Story: Celebrations
Rating: PG-15 (language an' implied sex)
Characters: …duh.
Genre: Romance/Angst
Yeah…..I started this about two months ago and planned on having a happy smut-filled ending. Where the mood of the story turns (you'll see where) is when I picked it up again and decided to make the ending pretty damn sad. (My imagination ran away with me while writing and I actually cried. No joke) Though it sounds a lot cornier when written out. Oh well, my Beta-goddess, Fira, lurves it, so here it goes.
*****
Their adventure was finally over. Sephiroth was dead, Meteor was destroyed, and the world was saved. Currently, the motley group that saved the world was sitting inside the Highwind, celebrating their victory with amazing amounts of alcohol.
"Hail, the conquering heerrroooo…" Tifa and Yuffie sang, their arms around each other's shoulders as they toasted a dopily grinning Cloud with the drinks in their free hands. The Bladesman clinked his glass against theirs and swallowed the double shot of whiskey in a single gulp.
Cid laughed and clapped Cloud on the back. "Now yer drinkin' like a man!" He exclaimed, pouring more whiskey in the younger mans glass.
Cloud gave him a cheerful smile and raised his glass. "To th' good cap'n, for letting' us at his alcohol!" He said, his voice slurred with whiskey. His sentiments were echoed by the others. The humans were seated around the table, which was loaded with every alcohol imaginable and a few that weren't. Cid didn't make that bad of a moonshine, but that stuff burned the whole way down and then some. Red had been the only one who declined the alcohol and was currently curled up on the floor, watching them get falling up, standing over drunk out of their gourds, including Reeve back in Midgar, who had gotten so bad that Cait Sith was at the time deactivated. They were currently on their fifth or sixth hour, having spent most of the time retelling stories of their adventures together and laughing at how ridiculous they sounded when drunk.
Vincent sighed, happily blitzed, and leaned his head against Cid's arm. "Geh…." he slurred. 'I haven't been this wasted since I was a Turk." He hiccupped and looked around with lazy red eyes and raised a glass of potent wine. " I say a toast to Sephiroth. 'Cause if you hadn't been hunting him, you woulda never found me, or a few of the rest of you."
"Good point. I never woulda left Rocket town had not you all come around." Cid added, raising his own glass. "So, a toast to ol' Seffyroff, may his bones rot. If he has any left." The others again echoed his sentiments and tossed back their preferred poisons.
Cid looked down at the raven haired man slumped against his arm. "Since when have you been so fucking friendly?"
Vincent looked up at the pilot with half-closed eyes. "Since your arm got so fucking comfortable." He replied.
Yuffie squinted at the ex-Turk. "First you're actually talkin', now you're swearing." She shook her head. "I think you've been hangin' 'round Cid too much."
Cid snorted. "Hey, I'm as good a damn role-model as anyone." He said, faking an injured tone. "Vinny can swear as much as he damn well wants."
"Vinny?" The raven haired man asked, sitting up and cocking an eyebrow. "Did you just call me….. Vinny?"
"Yup." Cid replied. "Yer Vinny now, so ya may as fuckin' well get used to it."
"Vinny." The other mused, falling silent for a moment. "Makes me sound like a god-damned Boy Scout." He said finally.
Everyone broke out into hysterics at the thought of Vincent in a scouts uniform. "Hey, I was a scout as a kid." Cloud half-protested, still laughing.
"Scouts honor?" Barrett asked with a smirk, setting them all off again.
***
Cid stumbled down the hall, trying not to crash either himself or the burden in his arms into a wall. Everyone else was passed out around the table, except for the giggling, raven-haired man Cid held against his chest. "Yer mine." The pilot growled, kicking open the door to his private compartments.
Vincent snickered into Cid's collar, his arms wrapped around the shorter man's neck. He looked up, his eyes half lidded. "And what if I don't want to be yours?" He asked, his voice half seductive.
"Too fuckin' bad." Cid replied, dropping the other to his bed. Vincent blinked in surprise, running his hands over the satin coverlet. From what he could see of the sheets, they were silk. Captain indeed. Hands gripped the coverlet on either side of his hips as Cid leaned over him, their faces within an inch of each other. Vincent raised one hand and pulled off the goggles wrapped around Cid's head, tossing them aside and running the sharp tips of his clawed glove down the back of the pilots neck. Cid shivered in response, his lips brushing feather-soft against the others. Vincent smiled and pressed his hand against Cid's head, bringing their lips together with passion. Cid wrapped one arm around Vincent's waist, pulling the lithe man against his frame, tasting sweet wine on his lips.
