Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy Seven or The Story "The Darksword
Trilogy" which I got the Darksword from.
Chapter 11: A Brief Peace As Red Goes Missing
The following morning, Rueben quietly snuck his way into the house. He knew he acted like an ass yesterday and he didn't want to face Aeris's wrath so soon. He was all the way to his room when he heard her door open. With a groan he turned to face her. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"I trust you found the spot I told you about okay?" she asked, with venom in her voice. Rueben grinned sheepishly, and nodded.
"I did. By the way, have I mentioned how beautiful you are?" he said. Aeris crossed her arms across her chest.
~ I'm in deep shit. ~ Rueben thought. He scratched his head and thought of something to say. They stood like that for a brief period of silence, when Aeris sighed.
"Well, I can't be too mad at you. You didn't know any better, but next time take my word that its getting dark." She said, and made her way down stairs. Rueben sighed, knowing it could have been a lot worse. He made his way to the shower, and cleaned up. He came down stairs to find Aeris cooking breakfast. His stomach gurgled, not in hunger but horror. He went to get the paper (hoping that she got a subscription), and swearing when the paperboy hit him in the head with it.
"Boy, it sure is great to be alive." Rueben said, sarcastically. He snatched the paper and used some magic from the Black Materia to send a zap at the boy's rear. The boy yelped and looked back at Rueben. Rueben grinned and wagged a finger at the boy in a "naughty, naughty" expression. The boy took off. He went back inside and placed the paper on the table next to Aeris. She took it and began to read. Rueben looked at his breakfast and wrinkled his nose at it. Burnt toast, burnt eggs, burnt bacon, and burnt hash. She insisted on cooking the food, but this was just cooked way too much. He sat down and took a bite of eggs. He grimaced as they crunched. He took a drink of coffee to wash it down. Aeris looked at him with an inquiring grin.
"Well? Are they good?" she asked. Rueben forced a smile.
"Excellent." he lied. Aeris beamed and took a bite of her own eggs. She immediately spit them out, and began to cough.
"Liar." she coughed. He grinned, and took their plates to they trash. He threw the food and the plates into the trash.
"Let's go out to breakfast." Rueben said. He shifted the Darksword on his back, and looked at Aeris. She smiled, and ran up stairs to get ready. Rueben sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"What a world, what a world." he muttered.
*****
They spent most of the day shopping and sight seeing. Rueben was in a surprisingly good mood for the "day after" effects of the change. He had no complaints as Aeris dragged him from store to store. Well, actually there was one. When they entered a pet store, all the cats began to hiss and snarl at him. One even got a good swipe. Aeris noticed right away and asked the store to send her "surprise" tonight at nine. After a large lunch, Aeris showed Rueben where she trained, and to both their surprises, it was the spot Rueben had chosen to shackle himself last night. After a grueling five hors of sparing, they called it quits for the day. For the first time, Aeris had knocked Rueben out, much to her delight. After Aeris healed them, they strolled home. When they got there it was almost eight. Rueben cooked dinner while Aeris showered. When Rueben was done he grabbed a quick shower in the guest bath. Their dinner conversation was mostly on what the other had missed in the last year or so.
Later, they sat in front of the television, and Aeris leaned against Rueben. She sighed and put her arms around him. This more than she could have dreamed for. Rueben was like a dark knight, and she loved him. Rueben was thinking the same thing himself, but he was also thinking that with Aeris opening a flower shop, he would be alone and bored during the day. Oh, he could buy whatever he wanted with all the gold he had squared away, but it wasn't the same. He sure didn't want to work for Cloud. He had read all of the laws, and he sure as hell didn't agree with most of them but he'd obey them. He sure as hell didn't need a Bill of Allowances to tell him what he could do. He sighed and was about to ask Aeris what to do when the doorbell rang. Rueben frowned and was about to get up, when Aeris ran to the door. She opened it to find the pet store manager, who was about a half-hour late. He smiled at Aeris and handed her the box. She thanked him and closed the door with out a tip. The manager cursed and walked away.
