Ayyyy, back again with this one. Really, nothing to see here, just a tiny chapter is all to get back into the swing of things.
Oil and Beans
The buzzing of an alarm clock pervaded the air, disturbing the silence inside the bedroom even more than the sound of the snoring from the body lying on the large bed.
There was no reaction at first, the man simply remaining in his position as he slept soundly. Over the next few moments the buzzing grew louder and louder until the snoring ended with one loud snort like someone had punched a bear.
With a groan he reached out with his arm to swat the annoying clock, then realized a certain predicament, turned around and used his other hand to shut it off.
Eyes still closed, he enjoyed that moment between sleep and wakefulness some more, before Barret opened them and sat up. He let out a yawn and got out of bed, walking over to the table where his prosthetic arm rested and grabbed it. A small jolt went through his right arm as the neural sensor connected with it.
He moved his prosthetic hand and wiggled its fingers. With a smirk, he dropped his arm back to his side and walked into the bathroom to get himself ready.
Long day ahead.
After a shower and brushing his teeth, he inspected if his beard needed a little trimming, then headed back to get dressed.
Inside his tiny kitchen, Barret turned on the radio to hear the cheerful radio host talking about today's weather forecast.
"Another beautiful day on the western continent, with a small chance of afternoon showers around North Corel, so if you find yourself there you should have an umbrella ready just in case. In other news—" Barret drowned out the rest as he sat down on the table with a bowl of his favourite cereal and began to eat.
Rain, huh? The desert of Corel was hot all year long, and that heat had a tendency to travel up to the more mountainous area of North Corel. Some rain would do their growing town some good.
After a healthy breakfast and a cup of coffee, Barret left his house. Well, 'house' was a nice description of it. It was a big cargo container that had been repurposed into a simple home. His eyes scanned the area where others like it were standing.
North Corel had started its rebuilding efforts a few months after Meteor was stopped, and one of the first things they did was to build proper homes that weren't just borderline derelict buildings or tents. Over the last two years they had gotten quite a bit of help from the WRO, who had provided them with containers from Junon that weren't needed anymore.
They weren't the most fashionable of homes, but they served their purpose and everyone now had a roof over their head.
Cracking his neck, Barret walked over to his personal buggy and drove off into the direction of the desert, greeting some of the people along the way as he passed them by.
With Corel being destroyed and in the middle of the desert to boot, there wasn't really anything to be done, even with the Gold Saucer having shut down. North Corel was their home now, where they plied their trade and built their lives anew, beginning with the repair of the old train tracks.
Going back to mining had been the obvious choice, and the areas around them had an abundant need of coal. They also started to sell various rock specimens and fossils to collectors and geologists that had started surveying the area. About a year ago though someone from town had made a discovery in the desert that changed things up quite a bit, and ever since then North Corel was also one of the top providers of oil on the continent.
It filled him with pride to be part of this, to make a difference without the need to resort to violence aside from having to kill the odd monster or two that found its way into town.
And like every morning, Barret drove out towards his claim to see if everything was still in order. Not that he didn't trust his crew, but he had learned that it was always good for morale to have the boss do his part as well way back when he was the leader of Avalanche.
His claim was positioned northeast of the Gold Saucer so it took him a while to drive there. By the time he arrived the sun had already fully risen and his crew was out and about.
Barret walked over to the container that harboured his office, greeting his crew and wiping away some of the sweat off his brow that was already forming there.
Damn this heat. He had gotten too used to the temperate climate of Midgar in the years he spent there.
A sigh of relief escaped him as he stepped inside, the multiple fans around the place offering some much-needed cooling.
"Mornin' boss man," a man sitting in front of his desk said. It was Winchester, his designated foreman, and someone he trusted to run things smoothly in his absence.
"Mornin'," Barret replied. "Everythin' alright?"
"Yeah. Smooth sailing as they say. We were planning on checking out the area further east to see if we can dig up some more oil." Winchester ran a tanned hand through his greying hair.
"Hmm, isn't that where Dulan is digging?" Barret asked and sat down behind his desk.
"Apparently he didn't find anythin' and started lookin' elsewhere, but I ain't buyin' it. Idiot most likely just got impatient. So what do ya think, should we check?"
He rubbed his beard and leaned back in his chair. Things were pretty stable right now, but who knew for how long? And looking for another place to dig at this point in time might be a huge risk.
But Winchester had a good intuition when it came to this, and he trusted him.
"Alright," Barret said with a nod and tapped the fingers of his mechanical hand on the desk. "Take some of the boys out to check. But don't spend too much time digging around. If you don't find anything just leave it."
Winchester grinned and rose to his feet, grabbing a dirty looking base cap that had been hanging on an impromptu coat hanger, then did a small salute. "Roger, boss man."
With those words he left, leaving Barret alone in his office. He crossed his arms in front of his chest while staring at the doorway.
Winchester reminded him a little of Biggs. Both were smart and resourceful. He was sure they would have gotten along if Biggs was still alive.
A sigh escaped him at the thought of his former comrade. He was always the one that would be willing to do what it takes for the good of the planet. But even he had moments of doubt, so it fell upon him to reassure him.
It didn't always work. Just like with Wedge and Jessie.
He still remembered the night when Jessie came back after her first kill, how it had fallen upon Tifa to be there for her.
Those two had been as thick as thieves afterwards.
...
Tifa had been hit especially hard when Jessie died, even if she had tried to mask her pain.
