Blood 22: Rainy daze
"Vincent?" He was already out of sight, off into the night somewhere. Lucrecia halted beside the mansion gate, folding her arms across her chest against the cold rain. She should have picked up a coat before she left the inn. "Worry will make you do silly things." She said to herself, feeling suddenly nervous in the dark. Nobody else was around, the greenish lights of the village the only sign of life.
Why did Vincent have to run away when he was upset? Why did he have to have such long legs? She had long legs too, but keeping up was difficult in heels. Sighing loudly, she schooled her thoughts and began to work out logically what his movements would be.
He hadn't gone to the mansion; the gate hinges needed oiling and squeaked rather loudly, so she would have heard him open it. The inn was a definite no no. She slept at the inn, so that was her private sanctuary. Vincent believed in private sanctuaries, so wouldn't invade without her permission. Besides, he would have been closing the door as soon as she left the item store. The mountains were out. They were treacherous at night, and he had more sense than that.
The only place left was the plains. Outside the gates of Nibelheim was the path to Cosmo Canyon, and a stretch of meadow. There was a tree there, where Vincent went to get away from everyone else – or one of the places at least. He seemed able to vanish without trace at will. More than once now she had found him asleep under that tree, though she'd only woken him once. The amount of walking around he did each day, he probably needed the sleep. Besides, he looked so peaceful when he slept, a far cry from when he was on duty.
She shivered, rubbing her arms against the cold and wet. She could have grabbed her lab coat on the way out, it was on the floor near the door of her room. Enough 'could haves'. She had to find Vincent.
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The rain was heavy now, thudding down from the sky in large drops to splash against the leaves and flowers dotted about the grass. Vincent shook his head, unable to believe that he had dropped his guard so. Yes, Lucrecia was a wonderful woman, and he didn't doubt her word for a second, but he had revealed secret information to her, albeit off the record information.
He yawned suddenly, looking up at the leaves above. He had no idea why he had fallen in love with this particular tree, but it held good memories for him now; memories with Lucrecia. Rarely did he feel anything for women he met, but he felt something for Lucrecia, and he was fooling himself to pretend it was nothing. Why did he have to fall in love with unattainable women? That wasn't entirely true. Lucrecia was single, just, there seemed to be something going on between her and Hojo. As far as an outsider could see at any rate. "Why should she be interested in me? We have nothing in common. Lucrecia is a scientist. She lives for her work, so why on earth would she want to be with me?" It was high time he acknowledged reality. Right now, he sat under a tree in the pouring rain. What kind of reality was that?
"Vincent?"
He looked up, surprised to see Lucrecia walking up to him, hands clasped in front of herself. She met his gaze briefly before looking away. "I thought I might find you here."
"You're still not wearing a coat, Lucrecia." His plain observation stopped her in her tracks. She stood there, several meters in front of him, unsure what to do next. "Come under here." Vincent instructed her, "It's not that much dryer, but it's better than nothing."
She didn't hesitate any longer, hurrying over to sit beside him. "It's chilly tonight." She murmured, rubbing her bare arms once again. Vincent nodded his agreement, draping his jacket round her shoulders.
"It's wet, I know, but I've been wearing it, so it's warm."
"Soggy and warm's better than dry and cold."
"As long as you don't catch a chill. What kind of bodyguard would I be if you did?" He looked up into the tree again, frowning as the rain fell harder. "This is the coldest February I've known for a while." To his surprise Lucrecia shifted closer to him, ducking under his arm and laying her head against his chest, shivering.
The two of them were silent for some time, watching the rain falling on the meadow around them. Vincent relaxed a little, feeling somewhat warmer with Lucrecia so close. Her voice shocked him out of his thoughts, "It's not going to be just the two of us much longer."
"Hmmmm?"
"Your colleague, Marlon will be joining us soon."
"Oh. Yes." He adjusted his position, grimacing to feel the water had got through his underwear. Lucrecia grinned, poking him gently in the ribs,
"Your underwear's soaking too, isn't it?"
"I... Yes." He smirked, titling his head forward to hide behind his damp fringe. "Yes it is."
