Wonderful World
An AU parody inspired by "As Good As It Gets"; beta-read, reviewed and edited by Howling WereWolf.

I spent the last few minutes trying to think up an update for Musings. Then I gave up and came back to here; the difference between the two, is that this one already has a script for me to play with.

"Just fill these out, please."

Cid took the proffered pen and started filling out forms as the female counter staff gently picked up Angelo. The pup promptly went limp and played dead.

On opposite sides of the waiting room, a tiny Chihuahua and a large black lab cross sat patiently with their masters.

"Anything unusual in Angelo's diet?" the counter staff asked.

"No," Cid replied as he handed back the forms. Then he glanced at the other dogs, which prompted his next question: "Everybody gets their own kennel?"

"Certainly."

"Then put him in with that one," he pointed at the Chihuahua as he spoke.
"Builds his self-confidence."

"... This is your airship?"

An hour and a half after appointing a Chihuahua as Angelo's roommate for the next two days, Cid now found himself dwarfed by a very large aircraft.

Pride simply grinned smugly and patted the gleaming red hull. "Told you I'd take care of your Ragnarok for you, kid."

Leon did not answer directly, but looked up at the gargantuan draconian ship that now stood majestically in Traverse Town's port. Leaving the younger man to "catch up" on lost time, Pride grabbed tapped in the access codes, stepping back as a ramp slid out.
"Yo, Highwind; quit gawking and help me with the luggage."

Cid snapped out of his awed stupor and grunted before grabbing a few bags and hauling them up the ramp.

Aeris arrived as the last of the bags made it inside; she too stopping to stare in wonder at the grand sight. Spotting her at the distance, Cid straightened up a bit and waved her over.
"Hi. Thanks for being on time...uh...introductions, yeah. Aeris the delivery girl, these are the fags."

Then he took her bags and started carrying them inside as well, leaving Aeris outside with Leon and Cloud.

Cloud cleared his throat and held out his hand. "I'm Cloud; this is Leon."

"Hello... Holy Hyne, what happened to you?"

"Stabbed once, shot four times, nearly died," Leon answered sardonically.

Sending a glance of disapproval down at Leon, Cloud took pity on Aeris' expression of outright shock and confusion. He explained:
"We walked in on people robbing us; they attacked us with our merchandise, and we were hospitalized for several weeks."

"Oh."

"We're behind time, here! Let's continue the small talk inside," Pride called from within the cockpit.

As the last of the passengers entered the interior, the ramp was recalled, and the engine revved up for take off. Moments later, they took to the sky.

Aeris looked out the window, admiring the grand view as she started talking.
"I don't know the last time I've been out of Traverse Town; I've got to remember to bring back souvenirs with me... I'd better call in to check on Tifa and the kids soon."

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you; the engine gets too loud when we're achieving altitude; it'll calm down in a minute," Pride called from the pilot's seat. Shaking his head helplessly, he shouted over to Cid in the co-pilot's chair. "Can you tell her we can't hear her?"

"Doesn't matter; she's enjoying herself. Consider it 'music to the ears'."

A short time later, the passengers had retreated to the back of the cockpit. Leon, getting back into the game, had swiftly swapped places with Cid, and now sat at the co-pilot's seat up front with his grandfather, leaving a disgruntled Cid seated with the other passengers in the much quieter back.

At the moment, he was mercifully quiet, allowing Aeris to talk with Cloud in peace; the two were already making fast friends.

"I'm sure, Cloud, something really off must have happened for the two of you to feel this way. But when it comes to your partners or family, things will always be off for you unless you set it straight. Maybe this...incident...happened just to give you that chance."

"Non-sense!" Cid barked, leaning forward. "Want to know why?"

"Anyone here who's interested in what Cid has to say, raise their hands."

Cloud's eyes widened and he reached forward to push his injured hand further into his lap. Thus, the majority was declared.

Utterly defeated in the democrat way, Cid retreated from the conversation again with a snort.

For the following few minutes, not another word was said between any of them. Cloud looked cautiously to the front, where Pride and Leon were sitting in their own silence. Then he spoke up softly.

"Do you want to know what happened? I mean, with us and Leon's dad?"

