Eh… srry this took so long. I was fighting with so many different ideas for the "where's Vincent" part of the story… and decided on this. Not completely satisfied (mostly cuz I wou;d've maybe drawn it out more, but didn't know how), but I hope you like it

--

Cid awoke to a vicious banging, on his door. He grabbed the clock, cursing the intrusion.

"It's four in the fucking mornin."

The pilot marched, drowsily, to the door, slamming it open to reveal this bothersome person, who had the nerve to wake his up. "Oh… It's you. What the hell do you want?

"Have you seen Vincent?"

"No." Cid started to shut the door, but Cloud put a hand up to stop it.

"I'm serious, Cid. Vincent's run off. I figured he might've come here."

Cid sighed, opening the door back. "So he's really gone?"

"Yea, and I can't find any trace of him." He tried to come in, but Cid held an arm across the doorway, to stop him. "Why'd he leave?"

Cloud's cheeks turned pink. "That really doesn't matter. You have to help me find him."

Cid just shook his head. He knew exactly why Vincent took off. "Why would I help you find him?"

Cloud was taken aback. "What? I thought you cared about Vincent. You'd just leave him out there alone?"

Cid's fist collided with the side of Cloud's face, toppling him back a few feet. "Don't even try it! I just said I wasn't gonna help you find him. As far as I'm concerned, you're nothin but a dumbass. You know how hard it is to get Vincent to trust anyone. You somehow managed to get that trust, and decided to fuck it up, cause you couldn't control your own damn hormones. I don't feel an ounce of pity, for you. I just wanna make sure Vincent's alright."

"What?" Cloud rubbed his sore cheek. "So you're gonna help me?"

Cid gave him that 'are you stupid' look. "Didn't you hear me? I'm glad Vincent left your sorry ass. Why don't you just go back to your fuck buddy?"

Cloud's face burned hotter. "I lost Reno too."'

Cid gave him a sarcastic, "Aww."

"SHUT UP!!" The swordsman snapped. "If anything, this happening was good." He paused his head falling. "It made me realize how much he really meant to me. How much I need him." He looked back up at Cid. "I really do love Vincent."

"Bullshit."

Cloud started. "What?"

"You're just saying that because you think Vincent's the one you have a better chance to get back."

Cloud flared. "That's outrageous!"

"I know it is, but that doesn't stop it from being true."

"You just don't understand!"

"You're right… I don't. I don't get how you can have such an amazing man, on your arm, and still need more?"

"Yea, but I-" He shook his head, glaring at Cid. "Fine then. I don't need your help. I don't even know why I asked you!"

"Neither do I!"

(Me either O.o?)

Cid slammed the door, in his face. At least he would've if Cloud hadn't already stormed off, in a huff.

xXx

Cid went out back, to find Kiwi. He typically let her run free, sometimes even sleeping inside, but she seemed to have nested under the dogwood tree, in the back yard.

He rubbed the golden bird's head, trying to coax her awake. "Come on, girl. I need ya."

Kiwi waved a wing at him, flopping over onto her back. Cid could've sworn she started snoring.

The pilot's eyebrow twitched. "GET UP YA DUMB BIRD!!" He stood, kicking her foot.

She mearly kicked that big orange claw, her beak falling open.

Cid groaned, and shrugged. "Oh well. Guess I'll just have to eat all these yummy greens myself."

He started inside, and glanced back at her… she wasn't buying it.

"Oh, come on Kiwi. Vincent's out there, somewhere, and I need to find him."

She warked, quizzically, and raised her head.

"Yea, Vince. Get up, and help me find him."

"Waark." That pain-in-the-ass bird flopped down, and went back to sleep.

"Screw it." Cid waved her off, starting back inside. "I'm getting the cattle prod."

She warked, leaping to her feet, and ran over.

The pilot scratched her ear. "That's more like it."

xXx

Honestly Cid wasn't 100 percent sure where Vincent was, but still had a good idea of some places to check. He was rather relieved to see he hadn't gone back to ShinRa manor, though still rather upset that he wasn't there. The pilot had a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, which only succeeded in making his thoughts whirl.

