Chapter 26
He had been sitting, motionless, in the same spot since Vincent fell asleep. Highwind had come in once, to check on them, and bring him something to eat. The Galian Beast had wandered in with the pilot and now lay at Chaos' feet. The food Cid had brought sat untouched on the desk.
I would stand at the gates of Hell and face down the armies of the demon gods with my bare hands to keep anything from separating the two of you again. Even myself.
Until I truly know my feelings in this, I think I must leave.
Yuffie sighed in her sleep and turned over, snuggling up against Vincent. The gunman smiled in his sleep but didn't stir. Chaos watched his beloved humans, and thought that they looked beautiful together.
Sighing inwardly, he rose from the chair. Perhaps talking to Highwind would help him figure things out. The Galian Beast lifted his head to look at the demon, but Chaos motioned him to stay put. Silently, he left the room.
When he stepped onto the bridge, Cid was staring out the front view port at the ocean. "I wondered how long it'd be before you showed up here."
"You seem to have come to know me well." Chaos joined the pilot by the window.
"A little." The pilot pulled a cigarette out of his pack, then offered the demon one. Chaos gave him a quizzical look and declined. "Probably a good idea. These things'll kill ya. So, what's eatin' ya now?"
"Is it possible to love two people at the same time?"
"Its not impossible. I've never heard of it working out for more than a few months though. Feelin' a little more than platonic for Vince, are you?" The pilot lit his cigarette and took a drag.
The demon's silence answered his question.
"I ain't gonna toss ya off the ship for that. Feelings ain't somethin' you can really control. Tell me about your girl."
Chaos was surprised by the request. "What?"
"Your girl. Ilrya. Seems like she's still important to you. Tell me about her. Take your mind off Vince and Yuffie."
The demon didn't see the point, but he complied. "Ilrya was the princess of a neighboring kingdom. An ally of my land both before the war and during. She was kind, but strong willed. She believed that demons and humans were equals, and went so far as to marry me to seal our alliance and prove her point.
"She was seventeen when we were married. It was a human ceremony and I had no idea what to do, but she assured me that all I had to do was show up and her father would take care of everything else. It wasn't quite that simple, but I got through it. I wasn't in love with her then, but I grew to love her over time. The first months of our marriage were much like courting; we even stayed in opposite wings of my stronghold until I realized how strongly I felt for her.
"When I confessed my love, she smiled and told me that she had been madly in love with me since she was a child. We were nearly inseparable after that, even when she was ill. She was my world."
When the demon fell silent, Cid asked, "What did she look like?"
The demon sighed. "Yuffie. Her hair was longer, and she always wore it braided, but Yuffie could be her clone. It was a shock, to say the least, to wake and see Yuffie."
"That what attracted you to her?" Chaos wasn't sure he liked Cid's line of questioning.
But he answered. "No. Her resemblance to my beloved kept me away from her. I didn't want to be reminded of Ilrya. I just wanted to be alone with my pain. Its Cloud's fault, really, that we ended up spending so much time together."
"You still love Ilrya?"
"Yes. But she has been dead for a very long time. I can't unlove her, but I have moved on."
The pilot nodded. "You love Yuffie?"
"You have to ask?"
"I want you to say it."
"Yes. I love her. Even if she could never love me back."
"And you love Vincent?"
Chaos hesitated, unsure of what it would mean if he put his feelings into words. Saying it out loud would make it more real, somehow. But Cid was waiting for his answer. "Yes."
"Then stop being such a baby about it and tell them. The worst they can do is reject you, and you're already doin' that to yourself."
