was probably a half hour of arguing, Cid presented himself to those on deck. "We're goin' to Corel so Yuffie can git her Materia an' leave my poor ears alone!" that was the only annoucement that would be given before he turned back to his previous position in front of the steering contraption.

Crimson eyes turned to look at the strange man, lips parted just slightly. 'What a moron.' such was his only thought before his eyes found a certain blond he didn't quite mind looking at. The poor ex-SOLDIER was currently sprawled on the deck, which probably happened some time before Cid told the crew where they were going, and it was simply fucking adorable. A smile crept across the man's full lips as he closed the distance between him and the spikey haired blond.

"Hot?" was the only word of greeting Vincent allowed to escape those lips. Of course, if his heart had any control of his motor skills he would have ended up saying a whole lot more.

Cloud jumped slightly and looked up at Vincent, a small pink blush spreading across his cheeks and over the bridge of his nose. "Ah... unbearably." he somehow managed to ward off the pout that threatened at the corners of his lips. Just barely, however.

The ebony haired man couldn't resist the small chuckle. "Perhaps you should go into the shade?"

Cloud gave an exasperated look. "What shade?!" he all but whined. This, of course, gained him a raised eyebrow and several rather confused looks. The heat had to be getting to him. That was the only thing that could explain it.

Vincent sank down to sit beside the blond, smiling lightly at him. "You're going to get a heat stroke." he said simply, that cold golden claw reaching to be placed ever so gently on the blond's forehead. Heat stroke was definately not something he'd ever wish upon Cloud; not now, not ever. Who cares if his soft side was showing by his actions... he'd always had a soft heart for the ex-SOLDIER, whether it showed or not.

The blush darkened slightly, though it could have easily been blamed on the sun. With Cloud's bare skin, it was more than possible for him to get a burn. Way more than possible. In either case, with his stomach doing a small sommersault, Cloud raised his hand to place it on the quickly heating claw. It was a rather cute scene, of course, if one had bothered to look. Tifa had slumped back into the cabin, grumbling about incosiderately loud morons, Cid was grumbling something along the lines of annoying ninjas, Yuffie was giddy and materia spazzing and. Well everyone else was dying from heat exhaustion it seemed... especially RedXIII. No one would notice a damned thing.

Vincent had his own wave of happiness as Cloud's hand moved to touch against the cold metal. Of course, along with the happiness from the blond touching him came the sadness of where that touch was. His sin is what stopped him from actually feeling that surprisingly gentle touch. The regret swelled in his throat, threatening to suffocate him but then... he smiled. At utmost true, damned near pure smile; and it caused Cloud's heart to skip several beats.

"Y'know. Vincent." blue eyes slipped shut, a smile of his own brushing across those lips. "You look a lot better when you smile." Well. He looked great all the time but... well. That smile was simply breath-taking.

Another soft chuckle was given. "As do you." that metal arm moved, crimson eyes watching Cloud's face for any sort of reaction. A blush, followed by a pout, caused Vincent's stomach to flip, doing a rather happy sommersault. He knew damned well that he was in love with the blond, but he didn't expect such a simple thing to cause such a fierce reaction.

Cloud forced his eyes to open, staring up at the blue sky. "Vincent..." the blond shivered slightly at the mere mention of the man's name. "can I tell you something?"

Vincent blinked, those eyes resting on Cloud's. "I don't see why not." he responded, his voice sounding much more choked than he had wanted it to. He was getting ahead of himself. But gods, it was so hard not to.

Cloud sat up looking at Vincent, biting his bottom lip. "I..." he froze. His stomach felt like it had about a million butterflies circling his abdomen, some trying to make him sick. He was so nervous, and it was completely unlike him. For some reason, some unknown, be goddamned reason... he honestly was going to tell Vincent that he loved him. That he loved the hell right out of the beautiful, ebony-haired man. But... of course he couldn't. He had even known he couldn't, so really the attempt at doing so was rather pointless.

Vincent blinked yet again, crimson eyes staring patiently into the gorgeous blue ones. For a moment it was a glorious silence, almost peaceful one in which they were both allowed to lose themselves in the depths of the other's eyes. That, of course, wasn't going to last for very long. A good deal of squealing signified their arrival at Corel, which meant it was about time for them to all get off of that ship. Saved by the squeal? No, not really. Cloud had wanted so badly to tell Vincent that he downright adored him...

"Cloud! Vinnieee! Come on, let's gooo!" The bouncing ninja squealed, teeth digging in to her bottom lip. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" and off she went, bouncing and singing and... really just being Yuffie.

A heaved sigh signalled that Cloud was getting up, no matter how awkwardly he did so. He stretched and made it a point to look away from the ebony haired man.

