It's very rare to find others interested in this pairing. It's even rarer to find adult fanfiction. I think their relationship is very interesting. Shera and Cid seem to be opposites. And what a history they have. Don't you think? They lived with each other for years under unusual conditions…makes me curious.

Anyway, Cid and Shera are both very new to me. I hope I keep the true to their characters.

Smoke lazily rose from an ashtray; slender wisps of faint grey grew more indistinct the farther they traveled from the glow of one of Cid's cigarettes. A perfectly good stick was going to waste, but he was too…engaged in his current phone call to notice.

"What do you mean it shipped to the wrong goddamn address?!"

Shera was listening to the background noise Cid had brewed in their small living arrangement. To anyone else, his fit would have been quite the disturbance, but by now, she was used to it. On occasion, Cid ordered an assortment of machinery parts to tinker with, or replace ones that had suffered wear and tear within the Tiny Bronco, or the Highwind. It also wasn't out of the ordinary for delivery mishaps to thoroughly agitate him. Shera could understand. Repairs, especially now, tended to be time sensitive…

"No, I don't want a refund. I want my damn part! Have the jackass who sent it to the wrong location send me another." Cid grumbled low; his blonde brows drawn together in frustration. Shera could hear the phone-pitched, muffled reply of another apologetic voice. Cid didn't listen to it for long. Before she knew it, he had slammed the house phone back on the hook. He muttered a string of curses under his breath and pinched the space between his eyes.

"Another miss send?" Shera asked a short moment after. She had been thumbing through a record book on the couch when the phone call initiated. Concerned with Cid's current mood, she pushed back the bridge of her glasses when they slowly began to slide down her nose.

"This ain't the first time it's happened. I've had it up to my neck in shipping errors. If I don't have those parts by the end of the week, we ain't takin' off." He made a sound through his nose that was partially a sigh, and partially a growl.

Shera frowned. She placed a book mark in the record for later, and then snapped it shut. "Is there anything I can do? I can see how important it is." She shifted her position and brought her legs out from under her bottom. Her calves were on pins and needles until her blood had a better flow. "I can always go down to the warehouse myself and-"

"There's not much of a point now. I can take care of it myself. Don't even bother getting up, Shera." Cid cut her off before she could get busy-body-overly-concerned-let- me-do-this-let-me-do- that on him like she routinely did.

"Are you sure?" Shera stood on the feeling of television static in her legs and stretched. She had been sitting and checking monetary transfers for repair parts longer than she intended to. Her brown eyes drifted to a small clock on the worn, ashy coffee table to see what time it was. She wasn't much in the mood for cooking dinner. Maybe Cid would be satisfied with warming up left overs for the evening.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll head up first thing tomorrow and chew out the first deadbrain I see." Cid finally placed his thoughts on the accident aside and noticed his whittled cigarette on the table he had been working at. Shera watched the deep disappointment cross him for a moment, and couldn't help but chuckle. He seemed disgusted in himself for having forgotten it. Cid promptly pulled out another. The old cigarette's butt was smothered in the collecting pile of ash in his favorite tray, dampened with his tongue, and then thrown away.

"I'm going to heat up leftovers from the other night, Captain." Shera loosened the ponytail her hair had been in, and pulled the band out of place. Thick, brown tresses brushed her shoulders while she padded across the hardwood to the kitchen. She took Cid's grunt and smoky exhale as an 'okay', and sighed while digging through the refrigerator for filled plastic containers. Shera worked methodically; body moving automatically in set routine. She was sucked into her own thoughts while clicking on and pre-heating the oven. A strengthening scent of burning tobacco filled her nostrils, and she suddenly wished Cid would stop smoking in the house.

She could see her housemate without ever having to turn around. A new, more cherished cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth, bottom planted in a hard wooden chair, while his legs were lazily crossed under the table. In the next few moments she calculated he would turn his radio on (and he did) to listen to the evening report. Theft in central city. Uprooted ShinRa secrets. The beginnings of mandatory evacuations. Smog levels on high this week. Smog.

