And back once again after being busy with so many things, that I can't even fathom all of them. I'm going back to work next week, and am taking a trip to China from mid September to the beginning of October, so updates may be sparse, but they'll still be there.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and ideas, and I hope that you guys'll keep dropping a note and telling me how I'm doing. The Shera chapters are going on a little longer than I thought, but I'll move on to more fight scenes soon, if you good people are getting bored of seeing Vincent and Reeve friendship develop (smile). Ah well……..

Enjoy and Cheers!

Kyyrin

Chapter Fifteen

"H-Hey…..Vince! Where ya goin' with all that stuff?"

Vincent inclined his head towards the voice on his right. Looking down, he spotted a wretched, green-looking Yuffie doubled over with one hand holding her stomach. She looked as if she could use a good sleep spell to knock her out for the remainder of the flight. He set a mental reminder to ask Reeve if he could borrow the man's mastered sleep materia. It shouldn't be a problem.

"Hm. I am returning from the medical facilities, Yuffie".

"Well, duh! I can see that Vince……", Yuffie retorted, pausing shortly to gag and retch again into the bag she held in her hand. "But where are you going with the stuff is what I asked".

Vincent hesitated before answering. Did Yuffie really need to know that Reeve was in bad shape? She was busy enough with her motion sickness as it was, and Vincent knew she and Reeve were close. It wouldn't do to get her worked up about it.

"Nowhere that is of significance for you in your current state, Yuffie. Though I might suggest you make a trip down to the med ward yourself and get something for that…..motion sickness".

Vincent suppressed a small smirk at her abashed expression, and continued walking towards the room where he assumed Reeve still was. He had told his friend to stay put, and fervently hoped he had done so. The meeting wasn't for another fifteen minutes, so there was no need for Reeve to be up and about already.

"They're for Reeve, aren't they".

If the statement had startled Vincent, he didn't show it. Instead he stopped, indicating that he would listen to anything else Yuffie had to say.

"Aren't they?"

Vincent swallowed, and decided to answer. If Yuffie already knew, then there was no point in pretending he didn't know.

"Yes".

"So why didn't you just say so, Vincent? He's my friend too, you know. I have the same right to know how's he's doing as you do. Don't I?"

She was right. Of course she was right. How could he have thought of keeping it from her? She would have found out eventually, as early as the meeting, but still…..

"I…..my apologies, Yuffie. It was not my intention to keep his condition from you. I did not want to-------"

"-------Worry you".

Vincent turned to look at her, startled. He knew she knew him well, but he didn't think it was well enough to know how he ended his phrases. That was…..for lack of better words…..creepy. A word she had used to describe him so often. But he decided to continue on as if her commentary hadn't fazed him at all.

"Yes. Since you seem to know me so well, I suppose there is nothing left to say".

"Good, cause I don't feel like talking much anyways".

He heard another dry heave as he turned to go, and expertly attempted to block out the next sounds of Yuffie emptying the rest of the contents of her stomach into the bag. Sighing wearily, he resumed walking, but was stopped once more by her voice.

"Can I…….can I come visit him later, when I'm feeling better? I……I really miss him, Vince…….a lot……"

Swallowing, he continued to walk, but a small smile played on his lips nonetheless. Of course Yuffie could see Reeve. In fact, Vincent didn't even know why she was asking his permission. He wasn't Reeve's bodyguard, as much as it may seem like he was. Though he did intend to protect the man from any more harm, to the best of his abilities. That much was certain. And……..Vincent thought it would do Reeve some good to have Yuffie around. Her cheery personality rubbed off on just about everyone.

"After the meeting……I will see to it that he rests in my quarters. It seems Cid didn't reserve him a room of his own. You may come and visit him there. I'm sure he will……be glad to see you".

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuffie give a huge grin, but quickly went back to vomiting into her bag once more. Well, she had his sympathies. He didn't know what he would do if he suffered from motion sickness. She seemed to be taking it well. Perhaps because she was used to it.

So this time, he resumed his quick strides, without intention of stopping. And behind him, he heard a groan and a mumbled whine.

"Man, I hate airships. I knew I shouldn't have had eggs for breakfast……"

Reeve stirred in his seat, half awake, half asleep. In the last fifteen minutes he had resorted to going over the details of the meeting out loud so that he wouldn't succumb to the exhaustion and pain that plagued him. He knew full well that he should be resting, but he couldn't get his mind off…….her. There would be no sleeping unless he could manage to avoid thinking of Shalua for more than a ten seconds.

