A/N: My first FFVII/Valenstrife fic, for Valentine's Day. I'm not exactly good at writing one-shots, but well... Oh yes, Vince's coffin has enough space for two, you hear me?

Warnings: Haha, couldn't make it to an actual lemon, again. Man I suck... some angst, coffins, harsh language. If you're someway offended by the idea of two men together, I suggest you to find some other fic to read.

Do forgive me if there are too many grammatical errors, my English isn't the best possible. Feel free to point out where I went wrong.

Characters, places etc belong to Square.

Reviews much appreciated.

--
A Coffin for My Valentine
--

Yuffie looked up to the sky, smiling to herself as she remembered what day it was. She had just woken up, and immediately ran to the window to see what the day was going to be like. The sun was shining, couples walking hand in hand in the streets, birds singing in the trees... A beautiful day, indeed. She smirked. Oh, how Vincent would hate it... The young ninja jumped down from the window board, running out of her house towards the new Wutai Inn that was right around the corner. She greeted the lady at the counter and ran past her, around a corner and right until she found the door and the stairs to the basement. "Vinnie!!"

The mere sound of the nickname given to him was enough for Vincent to pull the lid of his coffin shut more tightly, attempting to continue his dreamless sleep.

Yuffie bounced down the stone stairs, flicking on the light on her way. "Vinnie!" She shouted again, trying to pull the lid of the coffin open. "Come out!" She pounded on the wooden surface. "Don't you remember what day it is today?"

"...Unfortunately, I do..." Vincent's deep voice echoed through the walls of the coffin. "And I will not come out in a very long time. Come to think of it, I will be here until you all decide to leave me alone. A fortnight doesn't sound that bad, actually. Good night."

"A fortnight my ass!" Yuffie huffed. "Besides, it's morning already, not that you'd know since everything you do is sleep in your blasted coffin!" She kicked said coffin, letting out words that were rarely heard from her mouth.

"Yes, and I happen to like my life this way, thank you very much. And don't mock my coffin; it has been loyal to me for decades, much longer than any human being."

"Vincent Valentine!" Yuffie shouted again, but the man in the coffin had fallen silent. "Fine then!" She kicked the coffin again, making Vincent swear aloud as it fell down sideways with a loud bang. "But don't come crying to me when no one wants to spend their Valentine's Day with you!"

"..."

"You know what, you make me so... so..." Yuffie stomped on her foot, trying to find a word to describe how angry she was. In the end, she found none. "ARGH!" She exclaimed, and then left the basement with hurry.

Vincent sighed deeply and stumbled out of his coffin to examine the damage on the wooden surface. "Damn that Yuffie..." He mumbled while turning the coffin like it should be. No, safer to leave it on the floor so it didn't fall again... It was already in its point of detachment without Yuffie adding the damage, and he had a feeling that the ninja wouldn't leave him alone so easily... Grumbling quietly, Vincent crawled back into his beloved coffin to get some more sleep.

--

Yuffie ascended the stone steps with hurry, swearing to herself all the time. What the hell was wrong with Vincent anyway? One would think that after spending thirty years in a coffin with nothing else than yourself as company, you'd be damn glad to see other people. "Damn antisocial prick..." She mumbled and once outside she slammed the door of the basement shut with force. "...I swear I'll never speak to him again..."

"Speak to whom?"

The ninja turned around and faced Cloud, who obviously had just woken up as well. That's right, so she had managed to convince all of her friends to spend the Valentine's Day with her in Wutai... even Vincent. Suddenly she got a brilliant idea. "Hey, Cloud..." She clung onto the swordsman's arm, giving him her best puppy eyes- look. "Vinnie's down in the basement and he won't come out of his coffin! I tried and I tried and I tried and I kicked his coffin over, but he still won't come out to spend the Valentine's Day with us!" She pouted.

"Yeah, it must be because you always tease him about his last name." Cloud told her. "Sorry, but I haven't eaten anything yet..."

"No, wait!" Yuffie held his arm tighter. "You have showered already, haven't you?"

Cloud eyed her suspiciously. "I'll decide the answer once you tell me what's going on."

Yuffie smiled brightly and dragged him to the door of the basement. She held it open for Cloud to enter, warning him before he went down: "You won't come out of there without a certain Vincent Valentine."

Cloud rolled his eyes and began to descend the stone steps cautiously. You'll never know when they'll fall from under your feet, he thought. The light had been left on in the basement, and soon Cloud could see the once black coffin in one corner of the room. The paint had worn off almost completely, but Vincent had said that he just couldn't bring himself to abandon it. Cloud shook his head. That guy was beyond weird... He approached the coffin, knelt down next to it and knocked on the lid lightly before opening it.

Vincent's eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing crimson eyes looking at him curiously. "...I knew it was you," he said.

Someway, that deep voice had always made shivers run down Cloud's spine. Or maybe it was the man himself, always dressed only in red and black, his crimson eyes adding the feeling of mysteriousness in him, that beautiful face and... Uh, now he was digressing, badly. He had to get Vincent upstairs... yeah. "Oh? How so?"

