AN: Quick oneshot for Latias413 on Deviantart, prize for her coming second in the ff7-pairings-fanclub contest.
Pairing: Cid and Vincent
Warnings:Fluff. So much fluff

It was 6 am, and Cid woke to a cold bed. It always worried him when he woke up and the bed was cold, even before the reason for the concern filtered through to his sleep-addled brain. The problem with his bed being cold, he registered after a few moments, was that it meant Vincent wasn't there. He contemplated this for a few seconds, and then his eyes widened and he sat up. Vincent wasn't there.

He hissed, hopping as he tried to pull on his trousers, misjudging it and falling onto his side. He groaned in pain, then picked himself back up and dressed again. At least the jolt seemed to have woken him. He tried to remember what had happened.

Yesterday had been pleasant. He and Vincent had been flying, and temporarily Vincent had even permitted Chaos to fly beside the Highwind. Dinner had been delicious, courtesy of Vincent's cooking, and then they had continued the lovely evening with a particularly memorable and fun encounter in bed. Cid was always amazed when he managed to gain a glimpse at the other's scar-covered body, over-awed by how strong Vincent was, how much he had managed to survive, and how simply beautiful the older man was.

But now he was gone. Cid raced down the corridors, beginning by examining store cupboards. He wasn't there, but the sudden noise of the door slamming reminded him of what had happened after they had fallen asleep. Vincent had begun to thrash from a nightmare. Cid hissed, concerned that Vincent would be unable to properly care for himself should he have a bad dream. He might be disorientated, or lost. He'd started crying last night, asking Cid how he could love him. At that time, the best Cid could think of was holding Vincent close and telling him that he just did love him. He still wasn't sure if that had been the right answer.

Cid's fingers itched, and he reached up to where his packet of cigarettes should be, before remembering that Vincent had confiscated them a couple of days ago. Though he would never admit it to Vincent, the gunner was the main reason he needed to smoke in the first place, as caring for him rapidly became exhausting. He needed to relax.

Knowing Vincent's tendency to overreact, he headed down to the security room. As he walked, he felt stress building, dreading arriving to find that Vincent had thrown himself off the side of the ship. Instead, he found CCTV of Vincent waking, kissing the sleeping pilot's forehead and stroking his hair, before slipping away.

He had waved at the security cameras as he wandered through the ship, whilst the Cid in bed slowly woke up. Cid watched as his past self stretched and yawned and frowned, and wondered yet again how he had ended up with someone as amazing as Vincent. That thought turned his attentions back to the gunner. The red cloak flitted between rooms on the security camera, before finally arriving at the kitchen and covering the lens.

The covering of the lens concerned Cid slightly. Though he was fond of Vincent, and knew the other was a good cook, it felt like it was more likely he had wanted to play with the knives than make them both a Sunday Lunch. Still, Vincent hadn't left since. He raced from the security room, taking the stairs to the kitchen two at a time and throwing open the door to look in the work area. What he found was Vincent bent over a stove, carefully poking at some sausages with a wooden spoon.

The gunner's eyes looked up at Cid, narrowing slightly in confusion.
"What is it?" He asked cautiously. "I didn't trigger the smoke alarm did I?"
"No." Cid admitted sheepishly. "I was a bit worried you'd tried to run off again."

"I'm not going anywhere." Vincent reassured him, plating up the sausages. "I meant what I said last night, and you really helped me with that." Cid gazed at him blankly, trying to work out what possible advice he could have given.

Vincent laughed then, a true laugh not his normal self-mocking sneer.
"You started talking about new starts. About how not everything has to repeat itself. How people can and do change, even when they think they don't." Cid nodded slowly, vaguely remembering the conversation. "And you said that if you could change one thing you'd like to eat more cooked breakfasts." Vincent provided with a soft smile.

"I did." Cid answered, walking to stand beside him. "But not at the cost of mornings with you."
Vincent put down the cooking implements for a moment, turning to kiss Cid's cheek, before gently kissing him full on.
"You can have as many mornings with me as you would like." He promised him.