AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Final Fantasy VII/VIII characters are property of SQUARE software and their subsidiaries. Please don't sue me. I have no money. I'm just a poor college kid who drools over video game bisien. This is a YAOI fan fiction piece, so if male/male relationships in any level offend you or you are under the age of 18, quit reading now. I will not be responsible for you if you do not. Arigato to Seiya Kou for all the hard work and support she has given me and Dark Ki for the inspiration and the laughs! You are both truly angels. PLEASE CONTINUE SCROLLING AFTER CHAPTER FOUR, THE EPILOGUE FOLLOWS!! Without further adieu, the last chapter!!

Somehow, Vincent and Squall had made it out of the bedroom. They both stood at the huge picture window that stared out from the top of the professor's dorm quarters.

"So, are you going to tell Professor Highwind?" Squall asked nervously.

"I don't know, Squall. Cid is my best friend. But, I'm not sure how he'll take this kind of news."

Squall bit his bottom lip. It was a bad nervous habit he had gotten into over the past few weeks. Vincent tapped him on the chin.

"You really need to quit that."

"Sorry." Squall blushed.

Vincent smiled and leaned down, placing a kiss on Squall's lips. What started out as innocent soon became passionate and the two were quickly intertwined in one another's arms again. Regretfully, Vincent finally broke the kiss. He stroked Squall's hair affectionately.

"You had better get to you Guardian Force training class. I'll see you in a little while."

Squall let out a disappointed sigh and regretfully broke away from Vincent. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled before disappearing into the elevator. Once again, luck was with him as he managed to exit the professor's private dorms unnoticed.

Vincent watched Squall disappear into GARDEN's huge campus.

"Now, how am I going to tell Cid?" Vincent questioned himself out loud.

He paced in front of the window for a long time. Finally, he came to the decision that the best time to tell Cid would be during the tour on the grounds. That way Cid would still have enough time to throw things and rant without potentially hurting anyone.

Making up his mind, Vincent slipped into the elevator and made his way to Cid's office.

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"You what?!" Cid exploded right on cue.

Vincent flinched at Cid's outburst. He looked down at the sidewalk desperately trying to avoid eye contact.

"Do you know what kind of trouble you have put yourself and Squall into?! Do you realize what can happen if Principal Cid Kramer finds out about this?!" Cid was only a step below shouting.

Vincent continued to stare at the sidewalk. He hadn't thought of the potential hazard of Squall and his's relationship. The idea of facing off with the mighty Principal Kramer about sleeping with his prize student didn't rest easy with Vincent.

"Well, I don't know what the hell to do! But, until I can find Squall and have a talk with both you and him, I suggest you keep your distance so we can keep this as low profile as possible. We don't need some bizarre scandal or..."

The moment Vincent looked up at Cid, all the anger faded from Cid's heart. Vincent was completely grief stricken, his features tightened into a look of utter sadness.

"Oh man, Vince, I could never handle it when you looked like that." Cid pulled Vincent close and embraced his old friend. Vincent buried his face into the nape of Cid's neck. The salty tears slid down his cheeks.

Cid gently rubbed Vincent's back. He placed a comforting hand on the back of Vincent's head.

"Are you in love with him, Vince?"

"Y-y-yes." Vincent stuttered through his words.

"Does he know?"

Vincent nodded.

"Is he in love with you?"

Vincent nodded again.

Cid pulled Vincent back gently. He was instantly awe struck at the look in Vincent's eyes. Though he looked physically fragile, his eyes held a love that was deeper than description and a fire that dared anyone to test his love.

"Man, vampire, I couldn't keep you away from Squall if I tried. The way you look now reminds me about how I look at Shera. Hell, I'm beginning to think that maybe you two are made for each other. You're both moodier than all get out."

Vincent smiled at that comment and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Tell, you what." Cid said in an unusually comforting tone. "We'll go to the Guardian Force training session Squall is at. After the class, I'll talk to you and him and we can decide what to do about this whole Principal Kramer thing, okay?"

Vincent nodded.

"All right. Just don't think I'm getting soft or anything." Cid said in his usual gruff tone.

With that, the two old friends made their way to the training grounds. The closer they got, the more uneasy Vincent became. There was something wrong and Vincent could feel it become stronger with each step he and Cid took. Overhead, the sky had filled with dark clouds and thunder had begun to rumble in the distance.

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Professor Wire was giving special instructions to the Guardian Force students. Because of the oncoming storm, all students were to be particularly careful with their forces.

"I don't like it, Cid. There's something wrong." Vincent stated.

