6. "Forgive me..."
On their way back to Rocket Town Cid's PHS started ringing and a slightly desperate Cloud demanded advises on how they were going to get the Highwind out of Midgar when it was damaged so bad that even Cid had problems controlling it! The pilot merely grinned and told him to ask her nicely, and if she liked him; she would do the work! But he had to ask real nice, 'cause she was a real lady and that made it hard to win her favours! Finally reaching Rocket Town, it was confirmed that Cloud and the others would join them in a few hours, with indeed; the Highwind herself!
Cid had just entered the house and closed the door behind him when Shera turned to face him for the first time since Midgar, and he just knew she'd begin on one of her rambling excuses that could last for hours.
"Not tonight, " he interrupted and absently placed his gloves on the shelf, "we'll talk tomorrow. Gotta work on the Highwind all day as well tomorrow, so better get our rest." The pilot walked pass Shera without waiting for her answer.
He didn't feel like talking at all! His head was aching like all the Knights of the Round were trampling about in there with wooden shoes! And besides that, Cid was certain he'd never been so tired in his entire life! Cid just felt like sleeping... while Shera felt like crying... again!
Frustrated, she wiped a single tear away with the back of her right hand and sniffled. Now what?! She sure didn't dare leave without telling him, and leaving a note wasn't an option. She couldn't do that to him. Shera knew she had to talk to him first, apologize and explain.
Glancing over at the door to his room, she sighed tiredly. Waiting one more night couldn't do things worse... She shuffled her feet to her room and curled up on the bed, almost falling asleep before her head reached the pillow.
No matter how much Shera dreaded it; the morning finally came and she had just finished preparing the tea when Cid entered the kitchen, for once properly dressed, and dumped down on his chair. Placing his cup in front of him, Shera returned to the sink and rinsed the kettle with a pounding heart. He hadn't looked at her once, not really. The Captain was obviously still very angry with her! She would leave this afternoon!
As Shera stood deep in her own gloomy thoughts, the pilot did in fact raise his gaze and glance over at her. She was unusually quiet this morning. Cid frowned slightly, knowing she probably still felt guilty over her stupid stunt. And so she should! She nearly got herself killed!
Taking another irritated sip of the tea, Cid found that her silent back made him uneasy. Why was she punishing him?! She had no reason to give him the silent treatment! Or maybe... maybe she was sulking over that he didn't wanna hear her apologies last night?
He kept staring into his tea, almost as if he hoped to see the answers there. It wasn't like Shera to sulk. Anyway, something had to be done! He did not want to work side-by-side with an ice-queen all day! "Shera," he was not going to talk to her back! But to his irritation, she tensed and froze. "Shera, " Cid tried again, "I'm not talking to your back, woman!"
She slowly turned her face to peer at him over her shoulder; "y-yes, Captain...?"
Her voice were a mere whisper and her hazel eyes were as usual wide with uncertainty.
Cid made sign for her to sit down, and the stern look in his eyes made it impossible for her to argue. She sank down on the chair as silently as a quiet sigh and folded her hands in her lap.
Cid had never seen Shera so pale and depressed, and it actually made him soften a little. Alright, it was a completely idiotic thing she'd done, but she meant well. As usual. "Listen," he began and tried a smile, "we've got a rough day ahed, so whaddya say we just let yesterday be bygones?"
Shera blinked surprised, then glanced quickly down at her hands. He forgave her. Even after she messed up so badly again.
There followed a silence that made Cid even more uneasy and he shifted restlessly. "What? What's wrong?"
He got a bad feeling as she slowly met his eyes and Shera's lips trembled. "I-I'm sorry, Captain... it's just... I hate being such a... failure."
The pilot straightened surprised and then leaned slightly forward; "Shera, yer a lot of things, but no failure. What makes ya say somethin' like that?"
She sniffled and shrugged; "I can't do a-anything right... I always mess up and w-wouldn't blame you i-if you wished me at the bottom of the Northern Crater!"