"What is that, Aeris?" Rueben asked and made his way over to her. She held a cardboard box with holes in it, in her arms.
"It's a present for you." She said simply, and handed it to him. Rueben sniffed the box and his eyes widened in shock. He tore the top of to find a puppy. He looked from the pup to Aeris.
"I saw him a few days before you came back. He's half German Shepherd, and half wolf. His name is, Max." she said, and sat next to them. Rueben held up the pup and looked at it. Most dogs didn't like him because of the wolf in him, but if Max was half wolf... Max whined and licked Rueben's face. Rueben laughed and put the pup in his lap.
"He's great, Aeris! I can't believe you got me a pet!" he laughed and scratched Max behind the ears. Max closed his eyes, and whined with pleasure as Rueben laughed.
"Well, technically you got him for yourself. I used the gold you have squared away." She said, and Rueben shook his head.
"No, it's our money now. Everything that I own is yours now. From me to my home its all ours now." He whispered and pulled Aeris close for a kiss. After about ten minutes she pulled away.
"That reminds me. The sleeping arrangements are going to be this. You can sleep in our bed as long as you keep your clothes on." She stated.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" he asked.
"Yes. No sex till our wedding night." She said, and giggled.
"Damn. Well, if that's the case then I get to make a rule." He said, and grinned.
"And what pray tell is that?"
"Max gets to sleep on a bed."
"What? What about our private time when we're married?"
"Well, I never said our bed, I said a bed. You really think I would want that?"
"Geeze, I thought you had some kinky fetish, beast." She giggled, and hugged him. Rueben sighed, and put an arm around her.
"Whiner." He whispered and grinned. He loved their little spats
"Prick."
"Wimp."
"Jock."
"Witch."
"Freak."
"Virgin."
"Now what is wrong with waiting until we're married?" she asked, defensively. Rueben scratched his head, and then grinned.
"It's not fair to me! I want to see everything I'm getting now!" Rueben whined.
"Ugh, Men! I swear you all are ruled by one part of your anatomy! I'm going to bed!" she huffed, and stormed up stairs. Rueben heard the door slam, and he looked down at Max in his lap.
"I think I took it a bit to far, Max." Rueben said, and Max let out a little bark as if agreeing with his new master. Rueben took him up stairs but first showed him where the doggy door was so he could go out.
"You better be house broken." Rueben mumbled. The pup did indeed go out to make a toilet at that time. He came in wearing a doggy grin. Rueben sighed, and went upstairs with Max following close behind. Rueben thought the pup was at least four months old, because he could easily climb the stairs. Rueben lead Max to his old room and grabbed a pair of sweat pants. Rueben also took the blankets and sheets off the bed and placed Max on it. Max yawned and circled three times, and lay down. Rueben patted him on the head and left for Aeris's room. He quietly went in and left the door open a crack. He saw Aeris was already in bed and he sat next to her.
"I'm sorry. I was only joking." He said. All he got in response was her quiet snoring that sounded like singing. Rueben sighed and changed into the sweats. He climbed into bed from the opposite side. Aeris murmured and snuggled closer to him. He smiled and held her as he fell asleep.
*****
The next two months passed without incident. Aeris's flower shop was a huge success. Her flowers were said to last twice as long as everyone else's flowers. Rueben suspected that her Cetra powers were coming into play, but he never said a word. She also was on a committee to help nature start to grow again, and she even helped enact a plan to dust Midgar with plant seeds. Everyone from Avalanche, except Red was there to see it. People were getting worried that he might be hurt, and Cloud was forming a group to go and find him. Rueben had signed up when he heard, much to everyone's surprise. Rueben felt responsible for telling Red where his people might still be so he told Cloud what he had done. Cloud agreed that he should go and it was soon decided that only Avalanche members were to go, with Rueben being the exception.
Everyone was waiting for Cid to launch the Tiny Bronco and dust Midgar with seeds. Cid was soon up in the air and doing stunts like crazy. He eventually dusted Midgar, but only after two hours of screwing around in the air.
