Creatures of Blue and Dark
By Karu Leonnese
Notes: This wouldn't leave my head until I wrote it at 5am. Do with it what thou wilt.
Warnings: Shounen-ai, Cid's language and a bucketload of Vin angst.
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A creature of the dark rain.
It was something he'd come to conclusion about, leaning on the balcony. He figured he should come to grips with it. Nothing he'd done so far was able to change this, and he was losing the ability to keep trying. Maybe he should just give in and stop trying.
Vincent felt something wet his forehead. Startled out of his inner thoughts, he realized his body had begun to move without him telling it to. It was something he was almost getting used to, since his body was only a fifth his own anymore. While he had been on the balcony of the hotel room before, now he had taken the stairs down to stand in the middle of the rainstorm.
He looked up, letting the drops fall on his face, obscuring his vision. He couldn't deny the small amount of comfort he felt from it. This was how he knew. A creature comforted by the dark rain sky.
Above him, in the hotel room, he caught the tail end of a rather long string of obscenities.
A creature of the blue sky.
While he was being so philosophically conclusive, he may as well go all out. His current roommate obviously wasn't in the mood to discuss classification. Cid didn't like storms. They got in the way of the sky he loved so much. He imagined that Cid felt the same way about a clear sky that Vincent felt about a stormy one. They were opposites, after all.
Running his right hand through his now-soaked hair, he froze as a bright streak of lightning flashed across the sky. He waited for a moment, and was rewarded by a deep rumbling thunder.
Upstairs, he heard the window slam shut. He must've left it open after he decided that watching the storm from the inside wasn't good enough. He made a note to apologize for it later. He hated inconveniencing Cid.
Another bolt of lightning distracted him, but he found his attention returning to his friend once the light subsided.
Vincent admired him; he'd known that for awhile. For all his faults, Cid had passion. And drive. He'd worked hard to accomplish his goals, and hadn't let anything stop him from getting what he wanted. Vincent knew he himself lacked passion. He may have had it once, but it was gone now, cut out on that operating table he dreaded so much. Now there was nothing. He was barely even fighting to survive. At first he'd thought revenge would give him a cause. But that left him unfulfilled. And without something to work for, he was lost. Caught in the middle of vast waters, not knowing which way to swim for shore. And he wasn't even sure he had the determination to swim, even if he had such knowledge.
Feel the rain on your skin. He concentrated on the storm. The comfortable chill from the falling rain. The awe each time lightning flashed and the roll of thunder that reverberated deep in his stomach, matching that in the sky. This never ceased, no matter how many storms he was part of, no matter how long he sat in its midst.
Vincent may have been focused on the storm, but his Turk training had never quite left him. The sound of the door upstairs closing softly brought him to attention. He pretended not to notice the footfalls on the stairs. He didn't even look back as they came to a halt behind him.
"What the hell are you doin' out here in the rain?" Cid frowned, crossing his arms against his chest. "Didn't you notice how fuckin' cold it's gettin'?"
Vincent blinked. Honestly, he hadn't. He'd come out here without his cloak, and now that it had been mentioned, he began to feel a sort of prickled chill.
He noticed Cid had left his jacket upstairs as well. "If you're cold, you should go back inside."
Cid shifted his weight to his left leg. "I'm busy tryin' to figure out why the hell you're standin' in the middle of a storm. I really hope you're not tryin' to drown yourself."
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a sheep, Highwind."
"An' I'm not fuckin' shepherd. You wanna clue me in here?"
He found himself unable to fully explain himself. He wasn't sure Cid would understand anyway. "I was…thinking."
The blond rubbed his upper arms in attempt to warm them. "An' you couldn't do that inside?"
"It's…complicated." He finally turned around, ruby eyes leaving the sky to meet blue of the daytime sky. He'd expected those eyes to be narrowed in annoyance or anger, but instead he found them matching his in only curiosity.
"Complicated," the pilot ventured, seeming to look at him and past him simultaneously, "like how you look up an' it makes you feel better?"
Vincent started. He hadn't expected that either. "Something to that effect, yes."
Cid started back toward the stairs. Vincent found himself following, his present company more interesting than the rain. Back upstairs, Cid rested his slighter frame on the balcony rail. Vincent followed suit.
Shaking a cigarette out of the pack stashed in his goggles, the blond lit it and inhaled a few times before elaborating further. "I get like that a lot too, 'Though not so much in the rain. Too fuckin' wet for me." He looked over at Vincent with a lopsided grin.
"I find storms quite soothing. But go on."
"I guess…sometimes it helps me think. So I get where you're comin' from. But if you get sick from dazin' out in the cold rain all night, Tif'll have both our fuckin' heads."