Cid didn't move for several seconds, then guilt hit him like a 200 pound sledgehammer.
He'd done this to her. She used his very words he'd thrown against her through so many years; ' Shera, you can't do anythin' #%&$ right! Why are ya always messin' things up?! dammit, Shera! '
Clearing his throat, Cid shifted uneasily again; "don't be so stupid, Shera! Ya don't always mess up! A-and I dunnow any mechanic that's as good at his work as you. So there!"
Hesitatingly meeting his eyes, Shera was more then a little surprised at his words. Cid Highwind was not only comforting her; he was also paying her compliments. Now she was even more confused. "But last night..."
"Bah! Ya know just as well as me that you ain't got nothin' to do on a #$&% battlefield, Shera!" Cid interrupted irritated, refusing to think about why it was so important that she wasn't killed on any battlefield.
Shera drew a shivering breath and shook her head slightly; "but Tifa and Yuffie..."
The pilot got up and snorted angrily; "they're trained fighters and can take care of themselves!"
He regretted the harsh tone the second he saw tears glimmering in her eyes again, and her words were mere whispers; "unlike me, who's j-just a b-burden..."
Closing his eyes and gathering his courage, Cid crouched down beside her and placed two fingers under her chin, raising her face to lock his gaze with hers. "That ain't what I said. Tifa and Yuffie are fighters. They've been fighting fer years'n years. That's what they know, but I bet ya the Highwind they know diddely-squat 'bout adjustable spanners or even bolts from washers!"
He gently caressed her cheek; "so don't gimme that crap that ya ain't no good, 'cause I know you are! Yer my chief-mechanic, dammit!"
Before he actually knew what happened, Shera burst into tears and had him in a death-grip-hug, hiding her face against his neck.
Blinking wide-eyed, Cid didn't move for a few seconds, then awkwardly placed his arms around her. "Uh... there-there, or somethin'..." But the strangest part were that she actually sounded... kinda... in a weird way... happy...?
Shera walked out to the Highwind after preparing their lunch, as it was going to be a long day spent repairing the airship. The new parts luckily pleased Cid and he even mumbled something about a surprise he wanted to install after discovering a minor improvement on the Highwind provided by the ShinRa.
She could hear him yelling at some poor soul many meters before she reached the airship and Shera gave a weak smile. It was hard to belive it was the same man who'd comforted her only a half hour ago, but now she was ready to meet his harsh words. It was okay. He didn't mean them, she knew that now. Well, he didn't mean all of them... Anyway, this was a too good of a day to ponder such grim things!
Shera felt a stab of guilt at feeling so happy when they'd received no news about Vincent's or Rain's whereabouts. Red and Yuffie had been checking around if anyone had seen or heard anything about the two, but to no avail. Everyone knew they just had to wait and that chances were that Vincent would come to them, rather then them finding him. Approaching the airship, she saw Cid taking an overlook with his hands on his hips, cigarette hanging from his lips and ice blue eyes scrutinizing the Highwind. "Awright, this lady ain't nowhere near finished and time's runnin' out, so move yer lazy asses!"
The crew jumped startled and began working even faster, leaving Shera a little nervous to the pilots obvious foul mood. She had no time to start worrying as at that moment Cid turned and saw her presence. "Shera! Get over here, I need yer help on something!"
At first Shera stared wide-eyed at him, before gathering herself enough to hurry over to him. Cid asked for her help?! "Y-yes, Captain?"
She reacted automatically when directed to the problem with some wires in the engine and Cid couldn't help but to admire how fast and efficiently her nimble hands worked with the delicate equipment, and even bit back his irritation as she checked her work, and double checked... and triple checked. The pilot lit up a cigarette and gave crooked smile to no one in particular; that was Shera, alright. It was no easy task repairing the badly damaged Highwind, so it was no surprise when Cid and Shera kept working long after the crew had been threatened home as they never really knew when to quit. Only now it was an air of seriousness over their slavering; without the airship they couldn't reach the Northern Crater; which meant they couldn't reach Sephiroth.
