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Being Death isn’t as simple as some would think.
He is not a monster reveling in your imminent demise.
Nor is he a benevolent being full of love and warmth.
He simply is. An ever-present part of everyone’s lives.
At least, that’s what he wants it to be like.
Vincent isn’t quite the image of death many have in their heads. He doesn’t know what exactly he is, but its the only thing that’s even a little close to describing him. So, he wears the title Death with solemnness.
“Have you still not made a decision?” He asks him one day, or perhaps it was better to say one moment. Days were nonexistent in this space they were in. There was no time, no feeling of passing. Only moments.
Cloud shakes his head from where he’s sat in the forest, tugging out bundles of grass. Here, anything could be anywhere, and today Cloud chose to be in with nature. Vincent shifts his feet, silently mourning the lush green that shrivels up under his feet.
“Why would I?” He snaps back. “I told you my ‘decision’ already, you just haven’t acknowledged it.” There’s the gentle rustling of leaves as Cloud glares at the clumps of grass at his feet.
They’re still clinging to life, with soil trapped between the roots. He glares as if his actions were their fault, and resumes his carnage. “I don’t know why you bother anymore. You ask every day, and every day I give you the same answer.”
He rips out a particularly huge mass, even managing to uncover a worm. Cloud eyes up, then promptly ignores it in favor of glaring at Vincent.
“Aren’t you tired of this?”
It’s an odd question to ask. He never “gets tired”. Only weary. Perhaps if he were mortal he’d tire of this game Cloud insists on playing. Currently, though, he was more than happy to play along if it meant convincing him to leave.
“You’re running out of time,” he warns.
Cloud laughs at him with a sharp grin, “That just means we’ll quit havin’ this stupid argument soon.”
Vincent’s first meeting with Cloud is, like any other soul he finds, gruesome and saddening. A house fire in a small village, taking both mother and child. Though the other townspeople attempt to put out the fire, it’s clear that their heart isn’t quite put into it. Thus, the flames only rage on.
Perhaps they’d be a little quicker about it if they could hear the screams within the house. Unfortunately, it’s all swallowed by the sound of burning wood and collapsing planks.
He’s standing off to the side as it happens, watching the fire rage on through the night. It should be any moment now. Vincent could feel it in his very being. Soon, their suffering could end, and they would join the land of the dead. A small comfort barely worth anything now, but he hopes that eventually, they will be able to find their peace once they’re free.
Something stirs within his heart and he knows it’s time. Vincent begins to close the distance between him and the emblazoned house. His steps a lingering dread, his presence a foreboding sensation that tingles the spine as he passes through the crowd outside.
The house is small enough that he finds the soon-to-be departed easily. A woman, blonde and fair-skinned, is collapsed on the floor. Her face is contorted into pain and she futilely tries to escape from the beam that has pinned her to the ground. Vincent can taste her fear from this distance, and it is nothing short of repulsive.
He comes closer, crouching down to her level. “It’s alright,” he soothes, “your pain shall be nothing more than a distant memory soon.” She weakly looks up as he reaches out to caress her cheek with his human hand. The woman leans away from him letting out a cry as the board atop her shifts.
“My son,” she whispers, her voice raw and frayed, “please…help my Cloud.” It’s all she can say before her body is wracked with a violent coughing fit. Vincent raises his brows. It’s…unusual to see a human reject such comfort. But, he supposes that her love for her son is simply that great. That she’d have Death itself come to allay her fears, yet still forgo it just for him.
Vincent hums his assent. “If that is what you wish.” Far be it from him to ignore the wishes of the damned. He raises his hand to her forehead, and it glows a faint crimson red. “Rest now, this will be nothing more than a bad dream once you awaken.” Though he cannot stop death from coming, that does not mean he enjoys watching humans suffer.
His spell is nothing complicated. A simple one that will make her lose consciousness, and it does its job well as her eyes slowly begin to droop before closing altogether. Another piece of the roof tumbles down right beside Vincent, flames licking at nothing but air as he stands up, leaving her to her fate.
She had asked him to “help” her son after all.
He’s lying on the ground near his bedroom. His hand is severely burned, so perhaps he’d been in his room when the fire started, and in a panic attempted to leave without thinking. The son…Cloud has his eyes clenched shut, breathing out raggedly. He too will soon pass. There is nothing to be done anymore. Only to wait.
This time, Vincent sits right next to Cloud’s head and runs his fingers through his hair. “Soon…” he murmurs, “it will all be over soon.” Cloud whimpers faintly, leaning into the touch, unable to speak. His brows furrow as even this, he cannot stand.
