Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 belongs to Square-Enix. I don't own anything.
Snowflakes fell softly onto the ground, covering it like a pristine white blanket. It was past midnight in Rocket Town, and most of the residents had already snuggled under thick blankets in search of warmth and blissful sleep. However, one man was still awake, sitting beside the window and staring out at the falling snow and puffing on his cigarette.
The man, Cid Highwind, whom the Rocket Town residents nicknamed the "Captain" and looked up to in awe, was in a pensive mood that night. He wasn't a philosophical man by nature, but looking at the softly falling snow usually put him into a philosophical mood. He took a deep puff on his cigarette, and sighed as he exhaled.
Behind him, Shera walked over to him with a cup of steaming hot tea. She passed the cup of tea to him and started to knead the muscles around his neck and shoulders.
"Why such a big sigh, Captain?"
"Nothing… I was just…. thinking."
He gave a small smile at his wife and turned his attention to the cup of tea in his hand. He took a sip of the fragrant tea and let out a sound of pure contentment.
"Really, woman, I swear you make the best tea in the whole fricking world! Ahhh… I could die in peace right now with this cup of tea in my hands!"
Shera smiled; she was used to the captain's exaggerations.
Cid motioned for her to sit next to him. She sat down and rested her head lightly on his shoulder. The couple sat in companionable silence for the next few minutes, looking at the snow falling silently outside.
"…Shera?"
"Hmm..?"
"I… I've never apologized to you for all the things I did…"
"Apologize? For what?" Startled, Shera lifted her head to stare at her husband. He was staring out of the window, hints of the guilt that's been gnawing at him showing in his face.
"I was thinking just now… of many things. How I'd blamed you for the failed launch so many years back, and all the hell and abuse I put you through because of that. How I'd never bothered to apologize even after circumstances showed that your concerns about the oxygen tank were right…"
He took another sip of the tea in his hands, and continued.
"I've been nothing but an arrogant bastard to you all these years, yet you put up with all the shit I heaped on you. You never lost your temper. You never said a word in defense of yourself. You never left me; you even married me. Why you did that, I don't understand. I know I'm not the most lovable bastard in the world."
He let out a small trembling breath and turned his head, looking in her eyes.
"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for what I'd done in the past, and thank you for staying with me throughout all these years. I… I love you, Shera."
Tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks. He panicked and tried to wipe away her tears with his hands, but they just kept flowing.
"Damn it! I… I didn't say all of that to make you cry… I… I just wanted to apologize… don't cry, baby… I'm sorry… so damn sorry… please don't cry…" He was babbling now; he didn't know what to do to stop her from crying anymore.
Shera stopped him with a light kiss on the lips.
"That was the first time you've said you loved me, Captain. And that, was something I've wanted to hear from you for so long, more than anything else. Not apologies, not thanks, but that you loved me. I love you too, Cid."
"Damn! And here I was, frantic over what I've said to make you cry so hard… I must have aged ten years just now."
He grinned widely; his face seemed to light up and made him look 10 years younger, like the confident young pilot that made her fall head over heels in love. She smiled and kissed him again, this time lingeringly.
"I love you Shera, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. I'll say it to you every day, any time, any where, if that's what makes you happy."
He paused.
"Then again, I hope you won't make me say it in front of Barret and Yuffie and the rest of the gang. They'll probably think I've turned into a mushy wuss. I'd never heard the end of it." He shuddered at the thought of the over-energetic ninja calling him a "big soft mushy mushroom" at the top of her voice.
Shera smiled.
"Maybe… just for fun… I'll do that."
He looked stricken. She laughed at his distress.
"Just kidding, Captain. I love you."