And so it began.
As I said, we never spoke of it. It didn't seem as though we needed to, and although our lives have been as different as any two lives can be, our experiences together bound us in a way that only saving the world can. If the others ever noticed the subtle changes in how we reacted to one another, they never said anything. Not that I suppose it mattered. Cloud rejoined us, and although I was relieved and pleased with his recovery, as were we all, I could not help but feel selfishly comforted. Cid's burdens were lightened from not having to lead a team that suffered the loss of three members, and I suppose we all felt better that we were, more or less, whole. Things were as right as they could be.
At one point I overheard Tifa saying something about how nice it was that I was finally beginning to socialize with the team, although how she came to that conclusion is beyond me. My social interactions with anyone but Cid were strained at best; I simply did not have the tolerance to withstand Tifa and her disenheartening dependence on Cloud, or Barret's gargantuan clumsiness, or Yuffie's constant attempts to rifle through my pockets and finding things that were undeniably not materia, or Cait Sith's- well, Reeve's, I suppose- utter silliness. Cloud was present, but often distant to me, and Nanaki and I really had very little to say to each other that was not concern for one another in battle, or thank-you's and you're-welcomes associated with the receiving and giving, respectively, of scratches. There were times that we found ourselves being of similar opinions on certain subject, but that didn't leave much room for discussion.
As soon as he was out of the hospital and on his feet, Cloud insisted that we get back on track right away, but the medication he'd been given demanded some time for it to run its course through his body. Tifa decided to spend a while letting him rest, so we went to spend that time at Icicle Inn. With the snow and warm fires and so on, we all thought it would be relaxing (and although he didn't mention it, I had a feeling that Cid wanted to try snowboarding again). Cloud felt it was a waste, but none of us were all that willing to stand against Tifa on the subject.
Of course, Cloud is not the type of man to sit in idleness if it can be helped, and if he was too ill to fight, he certainly was not too ill to think. He called me up onto the roof, where even if we were heard, it wouldn't matter.
"Vincent... I need to talk to you for a minute."
"Hm." He sounded concerned, and wary, as though he knew I wouldn't like what he had to say. Although I don't particularly trust Cloud's judgment when it comes to what I do and do not like, he seemed as though it hurt him to say what he wanted.
"I've been thinking... about how we're going to do this... Eventually we'll have to go back to Midgar. And.... well.... We're probably going to have to deal with the Turks. And Hojo."
What could he want from me, I wondered; it wasn't as though I had any ties to him except that he needed to be stopped.
"When we go to fight him... I want you to stay behind."
"What?!" I probably spoke with more force in that one word than any I had ever said to him before.
"You have a personal vendetta against him, Vincent, and that compromises your judgement. Who knows what kind of things he's got defending him? I know he can't be popular at ShinRa, there has to be something keeping him safe. On top of that, he's insane. Seeing you might set him off, and I don't really want that battle to be more difficult than it needs to be.... I understand how hard it is for you, but.. "
"How can you understand? Cloud, this man took everything from me - Lucrecia, her son, thirty years- thirty years, Cloud, I've spent more of my life in that horrible casket than out! I can't just sit back and let someone else do my dirty work..." I told him. I couldn't blame him for thinking the way he did, because he did have a point, and during my Turk days I might have said the same thing to my teammates, were they in this situation. "I have sins to atone for, Cloud, and I can't do that until Hojo has been stopped."
"We'll stop him," he said quietly. "I knew you wouldn't like the idea, but... we can't afford to take unnecessary risks. I can't really stop you from coming, Vincent, but I'm going to ask you... as a teammate and a friend, stay behind. We know you have to settle this, but there's nothing wrong with letting your friends help you. Just keep in mind that this is the whole Planet we're talking about, and everyone who's suffered because of what Hojo did... just think about it, okay?"
I nodded, but that didn't console me, and I left the room before I could do something counterproductive. I stayed alone in Cid's and my room, thinking. Although Cid came back in an excited, if snow-covered, good humor after his several snowboarding attempts, he seemed to sense that I was not in the mood to talk. We passed the night in silence, and I resolved to trust Cloud's judgment; he was right, there was more at stake here than my own peace of mind, and it would be selfish to put our entire mission at risk. With that in mind, I slept, although I couldn't bring myself to be satisfied with my decision.
---
With Tifa tending to him,Yuffie out stealing things, and Barret and Nanaki trying to find a chocobo big enough to support Barret's weight (nobody even asked where Cait Sith went, which I suppose is just as well), Cid and I enjoyed each other's company.
The hotel was small and comfortable, with crackling fires and thick, warm blankets; all of it was very cozy and so far removed from the atmosphere of the ShinRa mansion that I found myself sleeping much more restfully. This, I'm sure, was enhanced by having Cid curled up against my chest. Unfortunately restful places don't suit Cid very well, and he insisted that I come outside with him; when he still pestered me, despite the three or so pillows I had thrown at him, I followed him and the snowboard out.
There really wasn't much to do, except help Cid drag his poor, broken body back up the hill every time he crashed into something on his way down, but that was really a reward in itself. Cid with snow in his boxers is a laugh riot.