Just like with his mother, he helps him drift off into sleep, the house continuing to crumble around them. He sits there even as they are finally consumed by the flames, stroking Cloud’s head until there is nothing left.
“Claudia left, so why are you so adamant about staying?” He asks him again one “morning”. Today, they are in his home, sitting across from each other at the table. Cloud is eating a meal of pancakes, though there’s no need for him to anymore.
“She would always make this for me when she could,” he’d say to him, “I don’t wanna forget that.”
Cloud drizzles maple syrup onto the small stack and shrugs. “Do I need a reason?” He replies. Vincent watches a small puddle form on the plate before Cloud is satisfied. He takes his fork, rips off a piece, and shoves it into his mouth. Vincent has a bowl of oats with fruit and honey but doesn’t so much as touch it.
“No, however, I’m worried that you’ll come to regret your choice should you waste any more time,” he says.
“Do you think I will?” Cloud asks.
Vincent narrows his eyes. “I do. You could be with her right now. Her, and all those you’ve lost. Even reunite with any friends who will die after you.” No one has ever chosen not to move on. There’s no reason to stay here in limbo with him. Not when you can live with your loved ones in the afterlife.
A cold, bitter laugh cuts through. “The only person I ever gave a shit about was my mom.” He digs his fork in a little harsher. “Maybe Tifa, but I wasn’t all that close with her. I don’t have anyone waiting for me, and my ma’s already accepted that I’ll stay here, so.” Cloud shrugs, saying nothing else.
He sighs but lets it go once again. Vincent was never much of a talker in the first place. Having to constantly try and persuade Cloud, using the words he thought he’d like, it was all so draining.
“What can I say to have you leave?” He finally says after an eternity’s worth of silence.
Cloud’s eyes look up to the ceiling in thought. “Dunno, I’ll tell you when I think of somethin’.” He answers before going back to his food. They both know he won’t say anything and Vincent lowers his head. Never has he been tested in such a way, and he’s left floundering for a solution.
“There is nothing for you here either,” he whispers.
Cloud raises his head and stares at him, blinking slowly. For all his experience with handling humans, Vincent has never been able to grasp their emotions. All too different, yet all the same. Looking into his eyes, he wonders if he truly can put a label on them but chooses not to.
“To you maybe,” he says, “but I’ve got everything I want here.”
The first time Claudia and Cloud arrive in limbo, they are both confused and panicked. It’s a natural reaction to have, and Vincent does his best to reassure them with the usual placating words.
Yes, you can have an afterlife of peace together now.
No, there is nothing here that can bring harm to you.
So on and so forth.
It works…somewhat. The Strifes seem to be the more skeptical bunch, with Claudia raising a brow at each of his assurances, and Cloud outright glaring at him. Still, they agree to stay until they decide that they’re ready to move on for good.
They each spend their time in different ways. Most of the time, they are together, sharing both memories and grief. When they are alone, however, Vincent finds that they take to different methods of coping with their loss of life.
Claudia seems content to reminisce. Her space in limbo is always of Nibelheim’s frigid winters and towering mountains. It should be freezing, but now that that isn’t of any concern, she always strolls the beaten paths of the village with a watery smile.
Cloud on the other hand has chosen isolation. He boards himself up in his room, content to while away the time by his lonesome. What he does inside, Vincent does not know, unwilling to intrude on him, but occasionally he can hear muffed sobbing and that’s enough for him to silently disappear.
At this moment, he is watching Claudia as she stands over a cliff in silence. There’s a wind of her making that gently whistles by them.
“I always did want to go hiking when I was older,” she whispers. He wonders if he should say something to not leave her words unacknowledged. The choice is taken from him though as she slowly turns around to face him.
Her smile is bittersweet. “Not surprising that I can only do it when I’m dead.” Claudia’s words beckon for a response, so Vincent tilts his head.
“Why couldn’t you?” She laughs, her eyes curving into crescents. “My parents always said I could when I was old enough. But…by the time ‘old enough’ came around I was pregnant with my little stormcloud.” It’s a tragic tale of unfulfilled wishes. One he’s heard many times before.
Vincent still nods as if he hadn’t. “At least you can now.”
Her smile grows a little wider as she agrees, “At least I can.”
Claudia steps away from the cliff, and after a thought, holds her arm out. “Walk with me?” She asks. “I might not look it, but I don’t like being alone.” Her chuckle is a little weak. He nods his head, approaching her to loop their arms together easily. Vincent’s been asked to do this before, and as it was his duty to serve and assist the dead, he’s never refused.
