Chapter Three: Sticky Chill

The sick man from his chamber looks
At the twisted brooks;
He can feel the cool
Breath of each little pool;
His fevered brain
Grows calm again,
And he breathes a blessing on the rain.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 'Rain in Summer'

Exhaustion.

I'd never truly understood it prior to now, never known it in it's entirety. I have been tired prior to this, but never to this degree.

Two spells and a walk down a flight of steps had left me willing to drop into unconsciousness the moment that the woman called Tifa Lockheart got me to the vehicle she planned to use to transport us.

I could sense her mumbling in irritation and feel her warmth as she leaned over to get me strapped in with the safety belts used in the cases of accidents. I didn't have any desire to lift my head or attempt to help, I wasn't sure I even could manage it had I wanted to.

Knowledge that I should be helping, that I owed her more than I would ever admit to her, didn't matter. The only thing I desired was the energy regenerative properties of rest and whatever I owed and even the torment I wished to escape and leave behind me meant nothing next to the utter need for unconsciousness.

It was unlikely that my willpower would have mattered long enough to save me from all those men if she wasn't here to watch me now that I had lost ability to even remain conscious. Not that I wanted to be anyone's captive, far from it, but if I had to choose between them I wanted the one that wasn't out to put me back into proverbial hell.

Though some might consider either side possessing a lack of mercy, I was completely alright with leaving myself in the hands of the ones that didn't make me wish I was dead every waking moment.

It was vague, but I could tell that we'd started moving, then stopped for a bit before starting again, time was something I still had a very poor grasp of. After that I didn't pick up anything about my surroundings at all. The black nothingness of unconsciousness I used to pray for was stealing more hours from me than I now wanted.

ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo

The road had been surprisingly clear thus far, Tifa had to admit she was surprised she wasn't facing off with some army anytime she cleared a large hill where she couldn't see the other side. It wasn't as if they could know which way she was going, but her luck was so good it was making her paranoid.

The sun was rising, they had been forced to flee in the early hours and she was hoping to get some more rest once she reached the thicker forest between the cities.

No monsters were on the path itself and the few times she spotted them they were keeping away from the hovercraft they were using to travel. That alone had her on edge that the luck would run out any moment and a dragon would pop out of the earth to take them on if the strange guy didn't return on helicopter to gun them down.

"I'm completely insane for doing this." She thought for the thousandth time in what had become her mental mantra. "I can't believe I'm risking my neck for -him-. Insanity is the only thing that makes sense as to why I'm still driving. That guy back there, he said that he wanted Sephiroth to suffer. Not that I don't agree with him, but I somehow doubt that's the entire story."

Not to mention she didn't want to admit that it had gotten under her skin when she'd seen his face contorted in pain while he writhed in that test tube. At what point did punishment turn to cruelty? She wanted to see him dead after what he'd done to her and her family, but she didn't want to see him tortured for some undetermined amount of time. Perhaps some others had the right to disagree with her, he had killed so many people in his rampage...but she was amongst those that had a right of saying what happened to him.

As much as she loathed him, whatever they had been doing wasn't right, it made them no better than he had been.

"I wonder just how sick he still is...it's been four hours and he's barely budged." She let her train of thought change as she still wasn't sure what to do with the mass murderer in her passenger seat. "He used the materia from my glove to amazing effect, I'd just bought that one and it was as if it was as powerful as one used for years. I don't want to see if he got his hands on one of the more leveled pieces."

It was still better that he was weak, she wasn't sure how she could force him to comply if he was at full strength. Though given his show of power that morning she couldn't be sure how long he would be ill.

She was a bit envious of the rest he was getting. Her body was still sore from carrying him and it would be overestimating if she said she'd gotten four hours of sleep that night before they'd been attacked. If she didn't stop soon she was vaguely afraid she'd run off the road...having no one to keep watch was dangerous but it was better than crashing and getting killed.

The forests were thick so once she found an opening with cover from the canopy thick enough she believed she could hide the vehicle she parked and pushed her seat back as best she could. The cab was small and while she normally could lay down by using the whole seat that wasn't an option while Sephiroth was taking up one side of it.

She instead pulled a pillow from a compartment in the center console and did her best to get comfortable while still sitting up. She was exhausted enough it didn't take her as long as she feared it would to nod off.

The sun was well in the sky and her arm was sore as she started awake much later. She glanced around to make sure there were no threats as she winced at the sunburn she'd gotten on her arm, apparently she'd picked a place just in the right spot that the sun had been bearing down on her skin for a while. When she didn't see any direct threats she stretched as much as was possible in the truck and opened the door so she could get up for a bit.

Sephiroth was still passed out so she had the time to really let her blood get a decent flow again. It was getting closer to evening than she would have liked, but the fact that no one messed with them was a good sign. A chance no one was aware of the direction she'd taken.

She returned to the car just to pull up her seat and dig for the rations she always kept packed inside. As much as she didn't want to deal with him she knew that she'd have to get him too eat...she couldn't know how long it'd been sense they last had given him any food.

"Hey." She nudged his shoulder, hoping that would be all it would take. "Wake up."

