Chapter 3:Old Friends and Late Night Swims

Disclaimer: Just reminding everyone that I don't own FF7… ok you all knew that already, but oh well.

To all my reviewers: Thank you all very much! I'm happy to see that my story is liked so far. Most of my chapters should be posted up fairly quickly since the story is mostly finished (It's pretty long though). I'm still working on the end of it right now. Enjoy the next chapter.

We arrived at the edge of Rocket town at around 3 p.m. and stopped so that Sephiroth could pull his cloak back on for a meager disguise.

After a quick inspection I nodded my approval. "Where's your sword?" I asked, peeking beyond the black folds of fabric. "How can something so large be so invisible?"

"It's on my back." Sephiroth answered curtly.

"Oh." I said blankly. "Isn't it awkward to walk with something so large and heavy on your back?"

"No." He replied with a hint of irritation.

"I suppose it isn't that heavy to you since you seem to wield it around like a pencil when it's more like an anvil to me." I mused and walked in to town with Sephiroth trailing at my heels for the first time since the start of the trip. I came to a stop at the center pf the street and turned to face him. "I'm going to visit Cid and Shera. I don't know how long I'll be gone. Where can I find you?"

"I'll find you." He replied.

I frowned. "Oh, ok then. Bye for now." This better not be some cheap way of getting rid of me.

He nodded and vanished into the nearest pub. I turned towards Cid and Shera's house. Nothing seemed to have changed since I was last here. The Highwind was parked out back behind the house beside the old rocket launching pad, unused yet still gleaming with pride. A large grin crossed my face as I stepped up to their door and knocked. It's been a while…

"Who the hell is at our goddamn door!" Cid bellowed. "Stupid sons of-"

"Cid!" Shera cried. "If you go on like that you'll wake Melony up, not to mention scare who ever it is away. They probably heard you!"

"So?" Cid prompted.

Loud footsteps clamored to the door. The handle twisted violently and a rush of warm air plummeted into me as it swung open.

"What the fuc- Tifa!" Cid did a double-take, wide-eyed and red in the face. "How...?"

"Hello!" I beamed brightly.

"Tifa?" Came Shera's voice as she crept up behind her sputtering husband. Her lips curved into a bright smile. "It is you! How wonderful!"

Cid suddenly grinned. "Well, aint this a pleasant surprise! Come in!" He yanked me inside and slammed the door shut.

I turned to face them, combing a few strands of hair behind my ear. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I was in town and I thought I'd come visit. Home has been a little boring lately, so I've decided to do some traveling."

"Damn good thing too." Cid nodded sternly. "You're a fighter Tif, always have been always will be. You don't belong in some stuffy house. It's about time you came and visited us anyway. How long can ya stay?"

"Probably till 8 or 9 p.m." I answered.

"Have a seat." Shera said, pulling out a chair. "Would you like something to eat or drink? We've got tuna fish sandwiches in the fridge if you're hungry."

"She'll have some tea." Cid barked. "You can bring those sandwiches out too."

I smiled lightly. He never changes, I thought. "That sounds great."

"What kind of tea would you like?" Shera asked from the kitchen.

"Lipton would be fine, with lemon and honey." I replied, propping my elbows on the table and resting my chin in my hands. "How is everyone? Is Melony giving you a hard time?"

"Horrendous." Cid growled.

"Cid." Shera chastized from the kitchen and stormed into the living room. "I'll tell you who's a handful." She scowled and jabbed a finger directly at Cid. "That lazy blond man over there that I call my husband is a handful!"

Cid's eyes popped out of their sockets. "Lazy blond- wait a damn minute!"

Shera had already disappeared into the kitchen.

"That bad?" I giggled.

She glided back into the room a moment later with a steaming cup in her hand and a smile on her face. "I might be exaggerating a bit. Cid's only real bad habit is his atrocious cursing." She sent him a death glare and placed the tea on the table before me. "Our daughter certainly won't learn good manners from him."

Cid grunted. "Manners, shmanners."

Shera tossed her arms into the air, exasperated. "And he encourages it! That's the worst part."

