He actually looked forward to them most days. Ever since Shera had left, leaving that abominable goodbye note in her absence, he'd spent his days wondering what could have been, what might have been, where she'd gone, if she was happy, if she was still alive...and it pretty much thoroughly depressed him. Yuffie's letters were a light-hearted contrast to his pretty dreary days.
Well, he hadn't gotten a letter from her in about a week, which was kind of disturbing. He didn't think Yuffie would have just randomly decided to stop doing something she considered a ritual.
Maybe he'd just fly over there today, stop in and make sure everything was alright.
My head hurt. A lot. And I was relatively sure I hadn't gone drinking recently, so it had to be trauma-induced.
"I'm glad you're not dead. You've been out for four days." Godo's voice penatrated my pain. I opened my eyes and found myself in dad's old bomb shelter underneath the bell. I groaned.
"The anesthesia I had to use was pretty strong. I'm sorry, it was all I had." That explained the pain in my head; I'd never had good reactions to anesthetics. I learned that the hard way, when I got my tonsils taken out when I was seven.
"Why am I here, Godo?" I asked, too much in pain to be angry.
"Yuffie, I'm disappointed in you." Godo said. I looked at him in astonishment. All of this because of disappointment?
His eyes were crazy. I hadn't seen dad this fucked up since Mom died. He'd fucking lost it.
"All that materia..." He paused. "And they didn't need it anymore. Sephiroth is dead, meteor is gone. We need it." He thumped his chest. "Wutai needs it. Your loyalty leaves much to be desired."
"Let me get this straight." I said, glaring at him. I noticed that I was tied up, and got even more upset. "You're mad at me because I refused to steal from my friends, and so you've kidnapped me, illegally detained me, and used an illegal drug to knock me out, against my will?" I laughed. "You're crazy. Once I get out of here, you're dead, old man."
"I don't think so." Godo was towering over me now, and for the first time in a long time, I was scared.
After Godo had his little session with me (oh, don't worry, I'm still a virgin; I'm just really fucking bruised and I think my right leg is broken), I started seriously thinking about my predicament. Godo told me he'd be back in an hour. I didn't think I could get free by then. I'd never exactly been deft enough to untie myself.
And for the first time in a long time, I started to cry.
My thoughts drifted to the bar that night; Cid and Rude standing there like bouncers, ready to kick the ass of any guy who so much as glanced at me in a manner they found offensive. I wished they were there right now; no way Godo could overpower them.
I realized that I had stopped referring to Godo as my father, and I smirked through the tears.
The door was opening. God help me...
Cid strode into Wutai City confidently; he always strode confidently, no matter where he was or what he was doing. Cid Highwind didn't really give a shit what anybody thought.
He knew, from the whole materia theft thing, where Yuffie lived. He knocked on her door, a little hesitantly at first, then forcefully when he realized that she wasn't coming to the door.
"What the..." He said, frowning. He twisted the doorknob, hoping it wasn't locked. It was, but it wasn't proof against his years in Shinra.
Yuffie was nowhere to be found, and it was obvious that her house hadn't been lived in for a few days. A half-empty pack of cigarettes was on her table; now that was something she hadn't mentioned in her letters. He laughed harshly and left the house.
What could have happened to her? He pondered that for a while. Well, whoever had taken her, and he was reasonably sure that she hadn't gotten hurt out in the field and been stranded because Yuffie would have clawed her way into Wutai, could have gotten pretty far by now, but there was a pretty good chance that they'd just hidden her somewhere in town. Who hated her enough to kidnap her?
For some reason, Cid came to the conclusion that her father had taken her. He walked through the town to Godo's house, but no one was home. He peeked down the hidden passageways Cloud had found a year and a half ago, and found nothing.
He sat on the stoop for a good while and pondered it. Finally coming up with nothing, he stood up and was just heading down the path to the rest of the town when he heard a noise behind him and, out of habit, ducked into some of the trees to the side of the path.
Lord Godo was walking out of the little thing in the center of the clearing. He looked around to make sure no one was watching (a little haphazardly, Cid rather thought) and then snuck out, and closed the little door behind him. He then disappeared into the house.
Cid hit himself in the forehead. Of course! Where had they found Yuffie last time she'd gone missing? He jumped over a bush and ran towards the gazebo thing, knocking the log against the the bell. The door opened and Cid ducked down into it.
