Sunsets Fade Into Nightmares 2 of 2.
/Vincent/
I finally shook myself awake of the all too familiar nightmare that had invaded my sleep and shivered. Memories of the torture, mutilations, and rapes were once a constant nightly presence, but ever since I started falling asleep with Cid's arms around me, they disappeared. Until now. I shivered again and realized why. He wasn't here. I turned over and saw the emptiness where he should have been. It was impossible to tell if he'd ever been there at all because the bed was so wrecked from my thrashing. I glanced at the clock. We should be pretty close to Edge by now. He's probably down in the cockpit.
I disentangled myself from the sheets and pulled some random clothes from the suitcase. I quickly dressed and went upstairs. Most of the crew was sleeping except for the young pilot. He looked a lot like the one who flew us all around the world and into the crater all those years ago. I thought for a moment and remembered that this was his son. I walked behind the young man and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and let out a very unmanly shriek before recovering his dignity. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Valentine--"
I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "Where is the captain?," I asked, a bit more brusquely than called for.
"H-he just left a couple of hours ago muttering something about getting in his morning run before those fucking assholes decided to have another impromptu meeting. His words, not mine, sir."
I nodded and muttered a thanks, then turned and left without asking where he was heading. I already knew. For every place we go, Cid has an established running route. When we go somewhere new, he plans a route before we even land, usually by looking at photographs and maps of the area on the way, and with his own two eyes once we get close enough. 'The best cure for a hangover is a good run' he told me on many occasions. The best way to find Cid was to find the nearest body of water then work backwards to where he started from. He fits his sign quite well. He loves being in the water nearly as much as being in the air. I thought for a moment. We were just a couple of miles north of Fort Condor. He'd run past the fort and to the beach. There was this little secluded area with an awesome view of the water that no one else (to our knowledge) knew about. It was completely hidden from anybody looking at it from the land or air and could only be found after a fairly lengthy swim. We found it by accident many years ago after swimming out a bit to have some privacy from the rest of the group. That was a fun discovery. I smirked at the memory as I disembarked the airship.
I stepped off the ramp and basked in the sunlight. Bright and warm. The type of day that leads to finding Cid sunbathing nude and other fun things. I took off at a moderate pace which is a little bit faster than a dead run for most. It didn't take me long to reach the shore. The Fort Condor run is much shorter than most of the others due to the long swim that follows. I wasn't wearing shoes so I just went straight into the water and swam instinctively towards where I knew he'd be.
A few minutes later, I saw that familiar shape. Something wasn't quite right. As I got closer, the feeling got stronger. I swam faster and covered most of the remaining distance in seconds. I saw that he wasn't moving and with a final surge made it to him. I towed him to shore and got him out the water as quickly as I could. I turned him over on his back. His beautiful eyes looked empty. I began performing CPR praying for signs of life. There were none. No pulse. No heartbeat. None of that comforting warmth. I futilely continued the procedure for several more minutes before giving up. I knelt beside his lifeless body crying silently and shivered. It was getting cold. I looked up and saw that the sun had disappeared behind the clouds. Gone. I picked up my lover and cradled him in my arms. I closed his eyes and kissed his forehead. Then I began to scream.
/Cid/
Fucking pricks and their useless 3 AM meetings. All that just to tell that me that it was going to rain tomorrow and that they're changing the WRO uniform from a cotton blend to 100 cotton or some similar worthless shit. Waste of time. Make me leave Vin for that shit? Bastards. I entered my other baby and had barely taken two steps in when I heard a noise. A bit muffled at first, but as I drew closer, I recognized a sound that ripped my heart apart. Vin was screaming. I ran to our room. He was writhing in the bed, asleep, but with a tortured look on his face that looked like his entire world had been destroyed. I crossed the room and wrapped my arms around him. "Vin, baby, wake up." I kissed the top of his head and held him tighter. He finally quieted and woke up. He stared at me like he had just seen a ghost and more tears slid down his pale cheeks. "I thought—dreamed, you were...It was so real...I thought I had lost you..."
I continued holding him and stroking his hair as he told me about his nightmare, trying hard not to let him see my own tears. I hate seeing him upset, and I know it would hurt him more to see me upset. He eventually fell asleep in my arms for the second time that night after asking me not to leave him and I assured him that I wasn't going anywhere, and if any of those WRO fuckers called again today, I'd tell them where to shove their fucking meetings without even leaving the bed. I sat against the headboard cradling him and thinking about things. I'm getting older. It'll be my fiftieth birthday soon. I realized that, barring some kind of miracle, one day I would leave him. It won't be by choice and won't be anytime soon if I have anything to say about it. I sighed and kissed him again then drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Finally an update. :) This is a bit different than what I originally had in mind for this chapter, what was it...eight months ago? The other version was much more graphic and featured Vincent being tortured by Hojo in what would have been a tie into another story I lost interest in and didn't write. This version fits the story much better I think. So where do we go from here...Cid's birthday party of course! Hopefully the next chapter won't take quite so long and will hopefully be done well before the Captain's actual birthday. R&R if you wish (and I hope you do :) . It's been awhile since I've written anything, so I'm probably a bit rusty...not that my writing was ever well-oiled to begin with! Nonsensical linesstopping point. Right? Right. :)