Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Twisted Compulsion ❯ 8 ( Chapter 11 )

Twisted Compulsion

Ch. 8

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I: Explanations please?

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The three stood there for what seemed to Sephiroth and eternity. Vincent stood staring at pair in front of him. Aerith stood beaming and bobbing on her toes and then…Sephiroth next to her, the great general himself who was too shy to look Vincent in the eyes. Vincent blinked and finally broke the silence, "I think I need a drink…" He turned and went to a cupboard against the far wall, Aerith bobbed over to him.

Sephiroth took this opportunity to examine Vincent's cabin. It was about half the size as the cabin that he and Aerith had stayed in except there were three doors leading to other rooms against the opposite wall. To the right were Vincent and Aerith at the cupboard. That seemed to be the kitchen area since there was a table with chairs and a fireplace there as well. Next to the fireplace was a ladder for the loft. Opposite of Vincent and Aerith was another fireplace, but this one seemed to be for warmth instead of cooking. In front of the fireplace was a couch and against the wall of the fireplace was a desk and bookcase. Right next to the door was another bookcase but this one was full of guns, ammo, and potions. The house wasn't completely windowless; it had two circular windows on its high peaked walls. Vincent sat down at the table with glass of Alcohol; Sephiroth couldn't tell what it was. Sephiroth didn't remember Vincent much from their battles so he took the time to look him over. He was tall, maybe just a few inches shorter than himself, with long black hair, and strange red eyes. This was something Sephiroth attributed to his father's experiments on the man.

"Ok…" Vincent said, rubbing his forehead. "Now what happened?"

"We're alive!" Aerith chirped.

Vincent just stared at her with an eyebrow raised, "I can see that, but the last time I saw either one of you I was pretty sure you were dead…"

Aerith removed her coat, throwing it on the table, and sat down a cross from Vincent, "Yep."

Vincent looked at Aerith expectantly, "and?"

Aerith shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know how it happened really. I just saw Sephiroth drowning in the lifestream and brought him the surface. When we got there we were both alive and in the northern crater."

Vincent continued to stare at the grinning Aerith. "So you just decided to help the man who killed you for no reason, travel through the snow for miles, and then show up on my doorstep…"

"No, we stopped at this cabin for a few days, but besides that yes!" Aerith replied. Vincent continued to stare, Aerith continued to smile, and Sephiroth continued to stand like a lost child by the doorway. Aerith finally broke the silence. "Tell me everything! Tell me about what you, Cloud, and the others did after I died!" she burst out.

Vincent seemed a bit taken aback, "Everything?"

Aerith nodded, "Everything."

Vincent sighed and folded his arms on the tabletop to make him self more comfortable. Aerith was smiling like a little girl about to be told a fairy tail and Sephiroth was leaning awkwardly against the wall with his arms crossed, trying to appear aloof, but failing. So Vincent began, he told Aerith and Sephiroth of everything, of Rufus and Hojo's death, and of ultimate weapon and the junon cannon. He even told her about Yuffie's wild materia stealing rampage. Aerith interrupted every once in a while.

"Wow, you guys were in that big airship!" Aerith exclaimed when told of their stealing of Shinra's ship.

Vincent nodded, "Yes, we used it for the rest of our journey. Cid has it now."

"I wish I could've ridden in it, did you know that Cloud promised to take me on that airship?" Aerith added this last bit as an after thought. Just something she remembered she had never gotten to do.

Vincent shook his head, his ebony hair coming to fall in his face since he was without his trademark bandana, "No, I didn't. You could always bother Cid for a ride now." Vincent then told Aerith of the rest of their journey. Cloud's insanity and dropping down in the northern crater. By the time he had told her everything is was already dark.

"So what have you been doing after meteor?" Aerith asked. "I read in the paper what everyone else was doing except you and Cloud, and why don't the other know where you are?"

Vincent gave a brief and small smile, " Cid and Yuffie know where I am. I just asked them not to tell any reports that went around asking."

"Well what about Tifa and everyone else?" Aerith asked.

Vincent pushed his hair back with his claw and just shook his head, "What about them?" Aerith looked at him, her smile finally fading. Vincent looked down at the table top, "With the exception of Cid and Yuffie I wasn't very close to any of the others. They all kept their distance from me during our journey, so afterwards I figured they wouldn't care if I just disappeared." Vincent gave a short chuckle, "and I guess I was right."

Aerith frowned, "aw, Vincent don't say that!"

"So far it proves true, I bounced around for a while until I came here three months ago. The only people who really were concerned about what I would do after our battle were Yuffie and Cid. They were afraid I'd crawl back into my box in the Shinra mansion."

"I'm glad you didn't go back to that coffin Vincent. Besides the fact that Sephiroth and I would be screwed, you've wasted too much time in that coffin."

