Woven Ties

Woven Ties


//

The trip back to Junon was unbearable. Now they knew that Cid was being held as much a captive as Vincent they felt the strong, undeniable urge to be on their feet, moving, running, fighting – doing anything except sitting still in their airship transport, cracking their knuckles and gritting their teeth during the flight. Mai accompanied them, as they would need her help to unhook Cid from the machines and wires they had attached him to. And they would need her notes to prove to whoever argued against them that their friend was being chemically bound to that bed.

When they arrived they stormed into the hospital, straight past the reception desk and up the flight of stairs to Cid’s lonely ward. The nurse looked up as they marched in, but they ignored her questions and proceeded to Cid’s room. Mai and Cloud entered the room while the others remained outside, looking menacing in case they had company.

“What are you doing?” The nurse asked again, approaching them and trying to look into the room. She obviously sensed the raging atmosphere.

“Where’s taking our friend back,” Barret answered in a threatening tone, as if daring her to complain and argue.

“You’re not authorized to move this patient,” the nurse flustered, looked both shocked and angry. “Stop what you’re doing immediately.”

“Our friend is being drugged,” Tifa explained sensibly. “Your hospital faked his illness.”

The woman looked at a loss for words. Her mouth opened and closed, finding no words to speak. Then she turned and made her way quickly back to her desk. “We’ll see what the doctor says about that!” She picked up the phone and quickly dialed, casting cautious glances at the room, where Mai was unhooking the equipment.

“We’re gonna have company real soon,” Yuffie announced to Cloud and Mai, sticking her head into the room.

“Good,” Barret punched his palm. “They can explain a few things to us.”

Tifa spied a gurney across the other side of the ward and jogged over to it. They could use it to get Cid out. Either that or Barret would lug him out, and Tifa didn’t think he would appreciate that.

Inside the room Mai was giving the comatose pilot a quick once-over, checking to make sure he was free from all of the wires and hidden IV tubes. Tifa wheeled in the gurney and together they lifted the Captain’s limp form onto the trolly.

“Just what is going on here?” Demanded a male voice.

Nanaki, Barret and Yuffie advanced on the doctor who had just stepped into the ward: A thin, spectacled man with a narrow face. He faltered under Barret’s shadow.

“You’re not Cid’s doctor,” Tifa came back out of the room, looking at the unwelcome guest. “Who are you?”

The man paused, taking in the scene, from the man and woman in the patient’s room, to the nurse cowering at the small reception desk. “My name is Dr. Shnesh. And what are you doing?”

“We’re getting our friend out this hell-hole,” Barret answered, folding his muscular arms, glaring down at the thin doctor.

“That man is in a coma!” The doctor exclaimed, pointing needlessly.

“A coma his doctors have put him in,” Mai said, entering the ward from Cid’s room. “Dr. Shnesh, I am a medical doctor, and I hold evidence that this man has been drugged. He’s not ill at all. Would you care to explain?”

“Drugged?” The man echoed. “Preposterous! No self-respecting doctor would do that. Where’s your evidence?”

“Here.” She thrust the papers into the man’s hand, watching him fumble with.

Dr. Shnesh glanced over the papers with printed readings and her own scribble and frowned angrily. “I don’t believe you. Who authorized your intervene?”

“I did,” she answered stonily. “It’s clear you’re keeping this man here against his will. That’s a terrible offence in the medical profession.”

“How dare you make accusations –”

“Why don’t you give us some answers before I put my foot in you ass?” Barret cut him off, glaring menacingly. Behind them Cloud had wheeled out Cid on the gurney, standing close, protectively as he watched the scene. “Where’s Vincent Valentine?”

The doctor, looking for all the world completely gob smacked by this incident, open and closed his mouth, fish-like. “I don’t know who that is,” he declared, frowning angrily. “But if you don’t put that man back in his room I’m calling security!” He nodded to the woman at the reception desk, who announced shakily that they were already on their way.

Yuffie turned from the woman and poked Dr. Shnesh in the chest. “Someone drugged Cid so he wouldn’t look for Vincent. Was it you?”

“Where’s Dr. Bound?” Tifa asked, speaking before the doctor could answer Yuffie. “He was the one to deal with Cid. He must have known.”

“I don’t know a Dr. Bound,” the man replied, backing up. Sounds of footsteps could be heard in the outside corridor. A second later a troupe of security personnel entered the ward. “Apprehend them” Dr. Shnesh ordered, pointing at the group as he continued to back away. “They’re causing a disturbance and potentially harming a patient.”

