Disclaimer: Don't own ANYTHING except my ideas, Bradley, and the stars! Oh! And camping!
A/N: The twist of the story has finally arrived! Tell me what you think. :-D And thank you to all of my reviewers! Your support through the story has truly meant a lot to me!
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Chapter Eight
For The Love of A Woman
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By the time Cid pulled into town, an entire crowd had gathered around his house—many faces of which he recognized. The pilot watched as they turned to face him, giggling and pointing. It made him feel less confident and angry all at the same time.
He was stopped by the town idiot, the man who thought he could tell jokes.
"Hey, hey, Captain! Wanna hear a joke?"
"No," Cid said flatly and brushed past him.
"It'll only take a second." The man cleared his throat and began, "He's rich and handsome and better than most men…It's Shera's boyfriend!" Cid halted in his tracks, grinding his teeth. "She's bold and triumphant and refuses to stay…Shera's leaving with him today! Ha, ha! Isn't this grea—GAAH!"
The Captain had the man by the neck, seething. "All right, you little shit, ya'd better knock the hell off before I cram my foot up yer ass, ya hear me!?"
"C-Captain…Can't…breathe…"
"It's true, Captain," Cid dropped the man to the ground with a thud. He turned around and saw a middle aged woman giving him a smug grin. "She's packing her things right now and leaving. Taking off with that rich man in his fancy Chocobo carriage."
Gaping, the pilot pushed past the crowd as fast as he could, huffing from a loss of breath. He could hear the townsfolk laughing and whispering amongst each other. He didn't care. He had to catch her before she left. He had to stop her and tell her what a fool he was! His heart fell when he saw a shiny, red carriage. A small figure was loading a box into the back of it. He squinted.
It was Shera.
"Shera!" he called out.
She turned to look at him, recognized his unkempt attire, and turned to walk back inside the house.
"Don't turn yer back on me, woman!" When Cid got into a good listening distance, he shouted, "What do ya think yer doing!?"
She spun on her back heel to face him. "I'm leaving Captain."
"Leaving?" he repeated the word like he hadn't heard it before. But he had. He already knew she was leaving. "Why?"
"Maybe it's foolish on my part to think we have any sort of obligation to each other," she said, a twinge of pain in her voice. She tried to hide it, but Cid could hear it. "I was hoping it was something a little more than just 'Captain' and 'assistant.' Maybe like friends or something, but I suppose it's my fault for assuming a little too much." Her face dropped, as though she couldn't even bear to look at him. But she was being sincere as she said every word. "I shouldn't feel this way because you decided to go out to the bar. I mean…It's not even like we have that obligation, you know? You shouldn't even feel bad." Shera shook her head, "I'm just being foolish, Captain. I'm sorry."
"Then why are you still leaving?" he asked, stepping forward.
"Because it's better this way," she replied. "I don't want to be the one who ties you down, Captain."
"Dammit, woman, it's because of you I even decided to help save the world in the first place!"
She looked up at him and Cid realized he wasn't ready for the immediate attention yet. Especially since all of Rocket Town was watching the two of them.
"What?" she asked, quietly.
"Shera," he began, "I know you know I followed you and that Brad-worm all over the place, eavesdropping and causing all of that shit fer ya. And you know that everything Vin said was true 'bout being at the bar and saying I didn't want you 'round no more…" her face fell again and he cursed himself for it. "But that ain't the point! I want to clear those things up for ya so we can talk."
"What about?" her voice was flat.
"I…" he was losing his nerve. Cid never thought that trying to talk to this woman would be so damn difficult. Her intimidating eyes on that small little frame of hers…He just wasn't sure how much more he could take. The Captain quickly thought of something to say, "I don't want you with that Brad-ass." She frowned at the name. Damn, choose yer words carefully, Highwind. Yer trying to convince her ta stay here… "I mean…I just don't think he's good for you is all. I…Men say all sorts of things to get what they want, Shera, and I don't want that to happen to you."
"Ex-CUSE me!?"