"But what am I doing here? Wasting time, just like if I were in that box… I have nothing left nothing to do now. I had little family to begin with and because of Hojo's they all died off while I was asleep… Right now I'm just living off the money that I got while traveling with Cloud and just exchanging letter with Cid and Yuffie…"

Sephiroth stood leaning against that wall, all the while. He felt empathic toward Vincent. `I guess Aerith was right when she said he'd be the only one who would be able to help or understand me. Aerith tries but she just can't understand…'

Aerith and Vincent became quiet. "Why are you traveling with Sephiroth?" Vincent suddenly spoke up, glancing at Sephiroth. Sephiroth felt a bit un-nerved at having Vincent's red eyes trained on him.

Aerith looked over at Sephiroth and smiled at him. She then looked back at Vincent, and whispered, "He's changed Vincent. Now that Jenova's lost her control on him, he's a new man. This is why I wanted to find you of all the others. I thought if anyone would be able to believe me and trust Sephiroth like I do it would be you."

Vincent leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment, "For as long as I've known you I've trusted you Aerith, so I guess I'll trust you again. But," He leaned in close to Aerith again, "I already lost you once Aerith, and even if Jenova doesn't control him like puppet anymore doesn't mean she can't influence him. She's still alive in him, Cloud, and me. But I do believe he's changed, finally being free of your puppet master and getting a second chance at life will change a man's views." Vincent sat back in his chair and crossed his arm across his chest, "I'll trust him."

Aerith smiled warmly at Vincent, "Thank you. That's all I want." Over the talk Vincent had finished off his drink and was now getting the last drops out of it.

He set down his glass and glanced at the clock 10:23. He and Aerith had talked for almost ten hours. It didn't seem like it because it went so fast. "I guess I'll have to find I place to put you two. This cabin only has one bedroom so I guess you can either sleep in front of the fire on the couch or up in the loft. Whichever you prefer. "

"I don't care were I sleep, but I rather not sleep up in the loft, I'd be afraid to fall over!" Aerith said as she stood up from the table. She walked over to Sephiroth who was still leaning against the wall by the door. Vincent moved the ladder against the loft and climbed up it to get the two some blankets. Aerith smiled at Sephiroth, "see, I told you he'd help. What are you doing wearing your jacket the whole time? Come on take it off."

Sephiroth was feeling kind of sluggish and childish at being so instructed by Aerith but he complied. He took off his jacket and handed it to Aerith who went and dumped it on the table along with hers. Aerith walked back over to Sephiroth, "your very quiet."

Sephiroth nodded and said rather quietly, "What am I espoused to say? If you think about just me being born is the reason for him being here…" Aerith shook her head but before she could respond Vincent came down with a load of blankets over one of his shoulders.

When he reached he stared at the two, "did you forget to tell me he had a wing sticking out of his back?"

Aerith and sephiroth exchanged glances. "Oops, um… he's got a big black wing sticking out of his back," Aerith said.

Vincent raised his eyebrow, "Hm… I guess so…" he walked past the two and dumped the blankets on to the couch. Aerith grabbed Sephiroth's wrist and pulled him over to the couch.

`Well at least he's easy going…' sephiroth thought when he saw how Vincent handled his wing. Thankfully Vincent's couch was a pull out and he pulled it out for them.

"Good night," Vincent said and he went to his room, the door to the far right, leaving the two alone.

"He didn't say anything about the two of us sharing a bed…" Sephiroth said, still looking at Vincent's closed door.

Aerith smiled. "Yep, he's really open and easy going. He's not prone to emotional outbursts," she said while unfolding the blankets.

Sephiroth finally dragged his eyes away from Vincent's door. "I guess he wouldn't be…" He went to Aerith and helped her make the bed. After it was done the two took off their shoes and socks. They dumped their shoes at the foot of the bed and lay their socks in front of the fireplace to dry off. Aerith and Sephiroth climbed into bed and made themselves comfortable, Aerith settling in next to sephiroth using his shoulder as a pillow again. She just about immediately fell asleep. Sephiroth watched her sleep and finally decided to do so himself. As he drifted off he couldn't help but still feel uncomfortable like a child sleeping over at their friend's house for the first time.

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II: Vincent thinks

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Vincent sat on his bed and wearily rubbed his eyes. It seemed since Sephiroth had entered his home Chaos wouldn't be still. He could sense the demon pace in the deeps of his mind, somehow restless because of the one winged angel's presence. `Aerith seems totally at ease with him… so I guess I can trust him… She is right; Jenova now has no direct control over him. The fact that he hasn't killed her again proves that Jenova is no longer in control…but she doesn't seem to understand that he still has her cells in him… she will understand sooner or later… ` Vincent sighed, his mind heavy with thoughts. He'd have to have a chat with Sephiroth in the morning. The ex-general seemed very shy for some reason… Vincent decided not to let it bother him anymore that night. He lay down under the covers and went to sleep.

2-27-04

A/N - next time a `manly' chat between Vincent and Sephiroth.