Vincent smiled slightly as he moved into a more sitting position. "No one else knocks before disturbing my precious time with... myself." He shrugged. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd love to continue--"

"WHOA!" CRASH

After a few moments of wondering what had happened -- and why there had been a sudden feeling of pressure on his back -- Cloud found himself in Vincent's coffin, the lid closed, and what was even more disturbing; with the owner of the coffin. A giggle reached his ears from outside the coffin and he tried to open the lid with no success.

"Happy happy Valentine's Day, Vinnie!"

"Yuffie!" Cloud shouted in desperation. "Goddamn it, let me out!"

Yuffie merely giggled again, and soon there was a sound from the stairs, telling them that the ninja had left the basement.

That was when Cloud remembered that he was supposed to panic; he was in a cramped place -- a coffin, mind you -- and he hated cramped places with passion! How was he supposed to get oxygen?! "Oh god..." He inhaled sharply, once again trying to get out of the coffin.

Vincent groaned, trying not to think about the fact that Cloud's knee had just made a painful contact with his groin. He swore in his mind, planning how to get his revenge... "Damn that Yuffie..." He mumbled, turning his attention to Cloud, who hadn't made one single sound after he had been shoved into the coffin with him. "Cloud?" He asked, but got no answer. "Hey, Strife."

Cloud shook his head, gripping Vincent's upper arms tightly. He wanted out of the coffin, now.

"Cloud, are you all right?"

"No. I'm not. I want out of here, I'll die from a lack of oxygen, goddammit! I hate cramped places and this one definitely is cramped and I want out!"

"Whoa, now. Take it easy there." Vincent swore again as he tried to move his hand onto Cloud's shoulder. "This coffin is not made for two..." He mumbled and wound his arms around Cloud's waist instead, the only position that didn't squash them to the walls or under his companion. "Cloud, you're not going to die." He rolled his eyes. "I was sleeping in this very coffin for thirty years and here I am, am I not?"

Cloud merely shook his head again, gripping Vincent's arms even tighter as his breathing started to grow more irregular. "I want out of here I want out of here I want out..."

Vincent felt Cloud starting to tremble in his arms and he frowned slightly. Who could have thought that Cloud had this kind of phobia? "Shh, Cloud, it's alright..." He mumbled into the swordsman's ear, holding him tightly against his chest. Oh well, like he had any choice... "Now, Strife, listen to me. Take a deep breath and calm down. There's no need to panic, there's plenty of oxygen for both of us."

Cloud nodded and did his best to do as he was told. No panic... He took a few deep breaths and let his head rest on Vincent's chest, the gunman's steady heartbeat calming him down effectively.

Vincent smiled faintly as Cloud began to relax. He could still feel the blonde's heart beating rather quickly against his chest, but at least he had begun to calm down. He stroked Cloud's back slowly with his unclawed hand. Maybe he wouldn't kill Yuffie after all, he was quite comfy right now...

Suddenly Cloud chuckled. "I'm sorry. I must be acting like a little kid. How pathetic."

"No, no, not at all. I mean, we all are afraid of something, correct? It's only natural, not pathetic at all."

Cloud turned to look up at Vincent, but discovered that he couldn't see anything. Well no shit, Sherlock, they were in a coffin. He must have been too panicked to realize that it was indeed pitch black. "So..." He shifted a little so his elbows were propped up on either side of Vincent's head. He cringed at how close the lid of the coffin was to his head, trying to forget how limited the space was. "Does that mean that there's something you're afraid of, too?"

Vincent turned to stare at a crack on the corner of the coffin, from where he could see a side of a random box next to them. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh come on Vinnie, tell me."

"Do not call me 'Vinnie'."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like that name. It's Yuffie-made."

"Hm, so if it was, say, Barret-made, you'd let me call you that?" Cloud smiled at Vincent's irritated snort. He noticed that he could see almost half of the older man's face because of a faint light streaming through a small crack on the wooden surface. Damn, how could someone be so beautiful? "Vincent..." He whispered, touching the gunman's cheek with his fingertips. Once the man in question had turned back to face him, just like he had hoped he would do, Cloud pressed his lips onto his firmly.

As Cloud's lips made a contact with his, Vincent's eyes widened to the size of the Gold Saucer. At least. His first reaction was to try and push Cloud away, but his try was in vain as the swordsman caught a fistful of his ebony hair, tilting his head up rather forcefully, forcing his lips on his again. Oh well... It wasn't that bad, now was it?

Cloud smiled into the kiss as he felt Vincent responding to him, other than trying to push him away. He let his grip on Vincent's hair loosen since he found no reason to be holding him in place anymore. Carefully, as if afraid he might break the atmosphere, he pulled away a little only to return to lick Vincent's lips, and was pleasantly surprised to feel the man opening his mouth for him to enter. And he loved every second of it, taking his time in exploring every inch of the sweet, wet cavern thoroughly. Noticing that Vincent was being a little hesitant, he poked the gunman's tongue with his own, encouraging him to participate in the kiss. He felt like he wouldn't get enough of it even if he spent the whole day just... kissing Vincent. Oh, what a pleasant thought... The best Valentine's Day ever, even though they were in a coffin.