"Is he always like that when he flies?" Rueben asked, a trifle green at the prospect of flying in the Highwind with Cid at the controls.
"Not usually. Cid just wanted to show off." Shera said, from her chair. She and Elmyra (who was now engaged to Barret) both needed to sit with the kids. Everyone knew Shera was pregnant again, and they were surprised when Cid agreed to go along on the trip to find Red.
As everyone watched Cid, they did not notice the deformed man and his now living creation sneak aboard the Highwind. The deformed man tore and smashed certain controls. When he was satisfied, he motioned for his creation to follow him. His creation was a huge thing well over eight feet tall. It looked to be made of various monster parts. The only human thing was the right arm, which held in its human hand a Masamune. The half man, half bear head that was now attached to its new body, planned to kill its creator as soon as he was no longer needed. They found the paper that had the location of the island on it. The deformed man took it, and they left quickly when they heard the Tiny Bronco land. The made their way to their small boat, and set sail for the island.
Cid jumped out of the Tiny Bronco, and grinned at everyone. Rueben sighed as Cid began to brag about how good he was. To him this bragging was a waste of time. The sooner they got to the island the better. He sighed again and reached down to pat Max on the head. Max panted and picked up a stick. Rueben grinned and obliged Max by throwing the stick for him. Max took off with a bark, and ran after it. Aeris grinned at them, and knew Rueben was feeling bored. They soon made their way onto the Highwind to find it destroyed. Cid immediately began to swear loudly, and began to inspect the damage. Cloud went in search of clues with Tifa, and everyone else tried to help Cid with finding what was damaged except for Rueben, Aeris, and Max. They waited for everyone to be in another room, and the Rueben crouched down. He took some sniffs of the floor. He frowned.
"What is it Rueben? Can you track them?" she asked. Max whined, and shivered.
"No. These scents are unlike anything I've smelled before. One smells human, but it's different. It's just slightly different. The other is like numerous scents rolled into one. It smells a little familiar, but I can' tell what. Any way, before they left they must have done something to the ground because their scent stop short of the doorway." He stated. He got back up, and snorted as if to clear bad smell out of his nose. Max whimpered, and shivered again. Aeris scratched him behind the ears to calm him down.
"It appears to be upsetting Max as well. What do you think, Rueben? Do you think Cid can repair all this soon?" Aeris asked, and picked up a piece of optic cable.
"No. Cid is good, but this much damage is too much even for him. I think we'll be delayed for at least a week." Rueben said, looked out the door to the Tiny Bronco. Aeris had a feeling that he might be up to something.
"Rueben, have you got an idea?" she asked, and Rueben nodded. He abruptly went in the same direction Cloud and Tifa had gone. He returned a moment later with an unconscious Tifa and an angry Cloud.
"Aeris, can you please tell, Rueben, to put Tifa down?! He knocked her out and then demanded that I fly him over to the island!" Cloud shouted. Rueben glared at him, and looked at Aeris.
"It's the only way, Aeris. He would never have flown us there if I did not have a bargaining chip." Rueben stated, and walked out. Aeris sighed.
"He means well, Cloud, he just doesn't know any better. Can you do it?" she asked, and Cloud nodded with a snort.
"Good, let's get going them. The Tiny Bronco only has room for four people, I think Rueben only wants us to go." She said, and ran after him. Cloud ran after her as well to see Tifa had been place in the passenger seat resting comfortably and strapped in. Aeris jumped up and Rueben helped her into a seat. Rueben glance at Cloud and motioned him to hurry. Cloud sighed and shook his head.
"How the hell do I keep getting into this?" he muttered, and climbed in. He started the engine and noticed that Max had started to bark at them.
"Sorry boy! You can't come along!" Rueben called, out and sat behind Cloud.
"Go!" he said, and strapped in. Cloud sighed, and the plane took off. He heard shouts as they were ascending, and saw the others waving at them frantically, trying to get them to land. Cloud sighed again and headed for the island.
