[ He will be absolutely shell shocked when it happens, that's for sure. ]
Mm. [ A note is made on the final sheet, lines drawn to infer where each colors should focus. The papers are stacked and set aside, along with the pencil. Then he turns his head to look partially over his shoulder.
But only after he'd bowed his head in thought. The results of that contemplation seem to have been favorable. He offers Aerith a faint smile but... there's reassurance. ]
Well. I'm still not ready to join you in your fort. But I think I can manage a hug.
[ Is he okay? He managed to get some time to himself on Rhododactylos. It's enough to endure this, surely.
But it's probably clear that the allowance Vincent just made applies to very few people willingly. Aerith just happens to be one. ]
[Who knows what'll set them off. Just the pair of them acting like complete puppies about something. At least Angeal could offer some advice...and Cloud could be offered as a distraction.
But more importantly, she doesn't want Vincent to freeze. She's glad she's helped him with the present, but she's worried he'll be all iced over. It's a lot of people time, even if he managed to vanish for most of port time. Even if she saw what he was: a Turk. And Turks are not nice people.
But she still offered him a soft smile of reassurance.]
I didn't think the blanket forts were your speed. And that's okay.
[She moved to slowly, carefully, hug him.]
Just don't freeze over, okay? That'd hurt, with all the metal you're wearing.
[ Bless him, he actually relaxes. If it was a conscious effort to do so, well Aerith won't judge him for that will she? And it does warm him.
And so she can feel when his body shakes, even before the sound of quiet laughter sounds low in his throat. ]
Is that a hint to take it off while you're here?
[ Can't be easy getting close to chilled metal. But he's probably speaking in jest again. More somberly- as if he's come across the matter of freezing and its consequences- he offers quiet assurance. ]
I've learned my lesson. I won't let myself get frozen in place.
[ Chill, yes. But not frozen. But hey, baby steps. ]
[ And will you look at that, lifting the hand that isn't covered in chilly metal (even as he warms up it does tend to hold a bit of cold), Vincent brings it to rest on the place where Aerith's arms cross over his chest. Unconditional contact in return. ]
I'll have to remember it's an option though. [ Cold metal. ] If someone starts getting too comfortable.
[ Hanna will not be safe from the ice-cold back of Vincent's gauntlet against the neck if he tries to insist on hugging Vincent like an insistent koala.
But yeah. Vincent definitely agrees that being a statue isn't a good look for him. He... ]
"...Became too attached to living in the present. Moving forward."
[ There was a soft, quiet mutter under Vincent's breath. ]
If Zack tries again...
[ What was that Vincent?
Oh, nothing. Look, where he moves on to more serious talk with the ease of someone who had not been indulging in a moment's idea of unreasonable levels of vengeance. ]
Hmph. It came up recently. [ He also clarifies... ] Before I came here. You all taught me that, you know. Even if I didn't express it well.
[ Or have fully became aware of his changing perspective prior to Aerith's death. He turns his head, not so much as to make it easy for him to look back down at her; the angle's not quite right for that. But so that she can catch the faint hint of a smile. That he's talking 'at' and not through the air around Aerith. ]
I've got a lot of time to look forward to. So... I think about it often enough.
[ What's he going to do with all that time? But he doesn't seem unhappy about an unending future. Or at least a very, very long one. ]
[ Vincent will never tell. Of course he won't have to, as she'll find out soon enough. What does he want to do now? Eyes are closed. His shoulders heave with a brief, quiet chuckle. ]
When I get back? Finish saving the world I guess. [ Flippant. But... oh is he not joking? A soft sigh comes out as though he were turning more serious. ]
I don't know. Learn about things that changed when I was asleep. [ Places like Rhadore just completely disappeared. Technology went forward. Yes it suffered a blow but it was more about finding alternate means of power generation than actually stepping back into the stone ages at least.
And there's parts of the world that have changed so drastically because of the proximity of mako reactors. ]
...I promised Nanaki I'd come meet him once a year at Midgar. Who knows? Maybe I'll check in on Yuffie.
[ From a distance. Joke's on him though; everyone will come looking eventually after that whole saving the world thing happens. But that's another story. ]
[ ...Oh. Yes, he'd been sparse on the details when they talked of the future. There had been more important details. And since she's hugging him, Aerith might feel a bit of stiffening in realization before he forces himself to relax.
Like always, Vincent will be honest. ]
Midgar... had to be abandoned. People still salvage from it but there are... too many memories. Too many terrors.
