Midgar Burning Chapter 55
Title: Midgar Burning
Authors: silence_laughs and calvi_sama
Pairing: Cid x Vincent
Rating: NC-17 (eventually), most certainly R
Disclaimer: We do not in any way own, nor profit from, the characters and/or locations of FFVII, that would all be SquareEnix. Also any other references to persons or products mentioned herein are purely coincidental *coughs*, and where they are not then they belong to their respective writers, producers, directors, or other individuals/companies listed under that sneaky little thing called a "copyright".
Warnings: Adult themes, blood, some violence, language, kidnapping, torture, mentions of abuse, murder, and above all else...yaoi, the 'inappropriate to minors' kind, the 'makes us sit up past our bedtimes reading' kind, 'cause lets face it folks, it just wouldn't be the same without it! >:3
Summary: Even as Cid fights to show Vincent it’s okay to love again, Vincent’s enemies are moving in. Can Cid secure a place in Vincent’s heart before their world falls apart?
A/N: Two things folks: 1) This is an RP and 2) This fic is AU. The usual players here: silence = Cid, and all in Cid's world, and yours truly = Vincent, and all in Vin's world. Easiest way to say it. ^^ This fic is a 'novel'-form piece (ie multi-chapter) that is darker than what we normally write, and out of our comfort zone in the fact that we normally prefer to stick to canon-type stuff. But I got the idea from ani_mama 's artwork (more specifically this picture), persuaded silence to "go along with it", and it's been going 'full steam ahead' since then, and quite grown on us. We hope you all like it! Icon art provided by silk_weaver .
*Font enlarged for ease of viewing... if your eyesight is like mine. :P
Chapter 55
Watching Vincent make his way down the stairs had left Cid little more than a nervous wreck. He’d been terrified that the other man would misstep and fall -or perhaps even just trip and cause himself undue pain. The process had been painstaking at best, but when they had reached the bottom without incident, Cid’s sigh of relief had been heavy and genuine. The walk to the car was much easier, being on flat ground, and they had parked very close to the building. Once Vincent was settled, Cid reclaimed his place in the driver’s seat with more reluctance than he’d had on the way here. “S’gonna be traffic,” he said, huffing as he backed out sloppily. The driver of a car trying to pull into the spot beside his announced his displeasure with Cid’s technique by way of a long, loud honk.
Cid made an obscene gesture at him and then glanced sheepishly at Vincent. “Sorry.” He was more careful this time as he backed out the rest of the distance, and he made it back onto the interstate with little difficulty apart from a spot of traffic merging in from the Healin side. Once things were in motion, however, he noted with pleasure that fewer vehicles than he had anticipated were heading in the same direction as he. In fact, they might be able to make it back only in only a few minutes longer than the time it had taken to get here. “Whaddaya say t’some music, babe? Keep yer trusty ol’ chauffeur from dozin’ off?” He didn’t really think he would fall asleep, but…anything but the silence they’d suffered on the way here. “I’d ask ya t’sing for me, as that’d prob’ly be more entertainin’, but I don’t think yer lungs’d take too kindly t’that.” He grinned and glanced at Vincent again, searching for at the very least a hint of a smile.
Vincent smiled wryly at that. “That and I cannot hold a tune to save my life.” He said with a soft, good humored snort. He sat resting his head back against the headrest with his eyes closed. Not only because he was tired, but because Cid’s driving made him a little… nervous. “I would not be opposed to music so long as it is not terribly loud,” he flushed. “Enhanced hearing and whatnot.”
Cid chuckled. “Oh, I find that hard t’believe. The way you play…” He cleared his throat and reached for the radio, turning the volume down before scanning for a decent station. “Let me know when somethin’ sounds good, yeah?” He hadn’t listened to the radio in ages-and he probably shouldn’t be fiddling with the one in the car while trying to drive after…far too long. “Matter o’ fact, I prob’ly oughta just let you do the scannin’. If y’don’t feel like sittin’ up t’do it, y’d better start yerself talkin’. Ask riddles ‘r somethin’.” He smiled again, fondly, and reached over to lay his hand over one of Vincent’s briefly before returning it to the wheel.
“Maybe once upon a time,” Vincent conceded. “But my voice has… changed since then. It used to be smoother.” With a soft grunt he sat up and went for the radio, a station already in mind. Soon the sound of soft jazz filled the interior of the car. He smiled serenely and leaned back. “I like this song,” he murmured, hands resting comfortably on his thighs. He was quiet for a moment then cracked a red eye and regarded Cid curiously. “What got you interested in planes, Cid?”
A good question. Cid never had put much thought into that. “Well…I guess part of it’s the flyin’. Ev’ry little kid wants t’fly, right? I was no diff’rent. An’ when I was young, b’fore everything got all shot t’hell, I went t’school at one o’ them academy things, underprivileged kids an’ whatnot. So the army’d at least be halfway intelligent.” He snorted. “Stupid program, an’ ever’body knew it. Shut down in two years, but those two years were damned important to me. S’where I met Lazard an’ Aerith- funny how we all ended up workin’ with th’force one way or another. Well, not really. Lazard didn’t have much choice in th’matter. I was the only one’d talk to ‘im, y’know. A rich man’s son in a poor man’s world- I didn’t give a shit about that. I liked talkin’ to ‘im, so I did, an’ fuck ever’one else, y’know? He never fergot that. An’ Aer, she was th’daughter o’ one o’ the staff, I can’t remember who. Wasn’t ever supposed t’come inta contact with us, but she’d sneak aroun’ the campus a lot. Dunno why she came t’us, though…had a thing fer blue-eyed blonds, I guess. His eyes used t’be blue. I dunno how they ended up so gray.”
Clearing his throat again, Cid realized that he hadn’t even begun to answer Vincent’s question. “Anyway. Only reason I didn’t leave, aside from them, was ‘cause I was fool enough t’believe what they told me. Said if I stayed there as long as they said an’ did well in all my classes, I c’d go on t’take advanced classes later, an’ apply fer a pilot’s license if I did well there. Maybe it was even true. I’ll never know. But it was there I started really understandin’ how things work, how they run…I mean, I’d taken apart engines b’fore an’ all, an’ by th’time I was thirteen I could put one back t’gether an’ maybe even get it t’run again, but I didn’t know why until I learned there.” He took a deep breath, chuckling at himself a little. “I always think about how free y’must feel, flyin’. Lookin’ down on everything like it don’t even matter, like none of it’s as big or as heavy as it seems when y’re on the ground. I’d like t’learn how t’fly in shows, do tricks an’ stuff. Goin’ upside down an’ whatnot. I don’t think I’d ever wanna be in a war, an’ I sure as hell ain’t flyin’ fer no airline.”