Well, eventually the kiss broke, leaving Vincent's mind clouded. Cloud...ed. He shook his head to clear his thoughts... from Clouds... which was rather difficult, since the man in question was lying on top of him, their bodies pressed together rather tightly because of the lack of space. On the other hand, why did he want to clear his thoughts? "U-um, Cloud..." He stammered, trying to catch Cloud's eyes in the dark. Maybe he should buy a new coffin with a lamp or something. "...Weren't you supposed to be scared of cramped places...?" The swordsman said nothing as he lowered his lips onto Vincent's neck, undoing the buckles holding his cloak to gain better access. "C-Cloud...!" Vincent had meant to say more, but a sudden, totally unexpected moan let itself out of his mouth, completely without his permission. He would have clamped his hand over his mouth, but said hand was at that moment sliding down Cloud's back, slipping under his shirt. Once again without his permission, damn his body for not obeying him...

Cloud was enjoying himself, oh yes... He bit down on Vincent's neck, drawing a sharp gasp from the man. Smiling against the pale skin, his other hand reached for Vincent's unclawed one to encourage him to touch him. He wanted, he needed to feel the contact through the layers of clothing which were separating them. "Mmh, Vinnie..." He moaned as Vincent's hand slid down to his ass and he switched his attention from the delicious neck now dotted with hickeys to the gunman's lips instead.

And Vincent kissed him back. He had momentarily cringed at the nickname, but suddenly it didn't sound that bad, after all... But no, he had to make this stop before it managed to get out of hand. "Cloud..." He pushed the blonde away as far as the space of the coffin let him, which wasn't that far, really. "We can't."

"You wanna know what I'm thinking, Vinnie?" Cloud asked, turning to lick Vincent's earlobe before whispering: "I want you to fuck me."

Vincent blushed beetroot at the words, shaking his head. He wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince himself or Cloud, though. "No, Cloud. You don't know what you're asking."

"Oh yes I do, Vincent... Don't tell me you don't want it too, because I can feel it."

"Cloud, don't." Vincent gritted his teeth as Cloud's hand reached down to his pants. "I can't. Please, try to understand."

Cloud pulled his hand back and leaned his head against Vincent's chest again. He wasn't going to force Vincent to something he didn't want to do... "...Okay then, I guess..."

"Please don't be mad at me. You... deserve someone better. Someone who--"

"--loves me, huh?"

"...Yes. Someone far better than I am, someone who you really love and who loves you back just as much."

"But I--"

"Cloud, no." Vincent sighed and stroked the swordsman's spiky blonde hair, thinking how he had gotten himself into this situation. He couldn't blame Yuffie for that, no matter how much he wanted to. It was completely his own fault. It wasn't the first time when Cloud had made a pass at him, and it wasn't the first time when he had responded to him. It wasn't the first time for him to chicken out of it, either. The funny thing was that Cloud obviously had feelings for him, and hell, he could say that he was... attracted to Cloud, too. So what was the problem?

"You're an idiot. I hope you know that." Cloud mumbled sulkily. So, he was being childish, but it was Vincent who was always in denial, not him.

Vincent smiled faintly. "Yes. I know."

A long moment passed in silence, both men thinking their own thoughts until they were interrupted by the lid of the coffin opening. Yuffie smiled sheepishly to her two friends, holding the lid open for Cloud as he climbed out. "Um, I see that you both are still alive." She said quietly.

Cloud sneered. "As alive as you can be in a coffin, yes. I swear if you do that again, I'll--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm sorry..." Yuffie rolled her eyes. "...But it was just too much for me to resist, if you understand..."

"No, I don't. How did you keep the lid closed anyway, you weren't sitting on it, were you?"

"Nah, I didn't do anything. It's just a little heavy..."

"You mean..." Cloud stared at the young ninja. He couldn't believe his ears! "...it was open this whole time?!"

Yuffie nodded. "Bet you were having fun." She turned to look at Vincent, who had also crawled out of the coffin to put it back in its place against the wall. Then, much to Yuffie's horror, he went back in and closed the lid. "Vincent!"

"I'm sleeping."

Yuffie gaped at the coffin in great disbelief. No, that wasn't a part of her plan at all. She turned to Cloud. "Say something!"

The swordsman shrugged. "He wants to sleep, so let him." With that said, he walked to the stairs. If Vincent wanted to play it this way, so be it. He could ignore the gunman, too, damn right he could... It wasn't like he was obsessed or anything... Well, not much, at least.

"Grr..." Yuffie attempted to glare a hole into the coffin, but since it didn't work, she merely kicked it again. Oops, maybe she did it a little harder than she had thought... The coffin once again fell down sideways, but this time in many pieces instead of one.

After a few moments of clattering and many other weird sounds including not-so-polite words, there was merely Vincent, sitting on his ass on the floor, looking at the rubble of bits and pieces that had once been his beloved coffin.

Yuffie clamped a hand over her mouth in horror. Oh, what had she done...? Vincent turned to look at her with a blank expression on his face, and it scared the hell out of her. "V-Vinnie..." She peeped quietly. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"..." Vincent stood up after picking his fallen cloak up and dusted it from all the rubble. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from yelling at Yuffie, fisting his right hand tightly. "Where am I supposed to sleep now?" He asked as calmly as he could. He wasn't going to lose his temper, he was not...

