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When you lived with chronic pain, it was easy to miss something starting up. Body aches? Vincent couldn’t remember when it hadn’t, though he was sure that there had been a time before… well. And the headache could be dismissed as well, a common sensation any time he was near a limit break as the other spirits bound to him pressed at his mind. It wasn’t until he caught himself sniffing that it occurred to him that no, this was all a part of a separate, new problem.
For some reason, it just hadn’t occurred to him that something so very human as being ill could still happen to him, so for a while he was a little stumped. The only thing that was clear was that obviously it would need to be handled discretely, both because they couldn’t afford to pause their journey to catch up with Sephiroth and because he didn’t want it addressed. There was nothing to be done that he was comfortable with, and it would only make things awkward.
There had been an insistent tickle plaguing him all day, and he was immensely grateful he could apparently still stifle just fine without his hands. Ducked into the collar of his mantle, he was free to wrinkle his nose and let his nostrils flare in irritation, but a day of wresting each sneeze down to such a muted release only made him itch. With the rest of them the team away getting supplies, though, he was hoping to get a little relief.
It wasn’t taking much work at all to get the irritation to perk back up, sniffing a few times until he felt the warning tingle of a pending sneeze. He raised a gloved hand to curl his fingers just under his nostrils as they flared, feeling them twitch a little as they brushed against the slightly abrasive material. “…heh…”
After a whole day of fighting to restrain the urge to sneeze, it seemed his nose was slow to accept it would finally get actual relief. Another careful brush of his fingers made him sniff once, then a little deeper as his lashes fluttered, lips parting for another quiet ‘heh’ as it continued to build. It was almost tortuously slow, his nose wrinkling uneasily as the tickling spidered out, teasing at his sinuses until his lip curled in an irritated grimace. He could feel it advance then, a sharper breath expanding his chest once, twice, and then a desperate third before his head ducked down towards the waiting hand. “heh-ISSH! snff… h’hh… HESCHIIH!”
“Bless you!”
Vincent’s eyes widened slightly as he straightened, sweeping the fabric of his mantle back and tracking the voice. Just Tifa, thankfully, and she only looked surprised. “… thank you. Done shopping?”
“Cid’s haggling and Barret’s encouraging him. I figured I’d come outside.”
“Understandable.” Under the cover of his high collar, he wrinkled his nose, the itch still not quite sated and wishing he had the privacy for another, harder sneeze to try and get some real relief. Then again, if it was anything like the colds he’d caught as a Turk, he might just be due to carry around a tickle for a few days.
Tifa was watching him with a familiar concerned tilt to her brows. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” he assured her, though of course that damned itch rushed him again, an irresistible tingling that flared his nostrils in quick irritation, his eyes squinting a moment before he grit his teeth against it, reflexively ducking away with her eyes on him. “nGKT! Hnn… snf my apologies.”
That didn’t help at all, the stifle just leaving a dull, unsatisfied pulse of an itch behind. It would have to do for now.
“It’s fine!” She was obviously questioning if he was, but didn’t bring it up again, for which he was grateful. “Want to head back to the inn?”
Vincent inclined his head slightly, considering it. It was getting late, and they probably weren’t going to move on until the morning. He nodded in agreement and gestured for her to lead the way, following in silence and wrinkling his nose slightly in irritation.
“So, I heard they brew a tea even our captain is willing to drink,” Tifa said. “Share a cup?”
Vincent arched a brow, feeling a smile tug at his lips. He wasn’t normally one for company, but he did find Tifa’s was mostly pleasant. “Very well.”
“We can just take it upstairs,” she pointed out. “We don’t have to stay down here.”
He nodded, much preferring that arrangement, and stayed in the room while she went to acquire a pot for them, sniffling carefully. But not, apparently, carefully enough as he felt that damned tickling resume, sharp enough to catch his breath and too quick to even think of resisting. “ESCHIH!”
Tifa had to have heard that, the innkeeper too, but he didn’t have time to be embarrassed, already feeling another pressing against his sinuses with an urgent tingle. “h’h… heh… heh! he-ESSHIH!”
He recovered a little more slowly at that, sniffing cautiously, but it was apparently done with the immediate need. There were more lingering in the dull, unsatisfied feeling that remained, but they wouldn’t be forcing their way out yet. A slow blink showed Tifa was just now coming back, but she didn’t say anything, just nodded to the stairs, and he was all too happy to vanish up them.
She was sharing her room with Aerith and Yuffie, but there was no reason to think either of the girls would be back before nightfall. The little table wasn’t much, but it was enough to settle at and savor the tea. Unfortunately, it was clear in short order that the steam wafting fragrantly up from the cup was not in his favor, making him sniffle quietly and with increasing frequency. He could feel another sneeze coming on slowly, irresistibly, and had to set the cup down.
“Vincent?”
“I’m sorry, I…” he wet his lips, nose wrinkling uneasily before he held up a hand in a silent bid for a moment’s pause. “ngkt! h’hh… h’nxgt! heh-”
“Vincent, just let-”
“heiih… ihhh… ISSHCHIH!” Vincent recovered with an uneasy sniff, blushing faintly. “My apologies.”
“No, it’s fine, bless you.” She frowned, concerned. “Are you okay?”
He didn’t want to lie, exactly, but this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have regardless. “… it will pass.”
“Of course, but… it might pass faster with a little care?” She said quietly, careful.
“There’s no need for concern,” he said.
“No, but, if I wanted to be…” Tifa hedged, watching him.
If she wanted to be? Vincent arched a brow, thinking about it. “Then… perhaps some compromise could be reached.”
Her smile made it worth it.