"Well, a good cuss word can let off a lot of steam, ya know?" Cid protested. He grinned widely. "She'll be able to out cuss anybody! Now that's something to be proud of. Besides, it might scare away all those boyfriends she'll end up having when she's older."

"Cid, she's four." I smiled, shaking my head. "Maybe you should wait a little while before teaching your daughter bad habits. That kind of thing might get her thrown out of school."

"Who needs school when she can learn from her father?" Cid scoffed.

Shera and I stared at him blankly for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

He looked back and forth between us, his forehead wrinkled in a scowl. "What?" He demanded. "What's so funny? You don't think I'm smart enough or something? What's the joke?"

"Oh forget it Cid." Shera chuckled lightly and headed back to the kitchen. "It's just that Melony may not want to learn about mechanics."

"So?" Cid asked in bewilderment. "What's that got to do with it?"

I smirked. "Do you know anything that doesn't have to do with mechanics?"

"Sure!" Cid answered sternly. "English blows goats."

Another fit of giggles seized me and I almost choked on my tea.

"Hell will freeze over before you home school our daughter." Shera said coolly and placed a plate full of sandwiches in front of us. "I'm going to go wake her up. I'll be right back."

"Ok, thanks for the tea and tuna fish." I called. My arms snaked across the table and snatched a sandwich from the plate. I leaned back in my chair and glanced over at Cid to find him watching me intently.

"You ok, Tif?" He asked with concern evident in his eyes.

"I'm fine." I answered uneasily, taking another sip from my tea. Perfecto. Sweet and tangy.

I sighed and set the cup down. "I had some trouble in my bar last night. Some mountain theives came in and got into a brawl. It's been getting worse lately. It seems that my bar is sitting on the line that divides two opposing gangs. I, unfortunately, was the reason they'd come last night. Something about needing more female members..."

Cid's knuckles turned white as he slammed his fist on the tabletop. "Why those no good, piece of shit, mother fuckers!" He seemed about to get up off his chair and charge out the door after them. "I'll kill 'em!"

"It's alright Cid." I intervened calmly, hoping to settle him down. "Everything's fine now. Someone...ah, somenoe came and rescued me." I wish I could tell you who, I thought to myself dolefully. It felt like I was lying to him by not telling him, but I couldn't. It was much too dangerous.

"So, ya got yerself a boyfriend, eh?" His eyes glimmered mischievously.

"Don't be silly!" I blushed. If only you knew... "It's not like that at all. He's...he's an aquaintance from the past, that's all." I groaned and laced my fingers through my hair in aggravation. "Cid?" I have to tell him something.

"Yeah?" One brow perked up curiously.

"I can't tell you who he is just yet." I began carefully. "I want to, but I'm afraid that you won't understand right now. You'll find out sooner or later I know. When you do, can you promise me that you'll trust me?"

To my astonishment he smiled. "Sure Tifa. I'll trust you. I'd trust you with my life." His eyes flickered with a peculiar light, as if he already knew what was going on. "It's obvious you care about him, whoever he is." He snickered.

I immediately opened my mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the sound of a four year old's high pitch squealing. I spun around abruptly in my chair to see the short blue-eyed girl with brown hair standing next to her mother, literablly vibrating with anticipation.

"Tifa!" She cried exuberantly and bullrushed into my arms.

"Hello Melony." I managed with an armful of girl, and tickled her gently. "How's my girl?"

"Good." She giggled.

"That's good." I said, smiling. "Are you behaving?"

Melony nodded vigorously.

"She's taken quite a liking to you Tifa." Cid noted. "You wanna keep her?"

"Cid." Shera drawled threateningly.

Cid's eyes darted all around the room frantically, as if looking for someone. "What? Who? where?" He asked, feigning a dramautized ignorance. "I don't see him."

Melony let go of me abruptly and scrambled over to her father. "Here, here, here!" She yelled excitedly, her finger extend towards him. "You don't really wanna get rid of me, do ya?" Her eyes got really big and her bottom lip stuck out.

Cid grinned and scooped her up into his arms. "Of course not. I'm just teasing." He grinned.

Shera took a seat next to me.

"Do you think I can use your shower?" I asked hopefully. "If it isn't any trouble to you, that is."

