"Ideas?! HAPPY REEVE/CASSIE PLEASE! MAKE IT WORK LIKE A BRANCHING AU OF THE FIC!"
Okay, so I was pretty much done with this (I had written the closing notes and everything) when a conversation about a certain anime sequel (that shall not be named, but it involves a dog demon) happened over on Tumblr. Basically, many of us are mad at a recently revealed pairing and spent a while venting about it and/or making plans to write fanfics that address the subject. I'm bringing it up here is because, while not the same situation by a long shot, there is a physical age gap between Reeve and Castalia. They are ten years apart, and I remember at least one person saying how they would not have been comfortable seeing a romance between them.
If you are one of them, then I apologize. This chapter is not for you.
Personally, I don't truly mind the Reeve/Castalia pairing, but that's mostly because Castalia is mentally much older. She was twenty-two when she first "awoke" in Gaia. Hence, as of chapter 12, she is mentally thirty-eight (that's actually older than Reeve, which presents a bit of a weird situation). She actually was an adult before finding herself back in the body of a child and that, I think, makes all the difference. If she were the same mental age as her physical one, then I will admit I'd be iffy about it.
Anyway...
SomebodyLost, you've been with me since the first chapter of Horizons, and we've exchanged many a PM since then. You even made me fanart- something which makes me happy to this day. As thanks for sticking with me for so long, the Reeve/Cassie AU branch fic will definitely be a thing. However, if I'm going to do it justice, it's gonna take some time- especially if it's going to be its own story. I kind of want to focus on the main fic before I branch into an AU of an AU, but I promise I'll write it. Don't worry.
That being said, I hope this helps to tide you over in the meantime.
I was watching Dirge of Cerberus cutscenes to get myself into the Final Fantasy mindset while refreshing my knowledge of Vincent's history (there are quite a few little things I'd forgotten, apparently) and was inspired by a particular scene near the beginning.
Now, before I continue, I ask that all of you who read this please take this for what it is: an AU with an already established Reeve/Castalia pairing that takes place a bit before DoC does in the original timeline. It should not be considered as Horizons canon. I will also be avoiding any plot spoilers by dropping everyone into this scenario and either ignoring what I have planned in the main fic or not going into detail as to how they arrived at this point.
SomebodyLost, I tried to add a bit of everything in here for you, so I hope you like the more, uh...romantic bits despite me not being all that good at writing them. Also, there's nothing explicit, per se, but there's no denying that something happens.
So...yeah. I'm gonna go now.
Reeve/Castalia Pairing Theme: youtube (dot com)(forward slash) watch?v= SDooAeN3sGo
(just add the appropriate punctuation, the site keeps deleting it even when I space it out)
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(Need a Title for this. Any Suggestions?)
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Seventh Heaven Bar, Midgar/Edge, unknown month, [ ν ] - εγλ 0010
It was not often that so many of them not only found themselves with free time and chose to spend it visiting Seventh Heaven, but Cloud always appreciated it whenever it did happen. The way Tifa's face brightened at all the familiar company always made him happy, even if she inevitably ended up having him help tend the bar.
Today was no different...at least until that afternoon.
The doors didn't slam open, but the force used wasn't exactly gentle either. Whatever reprimand was on his lips faded the moment he saw just who had come in- and the furious expression on her face.
"Cass?"
He saw a few of the others look up and toward the door at that, but no doubt seeing what he had, quickly looked away. Castalia was not so easily angered, but when she finally reached that point? He couldn't blame them for quickly minding their own business.
Though concerned, he also couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Of course this would happen on a day when Vincent was off somewhere too far away to call. Sure, he could calm her down well enough himself, but he'd always hated seeing Castalia upset, and the former Turk just seemed to have a knack for it.
The doors swung open again, and everything began to make more sense.
"Castalia-"
Castalia scowled and spun around, the slight crackle of lightning dancing between her fingers- and why did her hands look so beat up? -only adding to the suddenly tense atmosphere. "Reeve, if you don't get out of my sight in the next two seconds-!"
"Honey, please-"
"I will Thundaga your ass- don't think I won't!"
Not that hearing all this was making the situation any better. If anything, he now found himself leveling a hard stare at the head of the WRO as he stepped forward and hooked an arm around her shoulders.
"You alright?"
