Disclaimer:
Refer to previous chapter's disclaimers...
Author's Note:
Geez, sorry bout the slow update time!(Yet again...) Anyhoo, I hope you like this chapter! Yes, I know it's long but I was reading it and was like "Yeah, chapter break right here is good..."
So, I hope you like this chapter! Send me feedback please! I wanna know if you guys are still out there reading this! Oh and to all you people who haven't reviewed! Please make yourselves known! I have a shitload of hits on this story and I wanna see how many people are actually reading this!
Enough of my gab! Carry on!
"Come on, Tifa!" Cid yelled over the intercom. "We can't wait on that jackass all day! I've got things I need to do! He'll have to find another ride back to Costa del Sol! We're leaving!"
I huffed and scanned the horizon, looking for Reno's red head to suddenly pop into view. I was just about ready to turn around and walk into the Highwind when I heard someone yell in the background.
"Hey!" I turned around and spotted Reno running toward the Highwind wildly waving his arms. "Wait for me!"
I rolled down the rope ladder for him just as the Highwind's engines started up. I heard Reno curse as he climbed up the ladder. He threw his bag over the railing and hopped onto the deck as I got to work rolling the ladder back up.
Reno leaned over and placed his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Whew! I thought I wasn't gonna make it!"
I placed my hands on my hips. "Where were you?"
He looked up at me with a sheepish grin. "Sleeping."
I rolled my eyes. "Sleeping, what for?"
"I was tired. So, I figured I'd take a quick nap."
"Well, lucky for you I told Cid to wait." I turned and left the deck, leaving Reno to either stay up there or follow me.
Reno's childish attitude never ceased to aggravate my frazzled nerves. Sometimes I wondered how much of an age difference separated him and Logan.
I ventured onto the bridge and gave Cid a half smile before walking toward the front where I always used to stand. I placed my hands on the railing, gently squeezing it as I gazed down the ground that flew by in a dizzying array of browns and greens.
I felt a slight tugging on the hem of my shirt and I looked down. Logan was peering up at me with those big blue eyes of his. "Mommy, can I go see Nelly?"
I smiled, kneeling down. "Go ahead."
He kissed me on the cheek before running off the bridge. I straightened back up to find Cid sauntering up to me. "I still can't believe that Cloud didn't want anything to do with that little boy."
I nodded and leaned up against the railing. "Cid, you have to remember. Cloud is like a little kid stuck in a grown man's body."
Cid snickered at my comment, raking his fingers through his messy white-blonde hair. "You got a point," he said, still chuckling. "But still, that's the sweetest little boy I've ever seen. Spike must've taken a dive off the deep end to not want anything to do with you or Logan."
"We'll probably never know." I crossed my arms and stared at the door that Logan had run through. "I guess Cloud had his reasons."
"Yeah," Cid said, taking the cigarette he had been puffing on and throwing it to the floor and clamping the heel of his boot on it. "But his reasons were pretty screwed up."
Cid returned to the captain's station, leaving me to think on his last statement. He was absolutely right. Cloud never told me why he was leaving, he just left. But you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that he was looking for Aeris. Yes, I might have been in love with him but that love had blinded me to who he really was: a lost little boy.
I sighed and pushed off of the railing and left the bridge. Maybe because I had so much pity for him that pity eventually turned into what I thought was love. As I think back, Cloud never really thought anything of me besides 'the best friend.' Once Aeris came into the picture, he pushed me into the back of his mind. Even after Aeris was gone, he wouldn't let her go and condemned himself to the thought that it was his fault that she had died.
I entered the chocobo stable and leaned against the door jam. Logan was once again on Nelly's back, laughing as she trotted around the room. He saw me and waved excitedly. "Look at me, Mommy!" He exclaimed as Nelly ruffled her tail feathers into the back of his head.
I laughed as I watched my son. A few minutes later, Nelly trotted over to me and turned so I could safely retrieve him from her back. Logan turned in my arms and stretched his hand out so he could pet her one last time. She warbled silently as Logan scratched her crest. Once he was finished, she looked at him with her icy blue eyes and nudged him gently with her beak before walking away.
I returned to the bridge and placed Logan down so he could run around and release some of the excess energy he had pent up. He ran toward Cid and pulled on his pants leg then got to the task of asking him a million questions. I returned to my spot in front of the window and continued to gaze out the window, lost in thought.
I was concentrating so hard that I didn't notice Reno walk up beside me. "So, whatcha gonna do once you get back to Costa?" He asked, resting his elbows on the railing.
"Return to the normal routine, I guess," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground below.
"That it?" He said like he was expecting me to say something else.
I looked into his eyes for a few moments before shrugging and staring back out the window. I guess my silence was getting to him because he leaned in closer to me. "You alright?" He asked, peering into my eyes.
I looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind right now." I left it at that and turned back to the window once again.
I saw Reno nod out of the corner of my eye. "Alright," he said, shrugging. "Good enough for me."
He walked off and left me in revered silence once again. One corner of my mouth curled up when I saw Costa appear on the horizon. I hadn't been away from home for long but I was glad to finally be back. This weekend had taken a toll on me and all I wanted to do when I got home was take a nice long nap before I had to go to work.