Vincent giggled as they fell back, Cid unable to hold them both up with one hand. The giggles faded into a low moan as Cid undid the buckles of his cape and ran hungry lips down his neck. His hands found the edges of the denim jacket hanging from the blonds shoulders and pulled it down and off. Next to go was the white tank below it, which Vincent merely slit up the back with his claw and pulled away, not bothering with formalities. Cid meanwhile had managed to undo the fastenings on the front of Vincent's shirt and push the fabric aside, revealing smooth ivory skin. He ran his lips over Vincent's slender collarbone, nipping lightly with his teeth. A ragged groan escaped his lips as Vincent's fingers found his nipple, teasing and tweaking the bud.
"Cii....id......" Vincent moaned as their hips ground together. His arms stretched over his head and his fingers found the release on his gloved arm. He pulled off the golden metal; revealing scarred skin and a claw-like hand; and tossed it aside, running both hands into Cid's blond locks.
"Don't talk t' me." Cid growled against Vincent's chest. "I'm fuckin' busy." This struck Vincent as amazingly funny. He laughed, his mirth broken up by gasps as Cid's lips found the other nub on his chest and attacked it with his tongue. Cid paused and pushed himself up to where he could look Vincent in the face, his eyes full of half drunk, half confused amazement. "I don't think I've ever heard y' laugh before." He slurred.
"It's the wine." Vincent replied. His hands linked behind Cid's neck and pulled him close. "Now shut up and kiss me. I thought you were too busy to talk."
Cid's hands roved over the slim body beneath him, unbuckling the twin belts and slipping under the waistband of Vincent's dark pants. "Yknow…" he muttered, nipping along the raven haired man's neck. "We're gonna regret this in the morning'"
"The hell if I care."
***
Vincent Valentine woke up to the sensation of silk sheets across bare skin, the soft movement of the chest he was laying against and a splitting headache. Drunk too much…..stupid, he thought, analyzing what his senses told him. Though the silk sheets felt good across his back and legs. And the breathing below him was quite relaxing.
Wait. Back up. Breathing? And not his own?
THE HELL?!?!?!
Vincent sat bolt upright, his head swimming dangerously for a moment. Cid Highwind lay sprawled across the bed beside him, snoring gently. At least, he had been snoring. The Ex-Turk's sudden movement had jarred him back to the land of the living and he was slowly opening his eyes. Vincent looked around. Their clothes were scattered across the floor, the sheets and coverlet were wrapped around their legs….and was that an open bottle of baby oil on the bedside stand?
"Fuck a duck." Cid muttered, sitting up and rubbing his face with one hand.
"No," Vincent replied, angrily. "You fucked me instead."
Cid froze, one blue eye peeking out at Vincent between his fingers. "I did…what?" He asked slowly.
Vincent motioned around with one hand. "Take a look. What do you think happened?" he asked sarcastically. "Certainly not an innocent party game."
Cid's eyes traveled across the cabin, lingering on the baby oil. "Oh bloody hell….."
"Isn't alcohol wonderful?" Vincent asked dryly. He sat near the edge of the bed, one leg hanging over the side, the other folded before him, his arms crossed. He glared at Cid from behind a curtain of dark bangs, fully exposed to the other and not caring. Cid meanwhile was having a wonderful battle with his willpower to not let his eyes travel over every inch of the older man's body. He won for the moment.
"Fuck, Vin." He said, averting his eyes to the side. "I'm sorry, man. This is the last thing I wanted to happen."
"So the last thing you wanted," Vincent muttered under his breath. "Was me."
Cid heard him and looked up sharply. "That's not what I meant." He snapped. "'Course I wanted you, just not-" He stopped, realizing what he had just said. "Hell….." He saw Vincent go slightly pink and felt his own cheeks heat up. He scratched the back of his head uneasily.
"I think that the best course," Vincent said stiffly. 'Would be for me to leave now and we can just consider this a drunken mishap, never to happen again." He bent over, his fingers reaching for his shirt.
"Screw that." Cid snapped. He grabbed Vincent's wrist, forcing the other to meet his eyes. "This isn't 'some drunken mishap'." He growled, leaning closer to the other. "I won't have this hangin' over our friendship the rest o' our lives. And if I remember, you were the one egging me on."
