He had been with the party for a very long time...he was comfortable with his friends, but his best one remained that of silence. For he knew things he wasn't supposed to know, stuff that would jeopardize his relationship with Cloud. He had stood in the same battlements line as his friend when the fought the Shin-Ra squads, the gem weapons, and all the way to Seraph Sephiroth. He'd grown comfortable using his new Quicksilver SG, especially when the went to have it modified, so it could hold another materia orb.

He remembered the final battle as if it were yesterday. Cloud had slashed deeply into Sephiroth's Mako-infused body, but not deep enough. The blood cascaded out, but the monster was far from down. With one swipe of his arm, Cloud's Ultima Weapon was knocked out of his hands. With another claw attack, a big chunk of fabric was ripped away, leaving four bloody lines. He felt so safe and secure with Cloud that he wouldn't let Sephiroth attack again. Looking directly up into the seraph' eyes, he saw Sephiroth, the good side which was long ago banished by Jenova. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Aeris' white materia and placed it in the slot on his gun. He fired twice, but to no avail. With a mighty blast, Sephiroth knocked off Vincent's claw. He felt the metal as it splintered into his skin, then ripped away. The dripping blood pooled around his feet.

Clutching his arm, he glared painfully at the monster which had taken his appendage and his Cloud. "That...pot shot......was pretty impressive...but, watch now my full power....," He gasped. Crouching down, he felt the bloodlust and he felt the heat as his body began to destabilize and reform.

The human Vincent was gone. In his place stood one very hungry looking dragon. The dragon flew in forwards, screaming for blood, for the memory of his compatriot. He swiped with his claw, Sephiroth parried. Vincent opened his mouth and let loose a beam of blue light in an attempt to freeze his opponent. No good, seeing as Sephiroth was protected by an X-Barrier. No materia could penetrate that, but a life-force was no problem. He would sacrifice himself for the planet, for the Lifestream, for Cloud.

Vincent concentrated and transformed back to humanoid shape. He held out his skin hand, and closed his eyes. "Silence Glaive!" It appeared, tall and fearsome.

He grasped it and felt its power within his body, burning to be released. "To defeat this, I must sacrifice myself for the greater good. Vincent leaned over and spoke gently to Cloud.

"I love you, but I must go. Destiny will split us apart, but I will see you again." He kissed the unconscious Cloud before standing up. "For this life, Sephiroth, I will make you pay."

"Excellent, Vincent Valentine! But have you gotten any more powerful than our last encounter? Ha-ha! You underestimate me with that stick!" Evil laughter reverberated around the Lifestream.

"In the name of silence, death, and rebirth, I will end your own life Sephiroth with my own." He held the glaive high. "Death ribbon revolution!" At that, everything became silent. The glaive sparkled with a focused strength of a million lives and a million deaths. It shot out a noiseless beam right into the heart of Seraph Sephiroth. His scream was silent...internal before he shattered into a million pieces. Life draining from his body, he let the glaive fall to the ground, where it made a resounding crack. Tumbling to his knees, Vincent Valentine looked wearily once more at his lover before falling face first into the ground. Dead.

Cloud opened his eyes to the bright light. He knew what Vincent had first felt like when the light defiled the sanctity of his slumber. But his light was different, pure white, holy. Cloud managed to get on his knees before crawling over to his friend. He placed two fingers on Vincent's pale neck to feal a familiar beating. There was none. Cloud gathered Vincent into his arms and held him close to his own heart.

"Why? Why'd you have to use your forbidden powers? Why did you have to leave me here alone?" The tears were fiery and mournful at the same time. "First Aeris...now you? Why did you do this, Vincent?" He buried his face into Vincent's long, raven hair.

Just then, the scene grew whiter and whiter, and he felt a warmth on the back of his neck. It was familiar, and yet, so distant. He looked upon, and his Mako-blue eyes widened at the sight of Aeris Gainsborough, now a smiling angel.

"Aeris?"