They all had lost something important back then, and he would probably feel guilty for not truly doing right by them until it was his time to return to the planet and join them.
The sound of his phone ringing brought him back to the here and now, and he took a deep breath to dispel the ghost of the past. Time to focus on the here and now, he reminded himself and picked up the receiver.
"Barret Wallace speaking."
It was late afternoon when he returned to North Corel and all he wanted to do right now was to get some food inside him and take a nap.
In the end Winchester did find something, which had created some more work for him; doing some calls, paperwork, and sorts of other bullshit he really didn't want to deal with at all.
"Things were simpler when I could just shoot shit," he murmured to himself as he got out of his car. But he supposed it was for the best.
Tomorrow he would call Reeve and tell him the good news. The WRO could always use more resources.
Barret walked towards his place when a voice called out to him.
"Hey, Barret!"
"Hey, Charlette," Barret greeted back, turning to look at his neighbor. Charlette was a woman in her early thirties, dressed in a simple top and pants, and her hair pulled into a messy ponytail. "How's it goin'?"
"Slow day," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You've been a no show recently, ya know? Missed my special Cockatrice filet."
Barret chuckled. Charlette ran a local diner that he usually frequented during lunch, but he had been rather busy and not entirely in the mood for diner grub.
"Sorry. Got a lot to take care of these days," he said.
"Mhm, like I haven't heard that one before."
He gave her a grin. "Promise I'll make it up to ya soon."
"I'll hold you to that, Mr. Wallace." She placed a hand on her waist. "So, care for some sweet tea, perhaps?"
"Mm, Another time."
Charlette let out a little huff. "Typical. Oh well, good night Barret."
"See ya," Barret replied and gave her a little wave before heading inside. Charlette had been like that for a while. Wonder what's up with that?
Deciding that was a thought better pursuit on a later date, Barret headed into the kitchen to fix up his leftovers for dinner.
As he watched the beans sizzle in the frying pan, he pulled out his mobile phone, checking the time to make sure it wasn't too late on the Eastern continent, and called the number he had been calling every day these last couple of weeks.
After a few seconds of ringing the phone was picked up.
"Barret. Hi," Tifa greeted him on the other line. A small teasing sound entered her voice. "Doing your daily check-up?"
He let out a little grunt, yet still smiled. "Someone has to. Everything alright?"
"Yeah." She released a little sigh. "Just a bit tired and a little headache, but I guess that's just normal. And yes, don't worry; I'm resting right now."
Barret huffed a little. Ever since he learned that Tifa was pregnant, after the initial shock and wanting to have a serious word with Cloud about doing things with his little girl in the house, he couldn't help but fret a little.
Tifa was family, and one worries about family.
"That's good. Spike pulling his weight over there?"
"Very much so," Tifa replied with a giggle. "The kids, too. I'm almost feeling a little pampered and have to remind them I can still do things."
Good, Barret thought. He was loath to admit that a tiny part had thought Cloud would turn tail upon receiving the news, but his worries had been alleviated quickly. Spike was there to stay, something he was happy about.
Back when he first met Cloud, he thought that he was nothing more than a loyal Shinra dog. After that he thought he didn't care about anything but his next paycheck, which infuriated him to no end. But that tough Ex-SOLDIER exterior got chipped away little by little the more he got to know him, eventually revealing the caring individual underneath.
Of course things had gotten real complicated soon after, but that was in the past.
Cloud was a pain in the ass, but he was a good man. It was easy to see why Tifa loved him so much. Marlene too, despite their rough start, loved Cloud as well in her own childish way.
He was part of their little unconventional family.
And now that family was growing bigger.
"So when's your next appointment?" Barret asked.
"In two weeks," Tifa replied.
"Still nervous?"
"A little...but also excited. I'm gonna see my baby." There was a touch of amazement in her voice. "It still feels a little unreal."
"Just take it one step at a time," Barret said. He was reminded of back when Dyne had told him Eleanor was pregnant with Marlene; he had given him the same advice back then. "You're more than ready for this."
"Yeah," Tifa replied, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "Do you want to talk with Marlene before she goes to bed?"
"Nah, it's alright. I'm kinda busy cooking actually," he said and cursed under his breath when the beans started to sizzle a bit too much, causing Tifa to laugh on the other end of the line.
"Well, better concentrate then. You're always a big grump if you don't eat well."
Barret grumbled at her words, but he couldn't deny them. He was a bit like a bear in that regard.
"Alright. Tell everyone I said hello."
"I will."
After exchanging goodbyes, Barret put his phone back into his pocket and fully concentrated on his food. Once done, he moved to his tiny living room and turned the TV on, mostly for background noise as he ate.
He was just barely listening to a documentary about the great glacier when his thoughts turned back to what Tifa had told him.
Two weeks, huh? So far he was the only one of their friends that knew about Tifa's pregnancy. Would they tell the others in two weeks?
Seemed like the perfect time.
Tapping his spoon against his plate for a moment, an idea slowly surfaced in his mind, and he couldn't help the grin splitting his face. Pulling out his phone once again he went through his contacts until he found Cid's number.
He would need to do some shopping, but that shouldn't be a problem and he was sure Cloud and Tifa would love it. And it was high time he visited Marlene again. He could get Marlene one of their local cockatrice feather trinkets too while he was at it!
This is gonna be good, he thought and called the grumpy pilot.
Hoo boy, what are you planning Barret?
Well, let's find out next time. Hopefully not two months apart lmao. See ya!