His eyes were soft and thoughtful as he swapped lanes to pass a semi. “Y’really think I’d be able t’fly one day? Build m’Bronco an’ fly ‘er?” The thought alone was enough to instill a minor dose of euphoria in his soul, and the idea of Vincent riding in the passenger seat added to it was bliss. “I’d like that.”
Vincent watched Cid as he talked, caught up in his own rapture as Cid relaxed and opened up to him. Just hearing this small part of the man’s past drove home to him just how little he knew Cid, and just how much more he wanted to learn. “I absolutely believe you can fly Cid,” he said softly, touching Cid’s forearm lightly. “And it would be my honor to fly in your Bronco with you.” And Cid’s talk of childhood fantasies reawoke his own, long buried beneath dusty memories. He smiled a genuine, shy smile as he confessed, “I… never really wanted to fly as a child.” He looked down at his lap, face turning pink. “It was the ocean for me,” he coughed, embarrassed. “At first I had wanted to be a fisherman. My father would take me to the wharfs when we visited the coastal towns, and oh, Cid… all the boats! But as I got a little older, and a little more rebellious, it turned into something else. But the danger and the adventure, the unpredictability of the sea… and- and I wanted to be a pirate,” he blurted. Could his face get any hotter? “It was a short flight of fancy, no pun intended,” he said, grinning. “I got accepted to the Academy, and the ocean was forgotten… but growing up, I would spend hours daydreaming of the adventures I would have…”
Cid’s grin was wider than Vincent’s as he listened. “Well, there’s only one thing t’be done about that, then, wouldn’t ya say? We’ll be sky pirates t’gether. Small plane, small enough t’dock on a barge, an’ then we c’d take yer boat out from there.” Except, of course, that the ocean still unsettled Cid a great deal. “Y’d hafta hold me, y’know. On the ocean.” A sideways glance here, almost self-conscious, just to see if Vincent was paying attention. “Y’d look damn fine in a captain’s uniform, too,” he added, somehow needing to take off the intimate edge.
Vincent laughed softly at Cid’s initial expression, genuinely enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. He hadn’t felt this comfortable talking to someone before. Come to think to it, he had been too embarrassed to tell even Lucrecia his childhood fantasies, too concerned with what she would have thought of him then. But Cid was so very different! He shook his head, grin still in place. “No, I’d rather see you fly. But I will warn you, I- I’m afraid of heights. When Reno takes the chopper out to meetings, I spend most of the time with my eyes squeezed shut, strapped into my seat with a deathgrip on anything that is bolted down. I look down and get dizzy. Buildings are different somehow, but airships… that’s a long way to fall.” He sighed contentedly.
“Well then, I reckon we got us a deal.” Cid winked. “You panic on the planes, I’ll panic on the boats, an’ we’ll laugh at each other once we get back on land.” Almost back to Midgar now- funny how time picked up speed just when he was beginning to enjoy the ride. He shot Vincent another grin and waggled his eyebrows. “Captain calls th’shots.”
Blushing, Vincent looked away and caught sight of the Midgar skyline. His smile faded and he felt the weight of responsibility return. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Cid.” He said mournfully, looking at the dirty city before them. “There’s nothing but pain there, pain and violence.” He looked back over at Cid almost pleadingly. “I want to fly away in your Bronco and never look back, just leave it all.” Oh, if only he could! That was the cruelest part. He couldn’t, and the horizon dangled just out of his reach. But… but maybe Cid could help him taste a little bit of freedom.
“I know,” Cid whispered. “An’ you know I feel th’same.” He took Vincent’s hand again and held it tightly. “I can’t wait t’get outta that city. If y’re with me, I won’t ever look back.” He switched lanes once more and followed the next exit. Ten more miles to Midgar. Ten more miles before they returned to their cage. The city loomed ever closer, and Cid hated it more with every mile. “M’not sure where we’re goin’ from here,” he admitted gruffly.
Vincent squeezed Cid’s hand, needing the support the blond offered. He sighed and closed his eyes again, returning his head to the headrest. He could find his way back to the Shinra Tower blindfolded. “Follow this highway until you reach the sixth exit on your right. Take it to the next set of elevated lanes and continue following it for four miles, then take your exit left. There will be signs then, you can’t miss it. Cid…” He brought Cid’s hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it briefly. “Thank you for this. Thank you…” he ended in a whisper.
“Thank you. Y’don’t know how glad I was when y’let me come with ya. An’ fer you t’have shared so much with me- I just thought I was in trouble before,” he said with a wry smile. Unable to return the gesture without the possibility of stretching Vincent’s arm farther than his chest would appreciate, Cid simply squeezed in return. “Been a long time since I’ve driven back in, seen how th’plates’re separated. I hate this place, but it’s pretty damned amazin’ th’way those pillars keep everything up. Be a beautiful city if she weren’t so filthy.”
Vincent chuckled in spite of himself, squeezing back. “You were never in trouble, Cid. I just didn’t… want to expose you to that. Both for your safety and my own selfish reasons. But I am grateful that you did not condemn me for what I did.” He fell silent as he contemplated Cid’s observation of the city. “You know, you’re right? I had never stopped to consider the engineering genius that went into creating this place. But I still prefer the mountains of Wutai. I’ll have to take you some time. The mountain culture is ancient, and many old traditions are still practiced. It’s a beautiful place.”
Cid laughed outright. “Oh, I’m def’nitely in trouble,” he said, warmth flooding his voice and his eyes as looked over at Vincent again. “An’ it’s all yer goddam fault but I wouldn’t trade it fer a thing.” The sixth exit approached, and Cid turned. “I’d love t’see yer Wutai with ya. ‘Specially that spring y’promised we’d find again.” He grinned again. “But I reckon y’ll hafta at least have yer shot at teachin’ me how t’speak th’language first.” He wouldn’t even try to learn. It was much more beautiful, more exotic, to let Vincent speak to him that way and trust rather than know that the words were good..
