Chains of Hope
By: Yoshimara
Through-out this fic, there are random stanzas of songs that I just picked up off my computer. Probably too long of a list, so if you want the names of some of them, let me know and I will send the list to you. And also, I do not own FFVII, any lyrics posted in this story (unless otherwise specified), but I do own the scenario and any other characters that show in the story so do not use without my personal permission. And on that note, enjoy!
Chapter 25
It was close to Noon before Vincent finally woke up, and Cloud was sitting on the couch when his Master made his way out of the hallway. Hearing the footsteps, the blonde looked up from his position to see the man standing there, almost unsure of what to do. Rising to his feet, he made his way to Vincent and touched his cheek softly, "Good Morning, Vincent." Crimson looked into blue as a faint smile appeared on those pale lips, "Good Morning, Cloud." His heart lightened slightly as he lead the older man to sitting down at the kitchen table. Withdrawing away long enough to heat up the omlette he had made earlier that morning, he set it down in front of Vincent with a tall glass of orange juice and some silverware. "Here you are, a nice breakfast." Sitting down next to him as he began to eat, Cloud just watched him silently, searching for any hint of last night still remaining.
Silence, except for the occasional scraping of the force on the plate, spread through the room and hung lazily above them. "Did you sleep alright?" The blonde asked quietly, almost afraid that if he spoke the older man would revert back to tears. Vincent looked up from his meal to look into those blue eyes and nodded once, "Yes," he said after swallowing what he had in his mouth, "the first time in months, actually. And you?" Cloud smiled gently, partly out of relief, "Same here." When the ex-Turk was finished, Cloud picked up the plate but left the half-full glass of juice behind as he set the dish into the sink. Beginning to wash it, he stole a glance at his Master to see him glancing lazily out of the window next to him, his chin in his palm as his elbow rested on the table. Turning his attention back to the dishes he had used this morning, he focused on the task before him and put them away after drying them thoroughly.
Arms wrapped around his waist and he looked over his shoulder to see Vincent hugging him from behind. "Cloud?" came his voice, soft as it always had been. "Let's sit on the couch—please?" Cloud nodded and dried his hands before taking the ex-Turk's in his own and lead him into the living room. Sitting down next to Vincent, he felt arms wrap around him and his own arms snaking around the older man's waist while still being wary of his wound. The blonde's head nuzzled it's way to his chest, curling his legs up to his chest slightly as Vincent sat with his legs crossed Indian-style, his arms loosening slightly when the blonde moved closer. Breathing in deeply, Cloud smelled the sweet fragrance of cinnamon and musk, the scent he cherished the most and closed his eyes. Fingers numbly traced circles on his lower back, causing a purr to erupt from his throat. I wish there was more I could do, he thought as a pain throbbed from his stomach and he fluttered his eyes gently before settling on closing them again. The serenity of his mind seemed to overwhelm him as he drifted off to sleep, his free hand tangling its fingers with Vincent's other hand, who soon followed suit into dreams.
A few hours later, Cloud opened his eyes to the sound of his cellphone blaring music of a woman's voice singing sadly, "This is me forever, one of the lost ones. The one without a name, without an honest heart as compass." Shifting so he was sitting upright, he picked up his cellphone from the coffee table that he had forgotten he had placed there and answered it with a tired voice, "Hello?" "Cloud?" a woman's voice came on the other line softly. He blinked his eyes a few times to gain focus and furrowed his brows, "Kei? What can I do for you?" His blue eyes looked next to him to see Vincent had awoken as well, looking at him with tired crimson eyes. "Are you alright?" Cloud stifled a yawn as he shook his head some, "Just really tired, to be honest. Vincent came home last night, and both of us have been catching up on much needed sleep." He reached his hand out and grabbed the ex-Turk's hand in his, squeezing it gently to receive one back. "Oh," he heard her soft voice say before a muffled "Jet quit it" came from the phone.