What? What's her problem? I'm jus' trying to tell her what a chump he is! And, well…Uh…And to tell her that…
"Shera, I know I have no right to tell ya what you should and shouldn't do with yer life, and I ain't callin' you stupid…I…I just…"
"Captain," she cut him off. "What's this all about?"
He tried to speak, couldn't find the right words, and decided to be blunt as possible, "Stay here, Shera."
She looked at him for a moment, blinking, as though he were speaking a foreign language. He felt even more stupid than he had at Gold Saucer. 'Course she ain't gonna stay. You fucked up more than you know, Highwind. Ya think she wants ta stay with you!? No one would put up with yer crap fer as long as she has. You have no right ta make her stay. Especially when she's already found a man that treats her so much better. Can ya blame her?
"I don't think so, Captain." His heart fell, already knowing what her words were going to be before she had said them, but, by God, he wished that he had been wrong.
"Shera," he begged. Begged? Cid Highwind…begging? …Yes. Cid Highwind was begging. "Please…Please don't leave."
She had to have heard the sincerity in his voice. She had to! But when she turned her back on him to go inside the house, it was all he could do to keep from breaking down in front of her. Dammit…Dammit! She's gonna leave…She's gonna leave and I can't stop her! The complete realization hit him harder than a ton of bricks. She was going to leave and never come back, and he would be all alone like he had never known it before.
"Shera!" he called out again, his voice cracking. She stopped.
"Don't make this any harder than it already is, Captain. It's better for the both of us."
"How the hell would you know!?" he shouted, earning a gasp from the people. "How the hell would you know what's better for me!?"
He was relieved when she stopped in her tracks, but she didn't turn around. He was blessed that at least he had gotten that much from her.
"Dammit…all I want is your forgiveness, Shera…I'm so sorry for everything."
I'm begging and graveling, woman! You can't get any better than that from the likes of Cid Highwind!
"…I do forgive you, Captain. There was never a time that I didn't."
Damn…she knew how to make a man feel even worse. And she still wouldn't look at him. Cid was losing patience. With her and himself.
"Shera, I want you to look me in the eye, dammit! I'm talking to you!"
"I…I can't." She was crying now. Gods! She was crying and he wanted to cry, too, and he hated it because she wouldn't turn around to look at him and tell him she would stay, and…
"Whaddya mean you can't?"
"Captain, please let me go."
She was walking in the house. She was going to get more of her things and throw them into the back of that stupid carriage and take off with that smarmy rich man, and they would live together happily ever after…
He couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear to be without his Shera. He couldn't bear for her to be gone and he couldn't follow her because she didn't want him to. He didn't want to let her go.
Cid Highwind grabbed her by the arm, not knowing what else to do, and spun her around. Securing his arm around the back of her neck, he leaned down and captured her mouth with his own. She was surprised and so was he, and the crowd probably was too, but he didn't care because for that moment, he had the woman he loved in his arms, lips against his, and she wasn't pulling back. He could taste ginger and honey and all sorts of other womanly scents that were soft against his hard cologne and taste of tobacco.
And for that moment, he wanted nothing more than to keep her there without Bradshaw and without the people behind him. This was his woman. His beautiful woman. And damn, was she one hell of a woman. Cid wasn't about to give her up to anyone else. Not meteor, not Sephiroth, and sure as hell not Bradley Richton.
The hand on her waist tightened as he pulled her closer, thoughts of Cloud and Aeris, Vincent and Lucrecia…the women dying to the hands of those who were indecent and corrupt. Like hell he'd let the same thing happen to her. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe. Why he hadn't known it before, he finally knew. He finally knew why he had spent that night at the bar.
It was because he had been too damn scared to admit to himself that she was his reason for fighting. He had been scared because he couldn't understand any of these feelings. Cid never wanted a woman. He never wanted a wife. He never wanted a family after the family he had as a kid. He didn't want commitment. He wanted the skies. He wanted the stars.
He wanted her.
He didn't want her.
No. He did. He always had.