“Spring?” Vincent asked, momentarily confused before he realized what Cid was talking about. Blushing furiously now he coughed gently and feigned haughtiness. “Yes, well, the language is quite difficult to learn. I’m not saying you couldn’t learn it, as I have every confidence in your intelligence, but maybe I don’t want to teach you. Maybe I like being able to be cryptic and keep you guessing.” Then he grinned impishly. “Or maybe I’m just twisted and want to see you struggle with asking the locals where the restrooms are.” He pictured Cid holding a Wutai/Midgar translation dictionary and imagined Cid asking for the restroom when in actuality he was asking where he could marry the nearest herdsman’s cow. That thought sent him snickering, then chuckling to outright laughing until the pain in his chest forced him to quit and left him rubbing his chest but grinning like a fool.
Cid snorted a laugh. “Bastard. Y’wouldn’t.” That was all he managed to say before joining in Vincent’s laughter, though he had no idea what was so funny. It didn’t matter. Vincent was happy. Cheekily, he shot back with, “Well, then I guess I’ll hafta ask one o’ th’locals where I c’n find a spring. We’ll be sure t’tell ya exactly how erotic sex in th’water really is.” Really, he should stop teasing Vincent so much, but it was irresistible.
Vincent rolled his eyes. “Right, and when you ask for this spring and end up in the public bath house with the overweight baker’s wife, I shall be in the tavern drinking to your misfortune!” He really was having fun. He grinned slyly at Cid, eyes shining.
He snorted again. “Makes ya think I’m gonna talk t’the overweight baker’s wife? Hell no! Gonna find me somethin’ nice first. Maybe a university kid- that way maybe I won’t even hafta stumble m’way through learnin’ another language. Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do…dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin…maybe we’ll even come visit ya at th’tavern. You c’n play with us after, if y’want.” He dropped another wink. “An’ if y’ve already found yerself somethin’ while y’were drinkin’, y’ll just hafta miss out on th’show.” He turned left and saw a sign immediately advertising ShinRa. He followed it, too involved in his banter with Vincent to spare even half a thought about what a bastard Shinra had been.
Vincent chuckled. “Good! Then I’ll be rid of you!” he teased, his voice holding affectionate undertones. His smile faded however as they slowly approached Shinra Tower. He sighed and directed Cid to the parking garage where they parked in his personal reserved space. When Cid turned the engine off, he turned to the blond and said seriously. “Cid, when we leave this car and go inside I cannot be openly affectionate with you. I am going to treat you as I would any of my other men because for all extents and purposes you are just one of my men and I shall tell people that, and as long as we are in public it can be no other way. You are a part of my world now, and the rules apply to you as well as the others. It is not how I want it to be, but it is how it must be until I can identify, and eliminate this threat. Do you understand?”
“I know. Y’don’t hafta remind me.” To reassure Vincent, he squeezed his hand in the shadows. “I’ll just hafta work my way up inta bein’ yer favorite, won’t I?” He grinned and released Vincent’s hand, wanting to steal a kiss before leaving the car but knowing that security had eyes everywhere. No sense in blowing the whole thing before it got started. “When we get home, I think I’d like t’hear a little bit about th’benefits that come w’this job, Mr. Valentine.” After dropping one last wink, Cid opened the door and walked around the car to do the same on Vincent’s side. “After you, sir,” he said, and the words felt incredibly strange on his tongue. He’d had to pretend he was mocking Tseng to even get them out in the first place.
After he had struggled his way out of the car he put his hand on Cid’s shoulder and said quietly, but with a genuine smile. “You need not be so formal, Cid. I don’t go so far as to ask my employees to stop being themselves. If that were indeed the case then I would have fired Reno a long time ago,” he chuckled, “and one Tseng is quite enough.” He paused then, face slowly turning red. “And this is home for me. We all live in the tower. I- I must ask a favor of you.”
“Sorry,” Cid chuckled, flushing. “Just thought it’d be best, since I’m new an’ all.” To the last part, he cocked his head and said softly, “Anything, an’ you know that.”
Vincent nodded. “I cannot function on my own, as you know. Such simple things as even bathing myself are nearly impossible. Would you…” his face heated up. “Would you consent to moving in with me and- and helping me? I can understand if you do not wish to, Tseng would be more than willing to assist me, but I feel more comfortable with you. And I have asked enough of him as it is.”
Fighting a grin, and at the same time wondering how long he could live with Vincent without frustration driving him to commit acts of idiocy, Cid nodded. “Of course I will. Be honored to, really. But you hafta promise, an’ right now, that if I come t’help you, you’ll let me help an’ you won’t try so hard t’do it all yerself that ya hurt yerself worse. The first time that happens, I’ll hafta make this Tseng’s job. You understand?”
Vincent regarded Cid for a moment in a whole new light. He smiled slowly before bowing his head respectfully. “Fair enough. I promise, Cid Highwind, to let you help me and to not overexert myself needlessly. Now, come, let us walk and I’ll finish speaking.” He turned and began walking towards the entrance to the Tower, waiting until Cid could walk by his side. “I’ll have Tseng pick up a couple of more suits for you as well as pick up some other clothes that you might be more comfortable in from your apartment, just make a list. Also, feel free to travel about the Tower as you wish; however, I caution you to exercise good judgment about entering places that are not strictly pertinent to your new position. If anyone questions your authority or the validity of your position, in short gives you any trouble, either inform me yourself immediately or have the individual with the issue contact me and I shall rectify the problem.” As they walked, his cane made echoing taps on the cement as though emphasizing his point. “Your position is unique, Cid. You are not to go with the others on assignments; rather your role is more or less my personal aide or assistant, officially. Another reason your movements shall be restricted is out of necessity given our current predicament with Rhapsados. It is safer for both of us. As for your unique relationship with Deusericus,” he paused and turned to Cid. “I need to you limit your contact with him. You’re entering a whole new world, Cid, and you’re going to be privy to a lot of information that could get me and my associates into a lot of trouble. I trust you, but I need you to give me your word that you’ll not pass on what you learn.”