Aeris' head promptly turned in his direction. "Yes, I would."

Cloud looked down as his good hand fiddled with the blonde spike in his hair. "Well..."

"Just a minute." Interrupting him for that brief moment, Aeris looked pointedly back at Cid.

"...what?" Cid managed to ask defensively.

"Don't say anything."

"What'd I do?"

"Well... Leon and I have always known each other; we grew up together. I met him when we weren't even shaving yet, I think. We were enrolled in a military academy, and Leon's grandfather was one of the senior instructors at the time. Then, it was granted that Leon had no parents - Granddad raised him - which was fine; I didn't remember having any folks myself. Then I moved in with them, and Granddad started taking care of the both of us. It was good like that; we liked it."

"This stuff is pointless."

"You promised, Cid."

"You like sob stories? You want mine?"

Aeris sent the man a hard look before turning back to Cloud. "Go ahead. Really. Please. Don't let him stop you; ignore him."

"...okay.
"Well, it was somewhere in our teens when I met Laguna - Leon's father. He was talking to us after classes one day, then he asked if he could meet our guardian. I thought it'd be an honor to have him come to our house, but the moment Granddad laid eyes on him, he told us to go to our room. We hadn't even shut the door yet when he started screaming something at Laguna; I'm still surprised the whole campus didn't come running to witness the commotion. Whatever it was he was yelling about, I can't remember exactly, but it was ugly to just watch-"

"My folks didn't leave their house for eleven years, and my father used to hit my hand with a yardstick if I got anything below an A in engineering school," Cid butted in effectively. That earned him another hard look before he wisely chose to hold his peace for the next few sentences.

"Go ahead, Cloud. Pride was yelling something fierce and... Really, come on."

Cloud fidgeted a little nervously, then continued.

"We were both highly confused; we did not know why Granddad looked so angry, and we did not know why Laguna looked so apologetic. That's when it got too much for us, and we came out again to confront them. It was a mistake, that; it was a mistake for us to be even listening, because at that moment, Laguna said, 'I just want to do something for him; he's my son.'
"I never saw Leon turn that pale before in my life. He just ran out of there and didn't return for the entire night, and when he finally came home in the morning, he was in denial. I think he still is.
"After that, Laguna started to visit more often. Granddad had stopped yelling at Laguna since, but Leon refused to talk to him, and talked less with Granddad. They understood, and they let him be, but he continued to be so very angry.
"We eventually graduated from the academy, and before we left, Laguna was over again. He came up to Leon and held out his hand, and it was filled with money - a big, sweaty wad of money."

Cloud paused to gather himself.

"He said, 'I won't be coming back, and whatever your decision, I'll respect it. Just promise you'll come find me if you ever need help.'
"Leon would not answer him - he wouldn't take the money either, but Laguna just grabbed him and he hugged him. Then he turned and left the room, leaving Leon standing stiffly by his bag and unmoving.
"Laguna passed the money to Granddad, and Granddad passed it to me. We were able to buy our apartment and studio with that money, but we just lost touch with both of them completely... Until now."

Aeris regarded him quietly, strangely moved by the truth behind the two men that had just been revealed to her, something more complicated than financial difficulties, sick children and arrogantly helpless doctors. Looking out the window, she kissed her fingers and touched them to Cloud's cheek - a nice, understated gesture of friendship.

"...thank you," Cloud answered.

"I'll stay what I said: the two of you have to get past it all when it comes to this, and preferably together; we all have bad experiences to get over."

Enough with being in the background, Cid nudged in again with his own words of wisdom.
"Not true; some of us have great stories - pretty stories that take place at lakes with chocobos and friends and fries in cheese sauce. Just not anybody in this big bird. But lots of people, that's their story - good times, chocobos, fries in cheese sauce; that's what makes it hard: not that you had it bad, but being that pissed so many had it good."

Cid nodded smugly as Aeris and Cloud both sent him an incredulous stare.

"No," Aeris finally answered.

"Not it at all, really," Cloud agreed.

