"Think I'm almost finished with 'er." He said, washing his hands. He turned back to me. "Feelin' any better, kid?"
I nodded. "Loads." I said.
"Hungry?" He asked. I noticed he was fiddling with a container on the counter.
"Sure." I said. I was starving. "Whatcha makin'?"
"Steak." He said. "Shera...uh, Shera taught me how to make a marinade back before AVALANCHE." He said. "It's good. They've been soakin' all day."
"Sure thing." I said.
He barbecued the steaks and they WERE good. I never thought Cid'd be a cook or anything, but when you've gotta feed yourself I guess you learn.
I thanked him for being nice to me while drunk and letting me crash on his couch, and then headed back towards the inn.
I apologized to the innkeeper profusely for not letting him know I was still in the room (he'd walked in to clean it up and found my stuff there), then paid him for the night and one week after. I figured I'd fight every day this week and then take off for Wutai.
I washed off (I could still smell the alcohol on my person) and then washed my clothes, slipping my now-dry fighting clothes on. Maybe, just maybe, I'd take tomorrow off and go try to find some different clothes. My fighting outfit was getting a little worn, and my street clothes were cute, but plain.
Maybe. I'd sleep on it.
I wasn't even remotely tired, having slept most of the day, so I decided to go for a jog. I threw my shoes on and locked my door, and left.
I walked through the town, which was still kind of busy even though night had long since fallen, towards the edge of the launch pad area. I could see Cid working on the Bronco, and grinned.
I took off. It was exhilirating, running like this and not running for my life. I soon caught my second wind and started back towards Rocket Town, knowing that I was about two miles out and not wanting to crap out when I got tired.
When I got back I was still breathing well, so I started to circumnavigate the town. I passed the inn, passed the weapons shop, and soon came back around to the launch pad area.
"What the hell are you doing, kid?" I heard Cid's gruff voice come from under the Tiny Bronco.
"Running!" I called out.
"Crazy." He muttered. I laughed and slowed to a walk.
"Just because you smoke 24/7 and can't breathe enough to run doesn't mean all of us gotta be." I said.
"Yeah, yeah." Cid muttered. He did something and suddenly the Tiny Bronco roared to life.
"Yeah!" He said, climbing out from underneath and pumping his right arm. He patted the side, leaving a small grease stain which he promptly rubbed out with his shirt. He reached into the cockpit and turned the plane off, looking at it fondly.
"You got it running, huh?" I said.
"Yup." He grinned. "The Highwind was pretty much garbage by the time AVALANCHE was done with it, so I decided to fix my baby up."
I smiled; few things seemed to ignite Cid's passion, and the sky was one of them.
"I'm gonna have a celebratory cup of tea." Cid announced. "Come on in, kid, you're from Wutai, you should like tea."
"Ew." I said. "Only green tea, old man."
"I'm not old." Cid said, rolling his eyes and wiping his hands on his pants. "And I've got green tea."
The next day I did, indeed, take the day off and go shopping. In my fighting I'd accrued a small fortune, and I hadn't spent hardly any of it. I purchased an A-shirt style tank top in white and some dark, sturdy shorts in blue for fighting, and then the fun began.
I didn't have much in the way of feminine frippary; fighters seldom need it. But my days of fighting were pretty much over. Once I reached Wutai I'd pretty much end up living my life as the Wutai princess. So I splurged. I bought several kinds of pants (the flared jeans seemed to flatter my figure, so I bought a lot of those in varying colors) and even more shirts. Shoes followed (not as many of those), and I then bought luggage to bring them to Wutai with me.
When I got back to the inn I amused myself by trying on various outfits. My favorite was a pair of slate-grey flared pants and an off-white babydoll T-shirt with five materias on the front, one of each kind.
I kept that one on, with a new pair of tennis shoes. I was hungry.
Rocket Town didn't have much for restaurants; the tavern and the inn were about it. I decided to eat at the tavern.
I was just finishing my sandwich when Cid walked in. He was, for once, without grease stains. He sat at the bar and ordered food; he was about three seats down from me.
"Hey, kid." He said, grinning.
I pondered this for a second, then smiled knowingly. "Took the Tiny Bronco out, huh?"
"Sure did. It was great."
He sipped his soda--he'd gotten a soda, rather than anything alcoholic--and he had a dopey grin on his face that most guys save for their significant others.
I chuckled to myself. Cid's love for the sky had always amused me so much; I think probably because I prefer good old terra firma. I get airsick, although the Tiny Bronco probably wouldn't bother me, the small planes never did. I like horizons; I don't like being in the horizon.
"Wanna go up with me?" Cid asked, jerking his thumb up. He stopped. "Oh, wait, you get sick."
