Resurfacing

"It left bruising, huh?"

"Yes, and rubbing."

"Well, if you hadn't of been squirming around so much, you wouldn't have gotten 'em."

"If you hadn't tied me up with your belt to begin with, I wouldn't have squirmed."

"Yeah you would've. Help me with my tie, will ya?"

Vinent sighed as he shook his head, helping the shorter blonde man straighten his tie. "You're incorigible."

"And you love it." Cid stepped back from the taller Wutaaian, looking at himself in the full size mirror that the hotel bathroom hosted. He didn't look like himself, and it made him frown at the thought. Still, you can't go to a wedding in jeans and a t-shirt, so he figured he might as well make the most of it while he could. His usual clothes were still scattered on the floor along with Vincent's from the night before, and he had made no conscious effort to pick them up. The suit that still fit (he thought) too tightly was promptly pulled out of the closet and thrown on him...well, after Vincent treated him to a mid afternoon romp and a shower session, that was.

He was woken up this morning in the most unpleasent of manners. The phone rang a five a.m. wake up call, three hours after he had fallen asleep, and Cid was pretty sure Vincent had something to do with that one. The ex-Turk had been wide awake when Cid was forced to be, smiling at him with a look that, if he'd been more awake and in less of a bad mood, would have made Cid as hard as a rock. It'd been the phone in one hand and Vincent saying 'wake up call' in a sickeningly fake and sweet voice that had killed the could-be-boner.

Cid sighed and shrugged, trying to get used to the tight sensation around his neck, chest and legs. The black suit made him look (he thought) taller and slightly slimmer, but made his already pale blonde hair almost white and his tan skin dull. Maybe it was the light? He turned to look back at Vincent, and a smile, despite the hour, jumped onto his face.

Vincent was, as always, in black, but not all black for a change. The suit he wore fit him comfortably, his slacks making his legs look even longer if it were possible. The shirt he wore was black, but his tie was a dark red, almost the same color of the cloak he once wore. His hair was mostly back, two or three thick, long locks falling in his face. He turned to look back at Cid, lifting an eyebrow at the amused expression the pilot wore. "And what, praytell, is so amusing?"

"You going to a wedding or a funeral, Valentine?" Cid shifted his weight, letting his eyes roam over the tall frame of his lover. Truth to be told, Vincent looked good in a suit, and Cid briefly wondered what he must have looked like in the classic blue outift of the old school Turks.

"Are you complaining?"

"Not one bit."

"Alright then." The corner of the gunman's mouth lifted, and he walked over to the shorter man, kissing him gently on the forehead. "While you were in the shower, I called Cloud."

"Yeah? What'd chocobo head say?"

"Well first off, I appologized to him profusely about his puesdo-bachelor party the other night and your behavior."

"Reno started it, I finished it. 'Nuff said."

"HowEVER," Vincent continued, ignoring the interruption. "He said it was alright and that he doesn't blame you, which is good of him because he should. I also asked about the wedding time. We have about another three hours or so before hand, which gives us plently of time to get there and help out."

"Help out with what?"

"Cloud."

"What's he need help with he can't deal with himself?" Cid picked up his jacket, shrugging it on as he opened the door. Vincent walked out first, and Cid took the time to let his eyes linger on the elegant frame in front of him.

"well, simply put," Vincent smiled, "his nerves."
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"I can't do this guys. What if I screw up?"

"Then you screw up, Tifa never forgets it, and through the course of your marriage and eventual divorce never lets you forget it either."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"Cid, you're not helping."

Cloud Strife sat there, three men on either side of him. He was visibly shaking, and it even made Vincent feel slightly bad for the boy to see him like this. Barrett stood to Cloud's other side and pat Cloud on the shoulder. "S'alright, Spikey. Tifa's a good girl, and ah know even if's ya mess up, she'll still love you no matter what. Jus'to be safe, ya DID memorise your vows, right?"

"yeah."

"Then you'll be fine." Vincent sat down next to Cloud, smiling reassuringly at the younger man. "You've faced harder and more life threatening challenges than this, Cloud. Remember?"

"Yeah, but right now I'm actually scared. I'm not fighting for my life!"

"That's what YOU think." Cid turned his head away from the boy, frowning slightly. He ignored the different looks each of the three men gave him, his hands and fingers twitching for a cigarette that he wasn't allowed to have inside of the building. "Listen to Vince, kid. You'll be fine. Hell, both you and Tif' have known each other since you were little kids, right, and I'm sure she's been crushing on ya since puberty hit, so take a chill pill and relax. S'natural to be nervous at your own wedding." Cid turned back to Cloud, lifting an eyebrow in emphasis. "You're not even 28 yet. Hell, I was 32 when I finally got hitched t'Shera, and even I was a bundle of nerves. I'd say, if ya smoked, smoke one up and relax, but since ya don't, do something cause you're making ME nervous." With that he stood up and walked over to one of the windows, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Cloud looked at Vincent, lifting his brows in question. Vincent himself shrugged. "Cid's right, Cloud. You'll be fine." He stood up and tossed his hair back over his shoulder. "I'm getting some champange* from the bar. Anyone care for anything?" Cloud shook his head, Barrett waved the Wutaaian off. He turned towards Cid, and without warning took the blonde pilot by the wrist and pulled him along as he walked. "Nice of you to volunteer to come with me Cid."

"I WHAT?! Hey, let go, Vince!"

Barrett watched the two men walked out of the room, Cid protesting the entire time. Finally, he turned back to Cloud with a scowl on his face. "Ah tell ya Cloud, them two guys get weirder and weirder ever time ah' see 'em."

Cloud bit back laughter for the first time that day at the obvious understatement. "You have NO idea, Barrett."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Best behavior, Cid."

"This Is my best behavior."

"Best PUBLIC behavior, Cid."

