Chapter Nine: Rain
Aubre Naluri:
Two months today and my nausea was at its worst. I closed my eyes as I pressed my cheek against the cold toilet seat. As gross as it was, the cold felt good. Along with the nausea came the mood swings. Vincent tapped on the door like he usually did after waiting a half hour to see if I was still alive.
"Leave me alone." The echo of the bathroom helped my weak voice carry. I heard Vincent's footsteps depart as he obeyed. I was sick of seeing that stupid guilty look on his face. Yeah, this is his fault and yes he should feel like the second most evil person in this world, but I was done watching him wallow over it. Hojo, the number one most evil person in the world, surely wasn't feeling guilty. Each time I was forced to let him examine me, the more crazily excited he became over this "creation" as he called it.
I pushed myself away from the toilet and stood to face myself in the mirror. I had lost weight instead of gaining it this month... Hojo was getting disgusted with me, but Lucrecia assured him that most women have a hard time at this point in their pregnancies to keep weight on them because of the nausea. The only thing I have been able to keep down is the vitamins I was instructed to take.
I walked through the living room and glanced at Vincent. He was focused on the new puzzle he had started. He looked up at me and I glanced away as I entered the bedroom. I climbed under the warm sheets and closed my eyes again. How do women do this... I wondered. I felt so...so sick. Maybe they don't all go through this so severely. Maybe it was the cells Hojo implanted into the embryo. I laid there in my daily agony until a little after noon. Vincent tapped on the door lightly before carrying my lunch into the bedroom. I didn't even bother trying to eat breakfast anymore..
"I spoke with Lucrecia and she says this will pass once you're through the first trimester." He sat the tray across me and took a seat himself on the bed as well. He stroked my cheek softly with the back of his hand a few times before I felt his weight being lifted off the bed.
Vincent Valentine:
Just when I thought things weren't going to be horrifically bad between me and Aubre from here on out, the pregnancy symptoms weighed in and did so heavily. I knew this must have been because this was not just an ordinary pregnancy. Her irritability had grown so much over the past couple of weeks that I could barely speak to her without being shut down. I closed her bedroom door with a sigh and returned to my puzzle. I fought with myself all day to keep from bothering her as all I really wanted to do was lay in that bed with her in my arms.
I watched the clock off and on for about an hour before going back into her room to collect the lunch tray. I knocked again before intruding and was surprised to see her sitting at the vanity desk brushing her long hair. I moved behind her swiftly over to her bed to get the tray. I caught eye contact with her through the mirror and forced a partial smile. I quickly looked away and continued towards the door.
"Hey, Vincent.." her words froze me for a few seconds. I turned to her.
"Yes?"
"Do you think we could go for a walk? Maybe some fresh air would do me some good." That seemed like a good idea. Being cooped up in this suite probably wasn't helping her symptoms any.
I smiled again, a true smile, as I was happy to get to spend some time with her whether or not I deserved her time. "Sure, that would be fine. Let me know when you're ready." I continued out of the door and disposed of the leftovers from her lunch. No later than after I put the tray away she came walking into the kitchen.
"I'm ready." she said softly. Her voice still sounded a bit weak.
I patted myself down making sure I had the keys, which I did not. "Let me grab the keys and we'll be on our way." I brushed passed her, picked up the keys and lightly took her hand as we left. I knew as soon as we stepped outside that our walk would be fairly short. Ominous storm clouds were drawing in slowly. We started into the garden.
"Looks like rain." I pointed out the obvious.
She looked up at the sky and sighed. "Yeah.." We kept walking nevertheless at mostly her lead. I tried to pull back and walk slowly as we kept getting further and further away from the house. The air had a slight chill to it as it was so being wet out here wouldn't be nice. If she so much as catches a cold, I would be to blame.
"Maybe we should head back." I suggested as we finally came to a stop. Aubre had bent down to pick one of the pink flowers. She appeared to ignore me as she stared at the flower for the longest time. A rain drop hit my arm. "It's starting to rain, Aubre."
She looked back up at the sky and blinked as a raindrop hit her face. I tried not to stare at her. A few more began to fall and more frequently. I picked up her hand again and pulled her towards me. It would be pouring for sure before we made it back to the mansion. She squeezed my hand and pulled back towards herself. I looked down in surprise to see a smile on her face. It melted me in that spot. Her smile widened as the rain fell down. A clasp of thunder broke my trance and I yanked her hand again. "Come on, I can't let you catch a cold out here."
She gave me a pout, but I didn't let it affect me. There was a gazebo nearby, we'd have to stand there until the rain let up. We jogged towards the small white shelter. I pulled Aubre inside and wrapped my arm around her. Both her hair and mine had gotten a bit damp.
"I miss the smell of rain." she said taking a deep sigh. "It reminds me of home." Indeed that was probably true it always rained in Nibelhiem. She leaned against me and I felt the heat rise to my face. We watched the heavy rain for nearly a half hour..
Aubre Naluri:
The rain died down and Vincent commented on how we should be heading back. I looked up at him. It had been awhile since I had really looked at him, I'd been so busy being sick and moody. He looked unnaturally handsome with his damp hair and flushed face. I reached up and pushed the damp strands out of his face and they easily stuck back to the rest of his hair. He closed his eyes and his eyebrows furrowed slightly as I stroked his face. His hands slid around my waist as he pulled me across the small distance between us. I rested my hand on the back of his neck pushing down slightly to give him the ok to get closer. He wasted no time finding my lips with his. A feeling foreign to me shook through my whole body leaving my breathless. Tears rolled down my cheeks as his lips continued to move with mine. His hands tightened around my waist.
Paranoia struck me and I pulled back looking around at what could have caused my sudden anxiousness. I saw the back of Hojo's wife as she entered the mansion in a hurry. I looked back at Vincent to see that he had noticed also.
"Would she tell?" I whispered to him. Our lips were still close. I heard him swallow hard.
"I don't know.." he breathed. "I don't think so." He stole another kiss before pulling back and standing up straight. "I shouldn't be doing this.. regardless of who's watching, Aubre." He turned his back to me and sighed loudly.
"..and I shouldn't want you to." I choked out in a broken voice. I tried to wiped my tears away before Vincent could turn around and see them. "I should hate you. The sight of you should make me sick. Your touch should make my skin crawl. I should wish you death. But.." Vincent's lips were on mine again this time more aggressively. I was aroused instantly. He broke away again and held his forehead against mine.
"All that you should. And as a Turk you should mean nothing to me, but Aubre I care so much about you. I'm so sorry that I brought you into this. I'll never get over the regret I feel inside and I promise you I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and get you back home." I held him for a few moments longer sobbing into his already damp suit jacket.
Vincent Valentine:
I let her shower first then I took my turn. We ate our dinner together tonight for the first time in a while and she invited me to sleep with her tonight. I laid in bed holding her, breathing in her shower fresh scent. It seemed insane to think that just barely after over two months I was in love. I thought what I had felt for Lucrecia was love, I really did. But now I barely thought of her at all. My main worry with her right now is what she would do after seeing what she saw today. Nobody said anything about fraternizing with the test subject. I instantly tightened my hold on Aubre at the thought of her being part of Hojo's subject. I thought of the tiny being inside her. Could I really stand to let my own child be turned into a monster?