Cid nodded. “He’ll understand. He knows I’m with you, an’ he knows that’s important. An’ I promise that anything I hear will stay where it was heard. I meant it when I said I was yours all those weeks back. I ain’t said a thing to ‘im since then except that I was leavin’ Scarlet an’ comin’ t’you, an’ there won’t be nothin’ else said ‘til everything’s worked out, an’ maybe not even then.” He gave a wry smile. “Don’t think he needs me no more anyway.” They entered the building, and Cid looked around, oddly unimpressed. “S’all yours now, huh?” he said, that bit of news sinking in for the first time. “Well, where’re we headed?” he asked, catching himself just before he moved to put his hand at the small of Vincent’s back. This was not going to be easy.
Vincent gave a small sigh of relief and his smile was relaxed and easy. “Yes, this is all mine, once I read through and sign all the paperwork. It’s a job that I am not looking forward to, mind you.” He gave a small groan at the thought of all that legalese he’d have to wade through. “And we’re going to my apartment, by way of Shinra’s private elevator.” He led the way to a non-descript elevator that really only looked like a service elevator more than anything else, until the doors slid open to reveal the opulence within. “After you,” he said, taking a moment to slide his hand down the small of Cid’s back and over a very nice buttock, before following the blond in and pushing a button for the thirty-first floor.
Cid snorted. “Th’hell d’you get off with that shit if I hafta act pr’fessional?” he asked, but he was grinning. This stupid elevator was making him feel claustrophobic despite the fact that it was roomier by far than the average elevator- and despite the fact that Cid had never felt claustrophobic before on any kind of elevator. “Thirty-one floors’s a long way up,” he said idly, leaning against the wall beside Vincent and staring at the ceiling. He wished it would hurry.
“Yes, it is,” Vincent murmured as a strange feeling came over him. He looked at Cid out of the corner of his eye as the elevator door slid shut. He could smell Cid; see Cid’s big body through that suit, the gold at the man’s throat shone in the overhead light of the elevator. It took him a moment before he realized that what he was feeling a rather unexpected surge of lust. Before he knew what he was doing he had pushed Cid up against the wall of the elevator and was kissing him, the hand holding his cane was pressed against Cid’s hip while the fingers of the other hand had found their way to the back of Cid’s neck. When he broke from the kiss, he was panting. “I only said to act professionally when in public. This elevator is private… no cameras,” he growled, and kissed the blond again, thrusting his tongue into Cid’s mouth possessively. It was a ridiculous thing to say, but what intelligence ever came out of a sexually aroused brain anyway?
Cid groaned and grabbed Vincent’s waist, placing one hand on each hip. He’d tried to speak when the first kiss had broken, but Vincent had kissed him again, and that was far better than speaking anyway. He caught Vincent’s tongue and sucked on it gently, then began to fight in earnest for dominance. When Vincent pushed, Cid pushed back, and he shuddered at the feeling of their tongues sliding together, so wet and slick and warm- They broke apart again, and Cid, breathing heavily, chided, “An’ you’re s’posed’a be behavin’ right now.” He planted another kiss on Vincent’s lips, this one far gentler and indicative of a slower pace. “But nobody said I had to,” he finished, and grinned as he dragged Vincent closer to press against him tightly. His lips found Vincent’s neck and stayed there for quite some time, kissing and pressing but mostly just dragging, mouthing wetly at the flesh there. “This a fair compromise?” he asked as he rocked his hips forward to advertise his growing interest in their kisses.
Vincent moaned, low in his throat as he felt Cid’s groin press and rub against his own in a most suggestive manner. When had he last felt such passion? Had he ever? And the fact that Cid’s kisses were just as aggressive, just as hungry as his own, that the man didn’t back down to his advance but encouraged even more from him. When Cid moved to his neck, Vincent’s head fell back on his neck and he gasped, “I said not to ‘overexert myself needlessly’, unless you think this is a waste of time…?”
“No time with you is a waste o’ time,” Cid whispered, breath catching in a gasp as his legs spread wider. “You gonna get me off in yer elevator? Little celebration for me fer makin’ it onta th’team?” His hands couldn’t stay still any longer, and now one was buried in Vincent’s hair while the other had gone lower to seek out the firm flesh it now rested on, squeezing and rubbing blatantly. “Or is it a waste o’ your time, sir? I wouldn’t wanna go gettin’ in trouble m’first day, now would I?"
Vincent snorted softly at Cid’s ‘sir’, but he couldn’t help but rub against the hand that was pressed between his legs. “Would it be called… a waste… of my time… if I was the one to start this?” he gasped, eyes heavy-lidded and pupils dilated. He reached for the button on Cid’s slacks, fully intending to see how far he could take things when there was a soft ‘ding’ as the elevator doors slid open. Biting back a curse, he backed up to lean heavily on his cane. “It would seem,” he said, continuing to breathe heavily, “that this little discussion shall have to be postponed for the time being.”
“We damned well better not have far t’walk,” Cid huffed bitterly, tossing a grin over his shoulder as he led Vincent out of the elevator. “You prob’ly oughta lead the way,” he said, and found that he had to clear his throat to keep the mumbly quality out of it. “Seein’ as I don’t have a clue where I am, much less where I’m goin’.”
Vincent chuckled, all too aware of his own discomfort, and began walking down the hallway, leaning heavily on his cane. “Unfortunately it is a bit of a dist… ance…” he said, trailing off as they rounded a corner and came to a stop. Ahead of them, most of the hallway was roped off by what looked to be a group of workers who were in the middle of ripping up the carpet. The bloody carpet. Why hadn’t they done this already? As they neared them, the workers noticed and ceased their work to stare at him. The blood had soaked completely through the carpet and the padding to the wood beneath. It would all have to be replaced. He came to a stop and stared, pale-faced at the large dried puddle. That was where he had fallen and bled and bled… A short distance away there was a smaller puddle and a trail to a larger one. That must have been where Rufus… He shook his head and wiped his mouth with the back of a shaking hand. “Carry on, gentlemen,” he said hoarsely before easing around the simple barricade to continue his way down the hall. Although it had only been five days, it had seemed like an eternity until right that moment and those workers on their hands and knees.
