Beneath the Red

*Thank you all for being so patient with me and not sending me death
threats or summin’… (at this rate I’d deserve them… lol…) This is a very
long chapter (a small warning for those of you pressed for time ^_^) and
lacks a good deal of smut, so I apologize for those of you who despise
Shonen-Ai.*

Beneath the Red

Chapter 6
Exposed Secret

Cloud, the bastard. No wonder he had been so antsy about Vincent. It
explained why suddenly he was asking Yuffie and Red to accompany his
Materia hunts instead of Cid and the elusive Vincent.

Cid didn’t like the idea of a soap opera on his ship, let alone a love-triangle
between Cloud, Vincent and himself. That would just be so 20-year-old of
them. Well he couldn’t blame Cloud… Jesus was this a premature midlife crisis?
It better not be… In fact, Cid was very uncomfortable with Cloud in
the picture. Did Vincent open up to him too? Probably not… but he just couldn’t
be sure about that…

Cid found Vincent in the conference room, customizing something he liked to call
the Death Penalty. Parts were spread out on the table; he was trading the privacy
of his quarters for the space to spread out. Vincent gave a little nod of
acknowledgment, but said nothing.

“Hey, can we talk here?” Cid asked.

Vincent shrugged. No warmer or colder than he usually was.

“About Cloud.”

Vincent paused for a moment, then continued to work, very easily doing most of
the reassembling with his dexterous right arm. The hesitation only proved Cid’s
hypothesis. “Alright.”

“We’re both adults here… what exactly is going on?” Cid asked. He was hurt yes,
but he’d be damned if he’d let Vincent know that.

“I didn’t indicate that anything would continue,” he stated calmly. Cid’s heart sank
when he finished the sentence with chilling eye contact. “To either of you.”

The song Cold as Ice suddenly popped into Cid’s head as he scowled.
“That’s fine,” he lied. “If that’s the way you wanted it after that shit you know…
fine.” He couldn’t help the slight bitterness that trickled in his voice. Subtle, but
audible to Vincent’s trained ear.

“Interesting…” he mused after a moment’s hesitation. But he said nothing more.

Cid decided he didn’t want to play “boy gets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy
back.” He left Vincent there without another word and went to bark out orders
at the idiot trainee on the deck. He was almost ready to be a full-fledged pilot,
but Cid was unduly harsh and again put off the kid’s test. Flying was the last
thing on his mind for a change.

No, Cloud was foremost in his thoughts. That, and the urge to punch out his
pretty little nose next time he saw the so-called leader. He had to turn and take
another route back to his room when he ran into him telling Yuffie he wasn’t
about to sign anything about Materia at a time like this. Young, energetic, supple…
a freak of Mako, yes, but undeniably with his own sort of sex-appeal. No wonder
Vincent jumped the kid… it was such a pisser that he had to restrain a look of disgust
as he turned to head down another corridor.

“Cid,” Cloud called suddenly.

Cid stopped and leaned on the hull, resisting the urge to clench his fists. Holy
crap… he realized as it hit him. I’m really friggin’ jealous! It’s hard to believe
but its true… “Yeah?”

“You gotta minute?”

Here it comes… He’s gonna get in my face and I’ll knock his fucking teeth out…

Cid let Cloud come to him before he turned around with a false look of innocence.
He searched those glowing eyes for some indication of conflict, but it seemed that
Vincent wasn’t the topic Cloud had in mind.

“I’ve been talking to everyone. They seem ready.”

“Ready?”

“For Sephiroth.”

A chill went up Cid’s spine. If one thing bonded them all together as AVALANCHE,
it was either a hatred for ShinRa, a vendetta against Sephiroth or an uncomfortable
in-between. No one was going to go to North Crater and come back the same… if at
all. And with Meteor acting as a timer, counting down the seconds to impact, their
time was coming up a little short. Act soon… or not at all.