Vincent pushed a few wet strands of black hair uselessly out of his eyes. "I think that's the closest to concern I've heard from you, Hghwind."
"An' that's the closest to a joke I've heard from you, Valentine," he retorted.
Vincent laughed despite himself. Cid looked pleased.
"A creature of the blue sky…" the black-haired man muttered before he'd even realized he'd spoken.
"What?"
"Nothing," he replied quickly, turning away to look at the sky once more. He couldn't stop the blood from rushing to his face, and he cursed himself for blurting things out.
Cid was silent for a moment. He snuffed the spent cigarette out on the rail, looking at the other with a slight smile playing on his lips.
"I kinda like the sound of that."
Vincent felt his face flushing deeper, competing with his eyes for the brightest colour. "I…I was just thinking aloud…"
Cid leaned his chin on his hand, looking genuinely interested. "What were you talkin' about?"
Vincent didn't answer. He focused everything into not turning his head.
"Sorry. 'M sure it was probably personal. Just tell me to fuck off an' I'll drop it," he looked slightly embarrassed himself.
Silence for a beat. Then, in a quite voice barely heard above the rain. "It was…you."
"Me?'
"I was…referring to you, Highwind."
He was visibly shocked. He didn't respond, so Vincent decided he may as well continue.
"A creature of the blue sky and a creature of the dark rain."
"Me an' you…?
Vincent nodded. "The sky creature is driven by his passions, while the rain creature survives despite his own intentions. And the rain creature knows that no matter how much he admires the other, they're too different. He doesn't deserve the other, and…" he trailed off, talking to himself rather than to Cid, who was listening intently. "…and there's no way the sky creature could love him."
Cid started suddenly at the last part of the story. This caused Vincent to remember the pilot's audience, and he realized what he'd said.
"I did not say that."
"Shit," Cid replied eloquently. "Vin, listen…"
Vincent shook his head, backing towards the stairs. "No, it doesn't matter. It didn't mean anything, just some stray thought. You should probably go inside, your arms are uncovered…" before the blond could move or reply, he fled down the stairs and back into the rain.
Without another thought, Cid followed him. He didn't stop in front of the hotel this time, but went around the side. Having a head start, Cid feared he would lose track of the dark man as he disappeared around the corner. But he found the other leaning against the wall, his face buried in his flesh hand.
Storming over to him, Cid grabbed him by the shoulder. "Goddammit Vin!"
Vincent would have none of this. He shook himself free of his shorter friend's grasp, his hands balling into frustrated fists. "Just leave me be, Highwind! I overstepped my boundaries, and I know you should yell at me, but I just can't bear you hating me for this, so I'd rather you just let me be!"
Cid glared at him. This time, Vincent met the gaze stubbornly.
"You're not hearin' a fuckin' word—"
"It'd be easier to have nothing than to be on bad terms with you, so just—"
Cid cut him off this time, not with words but with actions. His hand shot out, grabbing Vincent by the collar and yanking him closer, crushing their lips together.
Vincent, too stunned to do anything, fell silent.
Cid pulled away slightly, keeping his grip on the fabric at Vincent's neck. "Now will you fuckin' listen to me for a goddamn minute!"
The ex-Turk opened his mouth, and then shut it without a word. He nodded.
Seeming to calm down a bit, Cid continued. "Did it ever occur to you that you can't have one without the other? The rain an' the clear, they share the same sky! The rain has an inner power that the sky'll never know, and the sky's amazed by everythin' about the rain! The blue admires the dark just like the dark loves the blue. So will you just shut the fuck up with your unrequited angst bullshit an' get the hell outta the rain!"
By the end of his speech, Cid was breathing heavier with the effort. He didn't say anything else. Vincent stared at him with wide eyes. "Highwind, i—"
"Don't make me fuckin' repeat m'self…"
It was Vincent who closed the distance this time, impulsively wrapping his arms around Cid's shoulders and kissing him deeply.
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"Goddammit kid, get the hell away from me!" Cid thrashed an arm, almost catching Yuffie as she dodged expertly.
"Bad Cid!" she grinned, waving a finger at him scolding as he flopped himself back on the bed he was laying in. "You should be resting, so you can get better! You two poor little sick babies need your sleep!"
Beside the two in the net bed, Vincent shook his head, turning to face the wall.
Cid smacked at the ninja again with a yell. "Dammit, this is worse that Tifa killin' us!"
Certain no one could see him, Vincent allowed the smile on his face to go unchecked.
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Everytime you do something stupid, Vincent dies a little inside.