Authors: silence_laughs and calvi_sama
Pairing: Cid x Vincent
Rating: NC-17 (eventually), most certainly R
Disclaimer: We do not in any way own, nor profit from, the characters and/or locations of FFVII, that would all be SquareEnix. Also any other references to persons or products mentioned herein are purely coincidental *coughs*, and where they are not then they belong to their respective writers, producers, directors, or other individuals/companies listed under that sneaky little thing called a "copyright".
Warnings: Adult themes, blood, some violence, language, kidnapping, torture, mentions of abuse, murder, and above all else...yaoi, the 'inappropriate to minors' kind, the 'makes us sit up past our bedtimes reading' kind, 'cause lets face it folks, it just wouldn't be the same without it! >:3
Summary: Even as Cid fights to show Vincent it’s okay to love again, Vincent’s enemies are moving in. Can Cid secure a place in Vincent’s heart before their world falls apart?
A/N: Two things folks: 1) This is an RP and 2) This fic is AU. The usual players here: silence = Cid, and all in Cid's world, and yours truly = Vincent, and all in Vin's world. Easiest way to say it. ^^ This fic is a 'novel'-form piece (ie multi-chapter) that is darker than what we normally write, and out of our comfort zone in the fact that we normally prefer to stick to canon-type stuff. But I got the idea from ani_mama 's artwork (more specifically this picture), persuaded silence to "go along with it", and it's been going 'full steam ahead' since then, and quite grown on us. We hope you all like it! Icon art provided by silk_weaver .
*Font enlarged for ease of viewing... if your eyesight is like mine. :P
Chapter 55
Watching Vincent make his way down the stairs had left Cid little more than a nervous wreck. He’d been terrified that the other man would misstep and fall -or perhaps even just trip and cause himself undue pain. The process had been painstaking at best, but when they had reached the bottom without incident, Cid’s sigh of relief had been heavy and genuine. The walk to the car was much easier, being on flat ground, and they had parked very close to the building. Once Vincent was settled, Cid reclaimed his place in the driver’s seat with more reluctance than he’d had on the way here. “S’gonna be traffic,” he said, huffing as he backed out sloppily. The driver of a car trying to pull into the spot beside his announced his displeasure with Cid’s technique by way of a long, loud honk.
Cid made an obscene gesture at him and then glanced sheepishly at Vincent. “Sorry.” He was more careful this time as he backed out the rest of the distance, and he made it back onto the interstate with little difficulty apart from a spot of traffic merging in from the Healin side. Once things were in motion, however, he noted with pleasure that fewer vehicles than he had anticipated were heading in the same direction as he. In fact, they might be able to make it back only in only a few minutes longer than the time it had taken to get here. “Whaddaya say t’some music, babe? Keep yer trusty ol’ chauffeur from dozin’ off?” He didn’t really think he would fall asleep, but…anything but the silence they’d suffered on the way here. “I’d ask ya t’sing for me, as that’d prob’ly be more entertainin’, but I don’t think yer lungs’d take too kindly t’that.” He grinned and glanced at Vincent again, searching for at the very least a hint of a smile.
Vincent smiled wryly at that. “That and I cannot hold a tune to save my life.” He said with a soft, good humored snort. He sat resting his head back against the headrest with his eyes closed. Not only because he was tired, but because Cid’s driving made him a little… nervous. “I would not be opposed to music so long as it is not terribly loud,” he flushed. “Enhanced hearing and whatnot.”
Cid chuckled. “Oh, I find that hard t’believe. The way you play…” He cleared his throat and reached for the radio, turning the volume down before scanning for a decent station. “Let me know when somethin’ sounds good, yeah?” He hadn’t listened to the radio in ages-and he probably shouldn’t be fiddling with the one in the car while trying to drive after…far too long. “Matter o’ fact, I prob’ly oughta just let you do the scannin’. If y’don’t feel like sittin’ up t’do it, y’d better start yerself talkin’. Ask riddles ‘r somethin’.” He smiled again, fondly, and reached over to lay his hand over one of Vincent’s briefly before returning it to the wheel.
“Maybe once upon a time,” Vincent conceded. “But my voice has… changed since then. It used to be smoother.” With a soft grunt he sat up and went for the radio, a station already in mind. Soon the sound of soft jazz filled the interior of the car. He smiled serenely and leaned back. “I like this song,” he murmured, hands resting comfortably on his thighs. He was quiet for a moment then cracked a red eye and regarded Cid curiously. “What got you interested in planes, Cid?”
A good question. Cid never had put much thought into that. “Well…I guess part of it’s the flyin’. Ev’ry little kid wants t’fly, right? I was no diff’rent. An’ when I was young, b’fore everything got all shot t’hell, I went t’school at one o’ them academy things, underprivileged kids an’ whatnot. So the army’d at least be halfway intelligent.” He snorted. “Stupid program, an’ ever’body knew it. Shut down in two years, but those two years were damned important to me. S’where I met Lazard an’ Aerith- funny how we all ended up workin’ with th’force one way or another. Well, not really. Lazard didn’t have much choice in th’matter. I was the only one’d talk to ‘im, y’know. A rich man’s son in a poor man’s world- I didn’t give a shit about that. I liked talkin’ to ‘im, so I did, an’ fuck ever’one else, y’know? He never fergot that. An’ Aer, she was th’daughter o’ one o’ the staff, I can’t remember who. Wasn’t ever supposed t’come inta contact with us, but she’d sneak aroun’ the campus a lot. Dunno why she came t’us, though…had a thing fer blue-eyed blonds, I guess. His eyes used t’be blue. I dunno how they ended up so gray.”
Clearing his throat again, Cid realized that he hadn’t even begun to answer Vincent’s question. “Anyway. Only reason I didn’t leave, aside from them, was ‘cause I was fool enough t’believe what they told me. Said if I stayed there as long as they said an’ did well in all my classes, I c’d go on t’take advanced classes later, an’ apply fer a pilot’s license if I did well there. Maybe it was even true. I’ll never know. But it was there I started really understandin’ how things work, how they run…I mean, I’d taken apart engines b’fore an’ all, an’ by th’time I was thirteen I could put one back t’gether an’ maybe even get it t’run again, but I didn’t know why until I learned there.” He took a deep breath, chuckling at himself a little. “I always think about how free y’must feel, flyin’. Lookin’ down on everything like it don’t even matter, like none of it’s as big or as heavy as it seems when y’re on the ground. I’d like t’learn how t’fly in shows, do tricks an’ stuff. Goin’ upside down an’ whatnot. I don’t think I’d ever wanna be in a war, an’ I sure as hell ain’t flyin’ fer no airline.”