The sun was just setting when Shera straightened and rubbed her aching back before removing her glasses and rub her eyes. She heard Cid cursing a few meters away before the sound of a tool hitting the ground and the pilot's boot slamming against the metal side of the Highwind. With a slight smile, Shera walked over to calm him before he broke something; equipment on the Highwind or a part of himself! She still remember vividly a time when he got so angry after failing to succeed with a repair on the small plane that he slammed his fist so hard against the Tiny Bronco he caused a dent in the metal and fractured two bones in his hand.
"Captain," she said gently to the furious pilot that stood fuming with clenched fists, "you've been working hard all day. Why don't you take a break?"
Cid glared angrily over at her; "I'm gettin' that #%&$ fixed even if that's the last &#%$ thing I do! %&#$&$!!!"
Shera glanced over at Cid's newly declared mortal enemy; a loose bolt in a narrow crack in the hull. The pilot had quickly pulled of his gloves and thrown them the Planet knew where, but as Shera folded up her sleeve to try and reach the bolt, she saw he flung of his oily T-shirt as well; causing her poor nerves to become even more frayed. Closing her eyes, she determinedly reached for the bolt, sneaking her hand towards it while leaning against the cold hull to keep some contact with reality. She had seen him without his shirt so many times, yet it never ceased to affect her that way. Her fingers absently locked around the bolt and Shera disappeared into memories when suddenly Cid's voice jerked her back to the real world;
"well? Is the damn thing budgin'?!"
She jumped startled and began fumbling to fasten the bolt. "Think... I... got it!"
Shera straightened and pulled back her hand with a triumphant smile as she turned to face him; too late realising her mistake! She stared mesmerized at his muscular chest while the pilot gazed critically at the bolt, not quite liking the idea that she fixed it so quickly when he'd been stuck with it for so long.
"Hmpf... looks alright, " he finally muttered, and Shera tilted her head.
- Looks more then alright! She thought giddily and suddenly found her hand slowly raising to caress the strong chest.
Cid finally noticed the strange look in her eyes and raised an eyebrow puzzled; "what?"
Shera started as if she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar and her eyes widened; "n-nothing! I-I ha-have t-to... uhm... right!"
The pilot gazed puzzled after her as she darted off to the other side of the Highwind. Was she blushing? Cid lit up a cigarette with irritated movements. There it was again! That feeling that he was supposed to understand something, but he didn't, dammit!
Finally Cid had to realise it was too dark to get any real work done that night, so he straightened, stretched for all he was worth and went to find Shera. If he didn't order that woman to get some rest, he knew he'd find her there the next morning after working through the entire night! Shera was the only one who could equal Cid when it came to spending hours working, and had a few times even been twice as fanatic as him. The pilot grinned slightly at the sight of her absently wiping her oily hands on her pants before diving into a bunch of wires and pipes again, a really bad idea beginning to form in his mind.
He quickly and quietly picked up the hose that was lying on the ground and placed his arms innocently behind his back as he sauntered over to Shera. "So..." Cid began, "it's gettin' kinda late. Don't ya think we ought'a call it the night?"
Starting, Shera gazed quickly over at him, as she hadn't heard him approach, and shrugged nervously. "I-if you think so, Captain... but I belive that I might be able to finish up these final circuits tonight."
Cid shook his head determinedly; "nope. You've worked enough fer today, Shera. There's still t'morrow, y'now."
His blue eyes sparkled fiendishly and Shera blinked even more nervous; "uhm, yes, well... is something wrong, Captain?"
The pilot shrugged and tilted his head slightly; "do ya know yer just about covered in oil...?"
