A long time passed, and Cid didn't move from Vincent's side. He still held his pale hand, stroking it with his thumb. He felt he couldn't leave him, even still..

The tears dried on Cid's face only to be renewed with fresh ones. He gazed lovingly at Vincent's peaceful face. There had been no pain... he was glad of that small mercy. It seemed so surreal, that Vincent was gone and this man asleep in front of him was just an empty shell.

He wondered vaguely if Vincent was now reunited with Aeris... with Lucrecia... ones who loved him.

He didn't hear Shera come in.

"Cid..." She murmured, laying a hand on his shoulder. She had never used his name personally since she had started working for him. "I'm so sorry."

Cid blinked, sighing as he realised he had to speak back. "It's okay. He's at peace now. He wasn't alone... at the end..." He said, looking up at Shera with his reddened eyes. He sniffed and looked down at Vincent again. "Doesn't he look peaceful?" Cid paused. "We did what we could for him, didn't we Shera? We made him as happy as we could, didn't we?"

"Of course we did..." Shera nodded, smiling, though tears were running down her face. He needed to hear those words. They were true anyway, but he needed to know that he did all he could.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Cid collapsed in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He moaned with grief and Shera held him tight, knowing that the pain she felt was only scratching the surface of the agony Cid felt right now.

"I love him... I love him so much..." Cid moaned. "Why did he have to leave me alone...?"

Shera looked up at the ceiling, holding Cid tightly. He clung to her, weeping bitterly.

Tears streamed down her face. "And he loves you. You know that, right? He'll always be with you, in here." She pulled back from him and tapped over his heart. "You're not alone."

The time came for giving Vincent to the sea, as he'd asked for. All of the old AVALANCHE team had been informed, and they dropped everything to reach rocket town the same day.

It was sunset, and the autumn sky was filled with a deep red glow. It seemed appropriate, as red was Vincent's colour.

Shera, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red, Yuffie and even Reeve, sans Cait Sith, were there on the beach as Cid carried Vincent down to the shore. He laid Vincent down on a blanket on the sand, Shera had placed a few wildflowers in his clasped hands.

There were more tears than Cid had expected from his old friends; Tifa and Yuffie were the first to cry. But even Cloud and Barret silently shed tears as they each, one by one, came over to where Vincent lay to pay their final respects. He looked so frail, so ashen and so thin... It was so horrible to see their once strong companion like this. So faded away.

Tifa placed a special flower from the church in Midgar on Vincent's chest and whispered something to him before running to Cloud and weeping in his arms.

When at last all had said their goodbyes, finally Cid went over to the body of his love and knelt by him, stroking his hair, smiling at the pale and beautiful face that looked so peaceful in the deep red glow of the fading sun.

He gently picked him up and started to walk into the water.

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut in pain. He alone was the only one present who understood what Cid was feeling right now. This was all too familiar, he thought as he watched Cid wade into the sea.

Cid reached chest height into the water and stopped. He looked down at the slight, unmoving frame cradled so gently in his arms. For a long time, Cid held onto Vincent, unable to let go. He felt the gentle waves pull at him softly, urging him to let Vincent go, but he just couldn't. He allowed himself to feel the pressure of Vincent's body against his own, to feel close to him, remembering... one last time. At last, he found his courage.

"Goodbye baby." Cid whispered. He kissed the pale brow, his tears coming again. "I'll always love you."

And with that, he let go... Vincent slowly drifted out into the gently rolling waters.

They all watched as their old friend flowed away with the tides of the sea, until they couldn't see him any more. The sun finally slid all the way over the horizon, and the beach was dark and cold.

Cid still stood chest-deep in the sea, the cold breakers pushing their weight against him, the tide creeping up a little. He still didn't move, staring out at the sea as if perhaps he might catch one last glimpse of Vincent on his solitary journey.

Eventually, Barret waded out and had to physically take him out of the sea.

Cid looked around him in a daze as they slowly started to leave the beach. Everyone took a last look out at the sea's horizon and turned to walk back to rocket town.

As Barret walked Cid up the beach, Cid's eyes came to rest upon a lonely figure still standing by the shore, a little way away from where everyone else had been standing.