"Yes, my Cloud. It's me. That flower girl from the slums in Midgar. I sensed your grief after you defeated Sephiroth. The cost was great...Vincent." She knelt down and ran her fingers over Vincent's chest, as if trying to remove his heart.

"I don't understand, Aeris....why did he do this?"

"Because he wanted to protect you, and the others, and the planet from destruction at the hands of Sephiroth. Before he went into the Lifestream, he told me that he loved you beyond all conceptions of the word."

"Then why can't I see him, like I can see you?"

"Because he hasn't fulfilled his destiny yet. Lucrecia was his lover, true, but she alone had the power to undo the damage Hojo did. He was destined to become whole again, like Tifa did to you when you were all in the Lifestream."

"I...miss him, Aeris. I miss his stoicism, I miss seeing him get out of the shower and the steam coming of his body, I miss his love, I miss everything...," she cut him off then.

"Shh...Cloud. I missed you, but I knew I could come back. I was also given the full power of my race, the Cetra..and I just remembered what I can to for Vincent," said Aeris gently.

"I am part of the Lifestream. However, I am also a custodian of it. Therefore, if you truly wish, I will turn back time so it will be you saving Vincent and killing Sephiroth. However, at the same time, he will be reincarnated, and I will too."

"You're coming back too?! That's..."

"I must come back. You see, whomever I bring back, I must guard. If I bring back Vincent first, I must guard him. However, if I bring back Sephiroth first, I must guard him. There's a 50/50 chance that evil might prevail...," she cautioned.

"Even if all is lost, it is still worth a try," said Cloud. "I say, do it."

"All right. Time open and Lifestream break through, I, Aeris, last of the Cetra command it so!" Cloud saw a portal open, and he saw the soul of Vincent shoot out first and into the body. Then he saw Sephiroth, and lastly Aeris. Picking up his sword, Cloud raised above his head, and summoned the Knights of the Round. The came, and Arthur dealt the final blow with a crash of hooves and swords.

Sephiroth fell to his knees as his wings burned up. "Cloud...never thought...you would...stop loving me..." Sephiroth was gone now. Nothing remained but a pile of ashes.

Cloud stood up and walked over to the resurrected Aeris. He kissed her gently before saying softly "Thank you...flower girl." She smiled warmly. "You're welcome, pokey head." She giggled, before running off to find the rest of the team.

Cloud turned around and knelt at Vincent's side before brushing his lips with his kiss. Picking Vincent up in his arms, he carried his lover towards the Highwind and his own quarters.

That was one night ago, and Vincent still hadn't woken up. Cloud sat next to the bed on a chair, and kept watch until Vincent woke up. In the process, he himself fell asleep and dreamed of the nights of pleasure he and his friend spent together. Waking up with a flushed start, Cloud grinned surreptitiously with the knowledge on how to wake Vincent up. Pulling and unzipping and unsnapping the assorted fasteners, Cloud slipped out of his clothing and slid into the bed right behind Vincent's sleeping frame. Gently, he wound his arms around Vincent's chest and his legs around the other's legs. He rested his head into the crook his shoulder blade and his head made before pressing his lips to Vincent's neck softly.

He took the flesh in between his lips and sucked softly. He pulled it gently as he moved up and down Vincent's neck. Cloud heard a low moan and decided to "awaken" his friend even more. Removing one of his arms, he pushed it lower and lower into the bottom of the bed until he felt the organ.

For all his frailty, Vincent still was well gifted in certain departments; and this was one of them. The organ had a medium thickness, but what really shocked Cloud was the length of the piece. It was about 8 inches, which contrasted wildly with Cloud's own, which was fairly thick, but about 6 inches. He stoked Vincent gently, yet with a firmness that both were used to. Nothing happened. He pulled, tugged, rubbed, but the organ refused to harden.

"You know, it won't get hard if the mind refuses to direct blood to it. Here, let me show you how it's done," breathed he.

