Choices

Rating: PG.
Category: game-verse. (VERY! AU)
Pairing(s): Cid/Vincent.
Warnings: Fluff.
Summary: Just another night on the road.
Notes: This is a stand-alone story but could be said to follow 'Almost!' and 'Night Music'.

It was late, and it was dark, and the only sound to be heard was the soft chirping of crickets, and the gentle crackle of the fire…

And the small-engine noise of Cid snoring.

“It’s a gift,” remarked Tifa. “He can sleep anywhere and make sure we don’t.”

“Some of us, anyway,” said Aeris, looking pointedly at Cloud, who was flat on his back, mouth open, dead asleep.

For the past two hours Aeris, Tifa and Barret had been playing cards and taking bets on how long it would take for a bug to crawl into the warm, inviting cave he presented. It was a two part bet; first part was when a bug would crawl in, and the second part was what kind of bug it would be. Aeris said firefly, Tifa said moth, and Barret was wagering it would be a cricket. So far some moths had come close, but none had actually entered.

Tifa and Aeris exchanged glances. The pair had a friendly rivalry going as to who would actually manage to land the little blond with the wild hair; but so far who would get him was still very much open to debate.

“So if one of us gets Cloud,” said Tifa, “who does the other get?”

Barret sorted his cards and waited to hear his name.

“Oh, tough call,” said Aeris. She looked over at Cid. “Not him.”

“No,” agreed Tifa.

Another pause. Again Barret failed to hear his name. Cid snorted and the snoring altered pitch from a small aircraft to a slightly ill lawnmower.

“Vincent’s pretty cute,” said Tifa.

“Oooh, yes, VERY cute, despite having lived the past however-many years in a coffin.” Aeris shuddered at the thought of where they had found the quiet, black-haired man; locked into a sarcophagus in the basement of an abandoned mansion. “So it’s settled. I get Cloud, you get the vampire.”

“How do you know I don’t get Cloud?” Tifa demanded with mock offence.

They watched Cloud sleep. A firefly landed on his nose, considering the open cavern of his mouth.

“Question,” said Aeris. “Do either of us actually want him?”

Tifa giggled, then glanced around. She suddenly realized she didn’t see Vincent anywhere. “Speaking of Vincent, where is he?”

Aeris looked around. “You’re right, he’s not here. Did he decide to leave?”

Barret laughed quietly. “He ain’t gone.”

Both women watched as the imposing man rose to his feet and walked over to Cid. Carefully, slowly, he pulled away the covers from around Cid, until he revealed a second form, curled into a ball, the pilot’s arms possessively wrapped around him. Vincent’s eyes were closed tight, and he was breathing deeply. There was something almost adamant about how deeply he was sleeping. Barret rolled his eyes as he heard both Tifa and Aerith ‘awwwww’ over how cute they were together. He covered them up then returned to the fire and picked up his cards.

“Well so much for that,” said Tifa. “Now who are you going to have after I get Cloud?”

Barret arranged his cards and waited to hear his name. There was a long silence.

“Nanaki is pretty cute,” said Aeris.

Barret rolled his eyes and dropped his cards. “That’s it, I’ve had enough of you two. I’m going to bed.”

They giggled as he stomped over to his bedroll and climbed in, then their attention was drawn by loud coughing. They saw Cloud sitting up, looking sleepy and befuddled.

“I think I just ate a bug,” he said groggily.

“Did you happen to notice what kind it was?” asked Barret.

Cloud gave him a puzzled look, then reached into his mouth and picked something out from between his teeth. “I think it was a moth.”

“Yay! Five gil for me!” said Tifa.

Barret grumbled and flopped down to his bed. Cloud gave them all a strange look and laid down.

“Will the bunch of you have some consideration and shut up?” growled Cid.

Small objects rained down on the pilot from all directions. Vincent shifted in his sleep, but stilled again as he felt an arm slip reassuringly around him