"I don't think I should do deliveries today, Kei," Cloud said with a bit of concern in his voice, remembering those tears on his face,"Vincent really needs me right now. Is that okay?" "Yeah that's fine. I'll make one of the other boys do it, no problem. Make sure he's doing okay, alright?" Cloud smiled slightly and thanked her before hanging up and curled up against Vincent once more. "You called into work?" The blonde nodded absently as he covered another yawn. As soon as it passed, he looked up to his lover with a tired smile on his lips, "You need me more than some old lady that wants love potions." A soft chuckle reached his ears and made him shiver out of habit. The blonde reached behind them and brought down the blanket that he had bought a few months back when the heater went out during Christmas. It held random dragon designs in pure crimson on a black background, and he laid it across both of them, snuggling underneath it comfortably. "Don't you think we should go back to bed then, Cloud?" The blonde lazily shook his head and mumbled as his eyes drifted close, being covered in his warmth, "I'm fine here, unless you want to move?" "Hm, not really." The blonde smiled as he felt sleep take over him once again, a hand brushing through his locks lazily to show the raven-haired man had began to fall asleep again as well.
When the blonde opened his eyes again, he saw that it was late afternoon and he was in the confines of his bedroom. Blinking a few times to clear the sleep out of his eyes, his body felt very refreshed as he slowly sat up with an arch of his back to stretch the muscles. He sighed gently after he relaxed his spine and looked next to him to see Vincent was already awake, but no sign of him in the room with him. Furrowing his brow, he slid out of bed and walked about the apartment for any sign of the raven-haired man. After checking the bathroom and living room, he walked towards the den and peeked his head around the corner to see his Master sitting in a chair comfortably in his own clothes again and reading a book, a glass of juice next to him on the small table. A small smile curled up on his lips as he stepped inside silently. "Vincent?" The blonde said softly, reaching his side as he wrapped his arms around the ex-Turk in a loving gesture.
Crimson eyes looked up towards his blue Mako eyes and seemed to look clearer than they had earlier. Brushing their lips together gently, the brunette had set his book down on the table and pulled the blonde into his lap. Purring softly at the show of affection, Cloud nuzzled into his lover's neck, loving the feel of his skin against his own. Gently, he raised his fingertips to graze circles along Vincent's chest, the heavy cloth seemed to tingle underneath his fingers. "Are you feeling better, Master?" Cloud whispered, looking up into the raven-haired man's face to search for anything out of the ordinary. Blue met crimson as the blonde's fingers trailed up his chest and to his jaw, trailing along the skin he found there in a soothing manner. "A little bit, yes," came the quiet reply and Cloud nodded slightly, laying his head back in the crook where his neck meets his shoulder. "Zack called for you, by the way." Blinking a few times, he furrowed his brow in slight confusion. "What time is it?" Cloud asked softly, sitting up again as he looked around the room for the clock that sat on the desk. "Almost time for dinner," Vincent whispered, placing a kiss on Cloud's ear gently.
"Oh, shit!" The blonde cursed under his breath, his eyes squeezing shut. Dammit! Zack's gonna kill me, he thought as skilled hands wrapped around his middle and pulled him closer to the warm chest that he enjoyed so much. "What's wrong, little one?" Blinking a few times, he sighed and looked into Vincent's eyes once again, "I forgot I have practice with Zack." Vincent shook his head with a faint smile on his lips, "I already spoke with him. He said that he's going to be going on a mission this week so practice is canceled." The blonde hitched a breath for a moment, taking in the words he just heard that tickled his ear before slowly letting it out. "Oh," was all he said, closing his eyes again with a slight blush across his cheeks. Mentally scolding himself for the slight outburst, his fingers fell to the side of Vincent's neck, massaging the soft skin that lay there.
Silence spread between them, just basking in the warmth of each other's company. Cloud opened his eyes slowly at the feel of fingers on his back, lazily stroking the skin and he shivered slightly. Looking up into those eyes he memorized so long ago, he smiled as they had softened slightly upon their locked gaze. Leaning up, he kissed the older man's cheek and slowly withdrew from his comfortable lap. "I'm going to make some dinner, Vincent," Cloud said as he began to walk out of the room, "I'll let you know when it's ready." And with that, he left the den and wandered into the kitchen, the tingling feeling of those fingers on his spine still present. As soon as he had opened one of the cabinets, a knock resounded on the front door. Who--? He thought and went to answer the door. Opening it revealed a very exhausted Kei, her silver hair seeming slightly disheveled in its normal ponytail. Wearing a thick black trench coat that ended at her knees, her trademark flared jeans seemed to just peek out from underneath the cloth. Fingerless black gloves were on her hands a pair of sunglasses on her nose that seemed to hang on the bridge of her nose. A few tears in her coat revealed a dark thick sweater underneath. Was that a coil of rope hanging off of her belt?
