Pairings: Vincent/Cloud
Warnings: AU; mention of M/M sexuality. Character death.
Summary: The end of Vincent's journey. An AU story that follows in the imagery and overall tonality of the Advent Children movie.
Completed: Yes.
Author Note: The "coffin" references have to do with events in the FFVII game. In that game, Vincent is found asleep inside a coffin, where he had been slumbering for over thirty years. If anyone wants to know more about the rather riveting backstory of the characters and world seen in the movie Advent Children, Wikipedia offers a pretty decent synopsis. It's a good place to start.
Nearly a hundred years had passed since the last major threat from the Jenova legacy. Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo and yes, Sephiroth, had all been vanquished. The planet had healed its children, and the painful disease known as geostigma was but a distant memory, forgotten by all, like its harbingers. Forgotten by all, except for the two figures standing by the shore of a pond, located deep within the ghostly forest surrounding the city of the ancients.
It was in these waters that Cloud Strife had laid to rest the body of Aerith Gainsborough, letting it gently sink to the bottom, along with a portion of his heart. And it was in these waters that the bodies of the members of AVALANCHE had each, in turn, been relinquished back to the Lifestream. Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Red and...Tifa. Some of them after a long, and well lived life. Others, taken far too soon by the vagaries of fate. All of them gone. Until only Cloud and Vincent remained.
And now it was Cloud's turn.
It had come as no surprise, really. True, the mako-enhancements coursing through Cloud's body as a result of the ShinRa-sanctioned experiments he had endured, had given him exceptional power and longetivity. But unlike Vincent, he was not rendered immortal. And in many ways, some part of his spirit had been steadily eroding since the last time they had come to this place, some thirty years ago, after Tifa's death.
On that sad day, Vincent had paid his respects in his usual stoic manner, before leaving Cloud to complete the ritual in privacy. It had taken a long time. A long time during which Cloud had simply stood in the waist-deep water, craddling her body in his arms, while trying to come to terms with the fact that he had to let go of the only constant in his life. Tifa; his friend, his lover, his wife.
Afterwards, Cloud had not returned to the city that had been renamed as New Midgar. Nor did he venture back to the bustling metropolis that had once been the small town of Neibelheim. Instead, by unspoken agreement, he and Vincent had become traveling companions.
Over the next thirty years they had traversed the length of the planet, back and forth, lending their warrior skills wherever they were needed. Monsters, bandits, the occassional self-styled "army" bent on taking over some peaceful settlement, all of these they had fought and won against. And their names became known in every corner of Gaia. The swordsman and the gunslinger. Chosen by the Lifestream, then sent forth to protect the helpless. Such were the legends that grew around them. Though in truth, neither did these things for glory, or fame. Cloud had long ago learned the folly of such desires, and Vincent had never really had them to begin with. They simply offered their aid because doing so gave purpose to their lives. A reason to go on. And perhaps because they both knew they could do nothing else.
It also gave them a reason to stay together. Something that Cloud, in particular, needed. Although the human part of Vincent needed it too. And during that time their friendship grew into a deep and abiding one. Marked by long periods of comfortable silence, interspersed by the occassional pleasure of shared physical release. Yes, all in all, those three decades had been good ones for them both, despite the ever-present echo of sad memories.
Until Cloud's body began to fail.
It started subtly, at first. A slight, but noticeable slowing of his reflexes. Sudden aches that seemed to recall the Geostigma he had once suffered from. Moments when his vision blurred, for no apparent reason. They both knew what it meant. And the knowledge cast a strange pall of urgency over their relantionship. Their physical joinings became more frequent, nearly always initiated by Vincent's unspoken need. Cloud understood. That Vincent would be left behind was the only regret he felt, as he faced his own life's end. For he was ready to join the Lifestream, eager even, and he knew in the deepest part of himself that he had been so, ever since Tifa's passing.
Once begun, the process quickly accelerated. Only six months later, they were on the road back to the Forgotten City. Vincent's expression looking even more stoic than usual as he drove the latest version of Fenrir at full throttle, while Cloud hung on behind him, too exhausted to do anything but rest his head on the back of Vincent's velvet-covered shoulder. It was a grim journey. The usually comfortable silence between them tinged with the certainty of finality. A silence that lasted until they reached their destination, and came to stand by the water's edge.
Cloud's turn...
" I'm tired, Vincent...so tired..."