Chapter 11: A Brief Peace As Red Goes Missing
The following morning, Rueben quietly snuck his way into the house. He knew he acted like an ass yesterday and he didn't want to face Aeris's wrath so soon. He was all the way to his room when he heard her door open. With a groan he turned to face her. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"I trust you found the spot I told you about okay?" she asked, with venom in her voice. Rueben grinned sheepishly, and nodded.
"I did. By the way, have I mentioned how beautiful you are?" he said. Aeris crossed her arms across her chest.
~ I'm in deep shit. ~ Rueben thought. He scratched his head and thought of something to say. They stood like that for a brief period of silence, when Aeris sighed.
"Well, I can't be too mad at you. You didn't know any better, but next time take my word that its getting dark." She said, and made her way down stairs. Rueben sighed, knowing it could have been a lot worse. He made his way to the shower, and cleaned up. He came down stairs to find Aeris cooking breakfast. His stomach gurgled, not in hunger but horror. He went to get the paper (hoping that she got a subscription), and swearing when the paperboy hit him in the head with it.
"Boy, it sure is great to be alive." Rueben said, sarcastically. He snatched the paper and used some magic from the Black Materia to send a zap at the boy's rear. The boy yelped and looked back at Rueben. Rueben grinned and wagged a finger at the boy in a "naughty, naughty" expression. The boy took off. He went back inside and placed the paper on the table next to Aeris. She took it and began to read. Rueben looked at his breakfast and wrinkled his nose at it. Burnt toast, burnt eggs, burnt bacon, and burnt hash. She insisted on cooking the food, but this was just cooked way too much. He sat down and took a bite of eggs. He grimaced as they crunched. He took a drink of coffee to wash it down. Aeris looked at him with an inquiring grin.
"Well? Are they good?" she asked. Rueben forced a smile.
"Excellent." he lied. Aeris beamed and took a bite of her own eggs. She immediately spit them out, and began to cough.
"Liar." she coughed. He grinned, and took their plates to they trash. He threw the food and the plates into the trash.
"Let's go out to breakfast." Rueben said. He shifted the Darksword on his back, and looked at Aeris. She smiled, and ran up stairs to get ready. Rueben sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"What a world, what a world." he muttered.
*****
They spent most of the day shopping and sight seeing. Rueben was in a surprisingly good mood for the "day after" effects of the change. He had no complaints as Aeris dragged him from store to store. Well, actually there was one. When they entered a pet store, all the cats began to hiss and snarl at him. One even got a good swipe. Aeris noticed right away and asked the store to send her "surprise" tonight at nine. After a large lunch, Aeris showed Rueben where she trained, and to both their surprises, it was the spot Rueben had chosen to shackle himself last night. After a grueling five hors of sparing, they called it quits for the day. For the first time, Aeris had knocked Rueben out, much to her delight. After Aeris healed them, they strolled home. When they got there it was almost eight. Rueben cooked dinner while Aeris showered. When Rueben was done he grabbed a quick shower in the guest bath. Their dinner conversation was mostly on what the other had missed in the last year or so.
Later, they sat in front of the television, and Aeris leaned against Rueben. She sighed and put her arms around him. This more than she could have dreamed for. Rueben was like a dark knight, and she loved him. Rueben was thinking the same thing himself, but he was also thinking that with Aeris opening a flower shop, he would be alone and bored during the day. Oh, he could buy whatever he wanted with all the gold he had squared away, but it wasn't the same. He sure didn't want to work for Cloud. He had read all of the laws, and he sure as hell didn't agree with most of them but he'd obey them. He sure as hell didn't need a Bill of Allowances to tell him what he could do. He sighed and was about to ask Aeris what to do when the doorbell rang. Rueben frowned and was about to get up, when Aeris ran to the door. She opened it to find the pet store manager, who was about a half-hour late. He smiled at Aeris and handed her the box. She thanked him and closed the door with out a tip. The manager cursed and walked away.