His eyes were soft and thoughtful as he swapped lanes to pass a semi. “Y’really think I’d be able t’fly one day? Build m’Bronco an’ fly ‘er?” The thought alone was enough to instill a minor dose of euphoria in his soul, and the idea of Vincent riding in the passenger seat added to it was bliss. “I’d like that.”
Vincent watched Cid as he talked, caught up in his own rapture as Cid relaxed and opened up to him. Just hearing this small part of the man’s past drove home to him just how little he knew Cid, and just how much more he wanted to learn. “I absolutely believe you can fly Cid,” he said softly, touching Cid’s forearm lightly. “And it would be my honor to fly in your Bronco with you.” And Cid’s talk of childhood fantasies reawoke his own, long buried beneath dusty memories. He smiled a genuine, shy smile as he confessed, “I… never really wanted to fly as a child.” He looked down at his lap, face turning pink. “It was the ocean for me,” he coughed, embarrassed. “At first I had wanted to be a fisherman. My father would take me to the wharfs when we visited the coastal towns, and oh, Cid… all the boats! But as I got a little older, and a little more rebellious, it turned into something else. But the danger and the adventure, the unpredictability of the sea… and- and I wanted to be a pirate,” he blurted. Could his face get any hotter? “It was a short flight of fancy, no pun intended,” he said, grinning. “I got accepted to the Academy, and the ocean was forgotten… but growing up, I would spend hours daydreaming of the adventures I would have…”
Cid’s grin was wider than Vincent’s as he listened. “Well, there’s only one thing t’be done about that, then, wouldn’t ya say? We’ll be sky pirates t’gether. Small plane, small enough t’dock on a barge, an’ then we c’d take yer boat out from there.” Except, of course, that the ocean still unsettled Cid a great deal. “Y’d hafta hold me, y’know. On the ocean.” A sideways glance here, almost self-conscious, just to see if Vincent was paying attention. “Y’d look damn fine in a captain’s uniform, too,” he added, somehow needing to take off the intimate edge.
Vincent laughed softly at Cid’s initial expression, genuinely enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. He hadn’t felt this comfortable talking to someone before. Come to think to it, he had been too embarrassed to tell even Lucrecia his childhood fantasies, too concerned with what she would have thought of him then. But Cid was so very different! He shook his head, grin still in place. “No, I’d rather see you fly. But I will warn you, I- I’m afraid of heights. When Reno takes the chopper out to meetings, I spend most of the time with my eyes squeezed shut, strapped into my seat with a deathgrip on anything that is bolted down. I look down and get dizzy. Buildings are different somehow, but airships… that’s a long way to fall.” He sighed contentedly.
“Well then, I reckon we got us a deal.” Cid winked. “You panic on the planes, I’ll panic on the boats, an’ we’ll laugh at each other once we get back on land.” Almost back to Midgar now- funny how time picked up speed just when he was beginning to enjoy the ride. He shot Vincent another grin and waggled his eyebrows. “Captain calls th’shots.”
Blushing, Vincent looked away and caught sight of the Midgar skyline. His smile faded and he felt the weight of responsibility return. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Cid.” He said mournfully, looking at the dirty city before them. “There’s nothing but pain there, pain and violence.” He looked back over at Cid almost pleadingly. “I want to fly away in your Bronco and never look back, just leave it all.” Oh, if only he could! That was the cruelest part. He couldn’t, and the horizon dangled just out of his reach. But… but maybe Cid could help him taste a little bit of freedom.
“I know,” Cid whispered. “An’ you know I feel th’same.” He took Vincent’s hand again and held it tightly. “I can’t wait t’get outta that city. If y’re with me, I won’t ever look back.” He switched lanes once more and followed the next exit. Ten more miles to Midgar. Ten more miles before they returned to their cage. The city loomed ever closer, and Cid hated it more with every mile. “M’not sure where we’re goin’ from here,” he admitted gruffly.
Vincent squeezed Cid’s hand, needing the support the blond offered. He sighed and closed his eyes again, returning his head to the headrest. He could find his way back to the Shinra Tower blindfolded. “Follow this highway until you reach the sixth exit on your right. Take it to the next set of elevated lanes and continue following it for four miles, then take your exit left. There will be signs then, you can’t miss it. Cid…” He brought Cid’s hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it briefly. “Thank you for this. Thank you…” he ended in a whisper.
“Thank you. Y’don’t know how glad I was when y’let me come with ya. An’ fer you t’have shared so much with me- I just thought I was in trouble before,” he said with a wry smile. Unable to return the gesture without the possibility of stretching Vincent’s arm farther than his chest would appreciate, Cid simply squeezed in return. “Been a long time since I’ve driven back in, seen how th’plates’re separated. I hate this place, but it’s pretty damned amazin’ th’way those pillars keep everything up. Be a beautiful city if she weren’t so filthy.”
Vincent chuckled in spite of himself, squeezing back. “You were never in trouble, Cid. I just didn’t… want to expose you to that. Both for your safety and my own selfish reasons. But I am grateful that you did not condemn me for what I did.” He fell silent as he contemplated Cid’s observation of the city. “You know, you’re right? I had never stopped to consider the engineering genius that went into creating this place. But I still prefer the mountains of Wutai. I’ll have to take you some time. The mountain culture is ancient, and many old traditions are still practiced. It’s a beautiful place.”
Cid laughed outright. “Oh, I’m def’nitely in trouble,” he said, warmth flooding his voice and his eyes as looked over at Vincent again. “An’ it’s all yer goddam fault but I wouldn’t trade it fer a thing.” The sixth exit approached, and Cid turned. “I’d love t’see yer Wutai with ya. ‘Specially that spring y’promised we’d find again.” He grinned again. “But I reckon y’ll hafta at least have yer shot at teachin’ me how t’speak th’language first.” He wouldn’t even try to learn. It was much more beautiful, more exotic, to let Vincent speak to him that way and trust rather than know that the words were good..
