Disclaimer: I still don't own FFVII. Just Bradley.
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Chapter Two
Bloody Mary, Tequila, and a Margarita
\/\/\/
Cloud wished that he had left Rocket Town the night before. He sat on Cid's steps that led to his front porch and watched as the pilot kicked rocks lying in his yard and stomped around as though his favorite show had just gotten cancelled.
"And then she up and leaves! I can't take it anymore, Spike!"
"I thought that this was the perfect opportunity you've been wanting, Cid," Cloud protested, his voice level and even. No use in pissing him off even more. I can tell he's just waiting for the chance to rip me apart. "Remember yesterday?"
"Of course I remember yesterday!" Cid retorted, his face red and steaming. "I'm not stupid!"
"I never said that…" Cloud whispered, tracing circles in the dirt with his finger.
"It's just…Gah! Costa Del Sol! That's supposed to be a romantic resort! The hell is she going there with him for?" Cid didn't give Cloud the chance to answer before he spun around and shouted, "He looks like a little weasel with his face smashed in!"
Cloud was fiddling with his thumbs, now, unable to face the blonde Captain. "Well…how did she get there?"
"He has his own private plane, man! I didn't think nobody could afford that!" The chain-smoking pilot threw his arms up to the sky. "He's rich, Spike! I can't compete with rich!"
"Compete? Since when were you competing—"
"Man, this would be so much easier if I still had the Highwind…Then I could smash that bastard's plane in mid-flight."
Cloud's eyes widened. "You…You'd run it over? In the air?" The delivery boy couldn't imagine the pilot becoming a murderer. Or, at least, he hoped the man wasn't capable of murder.
Cid pivoted again, giving his back to Cloud, and took a puff from his cigarette. "I know Yuffie and Red are in Costa Del Sol. …Probably plannin' a conspiracy against me."
"Cid, do you honestly think that—"
"Cloud," Cid was inattentively cutting Cloud off again, irritating the younger man. "I'm takin' the Tiny Bronco to Costa Del Sol," the ex-mercenary wasn't quite prepared for the second half, "and yer coming with me."
"W-What?"
"That's right," Cid nodded, cigarette still clenched in between his teeth. "You heard me. You're comin' and that's that."
"Cid, I…I…"
"Shut the hell up!" the foulmouthed man screamed, violently waving his hands in the air. "Don't make me repeat myself!"
Cloud's mouth snapped shut and he sank further onto the steps. "A…All right…"
The pilot ran past him, slamming the door along the way.
\/\/\/
It didn't take more than twenty minutes for Cid to drag Cloud into the revamped Tiny Bronco and pull the plane into the skies. Costa Del Sol wasn't far off, but the younger man suggested that the two stay out of sight and leave the plane some miles off.
"You want it to get stolen? Forget it!" Cid shouted over the rushing wind and whirling propellers. Cloud sighed and adjusted the goggles Cid had let him borrow.
"If Shera sees you there, she's going to get upset."
"Shera ain't got an angry bone in her body!" the pilot assured. "Jus' trust me on this one." Cid looked ahead, watching as the clouds separated for him, and saw the tiny resort town some odd distance away. Then he focused his attention to the right where a plane—much larger than his—was settled on the outskirts of town. Probably has some cheap bodyguard watchin' over it. Hmph. Wonder if he'll mind if I decide to park right on top of him.
He heard Cloud scream in the back as the plane took a sudden nosedive and descended rapidly towards the ground.
"Yeehaw!" Cid pumped a fist into the air as the wind roared against his ears, and he sharply regained control of the plane, swooping in on the larger plane. The Tiny Bronco did several loops, the younger blonde crying and trying to retreat further in the backseat while grasping for anything that would hold him in the plane. Tipping sideways, the pilot laughed maniacally, leaning forward. "Don't you dare lose yer stomach back there, Cloud, or else I'll make you clean out my entire plane!" Then the Captain looked ahead.
Indeed, he could make out the tiny form of a man dressed in black, who seemed in immediate shock over the sight of the racing Tiny Bronco and a destructive Cid Highwind behind the controls.
"OH MY GAWD!" the man in black cried in helpless anxiety as Cid tilted the plane again and made a daring landing that nearly singed the wing of Bradley's plane.
The aircraft rolled in a little ways and Cid gave a quick jerk, almost overturning the Tiny Bronco entirely, and forced his plane to meet nose to nose with the other. He leapt over the side and landed less than gracefully, but managed to stand upright and pull his goggles up to his forehead.
"Hmm…not bad," Cid complimented himself, dusting off his trademark jacket, and began to walk towards the resort town. Cloud, on the other hand, was suffering from severe nausea and motion sickness. He tumbled over the side of the plane, landing face first into the grassy field, and sputtered.
