14

Completions and Connections

The sun rose again, and again, Cid and Vincent awoke with the dawn in each other's arms. It had been a mellow night, very unlike the one before, and they had spent the time just exploring each other through gentle touches, glances, and a meandering conversation that somehow managed to go all the way back to Cid's childhood.

Vincent had teased that he knew now why the pilot was so, 'demented'.

Cid still couldn't figure out when Vincent had decided he was demented, but, for some reason, he rather liked the sentiment. He knew Vincent didn't mean it in an unpleasant way, it was just another of his cute little teases that left Cid feeling well...all warm and fuzzy inside. Beside him, Vincent shifts from sleep into the land of the waking with a small sigh, and a bit of a stretch.

"Well...so much for Christmas..." He comments sleepily. "It always goes too fast when you're having a good time, doesn't it?" He says offhandedly. Cid laughs.

"Now he misses it." He jokes. Vincent punches his shoulder softly with his good hand. Cid yawns, stretching his arms up and over his head, pointedly narrowly missing Vincent's head with his fist. That, as it turns, would become a game for them for many years to come, Cid stretching every morning, seeing if he could catch his lover off guard enough to bop him one upside the head.

He has yet to succeed.

"So now what?" Cid says, staring up at the ceiling. What did one do, when something so incredibly magical comes with such a magical holiday, which has now come and left again?

The magic was still there, Cid knew that much. He just didn't know what to do with it.

"I think," Vincent began, rolling onto his side to kiss Cid over one eye, "That we have one last visit to make..."

Cid raised an eyebrow. They'd made their rounds about the ship: Cornered Barret and Reeve and forced them to listen to all of the nasty details of their lovemaking...That had been fun. Cid had never seen Barret such a pale shade before... Tifa had come back later that day with a rather /unique/ gift basket for them as means of 'congratulations'. Vincent had lifted the coverings from the basket, taken one look at the contents, and laughed, handing it all to Cid, who, upon inspection, nearly dropped the whole lot. Now, having recovered, Cid made the mental note to tease Cloud later that they'd received something /far better/ than his fuzzy handcuffs.

Yuffie kept asking them to kiss for her, and Cid was beginning to wonder if she was secretly turning them into porn stars for herself. It made him a bit nervous....

Most of his crew had somehow not found out yet, and Cid was still trying to work out in his head how he was about to approach /that/ little gem. Maybe the rumors would do his dirty work for him, but thus far, apparently they hadn't.

Cid snapped out of his reverie to find Vincent fully dressed and tugging on his arm.

"Get up, lazy ass!" Cid laughed, pulling Vincent down and kissing him reverently.

"Oh don't worry, hot stuff, I'm 'up'." Vincent blushed a little, tugging on his arm again.

"Come /on/!" Cid relented, letting the Ex-Turk heave him out of bed without his help.

It took a while, but eventually Vincent managed to get Cid out of bed, dressed -they'd slept in Cid's cabin, having fallen asleep together staring at Cid's painting- fed breakfast, and out into the snow.

Cid flapped his arms, heavily padded in a double-insulated snow jacket this time, out to his side, and cried in a falsetto juvenile voice,

"I can't move my /aarrrrmmms!/" Vincent turned slowly to quirk an eyebrow at Cid. Cid grinned, dropping his hands. "Oh come on! You know, Ralphie? A Christmas Story??" Vincent blinked. "HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN THAT MOVIE?!" Cid cried throwing his hands up.

Vincent grinned.

"Yes, I have."

"Then why are you giving me that deadpan look?!"

"Because if I laugh, you'll keep going!" Vincent said, already beginning to chuckle. Cid threw a snowball at Vincent, who ducked, and laughing, ran further through the snow, into the city of Wutai.

Vincent knew very well what he was doing as he led Cid chasing him through the city. The streets were relatively empty of pedestrians the morning after Christmas, but those out turned their heads as the couple flashed by in a furry of laughter, shouted insults, and most importantly, snowballs.

The dark-haired man skidded around a corner, and then another, finally finding one shop door in particular, and darting in, a snowball spattering on the door as he shut it against Cid's assault.

Laughing, Vincent leaned against the door, holding it shut a moment before looking up to grin at Nicholas, who was watching him curiously from behind the front counter of the shop. He waved a bit sheepishly, but looked away, hearing Cid's shouts outside as the slightly slower man began to gain on Vincent. He grinned back at Nicholas, and then darted for the counter.

"Sorry Nick, gotta hide for a few minutes..." He said, diving behind the older man, crouching down and stilling his heavy breathing. Nicholas just raised an eyebrow down at Vincent, not saying a thing, but looking up as Cid burst in.

"ALRIGHT! GET YER SKINNY WHITE ASS OUT HERE VIN-Oh hi Nick!" Cid changed his demeanor, but came in, eyes darting around.

"My, what a surprise to see you here, Cid." Nick said, skillfully keeping his voice level, and his laughter inside. Cid frowned.