I'm happy to report that my clothing had stayed on the entire couple of days I'd been conscious in that stupid secret hiding place of Godo's; apparently he doesn't believe in rape. Thank God.
Unfortunately my other leg seemed to be broken above my knee, and my left wrist was flopping rather unnaturally. Also, there was a rather nasty gash just under my left eye, and my lip was cut and bleeding.
The door opened again, and I shuddered. Godo had just left! Why was he coming back? To torture me again? Last time I'd actually broken down and pleaded with him to stop, and I swear I saw a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Yuffie?" A familiar smoke-roughened voice spoke into the room.
"C-Cid?" I said, my voice strained.
Cid turned around a largeish stack of crates and saw me. His face darkened instantly.
"I'll be right back." He said, his voice devoid of emotion.
Godo never saw it coming.
I'd passed out, apparently, soon after Cid left, and when I woke up I was in a vaguely familiar room that appeared to have been carved out of a cave.
Cosmo Canyon?
"Oh, good, you're awake." Cid said. I looked to my left and there was Cid, looking like he hadn't slept for days.
"Ah, good." Another familiar voice said. I looked farther down and saw Nanaki sitting there, a concerned look on his animal face. "I'll tell the others." He left.
Cid apparently hadn't washed, slept, eaten, or done anything other than smoke since I'd last seen him. He looked like crap.
"You look like crap." I said.
He laughed and ran his hands through his hair. "Probably." He said.
"No, definitely." I said. I felt tons better than the last time I'd been awake.
"I brought you here. Cosmo Canyon has some of the best healers on the planet." He said, grinning. His face seemed gaunt, and his smile was a ghost of the grin he used when he had just flown, or when he laughed over something funny.
"Yeah?" I examined my wrist, flexed my feet. Everything seemed fine.
"Yeah. They had you fixed up in about an hour. You've just been out for about two days." He looked haggard.
"How...I mean..." I paused, trying to consider what I was trying to say. When I'd wished for someone to rescue me, Cid's face had always popped up; he was like the big brother I'd never had, the father-figure I'd never had. And then my wish had come true.
"What made you come to look for me?" I asked.
He grinned sheepishly. "You didn't write for a week. Pretty un-you."
I smiled. "You were getting them? When I didn't get any responses I thought maybe I had the address wrong."
"Ah, I'm not...not much of a letter-writer." Cid said, awkwardly. "But I read them."
I smiled, and then everyone else walked in.
Even Barret. And he even looked concerned. Cloud was there, and while he pretended disintrest, his eyes flickered to my wrist and feet, so I'm pretty sure he'd seen my wounds before they were healed.
Since I was better, I was able to get up and go down to the Cosmo Candle (the bar, not the fire) with everyone and celebrate my full return to health. Everyone left after that, apparently assured since I had woken up. I, however, was pretty drunk, so Cid very nicely escorted me back to the room I'd started out in.
"Now take a shower." I ordered him. The last thing I heard before I passed out was his laughter.
For once, I slept long and deeply, and even though I'd been drunk the night before, I woke up feeling refreshed. I looked at the clock; no wonder, I'd slept nearly twelve hours.
I went to step off the bed and nearly stepped on Cid; he looked like he'd taken my advice and showered, but he'd fallen asleep on the floor near my bed. I carefully stepped over him and went to the bathroom to pee.
"Awake already?" I heard a muffled voice say from outside.
"Already?" I called back. "It's nearly three PM!"
"No it--oh. It is. Wow." Cid sounded hungover, although it was probably just how he sounded when he first woke up; Cid hadn't drunk nearly as much as I had.
I walked out of the room and noticed one thing: Cid didn't have a shirt on. This wasn't that unusual; guys go around without shirts on all the time. But I'd only seen Cid without a shirt on once, and that had been an embarassing moment.
This time, however, I noticed not that it was Cid, but that he had a well-sculpted chest, not overly muscly but strong enough to push the Tiny Bronco out of the backyard without hurting himself. On his shoulder he had a tattoo of a silhouette of a plane, possibly the Bronco. He wasn't, I noticed pleasantly, an overly hairy guy, at least, not in the chest area. I wondered vaguely if he was hairy in other places, and then blushed.