"I love you." he said, causing a good flip in his own stomach.

o0o0o0o

Cloud's POV:

His eyes are pretty. Pretty... that word doesn't even begin to describe Vincent's eyes... I want to tell him I love him. I really do. It shouldn't be too hard, really it shouldn't but gods it is!

"Y'know Vincent. You look a lot better when you smile." It didn't even sound like my voice. It sounded too happy, too sure. Then he laughed... or chuckled really, and that alone caused my insides to turn in bliss.

"As do you." Smooth voice, making mine sound like a damned toad. But the words he'd said. Wait, I smile a lot damnit, so how can he say-- I know I looked like a child; I had to. My cheeks were hot, my lip definately stuck out in a rather wimpy pout. Smart move, he'll never fall in love with a damned child, you idiot! I felt like smacking myself, but that wouldn't do any good at all. I forced my eyes open, but I couldn't seem to look at him.

"Vincent..." my voice was working without my brain's permission; I hadn't meant to say a damned thing!! Still... saying his name was like taking a hit of ecstacy alone... "Can I ask you something?" again, my voice sounded horrible in comparison to Vincent's.

He blinked, staring into my eyes. How can he keep eye contact so damned easily?! Damnit, his eyes make me want to melt, and I almost have to force mine away from his... but god.

"I don't see why not." that was odd. His voice was still amazing but... it sounded a little more strangled.

"I..." I what? I fucking LOVE YOU, Vincent Valentine. Notice me, ravish me, take me here and now I don't fucking care just Make. Me. Yours.

It seemed I'd morphed into a fish, for my mouth definately felt like a fish's looked. Opening and closing; it must have been downright disgusting! I wanted to run but... I'm not a girl. I won't run away I'll just... what? Bear the goddamned silence? By the gods he was still looking at me. Still patient, all of his attention was mine. Mine and no one elses, just for that moment. I was lost in those eyes... I really wish he'd tell me what gave those eyes such a painful stare... yet made them so damned gorgeous.

One moment I was staring into the most fucking beautiful eyes I'd ever seen, the next I had a splitting headache, and I wouldn't be surprised if my ear was bleeding, from a squeal that was unmistakably Yuffie's. Goddamn it! I was so close to telling him... yeah. Right. I'm too much of a chicken shit.

What was she saying? I know she'd taken Vincent's attention from me, stealing those eyes away with one squeal of 'Vinnie'. Damnit, if anyone can call him Vinnie, it should be... the one he loves. Funny, she actually looked halfway womanly from my laying down position, considering I was laying on my back but... oh. She wants us to get off now...

I sighed rather audibly and moved to get up. Well. That didn't work too well. My legs were numb from the position I'd been sitting in, and I could no longer feel my ass. My back hurt, my arms were cramped from using them as pillows... in other words, my getting up was going to look downright retarded. Or pathetic... or both for that matter.

I somehow managed to get up, apparently managing to not step on Vincent or trip and fall into his lap or... trip and fall in general. As far as I'm concerned I did rather well, damnit! I had to stretch though. The kink in my back was really starting to bug me. I couldn't look at Vincent while I did this, and along with my stretch and the ohsorelieving crack of my back, I somehow managed to utter an "I love you."

My stomach flipped immediately after I said it, and I didn't dare look back at him. Ohgodno. What was I thinking?! My heart was beating so damned fast, so damned hard in my chest, that I didn't doubt it could burst right through my chest. Why... why wasn't he responding? Not even... a gasp or anything. Shit... I fucked it all up... didn't I? I felt the heavy, sinking sting of regection plunging into my stomach and the only thing going through my mind was 'you better not fucking puke, Cloud'.

I couldn't think of anything else, and I couldn't stay there... so I ran. I fucking ran. Past Yuffie, past Tifa, past everyone and away from Vincent. I couldn't stand it, the burning feeling of bile rising upward and into my throat, seeming to stop as soon as it got to clog my throat. Regected... like I knew I would be.

I'm so stupid.

o0o0o0o

Vincent's POV:

I felt my heart plunge into the depths of my stomach. Cloud couldn't look at me to say it... but he said it. The words I've wanted, I've needed to say for so long, and he said it. He beat me to it but... the best thing was Cloud loved me (or said he did anyway). All I could think of was Cloud loves me I couldn't help but feel selfish. He loves me, me, me.

I couldn't say anything. I... I was shocked. My heart shattered when he ran away, why was he running? The... silence. Vincent, you are a moron. I wanted to run after him, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. Tifa... why would she stop me from going after him? She'd always liked Cloud, right...? So maybe she stopped me because of that. Either way, I didn't rightly care at this moment.

"I need to go after him." the urgency in my voice, had I not been so desperate to find Cloud, would have been embarrassing. I didn't wait for her to let go and merely tore myself from her grasp. I ran in the direction he'd gone, looking for that blond hair that, despite the spikes, always looked so soft.

