Tea And Sympathy

A/N: Sometimes suicide doesn't work.
Fandom: FF7.
Pairing: Cid/Vin.
Warnings: Angst, dark, unbetaed.
Disclaimers: Cid and Vin are Square Enix's. Not mine.

That's it, watch him take another bite. Good. That's it, watch and wait, and no-fuck! He's trying to eat himself again, restrain him, now fuss over him a bit, he looks depressed. Assure him warmly that you know damned well that he can't help it. Cuddle him, fuss over him, and release him. Watch him lumber around, run into a wall twice, and then come to you when your doing paperwork wanting kisses. That's a good sign. Kiss him soundly. And pull him into your lap. He behaves for a bit. Lovely, he's trying to eat you now, restrain him again. Go get tea, and call Tifa with an update. Also, work cleaning and actual financially supportive work into the mess of a schedule. The house won't get clean on it's own, and the bills won't pay themselves. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Call up Shera for Tea and Sympathy.

Ah, the life of Cid Highwind.

About a year ago, Vincent Valentine had been struggling worse than usual. He wouldn't eat, he would cry for hours, he couldn't sleep. He had dropped an insane amount of weight, and had become prone to convulsions and through that, Cid took care of him. That's what friends did, they cared for each other, right? Especially when one harbored a secret love for said friend. How hard could caring for a depressed gunslinger be?

Then he had discovered the mutilations on Vincent' body.

He had gotten a therapist to come around, and Vincent was spoke to, and medicated, and to the public eye, or more to the fact, the sight of his close friends, he seemed to be doing better...

But Cid knew better.

Vincent was sedated and numb, yes, but the darkness lurked, the sorrow eating away at him, day in and day out. It was a disease that festered and rotted from the inside out, killing Vincent slowly. It didn't matter how supportive his friends were, nor how much Cid loved how...

Vincent only wanted death.

It wasn't just hurting Vincent though, Cid was suffering, quite possibly even more than Vincent. He lost weight as well, stopped sleeping so he could be there if Vincent needed anything, and shifted his entire schedule around, rearranging his life for one sided love and doing the right thing.

He suffered because he loved Vincent. It didn't matter that Vincent had no interest, he did what in his mind anyone in love would do...

No matter how much it hurt.

In the heat of summer, on a nasty, humid day, Cid came home from a store run to find Vincent dead. Mostly anyway. He had figured out a way to kill his current form, but it had some horrible side affects...

Death gigas.

The undead form had melded with his usual prettiness, leaving Cid with a drooling, hard to control zombie pretty boy that suffered immensely, and could survive almost anything. He smelled awful, but didn't rot, he craved conversation, but couldn't speak, acted out violently without trying to, and worst, after a few weeks of being cared for by Cid while in this form, it was painfully obvious that Vincent had fallen in love.

Cid knew by the way he started to cling to him, and the gentle attempts at smiles, and cuddles in the airship hanger. Vincent fussed and preened, and finally got the intelligence to write to Cid how much he cared...

The note was written with the literary proficiency of a four year old. Cid bit his lip, remembering Vincent's formerly elegant script. This just wasn't fair...

Cid finally had his beloved just as most men would want a submissive lover, mute and unable to think for one's self. Cid however, just wanted his Vincent back, the cold, but beautiful one, the one who fought and mourned. He loved Vincent, and would have done almost anything to get him, but this wasn't want he wanted... Not this way...

But this was what he got.

So day in, and day out, when most everyone had abandoned Vincent, and some had tried, and failed, to kill him, it was just Cid and Vincent, at home alone, trying to make the most of their fucked up life.

It was killing Cid to watch Vincent trying to rip through his own flesh, because some odd compulsion told him to eat savagely and uncontrollably, or to comfort him after he had killed the kitten because of something within that horrid form that craved senseless violence.

Vincent mourned and suffered.

Cid mourned and suffered.

But at least they suffered together.

After a bit, Vincent attacked Cid badly, and Cid couldn't take it anymore. He struck Vincent, cursing at him, yelling out about how selfish and horrible Vincent had been, and how he had ruined everything. Vincent sobbed and rocked back and forth, drooling as he gnawed on his own arm for comfort.

Cid immediately felt horrible.

“Vince, babe, I am so fucking sorry.”

Vincent recoiled, but finally came back to Cid, and clung to him. There wasn't anything else to do, he was lost without Cid.

Just a Cid was lost without him.

So quietly, they fell back into their own odd routine...

That's it, watch him take another bite. Good. That's it, watch and wait, and no-fuck! He's trying to eat himself again, restrain him, now fuss over him a bit, he looks depressed. Assure him warmly that you know damned well that he can't help it. Cuddle him, fuss over him, and release him. Watch him lumber around, run into a wall twice, and then come to you when your doing paperwork wanting kisses. That's a good sign. Kiss him soundly. And pull him into your lap. He behaves for a bit. Lovely, he's trying to eat you now, restrain him again. Go get tea, and call Tifa with an update. Also, work cleaning and actual financially supportive work into the mess of a schedule. The house won't get clean on it's own, and the bills won't pay themselves. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Call up Shera for Tea and Sympathy.