"In that case, we should be getting back."
"Yes."
She made no motion to get up, just shifted a little closer to him and closed her eyes. "Thing is, I don't want to move. Not right now."
Vincent hesitated, cautiously raising his hand to stroke her hair. "I... don't want to move either."
Lucrecia gave a contented sigh, and closed her eyes. "That makes two of us then." She slipped her hand between his shirt buttons and rested it on his chest. Vincent started, unsure if he should respond. Lucrecia made no further move, just content to be close to him and share her warmth with him. Almost unconsciously, Vincent kissed her hair, settling back against the tree and looking out over the darkened plains.
Lucrecia sat up suddenly, looking at him in confusion. "Vincent?" He looked back at her, inexplicably calm for the situation.
"I'm sorry, Lucrecia. A mistake on my part. It won't happen again."
She shook her head, "No. I don't-" She corrected herself, "I want it to." Carefully, she took a gentle hold on his cheeks and knelt up to brush his lips with her own. Vincent drew back, looking at her with a surprised frown. She blushed, looking down at his chest in embarrassment. He didn't feel the same. His palm on her cheek washed all her doubt away as he brought her lips to his in a gentle kiss.
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Sunrise brought some warmth, some of Cosmo Canyon's climate carrying over to Nibelheim. Lucrecia opened her eyes, surprised to find herself looking at a patch of white milkmaids, swaying in the morning breeze. The rain had stopped sometime in the early hours, leaving a freshness in the air. She shifted, surprised at a sigh from behind. She rolled over to find Vincent laying beside her, on his back, his arms and legs spread as though to make grass angels. She couldn't stifle a giggle, but found herself smiling gently, seeing him looking so peaceful. Sitting up, she picked a milkmaid and brushed the tip of his nose with it. "Vincent."
He opened his eyes, blinking against the morning sunlight. There was something on his nose. Irritated, he swatted it away, annoyed when it came right back. Lucrecia chuckled, poking him in the ribs, making sure to hit his most ticklish spot. Vincent sat up quickly, squirming away from her tickling with a growl. He was momentarily stunned, finding Lucrecia beside him. "Lucrecia?"
She smiled, starting on buttoning his shirt. "Good morning, Vincent."
"Good morning." He looked around, "We fell asleep out here?"
"That's right."
"No wonder I'm so cold." Automatically he straightened the shoulders of her top. "Are you cold?"
"A little. Nothing a hot bath won't fix."
She lay her head on his chest again, nuzzling his damp shirt and pressing her ear against him. Vincent frowned, "What's this about?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. I just want to listen to your heartbeats."
"Make sure I'm still alive? I'm not going anywhere."
"I know. I just want to listen."
He leant back against the tree trunk, happy to give her what she wanted. It was a tiny thing after all. "Lucrecia," He said, "Do you ever wonder what you would be doing, if you weren't a scientist?"
She sat up, "No." and buckled his belt. "I've always loved science." Vincent put his arm around her resting her against his side. She listened to his heart again. "What would you have done, if you never joined the Turks?"
He thought hard about his answer, resting his chin on top of her head. "I don't know. I've never thought about it for myself before."
"Hmmmm." She broke away from him all of a sudden, grabbing his left wrist, "What time is it?" and pulled on his arm, getting to her feet. Vincent did as he was told and stood also, checking his watch for himself. A quarter past ten. They were both late reporting to the lab. Lucrecia grabbed his hand and towed him away towards the village. He went along with her, going through the cons of working in a dirty, wet uniform. There was certainly no shortage...
(NOTE: This chapter's sort of a blur. My man's on nights again. Sleeping in the cold is surprisingly easy. When you have someone close to you, you don't really feel it too much. Last year sometime, Joe and I ended up sleeping in a friend's mini-bouncy castle in the drizzle. It was comfortable and nice :) So, things are happening at long last. We all know how Vinny and Lucrecia's romance ends, it's a shame, but they can have fun while in the swing of it. They're so sweet together. Still not fair I have to wait until November to play Dirge of Cerberus. Blighty's a horrible place to live when it comes to games and movies.)