No avail. He didn't move at all after she let go. It would still be good if he could put on the armor she'd picked up for him as well. She had armed it with healing and curative materia mostly, she still didn't trust him with her more aggressive ones.

She pulled out the food she thought they'd use and some bottled waters before closing her side again and climbing back into the high cab so she could get a better grip on his shoulders. She hadn't done more than lay a hand on each shoulder before his eyes popped open and he pushed her down on the seat, holding her there.

She could have likely gotten out of the pin but she was so surprised to find his mako infused teal eyes staring at her from such a short distance she wasn't sure how to react. His breath was close enough to move her bangs, he had surprisingly good teeth for someone that had been a warrior for such a long period - they were all intact.

Then he'd leaned away again, shaking his head and knocking his lovely silver bangs back into place while doing so. "I apologize, I just reacted."

"No problem." Tifa managed after a second, pushing herself back up and nodding toward the bag of goodies. "Not a lot of food, nothing warm and the only meat I have is jerky, but it should make due til we get to Cosmo Canyon."

"Thank you." He accepted the water and the bags he offered her. He hadn't realized just how famished he was until she'd mentioned food. His stomach was likely empty, they were probably feeding him what little nourishment to keep him alive through a tube.

There went the awkward silence. Both of them chewing or sipping water as quietly as possible, but with little other sound to drown out the gnashing jaws. Finally Tifa sucked it up and broke the silence after one of the sips on her water bottle.

"You said you wanted to kill Jenova...not that I'm saying I believe you...but if I did, why would you do that? It seemed like...you were sort of attached to her...isn't she your..."

"Mother? No." His mood had immediately darkened and his voice definitely matched it. "That was just me falling for her lies. Nothing against you but I don't wanna talk about it."

Tifa nodded slowly, picking up some more nuts and watching the aggressive way his entire body had gone too when she'd mentioned it. She felt sorry for him but she wasn't at all certain how to express anything, how could she pity the man that had killed her father aloud without insulting his memory? Just considering it made her feel as if she was betraying her family and the people that had died at his hands.

Sephiroth meanwhile was doing his best to relax, just considering the treacherous creature made his whole body go rigid with hate. He wanted to destroy her, to wipe every piece of her that remained from the earth...it was disgusting to him that his body shared her cells. He hadn't meant to be harsh, but it was something that was still such a wound to his pride he couldn't bring himself to openly admit what exactly had occurred.

While it might help his case with the people he'd fought previously and that had defeated him, if he absolutely had to say it, he didn't want to have to explain more than once. Just considering even doing it once was a far jump from the norm.

"I'll leave the food in the center here...but I think I should head us back out again if you don't mind. I'd like to reach the Canyon before it's too dark, more monsters tend to wander after the sun goes down." Tifa commented, wiping her mouth with a napkin and setting her water in the holder.

Sephiroth just gestured lightly, he didn't want to stop her. He doubted he could be much help if monsters did appear given he'd slept almost an entire day away after a couple of spells. Though he did feel better than before, and even the snacks for food was helping him feel less nauseous.

The forest was a lovely array of golds, fiery oranges, and brilliant reds, as if the leaves had absorbed the illumination of the sunset and were holding it in their fibers. It would have made a romantic getaway for most couples driving along such a scenic route. For the pair in the car, it just added to the ill at ease ambience constantly growing in the hovercrafts cab.

The silence was only growing and Tifa at least was uncomfortable, she couldn't tell what Sephiroth was feeling one way or another...he was still munching on her trail mix. Then there was a loud series of popping sounds and the entire craft shifted weight down on the drivers side and was going mad before she managed to pull it off the road and bring it to a mostly safe stop. "Crap. Some of the coils probably just died..."

They were sitting at a diagonal with Sephiroth slightly higher and glancing out the windows for threats. She followed with a short gaze before sighing. "I knew the good luck wouldn't hold out. I'm not sure we have the daylight left to replace them now. Coils are a pain in the ass and if I don't put in the spares right we'll have to walk."

"It might be better than waiting. It'll get pretty cold this area of the world." He commented, finally settling when he didn't pick up any threats. "Though I suppose you aren't really dressed to walk it either."

She stared at the wheel, doing her best not to blush at the comment as it meant he'd noticed that she was wearing such a short skirt. She had the pants in the back but hadn't been planning on sleeping out anywhere so left the item of clothing she could more easily move in.

"Um. I picked up your armor. It's in the back. I'm gonna put some pants on if you wanna get that on...opposite sides of the hovercraft I mean." She was pushing away the want to blush, that was something else she was used to doing after years of liking Cloud.

"Oh." He glanced behind them to look at where his armor could be. "I like that idea."

She put the hovercraft down carefully, not wanting to damage anything else and got out of her side, pushing the box with his armor over to his edge and digging her pants out of her backpack before vanishing from view.

Sephiroth was more concerned with having his armor back, smiling a bit at the folded leather inside the box. He didn't question her privacy as he dressed himself. He left the shoulder pads free for the moment as it seemed they would be resting more here but eyed himself in the mirror on his half of the vehicle, minus a couple parts of his head with scars that were regenerating quickly enough he was looking much as he normally did. It was good to actually see himself, as if it were proof this wasn't all some hallucination.

