(Untitled)

[notariverstone]

It was not so unusual for Vincent to be comforting someone who'd been through a trauma. He'd taken care of Tseng and Elena after what the Remnants did to them, he'd helped a few people after the Battle Royale incident, he'd spoken with Reeve after Deep Ground had attacked, and helped to nurse Anael back to health somewhat, before... well. That

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[notariverstone]

He knew what that felt like. He didn't want to remember it, but he did. Right now, helping Sephiroth was more important than those memories, though. Seeing the look in Sephiroth's eyes, Vince whispers, "You don't have to tell me," in an attempt to soothe.

Cloud squeezes Sephiroth's hand again, trying to calm him down.

[notariverstone]

Was it okay to hold him, now? Unsure, Vincent reaches for Sephiroth's hand.

[atinyremnant]

When he feels Vincent's hand in his, Seph grips it tightly and cries harder, trying to move - to pull himself closer, get more contact, suddenly feeling so horribly lost and afraid and just wanting to curl up in a pair of friendly arms for a while. Arms that won't hurt him and shove him away, arms that belong to someone who really does have his best interests at heart even if they are awkward and unsure. But he can't manage to move, and he can only hope Vincent will realize what he wants and hold him.

[notariverstone]

Good. No more issues with touch, then. Or at least with normal touch. Vincent gathers Sephiroth up gently, silently, holding him close and rocking him slowly.

[atinyremnant]

Relieved, so deeply it'd be frightening if he could really think about it, Seph just curls close and hides his face until the tears stop, and by then he feels so worn out but resists the urge to just rest. He hasn't finished his story, after all, and it's not polite to just leave something unfinished like that.

...He's not averse to just sitting there in silence for a while longer, though, his throat still tight from crying and his head throbbing slightly.

[notariverstone]

Vincent threads his human hand through Sephiroth's silver hair, just as Aerith had once done for him, when he'd broken down with her. Still cradling Sephiroth, he murmurs quietly, "It's over, now. You're safe. It was their fault, not yours."

[atinyremnant]

"...I was never," he starts, voice hoarse and quiet, "allowed to look. To know. I could only wait...and try to guess when the pain would come." Which explains his strong reaction to, as he'd earlier phrased it, 'looking away'.

[notariverstone]

"Hn." He'd seen it. Seen most of it. So starkly and hideously that it had been burned into his memories and nightmares. "You wouldn't have wanted to." His voice comes out as a near squeak, at the beginning, having broken just as he began speaking. He hoped Sephiroth hadn't noticed. It was obvious that Cloud had, though, for the other man put a hand out to rub Vincent's back.

[atinyremnant]

"No. I - couldn't stand it. Not knowing. Not knowing when it would hurt again. When those hands would touch me again. I still can't--" He swallows hard. "I have - to see."

[notariverstone]

He was crying. He felt the warmth on his cheeks, didn't trust his voice. So he just kept rocking Sephiroth silently.

[atinyremnant]

It isn't as though silence would be anything telling in this situation, but somehow, Seph knows. He realizes. He purposely doesn't look up, not wanting to tear down any of Vincent's pride and dignity by seeing him like that, but he can't just do nothing even if he doesn't quite know what to do.

So, he blanks his mind, and for lack of a better term for it, he lets himself drift. He doesn't think. He just does. And slowly, uncertainly, his arms wrap around Vincent's shoulders and he just holds onto him.

Maybe, he half-thinks, even if it's just a little, they can let out some of this pain together.

[notariverstone]

He's surprised, to say the least. None of the Sephiroths he'd spoken with had been so compassionate, so understanding of human nature, unless it had been taught to them.

He shakes a little; thrown off-guard and still hurt by his memories He holds Sephiroth to him more tightly, rubbing the teen's back as his breaths become longer and more labored. He's sobbing now, slowly and silently.

He'd seen. He'd seen too much... And it was all still there, just below the surface...

[atinyremnant]

"...I know." Seph doesn't know where the whispered words come from, or what he's trying to say by them, but he's slowly starting to realize what Vincent's been trying to tell him this whole time. He's not alone. No matter what aspect of his life it is, whether the punishments, the isolation, or something entirely different, there's going to be someone who knows. Someone who's been there.

And with that in mind, he says it again, his hold tightening. "I know."

[notariverstone]

The thin chest puffs up a little. No. He didn't want Sephiroth to know. No one was supposed to understand him; to predict him! They would know, then, how to hurt him! Sephiroth did not know! Could not! Events were one thing; similar pasts led to an inherent understanding that could not be twisted into a weapon. But Sephiroth knowing-- actually knowing what his reactions to those events would be-- it terrified him.

"No," it's not a correction; it's pure terrified denial, and sounds like it. "You-- can't know."

[atinyremnant]

Now he looks up, meets Vincent's eyes and just looks at him with the sympathy that can only come from knowing, even if it's just a small portion of it. He doesn't say anything this time, only looks.

[notariverstone]

He's shaking worse, now, and he flushes when Sephiroth meets his eyes, the pale skin showing the rush of blood to the cheeks prominently. He won't let go; he'd come here to help, right?-- but he won't look at Sephiroth, either.

"Vincent," Cloud interjects, "Calm down. It's okay. Don't be scared..."

But his heart's beating fast and strong. "You don't," he states again, "You don't know me." He pulled Sephiroth to him again, if only to hide the fact that he was so deeply flushed and crying.