"Like I said, we were both drunk." Vincent replied tersely, pulling his wrist from Cid's grip. "We can just forget about it and move on with life-HEY!" Cid grabbed Vincent and pulled him down, pinning his wrists above his head. Vincent's eyes blazed ruby fire at the pilot above him. "Let me go, Highwind." he growled.
"Bullshit." Cid snapped, his nose an inch away from the other's. "You ever take a second to think that I might not want to forget last night, that maybe I enjoyed it outside being drunk? You ever think that I might have wanted you so fuckin' bad lately that it hurt t' look at ya, and when you came with me last night it made me th' happiest damn guy in th' world?" He lowered his voice to a half growl-half purr. "Has your stupid ass forgotten that you enjoyed it, that you begged me for more, that you gave yourself completely and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it?"
Vincent's jaw tightened at these words. "Did YOU ever think that the last thing I wanted was to be taken while I was drunk and out of control?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"You liked it and you know it." Cid replied. "Either that or else ya snuck your damn rifle in bed and that's what's pressing against my leg right now."
Vincent's cheeks flared as bright as his eyes. "T-that's just a natural reaction to being pinned like this." he managed to get out.
"Is it?" Cid asked. He moved his leg a bit, rubbing it against Vincent's hardness, causing the other to hold back a groan. "I think yer a fuckin' liar, Vince." he whispered against the gunman's ear, nibbling lightly on the lobe. He continued his ministrations with his thigh, his hands still holding the other's slender wrists above their heads.
"This…is very….unfair…..Highwind." Vincent gasped out. "I can't even….defend myself." He let out a slight hiss as Cid sucked at the tender skin of his neck. "Bastard…"
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Cid purred, dipping his tongue into the hollow at the base of Vincent's throat. A choked sound escaped Vincent's throat, his eyes going wide. Cid's tongue slid across Vincent's skin and up the pale column of his neck to his ear. "I don't think you mind as much as you claim." He breathed. "Part of you is enjoying this….."
Vincent bucked against Cid's hold, breaking loose and flipping the pilot on his back. "Do not ever try to take advantage of me, Highwind." He growled dangerously, pinning the other's shoulders to the bed. "Nor should you ever presume anything about me. If I wanted your advances, I would ask. And since I have not asked, you should assume that I do NOT want your advances."
Vincent blinked in surprise at the hurt look in Cid's eyes. "You did ask, Valentine." He said quietly. "Not only did you ask me to fuck you, you begged, you pleaded, you demanded it. You asked me to bed you and you rode me without a single complaint. Then you had me ride , and I did, again without complaint, just 'cause I wanted everything you could give me. I still do, dammit! I want every bit of contact I can get from you, even if it's just a slap across the face. Damn it, Vince, when you kissed me last night, I thought I was dreaming again for the hundredth time. An' when you let me touch you, when you touched me, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. I've wanted you for a long fuckin' time, Vince."
"I am not some whore you can just bed and forget, Highwind." Vincent said coldly. "I don't care how good you think I look. I had no desire to have a stand with anyone, let alone you."
Cid's eyes flashed dangerously. "You think I just wanted you for your body?" He snarled. "You think I just wanted a stand? Didn't you hear a damn word I just said? I wanted you, Vince. If I wanted a whore, I'd go get one. But I wanted you and only you! I wanted to taste you, to feel you, to just, hell, to just hold you and never, ever let go, no matter what got thrown at us." His voice cracked slightly. "I love you, you arrogant sonuvabitch. I love you so fuckin' much it hurts to see you in pain, to see you grieve over her. I just wanted to take you and hold you and protect you from everything."
"I don't need protection, Highwind."
"That don't matter!" Cid said, pulling his arms from Vincent's hold and sitting up. "I still love you, no matter what! Tell me, just a bit, if you ever felt anything towards me, anything beyond being friends, and I swear on the Planet I'd make you the happiest man alive, Vince. I'd give up everything, my plane, my cigarettes, my home, whatever it took to make you happy."
Vincent glanced at Cid's eyes and had to look away. The pilot's eyes were full of such pain and anger and despair and hope that it hurt to look at him. "No, Highwind," Vincent said softly, unable to look his friend in the eyes. "I never felt like that. You were my friend, my best friend, but I never felt anything beyond that friendship." He cringed inwardly, knowing that he was most likely breaking Cid's heart, but was unable to lie to the pilot.