Feeling she was turning bright red, Shera pretended to study her beloved lab-coat that truly was more black and brown by now then white. "Heh... that, uhm... no, I wasn't a-aware of... of that... " She slowly raised her eyes to meet his and once again was struck at the devilishness radiating from him. Was he holding something behind his back?
Cid grinned again; "don'tcha think you need a good shower...?"
Feeling danger like a trapped animal as she stood with her back against the Highwind with no chance of escape, Shera glanced from side to side before focusing on the pilot again; "I-I suppose so...? But what..."
Her words ended with a shriek as a spray of ice cold water connected with her; delivered from the hose Cid was aiming at her.
Her first reaction was to raise her hands to shield herself from the cold water and scream, but then Shera instinctively fought her way through the spray and began wrestling Cid for control over the hose.
With a surprised laugh, Cid struggled to keep control over it, while Shera managed to wring it up to the water stood like a fountain over them both. As they both were laughing and tugging at the hose, Shera suddenly found her back against the Highwind again, but refused to give up the fight.
Cid's laugh faded as he gazed at Shera's face; completely soaked, her hair a mess, eyes sparkling and a wide smile on her lips. He couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed. She had such a nice laugh. Why didn't she laugh more often? Cid swallowed hard as he knew the reason; because of him. Shera became serious as well and her eyes flickered uncertainly. Water was dripping from both of them, so she didn't object when Cid flung the hose away.
The seconds passed in silence, only disturbed by the angry hiss from the abandoned hose. Just as Shera didn't think she could take it anymore, Cid raised his hand and gently stroked away a lock of her hair with such tenderness that her heart skipped a beat. "I'm sorry..." The pilot said softly, "I'm so sorry for... for everything, Shera. You gotta belive that."
Barely shaking her head, she gazed into his blue eyes as she took his hand. "Captain, there is nothing for you to be sorry for. I-I'm the one who..."
"No," Cid interrupted determinedly, "no, I don't wanna hear that from you anymore! Ya gotta stop apologizing all the time, Shera, everything is not yer fault!"
Shera's eyes flickered again, and she released his hand, feeling more then a little uncertain.
Cid took gently hold of her chin and gave a sad smile. "Ya never smile anymore, Shera. When we came to this place, you hardly stopped smiling for more then five seconds or somethin'..."
She didn't know what to say to that. It was true; she rarely smiled anymore compared to when she and the Captain first came to Rocket Town. But back then she wasn't aware of how bad a failure she really was. Yet as she met his eyes again, Shera gave small, but sincere smile.
Cid stroke a light finger over her lips with a serious look; "I'm sorry, Shera."
Once again she took his hand and this time placed it to her damp cheek; "you have nothing to apologize for, Captain, but I forgive you."
Forgiveness. Such an easy word to say, so hard to give, and so much harder to accept. Yet Shera didn't hesitate to give it, and her sincerity forced Cid to accept it. With a half drowned look caused by their hose war, almost covered in oil from head to toes and foggy glasses; Shera suddenly made Cid's heart jump, and he watched her without a word, merely caressing her cheek.
His silence made Shera uneasy and she tried a smile, admiring his handsome face and vaguely noticed the water dripping from his wet hair. Suddenly an insane urge assaulted Cid, and he let his hand slide behind her neck as he leaned closer; softly placing his lips against hers. Shera automatically closed her eyes and responded just as softly, aching to lift her arms and place them around his neck so she could be closer. Finally Cid let his other arm sneak around her waist and pulled her against him, ignoring how the cold began to crawl into him due to his soaked clothes. As the kiss deepened, Shera allowed her hands to roam up Cid's back, feeling the muscles beneath her palms as the wet T-shirt clang to him like she wanted to. Dear Planet, she loved him!
Shera shivered against him in pure delight, and the pilot took her face between his hands and leaned back a little. "You cold...?"
His voice sounded so husky she shivered again and only managed to look helplessly into his eyes.
Cid gave a tiny, crooked smile and stroke a finger along her jawline. "We'd better get you inside before ya catch a fever or somethin'..."