"You seen Vin around? I thought I saw him run in here..." Cid said, still looking around. He turned his back on Nicholas, and Vincent, keeping on his toes and hands, crept towards the slightly open door, smirking up at Nicholas. Cid turned in time to see Vincent halfway to the door, and with a shout, jump-tackled the lithe man to the floor with a resounding thud. Vincent, flattened by Cid's heavier form, lay face down on the floor, laughing.

"HA! GOTCHA!" Cid threw a triumphant fist into the air, causing Vincent to laugh even harder.

Nicholas decided to join them.

"Well, I see your friendship has bloomed." He commented, smiling warmly down at the two just now managing to clamper up from the floor, legs and arms still slightly tangled.

Cid gave a small barking laugh, dusting himself off, suddenly self conscious. Vincent, smiling softly, wrapped an arm around Cid's shoulder, stilling him.

"You were right, Nick." He said softly. Cid, realizing that Vincent must have said something to his old friend, began to relax a little.

"You told Nick?" He asked, glancing back at Vincent, surprised that Vincent Valentine had told anyone anything. Vincent nodded, smiling.

"If it weren't for Nick, I may not have had the courage to come foreword to you, Cid." Vincent said, his smile shifting to greet such dazzling blue eyes. Cid smiled, leaning into Vincent a little, looking to Nicholas.

"Well, shit... Thanks, Nick.... Yer always stickin' up for my ass, aren't you?" Vincent smirked, and leaned foreword to whisper into Cid's ear

("No, that's me.")

Cid turned red, Nicholas, not having heard, but catching the pilots reaction, coughed out a small laugh, turning away slightly. Vincent shared a rare sort of smile with Cid, the sexy kind of 'guess what I'm thinking' one that made Cid's mouth go suddenly dry.

The morning went quickly, Cid, Vincent and Nicholas sharing a few cups of tea in Nicholas' shop before returning back to the Highwind.

Cid, coming down from the excitement of practically having shouted his love from the rooftops of Wutai, walked slowly beside Vincent as the Highwind came into view.

"Guess we gotta go home in another day..." He said softly.

"Yeah..." Vincent was moving slowly as well. Cid took a deep breath, crossing his fingers secretly.

"Hey..." He began, suddenly scared. "Wanna come back with me...to Rocket Town...or wherever?" Cid swallowed.

please, don't say no, don't say no....

Vincent remained silent, padding through the thick snow quietly. Cid swallowed.

Don't say no...don't say no...

"I'd love that..."

Cid, having already practically given up, turned, beaming at the other man.

"Really?!"

"No, Cid, I'm in love with Barret." Vincent said flatly.

Cid's jaw dropped, horrified.

"DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT!" He cried, choking. Vincent laughed.

"Yes, Cid...I want to stay with you. It doesn't matter where we are..." He closed the short distance between them, cradling the pilot in his arms gently.

"Good..." Cid said, feeling shaky. "I'm glad..." He lifted his face, kissing Vincent so that he could pour every ounce of his love and devotion into the touch, into his eyes.

Vincent felt it, alright. His heart nearly cracked in two, then leapt through his throat as he looked down into Cid's suddenly crystal-clear blue eyes, more brilliant, intense and shining bright than he'd ever seen them, bar none.

"I..." Cid went on, choking on his own admissions softly. "I...don't want to give this up..." He kissed Vincent's chin lightly. "I want to stay with you...wherever that may be." Vincent paused, turning to face Cid again. They had been walking as they embraced.

"Then, Mr. Highwind, your wish shall be granted." He said, kissing Cid softly again. Cid grinned up at him, eyes innocent with adoration.

"Then I'm one hell of a lucky man."

"No less than I am, Cid."

They turned together, and walked freely now back to the Highwind, knowing that its departure from Wutai in the next day or so would not determine their separation.

Two Weeks Later:

Shera looked up with a small cry as something roared over the house. She knew the sound of the Tiny Bronco well, but this was the lowest Cid had ever brought it in over the town. It had startled her, but now she shook her head in disdain.

She'd returned home from visiting her own parents for Christmas to find that Cid had not returned home yet. What she had found was a message on her PHS from Cid announcing that he'd "Found love" and was honeymooning for New Years'. The Highwind, apparently, had gone on under the discretion of Cid's crew to return the remains of AVALANCHE to their homes. Cid had given her no more information, except that 'they' would be home "sometime or other".

She listened as the Tiny Bronco circled over Rocket Town, and finally fell quiet in the fields outside of Cid's house, where she was presently, cleaning up for her Captain.

Minutes later, she heard the front door kicked open with a bang. She sighed, setting aside her chore, to greet the Captain, and this apparently perfect girl he'd met out of nowhere...

"Shera?!" Cid bellowed, even as she came around the corner. She gave him a flat look, and he snapped his mouth shut, actually reddening a little, embarrassed. "Oops.. Sorry." He scratched his head in embarrassment, then glanced back out the still-open door sharply. Frowning, he leaned out the door, and shouted. "Hey! Don't worry about that! Just leave it! C'mon!" Shera tried to lean around Cid and take a peek at whoever he was yelling at, but Cid squared his shoulders as he straightened up, inadvertently blocking her. Cid glanced back once more, then grinned, stepping in.