“You bastard,” Barret growled, cracking his knuckles. The wave of security descended on them and Barret bowled the first two over. Tifa and Yuffie dealt with the others as Cloud and Mai stood by Cid’s motionless form.

The guards were no match for the heroes of the planet. They were knocked to the ground quickly, and as they lay groaning and nursing bruised heads, Avalanche decided it was time to go. Dr. Shnesh had disappeared.

“Damnit,” Barret spat, fisting his hands.

“We can’t go looking for him,” Tifa said, stepping beside him. “We need to get Cid out of here.”

They agreed. Cloud and Mai controlled Cid’s gurney while the other three strode in front, prepared to knock aside any more interference. They received a few more security personnel collisions, and a lot of stares and questions, but they ignored everything, focused only on getting their Captain out of the hospital. They walked past reception and out the doors, finally free from that cursed building.

“What about the doctors?” Cloud asked himself aloud, glancing back at the hospital and wishing they could have gathered some answers while they were in there.

“Something tells me Cid’s first doctor did a runner,” Tifa said, turning her brown eyes to the high windows.

“Let’s get your friend back to Edge,” Mai suggested from by the gurney. They had practically stolen the trolley, so they didn’t want to be hanging around aside the scene of the crime. “We’ll concentrate on him first. Maybe he can tell us something.”

They nodded, and together they made their way back to the airport…

//

The smooth expanse of skin was beautiful. Cid would have called it pale, but it was much richer than that. An ethereal shade of ivory. He had never seen any part of Vincent’s flesh aside from his face, and he could see why the man covered himself up so. A smattering of scars, large and small, marked his chest. On a more muscular, tanned physique they would have stood out proudly as battle scars. But on Vincent’s slim form they severed only to remind him what he had been subjected to. They would have been impressive had they been inflicted by a weapon.

Vincent turned his hair-framed face to glance at Cid. His red, cool eyes watched him for a reaction before removing his leather the rest of the way down his arms. He scars rippled above his muscles as he moved.

Cid was mesmerized. He let go of the bathroom door and moved to Vincent, who continued to watch him, barriers at the ready, cold expression lurking behind those steady eyes. The pilot ignored the man’s body and cupped his chin, directing his face around for a smooth, soothing kiss. When he parted he openly looked down at the scars on Vincent’s chest and swirled a gentle hand over them.

“Beats my little shaving scars,” he said quietly, mirth in his blue eyes as he smiled at Vincent. He remembered feeling all the tension in the man vanish. As though he had chased it away.

Vincent’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes did. Somehow the gunman seemed calmed, and there was a twinkle in his gaze as he looked back.

Cid smiled again in response and brought their lips together once more. He was happy. Despite the world chaos, despite Sephiroth threatening their very existence, he was happy. Not only did he have the affections of this beautiful man, but he had finally done it…

He’d been into space.

His dream, though short, had been incredible. He wanted to hold on to this feeling – a feeling that was a mixture of elation and happiness. From the two things in his current life that were worth all the fighting.

Somehow they found themselves on Vincent’s bed, involved in a series of deep kisses. They touched each other’s skin lightly, ghosting over shoulders and chests. There was no crisis in the world. Only them.

A warm rush flowed through Cid’s body as his hands graced over Vincent’s waist, ducking low to ride smoothly along his clothed hip. He resisted the urge to delve lower and brought his hand back up, admiring the curves. A relationship with another man was completely different, yet somehow the same. He couldn’t explain it.

He broke the kiss softly to place a peck on Vincent’s jaw line. He didn’t intend to take things further, but Vincent was pressing into him, and some form of eagerness transferred from the gunman into him, telling Cid to continue. How long had it been since Vincent had received any sort of affection before him? He mentioned a woman – Sephiroth’s mother – when they had first uncovered him in that basement, but by his tone it seemed like a wishful relationship. Like he had loved her more than she did him. Did he still love her? Since his involvement with Cid he hadn’t mentioned Lucrecia at all, except in explanations. Maybe it was too hard for him to talk about. Maybe that is why he accepted this man and man relationship…

“Cid…”

He paused right then. A shot of tingling arousal soared through him due to the sound of the man’s voice. He had spoken softly, barely more than a breath, but it, too, was laced with arousal… And want. Cid wouldn’t be able to continue without letting certain things go unnoticed.

His hesitation caught Vincent’s attention, and the gunman raised his head to fix him with an encouraging, reassuring gaze. In his eyes Cid could tell what message he was showing.

Cid kissed his lips, and at the same time pushed his hips forward to meet Vincent’s experimentally. He received a soft breath of air and a response. The feeling was making him hard, but surprisingly he could feel Vincent’s evidence as well.