[ Holy. Meteor. Watching loved ones being inundated or simply touched by the Lifestream's force and then melted by the hidden disease within its salvation. ]
...Practical reasons too. The currents of the Lifestream changed. Even though there are reserves of mako, none of the existing reactors function where they stand. It'll run out in time. And... no one wants to anger the Planet by rebuilding them again.
[ Well, the majority anyway. Who's to say someone won't try to exploit it again? ]
Tifa has a bar in Edge. [ A positive. ] Yuffie follows her convictions. Cloud... well, he can tell you what he does himself.
[If he hasn't already. He better be willing or Vincent will come looking. ]
...Cait Sith, the one behind him at least, filled the power void left by Shinra Company. Barret went looking for oil fields. Cid and Shera developed mostly abandoned fuel technologies from them. Built a fleet of airships to run on it.
[ A trace of a smile. ]
Nanaki roams the world. Looking to see and experience all he can for himself.
[ 'Vincent doesn't care'... so easily dismantled by the fact that he knows what each and every one of his friends are up to despite the length of time between his marked appearances. Not all of that could be from the convenient fact that he spoke to most of them only recently before joining the Barge. ]
[She felt him stiffen, but she wasn't sure what it was from. And...she heard what happened to her home city. It wasn't just a hole in the ground, but...it was just a shell. Something...like a carcass, where people picked over the bones.
Somehow that was worse then having the place completely destroyed. ]
I...don't think I know who's behind Cait Sith. Not by name.
[She knew he had to be someone in Shinra, especially in working with the Turks and everything. Likely really high up. But while she didn't say anything, she was still, listening. Tifa has a bar, and everyone is...everyone is scattered to the wind. Vincent cares, because he knows what everyone is doing, and is keeping track of them.
But it hurt, because everyone was...
She hated that she felt so jealous that everyone was living her own lives. This was what she wanted for everyone. But...what life could she have had if she had lived?]
Good. It's good that everyone is helping themselves and the world too. I'm sure...they're making wonderful lives for themselves.
[ Yes, that. That was the reason he tensed a moment. For a moment, he'll pretend he didn't. ]
Reeve Tuesti. You might know of him. He was the executive of urban planning in Midgar. Afterward he organized the World Regenesis Organization. Volunteers who worked at restoring and protecting the planet. Well... one thing lead to another. After a few years it became a more formalized force.
[ Vincent's tone suggests it's all okay. Reeve... Cait Sith, turned out to have a good soul. One of the few so high up, though no one could call anyone who made it so high completely clean of the Company's sins. Good enough. ]
Rufus survived. The Turks did. [ Is that 'fair'? No. No it's just what life is. ] They keep quiet. Probably busy. But... so far, there's signs that Rufus intends to make reparations.
[ Hardly publicly. No one trusts Shinra now. Such financing and good will as they do... well, it's best to be kept on the sly. At the very least, debts are being paid off.
There's silence between them, Vincent and Aerith. But then he sighs. ]
Brooding.... is my thing, you know.
[ Yet it's not chiding or really a jest as it might seem to an outsider. He speaks the words gently. ]
[ He may surprise her yet again. Vincent had been sitting down at the dividing counter and of course Aerith had been hugging him from behind because of that. Maybe he was still a little 'taller' in height than she was. But slowly he starts to tilt his upper body back; gently so she can adjust, but effectively until he can look 'up' at her. Maybe braced against her, maybe not. But now, his eyes are able to look directly at her and most of his features are revealed.
There's something gentle and perhaps concerned. Though his tone is wry. ]
Brooding is a type of thinking.
[ Then, more somberly and still more gentle. ]
It's okay not to be okay. Hearing about Midgar... can't be easy.
[ Though he doesn't know all the thoughts and feelings Aerith is experience, he at least understands, remembers, and believes he knows her horror at the outcome and cost of saving the world was a part of it. She'd said as when they first met on the Barge and he told her. ]
Would you like me to stop? [ Speaking about the future. His past. Whatever you want to call it. ] Or... I can be a good listener.
[ He never had, other than what empathy was implied toward the experience of the horror in knowing the aftermath of one's actions.
Or lack thereof. ]
Hm. I refuse. [ Not to worry. Cold bastard. ]
Aerith... [ It's really against his nature to insist. Or push. But the last time he didn't... ] It doesn't have to be me. But... everyone needs someone to listen. And I'm worried. You give too much of yourself to others. Are you taking any for yourself?