Cid looked at Vincent seriously. The man's sixth sense had gotten Cid and his compatriots out of many bad situations on their hunt for Sephiroth. Vincent was rarely wrong about his intuitions.

"You're really against this, aren't you Vince?"

Vincent nodded and cast a wary eye to the sky. The thunder was getting closer and the first few drops of rain splashed across his pale face.

"I'll go talk to Dave and have him cancel today's training session."

"Thank you, Cid."

Cid approached Professor Wire who was observing Seifer summoning his Guardian Force. He quietly, but firmly, got Professor Wire's attention.

"Dave, I think that we should cancel today's session."

Dave looked at Cid coolly.

"Did Principal Kramer give you the authority to do something like this?"

"No, he didn't." Vincent replied as he approached the other two men. "I think it would be a very good idea to cancel the session."

Squall had been talking to Rinoa and Zell on the other side of the training field. He saw Vincent talking to Cid and Dave. His face got a slight blush and a smile crossed his lips.

"Hey, what are you grinning for, Leonhart?" Zell questioned.

"Wha...oh, nothing!"

"I think Squall's got a crush on someone." Rinoa teased.

"I do not!!"

"So, who is it, huh Squall?" Zell prodded.

"I don't have a crush on anyone." Squall retorted.

"How about that hot Professor Valentine? I've seen you checking him out quite a bit." Rinoa said quietly.

Squall felt his face go red. How did Rinoa always know everything about his private life? It had to be all those darn magic classes.

"IT'S OUT OF CONTROL! LOOK OUT!!"

The shout of Cid's voice caught Squall, Rinoa, and Zell's attention immediately. Seifer was desperately trying to contain his Guardian Force. The creature was becoming quickly annoyed by the storm. Suddenly, a huge streak of lightning struck the creature at full force.

"I've lost complete control, Professor Wire!" Seifer shouted. The rain had begun to pour.

"Everybody!" Cid shouted. "Get into the main building until the thing calms down!"

Squall, Rinoa, and Zell headed for the main building with the other students. Through the pouring rain, Squall could see Seifer's white trench coat. He was standing in front of the minotaur like beast still. Squall moved through the blinding rain and found Seifer's collar. He grabbed him by the neck.

"C'mon, Almasy! There's nothing we can do! We have to wait for it to calm down!"

"What?! And admit defeat!" Seifer growled.

"Oh, hell!" Squall growled back.

He promptly stepped in front of Seifer and threw the six foot two young man over his shoulder. Seifer was completely stunned. Squall took off with him over the wet terrain.

The beast who had been stationary locked onto the first thing it saw moving. Which happened to be Squall running with Seifer. It roared loudly and shot a stream of molten fire out of it's mouth. Squall could feel the heat licking at the heel's of his boots even in the rain.

Squall stopped for a brief moment to set Seifer down. Seifer stood dumbfounded.

"Run, you idiot!" Squall shouted through the rain.

Seifer took off ahead of Squall. The grass was slick and Squall slipped. Seifer didn't realize that he was gone until he reached the building and didn't see Squall behind him.

Vincent did see Squall slip. He had been gathering students on the other side of the training grounds. Despite the rain, he saw easily through the downpour. Instantly, he took off over the terrain. His slim figure and cat like reflexes allowed him to travel across the huge field quickly.

"Please, in heaven, let me make it in time!!" Vincent silently pleaded.

Squall tried to get up but found that he couldn't. His ankle was badly sprained and he couldn't regain his traction on the wet grass. The minotaur beast was now approaching and it locked it's steely fire eyes onto Squall. It let out a loud roar and raised up a paw with four of the longest, sharpest claws that Squall had ever seen.

"I'm going to die." Squall thought to himself.

He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. But, nothing happened. He opened up his eyes to see Vincent fall to his knees in front of him.

"NO!!"

Even in the torrential rain, Squall could see the blood pouring out of Vincent's body. The damage caused by the fire beast was enough and Vincent was soon surrounded by a white and purple aura. Within moments he had transformed into the demon, Chaos. Squall watched in awe as Vincent's new form rose into the air.

The minotaur beast opened it's mouth and shot another stream of molten fire at Chaos. It easily dodged the attack. Chaos then opened it's mouth and a stream of purple psi-energy came out in one long beam. The beam struck the beast and within moments, the screams of the creature disappeared as it went back into dormancy in Seifer's Guardian Force containment unit.

Squall looked up into the rain filled sky to see something falling to the ground. Within moments, Vincent's form hit the hard earth, his wings still prevalent from his back. Squall released a scream of horror and pulled himself over to his fallen lover.

"Vincent, please don't die!" Squall cried.

