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“Where does this part go?”
“Oh. Just— You can put that on the floor. I was gonna take it when I headed out.”
“Are you sure?”
“...” Cloud placed his hands on his workbench and let out a slow breath. Vincent waited patiently as the blond sorted his thoughts out, and then finally, Cloud turned to face him and said, “It goes in the pick-up zone for scrap.”
“Alright.”
“But! Not the one behind me. The one—”
“Down the street by the bistro?”
Cloud relaxed. “Yeah. They’re still doing construction on the outer rim, but they haven’t sent us an update notice or anything.”
“I see,” Vincent said before adding in assurance, “it’s no trouble regardless.”
Another tense inch was gone from Cloud’s shoulders. “If you’re sure.”
“Positive.” Vincent picked up the exhaust pipe from the repair station and was surprised when another part came with it.
Cloud, still watching, laughed softly. “Forgot to warn you. It’s been a pain in my ass, so I’m glad to get rid of it.” As he turned away from his desk, he snatched up a pad of light green sticky notes and then walked over to meet Vincent. “Here. Lemme just put this on first.” He searched himself for something to write with before settling for a fine tip marker and making a quick note. When he finished, he snatched off the note and pressed it down against the metal.
WARNING, FUSED SHUT. SEPARATE WITH POWER SAW.
“Can’t do it yourself?” Vincent asked, genuinely curious.
“I don’t have room for a whole thing in my garage.” Cloud recapped the marker and then scratched the back of his head as he made a face. “I’m debating on whether or not I want to change my setup, or if I’ll just get a workshop out in the boonies somewhere so I don’t bother anybody.”
“All the more reason for you to get that ranch, hm?” Vincent teased.
Cloud rolled his eyes. “Can’t believe you’re taking that seriously.”
“Only as much as you do.” Vincent smiled softly. “Though, I haven’t heard you talk about it in a while, so I’m curious if it’s still on your radar.”
“I… haven’t given it much thought. Maybe after this is over.”
A familiar saying with an entirely new meaning. Vincent reached out to hold Cloud’s waist comfortingly. “There’s no rush no matter what direction you choose.”
Cloud met his gaze for a few seconds before huffing and looking away. “Whatever. I didn’t ask you.”
“What’re you embarrassed for?”
“Who’s embarrassed?” Cloud looked at him again, this time with a bit more fire in his eyes. “And don’t you have something you need to do?”
Vincent chuckled. He picked up the fused exhaust pipe piece and carefully manoeuvered it away from Cloud. “I’ll be right.”
“Uh-huh. See ya.”
Cloud pushed away from the station as Vincent exited the garage. He hit a right as soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk and took in the long stretch of road lined by houses. The neighbourhood was a work in progress, modest as it was, but it didn’t need to be grand. It was functional, safe, and—from what he assumed of Cloud’s own lodgings—comfortable. Above all, it was pretty quiet on the outer perimeter of Edge.
Now that things had finally settled down, people took to living as close together as was possible while still affording the small luxuries they never had, and Vincent couldn’t blame them at all. He could also imagine that it was nice just to be able to choose where they wanted to live, and he liked to think that the people here were just as happy, especially because they got to live by their own whims now.
Speaking of living by their own whims, Cloud had really surprised Vincent with this invitation. For the past few years, cleaning had become a ritualistic process for their group. Everyone would silently sync up and take some time out to clean out bits of their past. Tifa liked to take this as an opportunity to renovate the bar or give it a good deep clean. Barret always went back to Rocket Town to finally tie up loose ends, and Vincent believed that this was the first year he took Marlene with him. Yuffie and Cloud were usually quieter with their processes, never really sharing what they did or what they threw away or how they coped. And they had long since earned their rights to privacy.
Vincent, on the other hand, had been too divorced from his non-Shinra-related past outside of his own memories to want to take part. Just last year, after much inner debate, he had gone back to his childhood home and spent more time cleaning away the dust and grime than he did throwing anything away. Maybe one day, he would take part in the ritualistic cleansing, but for now, he liked being able to look at the things he lost and just spend time among the forgotten things.
All that to say that it was significant for Cloud to break his silence and invite someone over. It was… Hm. It was hard to say what it was exactly for Vincent, but it felt like a step forward to him. Looking back, they had all changed in some significant way, but for some reason, it felt nice to think that they weren’t done growing. Especially Cloud— though, that could just be his personal bias speaking.