His blue eyes widened at the sight of the blood splattered on her clothes and his brow furrowed. "Kei? What's the matter?" She shook her head and pushed past him gently as he closed the door behind them. "I just need to use your phone if that's okay?" The blonde nodded and handed her his cellphone. "Are you hurt?" he asked cautiously as he flipped it open and began dialing. "No, I'm fine." Turning her back to him, Cloud saw that the cloth of her coat seemed scuffed and torn, like she was dragged across a badly paved parking lot. Furring his brow tightly in concern, he heard her say into the phone, "Kane? Yeah—bike's broke. Cloud's. Uh-huh. Sore, but fun. Dirty, too." After a short pause, she chuckled slightly before requesting a ride from a few blocks away and hung up. Quickly, her nimble fingers deleted the number from his phone before handing it back to him. "Thanks, Cloud." He nodded absently before they both turned to the front door, pausing when Vincent had emerged from his resting place.
Crimson met crimson as Kei stared at Vincent for a moment, as if registering his presence before smirking playfully, "Hey, ex-Turk. How's it goin'?" The raven-haired man only nodded in acknowledgment before looking towards Cloud, a slender eyebrow raised in a gesture of what is she doing here? Cloud shook his head slightly and bid her good night, closing the door behind the woman after she left. Turning back to his Master, he sighed slightly, his face still holding concern. "Her bike broke down apparently and so she called Kane." Seeming satisfied with the answer, Vincent nodded again and moved over to the couch, taking a seat at the end of it, curling his legs underneath him. Cloud watched him for a moment, confused before walking into the kitchen to continue fixing dinner. Mixing spices, meat, and sauces, he prepared a quick pasta dish before setting the table and setting the glasses out that were filled. I hope she's alright, the blonde thought absently as he served their food.
They ate together in silence, and after awhile, Cloud rose to clean the dishes and the kitchen. Vincent had retreated to the confines of the bedroom, leaving the blonde to finish up his duties before looking out of the window. It was completely dark outside, no stars or moonlight shed through the window and he felt his heart sink. Lost in darkness again, he thought as he made his way into the bedroom with a bath towel in his arms. Grabbing a pair of night pants, he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. After stripping himself of his clothing, he slid into the warmth that streamed from the shower head and sighed exhaustedly. The worrying and past month's strain finally catching up to him. Fluttering his eyelids, he found that the room began to grow out of focus a bit and after lazily washing himself off, he decided he still needed sleep. That's right, that dark voice perked up in the back of his mind, get lazy. Give in to the Sloth that is sin. Raising a slender eyebrow, the blinked a few times. The hell? Shaking his head, he shut the water off and stepped out of the shower.
After toweling himself dry and dressed in his pajamas, he padded into the bedroom and slowly laid himself on the mattress where he saw Vincent reading a book, wearing his trademark Chinese dragon boxers and the bandage around his middle protruded from the waistband as if to taunt the blonde. Rolling onto his side so his back faced the ex-Turk, Cloud stared at the wall as he had so many times before, an arm curled under the pillow. After a few moments, he looked down at himself, taking mental note that his bruises were gone and he inwardly thanked his fast healing ability and closed his blue eyes that held the worry, pain, hurt, and love all at once. Heaving a heavy sigh, he felt himself slipping into the darkness of his mind, barely aware that the light in the room had shut itself off, a sheet pulled itself around him, and a strong arm pulled him closer to a warm body that pressed against his cool skin. In this darkness, there was no sound, no music to lull his soul, no bad dreams to clutch at his heart, no sadness to pluck the strings of his voice; just pure bliss when finally words seemed to echo in a depressive but monotone sound before pushing him over the edge and into the abyss that was sleep: We are chained to forever be put in misery. For our wrongs and pleasures never to be saved, only to be forgotten.
A little bit of fluff and a little bit of angst never hurt anyone, right? And, as my repeated disclaimer has stated, the last italic words are mine, I do own rights to them and no I won't give permission for those. So sorry! I have plenty more 'emo poetry' (as most people call it, which makes no sense to me to be honest) where that came from, so if that little tid-bit did get enjoyed, I'll most likely be using more. :cheer: Anyways, being up for 24 hours again is not fun, don't try it anywhere else but home, kids! Next chapter!