When darkness rolled in, we came inside, welcoming the warmth and comfort of a roaring fire and a hot meal, which we took in our room. Comfortable silence, flavored with the sort of intimacy that doesn't demand much rapport, seemed to keep us entertained for the evening. Dinner was a simple affair; hot soup, a game of cards, and some bizzare liquor of Cid's that tasted vaguely of vermouth, cherry juice and engine fluid. In the end, I would say it was a productive night. Had I been the type to keep my winnings and not slip them back into his wallet, I might have made off with all of his Gil, his wristwatch, and three of his Materia.
"Good game, Vincent," he said nonchalantly, lighting up one of those bedamned cigarettes. "Can't fuckin' believe I lost that bad..."
"It's not as though I'm skilled, you know. You simply can't hold a poker face, Chief," I told him.
"Yeah.. Heh, I guess I wear my cards on my sleeve." He put the deck back in its box and poured another glass of his booze, then proceeded to take a swig from the bottle. "Hey... can I ask you something?"
"What about?" I took my bandanna off and hung it up next to Cid's goggles on the rack.
"You were upset yesterday," he began, voice carefully neutral. He took another drink. "What's eating you?"
I stopped and really considered the question. Should I tell him? And if I did, what would he think? I doubted he would approve of Cloud's asking me to sit out the most important battle of my unnatural life, and I knew he wouldn't approve of my honoring his request. "Nothing," I said.
"Liar."
Damn. "Yes."
"So? What's bothering you?" he pressed as he put his feet up on the table. He didn't look like he was going anywhere, and he seemed relaxed enough to hear me out, so I decided that it might be good to talk about it.
It took a few minutes and some careful word choice on my part, but I managed to explain what had transpired between me and our esteemed leader. As expected, Cid did not take the peaceful road and proceeded to denounce Cloud's manhood, my courage, Hojo's sexual potency, and then our collective intelligence, in that order (although, as one could probably assume, he used much more colorful language and managed to expose me to the word "cluster-fuck" for the first time). After his tirade and about a quarter of that liquor gone, not including the glass he'd poured, I told him to politely shut his pie hole.
Then he went into a laughing fit because I'd said "pie hole". At that point I told him I knew of another "hole" of his and a certain "claw" that he may find inside it if he kept acting like a moron, and he quickly responded that if he was going to have an appendage of mine inside him, he'd prefer it to be a leg instead of an arm- specifically, the third one. After that, it was war, and I must say that I emerged victorious, but Cid didn't seem too disappointed with losing.
As I said, we never spoke of it. It didn't seem as though we needed to, and although our lives have been as different as any two lives can be, our experiences together bound us in a way that only saving the world can. If the others ever noticed the subtle changes in how we reacted to one another, they never said anything. Not that I suppose it mattered. Cloud rejoined us, and although I was relieved and pleased with his recovery, as were we all, I could not help but feel selfishly comforted. Cid's burdens were lightened from not having to lead a team that suffered the loss of three members, and I suppose we all felt better that we were, more or less, whole. Things were as right as they could be.
At one point I overheard Tifa saying something about how nice it was that I was finally beginning to socialize with the team, although how she came to that conclusion is beyond me. My social interactions with anyone but Cid were strained at best; I simply did not have the tolerance to withstand Tifa and her disenheartening dependence on Cloud, or Barret's gargantuan clumsiness, or Yuffie's constant attempts to rifle through my pockets and finding things that were undeniably not materia, or Cait Sith's- well, Reeve's, I suppose- utter silliness. Cloud was present, but often distant to me, and Nanaki and I really had very little to say to each other that was not concern for one another in battle, or thank-you's and you're-welcomes associated with the receiving and giving, respectively, of scratches. There were times that we found ourselves being of similar opinions on certain subject, but that didn't leave much room for discussion.
As soon as he was out of the hospital and on his feet, Cloud insisted that we get back on track right away, but the medication he'd been given demanded some time for it to run its course through his body. Tifa decided to spend a while letting him rest, so we went to spend that time at Icicle Inn. With the snow and warm fires and so on, we all thought it would be relaxing (and although he didn't mention it, I had a feeling that Cid wanted to try snowboarding again). Cloud felt it was a waste, but none of us were all that willing to stand against Tifa on the subject.
Of course, Cloud is not the type of man to sit in idleness if it can be helped, and if he was too ill to fight, he certainly was not too ill to think. He called me up onto the roof, where even if we were heard, it wouldn't matter.
"Vincent... I need to talk to you for a minute."
"Hm." He sounded concerned, and wary, as though he knew I wouldn't like what he had to say. Although I don't particularly trust Cloud's judgment when it comes to what I do and do not like, he seemed as though it hurt him to say what he wanted.
"I've been thinking... about how we're going to do this... Eventually we'll have to go back to Midgar. And.... well.... We're probably going to have to deal with the Turks. And Hojo."
What could he want from me, I wondered; it wasn't as though I had any ties to him except that he needed to be stopped.
"When we go to fight him... I want you to stay behind."
