Folklore

Rating: PG
Category: AU
Pairing(s): Cid/Vincent.
Warnings: Nosy snakes, mpreg. (Everyone who didn’t see the mpreg coming, stand on your head.)
Summary: Cid and Vincent deal with some slithery guests.
Notes: Ancient jump rope song written by yers truly. It’s not actually any older than the rest of the fic.

This fic has an accompanying illustration by Animama.

Vincent made a soft sound in his sleep. Nothing much, just the tiniest of whimpers, and turned to his side. Cid sighed quietly, recognizing the precursor to a nightmare. He had known this man only a short time, and already he knew when he was having a nightmare. Why did he have to sleep with the little neck-biter, anyway? Jeez why couldn’t they have stuck him in a tent with that Tifa woman, or Aeris? She was pretty damned easy on the eyes. Hell even the talking dog would be an improvement over… what the hell was he, anyway? And would it kill him to peel off the cloak, gauntlet and headscarf? How could he possibly be comfortable like that?

Cid sighed quietly, recognizing his internal rant for what it was; an attempt to convince himself that he really was not the least bit attracted to this man. The trouble was he knew better.

Vincent squeaked and burrowed under the covers. Cid rolled his eyes and sighed. He did not need this. Cid Highwind did not need to be in a tent sharing blankets with and having feelings for a guy who clearly had issues. But then this entire group seemed to have issues, except the hyper-active ninja chick and the animated cat. Cripes what was up with that thing? Who brought a toy fucking cat on a trip like this?

Was that a rock in his bed? Crap. Cid reached beneath himself and felt around. Nope, Pinecone. He pulled it from under his back and tossed it out the tent, just as the flap nudged open and something quietly slithered in. Cid caught a glimpse of a large, triangular head, and a flicking tongue. Oh great. JUST great. A moss boa. They were harmless, at least if you were as large as a person, but they could get to be ten feet long and they were not light. They liked to sneak into tents where it was warm, and anyone who had no idea the serpents were harmless could get a very nasty surprise.

The snake slithered up to look Cid in the face, flicking him with its tongue. It then began sliding under the covers. Swearing, Cid sat up.

“No, come on, you can’t sleep here. HEY! No! No sticking your head in my shorts. Head down to the bottom of the bed. There. Good snake. If you snore you’re out.”

Vincent raised his head. “Moss boa?” he asked sleepily.

“Yeah, big one, too. He’s about nine feet.”

Vincent reached under the covers and touched the long, silky animal. “I like snakes. They’re uncomplicated.”

“Well I wish he’d go sleep with you.”

“He’s just cold.”

“Yeah him and me both. Freezing out here.”

Vincent settled back under the sleeping bags. “You didn’t have to come. You had a nice house and Shinra wasn’t after you until you joined up with us.”

“Yeah I did have to come. I could have just sat and rotted in Rocket Town and whined about everything I’d lost, or I could get off my ass and do something about it.” He lay down, and squirmed. “Bloody snake. Pick a spot and stay there or I’m tossing you out.”

Vincent made a quiet sound; it could have been a laugh.

“What?” Cid demanded defensively.

“You. You try so hard to be tough.”

“I got news for you, Goth-Boy, I am tough.”

“Then why are you letting a snake tell you where to sleep in your own bed?”

“It ain’t my bed. It’s our bed. And that’s another thing.” Cid was silent for a long time, then finally admitted; “I think I like you.”

“I know. I like you, too.”

“No I mean… I think I… like… you.”

“I know. I like you, too.”

Cid thought about that, then turned his head. “That doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would it?”

“I’m a guy!”

“I’m well aware of that, Cid.” Vincent rolled to his side to look at his tent-mate, red eyes blinking sleepily in the dark. Cid gazed back at him.

“And you’re… okay with that.”

“Cid I’m a fifty-seven year old murder victim who has been dead thirty years and yet still manages to find the strength to seek my killer. Having a man tell me that he finds me attractive does not rate as something I find disturbing and upsetting.”

“Well I’m not real comfortable with it.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re a guy! It’s wrong!”

“Why?”

“I just said! Because you’re a guy!”

Vincent closed his eyes and sighed. “If something makes you happy and does no harm, I fail to see what’s wrong with that.”

“That’s just not how I was raised. If my father found out he would beat me bloody.”