He shifted his position slowly, and bit back a whimper at the pain it caused. Although his wounds had been tended to, they were by no means completely healed. And cure materials were sparse as of late. Anything they still had was being used on patients now, or being saved for more dire situations than his. His situation was indeed not as perilous as some of the others that had, for example, been in the med ward at his departure. Compared to them, he could be up and about. He should be up and about. But last time he tried that, it had ended in an untimely meeting with the floor. So he decided he wouldn't risk that again. Not without some help anyways…..

What he wouldn't give to sleep it all away. All the pain, the fear…..and the grief. Perhaps this was all just a horrible dream. Maybe when he woke up tomorrow morning, Shalua would still be beside him, telling him everything would be alright. Heh. If there even was a tomorrow morning during their fight with Deepground. But right now, he had to concentrate on this meeting. Now. Where had he left off? Ah, yes. Omega.

Reeve started and jumped when the door opened. He painfully looked up and was relieved to see Vincent striding towards him, arms full of various medical supplies. He knew he had to be re-bandaged, but he was so tired and hurting that all he really wanted to do was just sit here and stare into space. But the meeting was in fifteen minutes. He had to be prepared.

"Reeve?"

His friend's voice caused him to turn away in shame. Even though Vincent had forgiven him, he still could not come to terms with the fact that he had treated one of his dearest comrades so nastily. But he supposed he would just have to get over that too.

"Reeve. I need you to take off your…….erhm…..clothes."

"And that already came out wrong", Vincent thought morosely, mentally kicking himself for not being able to think of another way to have conveyed his request. That hadn't been what he had wanted to say at all. And the fact that he had said it made the situation all the more uncomfortable. He immediately began to have second thoughts. He hated touching people. He only did it if there were no other options. Looking away, Vincent began to think he should have asked Yuffie to do this. Motion sickness or not.

Reeve blinked at that statement, and turned to face Vincent, wanting to make sure he had just heard the man right. Vincent wanted him to strip right here? Reeve swallowed, heat rising to his face. Tears stung his eyes. He wanted his Shalua…….

But now, looking at Vincent, he saw that his friend looked just as ashamed and awkward as he felt. What had he been thinking? Vincent was doing this out of compassion and worry for a friend. Not because he was being forced to. Reeve started to think he must be losing his mind. He wasn't thinking rationally or logically at the moment as it was.

"That….did not come out as I…..hoped it to, Reeve. Forgive me. I need to bandage you. Your shirt and pants are in the way, and I'm…..sure you have something underneath. I have other clothes for you here. It will only take a few moments."

Vincent waited awkwardly for Reeve's response. There were no words to describe how uncomfortable he was feeling in the current situation. And he supposed Reeve felt the same way. Vincent knew he would never be Shalua, or ever be able to take her place in Reeve's life, but their friendship must mean something. Enough for Vincent force himself to care for his friend.

Reeve blinked, and slowly began to fumble with the still intact zipper of his tattered work attire. It took him four tries to realize that it wasn't going to work, and a fifth to register that Vincent was now helping him. Defeated by the fact that he couldn't even undress by himself, he slumped back into the wall of the Shera and closed his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered.

A few pulls and tugs later, the rags and remains of his shirt and pants came off, leaving Reeve to shiver relentlessly in nothing more than his still intact Cait Sith boxers.

Cait.

If there was now one being Reeve missed almost as much as Shalua, it was his Cait Sith Number Two. He knew there was no probable way his tiny creation could have survived the siege, so hadn't even bothered asking anyone. But Planet did he miss that cat. Cait was good when it came to consoling people. And that's what he needed now. Consolation.

Vincent's cold metal claw gently pushed him into a sitting position, and his friend began to unravel the now blood soaked bandage from his chest. Reeve was aware that his eyes began to droop, and he felt his head drop onto his chest. He tiredly attempted to blink his eyes open when Vincent's soft voice penetrated his mind.

"Reeve. I need you to stay sitting up. I know you are exhausted, but humor me. Please. Stay awake at least until I have finished tending to your wounds. Here."

Reeve felt something being pushed into his hands. Gazing down blearily, he found it to be a bottle of cool water, already opened and ready for him to drink. He sighed softly, and shakily lifted the liquid to his lips, taking a sip. He then realized just how long it had been since he had actually drunk something. Or eaten, for that matter. Geez. That couldn't be healthy.

In the time it took for Reeve to drink the entire bottle of water, Vincent had disinfected and re-bandaged his chest injuries. The gunman's hands gently moved to his still sprained knee, and the WRO Commissioner suddenly felt something very cold touch his skin. He jumped involuntarily.

"It's fine, Reeve. I am merely using ice to bring down the swelling some. Take this as well."