Castalia's posture relaxed a bit, the hum of magic fading as she took a deep breath and leaned her head on his chest.
"Would you and Tifa mind if I crashed here for a few days?" she asked quietly.
"Sure. We should still have some of your clothes from the last time. Need me to bring you anything?"
She hesitated, and he smiled a bit. "That's a yes. Don't worry, I don't mind making a trip."
"If you're sure," she murmured. "There's this cake from a bakery in Sector 3 that I've had my eyes on..."
"Just text me the details, and I'll go grab one for you. My treat."
"Thanks, Cloud..."
She gave him a brief hug before making her way toward the stairs, and he felt a flare of concern over the fact that everything about her screamed exhaustion as she did so. Luckily Tifa seemed to have caught onto that as well since she was quick to send him a knowing look, grab Aerith, and trail up after her, which freed him up for...other things.
His smile vanished, and he was sure his flat stare had become positively glacial by the time he turned back to Reeve.
"Talk."
He felt nothing but satisfaction when the man flinched.
"I-..."
"Fucked up," Barret finished with a snort. "We're all aware of that by this point. What Spiky wants to know is how you fucked up."
"So that he can determine how much to fuck you up," Cid guffawed, though his own gaze was hard as he set them on the other man. "Tread lightly, Tuesti, or the little missus might not have a man to be angry with anymore."
"I...have to admit I'm a bit curious myself," Angeal agreed, almost apologetically, from the table he'd been sharing with Zack and Aerith. "Castalia has always been quite level-headed. I imagine it would take a lot to get her to this point."
"Unless you're Reno," Zack piped in.
"Watch it," the redhead in question shot back from his own table. "'Sides, I never got her this worked up...Well, I did, but that was back when we first met. We're cool now, yo."
"You still owe her 25,160 gil," Rude pointed out.
"What?! I thought the company paid for that! They did, didn't they? Rude? Rude!"
Rude just took a drink from his mug.
"That's enough from the peanut gallery," Cloud cut in, though he did send Reno a look that let him know that last bit would be discussed later. "Explanation. Now."
Reeve's expression cycled through a mix of emotions before he sighed and began.
"As you are probably aware by now, being the head of the World Regenesis Organization means that my input is often needed. At first- when the organization was still relatively new and comparatively smaller -I had no issues. Now, I find I spend most of my days troubleshooting one thing or another that my subordinates are unable to resolve themselves. Though Castalia doesn't seem to mind accompanying me on these trips, it's hardly fair to have her do it so often just so that we can spend time together. I practically had to beg her to stay behind when she became ill last week. So, I began thinking about what I could do...and eventually decided that if my presence was deemed such a necessity, then I would simply have to be in two places at once."
"Let me guess," he groaned, having a feeling he knew exactly where this was going, "you built a robot of yourself."
"Yes- in a manner of speaking, anyway. However, it's not as simple as that. If I wanted any chance of this working, I needed to make it as realistic as possible to keep people from protesting at receiving orders from what, essentially, amounted to a machine. To do that, it had to not only look and behave like me, but to think and react like me as well. That way, if any unexpected developments or complications were to arise, I could be sure they would be dealt with in the same way that I would have."
"...Reeve, for the love of all that is good in this world, please tell me you didn't test your robot on Cass without telling her."
Reeve winced.
"Our home is a much safer and controlled environment to test in," he defended weakly. "And Castalia knows me better than anyone, so if it were able to convince her-... It was only going to be for the day, and with the data I gathered- without the bias the knowledge that it wasn't me would have on her opinions and actions -I would decide whether to continue refining it or start with the field tests. I didn't anticipate Castalia wanting to go out, or the rather...unfortunate accident which befell the prototype."
"Accident?"
"...It...may have been crushed by some debris that was shaken loose from one of the reconstruction projects going on in Sector 6. Cait- who was controlling everything from the inside -got out from the rubble as quickly as he could in order to reassure her of my well-being, though...not before she had already suffered quite a bit of distress."
Silence.
"So...let me get this straight," Cloud ground out through a clenched jaw once everything had sunken in. "You built a hyper-realistic robot of yourself- one of the sole purposes of which was to convince others that it was you -tested it on my sister without her knowledge, and it was crushed, making it so that- for however long it took for Cait Sith to get out -Castalia thought you had died."
Reeve looked down.
Cloud took a deep breath.