"What is that, Aeris?" Rueben asked and made his way over to her. She held a cardboard box with holes in it, in her arms.
"It's a present for you." She said simply, and handed it to him. Rueben sniffed the box and his eyes widened in shock. He tore the top of to find a puppy. He looked from the pup to Aeris.
"I saw him a few days before you came back. He's half German Shepherd, and half wolf. His name is, Max." she said, and sat next to them. Rueben held up the pup and looked at it. Most dogs didn't like him because of the wolf in him, but if Max was half wolf... Max whined and licked Rueben's face. Rueben laughed and put the pup in his lap.
"He's great, Aeris! I can't believe you got me a pet!" he laughed and scratched Max behind the ears. Max closed his eyes, and whined with pleasure as Rueben laughed.
"Well, technically you got him for yourself. I used the gold you have squared away." She said, and Rueben shook his head.
"No, it's our money now. Everything that I own is yours now. From me to my home its all ours now." He whispered and pulled Aeris close for a kiss. After about ten minutes she pulled away.
"That reminds me. The sleeping arrangements are going to be this. You can sleep in our bed as long as you keep your clothes on." She stated.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" he asked.
"Yes. No sex till our wedding night." She said, and giggled.
"Damn. Well, if that's the case then I get to make a rule." He said, and grinned.
"And what pray tell is that?"
"Max gets to sleep on a bed."
"What? What about our private time when we're married?"
"Well, I never said our bed, I said a bed. You really think I would want that?"
"Geeze, I thought you had some kinky fetish, beast." She giggled, and hugged him. Rueben sighed, and put an arm around her.
"Whiner." He whispered and grinned. He loved their little spats
"Prick."
"Wimp."
"Jock."
"Witch."
"Freak."
"Virgin."
"Now what is wrong with waiting until we're married?" she asked, defensively. Rueben scratched his head, and then grinned.
"It's not fair to me! I want to see everything I'm getting now!" Rueben whined.
"Ugh, Men! I swear you all are ruled by one part of your anatomy! I'm going to bed!" she huffed, and stormed up stairs. Rueben heard the door slam, and he looked down at Max in his lap.
"I think I took it a bit to far, Max." Rueben said, and Max let out a little bark as if agreeing with his new master. Rueben took him up stairs but first showed him where the doggy door was so he could go out.
"You better be house broken." Rueben mumbled. The pup did indeed go out to make a toilet at that time. He came in wearing a doggy grin. Rueben sighed, and went upstairs with Max following close behind. Rueben thought the pup was at least four months old, because he could easily climb the stairs. Rueben lead Max to his old room and grabbed a pair of sweat pants. Rueben also took the blankets and sheets off the bed and placed Max on it. Max yawned and circled three times, and lay down. Rueben patted him on the head and left for Aeris's room. He quietly went in and left the door open a crack. He saw Aeris was already in bed and he sat next to her.
"I'm sorry. I was only joking." He said. All he got in response was her quiet snoring that sounded like singing. Rueben sighed and changed into the sweats. He climbed into bed from the opposite side. Aeris murmured and snuggled closer to him. He smiled and held her as he fell asleep.
*****
The next two months passed without incident. Aeris's flower shop was a huge success. Her flowers were said to last twice as long as everyone else's flowers. Rueben suspected that her Cetra powers were coming into play, but he never said a word. She also was on a committee to help nature start to grow again, and she even helped enact a plan to dust Midgar with plant seeds. Everyone from Avalanche, except Red was there to see it. People were getting worried that he might be hurt, and Cloud was forming a group to go and find him. Rueben had signed up when he heard, much to everyone's surprise. Rueben felt responsible for telling Red where his people might still be so he told Cloud what he had done. Cloud agreed that he should go and it was soon decided that only Avalanche members were to go, with Rueben being the exception.
Everyone was waiting for Cid to launch the Tiny Bronco and dust Midgar with seeds. Cid was soon up in the air and doing stunts like crazy. He eventually dusted Midgar, but only after two hours of screwing around in the air.