Experience told him that Vincent wasn't cowardly enough to do what he was thinking… but he often worried about the gunman's stability and wondered if maybe this was enough to put him over that slim edge.

There was only one place he hadn't checked yet. Anxiety set in with this thought, that afterwards he'd have no leads, but the odds were in his favor. Cid turned Kiwi to the North.

Vincent had to be there.

xXx

Vincent spun the clip a few times, until he was satisfied, and flipped it closed. A faint click echoed over the dark waters, seeming to grow louder with each reverberation. The silver of the small pistol glistened under the light of the luminescent forest surrounding, reflecting the familiar shape back into his eyes.

The gunman sighed, fighting back the tears, with little avail. The gun nestled in the palm of his hand quite nicely, fingers flexing around the handle.

He shuddered slightly. Just the mere thought of this hated motion was enough to send his skin crawling… but he had to know.

Vincent tripped the hammer, surrounding himself with a series of uncertain clicks. He slowly lifted the pistol to his temple, closing his eyes.

"VINCENT!!" Almost simultaneous with the outburst, a strong weight hit Vincent, knocking him to the ground. The combined effort of startle-ment, along with his hand slamming into the hard shore, forced his grip to tighten. A hollow click filled the area once more.

Cid gasped, staring up at his hand.

Vincent blinked, freeing a tear from his eye. "I guess not."

Cid glanced down at Vincent, then back to the gun, snatching it from his lax grip. He sat up and opened the clip, checking in to see a round brass circle covering the hole of every other chamber. The pilot's eyes began to sting, as he looked up at Vincent in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

Vincent hung his head. "I had to know."

"KNOW WHAT!?" Cid bit his lip, breathing in deep. Raising his voice, at this point in time, would not be a good idea. "Know what? How far you can go with this shit before I have a fucking heart attack!?"

Vincent shook his head. "I needed to know how long I was gonna be forced to live." The gunman spoke softly, not even phased by Cid's panic. "I thought maybe this was a sign that I could finally move on."

Cid stared gaping, not even caring to stop the tears streaking from his eyes. He dumped the bullets into his hand, tossing both to the side, and threw his arms around Vincent. "Dammit Vince. Don't do this kinda shit. Do you realize how much pain would come from your death?"

Vincent paused slightly, his voice soon emerging in an agonized whisper. "Do you realize how much pain comes from my existence."

Cid's grip relaxed slightly, before tightening even more around him. "It won't always hurt. I promise."

"You shouldn't make empty promises. Besides," He sighed, crumpling in the tight embrace. "I've lost Cloud. What do I have to stay here for, now?"

Cid pulled him back up into his arms. "You still have me, Vincent. I'm not gonna hurt you." He pulled the gunman tighter into him, tears squeezing through his clenched eyes. "I love you, Vincent."

Every muscle in Vincent's body tensed with hearing that dreaded word. He already knew it, but dammit Cid didn't have to say it. "HOW COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?" He shoved the pilot violently away, rising to his feet. "How could you possibly even think something so absurd?"

"Absurd?" Cid stood, staring in disbelief. "Vince, I'm serious."

"No… no you can't be." Sorrowful panic spilled from his eyes. "It's insane. I am not a creature that is capable of being loved."

"You're not making any sense." Cid stepped closer, cautiously. "If that was true, then you wouldn't be hurting right now."

Vincent pulled at the delicate black strands on his head. "No no NO! It's not possible."

Cid slowly reached for his arm. "Vincent?"

"NO!!" Vincent's eyes flared as he smacked his hand away. "You don't love me!! YOU NEVER DID! You just want me. Love and lust are two completely different things. You merely want me so you can use me and have power over something… something you can dominate!!" His voice calmed, tears soaking his face. "Just like him."

Cid's heart froze with the way he said 'him'. He only used that hollowly angry tone when mentioning one man, and it killed Cid to hear Vincent compare him to 'him'.