“It’s not his choice, is it? Is he going to wave a magic wand and make all the regrets of your past go away? Infatuations come and go, Cid. Regret finds a home in your skull and torments you relentlessly.”

“You sound like you know a lot about regret.”

“We’ve been close friends thirty years, now.”

Cid rolled to his side and looked at Vincent. “I never thought of it that way. I was just thinking about how angry my father would be. Not how I might feel if I…” His voice trailed off. He felt uncomfortable and uncertain, and just a little afraid. “I never liked a man before.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I never have, either.”

Cid grinned. “Well I can understand you being attracted to me, I mean come on!”

Vincent smiled. “Arrogance oft masks insecurities.”

“Maybe in other people.” Cid gazed at Vincent, then said; “So… wanna… maybe… snuggle a little?”

Vincent considered, then said “All right. Let me take this off.” He sat up and reached for his gauntlet, snapping open a catch near the elbow and sliding it off.

“Hey I didn’t know that came off!” said Cid. “I thought… “

“That I was missing an arm? No. The arm is damaged. The gauntlet makes it a functioning limb.”

Vincent set the gauntlet aside, then lay back down on the bed again. Cautiously, almost clumsily, he and Cid moved together, Vincent resting his head on Cid’s chest, Cid’s arms sliding around his slim body. He fidgeted.

“There is a snake trying to poke his head up my pants,” said Vincent.

“He’s a nosy little jerk,” said Cid.

The tent flap rustled, and a second head poked in, tongue flicking, finely-tuned sensors seeking the source of the heat. The large reptile slithered into the tent and coiled into a ball against Vincent’s back.

“So,” said Cid, “is this how you pictured your first night with another man?”

Vincent smiled. “I knew there would be a couple of snakes in the bed but I thought they would be of a different variety.”

Something else slithered in, a truly huge boa, larger than was common for his variety, and slipped in between the pair, settling comfortably on the warm soft bodies.

“Cid?”

“Hmm?”

“I know moss boas are nosy, and I know they like to be warm, but… doesn’t three seem like an unusual number to have show up?”

“It’s cold. And we’re alone out here; everyone else went down the hill to check out what was happening in Wutai. So we’re a big red warm spot in the middle of a very cold hill.”

“Still seems like a lot of moss boas.”

“They’re fine.” Cid gave Vincent a gentle squeeze. “This is nice. Even with the snakes.”

“It is.”

They snuggled closer, holding each other close, warm and comfortable on the deep green moss that covered the ground, and gave the great snakes that prowled the area their name. Cid tentatively stroked Vincent’s black hair, then gently edged closer, their lips touching, and they kissed shyly.

“You know what first made me… feel attracted to you?” said Cid.

“What?” asked Vincent quietly.

“When I first saw you, I didn’t really look. I glanced at you and saw all the black hair and that really slender frame and thought; ‘Pretty girl’. Then you spoke and I heard that low, quiet voice of yours and… it surprised me. And then I looked again and I saw the gun and the brass hand and… those eyes. Those amazingly beautiful eyes, like cut gems, that just seemed bottomless. I didn’t even know your name, and I was just so… utterly and completely… fascinated. I could have stared at you for a thousand years. I can’t say it was love at first sight but… you definitely had my attention.”

“You like my eyes?”

“Vincent if the last thing I ever saw before I died was your eyes, I’d die happy.” He reached up to touch his face. “When I was a kid, I guess six or seven, my grandmother had this ruby ring. It was big and it was really old, it belonged to her great grandfather. When I went to visit I would take it out of her jewellery box and sit on the floor and hold it, turning it so the sunlight hit it, and I would stare into it until I was mesmerised. All the sparks of light and shades of red, the way it glittered, the way it seemed like a portal into another universe… your eyes are just like that ruby.”

Vincent blinked, and buried his face against Cid’s neck. “I didn’t realize you had such a romantic soul.”

“I’ll tell you a secret, but if you tell anyone I’ll deny it.” He stroked Vincent’s hair, and whispered; “I’ve been known to write poetry, but only rarely and after a lot of beer.”

Vincent gently nipped his neck, then raised his head and gave Cid a soft kiss. “Oddly enough, that doesn’t surprise me.” Something slithered into the tent, taking up a position behind Cid. Vincent sighed. “I really hope these are all moss boas,” he said.

“Only one way to find out,” said Cid.