"So, I guess it was just the wine, huh?" Cid asked, his voice taking a bitter undertone. "Just the wine that made you come over and kiss me after everyone passed out, that let me pick you up and bring you in here and touch you and taste you and love you for the whole night. Just the wine that made you beg me for more, right? Just the wine that let me be able to think for a night that maybe what I felt for you wasn't unrequited, that maybe, just maybe you could love me back." Vincent winced as Cid's voice broke.
The pilot shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, his back to Vincent. "If you want an apology, fine." Cid said in a harsh half-whisper. "I'm sorry for making you groan and for making you scream my name. I'm sorry I didn't stop myself from living out my dreams." He looked back briefly over his shoulder and Vincent cringed away from the hurt, angry look in his eyes. "I'm sorry for hopin' you'd enjoy yourself enough to come back."
"Highwi-"
"Fuck it, Vince." Cid said, turning his back to the gunman. "Just, fuck it. You don't want me, I can see that. I ain't gonna make you stay, nor am I gonna let you try an' stay just to make me feel better." He sighed, a bit shakily. "I want you to be happy, remember? And if it ain't with me, then so be it." He stood and walked to the door of his private bathroom. He stopped and looked back at Vincent. "I want t' thank you, though, for at least giving me one night to enjoy and remember. I still love you, even if you can't or won't love me back." He walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Vincent sat on the bed until he heard the shower running. He had no idea that Cid felt anything towards him, let alone such strong feelings. You of all people should know what hell unrequited love is. He thought. Why would you do something like that to the person you count as your best friend? Vincent sighed, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't lie to Cid, nor to himself. He couldn't pretend to be in love with Cid, no matter how much it hurt the both of them. Pretending to be happy was what got Lucretia killed.
Carefully, Vincent got out of bed, moving slow as to avoid aggravating the hangover that decided to remind the ex-Turk it existed. He dressed, glancing at the clock beside Cid's bed. It was too early for the others to be up. Good. No one would be awake to see him leave. Glancing once more at the bathroom door, he whispered "Goodbye, Highwind." and left.
It would be a long time before the two met again.
Rating: PG-15 (language an' implied sex)
Characters: …duh.
Genre: Romance/Angst
Yeah…..I started this about two months ago and planned on having a happy smut-filled ending. Where the mood of the story turns (you'll see where) is when I picked it up again and decided to make the ending pretty damn sad. (My imagination ran away with me while writing and I actually cried. No joke) Though it sounds a lot cornier when written out. Oh well, my Beta-goddess, Fira, lurves it, so here it goes.
*****
Their adventure was finally over. Sephiroth was dead, Meteor was destroyed, and the world was saved. Currently, the motley group that saved the world was sitting inside the Highwind, celebrating their victory with amazing amounts of alcohol.
"Hail, the conquering heerrroooo…" Tifa and Yuffie sang, their arms around each other's shoulders as they toasted a dopily grinning Cloud with the drinks in their free hands. The Bladesman clinked his glass against theirs and swallowed the double shot of whiskey in a single gulp.
Cid laughed and clapped Cloud on the back. "Now yer drinkin' like a man!" He exclaimed, pouring more whiskey in the younger mans glass.
Cloud gave him a cheerful smile and raised his glass. "To th' good cap'n, for letting' us at his alcohol!" He said, his voice slurred with whiskey. His sentiments were echoed by the others. The humans were seated around the table, which was loaded with every alcohol imaginable and a few that weren't. Cid didn't make that bad of a moonshine, but that stuff burned the whole way down and then some. Red had been the only one who declined the alcohol and was currently curled up on the floor, watching them get falling up, standing over drunk out of their gourds, including Reeve back in Midgar, who had gotten so bad that Cait Sith was at the time deactivated. They were currently on their fifth or sixth hour, having spent most of the time retelling stories of their adventures together and laughing at how ridiculous they sounded when drunk.
Vincent sighed, happily blitzed, and leaned his head against Cid's arm. "Geh…." he slurred. 'I haven't been this wasted since I was a Turk." He hiccupped and looked around with lazy red eyes and raised a glass of potent wine. " I say a toast to Sephiroth. 'Cause if you hadn't been hunting him, you woulda never found me, or a few of the rest of you."