Shera's heart jumped again, then it sank as he released her, gave a weak smile and turned to gather up the tools on the ground. She liked to think of herself as a semi-smart woman, but she realised she couldn't figure out her Captains behavior for the life of her! Swallowing her confusion and perhaps a little hurt, she mumbled something about going back to the house and slowly dragged her feet to her room, failing to see how Cid followed her with his eyes and let out a frustrated sound.
He'd fallen in love with her, &# $%#!!!
Dumping down in his sofa, Cid gazed absently at the TV that weren't even switched on. Okay, so he realised he actually had feelings for that... Shera, so... what next? He began fumbling and twisting his pack of cigarettes as if he could torture the answer out of the unfortunate thing, but his mind wouldn't stop reeling. So many things played before his eyes; and for the first time in his entire life; Cid Highwind wasn't sure what to do.
He didn't want these... feelings, that was for sure! But... they were kinda nice as well; all warm and fuzzy. The pilot wiped off the stupid grin on his face with a snort; warm and fuzzy weren't exactly two words that went very well along with him!
Trust Shera to mess things up! A shot of anger went through him, only this time it weren't directed at the female mechanic, but at himself. It wasn't her fault! This was his own stupidity! Humans just didn't go very well with Cid Highwind! They never did! He belonged to the sky and the thrill of creating his new 'wings'!
Closing his eyes, Cid tried to figure out what exactly his problem was. He'd grown feelings for this girl, that just happened to be the worlds greatest mechanic who knew and tolerated his terrible temper, and also made the best tea ever! The dorky grin returned as the pilot let his mind wander further; it just so happened that this girl also had a certain interest in him. Cid lit up a cigarette and sighed; so what exactly was his problem?!
He already knew, though the pilot simply refused to acknowledge it; he was afraid. Feelings were something Cid had little experience expressing, but he knew that if you did; you also risked getting hurt. Hurt bad! He frowned slightly, stubbornly telling himself that he wasn't afraid of anything! Crushing the cigarette in the ashtray, he got up and disappeared into his room.
The next day he forced himself to focus on the Highwind and pretend like nothing had ever happened, knowing Shera would never dare to raise the subject. Puffing angrily at his cigarette while tightening a bolt, Cid called himself the worst names he knew, loathing his own cowardness. He'd faced death so many times without flinching. He'd gone into space without batting an eye. Cid Highwind loved butting heads with danger, but now he was hiding like the coward he obviously was! Marching over to finish up on the rocket engine he'd improved on the airship, Cid glanced over at where Shera was working and was surprised at the intense feeling of... something when he saw her working with one of the mechanics he knew had a interest in her. Aaah, this wasn't going very well!
The pilot went to work with the intenseness of fighting Emerald WEAPON! Still, most of his energy went into yelling at whoever was within reach, and Cid felt constantly irritated and tense, unknowingly avoiding the source of it all; Shera. Scaring everyone off, Cid was left alone to work on the Highwind after sun-set. He wandered around the airship, diving in to repair things once in a while, but mostly puffing absently at his cigarette and staring up at the sky. Hours passed and finally Cid Highwind was forced to realise that nothing was going to be solved this way, and dragged his feet over to the house. He'd better get a few hours on the eye before going back to repairing the Highwind tomorrow, and maybe the answers would come then?
The lights were off when Cid carefully opened, before closing the entrance door behind him; it meant that Shera had turned in and the coast was clear. He sighed and turned to hang up his jacket, then frowned. What was that sound...? The pilot slowly turned around, only to find Shera sitting curled up on the sofa watching some old movie.