He reached out and found his jacket, locating the Zippo lighter within the breast pocket and flicking it, illuminating the interior of the tent. The serpent behind Vincent, as well as the one behind Cid, were an intense jewel green, their eyes a warm golden colour. At the bottom of the bed was another glimpse of vibrant green. They were surrounded by moss boas, gentle, living jewels of the forest, asking for nothing more than a little warmth.

The serpent between them was another matter altogether.

Any child on the planet, regardless of where they lived, knew this snake. It lived only in the mountains surrounding the town of Wutai, and frequently reached one thousand years in age or more. It was gleaming silk black, with golden eyes that seemed to draw one in and enthral them with their eternal stare. The head was decorated with elaborate splashes of blue, red and yellow, and it was only when seeing the snake from the front that one realized the brilliant touches of colour gave the creature the appearance of wearing a grinning, skull-like mask.

“Vincent?” said Cid quietly, “is that...?”

Vincent nodded. “It’s a Death-Mask Adder.”

Cid felt himself turn cold, and his hands began to shake. The reptile had to be fourteen feet long, and it sat, serene and regal between them, staring ahead as if turning over the mysteries of the universe in its mind. Cid’s thoughts turned to warm summer days in the town he had so recently left, and to the little girls he would hear chanting a jump-rope song older than time:

"Under the mossy-rock, down by the lake,
Lives the snake who tells our fate.
When winter makes the waters run slow,
Bring her the apples you mother grows,
She’ll tell you everything that she knows.
Pay her a silver and don’t you be late
Or she’ll give you a bite and seal your fate..."

“Pass me an apple,” said Vincent.

Cid slowly looked from the vibrant and lethal serpent to Vincent.

“What?”

“Pass me an apple.”

“You are fucking shitting me. Vincent, that’s a jump-rope song. And this thing on our bed is the single most lethal animal on the planet.”

“Yes and it’s full. Look at its middle. If we don’t bother it, it won’t strike.”

“So you thought now would just be a jim-dandy time to do some fortune telling. You’re mad.”

“Apple, Cid.”

Slowly, cautiously, Cid reached over a moss boa to pick up an apple. “Does the colour matter? All we have are red apples. I can’t believe you are doing this.” He passed Vincent the apple.

“I’ve never heard the colour mattered.” Vincent took the apple, being careful to do nothing that the serpent might consider threatening. Using a claw on his gauntlet, he cut the fruit in half, and passed one portion to Cid.

“Now what do we do?” asked Cid.

“We each lay a half before her.”

“How do you know it’s a her?”

“We assume based on tradition. It’s always a female serpent in the songs. We each lay a half before her. If she licks the piece on the right, that means wealth and good fortune. If she licks the piece on the left, that means love. If she licks the piece again, that means children, and the number of licks tells how many. If she nudges the pieces aside and doesn’t lick either of them, that means no romance and bad fortune for both of us.”

“And if she just gets pissed off and bites us?”

“I’m sure Cloud and Barret will bury us.”

“Comforting. Who taught you this crap?”

Vincent stared at Cid coldly. “My mother.”

“A wise and intelligent woman I am sure.” Cid reached up and turned on the small flashlight they had hung from the roof of the tent, filling the small nylon chamber with a soft glow. Cid closed the lid on his now rather hot lighter, then he and Vincent each placed their half of the apple before the snake.

Not surprisingly, the creature did nothing, and continued to do it for rather a long time. Eventually, however, curiosity seemed to get the better of the snake, and the massive head edged closer to the pieces of apple. Slowly the black nose crept closer to the pieces, finally coming into contact with the right-hand piece. After what seemed to be a very long time, the tongue flicked out, once only, touching the fruit.

“So some wealth and good fortune,” said Cid. “Though that was a pretty half-assed lick. I don’t think we’ll be ordering any servants around.”

Slowly the snake turned to the other piece of apple, nosing it, as if puzzled by the scent. For several minutes it pushed the apple around, then drew back, and seemed to consider. Then the head moved forward, and the tongue flicked out to lick the apple.

Cid looked at Vincent and grinned wickedly. “So there’s romance in our future after all.”

“Romance and two children, apparently,” said Vincent.

“Children?” said Cid. He suddenly looked upset. “Well how can there be children, unless that means one of us marries a woman? We’re both guys, we’re not going to have babies.”

“Cid, this is just folklore.”