"I don't get sick on small planes." I said, automatically. I paused, looking at the face Cid was making. "No offense to the Tiny Bronco."
He laughed at that. "Well, if you wanna go up, come back to my place after we're done here; I'm going back up."
"Never could get enough of the sky, could you, Captain?" The bartender said, grinning.
"Too right." Cid said, grinning as the bartender put his sandwich in front of him.
It was fun to ride in the Tiny Bronco with Cid. The open-air cockpit seated two people, the yoke between them, and Cid even attempted to teach me how to fly, letting me take over on the passenger rudder pedals and the yoke. I did alright, but Cid quipped that anyone could fly a plane, it was the landing that was hard.
He even flew me over Wutai City, about a forty-five minute flight from Rocket Town. I saw the new casino and was disgusted by it.
The landing was soft and light to the touch; someone as rough as Cid amazed me by having a feather-touch with the plane's controls.
"She's a beaut, ain't she?" Cid asked, after we wheeled her into the backyard. He touched her side like she was a long-lost lover.
I nodded solomnly.
"Going back to Wutai, kid?" Cid asked. I nodded.
"In about a week." I said. "I'm gonna catch a boat and hike in."
Cid rolled his eyes. "You'll be sick. I'll take you in."
"In the Bronco?"
"Yeah." He patted her side one more time before heading into the house. I followed.
"Sure, thanks." I said, grinning. "She's not that bad once she's in the air."
"Better'n the Highwind, eh?" Cid said, casting a sidelong glance at me. I flushed. He laughed.
The next few days I didn't see much of anyone; I left early in the morning to fight, and came back late at night, spattered with monster guts. I washed my clothes and showered every night, and then went to bed. I ate once a day, usually at lunch, from provisions I would take into the field with me.
After three days of this, I decided I needed a break and came back hours early from fighting. It was about three PM and I was already disgusting. But, I had accomplished something: about half of my materia had been mastered.
That, and it was my birthday. So I figured part of a day off was a good idea, in celebration. I considered asking Cid to take me to the bar again, but I clearly recalled the aftereffects of my last night of drinking, and decided resolutely against it.
Instead, I practiced my first act of legal majority and bought a pack of cigarettes; I bought a pack of Marlboro 100's, which happens to be Cid's brand. I decided on that because I don't smoke so I figured I'd give them to him.
I was wearing a pair of black flared jeans and a red spaghetti strap tank top. I dunno if it made me look more mature or something, but I was disappointed when the guy didn't card me. Or maybe that was just a habit in this town.
I headed over to Cid's house; a little nervously because I'd never just randomly shown up at his house without a previous invitation, or without him being there to invite me in. What if he was out flying? What if he had a woman over? What if he didn't want company?
I knocked on his door. Waited a few seconds. A few noises, and then he answered the door, looking surprised. My eyes widened and I blushed.
He had obviously just gotten out of the shower. I say that because his hair was wet and towel-ruffled, and because the only covering he had was a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Oh my God." I said. "Sorry!" I started to turn around.
"What?" Cid said. He looked down. "Oh. Hang on a sec."
He disappeared, then reappeared with pants on. "Sorry, you caught me off guard. What's up?"
I was embarassed. "Nothing." I said. I turned around and ran back to the inn. When I looked back, at the front of the inn, Cid was still standing in the doorway, looking confused.
I sat in my room staring at the pack of cigarettes. I hadn't gotten a chance to give them to Cid. They called to me.
Hell, I was eighteen now. I could smoke if I wanted to. A bit of rebellion, then, was still active in me.
When I had purchased them, the clerk had given me a pack of matches. I opened them, stuck one in my mouth, and lit it.
And started coughing explosively. Why, why, WHY did Cid smoke these things?
I inhaled again and coughed slightly less, now that I kind of expected what was coming. By the time I finished the cigarette, I was kind of used to it.
But I still couldn't understand why Cid smoked them constantly.
The next day I went back to Cid's house. I caught him right as he was about to leave to fly the Bronco.
"Yesterday I turned eighteen." I said.
"Congrats." He said, slightly distracted with his preflight check.
"And part of turning eighteen is buying a pack of cigarettes." I said. He looked at me strangely. I held out the pack, minus one cigarette. "I didn't like them, so you can have them."
"...Thanks." He said, pocketing the pack. He chuckled.
"What?"
"I can just imagine you, sitting alone in your room at the inn, hacking your lungs out." He chuckled again and climbed into the cockpit. "Happy birthday, kiddo, even if it is a day late." He took off down his makeshift runway.
I slung my Conformer to my back and started out for the day's fighting.