The pilot sighed. "I'm afraid I can't completely deny that."

Vincent's gaze snapped to Cid. "What?"

Cid pocketed his hands, averting his eyes away. "I'll admit, when I first saw you, my only thought was how to devise ways to get you into bed."

Vincent's heart stopped, his breath running cold. "What? No… not Cid."

"That's really why I started hanging out with you so much." He scratched his cheek, glancing back to him. "I wanted to soften you up. See how much I could get you to trust me." His hands returned to his pocket, turning fully to the dumbstruck gunman. "Guess that was my mistake."

"What?" Vincent's voice was dull, hot tears cutting the cold of his skin.

"Soon another thought started to invade my mind. I remember thinking that I wanted to know why someone so beautiful had to hold such pain and fear behind his eyes. I wanted to know, and I wanted to make that look go away. My focus turned to this quest and away from just raw passions." He approached the frozen angel, raising a hand to his face. "My only wish, now, is to make you happy. I want to do everything, in my power, to bring a smile to these lips." His thumb brushed across the for mentioned feature, wanting to bring his own to touch them.

Vincent swiped at him, the golden claws digging into his shoulder, on down to his chest.

Cid jumped back. "What the-" His hand snapped to the fresh wound, blood seeping between his fingers.

"You tricked me!"

"What? No! Vince I-"

"You bastard! I can't believe I ever trusted you!" He backed up, dangerously close to the edge of the lake.

"Vince! Watch out!" He reached out to grab his hands, only to get swatted away. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from me?"

A chill ran through Cid's spine, under the unnerving glare in those crimson eyes." Yea, but-"

"I meant it!" Vincent snapped. "Stay away from me, I don't ever want to see you again!" He tried to run, but considering that he had to go by Cid to get to the exit, the pilot reached out, snagging his arm. "LET GO!!"

"Vincent please."

"I said to release me." The hard edge of a gold tipped boot, collided with the side of Cid's head, leading him to the ground. Kiwi warked, darting over to help her master up.

Cid groaned, climbing on, and started after Vincent. He was surprised with how fast he could actually manage to get in front of him. The pilot flew off, grasping both of Vincent's wrists, knocking him to the ground. "I'm not leaving you out here!!"

Vincent wriggled. "Get offa me!"

"Vincent, just listen." Cid fought to keep a hold of him. "Listen to me!" He pinned Vincent down, raising his voice a little higher than he had intended. "Ok… maybe I shouldn't have told you that, but you want me to be honest don't you?"

Vincent drew in a slow breathe, pulling at his wrists. His head tilted back, eyes clenched.

"And I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but I can't leave you alone out here. I won't possibly be able to sleep, knowing that you're out here. Not knowing if you're alright or what's happening." He sighed, adjusting his grip. "Just come home with me."

"What?"

"No strings attached. And I swear I won't do anything you don't want to. I just want to make sure that you're ok."

Vincent's eyes flashed. "You can't take a fucking hint, can you?"

Cid's heart froze.

"I told you to stay away from me, and I meant it. I don't want to see you again."

"But Vince"

"Get off me!"

Cid stalled slightly, before moving to release Vincent. "When did you stop trusting me?"

The ex-Turk sat up, rubbing his wrists. His head fell, a timid look of fright flittered in his eyes.

"Vincent?" Cid moved closer, hearing his labored breathe. "Are you ok?"

Vincent turned away. "I told you to leave me alone. Why don't you listen?" He sobbed.

The pilot sat back on his feet, scratching his head. "I guess I'm just a pain that way. Forgive me for caring enough to want to help you. I didn't think that was a bad thing."

Vincent dropped his head into his hands. "You insufferable man. There's no possible way to fight you is there?"

Cid grinned. "Does that mean you'll come home with me?"

--

AN: in case anyone's curious, Vincent and Cid weren't the only ones talking then… but I'm not gonna tell you when it wasn't them XP