Cid managed to pull off his boots and gloves, then walked over to order her to her room, but the words got stuck in his throat at the sight that met him. With her feet drawn up under her, leaning against a pillow popped up against the arm-rest of the sofa, Shera had fallen asleep in her 'nightgown' and dropped her glasses to the floor. Cid didn't move for several seconds, merely watching her sleep peacefully. She'd probably been waiting up for him, like she'd done so many times before, (and she thought he hadn't seen her fleeing figure towards her room through the window?) only this time the wait had been too long; and she'd fallen asleep.
Shifting uneasily, Cid frowned at the problem he was facing; what was he to do? He couldn't just let her lie like this, but... in a way, he didn't want to wake her up when she was finally asleep.
And besides, how was he to wake her up? Cid wasn't too sure that a 'wake yer lazy ass up and git to yer room!' was free of the possibility he'd give her a heart attack.
The pilot sank down to sit beside her, careful not to wake her, and sighed again. (He seemed to be doing that a lot lately...) Shera's bangs were hiding her eyes from him, and Cid found that he did not like that, and suddenly his hand stretched out to gently move the brown strays away.
Feeling the light caress, Shera's eyelashes fluttered and she drowsily focused her gaze at his slightly smiling face.
"Hey..." Cid said quietly, stroking a lock behind her ear, "was the movie that boring, huh?"
Shera frowned confused, before her eyes widened and a violent blush crept over her cheeks. "Oh! I... I must have fallen asleep..."
Raising his eyebrows, Cid smirked again, "you think?"
Shera got an embarrassed smile and sat up, "w-what time is i-it?"
The pilot glanced at the watch on the wall and shrugged, "a quarter to five." He returned his gaze to her. "Ya can relax now and go to bed."
Shera nervously pulled her hair behind her ears with both hands, "w-what do you m-mean...?"
Cid smiled again and loosened his white scarf before letting it hang over the back of the sofa, "nuthin'... " The pilot glanced over at the TV and realised it was actually one of his old favorite movie they were showing. "Hey! I haven't seen this one fer years'n years!" He placed his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward and laughed softly. "Not since I was a mere newbie at ShinRa..."
Shera watched him quietly with a smile, yet sadly realising what they meant with 'so close, and yet so far'.
Cid cleared his throat and glanced over at her again. "We're getting up early to start on the Highwind again, y'now. Better get yer rest."
Shera swallowed hard and barely dared meeting his eyes; "d-do you mind i-if I... if I watch the movie with you...?"
Cid shrugged and leaned back, "yer a grown girl."
As the cast ran down the screen, Cid realised he'd drowsed off as well, and was about to stretch when he became aware of the figure next to him. Slightly sunken against him, Shera had one hand in a fist beneath her chin, the other hand was clutching his T-shirt, sleeping soundly and trustingly. The pilot smirked slightly, then glanced at the watch. If he were to have any hours of sleep, he'd better hit the sack right away! Gazing down at Shera again, Cid reached a decision; it wouldn't kill him to be nice for once, would it?
Carefully sneaking his arm behind her back, Cid let his other arm go beneath her knees and gently lifted her as he got up. Sighing softly, Shera grasped his T-shirt a little tighter and nuzzled his neck, causing the pilot to blink nervously. Why did he feel like he'd just done a horrible mistake?
He quickly set course for her room, only halting outside to open the door. Which proved quite difficult with both arms occupied by Shera, forcing Cid to try and use his elbow. A few atempts later, he actually succeeded, but had to adjust the sleeping woman slightly, and to his distress; Shera nuzzled his neck again, this time letting her arms go around his neck. Her warm breath on his skin made the pilot start and quickly forced his legs to carry him into Shera's room. He had to get away! And fast!
Cid bent down, gently placing Shera on her bed and sighed relived. Only to have the sigh choke in his throat as he realised Shera had no plans of letting him go. - Next time you wanna do something nice, Cid thought frustrated, - take the Venus Gospel and hit yerself over the head with it!
