Title: Hot Air

Author: Enide Dear

Pairing: Valenwind ALSO you get to find out what Reeve keeps in his locked drawers

Rating: cute

Muses: A'right, I confess, I totally stole (and developed, mind you) this idea from the Authorities, because Apollo and the Midnighter are the cutes out-of-the-closet superheroes in the world….

"Well, get him down from there!" Cid shook a fist threateningly close to Cloud's face.

"What, me? Why me?" Cloud backed away from the threat, scowling. "It's not my fault he's up there!"

"Whose fault is it then?" Cid spun around, glaring at the bewildered faces of Avalanche. "Yuffie, have ya been tryin' ta sneak a peak of him in the shower again?!"

"No!" She stuck out her tongue at him. "And the last time I did that he just went demony on me, he didn't start sulking like this."

"Look, Cid." Tifa gently took his arm. "We tried everything. We've tried calling nice things up to him, we tried climbing up there, we even tried throwing up Cloud there to talk to him, but he just ignores us. Maybe we should leave him alone."

"I'm not leavin' my crush…I mean a comrade-in-arms alone to sulk on a church tower like some fuckin' emo rooster!" Cid stared up at the church bell tower, where, looking very small and alone on the high place, the dark and red figure of Vincent Valentine could vaguely be discerned. It didn't much matter what had driven him to his painful solitude this time; Cid wasn't having any of it. "Reeve!"

"I haven't done anything!"

"I need all the thingies ya keep in the second drawer in yer cabin aboard the Highwind!"

Reeve turned very red.

"How do you know…wait, the *second* drawer? Umm…alright, but…all of them?" he stammered.

"Yeah, yeah, all of them. No reason ta do this half way. And some paper, and a pen. And string!"

When the first moogle-shaped balloon came sailing slowly past Vincent he was too surprised to do anything but stare at it, even as he saw the little note tied to the end of the string. Unable to control his curiosity, he put out a metal claw and let it puncture the next balloon, catching sorry remains and reading the badly spelled note. He choked back a laughter, drew Cerberus and shot down the first balloon, reading the note. The smile tugging the corner of his lips was seriously threatening to break free.

More balloons, and now Vincent made an effort to catch them all, drawing them in, or puncturing them, or simply shooting them down until he caught them all. From below he could faintly make out Reeve complaining:

"You owe me, Cid! These balloons where custom ordered from the Golden Saucer!"

"Yeah, yeah. Ya can withdraw the cost from the mess Cait made with my control panels. Isolation cords aren't yarn, ya know!"

"Chief…" Cid jumped high as a metal hand suddenly landed gently on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Cid grinned, blushing slightly.

"Heh…so, I take it ya don't mind?"

"Don't mind what?" Reeve said, suspiciously, clutching his last remaining balloons to his chest. "What did you write on those notes anyway, Cid?"

"Never ya mind, Reeve." Cid blushed a bit more, but turned back to Vincent. "So, eh, maybe we should talk about this?"

Vincent smiled and took his hand, leading him away from the rest of the gaping Avalanche. Only Reeve sighed and rolled his eyes. He figured it was only a matter of hours before Cid came requesting what was in Reeve's top drawer.