She had scrubbed her nails, shaved her legs, and towel dried her hair as much as possible, all while reminding herself that she, Aria Marx, was an able, confident woman. The words fell flatly from her whispering lips as she hung her towel back on the silver rod. Her fingers drifted over the black towel that Vincent had used hours before.
She had thought through every possible situation, every scenario that could await her on the other side of the door. Her plan was set. She looked once more in the mirror, pinched her cheeks for a light blush, licked her lips, and tousled her hair. It was the dim glow in her darkened eyes that finally solidified her confidence. Biting her bottom lip, she switched off the light, turned back to the door, and pulled it open.
Vincent had awoken, and sat up on the couch, half-watching the television. The sound of the door swinging open caused him to turn off the set and stand.
"I think we should consider heading," he turned to face her and stopped dead in his tracks.
Aria stood across the room from him, wearing nothing but a smirk. He did not know what to say. They watched each other for a painfully long moment, searching for signs in one another's eyes. Finally, she exhaled, and walked into the bedroom.
As he entered the dark room, he did not need a lamp to see what awaited him. Aria lay on top of the white comforter, her right leg slightly bent. He wasted no time closing the distance between them, resting his left knee on the edge of the bed and leaning over her, an arm on each side of her wild mane of damp hair. Her lips were warm and dry, inviting him into a kiss that deepened quickly. She allowed his tongue past her lips, gracefully bending to his will. He was pleasantly surprised.
Gone was the dominating, aggressive woman he had encountered months before. In her place was a softer, warmer, though equally bold Aria. She pulled gently at his clothing while he explored the sweet warmth behind her lips. Knowing she was unarmed, he eased into her nimble fingers. Easily, this time, she unclasped the three buckles at his collar, exposing his neck. Her fingers then snaked around the bared skin and into his hair, pulling at the ever-present red fabric headband. While freeing his hair, she sat up, and he sat down on the bed. Her legs bent to her side, propelling her up onto her knees. More forcefully, she pressed her lips into his. Their teeth clashed as they fought for dominance of the kiss, drawing out a quiet, throaty laugh from Aria that sent chills down Vincent's spine. As she pulled open his shirt, her lips traveled the length of his neck slowly, lingering long enough for her to taste every inch of his skin.
"I've thought a lot about that night, you know" she said huskily into his neck. He knew which night, and replied by running his hand through her damp hair.
"It wasn't right," she continued in between languid kisses across his throat. He breathed deeply, blood rising in his cheeks for the second time under her attention.
"I mean, we both got what we wanted, but..." she said, her voice lowering to a hot whisper against his skin, "you deserve better. I was selfish. I'll make it up to you." He was not sure if her words were a promise or a warning, but either way, he found them intoxicating.
Seconds later, his shirt lay strewn across the floor as his body lay strewn across the bed. She had showered the smooth skin of his neck in kisses and light nibbles, and moved on to his chest, where her tongue ran lightly along every scar she could find. At each end of each fine line, her lips met his sensitive skin, sealing the sentiment. This was no fight for control, but a much more personal affair. His right hand rested on the warm skin of her back as he allowed his head to fall back on the bed for a moment. His eyes closed as he sighed heavily, enjoying her affection.
After several minutes of exploring his torso, Aria's fingers delicately unbuckled his heavy pants and pulled them away. After dropping the clothing on the floor, she placed her knee on the edge of the bed and slid her body up his own as she leaned in for another electrifying kiss. His pelvis bucked slowly underneath her as his hands ran the length of her bare sides, then he pulled her in tighter against him. In this moment, as he relived the sound of Reno shooting her legs, the smell of her blood in the snow, the sight of her crawling and clawing her way to him, he felt as though he could not be close enough to her. The realization of his true cause for staying with her, the fact that he had fallen deeply in love with this woman, and that she was physically returning his affections pulled the breath from his lungs.
She gently nipped at the skin at the crook of his neck, her hair falling over his chest. His right hand ran through the length of it smoothly. He opened his eyes, looking at the thick hair in his hand as she began moving back down his stomach. His body tensed. Silver.
Without the strength to look at the changed form on top of him, Vincent let his head fall back and squeezed his eyes closed, praying to uncountable gods that Jenova would let them have this moment.
Sharp teeth scraped against his hip bone as his last remaining garment was pulled away. Upon raising his head once more, he found a sight far more disturbing than Lucrecia. Sephiroth looked up the length of his body with seductively hooded eyes and a dangerous smirk. Vincent's already speeding heart felt as though it would explode, panic rising in his blood.
This is an illusion. Aria is right there. This is only an illusion, became his mantra. He could not fight the groan that escaped his throat as a tongue slowly dragged up his length.
"Vincent...I hope you're grounded enough to handle this." Cloud's words replayed tauntingly in his head. Another glance downward found the same terrifying figure's left hand gripping his hip while the right languidly pumped him. He throbbed; his body betrayed his eyes.
The torturous pleasure continued while he focused intently on breaking through the illusion. With his eyes closed tightly, he brought up every image of Aria he could possibly remember. They flooded in: Grey Haus, the Harvest, standing in his makeshift apartment in Edge, Nibel Cave, Tifa's bar, Tifa's guest room, saying goodbye in Gongaga, Costa del Sol, ritualistically pacing the Forgotten City, fearlessly watching Chaos emerge in the snow...
He pieced her back together with memories of her voice.
"'I got soul, but I'm not a soldier.'"
"I don't know how to not be running."
"I'm taking on my new role...as guardian."
"Stay with me tonight."
"You've been awfully quiet..."
"Maybe...you were overcome with some animal need...to protect what's yours."