He reached back to free himself from her hands, while his eyes were taking in her beautiful face. What was it about that face? She was in no way super-model pretty, way too common features. Still... she was beautiful... to him. Cid closed his eyes hard and tried to focus on making her let go. Shera was in no way holding him by force, but in the gentlest, feeblest and most unbreakable embrace. Finally free, Cid held her petite hands for a few seconds, then sighed and knew he'd better get out of there fast. That was when he realised Shera was indeed awake and gazing up at him.
Still bent over her, Cid suddenly realised she'd might misunderstand the situation; thinking he'd snuck into her room to ogle her or something!
Opening his mouth to explain, Cid never got the chance as Shera placed a hand to his rough cheek and slowly reached up to place her lips to his.
Closing his eyes, Cid savoured the feeling and found his own hand sneaking it's way behind her neck to support her and hold her close, vaguely feeling her other hand stroking up his arm to rest on his shoulder. Tilting his head slightly, Cid deepened the kiss as he laid her down amidst the pillows again.
Shera shivered and felt how tense he was as her nails dug slightly into his shoulder; trying to pull him closer and never wanted to let him go.
As the kisses grew more intense, Cid reached up to take her face between his hands and forced himself to withdraw slightly.
Shera's lips trembled and her hazel eyes were wide and awake, "Captain...?"
Cid had to clear his throat to win time and to regain his voice; "Cid! My name is Cid! And... uhm... good night!" He shot up and would have run out of the room if she hadn't gotten a gentle hold of his hand. The pilot halted, hesitated, then slowly turned to face her.
Shera sat up and Cid had to force his attention away from her bare legs, refusing himself to admire the shapely sight and stared at her nightstand.
"Capt... Cid?" Shera's voice was weak and uncertain,
and Cid slowly met her gaze. "Yes...?"
She released his hand and folded hers in her lap, staring down at them. "I... I just... I don't understand!"
The pilot frowned slightly and swallowed hard, "ya don't understand what?"
Shera dared meeting his eyes and he didn't like seeing hers filled with tears again, "nothing. I-I'm sorry..."
Cid sighed resigned and dumped down to sit beside her, "awright, now you got me curious. Spit it out. What's that you don't get?"
Shera glanced slightly surprised over at him, "I... I... just... uhm... "
The pilot grinned weakly and nodded, "well, that makes two of us, 'cause that made no sense to me either!"
Shera let out a low laugh, then suddenly became serious as she placed a hand to his cheek and made him meet her eyes; "stay here tonight." Her heart hammered in her chest as she saw Cid exhale slowly, knowing she would die if he said no.
"Shera, I can't promise..." Cid began reluctantly,
yet the way his eyes turned dark blue gave Shera courage enough to place a light finger against his lips, halting his worries. "I know. Just... stay tonight?" Her voice was so weak, and yet so intensely pleading that Cid didn't stand a chance.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered, before leaning against her and capture her lips in a trying kiss, that soon deepened as Shera's arms went around his neck.
She had no idea what he apologized for, but squirmed in pleasure as she felt his warm hand caressing her thigh.
Cid knew this was wrong. He should had been stronger! Yet his entire being sang with delight as Shera arched against him and clutched him close.
Everything went into a bliss full haze of desire and Shera swallowed hard as she felt his lips against her neck while tugging at his T-shirt. If her mind had been working, it would have told her this wasn't possible! It simply wasn't! The Captain would never want her! He would never groan at the feeling of her touch or caress her in such ways! Yet, it was Cid Highwind that laid her down on that bed and followed into her embrace. It was he who uncovered and caressed her skin. And it was he who welcomed her caresses, wanting her as a woman; not as a mechanic.
It wasn't unexpected; the pain that shot through her, yet Shera's whimper made Cid gaze at her in surprise. Smiling weakly at his expression, she reassuringly kissed his lips and stroke his back. Didn't he know he'd always been the only one?
Shuddering with need, Cid tried to calm down, giving her time. He bent his head and closed his eyes hard; waiting until she raised her hips up against him, then drew whimpers from her that had nothing to do with pain.