"What?!" I probably spoke with more force in that one word than any I had ever said to him before.
"You have a personal vendetta against him, Vincent, and that compromises your judgement. Who knows what kind of things he's got defending him? I know he can't be popular at ShinRa, there has to be something keeping him safe. On top of that, he's insane. Seeing you might set him off, and I don't really want that battle to be more difficult than it needs to be.... I understand how hard it is for you, but.. "
"How can you understand? Cloud, this man took everything from me - Lucrecia, her son, thirty years- thirty years, Cloud, I've spent more of my life in that horrible casket than out! I can't just sit back and let someone else do my dirty work..." I told him. I couldn't blame him for thinking the way he did, because he did have a point, and during my Turk days I might have said the same thing to my teammates, were they in this situation. "I have sins to atone for, Cloud, and I can't do that until Hojo has been stopped."
"We'll stop him," he said quietly. "I knew you wouldn't like the idea, but... we can't afford to take unnecessary risks. I can't really stop you from coming, Vincent, but I'm going to ask you... as a teammate and a friend, stay behind. We know you have to settle this, but there's nothing wrong with letting your friends help you. Just keep in mind that this is the whole Planet we're talking about, and everyone who's suffered because of what Hojo did... just think about it, okay?"
I nodded, but that didn't console me, and I left the room before I could do something counterproductive. I stayed alone in Cid's and my room, thinking. Although Cid came back in an excited, if snow-covered, good humor after his several snowboarding attempts, he seemed to sense that I was not in the mood to talk. We passed the night in silence, and I resolved to trust Cloud's judgment; he was right, there was more at stake here than my own peace of mind, and it would be selfish to put our entire mission at risk. With that in mind, I slept, although I couldn't bring myself to be satisfied with my decision.
---
With Tifa tending to him,Yuffie out stealing things, and Barret and Nanaki trying to find a chocobo big enough to support Barret's weight (nobody even asked where Cait Sith went, which I suppose is just as well), Cid and I enjoyed each other's company.
The hotel was small and comfortable, with crackling fires and thick, warm blankets; all of it was very cozy and so far removed from the atmosphere of the ShinRa mansion that I found myself sleeping much more restfully. This, I'm sure, was enhanced by having Cid curled up against my chest. Unfortunately restful places don't suit Cid very well, and he insisted that I come outside with him; when he still pestered me, despite the three or so pillows I had thrown at him, I followed him and the snowboard out.
There really wasn't much to do, except help Cid drag his poor, broken body back up the hill every time he crashed into something on his way down, but that was really a reward in itself. Cid with snow in his boxers is a laugh riot.
When darkness rolled in, we came inside, welcoming the warmth and comfort of a roaring fire and a hot meal, which we took in our room. Comfortable silence, flavored with the sort of intimacy that doesn't demand much rapport, seemed to keep us entertained for the evening. Dinner was a simple affair; hot soup, a game of cards, and some bizzare liquor of Cid's that tasted vaguely of vermouth, cherry juice and engine fluid. In the end, I would say it was a productive night. Had I been the type to keep my winnings and not slip them back into his wallet, I might have made off with all of his Gil, his wristwatch, and three of his Materia.
"Good game, Vincent," he said nonchalantly, lighting up one of those bedamned cigarettes. "Can't fuckin' believe I lost that bad..."
"It's not as though I'm skilled, you know. You simply can't hold a poker face, Chief," I told him.
"Yeah.. Heh, I guess I wear my cards on my sleeve." He put the deck back in its box and poured another glass of his booze, then proceeded to take a swig from the bottle. "Hey... can I ask you something?"
"What about?" I took my bandanna off and hung it up next to Cid's goggles on the rack.
"You were upset yesterday," he began, voice carefully neutral. He took another drink. "What's eating you?"
I stopped and really considered the question. Should I tell him? And if I did, what would he think? I doubted he would approve of Cloud's asking me to sit out the most important battle of my unnatural life, and I knew he wouldn't approve of my honoring his request. "Nothing," I said.
"Liar."
Damn. "Yes."
"So? What's bothering you?" he pressed as he put his feet up on the table. He didn't look like he was going anywhere, and he seemed relaxed enough to hear me out, so I decided that it might be good to talk about it.
It took a few minutes and some careful word choice on my part, but I managed to explain what had transpired between me and our esteemed leader. As expected, Cid did not take the peaceful road and proceeded to denounce Cloud's manhood, my courage, Hojo's sexual potency, and then our collective intelligence, in that order (although, as one could probably assume, he used much more colorful language and managed to expose me to the word "cluster-fuck" for the first time). After his tirade and about a quarter of that liquor gone, not including the glass he'd poured, I told him to politely shut his pie hole.
Then he went into a laughing fit because I'd said "pie hole". At that point I told him I knew of another "hole" of his and a certain "claw" that he may find inside it if he kept acting like a moron, and he quickly responded that if he was going to have an appendage of mine inside him, he'd prefer it to be a leg instead of an arm- specifically, the third one. After that, it was war, and I must say that I emerged victorious, but Cid didn't seem too disappointed with losing.