"Good point. I never woulda left Rocket town had not you all come around." Cid added, raising his own glass. "So, a toast to ol' Seffyroff, may his bones rot. If he has any left." The others again echoed his sentiments and tossed back their preferred poisons.
Cid looked down at the raven haired man slumped against his arm. "Since when have you been so fucking friendly?"
Vincent looked up at the pilot with half-closed eyes. "Since your arm got so fucking comfortable." He replied.
Yuffie squinted at the ex-Turk. "First you're actually talkin', now you're swearing." She shook her head. "I think you've been hangin' 'round Cid too much."
Cid snorted. "Hey, I'm as good a damn role-model as anyone." He said, faking an injured tone. "Vinny can swear as much as he damn well wants."
"Vinny?" The raven haired man asked, sitting up and cocking an eyebrow. "Did you just call me….. Vinny?"
"Yup." Cid replied. "Yer Vinny now, so ya may as fuckin' well get used to it."
"Vinny." The other mused, falling silent for a moment. "Makes me sound like a god-damned Boy Scout." He said finally.
Everyone broke out into hysterics at the thought of Vincent in a scouts uniform. "Hey, I was a scout as a kid." Cloud half-protested, still laughing.
"Scouts honor?" Barrett asked with a smirk, setting them all off again.
***
Cid stumbled down the hall, trying not to crash either himself or the burden in his arms into a wall. Everyone else was passed out around the table, except for the giggling, raven-haired man Cid held against his chest. "Yer mine." The pilot growled, kicking open the door to his private compartments.
Vincent snickered into Cid's collar, his arms wrapped around the shorter man's neck. He looked up, his eyes half lidded. "And what if I don't want to be yours?" He asked, his voice half seductive.
"Too fuckin' bad." Cid replied, dropping the other to his bed. Vincent blinked in surprise, running his hands over the satin coverlet. From what he could see of the sheets, they were silk. Captain indeed. Hands gripped the coverlet on either side of his hips as Cid leaned over him, their faces within an inch of each other. Vincent raised one hand and pulled off the goggles wrapped around Cid's head, tossing them aside and running the sharp tips of his clawed glove down the back of the pilots neck. Cid shivered in response, his lips brushing feather-soft against the others. Vincent smiled and pressed his hand against Cid's head, bringing their lips together with passion. Cid wrapped one arm around Vincent's waist, pulling the lithe man against his frame, tasting sweet wine on his lips.
Vincent giggled as they fell back, Cid unable to hold them both up with one hand. The giggles faded into a low moan as Cid undid the buckles of his cape and ran hungry lips down his neck. His hands found the edges of the denim jacket hanging from the blonds shoulders and pulled it down and off. Next to go was the white tank below it, which Vincent merely slit up the back with his claw and pulled away, not bothering with formalities. Cid meanwhile had managed to undo the fastenings on the front of Vincent's shirt and push the fabric aside, revealing smooth ivory skin. He ran his lips over Vincent's slender collarbone, nipping lightly with his teeth. A ragged groan escaped his lips as Vincent's fingers found his nipple, teasing and tweaking the bud.
"Cii....id......" Vincent moaned as their hips ground together. His arms stretched over his head and his fingers found the release on his gloved arm. He pulled off the golden metal; revealing scarred skin and a claw-like hand; and tossed it aside, running both hands into Cid's blond locks.
"Don't talk t' me." Cid growled against Vincent's chest. "I'm fuckin' busy." This struck Vincent as amazingly funny. He laughed, his mirth broken up by gasps as Cid's lips found the other nub on his chest and attacked it with his tongue. Cid paused and pushed himself up to where he could look Vincent in the face, his eyes full of half drunk, half confused amazement. "I don't think I've ever heard y' laugh before." He slurred.
"It's the wine." Vincent replied. His hands linked behind Cid's neck and pulled him close. "Now shut up and kiss me. I thought you were too busy to talk."
Cid's hands roved over the slim body beneath him, unbuckling the twin belts and slipping under the waistband of Vincent's dark pants. "Yknow…" he muttered, nipping along the raven haired man's neck. "We're gonna regret this in the morning'"
"The hell if I care."
***
Vincent Valentine woke up to the sensation of silk sheets across bare skin, the soft movement of the chest he was laying against and a splitting headache. Drunk too much…..stupid, he thought, analyzing what his senses told him. Though the silk sheets felt good across his back and legs. And the breathing below him was quite relaxing.
