Blood & Sympathy (FFVII: Vincent x OC)

Ch7 - Exhausted

He didn't know how many hours he waited outside. At some point he just hoped she was okay, but he'd been keeping watch and no one had entered or exited Gast's house. Vincent had laid back his head against his seat as he stared outside the window of the car. His eyes focused on the street lights as they illuminated the dark silent streets of Nibelheim.

He let out a sigh. His thoughts drifted to Lucrecia for the hundredth time. He just couldn't stop thinking about it. How could she do this? He wondered and wondered and there was no answer to that. The woman he'd fallen for would never do that. He didn't that she'd hurt him, choosing Hojo over him. He didn't care 'cause she looked happy. Happier than she was with him. But this.

An experiment to her own, unborn child. What Jocasta had told him about the possible side-effects, didn't put his mind at ease. He wasn't expecting it to be ever put at ease. He knew he should be trying to stop her. He didn't want to see her get hurt in any way, not to mention getting the child hurt.

Then his overthinking led him to another question he knew he'd never had answered.

What if the child is...?

...I wonder.

His eyes began to close. Thick eyelashes slowly crashing together as another wave of exhaustion washed over him. He was exhausted. Not physically though. Being a scientist's bodyguard wasn't something exhausting at all. But his mind, his heart, his whole body ached. The moment he closed his eyes he fell into a deep slumber. One he didn't know he needed that much.

He didn't know how much longer it took. But then a knock came. A knock on the window of the passenger's seat. His eyes snapped open. He unlocked the doors when he realized it was Jocasta. She had a few stains of blood on her clothes that he got a better look at when she entered. His mind drifted to the worst that maybe it was hers. But once she sat on her seat, he let out a sigh of relief when he realized they weren't hers.

Vincent looked at the watch that was tied around his wrist. It was 4 in the morning apparently and he frowned. He turned at Jocasta as she settled beside him.

"I'm sorry it took that long. You must be exhausted," Jocasta said apologetically.

"I'm fine," Vincent said. He knew that she probably wouldn't want to answer but asked anyway "Can I at least know why we're here?"

"Not here," She shook her head "Once we get home,"

Vincent eyed her for a moment before he nodded. He turned the key igniting the engine and he drove them back to the house. They were both so obviously exhausted that they didn't get to talk about anything else. The silence was always one of the most soothing melodies in his ears.

Once he parked outside the house. He turned to Jocasta only to see her sleeping. Her head had fallen to the side close to the window, her hands were wrapped around her waist as if she was cold. Her eyes closed as her rhythmic breathing made her chest rise and fall at a steady rate. She didn't seem to mind those forelocks falling on her face, though.

Vincent almost regretted it when he placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to wake her. She stirred for a moment. Her hand found her forehead and she rubbed her eyes drawing in a deep breath as she slipped back into consciousness.

"Damn..." she mumbled "...I slept... sorry,"

"It's alright," Vincent said as he opened his door and walked out. He waited for her to exit the car before he turned the key locking it up. He let her walk first into the yard and eventually into the house. He locked the door behind. His back rested by the entrance of her room as he watched her take off her lab coat and hanging it by the coat stand of her room. His hands were crossed against his chest as he waited with an expression that demanded explanations.

Jocasta sighed. She wrapped her hands around her waist, unsure if telling him would be a good idea or not. "Gast... h- he found an Ancient. A Cetra. Probably the last one living. She was wounded... so he needed my help," she stuttered.

Vincent fell silent for a moment as he processed the information. He sat straight. A Cetra?! He wasn't really sure how to react to that. He knew that Shinra wouldn't want anything more from him than to tell them a Cetra had been found. He now knew why Jocasta had been so secretive about it. Why she refused to explain anything in the first place.

She recognized the unsureness on his face. Her heartbeat quickened as her mind drifted to the worst scenarios "Vincent, please..." she walked forward and grabbed his hand as she stared up at him "...I beg of you. Do not report that. Please. If Shinra's scientists get their hands on her... you've no idea what horrible things they're gonna make us do to her.

Vincent shook his head "You're right..."

Of course, she was. The very last of an endangered species should be protected. Not thrown in a lab and examined. And he doubted if Shinra would be any kind to the experiments they'd want to do to a Cetra. Sure, he was a Turk, and sure, the thought of promotion didn't sound like a bad one. But he was a man of honor, and he wouldn't stick with a promotion that condemned somebody into lifelong torture.

He placed the other hand on top of hers "I won't report that. You have my word," he said reassuringly.

Jocasta let out a sigh of relief. Her nerves immediately relaxing as she pulled him into a brief hug. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders as she pressed her chin on his shoulder and shut her eyes "Thank you so, so, so, so much!"

Vincent didn't get the time to react. Maybe it was her hands suffocating him, or maybe her voice was too loud on his ears. Or maybe the hug was too brief. Maybe it was a small effort of hers to keep things from getting awkward and she pulled away immediately. Vincent tried to open his mouth and say something, but no words came out as he watched her placing that book back in her bookcase.

She yawned, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth "We gotta sleep,"

Vincent nodded "Good night, Jocasta,"

She gave him a smile "Good night, Vince,"