Alright! Ch. 5 is earlier than a week! It's a little short, but it is still somewhat important. Anyway, enjoy!
"I'm bored!" Yet again, Cid had started whining like a child to Vincent, who usually stayed on the deck of the Tiny Bronco, which sat in the cargo bay of the ship.
The ship, while large and quite spacious, was a type of cruise liner. This meant that there were many couples, parents, and children around. Vincent, preferring quiet, decided to keep to himself and avoid as many people as possible. However, no matter where he was, Cid managed to find him and complain about anything and everything. It was day three of the boat ride, and Vincent was almost at his limit.
"Then work on the Tiny Bronco, Highwind."
"But I already did!"
"Then bother one of your crew."
"I can't find them! They're hiding from me or something."
/Maybe they have the right idea...\ The crimson-eyed man thought to himself, hoping that staying quiet would make the blonde go away.
"Hey! Vin! You paying attention?" Noticing how badly his plan worked, Vincent tried another suggestion.
"I heard that there's a pool. Go swimming."
As Cid grew quiet, Vincent thought his troubles were over. That is, until the Captain of the Tiny Bronco casually said "Come with me."
The raven-haired man glared at the other man. "Don't joke about things like that."
There was another moment of silence, which was followed by Cid saying "Come with me, and I won't bug the shit out of you anymore."
Thinking about the possibility of spending the rest of the boat ride in solitude, the traveler turned towards the ramp leading off the hovercraft, and started towards it. He stopped abruptly when Cid started laughing, and his confused crimson eyes met those of sky blue. "What's so funny?"
Lighting a cigarette, Cid's eyes scanned over Vincent. "You're going dressed like that?"
As usual, another glare came from Vincent. "Is there a problem with the way I dress?"
Shrugging, Cid just said "Nothing's wrong...if you get a kick out of scaring little brats."
Vincent looked down at his attire, and silently agreed with the shorter man. "I don't have anything else..."
With a mischievous smirk, Cid started to head into the hovercraft. "Mizuki got us all bathing suits in Corania. Yours should be in your room."
Dumbfounded, Vincent made his way to his room and found a plain white box on his bed. /When did that get put there?\ the man thought to himself before opening said box. There was a pair of dark red swimming trunks, a black t-shirt, a towel with blue flames on a black background, and some bandages. Smiling a little, Vincent started to undress, changing into his new outfit. Once putting his shirt and shorts on, he bandaged up his hand that wore the gauntlet, covering the tattoo that lay upon it.
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"Yahoo!" was what Fallen cried out as he cannon-balled into the pool, splashing Mizuki from head to foot.
"What the hell, Fallen?!" She now stood, her hair matted to her back, as she showed everyone how well-built her body was through her one-piece, which was only a shade lighter than her hair in color.
"What? It was funny." Fallen climbed out of the pool, his blue swimming trunks falling dangerously low as he walked over to Koro, who was reading a book in one of the lounge chairs. This movement also gave Vincent an amazing view of the tattoo that was spread across the green-haired mechanic's back. A pair of dragons, one green and one blue, were battling, using Fallen's back as a battleground. Their bared fangs and sharpened claws looked as if they were trying to rip into each other for the killing blow, but their tails ran off of Fallen's back on either side, and wrapped and intertwined together around the man's navel. "Wasn't it funny?" he asked his blue-haired companion.
Looking up from his book, then quickly down to his forest green shorts, Koro sighed and said "Don't drag me into it. And pull up your trunks."
Looking down, Fallen stared for a second at his muscles before realizing that he was almost giving everyone at the pool a free show. "Sorry." He pulled them up and tied them around his waist tighter, trying his best to avoid Mizuki's 'glare of death.'
Shaking his head, Vincent looked up and closed his eyes, taking in the sun for once. The warmth on his skin felt so good, but he seemed to close his eyes tighter as something shadowed over him. Opening his eyes, he stared into what he thought was the sky, only to realize it was Cid leaning over him.
"...What are you doing, Highwind?"
Cid smiled his usual cocky smile. "Being amazed that you can actually be in sunlight."
