The two barely talked the next day. Cid sensed vaguely that Vincent was angry with him, but couldn't be sure from the indifferent manner in which the other man treated him. But because Cid barely saw a hint of his roommate, he wondered if Vincent was far more aggravated with Cid than he was letting on. One thing that they shared, the pilot noticed, was the stubborn tendency to hold tightly to hard feelings.
But the old captain was far too proud to say anything, and just avoided Vincent as well, spending most of his time out behind the building in the Sierra, making adjustments and repairs. Late that afternoon, he was up in the cockpit with a blowtorch when he noticed a familiar figure walking up the lane. He laid down the torch and his mask, and jumped down from the ship, wiping his greasy hands on already stained cargo pants. His face was smudged with black grease marks as well, and his rather grimy shirt was soaked with sweat from the noon sun blazing down on him as he worked.
The visitor was that same girl – Adelaide? Adeline? Something weird like that, anyway. She carried a basket and was ringing the bell for their apartment. Cid approached her, running a hand through his hair.
"Need somethin'?"
She jumped, and turned, startled by the sudden voice.
"Oh, it's you. I was just…dropping off some things…" Her eyes scanned over him, taking in his grungy appearance, and her eyebrows lifted a little in an expression that Cid wasn't sure how to interpret. "Uh, do you know where he is?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Shit, I have no idea what he even does. He kinda keeps to himself like that. Whatcha got there?" He nodded to her basket.
She blushed a little, making Cid grin. "Well…Vincent just mentioned that you two don't really have time to cook anything, so I thought I'd bring you…bring you some brownies."
"Brownies, huh? Well, I'm not sure how Vincent feels about brownies, but I sure as hell I'll eat 'em." He took the basket from her, happily grabbing one and taking a bite.
It was the worst damn brownie he'd ever tasted.
For a moment, he was frozen, not knowing what to do. She looked up at him expectantly, and the only thing he could thing of was to nod and force a smile. She sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness – I'm not the best cook in the world, and I thought for a minute that I'd mixed up the sugar with the salt." She laughed a little, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Well, that's a relief!"
Oh, for Holy's sake, Cid thought, resisting the impulse to spit the stuff out. I'm eating salt brownies. Dammit, dammit, dammit.
He handed her back the basket, smiling, and when she turned away to look over at the Sierra he turned quickly and spit out the salty brownie into the bushes.
"Is that your ship?" Adelia asked, pointing at it.
"Uh…yeah. The Sierra." Cid wiped his mouth with his arm while she wasn't looking, still trying to rid himself of the taste, and wishing desperately for a glass of water.
"It's lovely," she said, and Cid felt himself instinctively swell with pride. "Did you build it yourself?"
"Hell yeah." He said, his eyes looking lovingly over the ship, sitting grandly in the large yard. "I'll take you up sometime, once I get her fixed up a bit." He put his hands in his pockets, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as he gazed at the airship, whose silver hull shone brightly in the sunlight.
"That would be wonderful…oh, Vincent!" Adelia turned her head suddenly as the cloaked man came around the side of the building. He looked mildly surprised to see her there, but nodded to her. His crimson eyes locked with Cid's and were quickly averted, and he gave a smaller, more curt nod to his roommate.
"Would you like to come inside?" Vincent opened the door for Adelia, and Cid followed the two inside, wiping the grimy sweat from his brow and pulling his goggles off as he did so. He watched Vincent and the basket of deadly brownies carefully, not wanting to miss a moment of Vincent's sampling of them.
But rather than sampling one when Adelia handed them to him, Vincent simply set the basket neatly on the kitchen counter. "I'm not hungry right now," he said, "but thank you."
Cid had to resist the impulse to smack his hand against his forehead. No, you ass! He screamed silently, when a pretty girl makes you brownies, you fecking take one. Jeez, no wonder he doesn't have any friends!
A faint look of disappointment passed over Adelia's face, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. "Well, that's just fine. Just be sure to get one before Cid eats them all up!"
She laugh lightly, and Cid forced a small laugh. "Heh. Yeah. Love them brownies." Great job, Highwind, that was probably the fakest reply you could have given her. Congratulations.
But she simply smiled and turned back to Vincent. "So, um, are you doing anything tonight? I was thinking we could go for dinner or something, if you wanted. And Cid can come too, of course," she added hurriedly.
Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry," he replied softly, "but I have other things I need to attend to this evening. Perhaps another time."
"Oh, well, would you, Cid?" She turned to Cid, and he bit his tongue to keep from accepting the offer. C'mon, man, this girl is for Vincent. He needs that sort of thing a lot more than you do.
"Sorry, but I've gotta get up early tomorrow. Makin' a trip to Nibelheim, y'know." He grinned and scratched the back of his neck, running his fingers through his sweaty hair.
"Oh. I see." Her face fell, this time more obviously, but she managed to cover it up with a weak smile. "That's alright, then. I'd better be heading home."
"It's gonna get dark soon. I'll walk you home, alright?" Cid grabbed his coat, tossing Adelia's jacket to her from the rack. He walked out, holding the door open for her as she turned back to Vincent one last time. "Stop by sometime, Vincent, okay?" Vincent made a rather noncommittal nod to her, making Cid bristle. He let the screen door slam shut turning with a small huff to descend the stairs.
Night was already coming on, and although the temperature had been high that day, it was beginning to cool off outside. The shadows had grown long, and the sky had faded to a dark, deep blue, with a few stars already beginning to show through. On the streets, the lamps had come on, lighting up the streets of Midgar almost bright as daylight.
"So, where do you come from?" Cid eventually said. He had never been good at small talk, but had found the silence that had fallen between them to be about as uncomfortable as having a finger cut off.
"Near Kalm, actually, a little ways outside of the city. I actually just recently moved here to find some good work," she replied, tilting her head to look up at the night sky. "You and Vincent are actually some of the first people I've gotten to know around here."
"Really? Damn." Cid couldn't find a whole lot more to say than that.
"Yeah, kind of sad, I know…" She laughed, embarrassed.
"No, not really." Cid chuckled. "I mean, look at Vincent – he's been around here three years and still barely knows anyone!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's a bit weird that way." Cid stuffed his hands in his pockets, searching for a cigarettes and finding none. He wanted to change the subject – it was really starting to bug him.
"I suppose. But he's very sweet."
Cid forced a smile. "Heh. Well, I suppose it's just as well I'm not familiar with that side of him. More for you, eh?" He laughed, and then immediately regretted it, kicking himself inwardly. Good going, genius. Might as well go shoot yourself right about now.
She didn't reply for a few moments, so he quickly moved on. "So, ah, what kind of job have you got here?"
"Ah…I'm actually working as an assistant shopkeeper in a grocery right now. I've applied for a few more jobs, but this isn't the best season to find work, I suppose."
"Yeah…" Cid drifted off, sighing and looking up at the stars, feeling the usual tug towards them, and jerked himself back to earth.
Adelia stopped outside a small, mildly shabby apartment building. She smiled at Cid. "This is my stop. I'll be fine from here." She opened the door, and turned back a little, smiling warmly at him. "Thank you, Cid."
And then she was gone.