Vincent brought up the pipe in his hand and looked it over. His knowledge of vehicles wasn’t as sharp as it used to be, and even then, he had always had a specialisation in aerial craft versus ground. Still, he didn’t need to be an expert to see how worn down the part was. Holding it up higher, he could see that the interior was worn down enough that some light could be seen through the sides. And then, there was this larger part making the entire thing top heavy… How did that happen? He wondered how the whole thing was going to be repurposed, if it was at all.
“I got six feet of space left! Just drop that pallet on the pile, and—”
“Morales has space down on this end! Drop ‘em here!”
Vincent turned his gaze slightly and glimpsed beyond the houses to the renovation team on the other side. No familiar faces as far as he could see, but he watched for a few moments as the heavy machinery milled from one spot to another. Ah, right. The construction Cloud mentioned. It wasn’t too surprising seeing them these days. Now that Edge had a dedicated team of city planners, safety was as much of a concern as comfort these days. People were still adjusting to the fact that they could be a free standing city without borders or gates or guardsmen, and though Cloud had quietly taken it upon himself to occasionally patrol the area, he never brought it up to anyone in charge lest they come to rely on him and the others.
‘It must be difficult for him to not have to be so vigiliant,’ Vincent mused as he walked past another house and got a clearer view of the construction team. Someone was jumping up and down and shouting to be heard over some heavy machinery backing up. ‘But the people have to remember their own strengths. It’s time for the group to rest for now. It’s not as if we’ll be too far gone regardless…’
Vincently turned his eyes away from the scene just as the jumping construction worker and two others bolted off to catch something. It had taken him a long time to not think twice about including himself as part of the collective, but now it felt. Odd. Perhaps because he was used to waiting and biding his time. Or maybe because fatigue take its toll on him in the same way. Hm… a reasonable thought was because he spent decades in statis, and now he was just looking for an excuse to move forward. Perhaps, perhaps. He knew that was a part of it, but it didn’t feel like the whole reason.
As Vincent moved on, he heard, “If you don’t know how to operate the damn thing, you shoulda said something! Josisah, you’re up! You, clock out and take a walk.”
He whistled to himself. Sometimes it paid to have enhanced hearing, but he wouldn’t trade anything to be in that person’s shoes.
A bit further down the way, he heard a door close to one of the townhouses. An infant was gurgling and slapping her toy against the arm her parent arm, who cooed at her gently and then bounced her in their hold as they locked up. As they turned to head down the stairs while talking softly to the child, Vincent then realised that they would soon cross paths, and it dawned on him then that he never ran into Cloud’s neighbours when Cloud wasn’t with him.
It was a single moment. A passing instance that would mean nothing in the grand scheme and would fall among one of millions and billions of experiences he was sure to have in his long life. But as the young parent walked closer him, they looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. Vincent quietly nodded, and they both kept walking. Behind him, the child screamed excitedly and slapped her toy some more. So simple, so quick. He chuckled to himself and relaxed a bit.
Maybe it was a good sign that he was acknowledging these little interactions. Even if they never stood out, he was letting himself be present. And that was good enough.
He soon spotted a home that was attempting to grow flowers in the front yard. He paused to take stock of the garden. It was simple, which was smart; the soil looked wet and wasn’t too densely packed, but from how soft and wilted the petals looked, chances were that the soil might not have been the right type. Vincent turned a foot, shifted forward… Perhaps he would take a closer look when he came back. He kept walking for now, but he turned over some solutions as he went.
He learned a lot about gardening while he was taking care of his manor. In the past, they had landscapers for the whole of their yard, but his parents took specific care of the back garden together. Vincent liked to sit on the second floor balcony and watch as his mother walked gracefully through the flora like a goddess of nature. His father, always close behind, would water the flowers as she checked on their petals or pruned them carefully.
Of course now, what he had to take care of now was nothing like the grand garden his parents left behind. But they had books; they had tools. There were people in Kalm who were great at landscaping who, fully understanding how much of a novice he was, gave him foolproof guidance and a few items to get him started. Seeds, soil supplements, time release water capsules. Ah. Actually…
He checked the pouch on his belt and found that he had a couple of soil supplement seeds left. How fortunate. Maybe if they were home, he could pass on some of what he knew. It wasn’t much, but it might have been enough to help.