Vincent pulled the blanket over his head and turned around to face Cloud's anatomy. Without hesitation, he grasped the base and took the whole thing into his mouth. Cloud sighed with pleasure and leaned back into the pillows. He was enthralled so by Vincent's tongue that he tried to thrust his hardened organ deeper into his lovers mouth. He was met with resistance with Vincent's strong hands holding his hips down. Cloud had never been restrained in such an instance as before, where pleasure threatened to break him into tiny pieces if he didn't respond with movement. Unexpectedly, Vincent's tongue slowly licked the base of Cloud's organ; at the same time, Cloud's Mako-infused eyes open widely and the irises dilated as his orgasm built up and spilled over into Vincent's waiting mouth.

Vincent, for all his expertise did not expect such a load. His mouth was quickly filled beyond its limit with the essence of Cloud. Readily, he swallowed it as opposed to letting it stream in tiny rivulets down the dwindling size of Cloud's manhood.

He crawled back up from under the covers and nestled himself next to the unconscious lover. Cloud's skin was cold to the touch, and flecked with goose bumps. Vincent poked his arm gently, but the flesh remained unresponsive; the face remained expressionless, eyes focused on the ceiling.

"Cloud? You okay?"

"..."

"Damn it, Cloud! Wake up!"

"...V..Vincent?"

"You scared me with your catatonia."

"Didn't mean to...can I ask you a question?"

"Of course...shoot."

"Where'd you learn THAT?!"

Vincent punched Cloud playfully then and laughed deeply before finally embracing him.

"I've missed you..a lot," breathed Cloud.

"Yeah, ditto," murmured Vincent.

"You tired? I hadn't even returned your favor yet! Hey, don't go to sleep on me now! Ughh!" exclaimed Cloud.

"Not everyday a man dies and is resurrected...," sighed Vincent as he fell into a deep sleep.

Leaning over, he kissed his lover. Unable to resist his desires, he gently slipped his tongue in. Withdrawing, Vincent lay back down and wrapped his arms around Cloud's firm chest.

"I won't let them take you from me. It is not allowed. I promise you, Cloud," he whispered.

Cloud's only response was a soft sigh of unconscious approval as he moved deeper into Vincent's protective arms. Then, the two sleep a dreamless sleep for the remainder of the night.

Cloud awoke restrained the next day. Vincent's strong, yet frail-looking limbs crisscrossed his chest tightly. His lover's cascaded over Cloud's shoulder, somewhat mop like. He liked it when Vincent didn't restrain his hair with that obnoxious hair band; he liked to run his fingers through it whenever possible, to inhale the sweet smell of it, and marvel at its raven colors. Sinking further into Vincent's embrace, Cloud closed his eyes and felt extremely warm.

Suddenly the door flew open and crashed into the wall with a decisive "BANG!!!" In bounced a rather flushed-looking Cait Sith. Damn cat had the megaphone to the wall before his Mog body leaned too far into the door and breaking it. At the sight of Vincent and Cloud in bed together, the Moogle's eyes shot wide open, the cat gasped in shock.

"Uh..Cloud? Cid needs to see you to make some course changes. Today we go back to Rocket Town..Shera's built a new rocket to collect that materia we lost in the space mission. We also hacked the access codes for the container that holds the chip, so you won't mess up this time. Also, Aeris needs to see you. She felt a disturbance in the Lifestream's flow...seems there's been a breach. Oh well, I won't tell all. Give you some sort of anticipation," stuttered Cait Sith.

"Right...I'll be right there," replied Cloud. He looked over at Vincent, whose red eyes were half-open and clouded with the haze of sleep. "You gonna be okay?"

"Uhnnn....yeah."

"Good. I'll be back for you soon," said Cloud as he pulled his armored pants on, which lay in a heap on the floor. He walked out of the room.

Vincent sat up suddenly, as if realizing what happened. He ran his fingers through his hair and brushed it out of his eyes sensuously, expecting Cloud to be standing at the door. To his shock, there stood the flushed marshmallow body of Cait Sith, his Mog's cheek's blushing.