"Get the hell up off the ground, Cloud!" Cid shouted from over his shoulder. "This ain't no time to be takin' naps! I'll break your arm if you don't get yer ass over here!" Cid pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"E-Excuse me, sir," the man in black stepped in front of the pilot once he had regained his composure. "But you're not allowed to park here…"
"Watch me," Cid snapped back, taking a drag off of his cigarette. He blew the puff of smoke into the man's face, prompting the bodyguard to give a series of harsh coughs.
"I…I'm sorry, sir," Cloud was over by the duo in an instant. It amazed Cid how fast the son of a bitch could run after taking a tumble off of the Tiny Bronco. When had he found the strength and time to get up? "But he's here looking for his roommate. She's with your Boss, I think…"
"Shera ain't my roommate, Spike!" Cid retorted, leaning back slightly and stuck out his chest in a manly fashion.
Cloud cringed. "That's…cold, Cid."
"That ain't what I meant, you fool!" the pilot barked, grabbing his companion by the arm and leaving the man in black to his whimpering. Some bodyguard.
The walk wasn't very far, and Cid spent most of his time complaining, arguing, and stomping through the grass. Finally he stopped, turned to Cloud, and said, "The hell am I supposed to say to her?"
Cloud looked shocked. He halted in his tracks, shoulders drawn back, and his eyes were wide and appeared as though they were going to shoot from his sockets like champagne corks. He was honestly dumbfounded. "You…didn't plan that out?"
"'Course not! What? You think I'm organized?" Cid withdrew the cigarette from his mouth and tapped the end of it with his finger, ashes falling into the grass.
"Uh…Uh…" the younger man scratched the back of his head. "Well…Do you want to stop by my villa to think about it?"
It was Cid's turn to be taken aback, and the cigarette fell from his fingertips and into the grass. The younger man quickly panicked and stomped out the remains of the stick before it started a fire. He looked back to Cid, who hadn't seemed to notice the error of his ways, his eyes still wide and his mouth agape.
"Wait…" the pilot breathed after some time, finally breaking his temporary coma. "That villa, right?" Cloud hesitantly nodded. "That three-hundred thousand gil villa, right?"
"Uh…that's the only one I know of, Cid."
"Shit!" Cid grabbed the collar of Cloud's shirt and stuck his face into his, unaware of the fact that he smelled of tobacco and musk. "Spike! Ya gotta let me borrow that villa!"
"What?"
"Just let me tell that son of a bitch, Bradshaw, that that villa belongs to me, and we'll see jus' how much of his way he gets!"
"Cid…I…uh…don't quite understand. Just who are we trying to piss off, here? The dude or Shera?"
"Don't ask stupid questions, Cloud," Cid spat back, suddenly charging for Costa Del Sol again. "You got a wardrobe, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Good! Go change into some swimming trunks or somethin' and don't tell no one yer with me or else you'll blow our cover."
"What cover?" Cloud whispered to himself, but followed after Cid anyway.
Cloud, in the end, crept up the steps to his rather commodious villa, while Cid continued along the beach, beyond the younger children tossing a ball back and forth. He stood out like a sore thumb, or, rather, an Eskimo in the desert with nothing but cactuses and large lizards. He certainly did not look, nor act, the part of one who was on a comforting vacation, and it resulted in various looks from others who were enjoying themselves—including that of Yuffie Kisaragi and Red XII.
Cid wandered past them without notice, his eyes watching the moving silhouettes along the shoreline in the distance. He scanned them more carefully, aiming to find the reason he came to this hellhole in the first place. Quickly jumping the steps, Cid felt his hands fist and he powerfully walked across the sand, which enclosed around the tops of his boots with each step he took.
He looked to and fro, teeth grinding and eyebrows furrowing in budding anger. Dammit! Where the hell is she?
Then he heard familiar laughter. Wait, laughter? Shera never laughed! She hadn't really laughed…or smiled for that matter…since the Shinra 26 incident. Cid whirled around to look down the other end of the beach where a big blue and white striped umbrella shaded a couple and their spacious, white blanket. The girl had her head tilted forward, her brown hair done up in a bun on the top of her head. She was wearing a beige colored bikini, showing off her very nicely shaped figure, and her knees were up against her chest.
There was a man behind her in red swimming trunks with a single white stripe down the side. He was well-built, around Cid's size, with muscular arms and a six pack that would knock any woman back with infatuation. The umbrella was tilted in such a way that it prevented Cid from seeing the man's face, but not from what he was doing. He was rubbing suntan lotion along the woman's neck, saying something that the pilot couldn't make out, but it made the woman laugh anyway.