Shera thought of the second hand tobacco inhalation she had probably been exposed to. She had carefully mentioned her concern to Cid once before, and characteristically, he had argued with her. There was a lot she tolerated from Cid. He had plenty of bad habits, but she cared enough for him to leave those issues alone. He came home on time. He paid his share of the bills. She still felt she owed him…Even after he'd apologized and promised to put forth the effort to treat her better.

When the oven beeped after reaching the proper temperature, she dumped the contents of their leftovers into a glass pan, and then slid it onto the middle rack after opening the oven door. "You can help yourself as soon as it's warmed." Shera trusted Cid to keep an eye on it. "I'll be back in a moment. I should probably take my shower for the evening." Cid grunted again to let her know he had heard what she said.

Shera granted her housemate a small smile before turning in the direction of the stairs. Climbing the wooden steps, Shera passed by Cid's closed bedroom door to travel down the hall to her own. Cold toes crossed the large rug and side stepped her bed to open a cabinet. She dug through different sets of simple clothes until she found what she was looking for: clean pairs of undergarments, and a loose fitting pajama set to change into after she had washed up. Shera stumbled upon her more personal items tucked deep in the drawer while folding the other disheveled clothes back in place.

She looked to the door to make sure she was still alone in her room. A bright pink, silicone massager was selected from among the other unmentionables to see if the batteries were still functional. The loud, immediate vibration spooked her (the Captain had good hearing), and Shera twisted it off. She thought herself silly for burrowing the few toys she had away. Perhaps, silly, dirty, and a little pathetic. She didn't live alone, but obviously, she and her housemate did not have that kind of relationship.

"I can't make any promises. Some dumbass messed up one of my orders again. We'll be lucky if we load up on time at this rate." Cid's voice traveled up to the second floor (probably talking to Cloud or Vincent), and was muffled when she slipped out of her room and into the bathroom next door. The small space wasn't much, but it did its job. With a sigh, Shera placed her folded clothes on the counter top, and allowed her thoughts to wonder again while she clicked on the mirror lights to undress.

Her ears strained past the water once it was hot and started. Parts of Cid's second phone call reached the bathroom, though, the pelting of water from the shower head took up most of the room for sound. Shera swayed while dampening her hair. She squinted with blurry, glasses-less vision to the familiar outline of the detachable shower head. The sleek, white handheld was a blatant contrast to the old and rusting pipe it was attached to. Shera reached up to remove it. The hot water drummed against her skin; sending clumps of puffy suds down her legs and to the drain. Her freshly washed hair, her neck, her shoulders, her chest, down her stomach…

Shera covered her mouth when the hot water pelted her groin. A small feeling of shame and embarrassment rose in her mind, but she was a grown woman, and she had really needed this.

She tilted her head back and parted her mouth in a soft sigh. The other hand over Shera's mouth ghosted downward, over a rosy pink nipple, and between her legs to move her soft lips apart. She shuttered when the water had better access to massage her stiffening nubbin and inner folds. She whispered incoherent praise to herself; sloping the device back and forth until her soft chants turned into pleasured whimpers. She was close now, a climax building faster than she would have liked, and Shera bit her bottom lip to muffle a whine. She suddenly wished she had brought one of her toys with her. Her greedy body began to crave the sensation of being filled over and over and over and yes Shera yes SHERA-

"Yes?!"

"Shera turn down the fuckin' water!" The rumble of Cid's hefty knock came to the door. She hadn't heard him call her from the table, or his heavy boots climb the stairs.

"I'm sorry!" She rushed to twist off the tap; nearly dropping the showerhead in the process. "What is it? What's wrong?" Shera wiped water from her face and flung out her arm to rip her towel from a rack. It was wrapped around her torso before she timidly approached the door. Cracking it open; she poked her head out. The scent of the food that had been warming downstairs rushed into the room along with cool air, and mingled with the fragrance of her body wash.

"I said the water is leaking. It drips down to the kitchen through the vent if ya ain't got the shower stall closed all the way." Cid's expression was slightly irritated, but steady. Shera found sternness in his blue eyes and thankfully not curiosity. He hadn't heard her.