It was unfamiliar territory with another man, but Cid let his instincts lead. They had never failed him before, and they didn’t that night. He knew what felt good, being of the same gender, so pleasing Vincent came naturally to him. He gripped Vincent’s backside and pulled his hips into his thrust, earning them both a wave of pleasure. If he kept this up he was going to release inside his pants, and they were already uncomfortable. He maneuvered his other hand from between himself and Vincent and used both to find the seam in Vincent’s leather suit. It was still around his waist, but with a little hurried help from Vincent’s good arm he had successfully released the man’s erection. Cid busied his mouth with the gunman’s as he stroked it gently, taking an extraordinary amount of pleasure in the gasp that escaped. He freed his own length, unable to ignore it any longer, and pressed them together. Vincent rewarded him with a jerk of his lithe body.

They ground together, forcefully and softly, writhing against each other on the bed. Their actions were stronger than their self-control, for they were unable to last long against the onslaught of such sensations. With Cid’s deft hand and their constant hip rotation they reached their peak quickly. They grunted together as they ejaculated, spilling themselves over Cid’s hand and onto their bodies pressed together.

A silence followed that Cid remembered so clearly. The sated feeling of release, the warmth of Vincent’s body and the sound of his gentle panting… And the look of contentment on the gunman’s face. He was stunning. Cid kissed him and Vincent kissed back. They basked in the afterglow.

For Vincent, Cid felt one of those mental barriers break. He was a wall closer to Vincent’s heart.

He would also wonder a while afterwards why Vincent’s eyes had turned yellow…


//

It wasn’t until the following day had passed, and the sun was setting, did Cid regain consciousness.

The door to the guestroom in Seventh Heaven opened with a soft creek and a shaky foot stepped out into the hallway. They paused for a second before a groan issued in the silence and feet pounded their way to the bathroom. Cid stumbled groggily and collapsed by the toilet, heaving suddenly and throwing up bile. His stomach was empty.

Several other footsteps announced themselves, thumping softly down the hall and into the bathroom. Cloud and Nanaki rushed in.

“Cid,” Cloud said, crouching down behind the retching pilot and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He felt a weight rise from his shoulder at the sight of Cid conscious, unaware he had held such fear that he might not see the Captain up again. He squeezed the shoulder gently, and then he looked at Nanaki. “Get Mai,” Cloud told him. When Nanaki disappeared Cloud looked back at his friend’s hunched form. He didn’t even know if Cid was aware of his presence.

A few minutes later the Avalanche team was situated in the guest room, smiling in relief and happiness at the ‘bedridden’ pilot. Mai had given orders for him to remain in bed until he was completely flushed of the drugs in his system, and it had taken Cloud’s help to get him back into Seventh Heaven’s guestroom. He’d had enough energy to complain, at least.

“You’ll feel a little weak for a few hours,” Mai stepped back from her examination, much to Cid’s annoyance and confusion.

“Fuckin’ great,” Cid mumbled weakly. He closed his eyes, but he was not ready to sleep again. “Anyone wanna tell me…what the fuck’s goin’ on?”

“At least his brain wasn’t damaged,” Yuffie commented. “He still remembers how to swear.” However she was smiling genuinely, glad that their friend, family and comrade was okay.

Cid’s brow furrowed and he opened his blue eyes, turning them on the group standing around him. “Why the hell am I at Seventh Heaven?”

Tifa sat down on the edge of the bed. “You took ‘ill’ in Rocket Town. Do you remember?”

Cid blinked at her. “I…remembering feeling really bad. Like shit. Then I blacked out.”

“You were taken to Junon hospital,” Cloud explained, unfolding his arms as he cast his vibrant blue eyes down on a set of less saturated ones. “They told us you’d had a complication with the antidote…and that you’d fallen into a coma…”

Cid looked less surprised than skeptical. “What?”

Cloud, with the other team members’ assistance, proceeded to tell Cid what had happened. They explained what they had learnt, what they had found at the small weapon shop in Wutai, and how they had involved Mai to find out the truth. Needless to say Cid was very angry.

“Those fucking bastards!” He growled, sitting up in bed. His rage apparently gave him renewed energy. He looked a lot better. “If they kept me in a fuckin’ coma then those fuckers have Vincent!”

“It’s possible,” Cloud nodded.

Before Cid could speak again, Yuffie chipped in, a puzzled frown on her face. “Hey, wait a second…” She had their attention, deflating Cid in mid-breath. “If it were the doctors who did this to Cid, how did he get ill in Rocket Town?”