"I-I... I don't know, oh Vinnie I'm sorry..." The young ninja walked to Vincent and hugged his arm. "I didn't mean to break it, seriously."

Vincent sighed. "I know. Oh well, it was over thirty years old anyway..." He shrugged tensely and wrenched his arm free with a little more force than he had meant to. He walked past Cloud, who had been standing at the beginning of the stairs without even glancing to him, and went upstairs.

Yuffie's shoulders slumped. She felt really bad... "Do you... do you think he's mad at me..?" She asked from Cloud, who merely shrugged. She glanced to the pile of rubble briefly before bouncing to the stairs and up. She had to make sure Vincent wouldn't shoot her when she was sleeping... "Vincent, wait!"

"Hey there, little girl!" Cid caught the young ninja into his arms as she attempted to run past him in the lobby. "Where do you think yer going?"

"I've gotta find Vinnie, have you seen him?"

Cid scratched the back of his head, frowning slightly. "Mm yeah, but he had this 'talk to me and you'll be dead' aura around him, so I didn't talk to him much..."

Yuffie groaned. "So he is mad at me!" She whined and flopped down onto a couch, curling up into a ball. Maybe Vincent would mistake her for a cat or something if she kept it up...

"Okay, what have you done now?" Cid lifted his eyebrow as he sat next to the girl. There was some incoherent mumbling, and he had to lean towards Yuffie to hear what she was saying. "Eh?"

"...I broke his coffin..."

Cid's eyes widened for a moment before he burst out laughing. "No kidding? I wish I had seen his face!"

"It wasn't funny..." Yuffie pouted. "He was really angry, even though he said otherwise... And now I've gotta be awake all night so I'm able to flee if he suddenly decides that he wants revenge."

"Well it's a damn hilarious thought, though..."

"I am glad that you find this so amusing." Vincent's deep voice suddenly reached their ears from behind them and Yuffie almost jumped out of her skin.

Cid seemed to be a little paler, too. "Hey man, couldja stop sneakin' up on people like that?!"

Vincent merely lifted his eyebrow as he sat onto an armchair opposite the couch, the torn red cloak swaying before settling down under him. He looked quite majestic; his hands resting on the armrests casually, legs crossed and chin tilted slightly so he could observe the others over the high collar. He was someone who made even loud-mouthed people like Yuffie and Cid to shut their mouths and look at him with respect, which must have been mostly due to his gothic appearance. "Yuffie," he called softly but still managed to make the young ninja jump. "I've got no intentions to shoot you in your sleep."

"...Says you..." Yuffie huffed. Nope, she wasn't going to fall for that. Vincent was merely trying to make her drop her guard, but it wasn't going to happen, oh no... She was way too smart to fall for a cheap trick like that...

"Besides, if I wanted you dead, staying awake wouldn't help you at all." Vincent said calmly. "It would only make things more painful than necessary."

"That's it, I'm leaving!" Yuffie jumped up from the couch, shooting a glare at Cid who obviously found the situation rather amusing. Oh well, she'd deal with him later, now she had to think of a way to flee as quickly as possible... And yes, this seemed to be the situation in which Lady Luck was taking pity on her, sending Cloud into the room just when he was needed. Yuffie gave a small shrieking sound and ran behind him for shelter. "Cloud, help! Vincent wants to kill me!"

Cloud turned to look at Vincent with very mild interest. "Oh, really?"

The gunman shrugged. "I never said anything like that. Yuffie is being paranoid." He said and stood up from the armchair and with another sway of his cloak began to leave the room.

"H-Hey, Vinnie!" Yuffie ran after him, dragging Cloud behind her, but once again hid behind the swordsman when the gunman turned around. "You... You're not, I mean..." She cautiously peeked over Cloud's shoulder, and once she thought it was safe to move and that Vincent wasn't going to transform into some kind of monster and eat her, she approached Vincent. She looked up at the tall man in front of her, the puppy eyes- look already on its place as she sought for forgiveness. "Will you forgive me...?" She peeped.

"I have already forgiven you, I told you that I'm not mad at you, didn't I?" Vincent sighed. "Of course it annoys me to know that I've got no place to sleep the night, but I guess it would have happened soon anyway, since the coffin was about to fall apart whenever it moved..." Yuffie nodded, smiling brightly as she wound her arms around Vincent, who cringed a little but allowed the ninja to hug him. Soon the sudden embrace was getting a bit awkward to be in and Vincent pushed Yuffie away. "Now I think that's enough..."

"You'd rather have Cloud hugging you, hmm?" Yuffie smirked cheekily. She might be young, but she was neither stupid nor naïve, at least not anymore. The constant battles had had their effects on her, too. She could see the glances that Vincent was giving Cloud when he thought no one was looking, and vice versa. Besides, she had always wanted to play matchmaker!

"I... beg your pardon?"

The ninja rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon, don't tell me that you didn't like it when you two were pressed up against each other in the--"

"Whatever are you trying to imply?" Vincent quickly interfered, remembering that both Cloud and Cid, indeed, were still in the room. He didn't consider himself as the easily blushing type, but now he had to get away before the sudden heat on his cheeks became too visible. Why was that damn girl so interested in him and his sexual preferences all of a sudden, anyway? "Do excuse me." He left the inn with hurry, walking along the road until he found a nice place to sit on, and so he flopped down onto the grass under a random tree.