"I'll go down and clean it up as soon as I'm decent. I'm sorry!" She narrowed her hazel eyes to focus her vision and retreated back behind the door again.

"Just don't take long. This food down here is ready." Cid stepped away from the bathroom and left the way he had come. He ducked under the vent he had mentioned upon reentering the kitchen downstairs.

Not bothering to clear the mist from the mirror to see herself, (she could already feel the deep flushing in her face) Shera rushed through drying off and yanking on her night clothes. She avoided and side stepped Cid out of embarrassment when she had finally made it downstairs to join him. The same towel she had used to dry off was also used to sop up the wet spot that had leaked over the kitchen floor.

"Woman, ya'act like I bit you." Cid appeared to have already finished his cigarette, and was halfway through a plate of whatever was for dinner.

"I'm sorry." Shera apologized again. She clawed her wet hair back over her forehead and bunched the wet towel in her arms to eventually be placed in the laundry.

"Did you forget?" He spoke with his mouth partially full. Though turned down, he was still listening to the radio.

"Forget what?" She washed her hands in the sink.

"To close the shower stall all the way." Cid's lips were pressed into a line from having to repeat himself again. Shera could be so hard of hearing when she got in her little busy-body, stuck in her head state of mind.

"Yes. I wasn't paying attention. I'll be sure to remember next time." Shera pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and gathered a bit of baked meat and rice into a small bowl. She shuffled to the table and sat at the other end. Her fork prodded the edges of her meal while she listened to the radio. Evacuation instructions for worst case scenario reports. Meteor soon to be looming in the sky. What was ShinRa planning to do about it? And on and on and on. Even Shera was afraid. Though, Cid hadn't said a word about what he'd thought of the situation. At times she wondered if it mattered to him.

Dinner pasted by in the usual comfortable silence, at least on Cid's part. Shera inwardly squirmed. She knew what he had committed himself to with AVALANCHE, and what they would have to do sooner or later. She couldn't help that she cared for his well-being. What if he never came back? What if she wasn't here for him to come back to? The worry set heavy on her mind, causing her to physically sigh.

"Tired?" Cid asked without looking up. He was nearly done with his food, and so was she.

"A bit. But I can stay up if you need me to. I've been flipping through the transfer documentation all day. I can't seem to figure out where that part payment went. I promise to have it done for you by tomorrow." Shera drank the rest of the water she had taken to the table with her.

"It's…alright. You should go to bed, Shera." He suggested and stood from his seat. Cid knew how this went. He'd shoo her off, and then she'd be standing in the hallway upstairs minutes later; waiting the entire time for him to retire, too. Always so polite.

Shera knew how it went, as well, but like any other night, on the inside; she still had things she wanted to ask. She was never quite bold enough and always settled with a quiet goodnight before they both diverged to their individual rooms.

As expected, Cid found her waiting for him before her bedroom door. Shera's lips were parted as if words were on the tip of her tongue, an impending question, and Cid paused to hear it. Go on, out with it. Shera'd been acting bizarre all day long.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?" She began.

"As soon as I drag the part out of stock, I've got to chuck it in the Highwind. By the time I finish that repair, we'll have just enough space left to take off on time." Cid removed his boots in the hall and began to walk again in the direction of his room. Shera took a small step after him.

"When will you be back..? Do you know?" She chose her words carefully. The radio was off downstairs, but the danger was still in her ears.

"Haven't a damn clue." Cid honestly answered.

There was a long pause between them.

"Do you think…" Shera's words trailed as if she were unsure if she should finish the sentence.

"Do I think what?" Cid's hand was on the door knob.

"If it would be alright for me to…" She sucked in a short breath through her nose.

"Shera, just ask me. You're gonna hurt yourself."

"I don't want to sleep alone." Shera looked Cid in his eyes through the dimness of the hallway. "I don't want you to sleep alone. Captain, I'm afraid."

His blonde brows scrunched the space between his eyes. Very slowly, the tension eased. Though taken off guard, Cid knew what she was asking. His blue irises shifted from her face, to the opening door, to Shera's face again. He understood…as odd a request as it was.

