Vincent sat back on the bed, settling against the headboard. This was a disaster. He didn't want anyone to know what was going on. Especially not Cid. "I… don't really know how to explain this."
Cid folded his legs, tilting Vincent's head to look up at him. "Just start with why Chaos is tryin ta kill ya."
Vincent flushed. Great. "Ok… well… pretty much he's discovered that, if he kills me, then he can gain control of my body."
"WHAT!?" Cid nearly jumped out of his skin. "But… I thought if you died, then Chaos went with you."
Vincent shook his head. "Not if he's the one who does it." His gaze fell, along with his tone. "It's more like… he's forcing my soul out."
Cid just stared at him, waiting for more. "Go ahead, keep goin."
"Well." He sighed, not wanting to go any further. "That, in fact, is the reason I haven't been sleeping."
"Wait haven't been? How long have you been awake, Vince?"
Vincent's face burned darker. "Erm… two."
"Two weeks!?"
His voice dropped to a whisper. "Months."
"TWO MONTHS!!!!!!! You can't be serious!"
"Afraid so."
"Damn! No wonder you're so damn frail lately."
"What do you mean, frail?"
"I dunno." Cid scratched his head. "You just seem a bit." He thought, trying to choose his words carefully. "Weaker than usual."
"…Oh." His gaze fell. "Am I?"
Cid tensed at the drop in Vincent's expression. "Well, I don't mean weak, per say. Just more… erm."
"I know what you mean, Cid. Don't strain yourself. Honestly, I've sensed it too. I just didn't think it was noticeable." His eyes formed tears again, and he whiped them away in frustration. "Argh! This had to be the worst time for Cloud to leave me. I'm already frustrated as it is."
Cid grasped Vincent's hand, running his thumb over the palm. "So what, exactly, does Chaos attacking you have to do with sleeping?"
"Well. It's just that I'm most vulnerable when I'm asleep. My defenses are down, and he takes advantage of that to attack me. Some of the wounds even become physical."
"Physical?" Cid's eyes widened, thinking of that bruise he'd seen back when he and Cloud were still together. And Vincent's bleeding shoulder… maybe he had been shot. "So he attacks you in your sleep?"
Vincent nodded.
"… So he's like Freddy Kruger?"
"Who?"
"Erm, never mind. Is there any way for you to fight back?"
"I'm afraid not." He whiped his tears again. "He's far too strong for me to handle. And I'm getting weaker by the day." Vincent gave up on cleaning up his tears, diverting his eyes again. "Pretty soon he'll be strong enough to attack me even when I'm awake. He can already control my left hand." His eyes closed in frustration. "I don't know what to do anymore, Cid. If this keeps up, he's going to kill me for sure. I won't even have to be asleep."
Cid drew Vincent into his arms, running his fingers through the still damp raven strands. "There has to be something I can do to help."
"No. You can't reach him, so you can't do anything." Vincent pushed away. "That's why I didn't want to tell you, I knew you'd only worry about me."
He knew it wasn't a good time for it, but Cid couldn't help but laugh at the comment. "Vince, I'm already worried about ya. It's good for me to know why I'm so worried. Right?"
Vincent shook his head. "That's one of the reasons I wanted you away from me, Cid."
"Hee hee. Too late now. Look, Vince." He brushed a hand across his face. "Two heads are better than one. I can still help you out, even if I can't do nothing to Chaos." His hand cupped Vincent's chin, tilting the head up to face him. "I'm not just gonna let you face this alone. I'll do what I can to help you through this."
A timid smile found its way to Vincent's lips, despite the protesting gags from the demons infesting his mind.
Cid was glad to see it. "Plus I can help you stay awake till we figure this out."
"What? No, Cid. You have to sleep at some point."
"No I don't. I can stay awake, if you need me to. You've gone far longer. And obviously you're having trouble staying awake, yourself. So why shouldn't I help?"
"Cid."
