Author's Notes: This chapter was giving me troubles. But it's done now and I'm quite proud of it. But, to what I assume will be the annoyance of the readers, I decided to leave the smut to your imagination. Of course, if anyone actually wants to do something silly suck as go out and WRITE about it, they are free to do so. Just keep in mind that Nida has made it very clear it's not getting any further than hands and mouth for now. That would just make the next chapter hard. … Great, an unintentional innuendo. Shesh. Enjoy anyway!

Chapter 6

Three hours he'd been at this table, quiet, listening, waiting, just trying to take it all in. He'd learned more about this world in that small amount of time than he'd learned about his own over three years of Garden education. The woman who had been with Yuffie, her name was Tifa if Nida's overloaded mind hadn't failed him yet, had spoken of materia and the ancients, and why his abilities with magic were so surprising. Vincent, the man in the cloak, had spoken of ShinRa and Midgar. The one with the mullet, Reeve Tuesti, spoke of the war with Wutai, and of the world after it. Barrett told of mako energy and the damage it had wrought upon the world. There were other tales to speak of as well, but all the information was too much. In fact, his attention was limited save when Cloud finally took the chance to speak. He spoke of a man called Zack, who had died to protect him, of Sephiroth, of SOLDIER and Hojo, of a woman called Aeris and Jenova, of Holy and Meteor. That wasn't it either. After that he told of three 'clones' of the man Sephiroth, and Geostigma and the reemergence of Sephiroth. Finally Cloud spoke of Deep Ground, something that had happened only recently, but his eyes always darted to Vincent and Reeve often enough that Nida knew it was their story to tell, but that they had allowed him to tell it.

When it was all over Nida just sat there for a moment, taking it in, and trying to make sense of it all. There wasn't enough time for that though, before everyone had their eyes on him once more. It was time, he supposed, to tell his own story. The SeeD glared at the glass of lemonade before him. At some point Shera had taken the time to prepare things for everyone to snack upon, and things to drink, for which he was thankful. By this time there were already drops of water forming on the glass, and it was slick to the touch. Still, before he rose, Nida downed the whole thing, despite how much more thirsty it made him. It had been a while since he'd had to give a formal address to anyone, even in an informal setting, and never before to this many people. At least, not since he was a young SeeD, just before his promotion, explaining the plan that helped change the course of the war…

He could remember that speech by heart. Not a day passed that he did not regret it. Hundreds slain in the course of an hour to save thousands in the long run, and all by his orders. What had he been thinking? And he'd have to live with that memory every day until his death, which was going to be a long way off at this rate. His whole body shook with remembrance of where that last speech had gotten him, but he wasn't going to back down. Not here, not now. So he closed his eyes and took comfort in the presence of Siren caressing his consciousness. At least his lady would be there to stand by him through this. Something familiar, something safe. He could do this. She'd been there then to help him, and she would be here now.

"You know, from what I heard, I can tell this place, while not my home, is not that much different. Yes, there are different cultures, different backgrounds, different reasons and different people, but there is one thing that is the same. You fought hard and lost good people in the name of peace, and so did we. But, I wish it were that we'd known the face of our enemy as you had. A General hell bent on world destruction is no easy thing to face, but at least there was a face. ShinRa was something you could look upon and say 'this, this is what we fight against'. Mako was something you could see and know was wrong from the beginning. Back home, things were not so simple. But, if they were, I wouldn't stand before you today I believe, and my home would not exist…"

Again Siren reached out to brush his mind, comforting him, assuring him that things would be fine. He expected that, he was used to that. She was very protective, very sweet. Her voice was always music in his ears and only he could understand her so clearly. SeeDs developed a deep bond with their GFs these days, even though they were used even less and less. No one but Squall could really understand the cold laughter of Shiva, and only Seifer could tell you the thoughts of Ifrit, and that beast spoke only in a deep basso rumble. All the Guardians had their own methods, and while anyone that worked with them could get the gist of what they were saying, or maybe every third word or so, only ones close to them could understand it all. It was something they took pride in, and care, for while they could lose things to the Guardians, they always had a companion, junctioned or otherwise.

"Where I come from there is nothing exactly like your materia. I suppose the closest things would be spell stones, but those only release their magic when a certain word is spoken, and anyone can use them, but only once. They are hardly common though, so they tend to be kept for the worst situations only. Neither do we have mako, but I believe we do have something a bit like it. There are points where the natural magic of the world seeps up through the ground, allowing us access to magic. Magic is… a special thing where I come from. It is in every living thing, from the planet itself to the monsters that roam the plains, to the people around us. It's even in the things that one had life, and in the stones and in every bit of everything. But the thing is that people normally aren't capable of accessing that magic. Yes, there are people known to be so attuned to certain spells that they can use them without assistance, but those are all well trained and amazing things to behold. The fact is that where I am from we do not use magic as you understand it. We use something created by the Estharian people called Para-Magic.