"Oh that's no problem at all. Go right ahead. There are towels and washcloths in the cupboard. Shampoo and conditioner are in the shower." She said. "If you want I'll get the stuff for you."

"Don't worry about it just yet. I'll do it later." I replied. "I'd rather catch up with you guys first."

"Alright." Shera smiled.

I hadn't had that much fun in months. It was times like these that reminded me how important my friends really were to me. I was lucky to have them for friends. They were all I had left now and it was about time that I start appreciating them being there instead of locking myself away.

Time had gotten away from me though and it was late. My anxieties grew with each passing hour, as I wasn't sure that Sephiroth wouldn't just leave me here. If anything, I wanted to keep an eye on him and his movements, but with Melony clinging to me the whole while, and Cid and Shera insisting that I spend the night I just barely got out at 9 p.m. At least I had time in between the visit to take my shower.

As I walked down the street I gazed upwards to find the sky laden with stars. It was a beautiful, clear night, and it brought a peaceful smile to my face. I headed for the edge of town while a gentle breeze stirred my bangs about and sent shivers up my spine. A beautiful night, but a cold one too, I thought. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying in vain to keep in the heat as I walked.

"You can stop now." Came a smug voice from the shadows.

I jumped with a start and spun around sharply. A wave of relief washed over me as I recognized the mako green eyes staring back at me from the darkness. "Damn it Sephiroth, don't do that!" I huffed. "You scared the living daylights out of me."

"Pardon me." He replied. "I'm staying outside of town for the night. Will you spend the night in the inn?"

"Of course not!" I retorted, planting my hands on my hips defiantly. "What do you think I am, a wimp?"

"No. Here." He handed me his cloak. "You'll need it if you're planning on spending the night out here. Wimp or not, you'll be cold in that outfit."

I slipped the cloak around my shoulders awkwardly and relished in the warmth his body had left behind. "Um, thank you."

Sephiroth started off, his sword now dangling from his waist, while I trailed behind him rather blindly. It seemed to me that he was getting farther and farther ahead of me with each step. No matter how hard I tried to keep up I always ended up tripping and falling behind.

I tried picking up some speed and was just starting to make up ground when my foot caught a tree branch, vaulting me across the ground where I eventually stopped in a bruised heap.

"Ow." I moaned and rolled over onto my back, sighing. This is really starting to annoy me.

My ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching, but at the moment I felt no motivation to move. Sephiroth's eyes glided into my line of sight then. I groaned and pushed myself up to a sitting position, carefully avoiding his penetrating stare..

"Careful." He said stoically, grasping my hand and pulling me to my feet without warning. "Is there a problem?"

"I can't seem to see, if that's what you're wondering." I answered irritably, brushing dirt off of my legs..

"We're almost there." He assured me and started off once more, a little slower this time.

I was able to tag along beside him at the speed he was going, but I still felt blind. Four steps later my foot caught on something else for the billionth time. Sephiroth's hand snatched my arm as I began my swift plummet to the ground, and pulled me smoothly back to my feet. He said nothing and continued on, still holding onto me.

Walking wasn't any easier really, but at least he was there to keep me from falling all the time. Which was more nerve wracking than it was helpful. To be so close to someone I had spent my life despising was unsettling, to say the least.

At last, we came to a stop before a creek. Here he released me, to my relief, and studied the water. His gaze lifted to the bank across the way. "It's deep. We'll have to jump." He declared.

My jaw dropped. Are you insane! It was 12 feet across at least, and the bank on the other side was higher than the one we were on. "You must be joking." I breathed incredulously. "There's no way I'm jumping that."

Sephiroth smirked, planted his feet, and with one swift leap he easily cleared the water to the other side. Then he turned to face me. "It's either that or you go swimming. I suppose you can always turn back too." He chuckled. "I'll even offer to catch you if you make it."

"Oh thanks." I grumbled irritably and yanked off the cloak. "But you'll have to take this first. I'll jump better without it I think." I tossed it to him and he placed the cloak aside.

I stumbled shakily away from the edge and took a deep breath. This is a horrible idea.

