This chappie is very short.

I know, I know, I'm pathetic. :-P

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Cid stood alone at the shoreline, holding the small bunch of flowers loosely in his hand.

Looking out at the gently rolling waves, listening to the lonely breakers washing against the beach...

It had been a long time. He only hoped that Vincent would understand that it was because he loved him so much that he had been so desperate to believe it was true.

Maybe he did lose his mind... maybe it had all been a dream. He couldn't tell what was real anymore. Sometimes he'd dream of Vincent, who would laugh and tell Cid that he'd been silly and that there was nothing wrong with him at all, that he was fine... it had all been a bad dream...

But then he'd wake up to find that had been a dream. It was horrible.

"I miss you, baby..." Cid whispered under the crashing of the waves. "I'd do anything to see you again. They told me to look for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. Was I dreaming..? I wish this was a dream, and that really I'm lying in bed with your arms around me, that this is just some really long nightmare..."

He sighed, and lifted the flowers to look at them. He stroked the delicate petals and took in their scent before casting them as hard as he could into the sea.

"They're for you, Vin. I know it's been a while, so I put a lot into that bunch. I hope you forgive me for neglecting you..."

He watched the flowers slowly bob away into the distant waves, the light of the golden sunset warming his features.

He bowed his head, taking a deep breath. He couldn't take it, he really couldn't.

Believe in him, Aeris had said.

Dragging in a deep breath, Cid screamed out at the top of his lungs. "I BELIEVE IN YOU!"  His shoulders began to shake with the start of sobs. "Please... please come back to me! I love you so much... I want you back so bad, Vin! Please! I'd give anything just to find you!" He shouted, from his heart.

He collapsed onto the sand with his effort, sobbing, though the tears just didn't come.

He stared out at the sea.

He couldn't take his eyes off the waves for such a long time, and his soul called out to the ocean.

"Come back..." He whispered finally, with such passion it wrenched his heart to make the sounds.

His eyes found the bunch of flowers he'd thrown earlier, and his blighted eyes watched them as they rolled with the gentle waves.

Hang on. There's something else by the flowers.

Cid stared for a while, not being able to make out what was drifting along with the flowers so far into the distant waves. Afterwards, he could never explain why he did it, but he waded into the water and swam over to it, deep into the stronger tides.

He almost drowned getting to it, but he didn't care. He was dead inside anyway.

But somehow, he overcame all of the waves and caught up with the drifting flowers.

There was so much water in Cid's eyes that he couldn't make out exactly, but he was shocked to find it was a person, drifting limply with the tide. Not wasting any time, Cid hauled the figure over his back and swam back as best he could to the shore.

He was amazed for a second time that he didn't drown on the way back, and panting he hurriedly laid his dripping charge onto the soft yellow sand. He wished he'd thought to put on his goggles before he'd charged on into the stinging, salty water. He wiped his eyes on his sodden jacket sleeve and looked at the still form underneath him.

Tall, slender and naked, with long wet black hair plastered over the face.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

He slowly reached out with a shaking hand to pull the hair away from the hidden face...

"Oh..." Cid's eyes immediately filled with tears and he started to weep.

It was Vincent.

"Vin!" Cid cried, cradling the pale face in his hands. "Vin!" Breathing hard, Cid panicked and laid his head against Vincent's chest, and cried with relief to hear a steady heartbeat.

Tears streamed from his eyes as he quickly turned Vincent over and pumped at his back to expel any water from Vincent's lungs. Eventually, Vincent spluttered water all over the sand, but did not regain consciousness. Cid hurriedly turned him over and gave Vincent the kiss of life.

After three tries, Vincent's eyes flew open and he started choking.

"It's okay, it's okay..." Cid whispered, weeping still as he pulled the still coughing Vincent up against him into a hunched sitting position, Vincent's chin hanging over Cid's shoulder.

"Vin... it's okay, baby..." Cid whispered again, his voice tight with sobbing, and he clutched Vincent tight to his chest, burying his face, wet with tears and seawater both, into Vincent's mass of wet black hair, never wanting to let go.

Vincent seemed somewhat confused and delirious at first, but he squeezed Cid back as hard as he could.

For a long time, they merely sat there, on the beach in the red sunset glow, clinging desperately to each other as tight as they could and rocking slowly.

Eventually, they both leaned back and Cid stared into Vincent's deep beautiful eyes for the first time in so long...

"I found you..." he whispered with a shaky voice, his trembling fingers tracing Vincent's face.

Vincent looked so happy, and he laughed softly at Cid, tears also falling from his eyes. "You found me."

"I've missed you so much.. so much... I've wanted to hold you, to hear your voice, to smell your hair again... I've been so lonely since you went away. I love you, I can't live without you. You complete me..." Cid wept, caressing Vincent's face and wiping away the tears that fell from his crimson eyes.

Vincent's lips pressed together and he leaned his head against Cid's, sighing out heavily and taking Cid's hands in his own.

"I couldn't rest. I couldn't rest without you..." Vincent whispered, his face caressing Cid's.

"I watched over you every day from afar, and... I couldn't bear to see you in so much pain. I begged for them to let me see you, just once... even in a dream... but they refused. Then, Aeris told me about the exchange... that I could come back to you. I didn't care how, I just had to come back to you..."

Cid held the back of Vincent's head with his hand and kissed his lips gently. "You're back now, you're back... nothing else matters..."

Vincent smiled. "I know... I was waiting for you to call me home. It was what I needed to come back, and though you searched all over for me, I was always by your side."

Cid closed his eyes. "Why didn't I think of it before...? I thought you'd wash up somewhere where the Lifestream comes up... but you came where I called you home."

Vincent nodded gently, a tear rolling down his pale cheek. "You called me home."

"I love you." Cid whispered. They kissed. Their kiss was gentle and full of love, making up for such a long time apart. Their hearts grew wings again as they  held each other, their kiss a breath of life and their souls found salvation in love.

That was the true kiss of life.

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Told ya I'm pathetic. Sorry, angst whores! ^_^;;