Chapter 5- We're Gonna Fly

A week later the Valentine-Crescent wedding was made official.

Announcements had been delivered to every house in Rocket Town throwing the hamlet into a flurry of activity. Nothing ever happened in the secluded little hick town so people jumped at any excuse to throw a celebration and break away from daily routines. Shops were swept and flowers were planted in preperation for the march which Grimoire had decided would occur in the center of town in three days time. Natives greeted the Wutai visitors into their homes and all around abounded with chatter. Women flocked to Lucrecia like mother hens offering her best of whishes and advice on the responsibilities of womanhood. Vincent on the other hand was smothered by repetitive lectures by the men and elders about taking over the family and becoming a man. He was to be a prominent figure in both communities and he had to learn how to present himself.

Shera was never one for the clamor of matrimony matters so she stole away to the Highwind backyard where Cid worked deligently sanding down the body of the Tiny Bronco. Picking up some sandpaper she quietly went to work beside him. They continued on in silence ticking the minutes away, the town made more than enough noise for them. Shera could tell Cid was tense the way his muscles stood rigid in his arms and he took longer and longer drags on his dwindling pack of cigarettes. Cid was always at home and relaxed with his machines so it was easy to tell when something was bothering him. She couldn't bring herself to ask the question that had hounded her mind all morning shaking up the butterflies in her stomach.

She set down the tools and reached out to pull the pilot out from under the ship. Shera cupped his greasy face in her hands slowly tracing along dirty stubble. She tried to bring herself to speak those words stuck tight in her throat. Cid had been so upset lately, so withdrawn. Ever since they'd announced the marriage the stubborn bull had spent his days plowing through the mountain of repairs, listless and detached from anything else around him. Only smiling when Vincent was near. Cid tried to pull away but she refused to let go. She'd pined for Cid since she was a child and it killed her to watch him suffer like this. Shera could sympathize with Lucrecia's pain, adoring a man that would never return her affections. They would go through the motions but the connection would never be theirs to share.

"Cid, there's no use. Is there?" Shera's grip tightened. "You love him."

Cid blushed. "Well I dunno 'bout love.. Dunno if I'd go that far I mean..."

"Strange. I would." Shera couldn't repress the bitterness in her voice. It didn't matter what she said. What Levian thought he could do. That didn't mean anything to the obstinate pilot. He'd do what he damned well pleased no matter what anyone thought of him.

"Shera, please." Cid pushed her hand away. "I don' need this shit righ' now."

"You don't need this?!" Shera shoved Cid back biting her lip so hard in frutration she tasted blood. "My best friend is leaving me to go live with some guy she's never met before that doesn't give a flying fuck about her and I'm stuck here with you pining over my best friend's future husband!" She couldn't believe how whiny she sounded but it hurt. She almost felt betrayed by Cid. She'd ached after him for years only for him to turn around and decide he wanted his bed partner doggy style. It was a vicious blow to her ego and those delirious girlhood fantasies she'd entangeld herself in. Cid would never love her and that was it...

Cid's eyes burned but he didn't retaliate. He knew Shera did indeed adore him though eternally unrequitted. He didn't know what it was about Vincent that absolutely captivated him. His walk, his speech, his voice, his smile. Those eyes... Oh those beautiful bloody eyes... everything was such a sharp contrast to all he'd ever known. An exotic animal from a totally different jungle. He knew Levian would never stand for it but he was tired of living his life by everyone else's rules. He was a Highwind, dammit, and he had wings now. He was gonna fly!

"I'm sorry Shera." Turning back to the Tiny Bronco Cid worked with greater determination. This was his chance, his moment. Nothing was going to stop him now. Once Cid set his mind to something the man was unstoppable. His silent defiance was over. Now he was going to stand up and be loud and proud. He was going to do what he pleased and love who he wanted to love without fear of discrimination. He wouldn't let Vincent suffer anymore, Sephiroth could rest in peace once and for all. Shera reached out and held Cid close against her taking in one last deep beath. In that familiar scent, that warm, sweaty smell of grease and unbathed man, she found those dreams nagged at her again. The memories of the days she and Cid would frolic through town playing space pirates imagining everything was one giant corner of space.

Space..

That's it!

"Cid.. I'm not going to let you have all the fun." She gave a weak smile. "I'm going to do this because I do love you and because I don't want my best friends in the world to suffer." She took Cid's hand and brought it to her lips tasting the muscle in his skin. "You're going to run away tonight.. aren't you?"

"Was plannin' on it... or at least in the next three days." he could see the gears turning in Shera's mind. "What you got goin' in that head'a yers, Shera?"

"We'll go to Midgar. They'll never find us there!"

"Midgar?" He knew his little ship would be reliable but... that was one hell of a distance.

"Yes.. We'll go to Shinra, Cid! We'll fly! We'll go to space together and Lucrecia can get a real job like she's always dreamed of! Vincent could.. umm.. he could be a Turk! Then we'd be together still!" It was a long shot.. who knows what awaited them over those mountains. Far away where none of them had ever been sprawled a metropolis opening smoky arms to those living on a prayer. Fueled by dreams and adrenaline they would cross the oceans together and fulfill their lives. All they would ever have is each other.. but that suited them just fine. In the limitless void of space... To touch the final frontier... Cid smiled gently, giving Shera her one and only kiss, a silent thanks and a final goodbye.

"Now I know why I keep ya around." Spirit renewed he returned to his toolbox.

Shera chuckled, picking up a wrench and sandpaper putting in the work of two men. "We got out work cut out for us, wouldn't you say Cid?"

"We certainly do." Cidney Ramius Highwind grinned the broadest smile a man could ever muster. A captain was nothing without his loyal crew. "We're gonna fly."

One down, two days to go.