( None of these belong to me. They are owned by Squaresoft/enix so I would greatly appreciate it if you don't sue me please thanks) This is my second time writing a fic so bear with me, there's prolly a lot of mistakes in here. Lol no flames please. This is a Vincent/Aeris fic. This is a great fic for all you Vincent or Aeris fans out there... ' oh and another thing.. I know that I'm kinda rushing things and I'm telling the story really fast, but bear with me... I swear, I'll go more into depth and the later chapters will get better! ' Any more critiques or anything could really help me improve my writings.. thanks. Please tell me what you think... I really need the critiques!!!
Red Death's Love
-LMG-
/Ordinay World/ Duran Duran/Dedicated to Aeris/Vincent
Came in from a rainy Thursday
On the avenue
Thought I heard you talking softly
I turned on the lights, the TV
And the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you
What has happened to it all?
Crazy, some are saying
Where is the life that I recognize?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Passion or coincidence
Once prompted you to say
"Pride will tear us both apart"
Well now pride's gone out the window
Cross the rooftops
Run away
Left me in the vacuum of my heart
What is happening to me?
Crazy, some'd say
Where is my friend when I need you most?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Papers in the roadside
Tell of suffering and greed
Here today, forgot tomorrow
Ooh, here besides the news
Of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrow
It's all gone away
And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Every one
Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one
Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one
Is my world
Every one
Aeris was having so much fun window shopping. She was looking at all the different stores. She didn't really know how different everything was... She was only a baby when she lived here with her parents... What could she remember? Aeris walked around some more. She asked the towns people questions about a Doctor Ghast and his wife Iflana. No one really knew who they were. Everyone she came across shook their heads at her questions. Aeris was a little disappointed. Well, it has been thirty-three years since the whole incident where Hojo killed my father, and took my mother and I away from here...
Aeris thought as she pulled Vincent's cape around her tightly. It was getting late.. Vincent will probably wonder where I am... Aeris thought as she looked around at the people returning to their homes. Her thoughts drifted to Cloud just then. I wonder if he has kids... Aeris didn't want to think about it at all... Her heart sank at the thought that Cloud could be happy living with someone else....
She never really cared about anyone this way... Well, there was Zack, but that was different... he was more like .. an overprotective brother... She liked him.. but not in the way he wanted her to. Aeris thought about Zack and wondered where he was and what he was doing right now... It would be nice to see him again.... She thought about asking Vincent about Zack. He may know something.... Maybe Cloud told him a thing or two about Zack.
As she walked toward the inn, a group of four kids ran by her. They were laughing and playing some kind of game... They were wearing heavy coats and mittens and warm hats. Their faces were red from running. Aeris smiled at the children. She stood by and watched as a little boy got tagged on his back. He stamped his foot angrily, and then walked over to the side of a house and started counting. The other three children giggled and ran away to hide...
Aeris turned away from the happy scene and wished that Cloud was here with her right now... She started for the inn where Vincent was waiting. When she got in, she noticed an old man at the desk, his eyes were drooping heavily. Aeris walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder gently. The old man yelled and hid under the desk. When nothing happened, he stuck his head out from under the desk.
Aeris had her hand over her mouth.. She was giggling. The old man gave her a toothless grin.
"Hey there pretty lady, so... I would love to give you a room, but we're all filled today... I'm so sorry.." He apologized.
Aeris held up her hand, "Oh, no.. you see, I'm with someone already... I think he may have signed in already...."
The old man cocked his head to the side. "HMMMmmm? This man you're with.. does he have red eyes and long black hair and really pale skin?"
Aeris nodded. The old man clapped his hand..
"AHhh... you're talking about my good friend Mister Heart!!" His voice squeaked excitedly.
Aeris gave him a funny look and bursted out with laughter... "Mr. Heart? No, I'm with a guy named Vincent Valentine..."
The old man touched his chin. "Hm... maybe that was his name... oh I don't know.....but that's not important.. what's important is that I take you to your room...."
The old man rubbed his hands together and motioned for Aeris to follow. HE took her up the stairs and to her room.
"I hope you enjoy your stay here miss.... " The innkeeper said with a smile. "You two sure make a loving couple..."
Aeris shook her head. "Oh, no ... we're not together...." The old man look taken aback. "Oh, forgive me for being foolish.... I just merely forgot....he said the same thing... that you two weren't an item... I guess I'm just getting all the facts mixed up in my head... being old an all... "
He shook his index finger playfully at Aeris. "But you young kids don't have to worry about that... you still have the rest of your lives ahead to worry about that kinda stuff..."
Aeris gave him a warm smile. The old man laughed and walked back down the stairs. Aeris shook her pretty head and opened the door. As she entered the room, she noticed Vincent in the corner with a book.
"Good, you're here...." He said without looking up from the book.
Aeris nodded. "Uh huh..."
She shook the snow from Vincent's cape and took the heavy cloak off. She went over to the bathroom and draped the cape over the metal bar of the shower curtain. She sighed.
