Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Twilight ~ A FFVII / DoC Fan-Fiction ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Twilight

A FF7 / DoC Fan Fiction

by Ookami Kasumi

 

 

Warning: Rated M - Yaoi content, adult language, mild violence

(Vincent / Reeve)

 

Summary: Omega has been defeated and Vincent Valentine, avatar of Chaos has fallen to earth. Among the search parties is Reeve Tuesti, who has long harbored a fascination for the beautiful scarlet-eyed man.

 

All characters property of Square Enix

 

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~ One ~

 

Reeve set his mountain climbing foot-spikes deep and hammered in the final spike to hold his safety line in place. He was only a foot or two away from the top of the nearly vertical cliff side of the broad butte. Needing a quick break from his hours-long climb, he looked over his shoulder at the surrounding desert and eyed the last streaks of red and orange marking the horizon in the west. The rest of the sky had turned a deep electric blue that darkened toward the east. Soon the sky would be crammed with stars.

 

Twilight, the harbinger of night.

 

Sighing, Reeve scrubbed his gloved fingers though the neatly trimmed beard lining his jaw, then turned back to the cliff to continue his climb, and his search.

 

Almost twenty-four hours had passed since the climactic battle between Omega, the living ark meant to carry the planet's life-stream to a new homeworld, and Chaos, the un-maker, the reaper of the planet's entire collection of souls.

 

Miles below the battling demi-gods, all who watched prayed that Chaos would win.

Omega had been designed with the intent to save the life-stream upon the planet's death. Chaos had been designed to reap every drop of life on the planet, to collect the life-stream and prepare it for the journey.

 

Unfortunately, it wasn't time for the planet to die. A madman had triggered the world's doom because he wanted to be a god.

 

“Fucking Hojo…” Reeve slip-knotted his rope through the hole of the pin and pulled tight the slack. “That ass-wipe just can't keep his fucking fingers out of other people's fucking lives! Fucking die already!” He wiped the sweat from his bearded jaw and pulled himself higher.

 

Because it wasn't the planet's time, Chaos had refused to reap the planet's souls. Instead, the demi-god had attacked and fought Omega, trying to stop the living ark from taking what it had collected of the planet's life-stream into space.

 

The battle had been won, but the cost…?

 

A rock fell away from under Reeve's gloved hand. He scrabbled for a handhold on the sheer cliff-face, glad that he'd thought to set the spikes to his safety line nice and deep. “Good thing I took up climbing as a hobby back in college.”

 

He and just about every member of the WRO, World Regenesis Organization, and more than half of the Shinra company Turks, had been out combing the desert surrounding the shattered city of Midgar ever since the shooting star that had once been Chaos had fallen from the heavens.

 

They hadn't found him anywhere on the desert floor, so they'd brought out the helicopters and the mountain climbing gear to check the tops of the surrounding buttes and mesas.

 

Reeve smiled tightly. “Of course, some of us just don't know when to quit for the night.” Grunting, he dragged himself up over the edge to the broad flat top of the butte. On his hands and knees, he panted for breath. “Too many years sitting on my ass at a desk…” He hauled himself to his feet and shrugged out of his mountain-climbing safety harness, dropping it the on ground by his boots. Every muscle in his body protested, loudly.

 

Reeve winced and stretched in an attempt to alleviate the aches. Sighing heavily, he peeled off his leather gloves, scowled at his fresh new blisters, and shoved the gloves in the pocket of his brown and tan mottled fatigue pants. He was not looking forward to the long slide back down the rope with all those blisters.

 

He looked across the flat top of the mountain but couldn't see much in the dark. He rolled his eyes. “I should have thought to borrow a pair of those Shinra issue, infra-red, and night vision glasses.” Shaking his head, he reached into his front jacket pocket and pull out the small black global positioning device. “Vincent, you better damned well, be at the top of this one.” He activated it.

 

The instrument beeped and a red dot appeared on the hand-held electronic map.

 

Reeve frowned at the proximity dot, then his eyes opened wide. He had a signal. “Holy fuck…” Vincent, or rather his cell phone, was somewhere nearby. Focused on his GPS, his gaze barely registered the rocks he tripped over in his rush to find the man that had just saved the world.