She was already back inside digging around behind her seat when he reopened his door. The mutters she was letting out made him raise a eyebrow at her curiously.

"Damn it Yuffie...that's not even funny. She replaced my emergency blankets so she could stash a bunch of her materia during one of her visits. That girl is possessed." Tifa was chewing her lip, frustrated and not sure of what to do. It was already pretty cold, and while the hovercraft would keep them safe from wind, it wouldn't do the coils well on the remaining working side to try to use it for warmth.

"Would you rather lock it and attempt to walk? It shouldn't be more than a few hours walk from here." He pointed out, glancing toward the edge of the forest and the fields beyond. The spire of the canyon was visible at the distance they were from it.

"Not really." She answered in annoyance, slamming her seat back and climbing in to then also slam her door. "I paid a lot for it. I'm not just gonna leave it if I could possibly fix it tomorrow."

He left his brow raised a moment longer after her mini-tantrum and climbed back in himself, sitting back down. Though he'd slept the day away more rest didn't sound too horrible, now that he was free of the pain it was helping more than it had before. "You should get some more sleep if you can. Things will be fine."

"Easy for you to say." She retorted crossing her arms irritably. "You don't have to worry about everyone on all sides trying to kill you. Even the guy in your car."

"If I wanted to kill you I could have." He said with a slightly decisive snort, straightening his jacket a little. "Multiple times."

"Yeah, in the middle of sleeping for twelve hours I'm sure it was the next thing on your list." She snapped back, pausing as she looked at him fully for the first time. Seeing him with the armor back on was so much closer to her memories that it shocked her. She'd grown accustomed to trying to look at him like someone else.

He looked sour after her last comment, as if it had left a bad taste in his mouth. He finally replied with a sigh, his deep voice close to reproving. "The point is that I obviously don't have any intentions of harming you. Just sleep."

"When I feel like it I will. Between us you are the one that seems to need it." She looked back at the wheel in front of her. "I should have dropped him off the damn cliff."

"You need not keep pointing out my current state of weakness." He returned with his own agitation steadily growing.

She didn't answer, she was instead cursing him mentally and just generally the situation she was in, she was entirely wrong to think that he might be someone else. Whatever had happened to him, she had to stop looking at him like a normal person, he was anything but that.

It wasn't long before the temperature had started to drop, being at the edge of the forest and so close to the desert it was getting cold quickly. Her breath was coming out in short puffs that were visible by the time the sun had set. She was doing her best not to shiver, she didn't want him to see her anything but well given he was still suppose to be her captor.

That image was hard to keep, impossible when he reached over and pulled her closer, pressing her body against his. She couldn't help but pull back against him but even weakened he was incredibly strong, she was starting to protest aloud but he interrupted her.

When it started to rain she was glad at least that she'd made the call to stay.

"Just shut up and sit here. You are probably going to freeze otherwise." He snapped at her when she kept resisting. "I don't get cold as easily. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't."

She frowned but relaxed enough that she did notice he was still pretty warm for the night temperature, as if he had his own little generator built in. No wonder he'd seemed like he was on fire when he'd had a slight fever. "Nothing saying he still doesn't still have a little bit of a fever."

"I'm reduced to holding onto my father's sick killer for warmth?" If she had a bigger lunch she'd of been tempted to get rid of it. She felt him settle one of the lab coats she'd shoved in his bag over her, they were the only thing they had to use for blankets so she was willing to make due. It was just a shock that he would be so kind.

"What about you?"

"I already said I don't get cold that easily." He replied, he wasn't looking at her now that they were so close together, instead he was staring straight ahead at the now dark forests outside. "Just get some rest while you can. I can't know how long I'll be able to stay conscience."

"Right." Tifa answered, she vaguely wanted to argue, but it was difficult when her body was rejoicing at the warmth. She'd even ceased shivering and was likely as close to comfortable as she could be in her situation.

She let her eyes close, at least if they were shut she could pretend that it wasn't her once mortal enemy she was using as a personal heater. She was still tired enough that it didn't take too long to nod off.

He was aware of when she fell asleep before she was, her body relaxing fully for the first time sense he'd pulled her over. Not that he wanted to help, but he owed her his life, it seemed the least he could offer. Everything about her was softer when she slumbered. Her face and body weren't as constantly ready to move for battle...

He looked back outside as he realized he was watching her after she'd finally lost consciousness, settling his arm down from the back of the seat to over her back, she was getting warmer than she'd been but given it seemed to be getting colder outside this was probably the only option they would have had if they wanted to suffer through the night without freezing the entire time.

He laid his head back after a final glance that no threats were nearby and closed his own mako infused eyes, this entire rescue was getting stranger all the time.

End Chapter

I wanted to end on a sweeter note than the last chapters. Sharing warmth seems dramatic but sweet - the whole not freezing to death.

-Nera

To those that review:

Cheerie - Thank you for the compliments. As far as a beta. Are you offering?

Toya Kei - Updated!

Eva Von - Hope you continue to enjoy.