"Whew." And wiped her brow.
Aeris observed her reflection in the mirror. She looked at the bruise on her chin. She remembered earlier in the ancient city, before they left on the chocobo, she had mentioned about the bruise. Vincent looked almost ashamed. He told her about the struggle in the water and apologized for his action. Of course she forgave him. He did it in order to save her life, and for that she was greatful.
Aeris gently touched the bruise and said a little healing prayer so that it went away. She exited the bathroom and reentered the bedroom. That's when she noticed that there was only one bed in the room.
Aeris shifted around nervously. She didn't think that Vincent was that type of guy... She remembered the old inn keeper saying that all the rooms were filled.... So... that mean that this was probably the only room left... Aeris twiddled her thumbs nervously... so.. how do we do this? She asked herself silently... what of the sleeping arrangements? She'd never shared a bed with a man before... What was she to do?
Before she opened her mouth to ask him about the sleeping arrangements, he spoke.
"You take the bed Aeris... I'll sleep on the couch...."
"oh.." she said..
She lowered her eyes to the floor, it was almost as if he could read her mind....
Vincent continued. "The old man said that they should be receiving some free space soon, so when that happens, I'll leave and give you this room..."
Aeris could feel herself blush. How stupid of her... This was Vincent after all.... He was a gentleman... he was going to sleep on the couch for her sake... and after when they open up more rooms, he would go and leave this room for her.... Aeris almost forgot about the fact that she had no money.. and that it was Vincent who was paying for the whole thing....
Aeris lifted her green eyes from the floor. She scanned Vincent's exterior. He still had his red headband from when they first met. Little pieces of hair stuck out from the cloth. The majority of his hair spilled over his face as he sat there hunched over with his book in hand. He looked thoughtful. His eyes were moving back and forth while he read. Vincent turned the page of his book.
Did he always wear black? She pondered. The whole black attire thing made him look foreboding, he looked so pale... Her eyes rested upon his claw. Hojo did that to him.... She thought and shuddered. She could remember the thin horrible scientist and his horrible laugh. Aside from Sephiroth, Hojo was the only other man that frightened her. Aeris shivered.
"Aeris, "Vincent called her.
She looked at Vincent's face. "huh?"
"Are you alright?"
He asked. His eyes never left his book.
"You're shivering..."
Aeris touched her own arm.
"Oh it's nothing.. really... please... don't mind me.. I'll just ... sit on the bed and.... "
She spotted one of his books.
"I'll read this..."
She picked up his book and read the cover.
"The Complete Entire Archive of the Human Body and its Mechanisms...."
Aeris looked a bit dumbfounded. She quietly placed the book down on the bed. She felt like an idiot. But it wasn't like Vincent noticed or anything. He continued to read his book without so much as a blink.
"That one's tough... I've been trying to master it myself, but the language is difficult to translate, from Latin......"
Aeris looked puzzled. "Really? But I just read it...."
"That's only the cover that's English... try opening the book."
Aeris picked up the book again, and opened the pages. The book was written entirely in a different language. She could not make out any letters at all... She bit her lip.. She slowly sat down on the bed. Okay... so she had nothing in common with Vincent.. and now, she's stuck here with him...
Aeris looked around the room. It was hard trying to make pleasantries with someone who didn't want to.... Aeris ran her finger through her hair. Suddenly, a light went off in Aeris's head. She had nothing in common with Vincent at all, but now that they're alone together, she could ask him about stuff... maybe she could find a common ground of some kind... The only thing she knew she had in common with Vincent, was AVALANCHE.
Aeris turned around to face the silent man.
"Vincent... what happened to the rest of the team when I died... "
Vincent looked up from his book. His red eyes narrowed. He sat up and thought about what she asked him.
"Well, after you died, we defeated Sephiroth and meteor...."
Aeris shook her head. "No, I mean, what happened? Did Cloud and the others think about me?"
Vincent lifted his eyebrow. That was a ridiculous question, of course they did.
"Aeris," Vincent closed the book and placed it next to him on the couch. "Of course they did... Cloud blamed himself for your death and they were all saddened by your loss.... For weeks that's all they thought about.... Getting even with Sephiroth... and we did, and we won..."
Aeris didn't know if she was bothering Vincent or not, but at this point, she didn't care... She was lonely and she really wanted someone to talk to, even if it was Vincent.
"Cloud..."Aeris asked, her heart fluttered," What happened with Cloud I mean after everything....."
Vincent sat back into the couch. So this is what she wants.... He exhaled and scratched the back of his head.
"After you died, Cloud found out who he really was... For the longest time, we all thought that he was a clone of Zack, and that he was Sephiroth's puppet... but later on, we found that this wasn't true...."
Aeris sat by patiently with bated breath... Zack... Cloud knew Zack? But he told me that he didn't know anyone of that name.....