Shera didn't know the man that stepped in after Cid too well, but she knew who he was. You don't forget a face like that. Still, Vincent Valentine looked like a changed man. His hair was pulled back loosely, his cloak and melancholy expression gone, replaced by a red collared shirt and a small, shy smile. She blinked.

"Cid, where's this girl you seemed so excited about? Did it not work out?" She said, glancing past Vincent after flashing him a small smile. To her distress, Cid laughed. So did Vincent, actually.

"Who the hell said it was a girl?!" Cid chuckled. Shera's eyes widened, her jaw dropping. Vincent grinned at her.

"Wha....?"

"Vin's gunna be stayin here for a while, Shera." Cid said softly.

"OH! Should I clean out the guest ro-"

"No, he's gunna be staying with me, Shera." Cid went on, trying to stay calm, to hide his smirk. Vincent, feeling devious, inched closer to Cid, letting a hand slide up the man's hip, where Shera couldn't see. Cid shifted, then his eyes began to widen as Vincent palmed his backside gently.

"With...You...?" Shera said numbly, startled.

Vincent gave Cid a firm squeeze, making the man jump.

"Yes!" It came out a startled squawk. He shot Vincent a look, but the taller man had already inched away, looking innocent. Shera looked up at him.

"You're--!" Her eyes were locked on Vincent's, allowing him to slip a hand up Cid's spine, making him shiver. Shera never noticed.

Cid yelped.

"Yep." Vincent said smugly, withdrawing his hand before Shera could look. He reached out towards Cid again, and the pilot slapped his hand away, glaring. Vincent turned to Cid and smirked. Shera raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

"Wow... would have never guessed," She grinned at Cid, "Captain." Cid blushed. Vincent began fondling the pilot's backside again, making Cid's brilliant eyes widen in surprise. Shera, fully recovered from her surprise, clapped her hands together. "Well, shall I make you boys dinner?" Vincent squeezed. Hard.

Cid jumped again.

"No! Uh, I mean... Um..." Vincent gave another squeeze. "Damnit! Vin!" Cid snapped, eyes wide. Vincent began to laugh. "You and me gotta talk!" Cid turned to Shera as Vincent chuckled, sauntering off. "Heh... Dinner in a while, okay...?" Shera raised an eyebrow. Cid reddened. "Um.. Give us a couple of hours or so..."

With that, Cid ran down the hall after Vincent.

"Bring it, Vampie! You want a piece of me?!" He cried.

Cid felt all his blood rush from his head to his groin as he clearly heard Vincent laugh.

"Yes! Specifically, your ass!"

Shera, back in the kitchen, smirked. She replaced the dish she'd picked up, hurrying to turn on some music, loud. She had the feeling she'd be doing that a lot.

She heard Cid yelp.

Shera turned the music up a little louder.

Yes, quite a lot.

End.

OoO

AN: Alright that's it! :) cires Great, now I gotta start all over again on /ANOTHER/ fic. lol.

Sorry it took me sooo long to update this last chapter, but I got hung up on Halloween and my Boyfriend visiting (He lives 3-4 hours away from me now and I don't get to see him much, so the rest of the world gets put on hold when he shows up, lol )

Yes, you probably caught the rather blatant Christmas Story reference there. I love that movie. "You'll shoot your eye out!" Sorry. Had to throw it in there. I swear, everyone has seen it at least a million times (and if you haven't, I don't want to hear about it (lol) just watch it this xmas, lol) I figure even in Gaia, people everywhere have seen it, lol. :) Its not mine. I don't know who did it, but its not mine. lol.

I decided to leave Cloud's relationship to the Closet ambiguous but yeah... lol :)

For those of you who read A Long Hard Road, the scene in the last chapter with Yuffie walking in on Cid and Vincent is sort of my little joke against something simular happening in LHR. Just turned the tables a little. Cid, flustered and looking for Vincent, storms all through the Highwind before finally coming to Yuffie's room, and opening the door w/o knocking first. oops. I think we had a quote from Yuffie along the lines of a small wave and "um, it helps with the motion sickness?" Go read. funny shit. :)

Saesama: yes! more piccies! grins, bows, and grins again I love your artwork!

And yes, this RN stuff is getting old. sighs Oh well. If my fics dissappear or I get booted from , check or the yahoo group. I'll find /somewhere/ , and probably another username as well. MRE or something and I'll just repost, hehe. :) (don't worry, I'm pretty hard to kill)

AND YES! VINNIE IS PERFECTLY ALLOWED TO BE HORNY. Lol. In fact, I think I like a horny Vincent better, lol (There's a pic for ya, Saesama, lol)

Okay, peoples. More to come soon. Go read some of my non-yaoi (rated less than R) fics. They're cute too, and nobody reads them, lol. That'll hold you off until I can start something else.

Oh yeah, what's script format? lol.