Wait. Back up. Breathing? And not his own?
THE HELL?!?!?!
Vincent sat bolt upright, his head swimming dangerously for a moment. Cid Highwind lay sprawled across the bed beside him, snoring gently. At least, he had been snoring. The Ex-Turk's sudden movement had jarred him back to the land of the living and he was slowly opening his eyes. Vincent looked around. Their clothes were scattered across the floor, the sheets and coverlet were wrapped around their legs….and was that an open bottle of baby oil on the bedside stand?
"Fuck a duck." Cid muttered, sitting up and rubbing his face with one hand.
"No," Vincent replied, angrily. "You fucked me instead."
Cid froze, one blue eye peeking out at Vincent between his fingers. "I did…what?" He asked slowly.
Vincent motioned around with one hand. "Take a look. What do you think happened?" he asked sarcastically. "Certainly not an innocent party game."
Cid's eyes traveled across the cabin, lingering on the baby oil. "Oh bloody hell….."
"Isn't alcohol wonderful?" Vincent asked dryly. He sat near the edge of the bed, one leg hanging over the side, the other folded before him, his arms crossed. He glared at Cid from behind a curtain of dark bangs, fully exposed to the other and not caring. Cid meanwhile was having a wonderful battle with his willpower to not let his eyes travel over every inch of the older man's body. He won for the moment.
"Fuck, Vin." He said, averting his eyes to the side. "I'm sorry, man. This is the last thing I wanted to happen."
"So the last thing you wanted," Vincent muttered under his breath. "Was me."
Cid heard him and looked up sharply. "That's not what I meant." He snapped. "'Course I wanted you, just not-" He stopped, realizing what he had just said. "Hell….." He saw Vincent go slightly pink and felt his own cheeks heat up. He scratched the back of his head uneasily.
"I think that the best course," Vincent said stiffly. 'Would be for me to leave now and we can just consider this a drunken mishap, never to happen again." He bent over, his fingers reaching for his shirt.
"Screw that." Cid snapped. He grabbed Vincent's wrist, forcing the other to meet his eyes. "This isn't 'some drunken mishap'." He growled, leaning closer to the other. "I won't have this hangin' over our friendship the rest o' our lives. And if I remember, you were the one egging me on."
"Like I said, we were both drunk." Vincent replied tersely, pulling his wrist from Cid's grip. "We can just forget about it and move on with life-HEY!" Cid grabbed Vincent and pulled him down, pinning his wrists above his head. Vincent's eyes blazed ruby fire at the pilot above him. "Let me go, Highwind." he growled.
"Bullshit." Cid snapped, his nose an inch away from the other's. "You ever take a second to think that I might not want to forget last night, that maybe I enjoyed it outside being drunk? You ever think that I might have wanted you so fuckin' bad lately that it hurt t' look at ya, and when you came with me last night it made me th' happiest damn guy in th' world?" He lowered his voice to a half growl-half purr. "Has your stupid ass forgotten that you enjoyed it, that you begged me for more, that you gave yourself completely and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it?"
Vincent's jaw tightened at these words. "Did YOU ever think that the last thing I wanted was to be taken while I was drunk and out of control?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"You liked it and you know it." Cid replied. "Either that or else ya snuck your damn rifle in bed and that's what's pressing against my leg right now."
Vincent's cheeks flared as bright as his eyes. "T-that's just a natural reaction to being pinned like this." he managed to get out.
"Is it?" Cid asked. He moved his leg a bit, rubbing it against Vincent's hardness, causing the other to hold back a groan. "I think yer a fuckin' liar, Vince." he whispered against the gunman's ear, nibbling lightly on the lobe. He continued his ministrations with his thigh, his hands still holding the other's slender wrists above their heads.
"This…is very….unfair…..Highwind." Vincent gasped out. "I can't even….defend myself." He let out a slight hiss as Cid sucked at the tender skin of his neck. "Bastard…"
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Cid purred, dipping his tongue into the hollow at the base of Vincent's throat. A choked sound escaped Vincent's throat, his eyes going wide. Cid's tongue slid across Vincent's skin and up the pale column of his neck to his ear. "I don't think you mind as much as you claim." He breathed. "Part of you is enjoying this….."