What was Yuffie thinking, saying something like that in front of others? Sure, she had been teasing him since the day when he had said that Cloud looked good in a tux -- yes, he had even seen Cloud in a tux -- but still... In front of Cloud? And he bet that the little incident only a few moments ago hadn't been an accident, either. "Happy happy Valentine's Day, Vinnie!" Yuffie's voice rang in his head and he groaned in annoyance.

He didn't have much time alone until he felt like we was being watched. This feeling was proved to be true as he turned his head slightly to his right, discovering Cloud standing merely a few meters away, his arms crossed across his chest, face blank. "So this is where you ran off to." He said, not moving from his position next to the tree.

"Yes, I happened to find a peaceful place and so I sat down. Do forgive me."

"What the hell's your problem?" Cloud frowned and walked to Vincent, but didn't sit down. "You're acting like I have done something to you, what are you mad at me for?"

Vincent stood up, looking down at Cloud since he was taller of the men. "No, of course you haven't done anything, it's not like you ever do anything wrong, you're so damn perfect!" He spat and started to walk back towards the inn. So much for the peace outside... He might as well go and lock himself up in his coffin in the basement and never come out again. No, wait. Why had he left his coffin in the first place? Oh yes, he had no coffin to lock himself up to. Maybe the lady at the counter would let him borrow a closet or something...

Cloud gaped at Vincent's retreating back until he decided that he needed an explanation for the sudden outburst. "Hey! Don't you run away from me, Valentine!" He shouted and actually made the man stop, so he had time to approach him. He put his hand on Vincent's shoulder and roughly turned him around. "What the hell have I done to you? Huh?!"

Vincent shrugged the hand away. "Oh, nothing. But one thing; if you just stopped coming on to me, alright? I'm not interested!" He yelled.

A brief expression of surprise and maybe a bit of hurt swept across Cloud's face, but it was soon gone as he countered: "Well it's not like I've heard you complaining." He sneered. "And don't act like I'm the only one who wants it."

"Well guess what, you hear me complaining right now!" Vincent shot back. He was having a hard time fighting the demon inside him; Chaos was begging to be released so it could silence the man in front of him with more than words. But no, he wouldn't sink that low; letting the demon handle the situation with violence would have been really cheap.

"Why do you always have to be in denial? You want me just as much as I want you, admit it already!" Cloud shouted, once again taking a hold of Vincent's shoulder. "What are you afraid of? That you might actually like it?" He sneered. "Or is this about Lucrecia, again?"

"Don't pull Lucrecia into this." Vincent hissed.

"Don't you think that it's time to let go already? Is there anything else in your mind but that bitch? Do you think that being an anti-social prick helps you at all? Is that a part of your atonement, causing even more pain to those around you?" Deep down Cloud knew that his words would hurt Vincent, but the gunman wasn't the only one hurt in the situation. But seeing the obvious hurt in Vincent's crimson eyes made him regret the words before they had even been formed. "Do you ever think of what someone else might feel about it, Vincent? Are you even human?"

Vincent gritted his teeth, fisting his unclawed hand tightly. Maybe Cloud was right; what good had his silence ever done to anyone? He had been locked up in a coffin for thirty years, but did it really help anyone? Lucrecia? Himself? "Don't touch me!" He shouted as Cloud reached his hand out to him, an apologetic look on his face.

Now, Chaos took the opportunity given to it, using the anger and sadness of the human it was in, deciding that now was its turn to join in the fun.

As Vincent fell down to his knees, Cloud startled greatly. This wasn't good. "H-Hey, Vincent..." He cautiously approached the gunman and took a light hold of his shoulder. "Don't you go all Chaos on me now! Vincent!" His cry for Vincent was in vain, as he saw the muscles in the gunman's back shift, preparing for the drastic change that was yet to come. A pair of red and black wings sprouted from Vincent's back, making him cry out in pain. After a few moments of cracking and other inhuman sounds, Cloud found himself staring right into Chaos' eyes. He had a sudden feeling that this wasn't going to end well...

--

It wasn't until the late evening when Cloud woke up again. His head and arm ached, but he didn't have time to think about that. He sat up on the bed despite his headache and looked around. The view from the open window told him that he was in his room at the Wutai Inn. But where was Vincent? Lazily, he walked to the window and looked outside. "Yuffie!" He spotted the young ninja talking to an old man right under his window.

Yuffie turned to look up and waved to him. "Hi, you're awake already! How're ya feeling?"

Cloud nodded, deciding that he didn't want to talk about himself, but know about the certain raven-haired man. "I'm fine. Where's Vincent?"

The young ninja looked around nervously and then told him that she'd come up in a second.

Cloud shrugged and closed the window before going back to his bed. Damn, his head was killing him... Soon there was a knock on the door and Yuffie came in, bouncing over to him and sat down on the edge of the bed. "So, where's Vin--"

"Umm, how are you feeling?" Yuffie asked with a bright -- and obviously fake -- smile.

Cloud stared at her blankly. "...Okay, what's going on?"

"Uh... what do you mean?"

"You're avoiding my question."

