- - -
Tifa lightly tapped her fingers on the counter out of boredom. Not a single sound resonated throughout the small house except for her movements. If it weren't for the sounds of engines humming outside, she would think Rocket Town was no different from the deserted eerie sectors of Midgar City at this time of the night. It was close to midnight and this was her third time heating up Cid's tea. It was his 'special' batch of tea that had to be made with painstaking effort since he had the uncanny ability to taste a missing ingredient. With a sigh, she got up from her seat and shifted in the darkness until she found the stove. Before she turned on the settings, she poured a cup for herself. The warm steamy liquid helped cleanse her mind from tiny specs of anxiety pricking her every moment or so.
Her eyelids felt heavy and each step she took drained an ounce of energy from her body. This was the last straw. She couldn't wait any longer. Her hands fumbled in the dark until she felt what she was looking for. Pulling out a sheet of paper and pen, she quickly scribbled a note to Cid.
Your tea is made. Help yourself to it! I'm sorry if it's cold, but I can't warm it up anymore. I'm too tired and I'm off to bed. See you in the morning and don't work too hard on the rocket.
-Tifa
If she were more alert, she would've been concerned with her sloppy handwriting. At this point, as long as the note was readable, she was satisfied. Finishing the content in the cup, she placed it in the sink and trudged to the guest room in the house. Shera was out of town for a week so she and Cloud decided to keep Cid company. Tifa mostly did the chores and cooking, the jobs that Shera usually accomplished, and Cloud worked on the rocket with Cid. She was about to knock on the mercenary's door when she thought against it. He was probably asleep after a long exhausting day under the hot sun with Cid barking behind his back. Smiling, she shook her head and headed into her room. She didn't even feel herself hit the bed. Sleep got to her first.
- - -
Cloud wiped the trickles of sweat from his forehead as he walked down the paved road that lead to Cid's house. The cool brisk night was definitely a welcome compared to the merciless scorching sun that relentlessly beamed unbearable heat throughout the day. Working on the rocket was already hard enough, but working in the middle of a heat wave was almost impossible. He knew Tifa was worried about both his health and Cid's so he had no choice but to lie to her that he was going to rest early. Cid, being the stubborn one, refused Tifa's request and insisted that he was fine when he was clearly anything but OK.
Out of loyalty to his friend, Cloud felt guilty for abandoning Cid when he needed assistance the most. He was like a family and was always there when Cloud needed him so he decided against resting and snuck out of his room through a small window. Leaving through the entrance would only risk upsetting Tifa. He already learned that lesson quite well when he first tried to evade Aeris on his way to Sector VII.
As soon as he entered the house, he smelled a sweet aroma lingering in the air. Walking slowly so he wouldn't disturb the peace and wake Tifa up, he made his way to the stove and turned off the settings. Reaching for the kettle, he poured himself a cup of tea and sat down at the counter to rest a bit before heading to his room. Even though he was the type to just randomly grab something to quench his thirst, there was something about the tea that made him almost addicted to the content. He wondered what Cid ordered to be put into the brew. For someone who was rough and coarse like the pilot, it was hard to imagine him as a genteel man who would take the chance to sit and drink tea like a civilized person.
From the corner of his eyes, a piece of paper was caught in his peripheral vision. Quickly unfolding the sheet, he read the brief words that seemed to be quickly scribbled by Tifa. His heart jumped a beat when he assumed she knew about his disappearance, but from the note, she didn't appear to be angry at all. She even made him some tea and tried her best to keep it warm until he returned. After finishing the sweet liquid, he looked at the cup and then back at the paper. A tiny smile formed on his lips as he set both items down on the tabletop. Tifa always knew when and how to surprise him. He thought about pouring himself one more cup of the delicious liquid but remembered that Cid would be cussing to no end if he returned later in the night with nothing left in the kettle. Just the thought of his friend screaming strings of curses made him wince.
Instead, he scribbled a reply back to Tifa.
Tifa,
You have no idea how great it is to come home to something so warm and delicious waiting for you. Thanks for making this for me and keeping me in your thoughts. I'll probably be out again before you wake up so I'm already gone if you're reading this right now. I promise we'll spend more time together after the work on the rocket is done.
- - -
Cid had to suppress himself from laughing out loud when he read the note on the table.
"Man…he's a hero and all but he's one stupid kid…" he muttered to himself while puffing another smoke from the cigarette. Cid was starting to feel sorry for Tifa. Cloud kept promising to spend more time with her, but when the time came, he was always too damn shy to do anything about it.
"Let's see…I'm no good with hooking people up…but I gotta give this matchmaking thing a try…" He chewed on the tip of the pen as he thought about what to
write. Cloud's handwriting wasn't the neatest on the Planet so it wasn't hard to imitate him. After quickly reading over the note again, Cid made some new adjustments.
Tifa,
You have no idea how great it is to come home to something so warm and delicious waiting for you. Thanks for making this for me and keeping me in your thoughts. I'll probably be out again before you wake up so I'm already gone if you're reading this right now. I promise we'll spend more time together after the work on the rocket is done.
If you can, please meet me at Shanghai Inn for lunch tomorrow at noon? I made reservations already. By the way, you looked absolutely gorgeous today…but hey, you look beautiful everyday. Girl, you make me want to melt into a puddle of tea…
- - -
Tifa's eyes widened as she re-read the reply on the same piece of paper after dusting off the cigarette lint. She dropped her glass of water in alarm and crumpled the sheet against her chest.
Could this be true? Was Cid Highwind falling for her?
- - -
Author's Notes:
Here's my first attempt at humor, although I must warn you that it probably won't be very funny. This was originally going to be another one-shot but I want to expand more on the plot so now it's multi-chapter. As usual, it's focused on my favorite couple with a slight twist. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and please leave a review.