He wanted to be loved. He wanted the attention. He wanted a family. He wanted a wife. He wanted her. It was silly thinking like that now. He was just a big baby inside of a grown man's body who wanted to be cared about. When she had worried about him, he liked it. When she had cried because of him leaving, he liked it. It made him feel wanted—needed. He had never been needed before.
He had always been spoiled by having her. And now that she was leaving, he realized all the years he had taken her for granted. It was so hard because he couldn't find the right words. He had just never been good with his feelings. But if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that there was no way in hell he was going to let her go.
She was his. Not his property, but his woman. His woman.
She was his reason for fighting.
And there wasn't any other better reason than that.
If Cid had been paying any attention at all, which he hadn't, he would've seen the silhouettes of all of his friends, Vincent in front. There was a rare smile on the man's face and he brought his hands together in applause. Cloud and the others, including Reeve (who had joined them for this brilliant occasion), started cheering and clapping too. Barret threw out some whistles and riled the rest of the townsfolk into applause and whistles. Soon, the entire crowd around Cid and Shera were shouting in massive approval, and Vincent Valentine was proud of his good friend.
"Way to go, Captain!"
"You go get 'er!"
"Show 'em!"
Cid could hear the people around him and he couldn't help but chuckle against Shera's lips. When he pulled back, he saw that one side of her glasses had fallen off of her nose, and she was staring at him with utmost disbelief. But there was curiosity in her eyes. The Captain released his arms from around her and took a couple of steps backwards. He knew that he should've been apologetic. He knew that it hadn't been right for him to just grab and kiss her. What right did he have?
But he told that inner voice of his to shut the hell up. He was a man, dammit! He was going to take what was rightfully his!
Shera didn't say one word, her face pale and glasses still crooked. She even lost her footing for a moment and had to regain her balance. Guess I have that kind of effect on women. But at least it shut her up for the moment.
The crowd was silent again.
"Now that I have yer attention, there are a few things I gotta say." Cid swallowed, still uncomfortable with the audience and the fact that he had to open himself to find the right words. Those three stupid little words. Why couldn't I have just used a flashcard instead?
He was staring at her with an awkward silence trailing behind. If he didn't speak now, she would regain her composure and continue on with her packing. Cid sharply turned back to look at the crowd. He saw his friends in the background, pumping fists into the air. The pilot suddenly smiled when he saw Vincent in the front, mouthing, "Tell her."
Cid turned back and straightened his back as much as a man of the skies could do. He forced himself to give Shera a hard stare that left her in a state of silence. "I love you, dammit," he blurted. "And there's no way in hell you're leaving." When the low murmur emitting from the crowd had dissipated, he began again, "It took me all this time to realize it and to realize that I was avoiding you that night for a reason." Keep your back straight, Highwind! If you show weakness here, then that Bradley guy is gonna be out here flashing hundreds! "I'm a chickenshit." He smiled. "There, I said it. I was too scared to think that I could fall in love. I don't like being surprised, Shera, but, boy, was I sure surprised when I realized how much I loved you."
He was trying not to look at the ground, but found that he was failing. "And I realized how much it hurt when I saw you and that guy together. I saw you smiling for him and doing things I knew you would never do with me. I guess I was…kind of…jealous."
He expected to hear laughter (or at least muffled giggling) from around the crowd, but strangely enough…he didn't.
Maybe it was because Shera was hugging him. Maybe it was because she was crying again into his jacket and holding him so tight that he couldn't breathe. Or maybe it was because he was hugging her back, whispering how sorry he was over and over.
"I love you," she told him, her words absorbed into his clothes.
Cid wanted to be a man. But he was nearly crying too. And he cursed himself for it. He was still scared. Still scared because she had told him that she had loved him. She was holding him and crying and telling him that he had nothing to be sorry for. And he was even more scared when he saw Bradley Richton on the front porch…
…clapping.
Wait, clapping!? What the hell!?
Cid stood up aggressively, and slowly pushed Shera behind him, guarding her with one hand.
"Yer too late, asshole!" the pilot shouted. "She's my woman and you ain't gonna do nothin' to take her away from me!" He was still clapping. "Why are you clappin'!?"