Then the man moved down the woman's back, continuing to place lotion on her delicate skin.
"…don't want you to have an uneven tan…" or something like that was what he said.
The man leaned his head down to whisper something into the woman's ear, and Cid caught sight of ebony colored hair. When the man unintentionally gave the pilot his profile, Cid was instantly on a rampage, shoving people aside as he quickly moved over to the man and the woman he was with.
"Well, well, well!" the chain-smoker called out as he neared them, his eyes ablaze. "Am I interrupting something?" There were a lot of things running through Cid's mind. The content of Shera's swimsuit was one of them, and he instantly disapproved of how much skin it revealed. Other things contained several hundred curse words and something along the lines of skinning Bradshaw. …Or maybe strangling him with the umbrella and tossing him out to sea.
Shera looked up from her place on the blanket, staring into Cid's dangerous eyes. She immediately shrunk back against the man, who still had his hands on her back.
"Oh, it looks like we've been found out," Bradley said aloud, looking from the female scientist to the angry Captain.
"Damn right!" Cid wanted to order that he remove his oily, snaky hands from her back, and then pick Shera up and force her into something more decent to wear. Then, he would push her back to the plane to go to Rocket Town.
But Shera spoke first. And she appeared quite upset.
"Captain, Bradley was just putting suntan lotion on my back."
"Well, shit, Shera! I coulda done that!" The blonde man crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his bottom lip out.
"If I may have the final say, Captain—" Bradley was cut off.
"No, you may not."
"—you weren't here to do it in the first place."
"What are you doing here anyway, Captain?" Shera asked, annoyed. Her attitude made Cid even angrier.
"What? Can't a guy come to his own villa ta take a couple of days off?"
That changed everything. Shera stared back with bewilderment, and then she turned to Bradley. He, too, was quite startled.
"Villa?" the rich man questioned.
"Dat's right!" Cid's smile was much smugger and the arms across his chest tightened as his ego doubled in size. "My very own villa! It's got a Jacuzzi and a big screen TV and a basement—"
"That sounds like Cloud's villa, old man!"
Suddenly, that ego of the Captain's was deflated like a hot balloon. So, how's it feel to eat crow, Highwind? He quickly turned around to see Yuffie in a revealing, green bikini, accompanied by Red XIII. He inwardly cursed. He knew that they were here, but he wished that they would've shown up at…some other time.
Yuffie brushed a loose strand of her hair from her eyes, smirking. Red said nothing.
"Oh…Are those your friends, Captain?" Bradley jerked an earnest thumb in their direction.
"No," Cid replied gruffly. "Never seen 'em before in my life."
"Lying snake," Yuffie pushed the older man aside and knelt by Shera. "Shera, is this your new boyfriend? Quite a different direction from Cid. I'd say you made a pretty good choice. Is he rich?"
"Dammit Yuffie!" Cid was steaming now, his face redder than Bradley's swimming trunks. "Keep your damn nose outta it!"
"Oooh," Yuffie mocked, standing up, not noticing a furiously blushing Shera turn her face away. "Strike a sore spot, did I? And I thought you said you didn't know me…Hee hee…"
"You filthy, little pest!" Cid was spouting anything that came to mind and would've continued on with a string of curses (some that contained every curse word at least once…Maybe twice), but Bradley broke him off in mid-prelude to profanity.
"Wait, now I'm confused. Didn't you say you owned a villa, Captain?"
The pilot paused, unsure of what to say now. Yuffie and Red damn well knew that Cid didn't own any villa, but he couldn't blame them because they weren't in on his plan. But that ain't gonna stop me from blaming them anyway. However, on the other hand, if he took back what he said now, then he would really look like a fool. He had no choice. He had to go with it.
"'Course I do! What? You takin' me for a liar?"
Bradley didn't remark to him being a liar, but instead said, "And where is it located?"
The questions were getting more and more ridiculously hard, Cid found, and he had to think of something. And fast. "Uh…Near the dock, up front."
Shera had managed to regain herself, her face restored to its natural, creamy color. "Oh, isn't that where Cloud said he had his villa, too?"
The pilot gaped. Since when had he talked to Shera about his villa? That just about blew the cover.
"Yeah," Yuffie joined in, already seeming to know what a lie it all was. "And what color is it?"
"W-White…Just like every other building here." Cid couldn't take it anymore. "Dammit! What's with the Fifth Degree? You either believe me or you don't!" Inviting them to the villa was out of the question, especially with Yuffie in the picture. She was already ruining everything as it was.
