All I Want For Christmas...
AN: Well everybody, I've pushed myself to whip this up to submit for Christmas. Consider it a present for all of you wonderful readers who have stuck with my other fic, Always There for Me. (I hate that title, by the way.) This takes place along the same timeline, but a few months after the last chapter I submitted. I might touch this up at a later date.
Until then, enjoy this unabashedly fluffy Christmas fic. Happy Christmas, Marry Hanukah, Kickin' Kwanza, and anything else you lot celebrate! Here's to another year!
One of the things that Cid Highwind had taken to grumbling about in terms of where he lived was the insane weather. The countryside was beautiful, giving a nice mountain scene. But the region between Edge and Kalm, where he had relocated to these days, had both extremes of the seasons.
In the summer, the sun and heat made Costa Del Sol look chilly. Respectively, the winters were so bitter that they made the Great Glacier look like a tropical resort.
He had to admit, maybe it was because he had been used to the temperate climates of the Nibel range, where Rocket Town now carried on without him. There, the temperatures never went higher that 20 degrees above zero, or ten below.
Here, ten below was T-shirt weather. Cid thanked himself that he had become so fond of smoking, for it kept him warm when he was working outside. The old hangar he had bought with his collective savings was drafty enough and acted like an ice box now, in late December.
The sun had long since gone down, another thing Cid had taken to comment on about this time of year. It was only six-twenty, but the darkness of the sky made it feel like nine or ten at night. Cid was a true morning bird, liking how bright and warm the sun made things.
Now, the only light came from the large orange light post that was necessary for country living. It was part of the yard, just like the small garage next to the house or the tool shed in the back. The only warmth came from his cigarette, his old white scarf and his breath. One of the tricks he learned from flying high was to breathe into your collar, so when one exhaled, the warmth was kept close to your body.
The snow was still falling lightly, as Cid threw the last bit of snow into the bank. Looking back over the job he did shoveling the walkway to the modest country house, he smiled and put the shovel back under the porch where it belonged.
Opening the front door, Cid stepped back inside his home. The heat from the old steam furnace in the basement was, in his humble opinion, one of his best ideas.
From the kitchen, he smelled the scent of dinner cooking. Placing his best jacket inside the closet inside the door with his drying boots and gloves, Cid tiptoed into the kitchen.
Tifa was turned away, apron covering her front while she slaved over the stove. The table was bereft of plates, but the special meatloaf he was fond of sat on a cloth, steaming happily.
Drinking in the scent for a moment, Cid walked up to Tifa and wrapped his arms around her middle.
Using an antique catchphrase he was fond of, he asked "What's new, sugar cube?"
Tifa sighed contentedly and leaned back into the pilot. "Hey, hon." She said sweetly, pecking him on the lips. Cid's cheeks flushed slightly. If one was to ask him about it, it was simply because he had just come in from the cold. In the private moments he shared with the woman he loved, he would admit that each kiss they shared gave him butterflies in his stomach.
Tifa felt up Cid's cheeks. "You're still cold." She said, her concerned motherly streak showing through.
Cid shrugged. "I'm fine, sugar." He said. "But supper smells great!"
"Well, I know you liked my meatloaf." Tifa smiled. "Could you set the table, please?"
Cid nodded and said "Sure." He brought out a pair of plates with the necessary cutlery to the table, followed by a couple of glasses. Returning to the kitchen, he took out four glasses, pouring cold water into two of them.
Making sure that they were in their appropriate places as Cid was an extreme stickler for things being in the right order, he fetched a bottle of red wine he knew Tifa was fond of from the fridge.
The flickering warm lights from the nearby Christmas tree added a layer of warmth to the soft lighting. Cid was rather proud of the lighting he'd done throughout the house, allowing for varying shades of light with the knobs in the place of straight light switches.
The house hadn't held up too bad with the bitter cold either. During the campaign against Genesis, Cid had noticed the lonely, abandoned hangar in the Edge countryside. Making certain inquiries, he found that it was owned by an elderly man living in Junon. He had no interest in it, so Cid bought the hangar for his airships and the surrounding fifteen acres. After selling the old house in Rocket Town, he set to work.