“Spring?” Vincent asked, momentarily confused before he realized what Cid was talking about. Blushing furiously now he coughed gently and feigned haughtiness. “Yes, well, the language is quite difficult to learn. I’m not saying you couldn’t learn it, as I have every confidence in your intelligence, but maybe I don’t want to teach you. Maybe I like being able to be cryptic and keep you guessing.” Then he grinned impishly. “Or maybe I’m just twisted and want to see you struggle with asking the locals where the restrooms are.” He pictured Cid holding a Wutai/Midgar translation dictionary and imagined Cid asking for the restroom when in actuality he was asking where he could marry the nearest herdsman’s cow. That thought sent him snickering, then chuckling to outright laughing until the pain in his chest forced him to quit and left him rubbing his chest but grinning like a fool.
Cid snorted a laugh. “Bastard. Y’wouldn’t.” That was all he managed to say before joining in Vincent’s laughter, though he had no idea what was so funny. It didn’t matter. Vincent was happy. Cheekily, he shot back with, “Well, then I guess I’ll hafta ask one o’ th’locals where I c’n find a spring. We’ll be sure t’tell ya exactly how erotic sex in th’water really is.” Really, he should stop teasing Vincent so much, but it was irresistible.
Vincent rolled his eyes. “Right, and when you ask for this spring and end up in the public bath house with the overweight baker’s wife, I shall be in the tavern drinking to your misfortune!” He really was having fun. He grinned slyly at Cid, eyes shining.
He snorted again. “Makes ya think I’m gonna talk t’the overweight baker’s wife? Hell no! Gonna find me somethin’ nice first. Maybe a university kid- that way maybe I won’t even hafta stumble m’way through learnin’ another language. Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do…dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin…maybe we’ll even come visit ya at th’tavern. You c’n play with us after, if y’want.” He dropped another wink. “An’ if y’ve already found yerself somethin’ while y’were drinkin’, y’ll just hafta miss out on th’show.” He turned left and saw a sign immediately advertising ShinRa. He followed it, too involved in his banter with Vincent to spare even half a thought about what a bastard Shinra had been.
Vincent chuckled. “Good! Then I’ll be rid of you!” he teased, his voice holding affectionate undertones. His smile faded however as they slowly approached Shinra Tower. He sighed and directed Cid to the parking garage where they parked in his personal reserved space. When Cid turned the engine off, he turned to the blond and said seriously. “Cid, when we leave this car and go inside I cannot be openly affectionate with you. I am going to treat you as I would any of my other men because for all extents and purposes you are just one of my men and I shall tell people that, and as long as we are in public it can be no other way. You are a part of my world now, and the rules apply to you as well as the others. It is not how I want it to be, but it is how it must be until I can identify, and eliminate this threat. Do you understand?”
“I know. Y’don’t hafta remind me.” To reassure Vincent, he squeezed his hand in the shadows. “I’ll just hafta work my way up inta bein’ yer favorite, won’t I?” He grinned and released Vincent’s hand, wanting to steal a kiss before leaving the car but knowing that security had eyes everywhere. No sense in blowing the whole thing before it got started. “When we get home, I think I’d like t’hear a little bit about th’benefits that come w’this job, Mr. Valentine.” After dropping one last wink, Cid opened the door and walked around the car to do the same on Vincent’s side. “After you, sir,” he said, and the words felt incredibly strange on his tongue. He’d had to pretend he was mocking Tseng to even get them out in the first place.
After he had struggled his way out of the car he put his hand on Cid’s shoulder and said quietly, but with a genuine smile. “You need not be so formal, Cid. I don’t go so far as to ask my employees to stop being themselves. If that were indeed the case then I would have fired Reno a long time ago,” he chuckled, “and one Tseng is quite enough.” He paused then, face slowly turning red. “And this is home for me. We all live in the tower. I- I must ask a favor of you.”
“Sorry,” Cid chuckled, flushing. “Just thought it’d be best, since I’m new an’ all.” To the last part, he cocked his head and said softly, “Anything, an’ you know that.”
Vincent nodded. “I cannot function on my own, as you know. Such simple things as even bathing myself are nearly impossible. Would you…” his face heated up. “Would you consent to moving in with me and- and helping me? I can understand if you do not wish to, Tseng would be more than willing to assist me, but I feel more comfortable with you. And I have asked enough of him as it is.”
Fighting a grin, and at the same time wondering how long he could live with Vincent without frustration driving him to commit acts of idiocy, Cid nodded. “Of course I will. Be honored to, really. But you hafta promise, an’ right now, that if I come t’help you, you’ll let me help an’ you won’t try so hard t’do it all yerself that ya hurt yerself worse. The first time that happens, I’ll hafta make this Tseng’s job. You understand?”
Vincent regarded Cid for a moment in a whole new light. He smiled slowly before bowing his head respectfully. “Fair enough. I promise, Cid Highwind, to let you help me and to not overexert myself needlessly. Now, come, let us walk and I’ll finish speaking.” He turned and began walking towards the entrance to the Tower, waiting until Cid could walk by his side. “I’ll have Tseng pick up a couple of more suits for you as well as pick up some other clothes that you might be more comfortable in from your apartment, just make a list. Also, feel free to travel about the Tower as you wish; however, I caution you to exercise good judgment about entering places that are not strictly pertinent to your new position. If anyone questions your authority or the validity of your position, in short gives you any trouble, either inform me yourself immediately or have the individual with the issue contact me and I shall rectify the problem.” As they walked, his cane made echoing taps on the cement as though emphasizing his point. “Your position is unique, Cid. You are not to go with the others on assignments; rather your role is more or less my personal aide or assistant, officially. Another reason your movements shall be restricted is out of necessity given our current predicament with Rhapsados. It is safer for both of us. As for your unique relationship with Deusericus,” he paused and turned to Cid. “I need to you limit your contact with him. You’re entering a whole new world, Cid, and you’re going to be privy to a lot of information that could get me and my associates into a lot of trouble. I trust you, but I need you to give me your word that you’ll not pass on what you learn.”