"I'm not a vampire, Highwind. Now move."
Shrugging, Cid did move out of the way. "Fine." He then walked to the diving board, and Vincent watched the man walk, watched how his muscles were already shining with sweat formed from the heat of the sun...
Shaking his head, he looked away, only to look again and notice the dangerously low hanging brown swimming trunks that adorned the Captain. Closing his eyes, all Vincent could see was those muscles, and he shook his head and reopened his eyes, glad to see Cid leap from the board and go underwater and out of his sight.
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Vincent could see the sun starting to sink behind the horizon, and watched as children and their parents started to head into the ship for dinner, leaving only the traveler and the crew of the Tiny Bronco.
Fallen, Mizuki, and Cid, were now racing each other in crossing the pool, and Koro was still reading, pulling out a small flashlight so as to still be able to read when it got too dark to read. Vincent laid his head back to enjoy a snooze as the others got their fill of fun, only to feel something move beside him and reach its hand into his pocket.
With quick reflexes, Vincent grabbed the wrist of the person and snapped his eyes open, only to look into the face of a teenage girl. Her brown eyes had a mischievous shine to them, as she cried out "Let me go, you pervert! Your hurting me!"
Vincent didn't let go, and this got the attention of the crew. They watched in amazement as Cid climbed out of the pool and walked over to the girl. Kneeling down, he looked into her eyes, and looked to Vincent. "Let her go."
Doing so, the girl gained a smile and said "Thanks, suckers!" as she tried to run off, only to stop as Cid grabbed her braid with the same kind of reflexes Vincent had used before.
"So you aren't as innocent as I thought."
Grinning sheepishly, she scratched the back of her head. "Oops. Busted."
"Why were you trying to pickpocket my friend here?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't have to say anything, you know."
Cid nodded and let go, making the girl curious as he walked over to his things and fished through a bag. Pulling out something, he walked back over to the girl, grabbed her wrist, and placed some Gil in her hand. "Take it and go."
Confused by the kind gesture, she walked away. When almost around the corner, she called out "I'm Yuffie! If you're ever in Yokoto, ask about me and I'll help you with whatever you need!" And with that, she turned the corner, leaving the crew and Vincent alone once more.
"You were too nice." Vincent said quietly, and was confused as he noticed the solemn look and the crews' faces.
"That's how Cid is..." was all Mizuki said before heading to the hovercraft in the cargo bay, and was soon followed by all but Vincent, who stayed behind and watched the moon rise high into the sky, thinking of Cid and his kindness.
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The town was quiet except for the noise of waves crashing on the shore and splashing against boats in the harbor. Banal was written on the front gate that lead to the plains of the continent. Beneath the gate stood two people, both male.
"This is where he's going to come?" asked the shorter one.
"Yes. That is what the leader said." came from the larger one.
"Good. Now, all we do is wait for our chance."
To be continued...
SIDE NOTES: Just somethings I'd like to point out here. First, to andrhats. Yes, I've had a few typos, but hey, who's perfect? At least the meaning still got across...I think. Oh, and the whole Vincent's arm? That actually debated among fans. Some say it's a prosthetic(sp?) arm, but others say it's a gauntlet. I prefer the guantlet angle for this story.
Now, for Luna: I figured Reeve was older, but I judged how old he looked from Dirge of Cerberus by my standards, and to me, he looked to be around his late twenties or early thirties. I mean, it's not like I forgot his age or anything -cough cough-
EXTRA FACTS: The tattoo of the dragons was inspired by an idea from my cousin, but he wants it for being cool looking. I might have changed it's meaning in my story, and that will get explained later...maybe. Depends on how generous I feel when writing (or if I remember...)
Thank you, for those that have reviewed, and I hope more people will review more!
Oh, I almost forgot. NOTICE TIME!!! I actually have started another CidxAldrick story. It's being edited now, but I should have it posted tomorrow...or today...considering it's around midnight, but regardless, I might be working more on that story than this one, so this might not be updated sunday like it has been. Decided to give any of my faithful readers a heads up ahead of time.