Vincent continued," Cloud had been under Jenova's influence the whole time.... Hojo injected him with some of her cells. That's why Cloud couldn't remember anything and that's how Sephiroth was controlling him.... Cloud somehow came into contact with large amounts of Mako.. and he got Mako poison..."
Aeris gasped, but allowed Vincent to continue.
"During the whole time he was ill, Tifa was with him... she helped him pull through Aeris.... She even helped him remember who he was and pieced everything together... After that, we all got together, and went after all the weapons... When Cloud handed the Black Materia to Sephiroth, he unleashed these creatures.... And they were supposed to destroy Sephiroth, but instead, they were going after towns and cities... We had to stop them... One by one, they fell and after they were disposed of, we went to the Northern Cavern, which was where Sephiroth was.... We defeated him.... And your prayers for holy destroyed the meteor...."
Aeris looked down at her feet, there were tears in her eyes. Cloud.... Vincent wasn't done yet...
"After meteor, Cloud tried to find a way to bring you back.... He went to Cosmo Canyon with Red thirteen, and tried to look for answer on how to find the promise land.... He really loved you Aeris.... If he knew you were coming back, he would've waited for you....."
Aeris looked into Vincent's eyes... "What do you mean by that?"
Vincent sighed. "Cloud's been living with Tifa in Kalm. They own a business together.... That's all I know...."
Aeris was a little hopeful. "So ... you don't know if they're married or anything?"
Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry, Aeris, I really have no clue..."
Aeris fell back onto the bed... She stared at the ceiling for a little bit. The tears were falling down the side of her face.
"Vincent.... Did Cloud ever talk to you about Zack and what happened to him?"
Vincent stared at Aeris on the bed. He closed his eyes and answered.
"Yes Aeris... he told me..... "
Aeris reached over and wiped her tears. "What happened to him Vincent...."
He moistened his lips. "Aeris... I don't know, how to tell you this... but Zack died a long time ago.... He and Cloud were escaping from Hojo's lab, and Zack had been shot down by the guards... After that, Cloud pretended to be Zack, he was too sick to be able to tell the difference between reality and non...."
Aeris bit her lip. Poor Zack... He was a good friend after all... He was trying to help Cloud... and he got killed for it... It was just so cruel.. How could this have happened? She thought bitterly.... It was just so wrong... She sniffed.
Vincent continued. He spoke about Red, Barret, Cid, and Yuffie, and how they all went their separate ways after Meteor. And Vincent? What of him? Where did he go after Meteor?
"Vincent? Where did you go after you saved the world...".
Vincent hesitated to tell her at first, he didn't know how she would re- act, but then again, she did just fine when he told her about Cloud.
"I went back to my coffin.... And I stayed there for ten years...."
Aeris wiped off the last of her tears. She furrowed her brows together.
"But Vincent? If you've been locked up for ten years... then how do you know all this stuff about Avalanche?"
He nodded, he knew this was coming.
"Well, I had been planning on visiting everyone just to see how they were doing... I wanted to see your grave and pay my last respects before visiting with Cloud.. but, I found you... and now... we're here..."
Aeris turned over onto her side so that she was facing Vincent. Her hair fell softly around her face, framing it. Aeris looked into his eyes. There was a slight hint of sadness in his eyes, almost as if he knew that he hurt her, by telling her the truth.
"Thankyou... Vincent.... Thankyou... for your honesty.. and for your help.... I know you never asked for this... but I wanted to thankyou...." Aeris sighed heavily.
Vincent closed his eyes, and bowed his head slightly. "You're welcome Aeris...."
Aeris sighed and closed her eyes. She was taking everything in... Cloud, Zack, Avalanche... she was trying to think about how things would've been different if she'd come back a little sooner.... She would've been with Cloud... She knew that for sure... Aeris thought about Vincent, and his coffin... How can anyone will themselves to stay in something like that for years? Vincent was really strange....
Aeris really wanted to speak to her mother, and find out what she was suppose to do with Vincent, and if it was really important to stay away from Cloud and Avalanche... With those thoughts, she drifted to sleep.
She was glad to have someone familiar here with her.... Even if it was Vincent.... Was it ungrateful for her to think like that? Maybe... she didn't know... she was asleep.
After Aeris fell asleep, Vincent walked over to the light switch and turned if off. He went over to the bed and pulled the covers over Aeris. He walked over to the small lamp and turned it off. Vincent took off his boots and sat them near the desk. He layed down on the sofa.
At least it was comfortable. Usually he slept without his shirt on, but he didn't think that Aeris would appreciate having a half naked man around the room, so he left his shirt alone. He thought about Aeris and her reaction to what he said. She had been trying to make some conversation with him. He could tell by the eagerness in her eyes. She was lonely, and she really wanted someone to talk to.
He wished he could've been a little more talkative for her sake. He felt sorry for her ... She had lost most of the people she cared for....
She was just like him in a way....
They were both alone in the world.....
-End-