Shera was laughing. Cid turned on her to see her wiping her eyes and adjusting her glasses.
"Shera," he hissed. "Why are you laughing!? Tell this guy to get lost!"
"Captain," she began, still chuckling. "Bradley is my cousin."
Cid couldn't believe it.
He just stood there, jaw agape, fingers numb, and said nothing. All this time…after everything. All the problems…all the hatred and jealousy… Well…I'll be damned. No. No, she wasn't serious.
"Huh!?"
"My cousin, Captain. Bradley is my cousin."
Cid looked back and forth between Shera and the rich man. Bradley was smiling, still clapping, and Shera was giving unrestrained giggles. The Captain was shaking his head, eyes wide, and refused to believe that all this time, he had been jealous of a nobody. He had just confessed his feelings upon the thought of her leaving him for another man. Not a cousin!
He felt tricked…but only by himself. How was he to know!?
"Son of a…!" He glared at her. "You kiddin' me!?"
"She's not kidding, old man."
Everyone looked up and cleared the way for two men, both dressed in dark suits. Reno grinned as he gestured to Bradley. "Mr. Richton, we've been looking for you."
Eyes were upon the rich man, who seemed unfazed. He was still smiling, in fact. "I see. Have I troubled you?"
Reno laughed while Rude grunted and adjusted his glasses—a quirk that always revealed his discomfort.
"Let's just say that we don't plan on going back to the Gold Saucer for a while." Reno tapped his nightstick against his shoulder. "Anyway, I think you should know why we're here."
"Or rather…why we followed you." Rude looked to Reno.
"I think I have an inclination," Bradley said, and stepped down off the porch. "What would you have me do?"
"There's still someone we have to deal with," the redhead confessed. "Meet us at the bar in an hour. I expect a man of your profession to not be late."
"As always," Shera's cousin agreed. "See you then."
Cid was confused—No, more than confused. Nothing made sense! First, Bradley was Shera's cousin, and now he was associated with the Turks?
"What's next?" he muttered.
"Perhaps it's time everything is cleared up," Bradley tapped his index finger against his chin. "Inside?"
\/\/\/
If there was a pistol in the back of Cid Highwind's closet, he would've already used it. He was sprawled out in his favorite chair, pale, and stared at Shera and Bradley like they were the two craziest people in the world.
"Captain," she blinked. "Can I get you some water?"
He couldn't even speak. His reaction time was off (the function was damaged), and his mind was a swirling torrent of mass confusion. Cid wanted a cigarette. After everything they had told him, it was a wonder how he could still breathe or remember to blink. His tongue ran dry.
Everything. Everything had been a misunderstanding. No…a BIG misunderstanding. And he felt foolish. Cid Highwind, foolish? Dear Lord, where had that come from!? For the past three days he had done nothing but blamed the wrong people, caused catastrophes, and looked like a complete idiot in the end.
After the rocket had launched towards Meteor, Shera had received a letter from Bradley Richton, who had found her through Shinra resources. They had lost contact with each other ten years prior. Since then, the two had been communicating nonstop, planning on getting together to discuss what was happening in their lives. That's when the Captain's name had been brought up for the first time.
No doubt Shera had already told her cousin about all of the verbal abuse Cid had given her, as well as the cause of it—not that there was any excuse—in the first place. The thought of that made the pilot feel even guiltier. Letters were being exchanged often after that, even after Cid had come home. Shera and Bradley were making secret phone calls and writing confidential letters for a reason.
"Part of the reason was because Bradley wanted to come here and we didn't want you to know about it," Shera had said. "He was trying to help me to communicate with others better and overcome my fear of social outings. Also…it was to help me to find the courage to…tell you how I felt."
Cid swallowed his pride after that. Bradley had taken her to the club that night to persuade her to tell the pilot that she had loved him. And that she had loved him for quite some time. Even after all that the rich man knew about Cid Highwind, he was still determined to see to it that his cousin voiced her feelings. Anyone else would've told her to forget about me. Anyone else.