"Oh, that... So, Vincent, huh...?" Yuffie bit her lower lip, playing with the hem of her shirt. "We... don't know."

Cloud frowned. "Don't know? What the hell does that mean?" Yuffie merely shrugged as an answer, and so they were quiet. Had something happened...? Aside from the obvious, of course. He hoped that Vincent wasn't hurt... Oh well, he didn't remember fighting back, so the option that Vincent was injured was unlikely.

"Umm, so..." Yuffie began quietly. "Vincent was the one who did this to you?"

Cloud laughed a little. "Oh well, it was completely my own fault. I pissed him off and he turned into Chaos on me." He shrugged. "No harm done."

Yuffie nodded a little distantly. "Uh, how does your arm feel, by the way?"

Cloud frowned and turned to look at his right arm, which was bandaged right above his elbow. "Oh... it feels just fine, I guess. So, umm, you've got absolutely no idea where Vincent is?" He asked again, as if Yuffie'd suddenly got a clue of the gunman's whereabouts.

Yuffie sighed and shook her head. "Nope, he just vanished."

"...Oh..."

Once again, the room was filled with an uneasy silence. Cloud lay down on the bed, deciding that he needed some more sleep. Maybe Vincent would be back when he woke up again... Who knew, the man came and went as he pleased, he was surprised that Yuffie had actually managed to contact him -- he wasn't really responsible of his cell phone -- and what was more surprising, the gunman had agreed to come to Wutai for the Valentine's Day... He sighed. Quite a Valentine's Day they had had this far... Oh well, there was still a few hours left, anything could happen.

Yuffie turned to look at Cloud when the man's breathing grew heavier, indicating that he had fallen asleep again. The young ninja smiled and left the room. She closed the door behind her as quietly as she could, looking around in the corridor. "Vincent, are you here?" She called.

The gunman stepped out of the shadows, a slight frown plastered on his handsome face. "How is he?"

"Just fine. Wants to see you, you know..."

Vincent shook his head. "I must leave." He said simply and turned around to leave the corridor.

"How long are you going to run?" Yuffie asked, approaching the gunman as she continued: "You can't continue like this, it hurts both you and Cloud."

Vincent smiled faintly. "I know. That's why I must leave." He glanced towards the door where Yuffie had a moment ago come from and sighed. "I cannot forgive myself for what I did to him. I have realized that I cannot control the other side of myself; I must find a way to tame it."

"But Cloud doesn't blame you, you know..." Yuffie said and hugged the man in front of her. "No one else does, either. Well, except Tifa, maybe, but she'll get over it." She looked up to Vincent, only to see that the man was looking at the door of the room where Cloud was staying at. Yuffie pulled away from the light embrace and gave Vincent a push towards the door. "Go."

"No. I mustn't."

"What the hell are you talking about, go on. He's asleep now, but I can wake him up for you if--"

"No," Vincent stopped her, biting his lower lip. Was he going to go in and apologize, or just run away and leave things unsettled? Maybe he had done enough running, and now was the time he finally accepted what was to come. "...Fine, then." He sighed. "You can really be persistent, can't you? And nosy." He said and ruffled Yuffie's dark hair. The ninja gave him a thumbs-up.

Vincent entered the dark room, glancing around before walking to the bed. He looked down to Cloud, who was sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling steadily as he breathed. A small smile crept onto his lips as he sat down onto the edge of the bed, brushing a strand of blonde hair off Cloud's eyes. The blond was handsome, there was just something that drew Vincent to him whether he wanted it or not. He cared for the swordsman deeply, yet he had hurt him. He sighed quietly, stroking Cloud's hair gently. If only things were different. If only he was a different person, a person who wasn't as sinful as he was. "I'm sorry," he whispered and leaned down to kiss Cloud's cheek lightly. Without another word, he began to leave the room.

"...Vincent?"

The gunman stopped at the door, hesitating. He had come to apologize, and he had done it. So there was nothing keeping him from leaving, right? "I'm sorry, Cloud." He whispered again and walked out of the room. He hurried past the doors in the corridor, not looking back even when he heard one of them open. And there was no doubt which door it was.

"Vincent! Wait!"

But he didn't stop. If he did, he might do something stupid like stay and hurt Cloud again. It was better if he left.

"Goddamn you Vincent, I told you to wait!"

"You should be resting." He answered as he opened the main door and walked out, leaving it open since Cloud was obviously going to follow him. Might as well spare the hinges.

"Vince?" Cloud's uncertain voice reached his ears and he stopped, closing his eyes. "Why are you leaving? Where were you in the first place?" The swordsman walked right behind him, but didn't touch. "I... was worried..." When there was no answer from Vincent, Cloud was starting to get nervous. He reached out to the man in front of him and hesitantly put his hand on Vincent's arm. "Don't go."

"I..." Vincent began a little uncertainly. "I hurt you... didn't I?"

Cloud shook his head and held Vincent's arm to keep him from walking away. He leaned his forehead against the gunman's back and sighed. "I guess I deserved it. I'm sorry I said all those things to you, and..." He tightened his grip on Vincent's arm. "I'm sorry I talked about Lucrecia like that. I... really am sorry."

"Even so, I still had no right to hurt you."