 

He found the crater by very nearly falling into it. Shattered pieces of what appeared to be burned metal lay scattered about the ground. In the very center of the hole, nearly a body-length in depth was…a dark blotch. An unmoving dark blotch. The signal pointed directly to it.

 

Reeve felt his stomach do a hard cold plummet to his lower intestines. “Fuck, fuck… Fuck!” He scrambled down the side of the hole and rushed over to the…blotch. “Don't be dead! Don't be dead! Please, don't be dead!”

 

Kneeling at the side of the blackened pile of…something, Reeve grabbed a handful. It felt like…leather. He tugged. The whole piece peeled away and unfolded, held together by long slender…bones. Reeve stared. He was holding a huge bat-like wing the color of soot.

 

At his feet lay a bone-pale man in blackened and shredded clothes lying curled up on his side, his knees drawn close to his belly.

 

His arms were folded tightly across his chest with his other black wing folded under him, partially covering his legs and bare clawed feet. Long, thick, midnight dark hair obscured his face, as did a tangle of blackened red rags.

 

“Oh Gaia, Vincent…” Reeve dropped to his knees and shoved the other wing away, afraid to touch the bod-- him. He set his jaw. Just do it, chicken shit! Determined, he set his hand on the bare skin of one exposed upper arm and encountered a hard smooth surface, like ceramic. He frowned. “What the hell…?” He poked at it.

 

A piece covering the entire upper arm broke off and crumbled into sparkling golden dust that floated away.

 

Reeve stared in shock for a whole heartbeat. “Some kind of protective magical armor?” He shook his head in wonder then pressed his fingers lightly against the surface that had been revealed. Warm smooth skin met his fingertips.

 

Reeve felt hope lurch in his heart. “Warm…” His voice came out in a breathless whisper. “He's warm…” Excitement flushed through him and he hastily swept back the long silky hair to expose Vincent's pale throat. He pressed two fingers against it.

 

Two more pieces of that odd ceramic popped loose and dissolved into floating golden motes revealing the entire left side of his neck and cheek as well as his chin, the front of his throat, and his full bottom lip.

 

Reeve ignored the disintegrating mask and pressed against the pulse-point on the side of Vincent's throat. A slow but steady throb pressed against his fingers. “He's alive!” But unconscious. How badly hurt was he?

 

Vincent abruptly shuddered and sprawled on his back. All over his body, thousands of seams appeared and split apart, then fell away changing to sparkling golden motes.

 

Reeve jerked back from the floating golden lights. “Vincent? Are you awake?”

 

Vincent's eyes remained closed, though his chest visibly rose and fell with his breathing.

 

Reeve scowled. “Guess not.” He eyed the charred rags covering Vincent. “Need to check for injuries…” He straddled Vincent's form and fisted the charred remains of the shirt, mantle and cape Vincent still wore, and tore them apart, baring the powerful muscles of his chest and lean belly.

 

He was milk pale, death pale, yet his body was whole. There was not a scratch on him. Vincent was alive and whole, merely unconscious.

 

Reeve's knees turned to jelly and he plopped down on his butt. “You lucky son of a bitch…” His heart lurched and tried to collapse in on itself, the feelings welling up so strong he couldn't decide whether to burst into laughter, tears, or screams. He settled for grinning widely and wiped at a tear running down his cheek.

 

Impulsively, he brushed the long hair from Vincent's face briefly distracted by the smooth texture. Revealed were delicately tilted closed eyes with soot dark lashes and a fine straight nose. His fingers skimmed across the soft skin of his cheek, finer than silk and smoother than porcelain. His thumb brushed across the full rosy lips that begged for kisses.

 

Reeve's heart thudded in his chest. “Gaia's tits, you're fucking beautiful.” And dangerous. He couldn't help but stare at the long lean muscles on the clearly powerful, but slender man before him. He swallowed hard. There wasn't a living being on the planet that could face this creature and live. Heat filled his face and slid lower, filling his groin.

 

What would it be like to have such a being as a lover?

 

Reeve snorted. “As if you'd ever want someone like me for your lover.” He didn't consider himself to be bad-looking; he'd never had any problems getting offers from women, or men. Even Tseng had hit on him once. But being merely human, he simply couldn't compare to the exquisite creature before him.

 

Vincent's eyes snapped open, bright yellow and glowing. His pale lips parted showing the points of upper and lower fangs.