"I do not understand everything there is to know about Para-Magic, but what I do know is important enough and basic enough that it could give you the feel of what it is like for us. While we as humans are capable of storing magic within ourselves, and with time and training, we can use some weak spells on our own, to use anything of any real power, or any real range of spells we must rely upon things to channel the magic we already have, and to allow us to draw more from the planet and other creatures. These are the Guardian Forces. They are ethereal beings, existing on a plane of existence that I don't much understand. What they give us is a sort of symbiosis. They give us their strength, the ability to use our magics, and the ability to call upon them in battle in dire situations to fight for us. In return they are given a means of existence upon our plane, and a part of our mind to call their home. Of course we only just learned that such an exchange comes at more of a price than that. The place where Guardians live is a part of the mind that controls long term memory. Part of our past is given up for their strength if we use them in the long term…"

Again he stopped, downing another glass that someone had poured for him during his speaking. He reached out for Siren, asking her if he had left anything out, and was shocked to find a foot nudging his under the table. Siren laughed in the back of his mind when he looked from the corner of his eye to notice the look on Cid's face. The man had taken a spot at his right hand, and looked none too happy with him. Apparently he hadn't enjoyed Nida's escape after that little, how should he put it…

I would call it a groping, Siren helpfully provided, her voice as musically sweet as ever. Sometimes she could be very annoying.

Did I ask for your opinion?

Now now my sweet eagle, strike me not down. Surely you know by now that questions posed unto yourself are subject to my whims. Or I could just leave you be if you so greatly desire it…

No fair Siren, no fair.

Face it my falcon, for now you need me. You cannot be sure if you can trust them, and you cannot get by without some of the strength I give you. Do I not make your ears sharper? Do I not keep falsities from fooling you? Do I not protect you?

"Nida?" a gentle voice cut through Siren's arguments. It was the woman Tifa, seated beside Cloud.

He shook his head, trying to silence the voice, and looked upon the woman. She, like the others of the group, were frowning at him, but at least her look held a warm concern. That he could understand. She took in orphans if her story was to be believed. People that took in orphans tended to have a very active mothering instinct, and anything that might be harmed near them was instantly under their protection. The last time he'd seen a look like that directed at him he'd been at a formal gathering with a cold, and Lady Edea, Matron, had bustled about him like a worried mother hen.

"Nida, are you okay?" Tifa asked, frowning. "Do you need to…"

"Allow me to guess, I zoned out there," he cut her off with a chuckle. "Forgive me. Sometimes I forget myself. Guardians are beings with minds and unique personalities, just like humans. When one develops a strong bond with a Guardian it's just like having another person inside your head. They are free to comment when they want and how they see fit. And my Guardian, Siren, she's a real talker. Apparently she felt that it was appropriate to interrupt my personal thoughts with her opinion. When she starts talking I am bound to respond. Back home people grow used to high level SeeDs zoning out, even in the middle of polite conversation, to deal with their Guardian. It's one of the reasons we try not to have them junctioned for long periods…"

"But since you've come here she's been… what is it, junctioned to you?" Nanaki asked from his spot near the table.

Nida nodded. "Normally when they aren't junctioned we keep our GFs in trinkets or things suited to them personally. The lightning bird, whose name I've never been good at, resides in the computer of a rather excitable lady named Selphie. When we can't have something like that they live in special trinkets made of mythril, which is kept with their companion, to make sure they are always at hand when needed. Siren stayed in a little mythril harp necklace I wore when I traveled, but… Well, I don't have it."

"Sounds like materia to me," Cid mumbled, "Materia works better when ya've got mythrili as a conduit around it."

"I'm sure we can find you something fitting for Siren," Yuffie added cheerfully. "Can't have you losing memories can we?"

"She is what I have of home… I want her close. I shall just have to ignore her for now."

Nida stared at the table for a moment, clearing his head and giving Siren a bit of a warning before continuing with his story.