That's what the trip had been for, too. Not only was it a family reunion of sorts, but it was to further help Shera to find the courage to stand up to big, burly Highwind. The whole thing had been kept a secret for that reason, but not that reason alone. But that other reason came later.
Bradley's profession was engineering, similar to Shera's, but he had made a living off of it. He had created some unique parts, sold them, and now was one of the richest men on the western continent. Cid had heard of his company, Richton's Conglomerate, but had no idea that he was related to Shera. He also had some ties with the Shinra that was strictly business, but was otherwise uninvolved.
However, it accounted for why he had so much money and had his own private plane. It accounted for how he could afford to take Shera to a resort town and an amusement part. And everything Cid had seen…Shera's bikini, the yacht, the bonfire games…they were all supposed to improve social interaction.
But then there had been Palmer and Bradley's association together. It was the reason that Cid went to Gold Saucer to see the two of them having a grand old time on the Gondola and fun at the play.
"You numbskulls knew there was a kissing scene in that play and you still went through with it!?" Cid had barked.
"I don't think you seem to understand," Bradley said, evenly. "I told them we were cousins and they changed that part of the play. I was simply going to kiss her hand, Captain. …You were upset over that?"
The pilot pushed his bottom lip out, scornful at the fact that something that had once seemed like such a big deal really was nothing at all.
Now he was still in the chair, speechless, until one more issue came to his mind. The one issue that drove him to Gold Saucer, that made him hate Bradley Richton even more, and the second reason that everything had been kept a secret in the first place.
"The ring," Cid finally blurted after quite some time. "You were going to buy her a ring."
Bradley stared at him, as though he had been caught doing something naughty, and then smiled.
"Shera, I suppose the charade is up. He overheard us on the gondola, it seems."
"What do you expect?" she shrugged with a smile. "He was following us the whole time."
"Very well," Bradley shifted his weight onto his back leg and took a deep breath. "I will tell you what this is all about, Captain." Cid frowned, not very much sure he wanted to hear it. "I suppose it seems simply strange that Shera and I would be hiding so much behind your back if we were only going to meet."
"Yeah, it does," the pilot agreed.
"Well," the rich man nodded, "I'll explain."
"Wait, Bradley," Shera interrupted. "It's only fair that I start. This part is the most important."
Her cousin turned to her and nodded in understanding. "Very well."
"Captain," she focused her attention on Cid, "None of this had been planned until Cloud told me the day after you came back that the Highwind was lost in the battle. I know how much your airship meant to you, and I wanted to give you a surprise gift."
"Spike…told you?" The foulmouthed blonde blinked countless times. First the villa and now the Highwind? What else has Spike been tellin' her?
"Yes," Shera nodded. "I told Bradley about it and he came up with an idea."
"I was going to help in the construction of a new aircraft," her cousin admitted. "We were going to look for parts together. That's what we didn't want you to find out. That's what we were going to tell you when we got back to Rocket Town."
The pilot frowned. "I heard you tellin' Palmer to 'marry her soon.' What's up with that?"
"I had told him that Shera was my cousin when he referred to her as my girlfriend. Then, I said that I hoped the lucky bloke who was living with her now would marry her soon. That, of course, being you."
"…Oh…" Cid felt like a bloody fool. But he wasn't completely taken over, yet. He cleared his throat. Back to the real question now. "And the ring?"
"Oh, yes, that's right," Bradley nodded. "I was only going to help Shera find the parts. Then I decided."
The pilot cocked an eyebrow. "Decided what?"
"I was going to sponsor the entire thing."
"What!?" Cid leapt out of the chair, screaming. He couldn't believe it. This knucklehead was going to do what!?
"The ring you overheard me talking to Palmer about was none other than the most expensive carbon ring for an airship that one could find. I had to order special struts for it, too. Lightweight segments, however, won't be as difficult to obtain."
"You're shittin' me!"
"I kid you not," Bradley shook his head. "Your so-called 'engagement ring' is nothing more than the carbon ring to be fitted in your new airship. Shera didn't know what I had decided, and part of the reason I took her to Gold Saucer was to pick up the ring because that was the only place big enough to hold it until I got there. That was the present I was going to give to her before you showed up at the Chocobo Races: to inform her that I had decided to fund your new airship costs."