However, Cid couldn’t bring himself to save the Planet or whatever until he could
save the one person who meant something to him from himself. If he had to
topple Cloud in the process, then so be it…

“You talk to Vincent too?” Cid asked. Bad move, but he couldn’t help it. Tension
sprang up as Cloud immediately took a defensive position in the conversation.
There was some weary hesitation, then a slow answer.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Really?”

The imminent fight must have been obvious. Red XIII raised his head sleepily
from the top of the stairs to the deck. Cloud squinted and his pretty lips sort of
sneered. Attention. Not good. But to kick Cloud’s ass for the betrayal that Cid
felt…

Cid didn’t even realize that Vincent watching them until he brushed past in
between them. They clearly heard a quiet but exasperated, “Oh please…” and
it immediately iced the situation. Vince obviously didn’t care, so why should they?
Cid suddenly felt very foolish. This wasn’t something to pick a fight over—and
here he was getting ready to exchange blows like a frat boy over a love interest.

Love? Lust? Did it matter?

Cloud took his hand off the hilt of his sword with a scowl and walked away.
Clearly he wasn’t interested in pursuing the matter. Cid was debating whether
or not to take him on from behind and bash his head into the stairs but Red was
still lazily eying the scene and Yuffie was stumbling for the now occupied
bathroom in the hallway. He thought better of it.

“Come oooooooooon! Who’s in there?! Hurry it uuuuuup!!” Yuffie turned a
very amusing shade of green as the subtle lurches from the Highwind Cid had
learned to ignore over the years made her stomach churn. “Urrrrk…”

“There’s another bathroom that way,” Cid told her as he passed her. She muttered
a thanks and dragged herself in the other direction. “And don’t you dare blow your
chunks on my goddamn floor!”

Cid glanced at the bathroom door, a little concerned. Vincent seemed in an awfully
big hurry and he never got airsick… Not like him at all… He softly knocked, still
feeling a little foolish from earlier. “Uh… Vince?”

“Go away,” came the strained reply.

Cid frowned. There was the fair possibility that he just needed a satisfying shit,
but unlike most of the rabble on his ship he was subtler with human matters like
that. It wasn’t like him to go rushing to the bathroom, as awkward as it was. Nah…
he is human after all…

There was a sickening and cringe-worthy puking/screeching sound and Cid became
alarmed when a trickle of blood oozed out from under the door. “Holy shit… what
the hell?!”

There was no reply. There was a crashing and a rush of wind. Bracing himself, Cid
threw open the door, half expecting to see Vincent passed out or something but
something much worse greeted him.

Blood everywhere. Black sticky goo… claw marks… the open window… The memory
made Cid feel ill. It was something that he himself had experienced, if only in his
mind. Chaos. It made sense. Vincent’s withdrawals, his random disappearances…

“SHIT!” he cursed.

“Whoa…” a passing crew member commented.

“That’s interesting,” Red XIII noted, looking as disgusted as a whatever-he-was
could look.

“Clean this shit up,” Cid ordered the crew woman. “Red, come with me—grab
somebody with Materia.”

“What about Cloud?”

“Fuck Cloud,” he muttered. “And keep this between us. I’d imagine I’d be pretty upset
if someone found out MY dirty little secret…”

***

The search was fruitless. Tifa seemed to have taken Cloud’s side, even if she
didn’t know the whole story, and so did Barret. Yuffie was too busy throwing up
so it left a disappointing reliance on Cait Sith… or Reeve as everyone called him now.

They returned late, bruised from fighting off the random hostile monster locale and
flustered from failure—at least Cid was. Despite Reeve’s assurance that Vincent
could take care of himself, Cid found himself sulking around the deck late into the
night. Red was a little more sympathetic having seen the gore, but he didn’t understand
the extent of the situation either.

The Highwind was landed on a high plateau that overlooked Bone Village and the
ascending mountains into the Great Glacier, so the night crew was asleep, grateful,
Cid assumed, for a good night’s sleep on the ground for once. It was quiet and
humid but sort of cold as the fog rolled off the mountains. The night was still alive
with the buzz and him of crickets and peepers.