This time, Vincent pushed an energy bar and an uncorked potion into Reeve's hands. It was a safety procedure. Reeve needed to be strong and well at least long enough to get through the meeting. Vincent only hoped it wouldn't take very long. Bandaging Reeve's swollen limb once more, he moved back, watching as his friend absently chewed the bar he'd been given. Wracking his brain for some small talk, he picked a random subject.

"Hm. So where will you go from here, Reeve?"

He meant the siege, and he knew Reeve was aware of that as well. Neither of them seemed to be up to talking about the fateful happenings that had occurred. Vincent knew they would need to eventually, but he had realized that pushing Reeve to talk was not the best option. And even if he had to help his friend a little, Reeve would come out of his shell by himself. He was sure of that.

"I…..well, I suppose we will pick up the rest of the troops that were stationed in Junon and Kalm, and then head off to Midgar. It will…..take more than a few hours to be sure……perhaps an entire day. And considering that it's still morning now……."

Reeve finished the food item, and downed the potion in one gulp. The airship suddenly gave a bit of a jolt, and he yelped involuntarily as he was flung against the other side of the seat none too gently. Hissing in pain, Reeve grabbed his chest and shut his eyes. This was going to be a trying recovery period.

"Reeve? Would you…..be more comfortable down here?"

Reeve looked down to see Vincent gesturing to small blanket and a pillow that he had moved into a corner beside him on the floor. Reeve raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Trust me. You will not…..feel the effects of Cid's flying methods as much as you do now. And perhaps you will be able to rest pain free for some time until the meeting begins, if you do not wish to lie down in my room."

Reeve sighed and relented. With Vincent's help, they maneuvered him to stand and walk to the corner, where the gunman ever so gently lowered him to the floor and laid his head back against the pillow on the wall, covering him with the blanket afterwards. He sat down beside his friend, letting the man half lean on him for support Vincent was sure he needed.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

The question left Reeve's mouth before he could help himself. He had wanted to know, but he hadn't wanted to ask, for fear the question might scare Vincent away. Reeve was already dumbfounded that his friend was staying in one place so long as it was. But seriously. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that.

Vincent raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Why was he being so nice? He wasn't being nice, he was just…….well…….doing his duty, he supposed. He felt he owed it to Reeve. But there was no way in hell he'd tell the man that. Hm. Better to let Reeve believe he was being nice. And maybe perhaps……deep down, he was feeling sort of……nice.

"Because…..this is what…..friends…..do for each other. Is it not?"

The comment brought a ghost of a smile to Reeve's face. He leaned heavily on Vincent and answered.

"Yes. I suppose it is, isn't it."

They were silent for a few moments. The hums and whirrs of the Shera were the only sounds to be heard. Reeve's eyes began to droop again, as much as he attempted not to let himself fall asleep.

"Reeve? Vincent? Hope you guys're in there!"

The loud crackle of the speakers in the room caused Reeve to jerk out of his doze, and Vincent's head to snap to attention.

"Well, doesn't matter. This thing broadcasts all over my baby anyways."

Cid.

"We should be in Junon in the next ten minutes to pick up troops, so the meeting's gonna havta wait until we've finished loading and're back in the air. It'll take about a half hour, maybe longer. And don't you worry the hell about managing anything, Reeve. You just stay sittin on your goddamn ass and rest. We've got everything under control. I'll bother you two again when we're set to go. And the brat better not be pukin' all over my airship! Highwind out"

Reeve sighed softly and massaged his aching head. He had just wanted to get this meeting over and done with. And now he had to wait? This was just getting worse.

"Hm. Now you can rest, Reeve. Go to sleep. I will wake you if you do not hear the announcement. Go on."

"Fine", Reeve relented, and weakly let his head fall onto Vincent's shoulder. The flat pillow leaned against the wall wasn't comfortable enough. His friends shoulder plus cloak was much more appealing. And besides. If Vincent moved, he'd basically hit the ground. Again. And Vincent was too nice for that. Right?

"Reeve……", came the half hearted protest as his head flopped onto Vincent. But it seemed that Vincent had somewhat managed to get past the extreme awkwardness.

"Hm. If you feel…..more comfortable……"

And with that, Reeve dozed off. The events that had occurred, forgotten for a moment, as he slipped into the bliss of sleep.

Though he doubted that memories of the last twenty four hours wouldn't cease to haunt him, even in his dreams.

Might be a few spelling errors. I apologize for any, though. It's late. If you tell, me, I'll fix it up. Stay tuned for the next chapter. It'll come whenever I find time to type it up! Cheers!