He frowned, squinting in the twilight, trying to make out who the person was...

As if in answer, the figure slowly turned to look at him.

A woman, with long brown hair and such a tired, melancholy face... she looked like Shera. But it wasn't Shera, because Shera was walking ahead with the others. He didn't recognise her, but something inside him told him he knew who she was. They stared at each other as Barret escorted Cid up the quiet beach, the only sound was the wind blowing breakers up to crash against the shore.

                                _____

                      /_n_n_\

Soon, everyone was in the house in Rocket town. Everyone still seemed to be in a state of shock; a few of them were sat around the table holding cups of coffee that were welcome against the night's chill.

Cloud smiled softly. "Hey Cid... we went on so many adventures together, us three. Didn't we? Us and Vincent, I mean."

Cid nodded. "Yeah... we did. They were good times, even after Meteor came."

"I... I wonder..." Tifa started. Everyone turned to look at her. "I wonder if he's with Aeris now? Are they smiling down on us, wherever they are?"

Cloud looked at Cid and smiled at him. "Of course they are. Aren't they Cid?"

Cid looked at Cloud and saw the understanding in Cloud's eyes. Cloud had loved and lost Aeris, as Cid had loved and lost Vincent. There was a comradeship between them now, and silent understanding passed between them then. Cloud stood up and touched Cid's shoulder as he made his way into the living room to speak to Barret.

Cid sighed, and watched Shera clearing away the cups. "Shera, leave that... I'll do it later." He said quietly.

Shera looked at him for a moment. "Okay."

"Come on, sit down." He motioned to her, wearily. "We've all had a pretty miserable day. Don't bother yourself with that now."

Shera sat next to Cid, looking concernedly at his face. He looked so tired; so worn down... there were bags and dark rings under his eyes.

"Shera..." Cid muttered, looking down at a smoking cigarette between his fingers.

"Yes?"

"Who was that woman at the beach? Was she a relative of yours? I didn't recognise her."

Shera shook her head. "What woman? The only women at the beach were Tifa, Yuffie and me. I didn't see anybody."

Cid shook his head, frowning. "No, there definitely was... she was standing right at the shoreline, even as we were leaving... I didn't see her myself until then, but she was standing there... staring out at the sea."

Tifa leant forward. "Cid, are you absolutely sure? I didn't see anyone... I don't think anyone else did either. Did anybody see anyone at the beach other than us?" She asked the others in the room. She was answered by an assortment of shaking heads.

Cid rubbed his hands over his eyes. He couldn't have been seeing things... she was too real... but wasn't that the point of seeing things? They seemed so real you thought they were real?

Shera looked down at her hands. The poor captain... he's overcome with grief and weariness... his mind must be playing tricks on him. "Cid, you need to get some sleep. You haven't been sleeping properly for days, you look so tired... I'll see everyone off. Go to bed." She said kindly, laying a hand on his arm.

"Maybe I should..." Cid murmured, his eyes closed. "You don't mind, do ya?" He asked Tifa, Red, Reeve and Yuffie.

"Of course, Cid! You need some rest... go ahead..." Tifa encouraged, the others nodding their agreement.

"See ya again, guys. Thanks for coming. I'm sure Vin appreciated it." He smiled faintly at them, then stood up and made his way up the stairs.

He reached the door to his room, and hovered for a moment with his hand on the door handle. Eventually he took a deep breath and went inside, clicking the door shut behind him.

He looked around, memories and pain flooding his heart.

Vincent's headband still lay on the dresser, his shoes rested by the wardrobe. His crutches lay by the bed. There was still a dent in the pillow from where his head had lain. The very bed upon which he had closed his eyes for the last time.

Cid picked up the red headband from the dresser and examined it, finding a couple of long silky black hairs caught on the material. He stroked them for a moment, thoughtfully. He lifted the headband to his face and breathed deeply, catching Vincent's familiar scent still on it.   

"Are you really gone, Vin...?" Cid whispered, touching the head-shaped dent in the pillow. "It feels like you're still here..." He felt tears form in his eyes again and he lay upon the other side of the bed, not daring to disturb the crumpled pillow and sheet where Vincent had once lain, curling up on his own side and weeping softly until he fell asleep.