“They could have given him something the last time he was in hospital,” Tifa suggested. “Maybe they knew it would work so long after it was in his bloodstream.”

“I’m not so sure…” Mai said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I found nothing in Cid’s blood except the pentobarbital that was forcing his coma”

They all frowned, confused. Tifa looked back at the pilot. “Do you remember what you were doing when you felt ill?”

Cid blinked, casting his memory back. As he opened his mouth to answer, a shrill ringing interrupted him. Cloud’s phone jingled loudly, and he pulled it from his pocket to answer. They could all hear Reeve’s voice on the other end.

“Cloud, what the hell went off in Junon?” Came the commissioner’s voice. “My WRO soldiers reported an incident at the hospital. You took Cid from their care…”

“Cid’s alright,” Cloud replied quite calmly. “He’s awake and fine.”

Reeve was confused. “But he was comatose.”

“No. He wasn’t.”

“The doctors were drugging him,” Yuffie said, leaning in. Cloud held the phone out slightly for her – or so she wouldn’t speak in his ear. “Cid isn’t ill. They lied. They were just keeping him out the way!”

A baffled Reeve was soon filled in. He couldn’t believe the doctors would do such a thing. Cid himself spoke to the man, to reassure him he was perfectly fine.

“But, I was contacted by Professor Drumbol,” Reeve began, sounding all the more shocked and disbelieving. “He said he discovered the toxin through the data we had collected during the North eradication mission… He said he was sending down doctors to Junon hospital. Perhaps they weren’t who he thought they were…”

“The guy who checked me out was called Dr. Bound,” Cid grumbled, folding his arm in bitter taste of the name.

“Could he have been imposing as a CSC doctor?” Reeve wondered aloud.

“CSC?” Cid demanded.

“Yes. Professor Drumbol is one of the top scientists at the center. But it seemed impossible for such a respected and brilliant constitution to commit such actions…”

“Hojo was once respected and brilliant…” Nanaki reminded him. His tone was soft, but Reeve heard him clearly.

There was a pause in the room as everyone considered the implications. Yuffie broke the silence.

“Reeve, does the name TERA mean anything to you?”

“TERA? No…I don’t recognize that name. Does it belong to a person?”

“We don’t know,” Cloud answered. “We found the location of the dart, and the most recent purchase put their name down only as TERA.”

They heard Reeve shake his head. “I’m sorry, it doesn’t ring any bells…” He was silent for a few seconds, contemplating this confusing mystery. However his thoughts were troubled most by the implication that Drumbol – that the CSC – were involved in such an atrocious act. “It’s possible that Drumbol is not part of the CSC at all,” he considered. “What if they were posing as scientists to get to Cid and Vincent?”

“But they just wanted Vincent, right?” Tifa asked. “Why go to all the trouble of making Cid ill before they captured Vincent?”

More silence. Reeve could only answer with, “I don’t know.” He paused a second longer before a rustling noise and a metallic sound reached their ears from the phone. “I’m brining up all the information I have on the CSC on my computer.” Keyboard taps were heard. “I have a list of all the top scientists somewhere…” More taps. The occupants of Seventh Heaven were quiet as they waited patiently. “I’m convinced there’s an imposter at work here…”

“Why do you say that?” Nanaki asked. “You seem defensive for the CSC.”

“The CSC aren’t a bad organization,” Reeve started explaining as he searched. “They care for the planet a lot. They help people understand how not to treat the land. Their research all goes towards protecting the planet and the people…Ah, here’s the information.” He was quiet for a few seconds as he read his screen data. “I have here a list of all the departments and the head scientists in charge…A Professor Kem in charge of Aceology; Professor Heights in Astrology; Bates in Aerology…” He reeled off a lot departments, murmuring a few commenting regarding his familiarly with some of the scientists. Avalanche waited patiently (or not, in Barret and Cid’s case). “Kero in Somatology; Digs in Teratology; Miles in Threpsology –”

“Teratology…” Nanaki interrupted. His teammates looked at him and he blinked. “Teratology…”

Mouths parted as their heartbeats rushed. “What does the Teratology department study?” Cloud asked hurriedly.

Reeve paused a second. “’The abnormalities of growth or malformations… the study of monsters.’”

A question slipped from Cid’s mouth before he could think. “Does Vincent qualify for that?”

They knew the answer.

“Reeve – where’s the CSC’s base?” Cloud demanded quickly.

“It’s located in the Mideel area,” Reeve told him with just as much haste. His tone had become deadly serious. Having a working relation with the CSC in the past had granted him with the knowledge of their location. “There’s an island south east of the town, just off the coast.”

“We’re going.”

//