into the upside-down sky full of stars

[messyturk]

Characters: Vincent [messyturk] and Reno [notwhatiwas]
Location: Veld's Room [Deck 5, Room 8204]
Date: September 9th, midday
Rating: R for Reno's mouth.

Comments

[notwhatiwas]

Reno shuffled a little under his covering, it was less effective without the heavier fabric of the cloak but that had been soaked in the caves when he'd fallen in to the water.

"And pillows?" He peeped up softly, cracking an eye open. Honestly, the bathtub wasn't too terribly comfortable. The hard porcelain against his shoulder and hipbone was less than stellar in the ways of comfort, despite the illusion of safety the closeness of it gave him.

[messyturk]

"If you want pillows, you can relocate to the bed. Or my bed, if you'd prefer."

Vincent moved again, angling his body and pulling backward until he was sitting in the tub beside Reno, legs crossed over the edge, and ducked his head in slightly. Reno was completely bundled up in the thin nylon curtain, leaving no way for Vincent to catch his eyes, but the intention was there all the same.

"How are you feeling?" With a Chaos transformation so recently Vincent knew Reno wouldn't be able to transform at all for a while, hopefully at least another day. The only problem was that the sudden hollow emptiness left by coming down from godhood tended to make the feelings left over from whatever triggered the shift to begin with even sharper, more painful than usual.

[notwhatiwas]

Reno uncurled from his tight ball slightly, lifting his head enough to look at Vincent...himself with one eye. Damn that was a strange concept, looking at himself and not using a mirror.

"Like shit." He admitted, before letting his head fall back against his arm. Honestly, he felt worse than he could ever remember feeling. This wasn't something ice cream could really fix, even a whole truckload of it wouldn't help much. He'd been so desperately alone that he'd... Reno curled up tight again as his thoughts strayed.

[messyturk]

For a moment Vincent simply sat there, thinking over Reno's words and actions. After that short span ended, he carefully put a hand on the technically-younger man's back.

"It will be better," he murmured. "It doesn't really...go away, but it does dull after a while." He moved the hand on Reno's back slightly, gently. "I'm so sorry, Reno."

[notwhatiwas]

Reno let out a soft sigh at the hand on his back, relaxing minutely at the welcome contact. "Don't leave." he breathed, jumping a little at the gurgle of water running through the pipes in the walls. He had always been so afraid of being left alone and he had been so sure Vincent and Veld would leave now that Vincent wasn't stuck in this body. Here they were though, and he'd been so stupid to think otherwise.

[messyturk]

"I'm not going anywhere," Vincent replied, still so quiet. He kept his head dipped low, bending his right leg and pulling that knee close to his chest, circling it with his arm. "This isn't your punishment. I may not be the best of men, but do you really believe I'd leave you to handle something meant for me on your own?"

[notwhatiwas]

"You an' the old man would be happier." There he said it. "You wouldn't be... like this you'd be like me and you'd go be happy and leave me here. You'd forget all about me and... and..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He'd be alone.

[messyturk]

The admission made Vincent blink. This was one of those things that had never crossed his mind: Like blaming Veld for Nibelheim, it had just never occurred to him, never even been considered a possibility.

"I don't want to keep your body, Reno. It's yours. Not mine." Vincent thought it better not to mention that he didn't really feel the skin Reno was wearing was necessarily his either a great deal of the time. "I'd never pass on my problems to someone else by choice, especially this one." He gave a low sigh. "I'd switch us back in a heartbeat if I could."

There was a beat of silence.

"A heartbeat from your body, not mine."

[notwhatiwas]

"But you would be happier if you did." It's pretty obvious to Reno anyway.

He sat up for a moment, before wriggling around and leaning against Vincent with a sigh.

[messyturk]

Vincent automatically stiffened at the contact, then slowly--too slowly, maybe--forced himself to relax. He stayed silent for another long moment, thinking, contemplating Reno's side of this. Vincent knew how it felt to have every negative thought expounded twentyfold, to wake up in a body not entirely your own and to be incapable of controlling the hell hidden underneath that alien skin.

"I wouldn't." His tone was as serious as ever, level, absolutely certain. "I assure you, the guilt from having bound you in a nightmare built for me would definitely outweigh any pleasure I could take from reclaiming some form of humanity."

[notwhatiwas]

Reno just sighed, rolling his eyes a little as he ignored Vincent's stiffness at contact. Damnit he was lonely and Vincent could deal with being awkward at human contact.

"...maybe you could get rid of that angry thing. Trade it away at that one store or something." He suggested after a while, an eyebrow raising at the thought.

[messyturk]

"I don't think trading Chaos is an option." He gave his head a slight shake. "I'm almost positive it has to be something tangible, of some personal value, and even if there might technically be some physical manifestation in my blood that's...not exactly something I'd regret giving up."

Vincent turned slightly, more or less just looking at the top of Reno's head, and wondering if his hair had always done that odd coiling thing, or if that was new.

Stupid thought, but present nonetheless.

"Besides, Veld said I'll lose it eventually anyway." He squinted slightly. "Or I would, if I were back on the Planet. Assuming we make it back, I only need to wait it out."

Assuming they didn't, he'd be stuck like this forever, which he'd been planning for anyway. Either way, he could handle it.

[notwhatiwas]

"How long is eventually?" Reno asked, shifting even closer against Vincent. "I mean...this is horrible."

It was fascinating to watch himself move, red hair bright in the darkness. He'd never really noticed how red it was, he'd always thought people were exaggerating a bit about it.

"My hair's really red."

[messyturk]

"It is," Vincent said, in response to the comment about Reno's hair, "and...it is." He tilted his head back a little, eyes toward the ceiling. Where Reno found the sight of himself in action fascinating, Vincent was more than a little bit uncomfortable.

He squinted in thought, brow furrowing slightly. "Veld didn't say how long it would take, but if he knows about it...within the next few years, I suppose." Now Vincent gave a slight shrug. "It won't affect the other three, or everything else, but just losing Chaos would help more than much else could."

Vincent didn't stop to think that Reno, this Reno, wouldn't know about the other three. He came from a time before he'd even met vincent, much less seen him in action; Galian, Gigas and Hellmasker were all sealed and silent in that body Reno was trapped in, he wouldn't have noticed.

[notwhatiwas]

"Other three?!" Reno questioned, a bewildered look on his face. "You mean it's..." Oh gods that was worse than horrible. Being Vincent sucked majorly, or so Reno was quickly learning. Some of it was sort of interesting but mostly... just plain sucked.

[messyturk]

"Chaos is the only transplant," Vincent explained, as calmly as he could. Under normal circumstances he would never explain this to more than a handful of people alive, but presently...well, Reno deserved to know, didn't he? "Lucrecia infused it into me, somehow. It was her thesis project, I just..." He jaw tightened. "I didn't know until recently."

Deep breath in, quiet breath out. "The others formed on their own, during Hojo's experiments. Chaos could be removed, being a WEAPON, but the others...they're mine permanently." And for Vincent, permanently meant permanently. He really wasn't going anywhere, after all. "But they're more or less controllable, under normal conditions."

Another breath, something low and quiet and strikingly close to a chuckle. His voice, however, remained level regardless. "I only ran Cid up a tree once."