The pilot's fingers fell on Vincent's lips to silence him. "Don't protest, Vince. You're not gonna stop me, you know that." The fingers' touch softened, gently tracing the curve of his lips.
"I suppose." His hand made its way up Cid's arm, searching for the hand. "You are impossible to fight." His voice took a frighteningly dreamy tone. "I know I could never win against you."
Cid's fingers seemed to guide the ex-Turk's head in closer. All Cid could think about was how much he wanted to take Vincent's mind off of his exhaustion, and the pain Cloud had caused. If that meant pursuing a relationship with the gunman, then he'd make that sacrifice.
Vincent's eyes closed as his lips came to rest against Cid's. The pilot sighed into the mouth against his. He was relieved that the kiss was so much softer than before. Too bad it didn't last long enough for him to enjoy it.
Vincent shoved back, sliding to the edge of the bed. He dropped his head into his hands, panting.
Cid slid closer, touching a timid hand to his shoulder, only to have it knocked away. "Something wrong?"
Vincent laughed. "Don't act stupid, Cid. You know what's wrong." He sighed, burying his head further. "That's just another reason why I shouldn't be around you."
Cid tried, unsuccessful to hide the grin this comment brought to his face. "What? You're finding it difficult to resist my rugged charm?"
"No." He turned to face him a bit aggravated. "Chaos is horney as hell and it's effecting me. I thought that was clear."
Cid's smile faded. "Oh… oh yea."
A wave of guilt washed over Vincent from the sudden drop in the pilot's expression. He turned away, picking at his fingers. "Besides… it's too early for me to be getting into something like that." He glanced back to Cid, forcing a smile. "Right?"
Cid scratched his head, feeling a bit uneasy to make eye contact. "Yea. I guess you're right."
Vincent sighed. Why the hell was he snapping at Cid? He was just trying to make him feel better. "I'm sorry."
Cid turned to him, in shock of hearing this. "What for, now?"
His gaze dropped down to where he was still picking at his fingers. "I'm taking out my frustration on you. When really… I'm just pissed at my own weakness."
"Oh… that all?"
"What?"
Cid clamped a hand onto the gunman's shoulder, that same oblivious grin returning to his face. "You're tired, I get it. You can take out whatever ya need to on me. Besides… you're supposed weakness isn't your own fault."
"But I…" He sighed. "The only reason I'm in this mess, in the first place, is because I was too weak to fight off Chaos."
"Vince." Cid forced Vincent to finally look at him, with his scornful tone. "You're up against a fuckin demon. Hell! I'm amazed you held out this long."
The gunman just stared at him in astonishment of these words. "What?"
"Think about it." Cid slid closer, his arm moving further around his shoulder. "It's bound to be hard enough to fight back one of those beasties… ya got four of those bastards to hold off. It was only a matter of time before you started to wear down. You're only human, Vince."
Vincent's gaze fell. "I-I'd never… thought of it like that… before."
Cid's grin widened… still oblivious. "See. I know stuff… sometimes."
"Uh... Cid?"
"Yea."
"I think maybe you should go."
The pilot's expression dropped. "What? Why?"
"Well, um." Vincent gulped, lifting Cid's hand from his leg, which was dangerously close to him. "For a few reasons." He ran a hand through his hair, unsuccessfully hiding his reddened cheeks. "Mainly because I'd like to get dressed."
"Dressed?" Cid flushed too, sliding back. It was bad enough he hadn't even realized his hand was on Vincent's leg, but he'd completely forgotten that the ex-Turk… was naked. "Oh. Erm… guess I'll, uh, just leave then, and let you … yea." He stood, slipping out the room.
Cid fell against the door, running a hand through his hair. "Wow… whatta night."
--
AN: it's been far too long since my last update, and i've actually had this written for a long time... i sat down to try and write more, then was like, y'know whut... i'll just stop it here... people are probably ready to kill me for taking so long ^^; oops