[She'll see it herself one day. One day, she'll see the damage she did herself.
And there he was...he was refusing to listen to what she was saying. It wasn't like him. Usually, he didn't push for more. Not like this. Not for her to talk.
Slowly, her hand comes up. But only to brush her hand over his cheek, and offer him a small smile.
It looks much like her usual smile. Maybe her eyes look a little more tired. A little sadder.]
Sorry to have worried you Vincent. I'll try to take better care of myself.
[ With the brush of the hand, Vincent blinks. It's probably surprise; maybe at himself for invoking that type of gesture. And that smile and maybe some of the tired sadness. With a sigh he begins to straighten himself upright once again, truly looking to turn around and face Aerith.
This time, the contact of hugs and such will probably be broken a bit. ]
I don't show it well. But I do worry about my friends. Though you're probably aware.
[ He won't deny that, there's no need to insist on what's true. Still Vincent sighs. ]
...Are you sure there's nothing I can do?
[ 'Try to take better care of myself'. How that seems to echo like something that would come out of his own mouth. Particularly once upon a time when he got flustered at being caught unawares. Just another warm spring day in the mountains... He shakes his head out to dismiss such memories and focus on the present. ]
[ He respects the politely closed door. Vincent would be selfish to insist that she talk about it now, that he was the one who could be the one there. They are friends. Family. It's enough that he cares.
And this wasn't the same as how he failed to truly reach out to Lucrecia when all the clues of her pain were right before him. Aerith is not Lucrecia, no matter how worried he is about what he perceives. Of course no more in the romantic sense than she had of him when Aerith touched his face. Just... that hidden sadness. The pain.
He nods. ]
Always.
[ And then, Vincent reaches out and seeks to envelope Aerith in a moment's hug, cloak and arms. It will not be lasting long; but he knows it's all he can do. He can only hope someone else will be there for her. ]
[She made a soft noise, surprised at the hug. She was reminded a little of how he had wrapped her in his cloak before. He did it when she first came here and was overwhelmed by the sky; he gave it so she could sleep when she overdid it when the Otherworld fogged the Barge.
But the noise was her only form of being surprised. She leaned in, hugging him back. It wouldn't be a long hug. It didn't have to be.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Or just regretful.]
Dark pinks I think, with brighter reds. That'd be more fun.
[But her tone changes as she heats about him feeling cold for the first time in awhile. And her hand shifts so she's stroking his back.]
Is it? And having it be touching people to keep you warm...
You okay?
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Mm. [ A note is made on the final sheet, lines drawn to infer where each colors should focus. The papers are stacked and set aside, along with the pencil. Then he turns his head to look partially over his shoulder.
But only after he'd bowed his head in thought. The results of that contemplation seem to have been favorable. He offers Aerith a faint smile but... there's reassurance. ]
Well. I'm still not ready to join you in your fort. But I think I can manage a hug.
[ Is he okay? He managed to get some time to himself on Rhododactylos. It's enough to endure this, surely.
But it's probably clear that the allowance Vincent just made applies to very few people willingly. Aerith just happens to be one. ]
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But more importantly, she doesn't want Vincent to freeze. She's glad she's helped him with the present, but she's worried he'll be all iced over. It's a lot of people time, even if he managed to vanish for most of port time. Even if she saw what he was: a Turk. And Turks are not nice people.
But she still offered him a soft smile of reassurance.]
I didn't think the blanket forts were your speed. And that's okay.
[She moved to slowly, carefully, hug him.]
Just don't freeze over, okay? That'd hurt, with all the metal you're wearing.
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And so she can feel when his body shakes, even before the sound of quiet laughter sounds low in his throat. ]
Is that a hint to take it off while you're here?
[ Can't be easy getting close to chilled metal. But he's probably speaking in jest again. More somberly- as if he's come across the matter of freezing and its consequences- he offers quiet assurance. ]
I've learned my lesson. I won't let myself get frozen in place.
[ Chill, yes. But not frozen. But hey, baby steps. ]
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Maybe! But I'll hug you anyway. Just...will try not to touch it before you're warmer.
[Her voice warms as she hugs him more firmly.He's going to warm up, with her help.]
But thanks for not deciding to just be an icicle. I don't think it's a good look for you.
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I'll have to remember it's an option though. [ Cold metal. ] If someone starts getting too comfortable.
[ Hanna will not be safe from the ice-cold back of Vincent's gauntlet against the neck if he tries to insist on hugging Vincent like an insistent koala.