Cid didn't know quite how to feel. He felt so guilty, and, yet, so light all at the same time. He was getting a new airship. And the ring had been a misunderstanding. But, at the same time, he couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it because he had gone through so much trouble, and caused trouble for other people around him. In the end, Shera hadn't been sneaking around because she was carrying on with some guy. She had been sneaking around to do something for him, and like hell he deserved anything from her.
If he had received any gray hairs because of this little ordeal, Cid knew he ought to have them. It was justified to have them. The pilot felt himself fall back into the chair. He looked from Bradley to Shera, mouth gaping. "Shera, I…I don't know what to say…I'm…I'm so sorry…"
"Don't worry about it, Captain," she assured him. "It was a simple mistake. You have nothing to be sorry for."
He hated it when she did that. Why couldn't he just apologize and her just take it? Especially now since he felt like the biggest idiot in the world. This woman…this woman was doing all she could to build him another airship, and she and her cousin had taken all the abuse he had given the two of them. Bradley, who had every reason to hate him, was funding all of the airship's costs.
Cid buried his face in his hands, unsure of whether he wanted to laugh or cry. The mess he had caused over something like this…It just made him want to run to his room, slam the door, and hide himself in his closet.
"Captain, please don't cry…" Shera was soothing his back. Was he crying? His face was wet, so he had to have been. Damn. And he was weak, too. Crying was such a sissy thing.
"Shera," his voice cracked as he looked up and grabbed her around the waist, burying his head in her stomach. "Shera, I…I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I…I didn't have the slightest idea because I was so…so…" It wasn't like any of them could understand what Cid Highwind was trying to say. He was sobbing and his body was shaking. He couldn't believe he was crying.
"Hmm…" Bradley was speaking now. "Perhaps this is where I make my exit. The Turks are expecting me, anyway." Then the sound of a door shutting resounded around the room.
Silence passed between the two of them, Cid still holding Shera, whose fingers were entangled in his hair as she shushed him gently. He tried to stop himself, restraining his tears and his wracking sobs. It didn't seem so out of the ordinary, really. He had wanted to break down from the first moment he saw Shera intertwine her fingers with Bradley's. Who knew that things would turn out like this? All he knew was that he had screwed up so much that forgiveness was definitely out of the question.
But Shera was still there, raking her fingers through his locks, and cradling his head as he continued to hold her. He felt like a little kid. Normally, he would've scoffed at such an act, but he didn't want to be alone. Despite it being what he deserved, he was terrified of being alone. He knew he would break if she left.
He would have to come home everyday after this one and the house would be bare and dark. He would have to drink tea alone and work on his projects alone. Shera wouldn't be there for him to talk to about what had irritated him that day or bring him lunches to work like a mother to a child who had forgotten it when he went to school.
Even those stupid holidays where people spent time together, he wouldn't have those, either. Shera wouldn't be there to decorate the house and make big dinners. She wouldn't be there to spend them with. She knew he never could remember those holidays, but she would and would always do extra special things for him. Even though she never got anything in return for it, she still did it. If she left, all of that would stop and he would spend those days alone, without the decorating and the holiday dinners.
He would spend all of those days growing older. There wouldn't be anything else left for him to do but grow older. And he would be all alone to do it. All because of him.
Cid's arms tightened around her waist, as though she were going to disappear before his eyes. He knew he couldn't handle it if she did.
Shera was still gently soothing his back, and eventually he did manage to calm himself. The continued thought of how outlandish this was for him made him feel worse.
"S…Sorry…" he muttered, pulling his face away from her dampened shirt. She seemed hesitant to release him, but did so anyway and took a couple steps back to give him space.
"Captain, you don't have to—"
"Yes I do," he cut her off, but his voice wasn't harsh. He quickly rubbed his arm against his wet cheeks. "Don't tell me I don't gotta, because I do, Shera."
"Everyone cries once in a while, Captain. It's human."