"I guess it won't hurt much." Cid's voice was low. He gestured to the inside of his room. "Come on before I change my mind." Shera's pulse was faint in her ears. Her heart still pumped from the nervousness that came from asking. Close behind him, she followed Cid into his room.

The inside smelled like most of the house. Cigarette smoke had settled into a majority of the furniture and bed, but for tonight, Shera decided not to mind. The organization and sensation of standing there while he changed with a turned back was different from her room. Empty and unempty machinery boxes were placed here and there. Cid intimidatingly left a hand gun (it was hard to tell if it was loaded or not) and a few shells out on a small bedside table. He had a collecting pile of clothes (probably dirty and clean) in a corner near his hamper, and the bed hadn't been made since he got up this morning. Nothing of the atmosphere was out of his character, and Shera found the high contrast to her bedroom down the hallway somewhat comforting.

While his back was still turned to her in front of his drawer, Shera slowly sank down on the edge of the bed. Springs and material loudly protested under her. Jacket, shirt, and goggles removed, pants changed; Shera waited until he was settled to move into a laying position on her side. The pillows he had rumpled against the head board were slightly worn and smelled like him. Whatever soap Cid used for his showers, the musk of metal, something else masculine, and of course, tobacco filled her nostrils and she deeply exhaled. Cid mistook it for another sign of Shera's more obvious distress.

"Don't you go and cry on me when I go tomorrow." He ran a hand over his forehead to smooth the indent his goggles had left behind. The bed groaned when he lied down on his back in the space Shera didn't occupy. He felt awkward for having her there at first. Neither of them laid under the covers for the uncertainty of what was appropriate.

"I'll try not to, Captain." On impulse, she bravely took a hold of his wrist, and pulled his arm over her head when Cid shifted onto his side facing her. Maybe he wouldn't find this too odd. Maybe he would hold her. "You'll be safe, won't you?"

"Somethin' like that." The wiry hair on his heavy forearm tickled her neck. Cid curled it and nudged the top of Shera's head under his chin; her body bent into his chest. "Your goddamn worry is rubbin' off on me."

"I'm sorry." Her apology was muffled in his neck. "I hope this isn't too much to ask."

"No," Cid paused "it's not."

"Is it too much for us to be like this?" Her head shifted out from the pocket his lower and upper arm created. The stubble of Cid's chin gently scratched her cheek. For whatever clear reason, their current state was surreal.

"No." He responded after another short pause. Shera could feel her apprehension in her throat and Cid's voice in his chest. "It's not."

"Are you sure?" She opened her eyes after realizing they were closed. Cid's cool breath shifted stray hairs that stuck out from her long, brown bangs. "I can always leave and-"

"Shera." Cid stopped her. His eyes bore into hers, but not with the irritation they held earlier. "I forgive you."

"I know, but I-"

"Shera, before I go, can you forgive me?" Cid had realized the severity of his mistake. He knew he had abused her for years now, and he was guilty.

"Forgive you?" She gave Cid her full attention. Shera's soft hazel eyes gazed back into his.

"Come on. Give me a yes, er' no."

"Yes." Shera slowly dipped her head. "I can forgive you."

Yet another long pause.

It was broken by Shera's nearly inaudible gasp when Cid had nudged his lips forward and did what felt right. She immediately responded to his more formal apology. The light pound that her heart held before returned and her blood ran cold in another jolt of uncertainty. Cid had meant for it only to last a short moment, but Shera had refused to let go. Her lips followed his, stubbled chin bumping and brushing hers, when his intent was to pull away. A timid hand found the side of his neck and the soft sounds of their continued kissing filled the relative silence of his bedroom. They remained that way for a long while. Neither talked. Neither moved when the phone downstairs rang. This was peculiar.

Eventually, Shera was the one that broke for air. Cid's lips were pressed to the edge of her mouth, across the line of her jaw, and lingered over the soft skin of her neck. He asked an unspoken question in his hesitation.

"It's okay…I'm okay." Shera sighed. Goose flesh had rose on her skin. She craned her head to the side to allow Cid more room to give her attention. In light of what was happening…perhaps it was now or never.