It was through this, he was able to live out one of the dreams he'd harbored since his youth. While the spring was still around, he invested in a fair amount of construction supplies, and built this brand new house from the ground up. Originally, he's planned on doing the whole thing himself.
But when you've got the kind of friends that you save the world thrice over with, you find that you can't really undertake something like this solo. Everyone showed up to help out, cementing the foundation and raising the walls in the better part of a week.
It was like when Tifa was rebuilding Seventh Heaven in Edge. Everyone came around to help, adding their distinct touch to certain sections of the house. The nail Yuffie had bent in the one of the spare bedrooms was still there. She had offered to pull it out and try again - for the third time - but Cid wouldn't have it. That was her signature on this home.
And all things considered, this was as good as things got for Cid Highwind. The actual Christmas tree smelled faintly of pine, the fire crackled in the fireplace and the meal Tifa had whipped up for the two of them was simply fantastic.
Noticing how Cid had tuned out for a minute, Tifa swallowed a mouthful of wine and asked "Gil for your thoughts?"
Her voice brought the pilot back down to Gaia. "Oh, just zoned out for a sec, hon." He said, slowly. "It's funny how far we've both come from about a year ago."
Tifa smiled, competing with the fireplace's warmth. "Yeah," She said, sighing contentedly. "A year ago, I wouldn't have thought that we'd both be here."
Cid nodded, taking a bite of the special meatloaf. His callused hand reached across the table to take Tifa's and gave it an affectionate squeeze. He would have gone back to his meal, but Tifa got up for a moment. She walked around the table, planting herself into Cid's lap. She took his warming face in her hands and kissed him gently on the lips. Cid's arms gathered her up, holding her close. The breath escaped from him, replaced by joy.
When their lips parted, Cid grinned. "Merry Christmas, lover." He said, softly, brushing a rogue strand of hair out of her face.
"It's not quite Christmas yet." Tifa said, gently flicking at Cid's aquiline nose. "We've still got till midnight."
"Doesn't matter." Cid shook his head, his smile never faltering. "It feels enough like it."
Tifa nodded and looked over the table. "Well, as comfy as this is, I've got to admit my food's getting cold."
"Oh, sure." Cid said, letting her down. Returning to his own meatloaf and potatoes after a swallow of wine.
The rest of the evening went without incident. Tifa mixed a couple of liqueur-enhanced coffees for the both of them while Cid popped in an old Christmas classic on the TV.
The Christmas tree glittered in the background in the background as the old black and white movie flickered in competition. Cid stretched out on the couch, laying his head in Tifa's lap. She played with his hair as they both sipped on their special coffees.
Half-way into the movie, Cid had fallen asleep. The relaxed nature he had settled into and Tifa's strong coffee had finally taken over. Tifa couldn't help but smile. After a long day of working hard, Cid would usually fall asleep like this on her. She didn't mind a bit. He'd always get up at a moments notice without complaining and help her with anything that needed to be done. Be it put a few things away, or run off to one of the local convenience stores. He'd always crash in bed later, though.
After the movie ended, she convinced Cid to put out the fire in the fireplace. Groggily, he pecked her on the lips before he hauled himself up. Mumbling something about his creaky old bones, he managed to extinguish the fire so it wouldn't spread if they went to sleep.
Tifa led the way upstairs to the master bedroom. She officially "lived" in Edge above Seventh Heaven and returned there to work and check the mail, but all of her time was spent out here with Cid. She got to know her way around the brand new house fairly well over the last few months since it had been erected.
Completely undressing, the two lovers climbed under the thick covers. Killing the lights, Cid wrapped his arms around Tifa, kissing her between the shoulder blades. She sighed contentedly and returned his wishes of "Good night." and "Merry Christmas.". Tifa snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and herself off from all the cares of the world.
Cid took one last long breath in through his nose, relishing the scent of the woman beside him. Grinning contentedly to himself, he drifted off back to sleep without another word.