“But what if it’s not? I really like you; I was hoping maybe we could have something together!”

Vincent looked surprised. “Cid…”

“I don’t want you off making babies with some woman!”

Vincent was rather surprised at how seriously Cid was taking this. “Well perhaps the snake is saying we adopt. At any rate don’t you think it’s a bit early in the relationship to be talking about children?”

Cid pouted. “S’pose,” he muttered. He sighed. “Well the snake told our fortune, when do we pay her?”

“When it comes true.”

Cid looked down at the vibrant serpent. “You’re gonna wait a long-assed time for that coin.”

The reptile simply lay where she was, staring ahead, her garish mask giving her the look of some pagan priestess. Then after about a half hour, she turned and left the tent, much to the relief of Cid and Vincent. As the last of her tail slipped out the door, Cid sat up and closed the zipper, just in case the snake changed her mind.

“There,” he said. “Now it’s just you, me, and the moss boas.” He became quiet and thoughtful, looking down at one of the large, brilliant green snakes, slowly running his hand over its back. “You… must think I’m crazy, getting so upset over some prediction made by a snake.”

Vincent sat up and looked at him, reaching out to take Cid’s hand. “I don’t think you’re crazy. I like you, too.”

Cid looked uncomfortable, but pleased. He patted the great green snake, then looked at the pieces of apple. “So what do we do with those?”

Vincent shrugged. “Supposedly we eat them to ingest the snake’s blessings,”

“Great. Snake-spit apples.” He picked up the halves, and passed one to Vincent. They ate the pieces, then turned out the light and settled into bed once more, holding each other close. Soon they were both deeply asleep.

***---***

“Vincent, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

“I’m fine.”

“In fact I am pretty sure this is one of our dumber ideas.”

“Humour me.”

Cid grumbled, but did, walking up the low rise to the place where once he and Vincent had camped, spending the night surrounded by green snakes. That had been a few years ago, and the world was now a quieter, greener place. They reached the top of the low hill, and Cid paused to look around.

“Air smells better, did you notice?”

Vincent paused beside Cid, wild and ragged-looking as ever. His long black hair blew loose, his ever-present headband in place, as were his cloak and gauntlet. The only difference was he currently had on black boots better suited to walking over mossy ground than his usual brass shoes, and a pair of black jeans instead of his more usual knee-length breeches. He was unarmed, and the shirt he had on was loose and long, hanging down to his thighs. To the casual observer, Vincent looked as if he was in sore need of a change of diet and some exercise, but both he and Cid knew differently. Vincent was not fat. Vincent was six months along with child.

“It does smell better,” said Vincent. He looked around, then paused, reaching out to take Cid’s hand. “There she is.”

Cid turned to look in the direction Vincent indicated, and spied the massive serpent, sunning herself on a great flat stone, warming her daunting mass. Cid was sure she was larger than she had been the last time he saw her. She was staring directly at them, as if she had been waiting for them.

“Should I approach, or you?” asked Vincent.

“There is no fucking way I am letting you near that snake.”

“Don’t insult her,” said Vincent.

“Fine. We’ll go together.”

Slowly they walked up to the huge animal, gazed at by golden eyes that had seen much in her eight hundred years of life. Carefully, Vincent knelt before her, his black-gloved hand slowly placing two silver coins before the reptile; one for each prediction, the sun glinting off the old and large ruby ring he wore. Then with Cid’s help, Vincent stood up, and they cautiously backed away, not wanting to test the creature’s patience. Once out of range, Cid turned to Vincent, drawing him close and kissing him.

“So, want to pop into Turtle’s Paradise and grab something to go?”

Vincent nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Tired?”

“A little.”

Cid slipped an arm around him, holding him protectively as they began walking back down the hill. “C’mon. We’ll get you something to eat and then back home and in bed.”

They walked away, heading towards the town, still silently observed by the adder, the silver coins glinting on the rock beside it. She watched the two men out of sight, then slowly moved her head over to the coins, opening her mouth to clumsily scoop them up. Making her ponderous way off the sunning stone, she sought a hole beneath it. Poking her head in, she opened her mouth and dropped the coins onto truly impressive heap of silver coins she had long ago inherited from her mother, and would one day pass onto her daughters. While it was true she had no use for wealth, she did appreciate being shown the respect her abilities were due. After all, she was never wrong, though she had to admit she had certainly been having some doubts about that last prediction!