"Woman, I don't understand you." His mumble was a bit brash, but his movements were gentle. Cid had known Shera for a long time, but he didn't know her like this. Had been too bitter to know her like this. His touch was uncharacteristically timid. What was okay to move on to? Did she want to do with him what he thought she did?

"I don't want to miss you when you're gone." Because she knew she would. She'd miss him and worry herself into a rut. She hadn't been this worried since she'd stowed away onto Rocket no.26. "What don't you understand, Captain?"

"I don't understand how you don't hate me." His voice was in her throat. Cid had brought himself upward on his forearms. His face, in shame, was buried in the dip of where her neck met her shoulder.

"I care about you. I owe you what I have." It was her turn to answer honestly.

"Shera, what are you tryin' to tell me?" Cid moved his face to catch Shera's eyes.

"Please," more comfortable than how she started; she took his face in her hands "be with me before you go." Her voice was an unsure whisper. "Is that too much to ask?"

"No." Cid repeated. "It's not." He accepted her mouth when it found his again. The freshness of their newly discovered intimacy in kissing was replaced with a hungry fervor. His hands were on her sides, on her hips, on her thighs; pushing her legs upward. If they were going to do this, might as well do it right.

Shera's mouth gave way under Cid's prodding to her tongue. She sampled his taste, which was much like the way he smelled. There were tobacco and spices on his tongue, and the textured roof of his mouth. She threaded her fingers in the thick blonde hair along the back of his neck while their kisses grew heavier. The rough surface of Cid's palms brushed her stomach when her night top rode up. Not one to wait to be directed, he caught the end of the soft fabric and yanked it over Shera's head. Her first impulse was to cover her chest with her arms. Shera normally never wore a bra to bed. Against her bashful thoughts, however; her arms remained raised at her side while she gauged Cid's face for some sort of reaction.

In all honesty, Cid hadn't seen a woman naked in years. If he were really hungry, Shera looked good enough to eat. This was certainly a new way to know her. He had never thought he'd consider her inappropriately, ever, but here he was. For the first time in a long time, Cid wasn't sure what to say to the woman on the bed below him.

He palmed the soft, full swells and brushed the pads of his worn thumbs over her equally soft, pink nipples. Shera's back arched and she expelled the softest of whines at being touched by someone other than herself. It encouraged him enough to lean down and replace his thumb with his mouth. Cid groaned, and gently sucked and nibbled around the hardening bud. She tugged his hair, not hard enough to hurt, and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Cid…" Shera moaned. Cid paused to remove his shirt before shifting his focus to the other. He opened his mouth with a soft pop when the bud was taut and drifted upward again to graze her neck with his teeth.

"Do you really want me?" She sighed; long and dragged out when she felt Cid's hand testing whether or not he was allowed near her underwear. "You can change your mind." Though Shera really hoped he wouldn't.

"Shut yer' trap, Shera." Cid growled lower than he intended and pulled her bottom lip between his teeth. He was already turned on and half-hard. There wasn't much use in asking if he wanted to go back, because he was very sure he didn't. If this was what Shera wanted, he was going to do the last thing he thought he would ever do with her.

She would have replied if her mouth wasn't occupied. Shera's hands untangled from the hair at Cid's neck and down his shoulders. Her fingers squeezed, and dug into the firm skin of his back and sides. His body was tough, and when she found dips, patches, and nooks where he was soft, Shera allowed her hands to linger there so she could savor them. Her wondering and curious touch slipped down from the hair that covered the front of Cid's chest, traced his ribs, and paused at the tapering trail of hair below his navel. The draw string (and obvious tent in his groin) of whatever pants he had thrown on for bed teased her lower stomach and ghosted over her hips whenever he moved. They both simultaneously paused when Cid finally noticed Shera's hands loitering at the band around his hips.

She had been expecting Cid to comment, and grew nervous when he didn't. Shera, little by little, hooked her fingers behind the elastic of the clothes he had left, and inched it downward. More of the blonde, wiry hair that trailed down from his stomach became visible with the hilt of his erection.