Cid nodded. “He’ll understand. He knows I’m with you, an’ he knows that’s important. An’ I promise that anything I hear will stay where it was heard. I meant it when I said I was yours all those weeks back. I ain’t said a thing to ‘im since then except that I was leavin’ Scarlet an’ comin’ t’you, an’ there won’t be nothin’ else said ‘til everything’s worked out, an’ maybe not even then.” He gave a wry smile. “Don’t think he needs me no more anyway.” They entered the building, and Cid looked around, oddly unimpressed. “S’all yours now, huh?” he said, that bit of news sinking in for the first time. “Well, where’re we headed?” he asked, catching himself just before he moved to put his hand at the small of Vincent’s back. This was not going to be easy.
Vincent gave a small sigh of relief and his smile was relaxed and easy. “Yes, this is all mine, once I read through and sign all the paperwork. It’s a job that I am not looking forward to, mind you.” He gave a small groan at the thought of all that legalese he’d have to wade through. “And we’re going to my apartment, by way of Shinra’s private elevator.” He led the way to a non-descript elevator that really only looked like a service elevator more than anything else, until the doors slid open to reveal the opulence within. “After you,” he said, taking a moment to slide his hand down the small of Cid’s back and over a very nice buttock, before following the blond in and pushing a button for the thirty-first floor.
Cid snorted. “Th’hell d’you get off with that shit if I hafta act pr’fessional?” he asked, but he was grinning. This stupid elevator was making him feel claustrophobic despite the fact that it was roomier by far than the average elevator- and despite the fact that Cid had never felt claustrophobic before on any kind of elevator. “Thirty-one floors’s a long way up,” he said idly, leaning against the wall beside Vincent and staring at the ceiling. He wished it would hurry.
“Yes, it is,” Vincent murmured as a strange feeling came over him. He looked at Cid out of the corner of his eye as the elevator door slid shut. He could smell Cid; see Cid’s big body through that suit, the gold at the man’s throat shone in the overhead light of the elevator. It took him a moment before he realized that what he was feeling a rather unexpected surge of lust. Before he knew what he was doing he had pushed Cid up against the wall of the elevator and was kissing him, the hand holding his cane was pressed against Cid’s hip while the fingers of the other hand had found their way to the back of Cid’s neck. When he broke from the kiss, he was panting. “I only said to act professionally when in public. This elevator is private… no cameras,” he growled, and kissed the blond again, thrusting his tongue into Cid’s mouth possessively. It was a ridiculous thing to say, but what intelligence ever came out of a sexually aroused brain anyway?
Cid groaned and grabbed Vincent’s waist, placing one hand on each hip. He’d tried to speak when the first kiss had broken, but Vincent had kissed him again, and that was far better than speaking anyway. He caught Vincent’s tongue and sucked on it gently, then began to fight in earnest for dominance. When Vincent pushed, Cid pushed back, and he shuddered at the feeling of their tongues sliding together, so wet and slick and warm- They broke apart again, and Cid, breathing heavily, chided, “An’ you’re s’posed’a be behavin’ right now.” He planted another kiss on Vincent’s lips, this one far gentler and indicative of a slower pace. “But nobody said I had to,” he finished, and grinned as he dragged Vincent closer to press against him tightly. His lips found Vincent’s neck and stayed there for quite some time, kissing and pressing but mostly just dragging, mouthing wetly at the flesh there. “This a fair compromise?” he asked as he rocked his hips forward to advertise his growing interest in their kisses.
Vincent moaned, low in his throat as he felt Cid’s groin press and rub against his own in a most suggestive manner. When had he last felt such passion? Had he ever? And the fact that Cid’s kisses were just as aggressive, just as hungry as his own, that the man didn’t back down to his advance but encouraged even more from him. When Cid moved to his neck, Vincent’s head fell back on his neck and he gasped, “I said not to ‘overexert myself needlessly’, unless you think this is a waste of time…?”
“No time with you is a waste o’ time,” Cid whispered, breath catching in a gasp as his legs spread wider. “You gonna get me off in yer elevator? Little celebration for me fer makin’ it onta th’team?” His hands couldn’t stay still any longer, and now one was buried in Vincent’s hair while the other had gone lower to seek out the firm flesh it now rested on, squeezing and rubbing blatantly. “Or is it a waste o’ your time, sir? I wouldn’t wanna go gettin’ in trouble m’first day, now would I?"
Vincent snorted softly at Cid’s ‘sir’, but he couldn’t help but rub against the hand that was pressed between his legs. “Would it be called… a waste… of my time… if I was the one to start this?” he gasped, eyes heavy-lidded and pupils dilated. He reached for the button on Cid’s slacks, fully intending to see how far he could take things when there was a soft ‘ding’ as the elevator doors slid open. Biting back a curse, he backed up to lean heavily on his cane. “It would seem,” he said, continuing to breathe heavily, “that this little discussion shall have to be postponed for the time being.”
“We damned well better not have far t’walk,” Cid huffed bitterly, tossing a grin over his shoulder as he led Vincent out of the elevator. “You prob’ly oughta lead the way,” he said, and found that he had to clear his throat to keep the mumbly quality out of it. “Seein’ as I don’t have a clue where I am, much less where I’m goin’.”
Vincent chuckled, all too aware of his own discomfort, and began walking down the hallway, leaning heavily on his cane. “Unfortunately it is a bit of a dist… ance…” he said, trailing off as they rounded a corner and came to a stop. Ahead of them, most of the hallway was roped off by what looked to be a group of workers who were in the middle of ripping up the carpet. The bloody carpet. Why hadn’t they done this already? As they neared them, the workers noticed and ceased their work to stare at him. The blood had soaked completely through the carpet and the padding to the wood beneath. It would all have to be replaced. He came to a stop and stared, pale-faced at the large dried puddle. That was where he had fallen and bled and bled… A short distance away there was a smaller puddle and a trail to a larger one. That must have been where Rufus… He shook his head and wiped his mouth with the back of a shaking hand. “Carry on, gentlemen,” he said hoarsely before easing around the simple barricade to continue his way down the hall. Although it had only been five days, it had seemed like an eternity until right that moment and those workers on their hands and knees.