After two more houses, Vincent came to the end of the residential road. Just as he was crossing the street, he caught the owner sweeping outside of her door. They nodded to each other as Vincent passed, and he passed through the alleyway to the back of the businesses where there was a few carefully designated pick-up zones. Vincent strayed over to the yellow sprayed area for miscellaneous metallic scraps and added the exhaust pipe to the pile. The other areas were filled almost to capacity, but from what he remembered, the workers would be by in the afternoon to come clear things up.
Job complete, he turned back the way he came. The owner was still outside her shop. Vincent almost passed by her a second time, but then he stopped, had a think, and then looked in her direction.
“Are you, by chance, open right now?”
She folded her hands over the top of her broom and smiled endearingly. “For you, young man. I certainly can be.”
She motioned him inside, and Vincent perused her selection. He was a bit indiscriminate when it came to his purchase. A couple of drinks, some breakfast, and brunch as well. She promised that they would keep for another couple of hours if he left them sitting on the counter, but also gave him instructions on how to bring back the fresh flavour if he ended refrigerated anything in the end.
He wondered how Cloud would react when he walked back with all of this, and that little nugget of thought brought a smile to his face.
“Are you serious? How’d dropping off junk turn into a food run?”
Vincent took stock of his surroundings as he let his thoughts meander on how he would respond to that. When he came across the house with the garden again, he set his bounty down on the front steps before quietly walking up and knocking on the door. He didn’t think anyone was home since the street was relatively quiet, and after a second knock, he felt that was a pretty solid assumption. Regardless, he headed back down to the ground floor and stepped into their yard to look at the flowers.
All in all, they were doing well, they just needed a bit of a boost. He planted the supplement seeds equidistant from each other down to where the soil was wettest and figured that they should be enough for now. Perhaps he’d stop by again later and see if he could talk with the owner about what to do next. Ah, he could bring one of his books from home. Did that count as his first step of letting go and cleaning up his past? Maybe, but for once, he wasn’t going to think about it now.
He dusted off his hands, gave the flowers one last look, and then gathered up his things before leaving. It wasn’t long before he found himself in Cloud’s garage as he sipped on his coffee infused drink.
“Knock, knock,” he said by way of greeting.
“Hey, can I—” Cloud lifted up his head from where he was examining Fenrir and muttered, “And what the hell is this? You went to drop off trash and came back with this?”
Close enough.
Vincent shrugged a shoulder as he drew closer. “It’s about that time, isn’t it? Now, come get the door for me, so we can eat.”
“You’re a mess.” Even saying that, Cloud rose up and then tucked his pen behind his ear. “How much did you get? I hope you didn’t spend an arm and a leg.”
“Whether I did or didn’t, it’ll be worth it if you enjoy.”
Cloud sighed loudly, perhaps in hopes that he could drown out Vincent’s cheesiness, but that only made his lover smirk.
“What’re you embarrassed for?”
“Who’s embarrassed?” Cloud snapped as he opened the door.
Vincent chuckled. “Clearly you, Strife.”
“Shut it, Valentine, or I’ll knock all that shit outta your hand.”
Vincent stepped up to the door but stopped long enough to meet eyes with Cloud. “And you’ll eat every bit of it off the floor,” he said smoothly, his voice lowering a bit. “Either way, it’s a win for me.”
Ah, no. Perhaps the true win was finally getting Cloud to blush. Not exactly an easy feat these days, but he was glad when his boyfriend reached out to shove him upstairs.
“Gon’ now!” Ah, Vincent must have unlocked something. “Hurry up if you on’t want that to go to waste.”
“Country boy Cloud has made an appearance,” Vincent teased. He couldn’t help but smile when Cloud properly used his strength and shoved him harder.
One day, Vincent’s turn would come to clean away the dredges of his past and to confront more difficult truths, but he looked forward to it, if only because it would allow him to make room for precious moments like these. One of maybe hundreds of thousands, a drop in a sea of experiences. But he wanted to experience them all. He wanted to have that. A book given away here, seeds planted there. Gil spent here, food eaten there. A smile, a nod, a wave, a shove. He wanted it all, and it was nice to think that he, finally, would have the chance to.