Cid put out his last cigarette and sighed. It was really no use. Even if they did
part on tense terms, there would always be that sappy apology when they were
reunited. At least… that’s how it worked in the movies. On a whim Cid clambered
up the ladder to the very top deck of the ship to see if Lady Luck needed new paint.

And there he was. Here the whole time.

Silhouetted against the moon was the perfect demon, wings arched and sleek
muscles ready to pounce on whatever was below. There was the sharp smell of
blood and the soft sound of growled breath. Even as the monster he thought
he was, Vincent was beautiful.

“Vincent…?” Cid called awkwardly.

The face of Chaos whipped around with a startled and angry growl, abandoning
its previous query to slowly circle Cid. He brought forth his Venus Gospel, cursing
himself for removing all but two practically worthless Materia orbs—Elemental and
Sense.

“Get a hold of yourself, Vince!” Cid told the monster. “You don’t have to lose
yourself like that!”

Chaos’ face contorted into an unsympathetic snarl and it lunged. Cid wasn’t sure
how it happened between the claws digging into his limbs and the enormous
gnashing teeth tearing into his chest, but he managed to strike Chaos across the
face with his spear, bashing the Sense orb into its muzzle.

Darkness may rule you, but it won’t hold me down!

Cid was again at a loss as to how he pulled it off through snapped bones and fiery
pain but he pushed Chaos’ savage mind aside and dove into Vincent’s world, armed
not with a world of pain warped by terror, but the only thing he could think of
that might stop the monster. Or just the first thing that came to mind.

The happiest memories of his life.

######## #### ### # #### #

“Lift off in 5! 4! 3, 2, 1!! Brrrchshhhhhhhh!!! Zooooooooooom!”

“Cid!! Your uncle’s home!”

Cid threw the cardboard box/makeshift rocket aside and ran down the creaky
steps. Seven of them. He remembered that clearly from the specific creak
each made as he stomped down (how that trickled into his long term recall
was beyond him). But the rest was fuzzy because it was from so long ago…
the pictures on the wall had a blur to them because he couldn’t remember the
faces and there may or may not have been a window to the right…

But he did remember awesome things were to behold when Uncle Martin
came home on leave. Fixing up the old Chevy or going over prototype blueprints
were among Cid’s favorite activities.

How old was I?? Five??

“Uncle Martin!!!!” Cid cried happily, attaching himself vigorously to the tall leg
of his favorite (and only as far as he knew) uncle. “Didja bring me somethin’?!
Didjadidjadidja?!!!”

“Whoa little man!” his uncle laughed affectionately, hefting the blond boy onto
his shoulders. “Somebody’s had a few too many sweets today!”

Cid’s aunt blushed. “Well he gives me that look…”

“Never mind,” Martin dismissed. “I’ve brought something wonderful, Cid! You’ll
LOVE helping me out with it…”

They weren’t your parents?

Vincent’s thought startled Cid. He’s lost himself in the moment for a second. It was
important the Vincent did too… he needed to understand that dreams came true
no matter who you are…

No… my aunt and uncle raised me. Not sure where my real folks ended up, but
I never really gave a rat’s ass. They let me have a little too much sugar and didn’t
discipline me much… but hey, it all worked out…

“What is it?!! What is it?!?!!” Cid demanded, squirming about.

“My little captain, I had this brought into the shop just so you and I could work
on it,” Martin explained, stepping out onto the gravel driveway and into the
enormous garage. A wooden frame stood, barely fitting into the confines of the
shop. Engine parts took over the bench and blueprints lay scattered everywhere.

“WOOOOOW!!!!” Cid marveled, demanding to be let down so he could
explore the new invention. “What IS it?!”

“A new kind of plane,” Martin told him. “One that runs on Mako. It’s so new that
ShinRa is going to help us pay for building it!”

“What’s a ShinRa?” Cid asked only half halfheartedly as he explored all the new shiny
parts with his hands.

A dark look crossed the uncle’s face, but it passed quickly and was replaced by
the bristly grin framed by a blond mustache. “Just a sponsor. What are you going
to name it?”