"Well," Shera stood up, standing just a little taller than Yuffie, "this certainly is news to me, Captain. Can you take us to this villa?"
The pilot ran his fingers through his hair. He had never been a good liar. "Uh…N-No. The…The carpets are being shampooed right now."
"That's a pity," Bradley replied, his tone a bit dull. "I suppose we have no choice then but to wait until afterwards."
"No way!" Yuffie argued, placing her tiny hands on her little hips. "I don't believe him! What's the villa look like from the outside, Cid? That way we can come by and say hello if we want to later."
Cid was just about to tell her to fuck off when he saw the stares of Red, Shera, and Bradley. He cursed himself for getting in so deep. "It…It's white and has steps with a bridge latched on the side and an outside light that—"
"That does sound like Cloud's villa." Shera interrupted and looked to Yuffie. "Is it?"
Yuffie snorted. "I don't need to think about it twice. That is undoubtedly Cloud's villa."
Shera folded her arms. "Captain…Is that your villa, or are you and Cloud renting it together?"
"No," Yuffie spoke up before Cid could. "It's definitely Cloud's."
As for Cid, the pilot couldn't talk even if he wanted to. Damn it! I need a smoke! This is just all the luck for Yuffie and her big mouth to roll up and ruin things for me! He couldn't exactly say he was disappointed when Cloud showed up when he did…wearing nothing but purple Speedos. He was pulling the wedgie from his butt as he walked up, looking uncomfortable.
"Cid, this was the only thing I had in the laundry!" Cloud called out. Then he saw his friends.
"Cloud?" Red asked, blinking.
"Fine timing, Cloud!" Yuffie jumped up and down. "Now tell this old man to stop stealing your villa!"
Cloud looked to Cid. Cid was about ready to drown himself in the ocean.
\/\/\/
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Yuffie was twirling herself around on the barstool while Cid submerged his sorrows in the pretty little margarita arranged for him by the bartender. It even had a pink sports drink umbrella in it. The ice clanked against the glass as he brought the alcoholic beverage to his lips. "I didn't know it was a cover up!"
She seemed worried. So did Red. Cloud was the only one trying to reassure them that Cid would be all right after a while. Cid knew better.
"Thanks to you, Shera and that Brat-boy know that I was lying 'bout the villa. Who knows what they think of me now."
"Does it really matter that much?" Yuffie asked. The pilot caught Cloud out of the corner of his eye signaling for her to be "quiet."
"Shit, do ya think I'd waste my time comin' all the way out here if it weren't important?" Cid turned on her with angry eyes and dangerous intentions. Because of her, everything had been spoiled.
That hadn't been the worst of it, either. After that humiliating conversation, Cid had to watch the female engineer and her companion decide on "removing" themselves from the current disaster, and find something that would ease the discomfort. Tequilas and a Bloody Mary seemed to do the trick…at least for a while. Maybe whiskey later. Have a manly drink and not these cheap, crappy girly drinks.
Shera and the bastard were out on his highly expensive yacht at the time—one that even put the Shinra boat docked at Junon to shame. He had sat and watched them from the pier behind a thick pole, squinting hard at the little blurry figures moving about near the portside.
He had kept a close watch on them—especially Bradley. Who knew what the punk was capable and Cid swore to himself that if he saw him do anything that the pilot disapproved of, the Captain would jump out into the ocean and swim like a propeller was attached to him over to that stinking yacht. But nothing happened. They had spent most of the time inside the cabin anyways. To pass the time, Cid was using a stick to draw in the little amount of sand that there was on the dock. He wanted a smoke, but knew that he was trying to keep from looking suspicious. Smoking would get him caught. Smoking now would be bad.
Smoking…was out of the question, no matter how cruel it sounded to Cid Highwind.
Four hours later they had docked again, and Cid found himself now hiding behind a large crate filled with fish. It stunk to high heaven, but at least he could get a good view. Why the hell am I even here? Why do I even care? The thought had made Cid angry and he considered just leaving the damn resort town altogether, but when he saw that shmuck of a man lean down to kiss Shera on the forehead, he wanted nothing more than to storm up to the fool and push him into the wheeling propellers that belonged to the red water jet behind them.
But he didn't. And he didn't know why.
Stupid, ugly, piece of shit…
He had punched the fish crate with his gloved hand. And it hurt like hell.
After that, the two walked along the shoreline, gazing at the downcast sun over the horizon. There was a large bonfire going at the other end of the beach and several of the natives were playing kick the can. He had gotten Shera to play.
Stupid lil' puke. Cid was still watching them from quite a distance away. He took a drag off from his cigarette. She's prolly feelin' more uncomfortable than Cloud naked in the Gaea Cliffs. She hates social outings.