"Why are you helping me?"
"So, you've seen me. Think you can even compare?"
"Survival."
"Think of me dancing my ass off under the midnight moon."
"I'm a Turk."
"This seat taken?"
His mind was saturated with her. His thoughts had no room for anything else. When he opened his eyes again, bright lavender orbs sparkled back at him.
Tension gone from his body and replaced with a dangerous mixture of confidence and lust, he pulled her higher up onto the bed and traded positions.
His hair then spread out over her stomach as his tongue traced memories of scars, now perfectly smoothed over. He lightly sank his teeth into her ribs, causing her to laugh and writhe underneath him. The sound of her laughter was musical, and curled his lips upward. He repeated the gesture at her protruding hip bone, eliciting another writhing bout of laughter. The laughter quickly lowered into sensual hisses and sighs as he centralized his playful licks and nips.
Aria's back arched as his hands ran smoothly down the inside of her thighs, one soft and human, the other mechanically cold. They then slid up her sides, leaving light marks on her skin. Her right hand guided his left up the center of her chest, then slowly across her neck, sharp fingers splayed around her throat, his golden index finger leading up to her chin. The cool metal against her hot skin sent a shiver through her. Feeling her reaction, Vincent tried to pull his hand away, but she held it tighter. It glittered against her skin in the dim light.
The hand was not devoid of all feeling. He sensed the smoothness of her skin, and felt the warmth of her mouth as her lips closed around the wicked length of his finger. A wave of foreign emotion, purified desire, passed through him at the sight. The fleeting feeling returned with a vengeance: he had, indeed, met his match.
In love, Aria had proven just as emotionally distant as the man was now daring to line himself up with her. She had loved her time with him. She had loved his company, then his assistance, and eventually, his protection. She had constantly reminded herself that she was alone in the world, and could not risk giving herself over to the wrong person. Unlike Vincent's fateful past, Aria's had left her with no one to force her toward the light. Instead, the light came to her.
He sank gently into her, their bodies making the ultimate connection. She closed her eyes, and swam in the bliss of his control. Memories of her own came to light, flashing quickly behind her eyelids: Looking down the barrel of his pistol at Grey Haus, the light pressure of his forehead leaning into her kiss at the Harvest, his allowance of her face painting, the feeling of his fingers in her hair at Nibel Cave, the feeling of his claws scratching down her metal shoulder blade in need, giving up months of his life to shadow her in the Forgotten City, stepping in front of Reno's gun, letting Chaos take over, the surprising allowance of her resting on him only hours ago.
As she came closer and closer to the unavoidable truth, her arms wrapped under his and around his back, pulling him tightly against her. Each thrust drew breath from her that now landed perfectly at the base of his neck, sending electricity down his spine. He rested his elbows on either side of her chest, his hands tangling in her hair in an attempt to be even closer to her. Listening to his ragged breathing and occasionally musical groans, his voice played for her by memory again:
"You're incredible."
"You carry on. Day by day, you wait patiently..."
"I'm so sorry I let this happen."
"I'm just here."
"What do you want me to do?"
"We both know you can take care of yourself."
"You're strong... but you're only one person."
"You're decorated."
"Survival."
"You seem to be quite the hero around here."
"How do you know my name?"
Caught up in the intensity of her memories and the overwhelmingly pleasurable movements of his hips, she whispered his name with each loss of breath. The sound of it both weakened him and drove him mad. He raised his torso again and looked down into her violet eyes. She raised her hand to push obsidian hair from his face and reveal his own striking features. His eyebrows were slightly drawn, both in pleasure and an unnameable sensation. She bit her bottom lip, feeling the same mixture of ecstasy and fear. As they watched each other's faces, in this single moment, they each saw identical rarities in the other: vulnerability.
A smile broke out on her lips and she pulled him back down, kissing him wildly. Her long legs wrapped around his waist, his skin still cool against her own.
The heat of her skin drawing him in tested his control. The moment she dug her nails into his back, he could hold onto his few remaining inhibitions no longer. His eyes flashed yellow as his body crashed into hers. Welcoming the intensity, Aria arched her back involuntarily, her arms raising over her head on the bed.
Vincent buried his face against her neck, baring his teeth against her skin, his mind disconnected, clouded, animalistically under the control of his body. He felt her tensing underneath him, no longer whispering his name, but baring her own teeth to the ceiling, her chest rising and remaining high for several blissful moments while her body froze underneath.
His pace quickened still, adrenaline transforming the pain of their bones crashing together into pleasure. A wave of warmth washed over him, followed by genuine rapture, and a blinding euphoria.
His muscles weakened instantly, but he refused to collapse on top of her, his shoulders trembling as he held himself up. Still catching her breath, Aria saw his struggle and smiled just before pulling him down on top of her, allowing him to relax. He melted onto her, his form easily adopting the shape of her curves while they both came back to reality together.
As his breathing regularized, she turned her face into his hair, nuzzling the top of his head.
"Vincent..." she started, her voice still low and raspy. "I don't want to be a cliche...but I think..."
"I'm in love with you, Aria" he told her neck bluntly, taking the uncomfortable first step for her. She laughed at his surprisingly factual and yet relaxed tone.
"...I'm in love with you, too. So, so hopelessly."
He slid off to her left side and lay on his back. She curled in on him, resting her head on his chest, tracing scars lazily with her fingertips. His left hand rested at his side, opposite of her. She reached across his stomach and pulled it up onto his chest, where she intertwined her slender fingers with his metal ones. He looked down at that image for several moments, a smile fighting for control of his features. The potential smile lost out to her steady breathing, softly drawing him into sleep.