"Hehehe...it's always the quiet ones! I never would've guessed!" giggled the cat. As he turned around and shut the door, Vincent gave him the finger before collapsing back into the bed.

"Terrific. Not only does that damn cat know, but Reeve knows too, and would probably spread it to the Turks. Well, at least it will put a smile on Reno's face," though Vincent glumly. "I've got to get out of this bed. Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" In his struggle to sit up, he banged his head on the back of the wall. He slid his tall frame out of the sheets and stood up. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted his usual garb of cape, headband, shirt, and pants. Not wanting to go through the elaborate dressing ritual of getting the cape set straight and putting his hair in the band, Vincent reached over and just grabbed his shirt and pants.

Pulling them on was a matter of seconds, except his prosthetic arm got caught..again. Easing it out, he finished with the shirt. Looking in the mirror, he raked his pale fingers through his long jet-black hair and held it back in a low ponytail. Slipping the elastic over it, he pulled two of the strands of his hair forward over his face. Reaching down, he pulled on his pair of Myrthil-plated boots. Then, he left the room.

Tifa Lockheart was the first to hear his approach down the hallway. She held a filled coffee mug in her right hand, waiting to be received by Vincent. She rounded the corner where her hallway met his. Looking up with sleep-encrusted eyes, Tifa screamed and dropped the mug. It fell to the ground with a soft crash, coffee everywhere.

"Dolphin Kick!"

Tifa leaped up and back flipped, while calling on her sea pal to add to her strength. Her boot made contact with Vincent's chin. His head snapped back. By the time he was able to adjust himself, he saw one of Tifa's boots vanish behind the corridor.
"Get your weapons and get ready to fight! Somehow Sephiroth got aboard! Aieeee!!!" She ran and hid between behind Barret, who had just finished reloading his Missing Score. He aimed it at the entrance that Tifa had just sprinted through. He counted the seconds as the loud footsteps retraced the hallway route.

"5....4...3....2...1..now!" shouted Barret. The figure came dashing out of the hallway. Barret cocked Missing Score and emptied a huge salvo in the figure's direction. "Arghhh! Die! Die! Die!" he screamed.

Ping! A metallic sound? Ping! Ping! Ping!

Vincent had crouched into a ball and deflected the bullets with his claw, which by now was beyond all repair; all the wires and gears were exposed.

"Oh my GOD! Not again!! Another eighteen-hundred Gil arm..gone! Dammit, Barret!!" shouted Vincent.

"Eh? Oh, it's you! Sorry Vincent!"

"Barret! That's coming out of your stash!"

"But what about Marlene's schoolin'?"

"She's living with Elmyra now. She's learning all Aeris learned."

Tifa turned to Vincent, whose arm was crackling with bolts of static electricity and slightly smoking. The small rivulet of blood slowly dripped from Vincent's chin onto his shirt, making a small, round stain.

"Gee, I'm sorry about attacking you back there Vincent. But you looked so much like Sephiroth did...it was hard to tell if there was another Jenova construct lurking about and I had to get to Cloud, coz I was afraid he'd start freaking out again..an', an'...," stuttered Tifa apologetically.

"It's okay, Tifa. I'm fine. So's my arm..all it needs is a soldiering gun and a few new wires here and there and it'll be as good as when it was first welded to me," he replied sarcastically.

"Good as new..just like your sex life, eh Vincent?" Cait Sith was in near hysterics.

Vincent pointed one finger at the stuffed Moogle and a blade ejected and pierced its body. A loud pop, followed by a silly whining noise.

"Help! Help! I'm deflating!"

"Serves ya right, ya damn cat!" shouted Barret.

"I'm going to patch up that cut of yours, c'mon Vincent," said Cloud as he tugged on Vincent's shirt sleeve.

"Alright, let's go."

Cloud led Vincent to the infirmary, where he sat his lover on the examining table. Reaching over, he grabbed a small medical sponge and began swabbing gently at the dripping blood. "Lie back. It'll slow the bleeding."