But yeah. Vincent definitely agrees that being a statue isn't a good look for him. He... ]
"...Became too attached to living in the present. Moving forward."
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I have a hard time picturing someone needing cold metal on the back of their neck.
[She chuckled quietly. There were a lot of people here but she noticed most were good at respecting personal space.
But that had her stir and peer up at him.]
...has that been on your mind lately?
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If Zack tries again...
[ What was that Vincent?
Oh, nothing. Look, where he moves on to more serious talk with the ease of someone who had not been indulging in a moment's idea of unreasonable levels of vengeance. ]
Hmph. It came up recently. [ He also clarifies... ] Before I came here. You all taught me that, you know. Even if I didn't express it well.
[ Or have fully became aware of his changing perspective prior to Aerith's death. He turns his head, not so much as to make it easy for him to look back down at her; the angle's not quite right for that. But so that she can catch the faint hint of a smile. That he's talking 'at' and not through the air around Aerith. ]
I've got a lot of time to look forward to. So... I think about it often enough.
[ What's he going to do with all that time? But he doesn't seem unhappy about an unending future. Or at least a very, very long one. ]
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But more importantly...she sees that smile, and offers a smile back, giving him a gentle squeeze of affection.]
So...what do you want to do now?
If we want to talk about goals in your life moving forward.
[Surr, he's here for the deal. But he doesn't have to focus just on that.]
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When I get back? Finish saving the world I guess. [ Flippant. But... oh is he not joking? A soft sigh comes out as though he were turning more serious. ]
I don't know. Learn about things that changed when I was asleep. [ Places like Rhadore just completely disappeared. Technology went forward. Yes it suffered a blow but it was more about finding alternate means of power generation than actually stepping back into the stone ages at least.
And there's parts of the world that have changed so drastically because of the proximity of mako reactors. ]
...I promised Nanaki I'd come meet him once a year at Midgar. Who knows? Maybe I'll check in on Yuffie.
[ From a distance. Joke's on him though; everyone will come looking eventually after that whole saving the world thing happens. But that's another story. ]
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Where he could just learn, explore, and see and...live a long life.]
I wasn't sure there was even a Midgar to go back to.
But I'm sure Yuffie would love the company. And Nanaki...he'd be happy to see someone who knows him.
Maybe...if we're lucky, Tifa's bar will be up and running. You can go in for a drink and...say it's 'not bad'.
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Like always, Vincent will be honest. ]
Midgar... had to be abandoned. People still salvage from it but there are... too many memories. Too many terrors.
[ Holy. Meteor. Watching loved ones being inundated or simply touched by the Lifestream's force and then melted by the hidden disease within its salvation. ]
...Practical reasons too. The currents of the Lifestream changed. Even though there are reserves of mako, none of the existing reactors function where they stand. It'll run out in time. And... no one wants to anger the Planet by rebuilding them again.
[ Well, the majority anyway. Who's to say someone won't try to exploit it again? ]
Tifa has a bar in Edge. [ A positive. ] Yuffie follows her convictions. Cloud... well, he can tell you what he does himself.
[If he hasn't already. He better be willing or Vincent will come looking. ]
...Cait Sith, the one behind him at least, filled the power void left by Shinra Company. Barret went looking for oil fields. Cid and Shera developed mostly abandoned fuel technologies from them. Built a fleet of airships to run on it.
[ A trace of a smile. ]
Nanaki roams the world. Looking to see and experience all he can for himself.
[ 'Vincent doesn't care'... so easily dismantled by the fact that he knows what each and every one of his friends are up to despite the length of time between his marked appearances. Not all of that could be from the convenient fact that he spoke to most of them only recently before joining the Barge. ]
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Somehow that was worse then having the place completely destroyed. ]
I...don't think I know who's behind Cait Sith. Not by name.
[She knew he had to be someone in Shinra, especially in working with the Turks and everything. Likely really high up. But while she didn't say anything, she was still, listening. Tifa has a bar, and everyone is...everyone is scattered to the wind. Vincent cares, because he knows what everyone is doing, and is keeping track of them.
But it hurt, because everyone was...
She hated that she felt so jealous that everyone was living her own lives. This was what she wanted for everyone. But...what life could she have had if she had lived?]
Good. It's good that everyone is helping themselves and the world too. I'm sure...they're making wonderful lives for themselves.
[They're apart but...they're together.
Right...?]