Why, why, WHY would I think these things about Cid?
Cid was currently sitting up, looking around in a rather disgruntled manner. He had obviously fallen asleep with his hair wet, because it stood up almost like Clouds, but much more disheveled.
When he stood up, I noticed vaguely that he seemed to tower over me. I've always hated my shortness, but now it seemed impishly cute, which annoyed me even further.
I looked at Cid once more as he headed towards the bathroom, and then left, partially embarassed, and partially enthralled.
I spent the remainder of the day hanging out with Nanaki, who alone out of the group hadn't originally cursed me when I stole the materia. He took me on a tour of Cosmo Canyon, and told me about his parents. I mostly listened, fascinated with the history behind this place. That night a bunch of us, Cid included, ate dinner around the Cosmo Candle (the fire, this time). Afterward, Cid came up to me.
"I'm flying back to Rocket Town tonight." He said, pointing down to the Tiny Bronco, parked on the ground below Cosmo Canyon. "You can crash on my couch tonight and I'll take you home tomorrow."
I nodded. Then Cid smirked and handed me something: a pack of Marlboro No. 27's. I blushed.
"Saw 'em on your table." He said, walking back up towards my room.
The ride back was weird. I had never been on the Tiny Bronco at night before; the moon created odd shadows. I found myself very thankful that Cid was a good pilot. I also found myself rather distracted by his presense and instead tried to think about other things.
The landing was a little rougher than normal; maybe Cid was a little hungover.
"Look, Yuffie..." Cid said, as we sat in the plane, near his house. My heart quickened; had he noticed my surrupticious glances? God, I hoped not.
"I think I have to explain something." He said. He stepped out of the plane and started pushing it into the backyard. I jumped out and helped.
"Yeah?" I said, casually, wondering what was going on.
"When I saw what Godo did..." and I shuddered involuntarily. Godo's name hadn't been mentioned since I regained consciousness. "I got...kinda mad."
"Uh-huh." I said, not really paying attention.
"Look, when I left I wasn't sure if he was still alive. I'm still not. I'm...sorry. I got...carried away." He wasn't looking at me; we'd finished pushing the Bronco through the gate and had closed it, and now we were sitting in his backyard, hands in pockets, just not looking at each other.
"Wait, what?" I said, stupidly.
"I..." He sighed and looked up. "I'm really sorry, kid, I might have killed your dad."
You might think it would sadden me; that the guy I had suddenly developed a strange crush on (I mean, come on, he's sixteen years older than me) had, quite possibly, killed my dad. But remember what Godo had done to me, remember how he'd treated me. Remember that he expected me to steal from people I cared about, for a second time, just to serve his purposes. No, I wasn't sad. In fact, I was elated. Godo had, in my opinion, gotten what was coming to him.
I stared at Cid for a minute. He was looking up at the moon, looking thoroughly distraught. And I recalled that he'd just called me "kid." I sighed, disappointed, and walked into the house.
I spent the night sleeping on Cid's couch, uncomfortable and completely aware of the fact that Cid was in the next room over, quite possibly in his boxers or nothing at all. The idea made me feel warm all over.
Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. In fact, at about two AM I got up and went to the bar.
The bartender, once again, didn't card me. I got slightly smashed, and then stumbled back to Cid's house. He was up, sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette. In his boxers.
I knew it. I thought to myself. He scooted over and made room for me. I noted a half-empty beer can in his other hand, and a few empties on the coffee table.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, putting the cigarette out in an ashtray. I lit one and nodded.
"Heard you leave." He added. He finished the last of his beer. "Waited up to make sure you came home." He gave me a Look and started towards his room.
I smirked and lay on the couch. Just staring at his back gave me naughty thoughts, thoughts which were inappropriate at any time, but especially now, and towards him.
He turned around and instead went to the bathroom, having to pass me. I smirked at him, slightly plowed, and pulled the blanket over me.
I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep. Cid exited the bathroom and passed by me again. He stopped. I got the feeling he was watching me. He was there for a while.
Finally I opened my eyes. Cid was standing there, watching me, a strange look on his face. He turned and walked back to his room.
I wondered to myself if it was just the booze, or if Cid really had looked at me like he looks at the Tiny Bronco.