I was a pretty good jumper, but damn that looked a long way across. It was a long way across, but there was no way I'd be left behind. Either I'd clear it or I'd get soaked trying. Just do it, Tifa. I nodded stiffly and sprinted towards the edge. My legs bent and sprang at the last possible moment, and I was suddenly soaring across the trickling oblivivion below. Then, as I began my descent towards the other side, I was plucket out of the air by firm, strong hands. I clumsitly fell into him, skin brushing skin, and my cheeks inflamed.

In that moment our gazes locked and the world outside of us disappeared; but before either of us had a chance to comprehend what was going through the other's head, the ground beneath our feet suddenly fell away and we both plunged into the water.

The freezing current swallowed me hole and began to sweep me down stream. I managed to get my head above the surface and grab the bank after a bit of struggling though. Sephiroth was doing the same just down the creek from me. His hair was plastered to the side of his face and the bangs that usually stuck out were flattened.

The situation was so ridiculous and unexpect that I burst into laughter while attempting to pull myself out. Consequently, I fell back in.

Sephiroth scowled deeply. "What could possibly be funny about this?"

"It's just...your hair." I giggled. "I never imagined I'd see the great Sephiroth so undignified and sopping wet." Bad choice of words maybe?

His eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" He sneered and swam up beside me. "You look rather amusing too." There was no time to dodge his hand as it grabbed my head and abruptly dunked me beneath the water.

That bastard! I struggled furiously to get above water and came up coughing. He was laughing at me. "You-you pig!" I shrieked and tried to punch him, but his hand caught me effortlessly.

He shook his head drearily. "Come now, you can do better than that." He said and let go of my fist. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of here."

I'd tried that before and found it to be harder than I'd expected. Although my failure might have had something to do with the fact that I'd been laughing at the time. It was rather chilly in here too.

Sephiroth pulled himself out without difficulty, making it look pathetically easy. I, on the other hand, could not seem to produce enough momentum to get up over the bank. There was nothing to brace my feet against.

Sephiroth offered me his hand with a smirk.

I frowned, but took it reluctantly. The air hit my skin like a thousand needles as he tugged me out of the water. And I thought the water felt cold. It was freezing out in the open air. "I-It's c-cold." I chattered. "Really cold."

"At least the cloak is dry. It should keep you warm enough." Sephiroth remarked and tossed it towards me. "We'll stop for the night at the top of this hill."

It was a small hill, thankfully, and the moon had risen into the sky, casting its silver light over the land. It provided enough light for me to see without trouble. When we reached the top I flopped down at the base of one of the two large trees that grew there. Their massive branches formed a canopy of leaves above us, sheltering from the elements.

After a while Sephiroth successfully had a fire going for warmth and I crawled up beside it to savior the heat. Perfect, I thought. It was just too bad that my clothing was soaked. My shorts would dry pretty quickly. The shirt, on the other hand, would not.

I'd been watching the fire for so long that I didn't notice Sephiroth removing his shoulder armor and soaked trench coat. My eyes rose from the fire curiously and halted the moment I saw him pull off the last bit of clothing from his upper body. I held my breath as I sat there, my gaze fixated on his bare back. He had muscles I didn't even know existed. Woah.

When he turned around I jerked my head back towards the fire quickly, nibbling my lip nervously. I could feel his heavy gaze as I sat there trying my best to appear innocent and oblivious to his nakedness from the waist up. It wasn't working though, for he'd already caught me staring. How embarrassing. Goggling our enemy now, are we? Well it's not my fault he's so…so………gorgeous… Well, he is, damn it!

I was relieved when he finally walked over to the other tree and sat down, and I could allow myself to breath again. I took a chance and glanced over at him. Stop it! Look away! It's nothing you haven't seen before... Ok, so that wasn't true. His head moved again and my eyes darted back to the fire.

"You're staring at me...why?" Sephiroth inquired.

Because you've got bulging muscles everywhere and…I can't help it? No, that's not going to work. "Aren't you cold?" I asked, smoothly changing the subject. The quick come back! Not a bad save if I do say so myself.

"No." He answered. "I'm only cold when my clothes are wet."

The brightness of the fire was starting to make my eyes water. I had to avert my gaze somewhere else. Anywhere that wasn't in the vicinity of Sephiroth was good, I thought and looked towards the sky. I frowned to find my view of the stars blurred by tree branches. Well, that would have to be dealt with, I thought, and got to my feet. I let my cloak fall to the ground and walked beyond the fire to look at the sky.

