Decisions
"Adelya, are you ready to go yet?" Vincent sighed as he waited by the door.
"Hold on!" She huffed from the top of the stairs, pulling on her white boots.
"Hey Vince, we've got a little bit of a problem. Something's in the basement and it's trying to get out." Reno leaned on the banister, cigarette dangling in his fingers.
"A monster?" Vincent frowned, starting to get his gun.
"Well, she thinks it's a pup-"
"It is!" Adelya cut him off, glowering. "It's a puppy!" She insisted, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"I'll check it out." Vincent hurried up the stairs, heading for the secret entry. As he entered the room, he heard a whimper and scratching. He slowly opened the entrance, just enough for a cold, wet nose to pop out and a muzzle.
"I told you so!" Adelya moved around him, pushing the door. A collie pup barked, jumping on top of her. She giggled as it began licking her face.
"How did it get in?" He frowned, closing the door.
"Must be a hole from outside. Anyway, let's get going. Cid will kill us if we're late." Reno said, leaning in the doorway.
"But you said we were gonna visit mommy!" Adelya cried, looking at him in alarm.
"We are." He chuckled. "But after that we're going to visit Tifa. She's having a party next week, we thought we might stop in early and help her out."
"Can we keep my puppy?" Adelya asked, latching her arms around the collie. The dog whined, looking pitifully at Reno.
"Yeah, why not?" Reno smirked, walking over to pick her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning.
"Come on, we've wasted enough time." Vincent eyed the dog for a moment and then left, Reno following in suit.
"Come on puppy!" Adelya giggled, waving over Reno's shoulder. The collie barked, following them downstairs. "Is Uncle Cid gonna be at mommy's grave?" She asked.
"He's going to meet us there, yes." Reno replied.
"With Aunt Shera?" She asked.
"Possibly, yes. We just know Cid's coming to pick us up. Besides, we want you to be a surprise to everyone." He lightly tapped her nose, smiling. She giggled, peering down as he stamped out his cigarette on the pavement.
"Does Uncle Cid know I'm coming?" Adelya asked, closing her eyes.
"No one has any idea." Vincent answered.
"Adelya, you're gonna have so much fun. In a few days, you'll get to see everyone again." Reno told her. She beamed up at him before pressing her face into the crook of his neck. From then on they walked in silence, heading for the outskirts of Nibelheim.
"It's so pretty…" Adelya breathed, tracing her fingers over the cold white marble. She looked up at Vincent, frowning when she saw him staring off into space. "Vincent." She reached up, tugging at his hand.
"Sorry." He knelt beside her, smiling. "Do you like it?" He asked, stroking her hair with his claw.
"Yes." She nodded, pressing her face into his arm. "I miss her." She whispered, tears starting to fall. She pressed close, clutching his shirt as she wept into his chest now.
"She wouldn't want you to cry for her." He said softly, wrapping an arm around her.
"It's not fair." She whined. "Mommy wanted to be happy, all she wanted was him." She refused to call that silver-haired man her father.
"I know. He just didn't want her. But hey, you've got us now." He kissed her hair. "We can be a family, can't we?" He rubbed her back. She nodded, sniffling.
"Our ride's here." Reno walked across the field, gesturing back toward the airship. "Adelya, are you ready to go?" He set his hand on her shoulder. She pulled back from Vincent, shrugging. "Come on." He picked her up, slowly heading for the airship. Vincent grabbed the collie from where it lay and carried it along. Once they reached the airship, Reno trudged up the ramp. Cid was waiting at the top.
"What took ya so-" He stopped his rant, frowning. "You take in an orphan or something?" He asked.
"Cid, you remember Adelya?" Reno sighed. Adelya looked up, faintly smiling as she saw Cid. A flicker of remembrance passed in her brown eyes.
"Why do you got her? Where's her moth-" It dawned on the pilot suddenly. "Give 'er to me." He instructed, reaching for the raven-haired girl. Reno complied, following the pilot into the ship.
