Author's note:I would like to thank all those who pointed out my grammar errors. Sometimes I need to have my hand slapped for rushing my editing process. I would like to encourage productive comments like this or similar. All the problems pointed out have been remedied.
Chapter 4- Helps build strong bones
Reeve pulled out his thin laptop out on the coffee table that sat out infront of the flat screen television. Tifa sat down on the leather couch waiting as the computer uploaded.
"Now if you want to rebuild 7th heaven, you will require a rebuilding permit, a construction permit, a zoning permit..." Reeve continued to list various permits and licenses that were required by Midgar commercial law. "You are single correct?"
Tifa merely nodded, feeling overwhelmed by the information. Reeve grinned and ran a quite search. "Excellent, there are grants that are offered for single business women. Did you own business insurance?"
Tifa thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Then you should be able to get some money back from your insurance and put that into the initial building fee."
Tifa's stomach began to growl. 'How long will it be before dinner arrives?'
"Did you also offer boarding?"
Tifa shook her head.
"Good, that would have meant another permit and additional fees. Will you be interested in expanding to a offering boarding?"
Tifa almost growled, but instead forced a smile. "No."
Pulling up the appropriate forms, Reeve hit the print button. A small wireless printer blinked and groaned to life. Reeve looked around trying to remember where he had placed the printer and swallowed.
"Do you think Vincent's a hard sleeper?" Reeve asked.
Tifa rolled her eyes and fell against the couch in exasperation.
The small Cait sith doll pushed the room door open just enough to slide through. He looked up and spotted the futon Osirius looked up from where he was curled up at the edge of the mattress. Trying to not to make a single noise, Cait tiptoed across the floor toward the small desk where the print sat underneath. A large stack of printed forms sat waiting for pick-up.
Cait froze when he heard coughing and movement. Turning slightly, he found that Vincent still seemed to be asleep. The doll turned and continued on it's way to the printer. Finding the paper pile heavy at first, Cait lifted and balanced the stack on his head. Looking back at the futon, the doll once again tiptoed across the rug that covered the wood floor. Cait smiled when he reached the door until his booted foot found a creaking in the floor. Cait froze hoping the gunman would not notice. After a moment, Cait moved again.
A pillow went flying through the air and crashed into the wall nearly missing paper-toting doll. Cait Sith jumped and ran out into the doorway nearly spilling the papers to the floor.
"Boy, is he a grump!" Caith Sith complained as the doll came into the room carrying the papers. Caith approached Tifa and offered the forms to her. She nodded her head in gratitude and sat them down on her lap. "I'm glad he's poor aim when it comes to throwing stuff."
"You're lucky he just threw something." Tifa offered.
Cait Sith sighed. "Yeah."
A soft knock the front door paused conversation. Reeve stood up and approached the door. "I think dinner is ready." He opened the door and paid the delivery boy.
The door creaked open, slowly at first allowing light to cut into the darkness of the room. The figure stood there for a moment, seeming almost hesitant at first. Tifa stood there unsure if she wanted to enter the room. Cait stood at her feet and looked up and shrugged.
"Vincent?"
At first there wasn't any response. Tifa was about to call his name again when his head rose up slightly. Or at least that was what Tifa assumed when she caught the red reflection of Vincent's eyes in the room. Okay, she had his attention.
"There is food if you are hungry." She offered. The eyes narrowed and then disappeared as the man dropped back down against the futon. Tifa left the room and made her way back to the kitchen bar where the take-out food had been laid out.
"I assume that everything went well." Reeve stated as he inspected several of the white take-out cartons.
"Cait is still in one piece." Tifa mentioned as she took a barstool and began filling her plate from the cartons.
The doll came racing down the hallway waving his small paws up in the air. Tifa looked over her shoulder trying to figure out what was going and then she looked over at the hallway. Vincent came walked out, rubbing at his face. Reeve paused with chopsticks in mid motion.
"You better have not tried to dropkick Cait again." Reeve warned.
Vincent sat down on the spare stool and tried to pull his hair back from his face.
"That was not me that kicked Nanaki, that was Cloud." Getting a plate, he pulled back several of the carton flaps, examining the contents inside.