"Right," he continued, while releasing said breath in a burst, "Not gonna lie, I want to kick your teeth in- but as it seems like this really was just an accident, and you didn't intentionally mean to hurt her, I'm going to walk out, go to Sector 3, and buy out that whole damn bakery. You're not getting anywhere near her until I say so, though. When I come back, you had better be gone. "
Reeve hesitated, looking torn as his gaze shifted from Cloud to the stairs behind him and back.
"That wasn't a suggestion, Reeve."
Finally, Reeve sighed and nodded, his whole body seeming to slump with the acceptance.
"Will you...at least tell her how sorry I am?" he asked, his voice thick with remorse.
"...I'll think about it. Now leave."
Once he was gone, Cloud gave his own sigh and dropped down onto one of the barstools.
"What a mess," he muttered. "Almost makes me wish I did kick his teeth in."
"Nah, then Cassie would be mad at you instead," Zack chuckled.
"Probably," he snorted, then shook his head and stood back up. "Barret, you mind looking after the bar for a bit?"
"Sure, I don't got a problem with that."
"Thanks. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"We should be going too," Rude said, standing up as well.
"But we'll keep an eye on Reeve for ya," Reno finished. "Doubt he'll try anything, but you never know. He can be pretty damn persistent when it concerns her, yo."
"Pretty sure that's how they ended up tyin' the knot in the first place," Cid sniggered. "She sure as hell wasn't the one doin' the chasing- well, not entirely..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I don't want to know," Cloud told him. "Reno, Rude, do whatever you want- just don't hurt him. As pissed off as I am about all this, he was doing it with her happiness in mind, so I can't fault him for that."
That didn't mean he couldn't make him suffer a bit first, though. Castalia's anger was fierce but always short-lived. She just couldn't seem to stay mad at anyone for long, even if she had all the right- bar a few rare exceptions. So, he would just have to do so on her behalf.
Speaking of which, he really needed to look into whether or not Reno owed her money...
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"You sure you don't want me to get you a drink? A good spirit to lift your spirits? It really does help with the nerves."
Tifa held back a sigh when Castalia only shook her head with a small smile.
"Thanks, Tifa, but no. I'm already feeling better, and you know I've never been a big drinker."
"Then you'll have to settle for a spa day," Aerith said with a tone that said there would be no arguing with her. "Anyone would need to unwind after that kind of emotional upheaval. Not to mention the damage you did to your hands- I may have healed the cuts and scrapes you got while you were digging through that rubble, but your nails are all chipped."
The three of them looked down at her hands at that.
Like the rest of them, she didn't bother with keeping her nails long or painted- it wasn't very practical in battle, after all. However, keeping them short and having them damaged like they were now were two very different things.
She must have realized that, too, since she sighed. "...I...guess it should be all right."
"Great! And Reeve will be paying, of course- you still have his card, right?"
"What? Aerith, no, that's for emergencies-"
"I don't think he'll mind...not after scaring you like this."
A somber silence fell over them at that.
"Are you really feeling better, Cassie?" she couldn't help but ask in concern.
"I...don't know what I feel," Castalia finally admitted, her voice quiet. "Only that...it's too much. And-...and that talking to Reeve right now will just make it even more. I-... I can't-..."
She took a shuddering breath and buried her head in her hands.
Tifa watched as Aerith reached over and pulled the older woman into a hug, exchanging sad looks with her over Castalia's head when the latter fell into the embrace and shook with silent sobs.
"...He's going to pay for a week's worth of spa days for this," Aerith swore quietly.
Castalia gave a small and watery- but genuine -laugh, the sound of it easing some of the worries she'd been feeling since this all began.
"If you say so."
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Reeve Tuesti had first met Castalia Allen thirteen years ago- fourteen, if one counted the year or so they'd been exchanging letters beforehand. Through it all, he had been fortunate to call her a friend, and later, somehow managed to attain the incredible privilege of being her husband. As such, he felt he could say he knew her with some degree of confidence.
It was why he had ultimately agreed to not approach her even though he had wanted nothing more than to sweep her up into his arms and beg her forgiveness for the pain he'd put her through. Not that the desire to do so was no longer there, but now that the initial panic and worry had passed, he knew that his approach two weeks ago had not been the best choice. So he had waited, knowing that she would come to him when she was ready.