He had nearly dropped his cigarette into the sand, which wouldn't have been the first time that day he had done that, when he watched her participate, leaning into her companion as she laughed, and he laughed, and the two boneheads laughed together. She was holding his arm and playing, and he was encouraging her all the while. She was actually pretty good at the game, too. Shera was having the time of her life and seemed more alive now than she had ever been.
Cid scowled and stuffed his hands angrily into his pockets. Shera was never like that with me. She never did any of that. I took her to some parties before and she was never like that. Then he thought about it a little longer. Well…maybe once or twice before the rocket incident. But that didn't count, he argued to himself. This was afterwards!
He pushed his bottom lip out, watching her. She was…so happy. And then the rich man had picked her up and spun her around after she won the game, her arms around his neck. I don't even remember her playing any of the games the buds and I used to play at those parties. I guess poker and rummy weren't her thing.
Cid still watched her with melancholy eyes. Everyone else had congratulated her, complimenting on her skills as a player. Bradley set her down and patted her back. They started up a new game. Shera was up first.
She played cards with us once. I remember her making a stupid move at blackjack once and I yelled at her because she lost three-hundred gil over it. I don't think she ever played again after that.
The pilot looked away for a moment, clearing his throat and pulling the cigarette away from his lips with two fingers. But he had found that he couldn't gaze away for long before his sights returned to her. She seemed years younger, like a child, and far more alive than she ever had at Rocket Town. She even looked great in that white top she had switched into earlier. Her body was fit and curvaceous and…and attractive.
Bradley took his turn, messed up, but Shera had been there to console him.
Even at those parties, she never really dressed up. I think that that was after the rocket incident. I used to poke fun at how all her clothes made her look old. Lookin' back now, I think it was really an assholic thing for me to do. I wonder if she still remembers that…
Cid scratched at the back of his head, still watching her. Come ta think of it, she never did like those parties. All we did was get drunk and she'd have to carry me home. She never drank. But she always stayed up, no matter how late it was, waitin' fer me to finish drinking, partying, and humiliating her before deciding to leave.
It was pretty late now, but Shera hadn't seemed to mind. She didn't even look the slightest bit tired. If it had been any other time, she would've went home. But she didn't now. Bradley messed up his turn again, but made it a point to laugh at himself.
Cid never laughed at himself. Whenever he had screwed up, he blamed Shera.
Look atter with that junky rich fella. …Should be me over there.
Wait, where the hell had that thought come from?
Cid turned around, finished off his cigarette, and gazed at the stars above him, shivering against the chill of the wind.
He had spent the rest of the time in the cold, away from the bonfire.
Now he was here in the bar, getting plastered. And damn did it feel good.
"Cid, come on," Cloud nudged his friend in the shoulder. "They have a pool table. Let's go shoot some."
Cid wanted to throw his drink in Cloud's face, but that would've been a waste of a perfectly good margarita. Not to mention, he didn't want them to get any ideas into their damn heads that he was pissed off because of Shera and her new boyfriend.
Because he wasn't.
"Whatever," Cid mumbled, grabbing his drink and staggering off after Cloud to the pool table downstairs. He tripped once, spilling the drink a little, and cursed. Red caught him from the front as Yuffie grabbed him from behind, helping the drunken pilot regain his balance.
"You okay, Cid?" Cloud asked, turning around.
"If I was any happier, I'd be pissing out joy," Cid snapped. He recoiled from Yuffie's touch and sidestepped around Red XII, still holding what was left of his drink. "Now get the damn cue ball and the chalk."
The blonde ex-mercenary gave a half smile and continued down the stairs, grabbing the pool cue along the way.
"Pool is such a stupid game," Yuffie commented and then gave a low whistle. Red only smirked.
"I can't play. I don't have the steady hands you humans do."
"Yeah, well who's invitin' ya in the first place?" a drunk Cid wobbled as he turned around, casting them both glares. He hit the corner of the pool table when he whirled back around, a cloud of anger overtaking him.
"Watch it, Cid," Cloud said, a little more seriously. "You're going to hurt yourself."
"Like hell I care!" Cid swung the cue and it hit the wall. Such immense strength was enough to crack the wood in half. One part was still in Cid's hand while the other had ricocheted to the other end of the room, crashing through a picture and shattering the glass. It tumbled to the ground, dead and unusable. Everyone looked at the mess—even the bartender.
"Aw, shit," Cid groaned, dropping the other half of the pool cue.
"Uh…right," Cloud began to pack the game back up and stuck his cue onto the rack. "Pool was a bad idea."