The pilot sighed as he rolled his eyes, stretching out of the bench he sat on. Vincent had drug the man outside, handed him a single cigarette and box of matches he managed to get SOMEWHERE, confirming Cid's belief Vincent was hiding them in a place unaccessable at the time. He took a deep drag off the the stick, feeling himself visibly relax as the nicotine hit his system. Vincent sat next to him, legs crossed holding a glass of the pearl colored, bubbly liquid inside of it. "The kid was just making me jittery."

"I can't blame him. I would be nervous if this were my wedding."

Cid glanced over at the brunette beside him. The long gone, or so he thought, glaze of sadness in Vincent's eyes was there, the serene face that normally smiled now even and emotionless. "You'd want to get married?"

"Yes."

Cid grinned, nudging Vincent with his knee. "Set the date, I'll get the rings."

"Don't joke like that."

"Who says I'm joking? You'd make a good house wife, 'cept of course there'd be a problem with KIDS but who needs them anyway? If we haven't naturally conceived by now I don't think we can." The pilot watched Vincent out of the corner of his eye, the red eyed man looking at him slightly confused.

Vincent opened his mouth to speak, then shut it and looked back down at his mostly full glass. He didn't know what to say to that, or to the seriousness in Cid's voice. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing to say to that..." He looked Cid dead on and made sure he caught the pilot's eyes with his own.

"Yeah?"

"Who'd wear the dress?"

Cid never laughed so hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We are gathered here today, in the company of friends and loved ones, to celebrate this union of a man and a woman. Who will be giving the bride away?" The preist looked up as Barrett stepped foreward, Tifa's left hand in his fake metal one. The preist nodded, and Barrett let go of Tifa's with a smile. She stepped up onto the higher step, Cloud following after. He took her hands in his, not being able to help but smile.

Cid and Vincent stood in the back against the wall by the door. They couldn't find a place at the front, the chruch was so full, but they didn't care. The church, they found, was a perfect place to hide. Vincent looked around. It was fitting, they thought, that Cloud and Tifa be married in the very church that Aeris' spirit resided in. The open hole in the middle of the floor was still filled with the geostoma curing water that never seemed to evaporate or lower, and the sunlight coming in through the holes in the ceiling cast diamonds onto the surface of the small lake. The church, he saw, had been cleaned up somewhat, or at least enough to allow people inside, since he'd last seen it during the clone problem. He'd been here, at this very spot, watching the very same boy now a man, becoming whole again. Next to him stood the very same pilot that was there, looking up at him with sky blue eyes and a small smile. "Brings back memeories, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Cid lifted his hand, catching Vincent's as their fingers intertwined. He saw the Wutaain's eyes widen, the blood red orbs take a quick look around to make sure no one could see them. "You said in the hotel room I was afraid to admit things. Bout you an' me."

"Cid, they're reciting their vows!" Vincent's voice dropped lower to just below a whisper, and he pulled Cid deeper into the bowels of the church. The priest's voice was still within hearing range, and his words mixed in with the millions of thoughts running through the ex-turk's head.

"I know, but listen to me, Vincent. You said I was scared. I told you I wasn't, and I still ain't." The pilot's hand kept a firm grip on Vincent's, not letting the gunman pull away from him. "You think it's just coincidence that Cloud's wedding brought us here, t' this same spot?"

"I.....I don't know...maybe?" Vincent could hear the exchanges of rings in the background, his eyes peeled to the front of the church to make it look like to anyone watching that at least SOMEONE was paying attention. He heard Cid shuffle behind him, and something small and square was placed in the palm of his hand that Cid one held. He watched with confusion as the pilot stepped back up beside him, a small smirk on his face. Vincent looked down in his hand, one eyebrow lifted high. It was what looked like a ring box, small and black with a faux velvety cover. He stared back up at Cid, confused.

"Go on, open it." Cid inclined his head towards the box, watching Vincent out of the corner of his eye. Vincent was confused, he knew he would be. It was the gunman's reaction he was waiting for, the one thing that would tell him if this was a mistake or not. Vincent's eyebrows narrowed slightly, and he kept flitting his eyes to the front of the church as he opened the small package. When he looked back down, he nearly dropped the box.

It was a ring, he figured it would be. But it was HIS ring, the one he wanted in Wutaai, the one he sought after and wanted more than ever after he found out it was gone. Gold with a black band of onyx and a red band of garnet, gleaming at him from the sunlight bouncing off of it. He quickly snapped the box shut and looked down at Cid, the gunman's eyes as wide as dinner plates. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. In the background he could hear the last of Cloud's vows.

"With this ring, I thee wed."

"If there be anyone here who would oppose this marriage, let him speak now or forever hold their peace." The church was silent, no one making any noise outside of shifting and breathing. Somewhere, someone was crying. "The grace of God I pronounce thee husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Cloud leaned foreward and lifted the pale white, lace veil of his bride, kissing Tifa to the multitude of applause and congradulatory hollers inside of the chruch. Yuffie jumped up in down, shouting congradulations, Barrett tried to hold back tears and failed. Reeve clapped as formally as he could, Cait Sith beside him. Red, the firewolf, sat off the the side and marveled at human ceremonies.

Towards the back of the church, Cid stood and smiled up at Vincent. The sunlight bounced off of the small lake of water and into his eyes, and they were the brightest blue they'd ever been.

Vincent stood there, both hands over the velvety box, his eyes closed and his head bowed. He wanted to cry, he wanted to laugh and most importantly embrace the man he loved. He couldn't. All he could do was stand there pretending to be the Vincent everyone thought he was as Cid slid up next to him, murmuring into his ear.

"Well, I guess no dress was neccesary."
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AN- where the hell have I been? On my lazy @$$. I'm a bad author.

Edited 3/12/08