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Vincent Valentine was not a nurse maid.
"Come on Vincent~. He needs your help."
"Doesn't he have Sherra for that?"
"Normally yes, but she's come down with an even worse case of what he has. I wouldn't ask if it weren't important."
"You're the mothering kind why don't you take care of him."
"I already have two kids to take care of, and before you even bring it up Cloud has a business to run. As of right now you are the closest to Rocket Town. It's not as though you have anything better to do."
Red eyes glared in hopes it would somehow reach her through the phone. With a heavy sigh he finally gave up.
"Fine, you owe me."
"Please, try not to kill him."
Vincent flipped his PHS closed and stared at it for a moment. What had he gotten himself into?
One bike ride later he'd begun to wish he'd ignored his phone. Everything in the Highwind house indicated several days worth of illness. Dishes piled up in the sink, tissues overflowing the waste bin, and the pungent stench that seemed to ooze from the pores of the deliriously ill filled the house.
"Vincent? What the hell are you doin here?"
"Tifa."
That seemed to be all the explanation Cid required as he drew his brows together. "I told her not to bother about me. Silly woman, you'd think I had some kind of plague the way she worries."
Swaying in place Cid leaned on the back of a kitchen chair.
"Are you sure you don't?"
Cid fell heavily into the chair he'd been leaning on. "Wouldn't have sworn by that when Sherra got it, but I'm starting to think it might be."
The pilot slumped too much into the chair for it to be his normal "manly" slouch. Removing his glove Vincent placed his hand on Cid's forehead easily defending against the blond's weak attempt to shoo him away. His brows knit together with worry at the warmth he found.
"You're on fire, why are you out of bed?"
"Sherra needs fluids. She hasn't been feeling so hot. Stupid woman tried to take care of me when she can barely stand." An attempt at a light chuckle sent Cid into a coughing fit.
"As if you're any different."
"You got a point. Shit I gotta go help her."
Leaning wearily on the table and chair Cid attempted to step forward, and would have fallen on his face had Vincent not expected it. In a fluid motion the pilot was flung over Vincent's shoulder and carried to his bedroom.
"You, stay."
"but-
"I will help her."
Not giving him the opportunity to object Vincent left the room making his way to the kitchen. Looking through the cupboards he found the only two cups in the house that weren't dirty, and their over stuffed box of teas. On a tiny tin toward the bottom a label read "Sherra's Healing Tea" with a list of ingredients that sounded soothing. With a shrug he put the kettle on a prepped the cups.
The tea steeped, cooled, and somehow Sherra managed to drink some between coughs. Checking her temperature Vincent put a cool compress on her forehead.
It was the difficult one's turn. Cid had not stayed put. Half of his torso was still on the bed slowly slipping to the floor. Blue eyes barely showed through fluttering lids as the tan pilot's body conspired to make him rest.
"I told you to stay put."
Cid just groaned in response. Vincent had suspected Cid would be problematic when sick. To be fair he was a pain in the ass when he was the vision of health. Seeing the makeshift seat of blankets next to Sherra's bed when he'd tended her had only confirmed how stubborn his unwilling patient would likely prove to be.
"Can you move on your own?"
"Of course." Cid's head had snapped up only to lose strength immediately. "... maybe not."
Sighing Vincent propped him back up on the bed.
"How's Sherra?"
"She took some fluids and seemed to be resting comfortably."
Weight seemed to lift from the pilot's shoulders. "That's a relief."
"You should do the same."
"I won't rest for shit until she's better."
"How stupidly loving of you."
Cid hadn't blushed the way Vincent had expected. His brows drew together, eyes downcast and contemplative.
"Not loving?"
"No."
Vincent pulled a chair to the bedside holding out the mug to Cid. "Can you hold it yourself?"
"I think so." He ended up spilling a bit on himself, but managed well enough.
"You took good care of her right?"
"If you doubt me, I challenge you to go check."
"Point taken asshole."
A comfortable silence fell over the room. Gentle sips punctuated the ticking on the night stand. It was a shame to disturb it. Vincent wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a gossip, but something in his friend's tone peeked his interest.
"Does she know you don't love her?"
Cid may have spit if he'd had the energy. "Yeah. Couldn't bring myself to lie to her."
"Then why?" The unspoken stay hung heavy in the room.
"I owe her that much. She damn near killed herself trying to keep my sorry ass alive, and what the hell did I do to
repay that? I fucking treated her like shit. I don't understand that woman. In her shoes I'd have left years ago but, for some reason she's happier with me around."
"What about you?"
"I'm happy with her. I got my planes and ships, good company and the best fucking friends in the damn world. If I can't have a God damn happy ever after, contentment with a good friend is okay by me."
Vincent mulled over that while Cid polished off the last of his tea. With a weary sigh Cid leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling.
"I had someone in mind a while back."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. He was all mystery and darkness. Just everything not right for me. Not that I would have fucked his life by being that much a part of it. I have my obligations."
"You are not an affliction."
Cid went into a coughing fit. "I'm not?" They both gave a chuckle, one more carefully than the other. A self deprecating smile spread across the blonde's face. He stared straight into Vincents eyes and licked his dry lips. "I got the impression the feeling's not mutual anyway."
Red eyes looked away in answer. The image of a woman frozen in crystal flashed through his memory, constricting his breath.
Cid turned to face the ceiling again. "Not saying I expect anything to come of it. It's a silly crush." That said, he sank into the covers.
Vincent felt guilty when loud snores jarred him from thoughts of the past. He couldn't care for anyone else. Didn't know if he ever could. Giving Cid a chance to truly fall asleep he rose making his way through the rooms. He rinsed Sherra's compress in cool water, and returned to do the same for Cid. In the short time since he'd vacated the room the blankets had worked their way uncomfortably around the pilot's waist.
He had only intended to cover the gruff blonde again but when his arm was taken captive Vincent found himself unable to deny the others sleepy pleas to stay. He would have a crick in his neck come morning, but for that night maybe it felt nice to comfort his sick friend. His sick friend.