"Uncle Cid, where's Aunt Shera?" Adelya whispered, looking around.
"She stayed home kiddo, she had to work for a while." He answered, setting her down as they entered the main room. "So you're going to Edge?" He asked Reno.
"Yeah. I want to get the twins and Tifa…she'll want some help for the party next week."
"How long you had the kid?"
"Three weeks. She just woke this morning." Reno smiled at Adelya, who was at Vincent's side, hugging him around the waist.
"What kept her out that long?" Cid shot a concerned glance at the little girl. She looked up, grinning at him.
"Bullet to the chest. A lung collapsed."
"From who?" The pilot watched Reno tense, his jaw tight.
"Her so-called father." He spat.
"He got her mom?" Cid closed his eyes as Reno nodded.
"We were too late for her."
"Cid, where are the bedrooms?" Vincent broke the conversation, knowing Adelya was going to get upset again if they kept this up.
"Down the left hall, first door on your right." The pilot directed. He noticed the collie then, and a scowl settled into his features. "Why's that mutt on my ship?" He demanded.
"It…it's my puppy…" Adelya's soft, fearful voice was heard. The three men glanced at each other in concern. This wasn't Adelya, that child had never been scared. No, the Adelya they had known was gone. "We….we found her before we left. Please don't make me leave her…" Her lip trembled, eyes filling instantly with tears. Cid softened his gaze, crouching in front of her.
"You got a name for it?" He asked. She rapidly shook her head.
"Not yet…"
"Any ideas?"
"Well….one…" She started, then quickly closed her mouth.
"What is it?"
"Sadie…" She replied, looking at Vincent and the wriggling pup. He smiled, setting the collie down. It barked, racing to Adelya, jumping on her. She smiled, hugging it tightly, giggling as it licked her face.
"That's a good name. Why don't you take her up to one of the bedrooms and play with her?" He tussled her hair. "I need to talk to these two." She nodded, hurrying off. The collie barked and gave chase, nails clicking on the polished wood floors. "She's changed a lot." The pilot sighed.
"She's definitely lost her fight." Reno agreed.
"She's scared, too. I know that she was never afraid of me. I remember her always arguing. She had fire then. Gosh, it's only been a few years…" Cid trailed off.
"I think she's just in trauma. After all, she saw her mom die." Reno said.
"No, I don't think that's what hurt her. I think she was physically hurt, not traumatized." Vincent commented.
"There was no one around to…Jadian would never touch Adelya, she was a good parent." Reno defended.
"Reno, I'm not blaming Jadian. But someone has hurt that child. She was never scared of me when I got angry, you know that. We need to find out what's going on." Cid sighed. "You two want a beer?" He moved to the wheel, bending down by his cooler. The trainee manning the wheel watched for a moment, licking his dry lips. Cid abruptly closed his cooler, standing tall again. He held three beers, just as told. Walking over, he handed two over and opened his own. "We should talk to her about it, see if something's bugging her." He said.
"Then let's go find out." Reno walked to the door, glancing back. "You two coming or will I have to do this alone?" He smirked.
"Yea, we're coming." Cid chewed his cigarette for a moment before taking the unlit stick, tossing it in the garbage can on the way out. The crimson gunslinger followed, silent as ever.
A/N: Yea, here it is guys. The chapters might start getting longer and longer, it all depends. I promise I'm not going to do a day-to-day thing on her life. Just getting everything in before the bash at Tifa's, then from there we'll skip to high school, and so on and so forth. So stick around. Oh! The next chapter should hold some flashbacks to explain everything that happened previously, how Adelya met everyone and that kind of stuff. Yeah. So, reviews are love, and much appreciated. The next one should be up next week-ish, if I get around to it. I should though, Christmas is coming slow this year. Yea. Um, Merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate. Have fun celebrating. Reviews are love. D