Tifa played with her sticks, unsure what Vincent had meant until it dawned on her. "Oh yeah, Costa Del Sol!"
He ignored Tifa's comment and pour a little of a carton's contents to his plate. Tifa popped a couple pieces of fried meat into her mouth and swallowed.
"Talking about things that shouldn't be talking, Reeve, how do you what you do?"
He paused with a wad of food caught in his sticks. He smirked.
"I would like to say it was a family tradition..." Reeve took a bit of food and chewed on it briefly before swallowing. "But it actually started with crayons."
Tifa blinked. "Crayons?"
Reeve took a drink from his glass. "Yeah, from what I understand, I use to eat them."
Vincent paused in his eating and looked at Reeve. "Special crayons, by chance?"
Reeve waved his hand. "Nah, it wasn't the crayons. I was told when I was little, at a park I had put a bright yellow pebble in my mouth and ate it. My mother waited for it to come out, and well, it never did."
Tifa nearly choked on her food. She took a drink and set her sticks down.
"Are you alright Tifa?"
She started laughing. Tifa had seen too many kids that would play any number of unknown objects into their mouths from the floor, especially when Marlene was younger. She held up her hand and nodded indicating she was fine.
Reeve looked back at his food. "Well I can only assume what I ate was materia, most likely manipulate materia. I cannot think of any other materia producing the same results. Anywho, I didn't start exploring my new talent until high school. I gave my girlfriend a kitty doll and she placed it in her locker. Unfortunately, my plans went south when another, not so pretty girl, stole the doll and placed it in her locker."
"Got more then you bargained for, Reeve?" Vincent mumbled as he picked at his food.
Reeve wound the noodle around his chop sticks." Yeah. That is when I found out that my connection can be cut off when the doll is destroyed." Reeve recalled the day in math class when the gym class had gotten out and people were changing. Not wanting to see that particular girl undress, in his distress told her not to change. All he could assume after finding his cat doll torn apart in the trash that he had made the doll say what he was thinking.
Cait Sith approached Tifa's shoes. One of her shoes had loose laces, which swung around when Tifa moved her feet. The doll initially batted at the laces. Feeling something pulling at the laces, Tifa swung her foot out before resting it on the stool rung. Cait came around on the side and tried to untie the other shoe.
Tifa looked down, quickly growing annoyed at the doll. She swatted at it before returning to her dinner. Cait grinned and went back to the other shoe, and reached to pull at the laces more. Tifa leaned over and grabbed the doll by its throat and yanked it up to eyelevel.
"Look," She eyed the doll. "You have been messing with my shoe laces for the past six months. You will stop." Tifa squeezed and the doll squeaked in response.
"Tifa that's not very nice." Reeve stated as he watched her squeeze the cat doll. Looking at Reeve and then back at the doll, she squeezed again in order to get Cait to squeak. Then the doll giggled. Annoyed, she held the doll at Reeve. "Take it."
Reeve took Cait Sith and examined him. He turned it around and found the zipper had broken. "You broke his zipper! How could you break his cute little zipper?" He held the doll up to face level. "Tifa, how could you do that to something with such cute face like this?" Reeve protested in mock insult.
Vincent's lips twitched as he fought against a smile. Tifa glanced over and grinned. "Better keep that up Reeve, Mr. Lobotomy is about to smile." Gesturing at Vincent.
Author's notes: Now I have an explanation about Cloud kicking Nanaki in Costa Del Sol. When there, there is variety of things going one, one being some form of kick ball. I am sure the reason this is because of the option of being able to kick the ball, but the only place you can kick the ball happens to be the same place where Nanaki is laying. I happened to stumble upon this and kick the feline being, several times. So that is where that came from.(If that makes any sense to anyone, and if you want to try it, let me know if you do.)
And about Reeve eating material…well how else can you explain how he does what he does and why Shinra and Hojo would not know about it? Or at least Reeve would make sure they would not know.
Speaking of the devil, stay tuned for Chapter 5, conversation between Reeve and Vincent and Hojo does the hustle! (Or at least how Reeve helped Hojo get his groove… )