"But I hurt you too, didn't I?" Cloud turned Vincent around and took his other arm into a firm hold as well. "I said stupid things to you, and Chaos hit me unconscious. We hurt each other, we're both idiots." He looked at Vincent, as if searching for agreement.

After a few silent minutes, Vincent finally nodded. "Hm. I guess we are."

Cloud smiled and wrapped his arms around Vincent's middle tightly. The gunman tensed for a moment, but then let himself be absorbed into the embrace as Cloud leaned his head against his chest, completely satisfied with the short answer. Vincent looked up to the windows of the newly built Wutai Inn, only to see Yuffie waving to him from one of the windows. As she left the window, Vincent thought he saw a flash of red fur, so he supposed that Nanaki had been with her. Oh well, at the moment he couldn't care less if the whole Planet saw them. He was with Cloud, and he was happy.

--
--

The next morning, the others were already at the breakfast table at Yuffie's house when Cloud and Vincent came in. The only good thing about the inn was that it was right next to Yuffie's house, so they didn't have to walk a long way for breakfast. Vincent sneered. He hated the beds in the inn; Cloud had had the time of his life trying to persuade him INTO the bed, not UNDER it. Finally when the swordsman had promised to behave and keep his hands to himself, Vincent had agreed to sleep beside him, even though there wasn't much space in the single bed. And yes, Vincent blamed Yuffie for his agony, absolutely... /First she destroys my coffin and then makes me sleep in a bed.../ He growled at the thought.

The little incident from the day before wasn't totally forgotten, but it wasn't brought up by anyone, either, and Chaos had been quiet ever since he had calmed down. Vincent was merely thankful of it... And well, then there was this... other thing he obviously wasn't allowed to forget; immediately when he had woken up and looked to the mirror, he could see all the hickeys Cloud had given him. So, the high collar of his cloak wasn't entirely useless...

"Sorry we're late, but Vincent couldn't find his hairbrush." Cloud told as he sat down onto one of the free seats. The gunman merely rolled his eyes and took the seat next to him.

"But you finally did find it, huh?" Cid asked, observing the state of Vincent's silky black hair.

"Yes. There was one in the bathroom." Vincent answered, thanking Tifa briefly when she offered the food to him. "Besides, it was Cloud who ran out of hair gel, so I am not to be blamed."

"Say, why were the two of you in the same room anyway?" Barret asked and crossed his arms across his chest. "Just thinkin', since you're talkin' like you slept together or sumthin'."

Cloud choked on his drink.

"What?" Barret frowned as the others turned to look at him and then Cloud and Vincent. Cid was patting Cloud on the back while the swordsman coughed his lungs out, and when he turned to look, he could swear that Vincent's cheeks had gained a slight tint of red on them. "Okay, what's going on?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know, too." Tifa huffed, looking sharply at the certain two men.

Nanaki and Reeve glanced to each other and then continued eating, not much commenting the situation.

Tifa observed Vincent and Cloud for a while with a slight frown, Cloud had stopped coughing and Vincent's face was almost completely back to its normal pale colour. Then it hit her. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed and threw her hand over her mouth. Could it possibly be that--?

"Look, it's nothing like that, I swear!" Cloud told her, glancing to Vincent for some kind of support. "You, say something!"

Vincent raised his chopsticks, thinking for a short while. "..." He turned back to his food. "’Something’"

Cloud shot a glare at Yuffie, who was giggling on the other side of the table. "Not funny."

"Why are you trying to convince them about it? Who cares if we slept together or not, in the end it's not that important." Vincent gave a slight shrug.

"I don't think anything happened." Yuffie joined their conversation, smiling to Vincent when he looked at her curiously. "Cloud was able to walk here, after all."

This was when Barret -- finally -- realized what was going on. "Whoa! Wait a damn sec there, d'ya mean that you two--!"

"NO!" Cloud shouted and turned to glare at Vincent, whose amusement was rather obvious. "What the hell are YOU laughing at?!"

Vincent smiled. "I apologize. I simply don't understand what you're so flustered about."

Cloud stared at the gunman's smiling face for a while before sneering and turning back to his untouched food. "Well I'm glad you find this so damn amusing..." He sulked.

"Are you mad at me?" Vincent asked, unable to wipe the smile off his face. Why hadn't he realized earlier that teasing Cloud was this much fun? Hm. Might be because he spent the most of the time alone... Oh well...

"...Yes..." Cloud mumbled.

"Oh really? I wonder what about..." Vincent brushed his hair behind his ear and turned to face Cloud. "You have dirtied yourself, here, let me..." He took a hold of Cloud's chin and turned his head a little as he licked the corner of the swordsman's mouth to clean it of something invisible. "There. All clean." He smiled at Cloud's horrified expression and turned back to his food like nothing had happened.

At this point Nanaki and Reeve couldn't hold it anymore and they both burst out laughing, the latter holding his stomach which was beginning to hurt. Soon enough Yuffie and Cid joined them, and it didn't take too long from Barret either to start laughing his ass off. Tifa didn't look so amused. What was her problem anyway?

Cloud stared at Vincent in disbelief. What had just happened? He watched the corners of the gunman's mouth twitch slightly, and soon he was laughing too. Cloud frowned. Was he that amusing, huh? "I'm glad that you're having fun." He grumbled.