“I get to?! Really!?!!” Cid’s big blue eyes got even wider, then he screwed up his
face in childish thought. “It’s going to be the Tiny Bronco!”

“So be it!”

Cid’s memory fuzzed. That was so long ago that the details began to haze and blur.
No, not good enough for Vincent… something wonderful. Orgasmically wonderful…

######### ### # ####### # # ##### # # # # # #

“Cid, you’re crazy!”

“Hell yeah, I am!” he replied with a grin, glancing over the shiny red wind and kicking
the last adjustment into place. “And Shera, baby, this thing is gonna fly!”

Shera had her arms crossed, clipboard lazily dangled in one hand. “I’ve triple checked
your math and I am TELLING you that your chances of getting this thing off the
ground are only 10%!”

Lucretia…

Yeah, I guess she does kinda look like her…

How old were you?

Mm… mebbe 16…

Where’s your uncle?

He died in that war in Wutai… I barely remember it…

“Good enough for me!” Cid laughed, jumping into the cockpit and pulling down his
goggles. “Give the propeller a spin, Shera! I’m gonna ride on that big juicy cloud
up there!”

“You are SO lame sometimes…” she teased with a roll of the eyes. She put her arm
on the propeller. “You crash, you pay for your own medical bill!”

“I won’t!” Cid leaned out and kissed the girl’s cheek, then strapped himself in.
“Let her rip!”

Shera gave the propeller a heave as Cid started the engine. Ten years of work—most
seriously worked on in the past four—kicked into action and the Tiny Bronco jerked to
life. The propeller slowed and for a heart wrenching second failure suddenly loomed in.
Then it began to spin wildly and Cid coaxed the controls to push the Mako plane forward.

40 mph

50 mph

60… 70 mph!!

The Tiny Bronco was barreling out into the open field at full speed! Was it enough?
Cid eased the controls up and the front wheels lifted… then the back wheels…!
There was a dip and the front wheels skidded in the dead autumn grass and then
they lifted higher… higher! Higher!!!

Altitude 10 ft…30 ft… 60 ft!!!

Cid pulled his goggles up to feel the whipping wind on his face, closed his eyes and
lifted his hands into the sky, letting the Bronco go where it pleased.

“YES!!” he screamed in exaltation, heart pounding in the ridiculous
excitement of success, tears streaming across his face. The sky was at last his!

And Vincent drank every second of this joy, this unbridled ecstasy. He was in Cid’s
place, letting the air whip his hair around everywhere, saturated in the feeling that
not even the horizon was a boundary and that anything was possible.

Vincent laughed. It was sort of a quiet giggle, but it was there.

He laughed in Cid’s glory—a wonderful release of something buried and marred. Cid
felt like he would burst with giddiness.

The Tiny Bronco began to lose altitude after hitting 200 feet from Cid’s negligence
to the controls in his utter enjoyment of the moment. He turned his baby around
and landed her smoothly 100 yards from where he started.

Shera was running up to him, her face beaming. She was screaming, “You did it!!
Oh my God, Cid, you really DID it!!!”

“FUCK YEAH!” Cid cried, leaping out to meet her. He swept her up and
spun her around and around in crazy teen laughter, stupid from the adrenalin and
endorphins pumping through his system. “I told you baby!! I told you anything
was possible!”

Her hands were buried in his longer, blonder windswept hair, singing, “O captain,
my captain!!” They lost themselves in frantic kisses, then rolled on the grass with
a sparked lust from the sheer rush of it all. The sun, the grass, their clothes… it
was all a jumble if senses to Cid at the time. A scramble for pleasure and comfort
and the bodily reaction… she was hot and wet and just screaming out praises for
him…

By God, Cid was a man now! Losing not one but two virginities: Tamer of the Sky
and Master of the Womanly Orgasm! There was nothing… absolutely nothing he
couldn’t…

Cid felt sort of awkward for his intense sexual lapse into what he and Shera did
that day. He had an audience after all… Uh… I was a little … overwhelmed at
the time… he apologized.