Vincent bucked against Cid's hold, breaking loose and flipping the pilot on his back. "Do not ever try to take advantage of me, Highwind." He growled dangerously, pinning the other's shoulders to the bed. "Nor should you ever presume anything about me. If I wanted your advances, I would ask. And since I have not asked, you should assume that I do NOT want your advances."
Vincent blinked in surprise at the hurt look in Cid's eyes. "You did ask, Valentine." He said quietly. "Not only did you ask me to fuck you, you begged, you pleaded, you demanded it. You asked me to bed you and you rode me without a single complaint. Then you had me ride , and I did, again without complaint, just 'cause I wanted everything you could give me. I still do, dammit! I want every bit of contact I can get from you, even if it's just a slap across the face. Damn it, Vince, when you kissed me last night, I thought I was dreaming again for the hundredth time. An' when you let me touch you, when you touched me, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. I've wanted you for a long fuckin' time, Vince."
"I am not some whore you can just bed and forget, Highwind." Vincent said coldly. "I don't care how good you think I look. I had no desire to have a stand with anyone, let alone you."
Cid's eyes flashed dangerously. "You think I just wanted you for your body?" He snarled. "You think I just wanted a stand? Didn't you hear a damn word I just said? I wanted you, Vince. If I wanted a whore, I'd go get one. But I wanted you and only you! I wanted to taste you, to feel you, to just, hell, to just hold you and never, ever let go, no matter what got thrown at us." His voice cracked slightly. "I love you, you arrogant sonuvabitch. I love you so fuckin' much it hurts to see you in pain, to see you grieve over her. I just wanted to take you and hold you and protect you from everything."
"I don't need protection, Highwind."
"That don't matter!" Cid said, pulling his arms from Vincent's hold and sitting up. "I still love you, no matter what! Tell me, just a bit, if you ever felt anything towards me, anything beyond being friends, and I swear on the Planet I'd make you the happiest man alive, Vince. I'd give up everything, my plane, my cigarettes, my home, whatever it took to make you happy."
Vincent glanced at Cid's eyes and had to look away. The pilot's eyes were full of such pain and anger and despair and hope that it hurt to look at him. "No, Highwind," Vincent said softly, unable to look his friend in the eyes. "I never felt like that. You were my friend, my best friend, but I never felt anything beyond that friendship." He cringed inwardly, knowing that he was most likely breaking Cid's heart, but was unable to lie to the pilot.
"So, I guess it was just the wine, huh?" Cid asked, his voice taking a bitter undertone. "Just the wine that made you come over and kiss me after everyone passed out, that let me pick you up and bring you in here and touch you and taste you and love you for the whole night. Just the wine that made you beg me for more, right? Just the wine that let me be able to think for a night that maybe what I felt for you wasn't unrequited, that maybe, just maybe you could love me back." Vincent winced as Cid's voice broke.
The pilot shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, his back to Vincent. "If you want an apology, fine." Cid said in a harsh half-whisper. "I'm sorry for making you groan and for making you scream my name. I'm sorry I didn't stop myself from living out my dreams." He looked back briefly over his shoulder and Vincent cringed away from the hurt, angry look in his eyes. "I'm sorry for hopin' you'd enjoy yourself enough to come back."
"Highwi-"
"Fuck it, Vince." Cid said, turning his back to the gunman. "Just, fuck it. You don't want me, I can see that. I ain't gonna make you stay, nor am I gonna let you try an' stay just to make me feel better." He sighed, a bit shakily. "I want you to be happy, remember? And if it ain't with me, then so be it." He stood and walked to the door of his private bathroom. He stopped and looked back at Vincent. "I want t' thank you, though, for at least giving me one night to enjoy and remember. I still love you, even if you can't or won't love me back." He walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Vincent sat on the bed until he heard the shower running. He had no idea that Cid felt anything towards him, let alone such strong feelings. You of all people should know what hell unrequited love is. He thought. Why would you do something like that to the person you count as your best friend? Vincent sighed, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't lie to Cid, nor to himself. He couldn't pretend to be in love with Cid, no matter how much it hurt the both of them. Pretending to be happy was what got Lucretia killed.
Carefully, Vincent got out of bed, moving slow as to avoid aggravating the hangover that decided to remind the ex-Turk it existed. He dressed, glancing at the clock beside Cid's bed. It was too early for the others to be up. Good. No one would be awake to see him leave. Glancing once more at the bathroom door, he whispered "Goodbye, Highwind." and left.
It would be a long time before the two met again.