"I'm sorry," Vincent laughed. "But you... you just..." He put his hand over his mouth, trying to stop laughing, but failed as Yuffie mimicked Cloud's horrified face, which made them all laugh even harder. Vincent leaned his face onto his hands, careful not to tear the skin with his claw, and continued giggling.

Yes, Vincent Valentine, giggling. How manly.

"Uhm, I'm sorry..." Vincent apologized again, clearing his throat. "Let's not talk about it anymore..." He stood up from the table and thanked Yuffie for he food.

"Hey, you aren't goin' anywhere!" Cid exclaimed. "We've got somethin' for you and you'd better like it or I'll bust your head in!"

"Oh yeah!" Yuffie bounced up and took his arm. "Come on, I'm sure you'll like it!" She beamed. "Well yeah, we know the Valentine's Day was yesterday, but you kinda took off before any of us remembered that we actually had a present for you!"

Vincent blinked a couple of times in confusion. "...For me? Why?"

"Oh come on, vampire-boy." Cid hit him on the back, almost making him trip. "We took a pity on you and bought it together. Damn expensive it was, though..." He shrugged.

"Blah blah blah, come on already!" Yuffie tugged Vincent towards the door, telling the others to follow them. Once outside she stopped. "Cloud, help me, cover his eyes. I'm too short." She ordered and shoved Vincent to the blonde swordsman. "C'mon then!"

"A little demanding, aren't you?" Cloud mumbled and put his hand over Vincent's eyes. "No peeking."

"What on earth have you planned?"

"Oh no, vampire-boy, it's a surprise!" Cid smirked and shoved the two men forward.

"If only you stopped calling me that. I'm not a vampire."

"But you sure dress like one. AND sleep in a coffin."

Vincent sighed. He wasn't going to win that one... So, he let Cloud guide him to wherever they were going, a little anxious. He hated surprises, they made butterflies fly around inside his stomach... And usually when Yuffie was talking about surprises... He shuddered.

"We're here!" He heard Yuffie exclaim. "You can open now!"

As Cloud took his hand off his eyes, Vincent blinked a couple of times, and then his eyes widened. "What...?"

"It's for you, don't you like it?" Yuffie pouted and dragged him forward to the object.

"It's..." He was at a serious loss of words. There, right in front of him, there was a polished and obviously brand new black coffin, which made his heart skip a beat. "It's... beautiful." He turned around to look at the others. "You shouldn't have..."

"Oh come on, what's a vampire-boy without a proper coffin, huh?" Cid smirked.

Nanaki nodded, swaying his tail from side to side. "Yeah, we realized that the one you had was already in its point of detachment, so we decided to buy you a new one."

"Tch, you should have seen the face of the guy who was at the counter when we busted in to his shop." Barret laughed. "He asked who had died and this little ninja here answered: 'No one, it's for a friend.' 'Oh, I'm so sorry.' 'No, he isn't dead, I told you, just a little weird.'"

Vincent smiled as the others laughed at the memory, reaching out to touch the wooden coffin. "It really is beautiful. Thank you."

"Well I can't claim that I hadn't been a little surprised when Yuffie told me what we actually were going to give you, but..." Reeve shrugged. "I'm glad you like it."

"Of course I do." Vincent smiled widely. "Can I take it to the basement now?"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Just like a kid with a new toy..."

"...Except that he's a sixty-year-old with a coffin." Cid shot.

Vincent winced a little. "I'm 59, thank you very much." He mumbled, making the others laugh at his pouting expression. "Uh, anyway, Cloud..." He turned to the blonde man, who had been quiet for the most of the time. "Would you help me?"

"Um, yeah. Sure..."

--

The same evening, Vincent lay down into his new coffin, smiling to himself as he ran his hand down the side of the coffin. It was indeed beautiful, must have cost a fortune... He could only imagine. He sighed and closed his eyes, leaving the lid open. He looked around in the darkness, wondering if Cloud was mad at him; the blonde hadn't spoken much to him during the day... Maybe he had offended him somehow? Oh well, he'd ask Cloud about it in the morning before he left Wutai. Maybe he'd visit Kalm...

He had almost fallen asleep when his ears picked up a faint sound from the stairs, but he was too tired to care about it. Just a rat, he thought. His thought was proved to be wrong as he heard footsteps approaching his coffin, a gentle voice calling his name: "Vince? Are you awake?"

Cloud? "Yes."

"Mind if I join you?" ...What? Before Vincent could speak the question aloud, Cloud had already climbed into the coffin with him, laying his head onto his chest. "Good night Vince."

"I thought you were scared of coffins?"

"Hm, maybe a little..." Cloud shrugged. "But the lid's open, isn't it?"

Vincent smiled. "I guess it is... Won't you be cold? It's not exactly warm down here."

"Sounds like you want me to leave." Cloud raised his head, his Mako-blue eyes catching a glimmer of Vincent's crimson ones in the dark. "I won't be cold when you're there, right?"

Vincent touched the side of Cloud's face, a gentle smile on his face. "Right. My coffin is your coffin." He let his hand fall back down and Cloud lay his head down again. "Good night, Cloud."

"Good night, Vincent."

- END -