 

Reeve stiffened in instinctive alarm. Oh crap, did he hear me?

 

The winged man abruptly sat up, his long mane spilling over his shoulders to pool in his lap. His wings spread and his clawed hand shot out.

 

The movement was so fast Reeve saw little more than a blur. However, he certainly felt the powerful fingers wrapping around his throat holding him up on his knees. He also noted the claws digging into the back of his neck, though they didn't pierce his skin. He didn't move more than just to swallow. Vincent wasn't anywhere near the size he had been while fighting Omega, but he was still larger than his normal build, and far more muscular. His voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “Vincent…?”

 

Vincent leaned close, almost nose to nose, and frowned. He spoke, his voice a deep and powerful husky timber that was clearly supposed to be a whisper. “Who…?” His frown deepened. “Can't see clearly.”

 

Reeve blinked. Well, considering that Vincent's eyes were balls of fire rather than normal eyeballs… Never mind that stupid! He licked his dry lips. “It's Reeve… Reeve Tuesti, Vincent. I've come to, ah…take you home?”

 

Vincent pulled Reeve closer by the throat.

 

Dragged on his knees until he was practically across Vincent's lap, Reeve choked and teetered off-balance. He waved his arms at his sides to avoid grabbing onto Vincent's shoulders for balance, afraid he'd die for the presumption.

 

Vincent buried his nose in the hollow of Reeve's throat, and took a deep sniff. “Reeve… Yes… I remember you.” He shifted his head to sniff the side of Reeve's neck, then buried his face right into Reeve's collar.

 

Reeve felt Vincent's heated breath whisper across his throat, and down his shirt. He couldn't suppress his shiver, or the warmth filling his cheeks. “I'm uh, glad you remember me. Can you let me go now?”

 

Vincent pulled his nose from Reeve's collar. “Your soul is strong.”

 

Reeve blinked. “Okay…? That's nice to know.” He swallowed past the palm around his larynx. “Can, um… Can I have my neck back? Please?”

 

Vincent released Reeve's throat, but his other clawed hand took hold of the front of Reeve's coat, and fisted the fabric.

 

Reeve stared at the claws tearing into the front of his green WRO flack jacket. “Uh, Vincent?”

 

Vincent looked down, focusing on his fingers buried in Reeve's coat. “I need…”

 

Reeve nodded quickly. “Whatever it is, you can have it! Just, um… The claws?”

 

Vincent looked away. Staring at nothing in particular, he frowned, his brows coming together and forming a wrinkle between them. “Not strong enough.”

 

Reeve choked. “What the hell…? You just beat the snot out of Omega! What do you mean you're not strong enough? How much stronger do you need to be?”

 

Vincent turned to look at him with his sun-bright orbs. “Not strong enough to change…back. Chaos has returned to the earth.”

 

Reeve blinked. Returned to the earth? Chaos wasn't in Vincent anymore? But he looked so… Crap. Reeve bit down on his bottom lip. “You mean you're stuck with the wings?” And the fangs, and the claws…

 

Vincent nodded. “I need…” He looked away, off into the distance and frowned. “Someone.”

 

Someone…? Reeve rolled his eyes. “Will I do?”

 

Vincent turned back sharply, his gaze narrowing on Reeve's face, then slowly traveling down his body.

 

Reeve swallowed hard. Why do I get the feeling I just made a big mistake?

 

Vincent's gaze lifted back to Reeve's face. “Your soul is strong.”

 

Reeve frowned. “Yeah, you said that before.”

 

Vincent's gaze was steady and unblinking. “You will recover the loss quickly. I accept.”

 

Reeve just stared. Loss…? Of what, his soul? He shook his head sharply. No, that was just stupid. He gave a little smile. “Vincent, what are you talking about?”

 

Vincent lifted his other hand and gripped the front of Reeve's jacket. Fisting both hands tightly, his claws tearing into the jacket.

 

Reeve felt the passage of Vincent's talons brush his skin letting him know in no uncertain terms, that Vincent had not only torn his jacket, but he'd gone through his canvas fatigue shirt, and his undershirt underneath. He stiffened. “Uh, Vincent?”

 

Vincent pulled his hands apart. The jacket, the fatigue shirt, and the green undershirt shredded wide open, exposing Reeve's lightly furred chest and belly.

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