The space surrounding them shifts and warps with Claudia fearlessly leading them towards the cliff and onto a random forest trail as everything snaps back into place. He raises his brows slightly, impressed.
“You’ve gotten used to this already.” He notes as they pass tree after tree. She laughs loudly and freely. “Well, I sure hope so! I’ve been doing nothing but traveling after all.”
Vincent huffs amused, and lets their conversation die down. In their silence, he looks around at the “world”. The sights are the same, but he finds the people who interact with it make it all the more worthwhile. Leaves crunch under their feet as they walk along the trail, the sun bright and unchanging.
It’s another moment in time he won’t soon forget.
“…He’s finally starting to go outside,” she tells him. Vincent doesn’t need to ask to know who she is referring to. There is only one other person here besides them.
He nods, “That’s good.”
Claudia continues, “I was worried that he’d never come around to it. He’s always been just as stubborn as me when I was his age, and…” her voice tapers off for a moment, pausing until she can find the strength to raise it, “…I can only imagine how it must feel for him.”
Her eyes gloss over, and she tilts her head down. “He’s just so young, he was supposed to have his whole life ahead of him, and yet it’s gone just like that.” She looks as if her heart were torn in two. He too can only imagine the loss of youth, but watching Claudia hold back her tears, he can’t help but be thankful somewhat for being spared the pain.
There are no words he can offer, so he doesn’t bother trying. Vincent lets his company be enough and walks with her quietly. Claudia sucks in a trembling breath, straightens up, and smiles shakily at him.
“He’ll get it one day. When he does, I hope you’re still here to take care of him just like now,” she says.
Vincent nods dutifully. “Of course, Claudia. He’ll be cared for here.” That’s all she needs to hear as she lets out a heavy sigh and drops her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you, Vincent.” She whispers, and all he can do is squeeze her arm in support.
Once Cloud has moved on from his “breakfast”, he ends up sitting atop the water tower, staring at the sky above. Sometimes Vincent joins him at his request, other times he lets him simmer in his thoughts. He likes that about the humans like him. The constant silence not being something unsettling to them, but rather calming.
He thinks if Cloud wasn’t the way he was, he’d be trying harder to push him out.
When Vincent arrives after another collecting of souls, he’s still there. “Is Nibelheim the only place I can see?” Cloud asks him in place of a greeting. He stays silent as he moves under the water tower. It’s an answer in and of itself, and Cloud sighs heavily.
Eventually, he would’ve gotten tired of the same old sights. That was another reason he tried to provide for why he should simply move on already. But, despite it all, Cloud continues to dig his feet in and refuse. Even at his own detriment. Vincent still doesn’t understand, but a small part of him cannot overlook how his methods of persuasion have become more halfhearted than anything.
It was only a mere formality now. A poor disguise of professionalism when he’s unable to admit the truth that he didn’t mind Cloud staying inside this space with him. In fact, if he peers a little deeper into himself he can also say that he likes—
No.
Stop that.
“What about you?” Vincent furrows his brows, blinking rapidly. He raises his head, locking eyes with Cloud, who’s gazing at him between his legs. “What do you mean?”
He squints his eyes. “I’m askin’ if you can change the scenery around here. I know you’ve been pretty much everywhere, yeah? Can’t you change this place too?”
“I can,” he replies with a nod, “what would you like to see?”
It’s quite worrying how easily he bends to his will.
Cloud’s eyes widen and he leans back on his arms with a loud groan. “Are you serious?” He yells. “You mean I’ve just been sitting here for who knows how long when I could’ve been sightseeing across the world?!” His lamentations draw a smile from his lips.
“Well…” he says, “you didn’t ask.”
There’s a small rock thrown his way that almost hits his face. Vincent chuckles, “But now you know, correct? So, where would you like to go?” Cloud head peeks out into view again as he scrunches his face up in thought. It’s an endearing expression, but he quickly extinguishes any thoughts that arise from it.
“I guess…Midgar?” He hums, raising his hand and snapping.
And in an instant, they’re right at the heart of it.
No one is there, of course, but the buildings and lights all remain the same. Cloud is sitting on the floor instead of the water tower and the moment he realizes where he’s at he scrambles up with wide eyes.
His head swivels around as he takes in the view. “You actually did it,” he murmurs. Vincent doesn’t reply, taking in his amazement. This is…the first time he’s done this for anyone. None had been around long enough to ask, and even if they had, he isn’t sure if he would have done as they asked.
“I always wanted to come here since I was a kid,” Cloud tells him, and Vincent should silence him. It shouldn’t matter to him what the dead used to live for. He shouldn’t want to know them more and more. Vincent grits his teeth behind his mask.