It was the barest of whispers, not meant to be answered with words, and so Vincent didn't. He simply led Cloud over to a fallen tree and drew him down so they could rest against it, throwing his red cloak over his friend and holding the now frail form close to his own unchanged body. For a long time, they just sat there, gazing out over the mirror-like surface of the water. Then Cloud began to speak. Quietly, the ex- SOLDIER and hero talked about what the last thirty years had meant to him. About what Vincent meant to him. Opening up his heart and giving voice to what neither had ever openly acknowledged. And Vincent listened, commiting every precious word to memory. When Cloud finished speaking, he felt the gentle pressure of velvet and skin coming to rest atop his head as a whisper was exhaled against his hair.
" I too, Cloud." was all Vincent said. " I too."
And then, there were no more words. Only the sound of Cloud's slowly-ebbing breaths, each fainter than the last, until...silence.
It was over.
The surface of the pond rippled gently outwards as Vincent, carrying Cloud's limp form in his arms, waded in and slowly made his way to a well-remembered spot at the center. It was the place where the waist-deep water gave way to a chasm that held the rest of the friends in its dark blue embrace. As he reached it, the full moon broke above the ghostly treeline of the forest, bathing everything in a soft, eerie radiance that became reflected by the water. Vincent gazed down at the body of his friend, a quiet sigh escaping his lips as he beheld Cloud's face. He looked so young, so peaceful. An innocent trustingly sleeping within the craddle of a ruined man's arms. Lids now closed forever over mako-enchanced eyes of brilliant blue. Blond eyelashes laying like two delicate fringes over high cheekbones. Lips curved into an achingly beautiful smile, of the kind he had so very rarely shown while alive. For a long time, Vincent just stood there, staring down at that face, lost in his own memories.
Then, he slowly withdrew the support of his arms, and let Cloud go...
Morning dawned bright over the rugged mesas above Cosmo Canyon, casting a fiery glow that held the promise of another scorching day..
There had been times, back when all the members of AVALANCHE were still alive, that Vincent had visited this place and found comfort in the calm company offered by Red XIII. The two had walked the canyon, quietly conversing about their past, pulling no punches as they candidly shared the horror of their experiences while trapped in ShinRa's laboratories. It had been Red's sage advice that had allowed Vincent to finally come to terms with his own altered existence, and given him a way to live with the effects of it.
And it was Red's long-ago made promise that now saw Vincent back again, standing atop one of the mesas, red cloak billowing behind him as he watched the sun come up. It was a promise that Red's son, now leader of the pride, had honored with a solemm incline of his noble head when Vincent had ridden in astride Fenrir, not one hour before. The bike, and all the swords held in its specially-made compartments, had promptly been sealed inside one of the lower caves. For there would be no other to wield them, now that Cloud was gone.
And now it was Vincent's turn.
Vincent's turn...
Crimson-colored eyes watched the rising sun until it cleared the horizon. Then, with a swirl of red velvet, the gunslinger turned and made his way to a jagged fisure, high up on the face of the tallest mesa on the canyon. He passed through it with a sideways slide, then surefootedly proceeded down the labyrinth of tunnels within. He had traversed these paths before, back when he had first made his arrangement with Red. Deeper and deeper he went, until his inhuman eyes found the secret entrance he sought in the total darkness. He ducked inside, then rolled a large stone plug across it, sealing himself completely away from the outside world. Five more steps, and he jumped off the ledge into a natural well, left over from the days when water had coursed through these caverns. He landed silently, his red cloak seeming to float back down to rest against his leather-clad body, as he gazed at the only thing breaking up the smooth flooring of the shaft. It was a coffin. A coffin he had brought here, long ago.
" I am tired, Cloud...so tired..."
It was the barest of whispers, not meant to be answered with words, for it was spoken by one who was utterly alone. And yet the words were not bitter, nor tinged with despair. They were simply a statement of fact. Vincent was tired, but it was the kind of tiredness that came after a job well done. He had fought for the side of good. He had helped save the planet. He had found true friendship. He had re-discovered love. He had redeemed himself. In doing so, he had gained a treasure-trove of good memories, to counter the horrors he had known. And now, come at last to the end of his own journey, he found his lips curving into a gentle smile. The kind of smile that he had only ever shown to one other...Cloud.
The lid to the coffin opened easily. The satin lining inside it perfectly preserved by the aridness within the caves of Cosmo Canyon. With a soft sigh, he stepped in, then laid himself down into the comforting cocoon it offered, crimson eyes already closing as he pulled the lid back down. The sound of its latching was a quiet echo, contained within the stone walls of the well. An echo that soon faded into silence as the stale air, likewise, settled. Until all once again returned to stillness.
Vincent Valentine went back to sleep.
And this time, he rested in peace.