"Reeve..."
His heart jumped at the sound of her voice, and he quickly stood. The book he'd been reading dropped to the floor with a thud- already forgotten.
"Castalia."
He had her in his arms the next moment, pulling her close and just taking a moment to relish the feeling.
Then she punched him.
"You-...You-...When that debris hit, my heart stopped, Reeve. I-... I didn't know what to do. Then Cait came out and told me it hadn't been you, and I wanted to laugh and cry and I just felt so relieved even though-...though I-..." She sniffled, her expression twisting in guilt and her eyes filling with tears, "I was so mad at myself because I couldn't tell. We've known each other for fourteen years, and I couldn't tell! What kind of person doesn't notice when one of their best friends is replaced with a damn robot? What kind of wife doesn't notice the same about her husband?"
He blinked, completely bewildered by the statement, and then he was laughing.
Castalia bristled at the sound, her brows furrowing and her hands pushing against his chest as she stepped away-
-only to be quickly pulled back in and kissed fiercely.
The weight that had settled over him ever since the incident slowly fell away as he fervently worked his mouth against hers, replaced by a curling warmth that spread from his head to his toes and had him pressing their bodies together as tightly as possible. He was rewarded for this with a breathy groan that sent sparks shooting through him and made his mind go to a place it probably shouldn't...at least, not at the moment.
So it was, with great reluctance, that he pulled away some undetermined amount of time later.
"Oh, I love you so much," he sighed against her lips.
Her face, already flush due to his previous attentions, darkened a little more, making him grin. Castalia had always been easily flustered, and despite having been in a relationship for some time now, that had not changed.
"I-I-...t-that's not fair," she argued, though it was more of a half-hearted whine at this point. "You can't just do that, Reeve. I'm supposed to be mad."
"Anger has never suited you, Dearest," he chuckled softly. "That's why you're here now, isn't it? Besides, you said you were angry at yourself, and I won't have that."
"But I-"
"The fault is mine alone," he cut her off, the shame and regret that had been haunting him welling up and spilling into his voice. "I should have never put you through that. I-"
"You were doing it for me," she returned the favor, her expression softening as she did so.
"Ah, so Cloud did tell you."
"No," she shook her head before smiling up at him slightly. "Wasn't that hard to figure out...Thank you for thinking of me, Reeve. Your robot really is incredible. Or, uh, I guess was. I'm sorry it got destroyed. You must have worked really hard on it for it to be that realistic."
This woman...
He stared at her, relief and joy and love overflowing until he couldn't- and didn't wish to -hold it back anymore.
"You are unbelievable," he told her, tightening his hold as he began trailing kisses down her neck. "And I am so ridiculously lucky to have you."
He felt her breath hitch and her pulse jump under his lips- the spark of it setting ablaze the longing that had been building up at her absence.
"R-Reeve-"
"I'd rather never build anything ever again if it meant losing you in any way."
If she was going to respond to that, it was lost when he sealed his lips over hers in another kiss- notably more heated than the last.
"Please...Let me show you even just a fraction of the love I feel for you."
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Hours later, my face was still burning as I sat against Reeve on our bed. While being physically intimate had never been boring with him, there had definitely been something else this last time that made it more...intense than usual. Even just thinking about it was enough to make the heat start creeping through the rest of my body... Although that might have also been due to the fact that the feather-light caresses on my bare skin were beginning to trail teasingly close to still-sensitive areas.
"Reeve," I protested, feeling my face burn hotter when it came out more as an ardent groan. "We're supposed to be talking now, no-ah-!" my voice cut off at a particularly bold action on his part. "N-Not going for round two."
"It'd be more like round five by this point, wouldn't it?"
"Reeve."
He chuckled under his breath but thankfully stopped his actions before my brain became too muddled to think clearly.
"I'm sorry," he smiled against my cheek as he pressed a chaste kiss upon it. "But I think you're underestimating just how much I missed you."
I smiled slightly as I grabbed one of his hands, idly running my fingers over his palm. "I missed you too. I was actually ready to come back the day after it happened, but Cloud insisted I stay longer. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore and snuck out while he was out on a delivery."
"My, how rebellious of you."
I laughed, a joy that had been notably absent these past few weeks rushing through me. "Like you're one to talk."
"Hmm, I suppose that's true. Should I expect him to come storming over some time today?"