I have to find him.

o0o0o0o

Grumble, grumble, grumble. Bitch, bitch, bitch. That's all the redhead did as he scrubbed the fourtieth toilet in the building.

"How can you NOT be disgusted?!" he damned near shrieked as the toilet beside him flushed, indicating that Rude had finished his toilet and was moving onto the next.

"It's work." his response was simple, as it usually was with Rude. Granted, that received a good bit of eye-rolling from Reno.

"Ruuuuuude It's disgusting! This isn't right, even for punishment!" he pouted, causing the softest of chuckles to slip past Rude's lips.

"Get used to it Reno, we've got another 54 floors to go, an average of 18 toilets per floor."

"Don't remind me..." Reno's voice was meek and obviously revolted. The sound of the toilet flushing told Rude that it was about time to move on to the next floor; this was the last bathroom on this particular floor.

"It could have been worse." glasses were pushed back up his nose after his attempt at consoling Reno, which went completely down the drain.

"I'd rather be out in the sun than washing toilets that had old men's sweaty, stinking, musty asses on them!" he whined yet again, slumping out of the stall with a rather dissheveled appearance. Hair was slightly messy, shirt was untucked and sleeves rolled up, the front of his pants still wet from when one of the toilets overflowed, which he had to fix afterward. Turns out there was a condom clogging the pipes... which was disgusting in itself.

Rude shook his head lightly at the redhead and picked up his cleaning supplies. "Come on, we're done on this floor." he said, his sleeves likewise rolled up, though he didn't look as messy as Reno did. Partly because the front of his pants wasn't wet with toilet water and his shirt was still tucked in. Leave it to Rude to still manage to look somewhat dignified while on toilet-duty.

They trudged up the stairs, because Rufus had taken away their lift cards to make their experience worse, to the next floor and entered the next bathroom. Heaving a sigh, they got to work on the toilets, scrubbing and flushing, scrubbing and flushing.

Bitching and grumbling, it was all the same with Reno.

o0o0o0o

I love you.

The words echoed in his head over and over as he searched damned near desperately for the blond. He couldn't have gone too far... but that was what he'd thought over an hour ago as he began searching the small little camp known as Corel.

It took a good deal longer for Vincent to finally accept the fact that Cloud simply was not there... Crimson eyes widened as he finally happed upon the realization: The Golden Saucer. Where else would he go? The tram car was faster travel, and once he got to the Saucer, Dio would surely provide a ride if Cloud asked for it.

...Shit. Vincent all but ran to the tram car, ignoring the angry yells of the people who had been in the lineup before him. Those who deserved the ride, those who deserved much more than he did... but the love of his life was there. He couldn't help his selfishness as he pushed himself in the car with those who already sat there, ignoring the almost frightened stares he got. By the gods, he had to find Cloud, and he was about to do anything to do so.

Damnit, Cloud... I love you so much.

o0o0o0o

Blue eyes darted from side to side the moment he walked into the Golden Saucer. He knew Vincent was going to figure out where he went sooner or later, and despite actually wanting the ebony haired man to find him, he wanted to make a game of it. Find the Cloud, get your prize kind of thing.

Dio's greeting was a loud yell of "Heyyy, blondie, Haven't seen yah in a while! Where you been?!"

Cloud flashed the smallest of smiles. "Hey, Dio. I'm uh... hiding from someone let's say. It's a game... can you tell me a good... kinda romantic place to hide?"

"Romantic? You tryin' to impress a gal, lad?"

A blush flitted across his cheeks. "Well... sorta I suppose."

That blush caused a wide grin to spread across Dio's face. "She mus' be a real catch!" he said all too loudly for Cloud's liking. "C'mon, I know where we can go, kid!" he said with a chuckle and before Cloud could say another damned thing; he was being dragged off into the depths of the Golden Saucer.

A real catch indeed, if Cloud could even say that. With all technicalities, he hadn't exactly caught Vincent yet... in his mind anyway. Hell, he didn't even know if the man was going to come looking for him or not. Fear bubbled like acid in his stomach, the feeling that he wasn't going to come at all threatening to make him sick.

Oh Gods... please tell me he'll come...

o0o0o0o

A/N: I cut it off short for a reason. Not because I've got writer's block, but because I just kinda think this is a good spot to stop. For various reasons I might not get the next chapter up so quickly (which really, you guys are used to and I thank you for still sticking with me :D). I'm starting the 15th chapter right away, so I HOPE it's ready to be posted soon. I know this is a really short chapter, but there's a lot of crap going on in my life right now and I just really don't have the time to sit down and type anymore, no matter how much I really want to TT.

Read and Review, and don't forget to check my Bio for updates, or add me to one of your messenger's so that you can ask me in person how I'm doing on it. Also you can bully me into writing XD