I stood there for a long time, transfixed by the beauty of space. There had yet to be a shooting star though. How disappointing. I was starting to feel cold again too, not to mention tired. As I was turning to go back to my tree however, a streak of light grabbed my attention. My eyes brightened as and jerked back around and saw a star flickering across the sky. Finally, a wishing star.

"You like stars?" Sephiroth inquired suddenly, rudely interrupting my daydream.

I turned around in sluggishly and forced myself to concentrate on looking at his face - no lower. He was watching me with those lovely eyes of his. I just wanted to melt right then and there. Where did that come from? "I love stars." I whispered, returning my gaze to the sky hastily.

"They are quite spectacular." He commented. "Especially tonight."

I nodded. "Yeah, they do seem to be glowing brighter than usual."

"Yet, they still don't compare." He murmured softly.

I tilted my head confusedly. "Don't compare to what?" I asked, twisting around to look back at him. My eyes trailed helplessly for only a second to his chest. Amazing…I couldn't help but admire his oustanding physique. He was so powerfully built, yet thin and agile looking.

"You of course." He replied. "Who else is here to compare them to?"

My heart stopped and the entire world came to a stand still. Did he just say what I thought he said? "W-what...?" I was speechless, my eyes wide with shock. I was having a hard time computing what had just been said.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have been so blunt." Sephiroth murmured thoughtfully.

"N-no! That's alright, it's just that you startled me, that's all." I replied quickly. "Thank you." No one had ever said anything so sappy and yet utterly believable to me before, and to hear it from Sephiroth made my skin tingle. I don't remember ever feeling this way just from a compliment. What on earth was wrong with me? Grant it that was a very good compliment…no, that was an excellent compliment.

He frowned and peered into the fire, looking slightly disturbed. "I didn't expect me to say it either." He said narrowly. His brows formed a disoriented line above his eyes as he pondered the ludracy of what had come out of his mouth.

It appeared that he was just as astonished as I was and couldn't seem to understand how it happened or why. I smiled to myself and took one last glance at the sky as another shooting star flew past. "Wishing star." I called softly. Hmmm …I wish that I could be...happy.

"What?" Sephiroth looked up from the fire in surprise.

I jumped. "Oh, it's nothing." I blurted out quickly. Damn that man had ears like a cat!

"Wishing star?" He asked. "It sounds like 'something' to me." He emphasized impatiently.

I had the distinct impression that he was teasing me. "Wishing star is just another name for a shooting star." I explained with a shrug. "I prefer the name wishing star. It seems more appropriate, but you probably think it's silly."

"Perhaps." He replied. "I never had much luck with them, so I gave up."

"Oh." I responded quietly. It was hard to imagine Sephiroth making a wish upon a star, but maybe he did when he was younger. "I don't have any luck at all, but I always believe that maybe someday I will. I decided that only one wish could come true for each shooting star I see. If someone else wishes on it then maybe their wish came true instead of mine. Besides, it's only for fun." I sighed and slumped back down beneath my tree. "I lost hope in them a long time ago."

That wasn't completely true obviously. There was always a small part of me hoping that just maybe this will be the one that will come true for me. It never was, but I kept trying.

"I don't think you have." Sephiroth stated. "In fact, I know you haven't. I can see it in your eyes that you still hope."

I bit my lip and hugged my knees to my chest. "I do a little, but not as much as I used to."

"The key to having a wish come true is believing in it. If you don't believe, it won't come true." He said quietly.

My eyes drifted upwards thoughtfully. He was more unpredictable than any person I'd ever met. "I guess you're right." I said softly. I curled beneath the cloak and rested my back against the tree. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but it served its purpose and I was really too tired to care. "Goodnight." I said quietly and closed my eyes.

"Goodnight." He replied after a moment of hesitation.

Author's notes: I completely re-writ this chapter from its original format. It's much better than before I'd say. I hope everyone else thinks so too! I'm excited about the 4th chapter that's coming up. It's one of my favorites and I think everyone will like it. I'm going to try and have it up by this weekend, maybe a little sooner. Thank you!