"Is he always like that when he flies?" Rueben asked, a trifle green at the prospect of flying in the Highwind with Cid at the controls.
"Not usually. Cid just wanted to show off." Shera said, from her chair. She and Elmyra (who was now engaged to Barret) both needed to sit with the kids. Everyone knew Shera was pregnant again, and they were surprised when Cid agreed to go along on the trip to find Red.
As everyone watched Cid, they did not notice the deformed man and his now living creation sneak aboard the Highwind. The deformed man tore and smashed certain controls. When he was satisfied, he motioned for his creation to follow him. His creation was a huge thing well over eight feet tall. It looked to be made of various monster parts. The only human thing was the right arm, which held in its human hand a Masamune. The half man, half bear head that was now attached to its new body, planned to kill its creator as soon as he was no longer needed. They found the paper that had the location of the island on it. The deformed man took it, and they left quickly when they heard the Tiny Bronco land. The made their way to their small boat, and set sail for the island.
Cid jumped out of the Tiny Bronco, and grinned at everyone. Rueben sighed as Cid began to brag about how good he was. To him this bragging was a waste of time. The sooner they got to the island the better. He sighed again and reached down to pat Max on the head. Max panted and picked up a stick. Rueben grinned and obliged Max by throwing the stick for him. Max took off with a bark, and ran after it. Aeris grinned at them, and knew Rueben was feeling bored. They soon made their way onto the Highwind to find it destroyed. Cid immediately began to swear loudly, and began to inspect the damage. Cloud went in search of clues with Tifa, and everyone else tried to help Cid with finding what was damaged except for Rueben, Aeris, and Max. They waited for everyone to be in another room, and the Rueben crouched down. He took some sniffs of the floor. He frowned.
"What is it Rueben? Can you track them?" she asked. Max whined, and shivered.
"No. These scents are unlike anything I've smelled before. One smells human, but it's different. It's just slightly different. The other is like numerous scents rolled into one. It smells a little familiar, but I can' tell what. Any way, before they left they must have done something to the ground because their scent stop short of the doorway." He stated. He got back up, and snorted as if to clear bad smell out of his nose. Max whimpered, and shivered again. Aeris scratched him behind the ears to calm him down.
"It appears to be upsetting Max as well. What do you think, Rueben? Do you think Cid can repair all this soon?" Aeris asked, and picked up a piece of optic cable.
"No. Cid is good, but this much damage is too much even for him. I think we'll be delayed for at least a week." Rueben said, looked out the door to the Tiny Bronco. Aeris had a feeling that he might be up to something.
"Rueben, have you got an idea?" she asked, and Rueben nodded. He abruptly went in the same direction Cloud and Tifa had gone. He returned a moment later with an unconscious Tifa and an angry Cloud.
"Aeris, can you please tell, Rueben, to put Tifa down?! He knocked her out and then demanded that I fly him over to the island!" Cloud shouted. Rueben glared at him, and looked at Aeris.
"It's the only way, Aeris. He would never have flown us there if I did not have a bargaining chip." Rueben stated, and walked out. Aeris sighed.
"He means well, Cloud, he just doesn't know any better. Can you do it?" she asked, and Cloud nodded with a snort.
"Good, let's get going them. The Tiny Bronco only has room for four people, I think Rueben only wants us to go." She said, and ran after him. Cloud ran after her as well to see Tifa had been place in the passenger seat resting comfortably and strapped in. Aeris jumped up and Rueben helped her into a seat. Rueben glance at Cloud and motioned him to hurry. Cloud sighed and shook his head.
"How the hell do I keep getting into this?" he muttered, and climbed in. He started the engine and noticed that Max had started to bark at them.
"Sorry boy! You can't come along!" Rueben called, out and sat behind Cloud.
"Go!" he said, and strapped in. Cloud sighed, and the plane took off. He heard shouts as they were ascending, and saw the others waving at them frantically, trying to get them to land. Cloud sighed again and headed for the island.