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Reeve Tuesti. You might know of him. He was the executive of urban planning in Midgar. Afterward he organized the World Regenesis Organization. Volunteers who worked at restoring and protecting the planet. Well... one thing lead to another. After a few years it became a more formalized force.
[ Vincent's tone suggests it's all okay. Reeve... Cait Sith, turned out to have a good soul. One of the few so high up, though no one could call anyone who made it so high completely clean of the Company's sins. Good enough. ]
Rufus survived. The Turks did. [ Is that 'fair'? No. No it's just what life is. ] They keep quiet. Probably busy. But... so far, there's signs that Rufus intends to make reparations.
[ Hardly publicly. No one trusts Shinra now. Such financing and good will as they do... well, it's best to be kept on the sly. At the very least, debts are being paid off.
There's silence between them, Vincent and Aerith. But then he sighs. ]
Brooding.... is my thing, you know.
[ Yet it's not chiding or really a jest as it might seem to an outsider. He speaks the words gently. ]
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[Vaguely here and there, mostly in passing. Doing one project or another.
But she knew he was good. Cait Sith still gave his body to ensure they got the Black Matiera.
Rufus being alive, the Turks is- it's good to know they're okay and can make amends.
But the brooding comment- she made a face, and offered a little sigh.]
I'm not brooding. Just...thinking.
I'm okay.
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There's something gentle and perhaps concerned. Though his tone is wry. ]
Brooding is a type of thinking.
[ Then, more somberly and still more gentle. ]
It's okay not to be okay. Hearing about Midgar... can't be easy.
[ Though he doesn't know all the thoughts and feelings Aerith is experience, he at least understands, remembers, and believes he knows her horror at the outcome and cost of saving the world was a part of it. She'd said as when they first met on the Barge and he told her. ]
Would you like me to stop? [ Speaking about the future. His past. Whatever you want to call it. ] Or... I can be a good listener.
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But...well.
She shook her head. He was trying to be kind, and she understood that. But...]
I need to know. If I don't, it'll be a shock when I see it.
Don't worry. I'm not brooding. And I don't need a listener.
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Then I won't hold back.
[ He never had, other than what empathy was implied toward the experience of the horror in knowing the aftermath of one's actions.
Or lack thereof. ]
Hm. I refuse. [ Not to worry. Cold bastard. ]
Aerith... [ It's really against his nature to insist. Or push. But the last time he didn't... ] It doesn't have to be me. But... everyone needs someone to listen. And I'm worried. You give too much of yourself to others. Are you taking any for yourself?
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[She'll see it herself one day. One day, she'll see the damage she did herself.
And there he was...he was refusing to listen to what she was saying. It wasn't like him. Usually, he didn't push for more. Not like this. Not for her to talk.
Slowly, her hand comes up. But only to brush her hand over his cheek, and offer him a small smile.
It looks much like her usual smile. Maybe her eyes look a little more tired. A little sadder.]
Sorry to have worried you Vincent. I'll try to take better care of myself.
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This time, the contact of hugs and such will probably be broken a bit. ]
I don't show it well. But I do worry about my friends. Though you're probably aware.
[ He won't deny that, there's no need to insist on what's true. Still Vincent sighs. ]
...Are you sure there's nothing I can do?
[ 'Try to take better care of myself'. How that seems to echo like something that would come out of his own mouth. Particularly once upon a time when he got flustered at being caught unawares. Just another warm spring day in the mountains... He shakes his head out to dismiss such memories and focus on the present. ]
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Her arms dropped, and watched him as he turned around. The cold would come again, but that was fine.
She sighed but offered a small smile.]
Right now, you are fine as who you are. The fact that you care...it's enough. More than enough.
Thank you for that.
[It was polite but a closing of the door nonetheless. She wasn't ready to talk about it.
Maybe she never would.]
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And this wasn't the same as how he failed to truly reach out to Lucrecia when all the clues of her pain were right before him. Aerith is not Lucrecia, no matter how worried he is about what he perceives. Of course no more in the romantic sense than she had of him when Aerith touched his face. Just... that hidden sadness. The pain.
He nods. ]
Always.
[ And then, Vincent reaches out and seeks to envelope Aerith in a moment's hug, cloak and arms. It will not be lasting long; but he knows it's all he can do. He can only hope someone else will be there for her. ]
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But the noise was her only form of being surprised. She leaned in, hugging him back. It wouldn't be a long hug. It didn't have to be.
It was a sign, showing her how much he cared.
Always.]