No, no, I don’t blame you… Vincent sounded almost dreamy having been
bombarded with emotions that Cid saw that he thought were long dead inside.
I envy you…

You don’t need to. Forgive the corniness, but dreams come true, dammit!
I’ll prove it to you!

########## ##### ## #### ## #### #

“Shera, you’re not gonna believe this!! ShinRa is reinstating their funding
for us!”

“What?”

“They loved the Tiny Bronco! And get this! They took a look at my blueprints
for the Highwind, and they BOUGHT them!”

“Are you serious?!”

“There’s more! They want me to get involved with their space program!!!”

“That’s amazing!”

“The sky is NOTHING compared to the stars! It’s all ours, baby! And we’re gonna
be rich!”

########### ### # ## #### #

Didn’t that fall through?

You said it yourself. Circumstance fucked me over, mostly ‘cause of ShinRa.
But you were there, Vince. You watched me get into space… you helped me.
I’m complete because of you…

That was mostly Cloud…

Fuck Cloud. It’s just you an’ me now.

The sickening lurch of the rocket sent Cid’s heart to his throat. Shera fretting over
statistics meant nothing to him in that moment (though that had ultimately been a
mistake). He was barely aware of Cloud clutching the Huge Materia and scrambling
for his seat belt. At the time he wasn’t even aware of Vincent, also clutching his
seat belt, but staring with his cool awe at what Cid was completely absorbed in,
unrestrained and uncaring.

Space. Earth from space.

It was so beautiful that Cid had even dared to let a tear escape. He was so hell-bent
on being the first man in space and to be the first to view the planet from his rocket
throne that it didn’t matter to him who launched the damn thing. Neither ShinRa nor
AVALANCHE had any meaning to him—just that what he had toiled over for at least
12 years had at last served its purpose; he was master of not only the sky, but the
stars as well.

A vague memory of barking at Cloud to shut the hell up so he could enjoy the
damn moment, then the sight of Meteor bringing them all to their senses. The
moment he had waited for his whole life had come and gone, and it wasn’t exactly
what he had wanted but it didn’t matter. He did it. His dream had come true in a
fleeting, dreamy instant.

I never saw it the way you did…

No?

I was sort of queasy at the time… You’re right though, it was … breathtaking.

The stars spun as they careened back towards the atmosphere. The ship was shaking
and that alarm was going off… Chaos… pure Chaos…

Do you believe me now?

What?

About being human. You can’t smother something like that.

I…

You need to come back from the Chaos. It’s not so much that I’m gonna die.. it’s just
that I don’t want it to be a waste… you know?

Cid no… I couldn’t have!

Yeah…

That can’t be!

The rocket was shaking under the strain. Tumbling out of control… pain… red…

And then time resumed once more. The Venus Gospel went flying with the Sense orb
and clattered over the side of the Highwind. The force of Chaos’ pounce threw them
both on the hull painfully. Cid let out a sound of forced pain but choked on blood. It
was everywhere…

It was Vincent looming over him now, not Chaos, drenched across the chest and face
with Cid’s blood, looking horrified at what he had done. He covered his mouth, unable
to mute the raw fear in his eyes.

Cid tried to say something cheesy like in the movies and animes where the hero gets
a last dying word, but he turned his head aside and puked blood instead. The world
stared to haze. Maybe the afterlife was warm and sticky… no, that was just his blood.
Dear god, how much can one guy produce??? Red… so much… red…

“Don’t … you can’t…!”

Was Vincent speaking to him? Cid couldn’t tell anymore. His arms and legs felt numb and
cold. Red… red… red…

It didn’t matter.

As long as there was peace beneath the red… it didn’t matter… didn’t matter…

End of Chapter Six
*****************************************************************
*Again, apologies for the length and mushiness of it all. If there is another chapter
(hehe, wouldn’t you like to know? >: )), I promise I’ll post it sooner ^_^ R/R
pleeeeeeeez! And a thank you to those who have and have been so very very patient
with me! :D *