Vincent complied and sighed in pleasure as that soft ball touched his chin slowly and methodically. He closed his eyes, feeling safe alone with Cloud as that gentle swabbing lulled him into a peaceful snooze.

Then, he heard rustling in a nearby drawer. "Shhkit, shhkit!" some sort of whooshing noise. His eyes sprung open and immediately caught sight of the manacles which secured his arms and legs to the table. Vincent looked down to see Cloud slowly crawling up on top of him towards his head, a smile on his youthful face.

"A cotton ball can only do so much...allow me to complete your treatment." Cloud leaned down and kissed Vincent tenderly on the lips, his tongue probing the cavern of the restrained's mouth.

Moving his head down, he took the button of Vincent's pants in his mouth and maneuvered it through the hole. Then he took the zipper in his mouth and pulled down. Separating the two halves, Cloud placed his head into the lower anatomy and inhaled. Vincent's pubic hair smelled as sweet as the hair on his head. Grasping his cock, Cloud looked into his lover's red eyes.

"You never told me you were uncircumcised," he said.

"You never asked, but yeah, I am."

"Perfect."

Enclosing only the head of Vincent's organ, Cloud slid his tongue underneath the foreskin and lapped at the head concealed beneath. At first, the organ remained flaccid, but even the silent Vincent couldn't resist the sensations this produced. His cock soon grew rock hard in Cloud's hot, wet mouth.

Cloud closed his eyes as the foreskin began to retract as Vincent's cock grew harder and longer and thicker. Not wanting to let go, Cloud held onto the top of the foreskin and massaged it gingerly with his tongue. This elicited a low, soft moan from Vincent as small drops of perspiration beaded on his brow.

Further tormenting his partner, Cloud took the whole length into his mouth, pulling his head off it before retaking it into his mouth. Vincent couldn't keep still any longer; he moved in unison with rhythm of his lover's tongue. At last, the threshold had arrived. Vincent passed out as shot after shot landed in Cloud's greedy mouth.

Swallowing some of it, Cloud satiated his desire for the salty white fluid. Retaining the rest of it in his mouth, he climbed up and pressed his lips to Vincent's. Gently opening his friend's mouth, he unloaded the last bit of it into Vincent's mouth. He swallowed and made a face.

"I'd never tasted that before," he shuddered.

"First time for everything," came the youthful reply.

Vincent quivered. He grew cold suddenly, his pale flesh was immersed in goose bumps. Tears started streaking down his face, yet the sobs were quiet. Cloud looked into Vincent's red eyes with his own Mako-blue eyes which were filled with concern.

"Are you OK, guy? You didn't do anything wrong, if that's what's bothering you. Was it something I did?"

"Yes and no, Cloud. See...that was my first time receiving that kind of.....stimulation. In fact, it was about nine years ago when I last came," sighed Vincent. The tears came freely now, but there was no facial expression to match the implied mood.

Cloud eased himself atop of Vincent and clicked off the restraints. Gathering him up into his arms, he looked down at his friend, his mentor, his lover who had buried his head into Cloud's soft shirt and had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

"Vincent...you are with me now, and nothing will come between us, I promise."

He hadn't noticed Aeris padding into the room and walking up right beside him. She brushed Vincent's hair out of his face, gently. Looking over to Cloud, her gentle green eyes enveloped him with a serenity he had previously only felt with his lover.

"Cloud, we must speak. Both you and I know things are different now, and that I'll only remain in this life as long as he does. However, there are things you don't know about him, things that might split you apart. But you two have true love for each other, so that will keep you together."

Cloud breathed heavily as he felt his heart stop. "Aeris...what is it? Is something wrong with him? Tell me!" he was in hysterics by now.

"It's not easy....," her eyes drooped and became sympathetic before glistening with tears.

"Out with it!" shouted Cloud. Immediately realizing what he had done, he apologized. "I'm sorry, Aeris...truly sorry. I didn't mean to snap...I was just so worried about Vincent."

She choked back the upcoming sob in her throat, the tears racing down her face. "Cloud I'm so sorry..but Vincent is Sephiroth."