"That ain't what I'm talking 'bout," he argued, but felt his chest grow heavy. Well…crying is part of it, but I won't tell her that. "Just…hear me out, okay?"
"Of course, Captain."
He gritted his teeth. "Cid. My name is Cid. I want you to use it."
There was another pause. He wasn't sure what she was doing because he couldn't force himself to look at her. He was staring at the floor.
"All right…Cid."
The pilot sighed and continued to gaze at the ground. "I don't deserve you," he began. "Everything I put you through and still you hang 'round here, Shera. Now I find out that all this is because yer building me a new airship? It ain't right. I can't accept it."
"Cid…"
"And your love. I don't deserve that, either." He pounded his fist against his knee, startling the woman, "Dammit, Shera, why are you so good to me!?"
He didn't want to look at her. He was too scared to. But then he heard her start to move and he was worried that she was walking out on him. He couldn't blame her, either. After hearing everything out in the open, he didn't blame her one bit.
But that didn't stop him from worrying.
Cid quickly jolted his head upwards to see her walk towards the kitchen.
"Let me make you some tea, Cid. You look exhausted."
He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it! How could she just go about her business like nothing was wrong!?
"Shera! What's the matter with you!? Aren't ya listenin' to a word I'm saying!? You should be hating me! Loathing my very existence! What are ya doing making tea for!?"
When she turned to smile at him, it made him all the more angrier. It was one of those precious smiles—like those that she had given Bradley. She was finally giving one to him. It was his to own and to keep to himself. He couldn't believe it.
Cid jumped from his chair, stormed over to her, and raised his arms in an exasperated notion to start yelling. But before he could do much, she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't try to make me stop loving you. It won't work."
He halted in his tracks, dumbfounded (which apparently had became the Captain's new favorite emotion), and gawked at her. She moved her hand higher to sweep it gently across his cheek, still smiling. Then Shera turned around to continue to make tea. Cid watched her, words abandoning him.
That woman. I just don't know what to make of her.
\/\/\/
Bradley didn't bother to say what his business with the Turks was about, but he returned to the house later that evening and summoned Cid to the front porch. The Captain was nervous. He owed a lot to the man, and he had been caught off guard on more than one occasion for the day. He just wanted it all to be over with.
"Good evening," Bradley greeted.
"Yeah," the pilot grunted in response. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the sky. "Mind if I smoke?" he asked after a moment. It surprised him to ask such a question. Normally he wouldn't care. Well…I am tryin' to apologize here. Best not to screw up now.
"No, go right ahead."
Feeling more relieved, the pilot withdrew a single stick from the carton lodged between his goggles. Striking a match against the railing on his porch, he put the lighted end towards the cigarette and then shook it until the fire died. "Thanks," he mumbled.
Bradley seemed to be waiting until Cid had gotten settled into the atmosphere before speaking. "Do you know why I called you out here?"
Cid flinched. "To bitch at me? Eh…not that I blame you if ya do…"
"No," the other man said, his gaze sternly upon the pilot. "That's not it at all."
"Hmm?" Cid held his comfort in between two fingers, letting a trail of smoke sail up into the sky.
"I know you have things to ask me. Things you want to ask only in front of me. Or perhaps tell me. Isn't that right, Captain?"
The pilot looked away. Man, this guy's puttin' me on the spot. I'm no good at this stuff. He found himself chewing on the inside of his mouth. 'Course, if I could tell Shera that I love her and survive, then maybe tellin' him "sorry" won't be so bad either.
"But first I have a question to ask you."
"Hmm?" Cid flinched. He wasn't sure if he was prepared with any answers that the other man was expecting.
"Shera informed me that you told her that you already knew who I was. Yet, by your actions, you hadn't the slightest clue. All this time she thought you were aware of the fact that she and I were cousins. Why did you lie?"
"Gah…" Cid was fumbling with one end of his jacket. "I don't…really…have an answer for that. I…I guess I didn't want to hear her tell me that you two were lovers. I…" he broke off.
"You…didn't want to have a possibility available that you had lost her to me. Isn't that right?"