Cid grunted. Shera was taking too goddamn long. They were here now, nearly stark naked in his bed. There was no more use in being shy. He nudged her hands back by her wrists, and kicked his pants and boxers off like a swimmer. The fabric fell and crumpled somewhere random on the floor.

Shera felt it rude to stare in such a bewildered state. Cid was thick and hung at the shaft; damp and flushed a deep red at his tip. When he moved toward her, she took it as a sign that she was free to touch. "Shit…" Cid met the unfamiliar stroking of Shera's fingers with a hiss. Soft pads swiped the beading head and traced the veins along his underside. Shera was a fucking tease.

She was mildly startled when Cid first began to jerk his hips toward her palm. Shera encased her hand around him in a slow pumping motion when encouraged by such positive reactions. She hoped she had been doing this right, that if felt good to him. It was then that she felt her own ache tightening down below. Shera lifted in need and slight discomfort. A dark petal of moisture had settled in the crotch of her panties. Cid made a deep noise of protest when she removed her touch to drag down her underwear. She shuttered when cool air met her parted thighs, and bent her knees at his sides after his hand pressed into the dip of where her torso met her hip to steady her.

The touch of his tatty, unpracticed fingers between her damp lips sent a slow tingle down Shera's spine. She whined. Wide hips dipped and gyrated into the firm rhythm of Cid's rubbing, and rubbing, and rubbing until she couldn't stand the fingers that were out of her control. "Cid, please."

He grunted to let her know she had been heard, and parted Shera's lips while aligning himself. Cid slowly slanted forward. She was wet and warm and so damn tight. Her hands wrapped under his arms and around the backs of his broad shoulders. Shera's housemate was brought down to rest flush over her chest when a comfortable portion of himself had sank in. Her light breathing met his ear, and quickened when Cid began to thrust.

"Shera, Shera, Shera…" Followed each loud, rhythmic creak of the bed springs. Her legs pretzeled Cid's waist; fingers clawing over the scars on his back.

"Yes, yes, yes…" Was her slow chant in reply. Shera's body bobbed with Cid's pushes, and her back arched. Her climax approached in a slow burn. Cid gritted his teeth and endured the pleasure of Shera's squeeze. His mouth found the soft skin of her collar bones; peppering her rapidly rising and falling chest in rough, stubbled kisses until they both tipped over.

It was hours after they'd finished that Shera stirred again. They had long eased their panting, shared a cigarette, and crawled under the cover of Cid's bed sheets. Her hair disheveled and messied, Shera tucked herself in against Cid's side while his chest and arm made a warm, pleasant pillow. Her vision was half-lidded and blurry without her glasses, but she could tell he was awake. Not very awake, but awake enough. His thumb swept over her bare shoulder in a lazy pattern. Shera wondered what time it was.

"Are you going to go and answer?" She softly mumbled. The house phone chirped obnoxiously downstairs. Shera knew it probably wasn't for her. Phone calls, especially this late…or this early never were.

"Theyc'n damn well wait till morning when I feel like answern'." Cid's voice was textured by being partially sleep.

"What if it's something important, Captain?" Shera pulled the edge of her lips between the teeth. Her eyes flowed over the rise and fall of his chest to the sky outside his bedroom window. It wasn't morning quite yet; no light from the sun peeking above the horizon. Though, it was hard to tell these days with Meteor looming like a grim reaper over the planet.

"Call me Cid, Shera." Like she had been hours ago. "M' busy. It can wait." He yawned . "Or I was busy."

Shera would have blushed if she weren't so tired. "When do you have to get ready to leave?" She asked again and pulled herself upward. Cid took her thigh and dragged it over his lap before answering.

"Soons' the morning comes. Thought I'd already told ya' the plan." His arm pressed under her side and wrapped around her back.

"You'll come back to me…?"

"This is me we're talkin' about. I'll whack that eight ball summoning, ShinRa prick over his head if I have to." He slanted his head to the side. There was a playful gleam in Cid's eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came. "I promise I'll come back to you, Shera."

"I promise I'll be here, Captain."