He knows very well that he’s doing isn’t good. It breeds attachment and affection and everything Death does not need when guiding the lost to an afterlife.
“Why didn’t you?”
But he realizes far too late that he’s already surrendered to his desires.
Cloud shrugs his shoulders. “Had to take care of my ma.” When he speaks, it’s with no resentment. Only a detached neutrality. Vincent learns that Cloud is selfless; willing to sacrifice everything he’s wanted to help those he loves.
“It’s not the same, but at least now you can explore it without stumbling into a crowd of people,” he tries.
His reward is a small smile. “Right, and it’s not all bad. I’ve…” he glances away, biting his lip. “…I’ve got you.” Cloud’s cheeks become flushed and though his do not, he wishes they could. If he can also connect with him in this way as well then maybe…
He goes to hold out his hand but catches himself once he realizes it’s his claws. “How flattering,” he muses to distract from the novelty of it all, “shall we see it together then?” Cloud blush grows deeper. He squints at his hand with scrutiny and Vincent is ready to be rejected when he carefully takes the hand he’d just dropped.
Cloud’s movements are slow. They’ve never done this before. Walk together, yes, but not hand in hand.
Never so dearly.
His fingers slide in between his and Vincent feels them fit perfectly.
“Alright,” Cloud whispers, “together.” He grips his hand a little tighter, turning around and beginning his sightseeing. Vincent follows along without a word of complaint.
He learns that if Cloud is selfless, then he must be selfish.
The moment it happens fills Vincent with a dread like no other. Like always, it isn’t hard to find Cloud, and once he does he comes to stand beside him.
Ever since Vincent revealed his “secret” to him, he has made many requests to see as much of the planet as possible. At first, he returned to Nibelheim, unwilling to bother him anymore, but at his insistence, he began asking him to show him certain places with no small amount of hesitance.
Currently, the location they’ve chosen is the Gold Saucer. Vincent isn’t needed here often, but when he is it’s always for the more…interesting deaths. Cloud chooses to sit on a bench, watching the light show above when he arrives. He doesn’t turn to address him, and perhaps he knows what he’s about to say.
“Time is up,” he declares.
“Cool,” Cloud responds.
Vincent frowns deeply. “This cannot be all you’ve wished for.” He’s let himself stray from his duties, but no more. He will not allow himself to indulge anymore. Vincent is Death, and Death above all else must guide the lost.
“Why is it so unbelievable to think that I like being here?” He snaps, still watching the show with a sour look on his face.
“Because there is nothing here, Cloud. It’s an empty space meant to soothe those who have just arrived. The places are bereft of people, the scenery never changes, and you only have me as company.”
Vincent doesn’t glare at him, but it’s a neat thing. “There is nothing for you here,” he repeats just as he’d said long ago.
“Didn’t I tell you I have everything I need, Vin?”
“And yet I still cannot see what it could possibly be—“
“Holy shit, I can't do this anymore.” Cloud growls and shoots up from his seat. He whirls around to face him, anger blazing hot and fiery in his eyes. “And I thought I was dense. C’mon, I know you figured it out already.”
At his silence, Cloud pulls back, a concerned look appearing. “Or…I was reading it wrong..? Did you even like me—“
“Of course I did,” he hisses, “of course I liked you.” No, it was far more than that. Nothing so juvenile as “liked”. “In the time you’ve been here, you have given me so many memories I never thought I’d be able to experience. Each smile you grace me with, every moment I share is something I deeply cherish.”
“But, Cloud…you are but another soul in need of assistance, and I, your attendant.” He clenches his eyes shut, the words paining him to say. “I am supposed to help you, not keep you from what I’m sure would truly make you happy. Don’t make me choose, please.”
Cloud peers into his eyes and snorts. “Oh yeah? Tough luck then, because unless you force me out, I’m not leaving you.” Though Vincent doesn’t have lungs, it feels as if he’s been robbed of air. From a simple refusal to leave to I’m not leaving you. The words repeat endlessly in his head over and over.
He steps closer, and slowly raises his hands toward his mask. Vincent doesn’t resist, letting him gently pull it away. His pupils are swallowed by black as he looks at him and Vincent is left speechless at being openly gazed upon with such want.
“I wanna stay with you,” he breathes.
Cloud’s leaning in a little closer. Not too much, allowing him enough room to lean back. Once again though, he doesn’t and lets his eyes fall closed, feeling the last of his already weak resolve crumble away.
“Okay,” he whispers just as softly.
And he lets him.