"I left a note."
This time his laugh was loud and deep, and he wrapped his arms around my waist before pulling me closer to him. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
The earnestness in his voice made everything in me soften, and I turned in his hold before cupping his cheek. "You always do."
From the first time he had made his feelings clear, he had never failed to remind me. Still, hearing him say it made my heart swell every single time.
"I am so ridiculously lucky to have you," I echoed his earlier words, my smile widening when he leaned his head into my palm. "I love you, Reeve."
His eyes were lidded, and his expression tender as he leaned up and pulled me into a gentle kiss. One that had me sighing and feeling at peace. When we finally broke apart, I almost didn't want to open my eyes, content to just stay in his arms.
"...Well, I don't know about you, but I'm definitely up for round five after that."
I burst out laughing, and when I did open my eyes, he was grinning playfully.
"No," I scolded, just as playfully. "We're still talking, Tuesti."
"You're one now too, my dear. I distinctly remember a wonderfully passionate night where we consummated that very fact."
I cleared my throat into my fist, my face warming all over again.
You'd think I'd have been used to comments like that after so long, but I was sure I was doomed to forever be easily flustered. It just wasn't fair...
"Cute~"
"Hush, you. I-... I really do have something to tell you, you know."
It had been the whole reason I'd asked to go out on that day weeks ago. Nerves had made me too anxious to stay inside, so I'd thought we could head for the church. Then everything had spiraled into chaos. But now...
I opened my mouth.
Then, closed it.
Opened...
Closed...
It was funny how the words seemed to be stuck now, but it was a pretty big thing, to be fair.
Reeve's brows furrowed in concern when this continued on for a bit, and he began to straighten. "Castalia? Sweetheart, are you alright?"
"I'm pregnant," I finally blurted out.
He froze.
"Shit," I muttered. "That is not how I planned on saying it..."
Reeve was still frozen in place, though his eyes did seem to have widened.
Tentatively, I shook his shoulder. "Reeve?...Love...are you still with me?"
I yelped when I was suddenly flipped around so that I lay beneath him, his heated gaze doing just as well at pinning me in place as his body.
"Time for rounds five through ten," he growled, the low, husky quality his voice had taken, sending shivers down my spine.
He ended up backing up those words...though looking back, I can't really say I minded.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo ~Chapter End
Okay, okay, I know I ended it in a sort of weird place, but hear me out.
Initially, I planned to write this as a one-shot thing, with the next part having them talk a bit more and the part after that wrapping everything up with the birth of Reeve and Cassie's little sprog. However, as I reached the point above, I kind of...wanted to write more? So, I've decided to continue this as a sort of little mini AU tale (and because I don't want to spend too much time coming up with some appropriate drama, I will say now that the events of DoC are still going to happen in this AU. Don't worry, I'll make it fit).
Curse my love of Reeve Tuesti. I knew this was going to happen.
SomebodyLost, I hope you appreciate this, ahaha.
Some headcanons about the Reeve/Castalia pairing:
- Reeve has a million pet-names for Castalia that he frequently rotates (though he is absolutely forbidden from using Sweetpea). Cassie has only one but uses it sparingly, as she prefers using his name. Reeve considers it a personal achievement every time he gets her to use it.
- They have been said to act "sickeningly sweet" in public. Mostly by Reno.
- Reeve has secretly been gathering blackmail on the Turk via Cait Sith in order to make sure he pays Castalia back the money he owes her. One way or another.
- Castalia loves running her hands through Reeve's hair when they kiss and mussing it up, but it took her a while to get used to the feeling of his facial hair.
- Reeve shaved it all off once when he first noticed her discomfort, but she was horrified by him doing so and refused to kiss him until his signature look grew back.
- Castalia is easily flustered by him, but if she is pushed enough, she pushes back. When asked about it, Reeve always turns red but remains steadfastly silent on the details.
- Cloud and Matt do not want to know the details. Ever.
- They own two cats. Vincent checks in on them whenever they are away for extended periods of time.
So there you have it- part one of what will probably end up being a three or four-part mini-story. Baby Tuesti is gonna be a girl, so I'm curious to see what names you think will be good. If you have any personal headcanons for the Reetalia pairing, feel free to let me know as well. For now, take care, and until next time!
Next chapter title: Tale of the White Lotus