"Not at all, huh?" Cid quipped with a veteran's irony. "Well then, ladies, why don't we see if Old Yeller up front is anywhere near Esthar City yet? Then maybe you'd get lucky tomorrow, and Daddy-in-law will pass him another big wad of sweaty money to pass to you."

"Two bedrooms, a sofa that opens, and the hotel is offering us a spare mattress," Pride helpfully informed as they acquainted themselves with the room they would be staying in for the time being.

The sound of the phone being hung up echoed from the small kitchen, and Aeris emerged from said room.
"No answer; maybe we should just fly there tomorrow. Can I have that one?" She pointed at one of the bedrooms as she spoke.

"Yes...sure. Kids, you take the other room. I'll flip with Cid for the spare mattress."

"...that won't be necessary; I'll just take the damn sofa," Cid muttered, already parking his butt upon it. Pride shrugged, then got up to answer the door as the bell rang. Aeris disappeared back into the kitchen and picked up the phone, and dialed home again. Watching Leon retreat to the table with a book, Cid entered one of the two bedrooms, watching Cloud unpack from an impeccably neat suitcase.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

As an answer, Cloud laughed in apprehension squared.

"Do either of you get...that way...over a woman?"

Cloud promptly dropped his shirt back into the suitcase and turned around. "Look..."

"Wouldn't your life be a lot easier if you were not-"

"Cid, you consider your life easy."

Cid conceded defeat quickly. "I give you that one... Nice packing, by the way."

Back out in the living room, as Pride hauled the spare mattress across the floor. Seeing his ticket out of the tight situation, Cid hurried to help him.

Aeris came back in as well, beaming widely.

"You will not believe this; none of you will. Denzel was outside, and he was racing with the other kids; I never saw him run before! Come on, you guys, let's go out for a good time; someone here take me dancing!"

"...dancing?" Cid asked carefully.

"I'll pass," Leon answered, looking rather awkward before this happy woman.

Aeris walked up to him and pulled up a chair next to him, meeting his eye-level in a more comfortable manner.
"I understand; this is a monumental first day out. You sad or anything?"

Leon shook his head. Then he cleared his throat uncomfortably as he continued. "Thank you for talking with Cloud. Those past few days have been...rough. I don't know how I would have handled the situation if you weren't along."

"What a nice compliment; thank you."

As Aeris suddenly reached forward and hugged Leon, Pride and Cid simultaneously dropped the mattress on the floor with a loud "thump". Leon blinked, remaining rigid as he was released, then took a sudden interest in the book as he tried to make a hasty retreat from what he felt was a very strange and very awkward situation.

Aeris stood and walked up to the two older men who were debating over leaving the mattress where it was. They paused and looked her way.

"I'm happy," she stated, the smile still bright on her face. Then she dropped the other shoe. "Now get me out of here and let's hit the streets."

The two men looked at each, then Pride grinned. "Absolutely. Never mind about the mattress, Highwind; we're outta here."

"What about those two?" Cid retorted, referring to Leon and Cloud.

"The kids could use some alone time. Now go grab a button-up shirt that is reasonably clean."

Shiri Matakami: Perfectly understandable; we all have down times. Chapter 9 covers one of my favorite parts of the movie - the sparked, slowly growing feeling of community and comradeship between Simon and Melvin. I'm glad you liked it.

JadeGem: You reassure me with your...enthusiasm. Flypipe, I know you're reading over her shoulder. Keep your book to yourself; Kenny's mother scared me more than you ever will. I take back the yelling (caps lock and all), but cut me some slack; I've got work as well. Makes me wonder why I'm allowing myself to divert my attention like this. Speaking of which, thanks for recommending My Pace by Sunset Swish. I have absolutely no clue what they are saying, but I feel better already just listening to the song.

Niana Kuonji: Sweet; guess I can write original characters after all. That's right, we're finally crawling out of the hole and upward. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint you too much.

Runkie: Thank you, you overwhelm me with fuzzy emotions and leave me grinning even as I type this reply. I've always loved As Good As It Gets, and that's what inspired me to do this. I've been forced to divert slightly from the original storyline at several points due to my circumstances, but otherwise, the credit should really go to the ones who made that movie in the first place. Thanks for reviewing, anyway.