The Captain found himself chuckling, though he didn't know why. To hear his hidden thoughts being spoken aloud by another man was almost…embarrassing.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's it, I guess."
"I thought so." Bradley didn't add anything else after that. It took another moment or two for the pilot to find something worth saying.
"I…I'm sorry…" he found himself whispering. Cid quickly took another drag off of his cigarette, nervous.
"I know. I already know that you are."
"And you can forgive me? Just like that?"
"Shera already has deeply informed me about what kind of man you are, Captain. I'm not surprised you reacted as badly as you did. I think I would've as well, had I been in the same situation."
"Bah," Cid turned away. "Easy for you ta say, Richton. You and Shera are acting way too nice. Even my friends were more scornful than this."
"Ha," Shera's cousin chuckled. "Is this wrong?"
"Well, it ain't right. If you want me feelin' worse, you're well on yer way."
"That's not my intent at all," Bradley confessed. "I love my cousin dearly and support her in everything she does."
Cid snorted. "So that's why yer funding the airship. I see now…"
"No, that's not why." The foulmouthed man spun on his foot to stare Bradley directly in the eye. "I want to get to know my future in-law, so to speak. I can say that I provoked the situation by making Shera act in secret with me. I…hope you can forgive me for that."
The pilot squinted. No…No way…! This guy is actin' way too nice! Rich guys aren't supposed ta act like this! I don't understand! And he's askin' me to forgive him!? Man, what's he think this is, a Holier-Than-Thou competition!?
"I can see the look in your eyes, Captain. I don't expect you to understand. Shera and I have been through a lot together, but that's a tale for another time and place. I respect my cousin's wishes, if you will, and if you cannot see things for anything other than that, then please allow me to voice my wishes."
"I can't pay you back for the airship," Cid shook his head. "That's a debt that I can't even get out of myself."
"I don't want any of your money." Bradley was just as serious as the pilot was. It was frightening. "I want you to take care of Shera. I want you to marry her and take care of her for the rest of your days. She at least deserves that."
She deserves more than that, if you ask me. "Are you sure I'm the right guy to be asking for that kind of stuff? She did tell you what a jerk I am, right?"
"Nevertheless, she sees something in you that has obviously intrigued her. Do you honestly believe she'd give her love to just anybody?" For some strange reason, a dark haired man in a frilly red cloak suddenly came to mind. More lectures. Jus' what I need. Thanks Vincent.
"I'm envious of how close you two are." Cid took another puff from his cigarette. "Never in a thousand years would someone do what yer doin' for her." And then he laughed, "You're such a numbskull, rich boy. Leaving her in the hands of a moron like me."
"There's no one better to do the job," Bradley admitted. "I know that not even the likes of another Meteor could stand in the way of you protecting her. Captain Highwind wouldn't run away." The pilot blinked, as if what the other man was saying was simply untrue. "Let's face it, Captain. I'm no warrior. All I have is the money to get from place to place and support myself. But that won't save Shera, and, to be truthfully honest, she's the only family I have left."
Cid didn't quite understand what Bradley was talking about. It seemed that the rich man was getting too sentimental for his own good, and, either way, it was above the Captain's head.
"If I took Shera away from here, I know that I don't have the manpower to protect her and I know she'd be miserable, too. She wouldn't be able to survive being away from you. The only reason she was going to leave in the first place was because she thought that you didn't want her around any longer." The other man was looking to the sky now, "So, you see, Captain. I have no choice but to ask you for this favor." When his eyes turned back to Cid's, he asked, "Well, Captain? Will you think about it?"
Indeed, there was no man like Cid Highwind. He wasn't the type to back down or cower his way out of a situation. He stood up to Meteor, and he stood up to Sephiroth, too. He even stood up to Bradley Richton before he knew the truth. Things that he loved, like the sky, the stars, the Planet…and Shera…Those were the things he wanted to protect the most. And he would die protecting them.
"You kiddin' me? Count me in." He beat a fist against his chest. "Shera's got nothin' ta worry 'bout being with me."
Bradley smiled. "Thank you, Captain."