He managed to prop Vincent up, resting Vincent's back against his chest. There were four prevalent claw wounds that were too large for even Vincent to heal. The blood was pouring out everywhere. Squall could feel Vincent beginning to go limp in his arms. The black wings sagging forward.

"I...I...I love you." Vincent whispered. His eyes then began to close.

"No, Vincent, you can't go to sleep, I won't let you!" Squall screamed.

Then, a moment of realization struck him. The dream that he had been having the past couple weeks. The blood, the wings, the weight of another person. The person had been Vincent. But, Squall had also been bleeding. As if something that hadn't been explained suddenly was, Squall knew what had to be done.

Very carefully, Squall took Vincent's claw and pressed one of the blade's into the main artery of his wrist. The blood began to spill out. He held it to Vincent's lips. Vincent was barely conscious, but managed to lap a little from the wound. Very slowly, the strength began to return the more Vincent drank. His hunger became more than he could control as his body desperately used the blood to repair itself.

Squall could feel himself growing lightheaded. He watched as his blood flowed into Vincent's body.

"I love you. I give my life to you." That was the last thing Squall said before everything around him went dark.

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Squall opened his eyes to a far too bright room. He groaned and shut them again quickly. Finally, he opened them again slowly. Two ruby eyes looked at him lovingly.

"Vincent?! Oh man, I must be dead."

"Not quite, but you were close." Vincent whispered softly. It had been meant to be a joke, but his voice cracked with sadness.

"Where am I?"

"In the GARDEN facilities hospital. They brought you here after you almost killed yourself saving me."

"Well, that would explain this IV in my arm." Squall said sarcastically.

He turned his head back to look at Vincent. Tears were streaming down Vincent's face.

"Why are you crying?"

"You could've died, Squall! Do you know how hard it would have been for me to live with that? I've already lost so many and to lose you, I would have..."

Vincent's words were silenced as Squall grabbed him forcefully and locked his mouth into a passionate kiss. Vincent was shocked, but quickly reciprocated the kiss with an equally strong one. Finally, the two lover's lips parted.

"I did it because I loved you, Vincent. I wasn't trying to be a hero for once."

"I love you so much, Squall."

They smiled at each other, enjoying the silence.

"So," Squall finally broke the quiet, "how many people know about your ailment?"

"Everyone that was at the training field. But, Cid pulled some strings with Principal Kramer. Anyone who saw what happened had to sign a contract swearing that the incident was to never be spoken of again. If one the students did, they are expelled without questioning. Cid also convinced Principal Kramer to let us stay together and let me keep my teaching job."

"How did Professor Highwind manage that?"

Vincent gave a half smile.

"If it hadn't been for me, the minotaur beast would have ripped up the training fields, destroyed the buildings and endangered innumerable number of lives. Basically, Cid said that Principal Kramer owed me big."

Squall couldn't help but let out a tired laugh. Vincent delighted in hearing his soft voice.

"Oh, and I almost forgot! Rinoa dropped this video card off for you when you were still asleep. It's from her, Zell, and Seifer."

"Seifer actually sent me a card?"

Vincent placed the little video screen on Squall's chest. Squall pushed the activation button.

"Hi, Squall! It's me Rinoa! I hope that you feel better and that you and Vincent have a really great life together!"

Squall saw Vincent blush.

"I take it that they know about us, Vincent?"

Vincent nodded feeling a touch embarrassed.

"Zell, here, Squall. Man, talk about being a hero! You rock man!!"

"Seifer, don't you have something to say to Squall?"

"Um, yah, thanks for saving my life and getting me out of trouble and everything. If anyone asks about this card, I'll deny everything!"

"Aw, Seifer, I didn't know you cared." Squall laughed.

"Anyway, we all hope you feel better. Take care and Vincent, keep him out of trouble! Bye!" Rinoa's voice clicked off and the video card went quiet. Vincent removed the screen from Squall's chest.

"You've got some nice friends, Squall."

"Yah, I do."

"I should let you get some sleep."

"I guess."

Vincent stood to leave when Squall grabbed him with his hand. Vincent looked questioningly at him.

"Woah, I said I'll get some sleep, not that I was going to sleep alone."

Vincent grinned. "This is really against hospital policy, you know."

Vincent slid into bed. Squall nuzzled close to Vincent, being careful with his IV cord. They both laid there for a few moments.

"Vincent, if you keep doing that, I'm not going to get any sleep."

"Maybe I want to make up for lost time."

"You're a very wicked vampire."

"Aren't we all?"

Squall laughed and kissed Vincent. They had a second chance together and neither one was going to miss a minute of it.