"There are, where I come from, people capable of using magic without the Guardians though. Women with such power, such control over magic that they can do with the weakest spells what even people with years training with Guardians cannot. The Sorceresses, called Daughters of Hyne because of their power. Over the years we've come to know more and more about Sorceresses, but not all of it has been good. In the past there has always been these women, and their powers pass on upon death to women with a gift, with the chance to wield magic like they do. But power, as you know, can easily corrupt even the purest minds. My world has been plagued by something called Sorceress Wars. When those women, with their power, fall… They drag the world with them.

"We don't know how far back these wars have been fought, we may never know, but we know that even today we are plagued with them. When I was just a baby I was orphaned because of what we refer to today as the First Sorceress War, though it is hardly that. A sorceress named Adel took over the country of Esthar, a city technologically advanced, far beyond the other cultures of the planet, and struck out. A great deal of my generation is that of orphans because of her. Esthar was enslaved, Galbadia crushed, Balamb quelled, and the only other sorceress currently active in the world could do nothing to stop her. Her reign would be complete today were it not for a name named Laguna Loire. To save a young girl he went to Esthar, he caused Adel to be sealed, but that isn't my story. What is my story is that of his son, a child called Squall. What Laguna didn't know is that the wife he left behind had a child, who was sent to the orphanage where I grew up, raised under the care of the kind Sorceress Edea, our Matron.

"Matron knew something that no one else knew, that Adel had been pushed by the hand of a sorceress that wasn't of our time. A dark woman from the future with dark intentions. To protect the orphans that had become her children she came up with an idea, a means to ensure our future. Together with her husband and ancient technology, with the guidance and wisdom of the then President Loire of Esthar and the cunning of their scientists, and with the financial backing of the Shumi people, the Gardens were created in Balamb, Galbadia and Trabia. Homes for children who were homeless, for people that wanted a life, for orphans and children whose parents wanted to give them a future. Gardens, with SeeD warriors capable of working alongside the powerful Guardian Forces, with the intention that one day they would be able to stop her were she ever consumed by the will of that sorceress from the future.

"I was sent to Garden when I was nine, after my adoptive mother died. From a young age the other children and I were taught many things. It was home, it was school, it was life. And when I turned twelve, it became more than that. We began training to be the future warriors of Garden, the elite mercenaries called SeeD. We learned to control magic, to commune with the Guardians, to fight, to do anything that would be required of us to serve our Garden and protect our fellows. It may seem cruel to you, but it was all we knew, and we were thankful for it. Everything went fine until about four, maybe five years ago really. My graduation year. Everything went to hell and back so fast."

I don't think I want to do this, Nida suddenly whispered to Siren, flinching away from the memories.

Do not forget, my sweet owl, I offered to take the memories away long ago.

I know Siren, I know. I'm… going to gloss over it. Please, keep them back from me.

There was a silent sense of assent and then, after taking a deep breath, Nida launched into familiar and foreboding waters.

"There was war. I don't know how else to put it. One day I was taking my SeeD examination, passing with flying colors, the next people are dead. People I grew up with. People I studied with. People I fought alongside. And they were killed by other people I knew, kids I'd spoken with from Galbadia Garden, friends of Selphie from Trabia, friends of Irvine. Seifer, one of the best fighters we had in SeeD, had turned against us for Sorceress Edea, a woman who had raised us and we had forgotten. It was all just…"

"It's okay," Reeve said from where he sat. "I'm sure we can do our best to fill in the blanks…"

The pilot sighed, clenching his fists. No, he had to do this.

"There were seven of them that really did something. Selphie, she's so cheerful, great with magic, loves trains. She was a Trabia student, transferred to Balamb for the graduation exam, never really went back until it was all said and done. Irvine got caught up in an attempt to assassinate the sorceress, before we knew who she was. Real lady killer that one, dressed like a cowboy and thought the world was in Selphie's eyes. Quistis, a year younger than me, but somehow already an instructor. Smart, regal, elegant, and you've never seen someone take to blue magic like her. Must have sorceress blood in her somewhere… There was Zell, he's such an annoyance. Always hopping around practicing his fighting, and he's got this unnatural fondness for hotdogs. Then there was Rinoa, daughter of a powerful Galbadian general, a pampered fool who took on the powers of the sorceress. Thought she could actually help the trained mercenaries. Squall let her though. He was… is, the hero really. The Lion of Balamb, the Demon in Black, the Sorceress Slayer, Griever's Chosen, and so many other names. Silent, stoic, too much of a private guy to be a leader, and yet pretty much THE leader of the free world and more mercenaries than you can count. And Seifer… Arrogant, rude, crude, pompous, powerful, matched only in fighting ability by Squall himself. The Sorceress Knight. They fought against him for a while, but that isn't what matters. They were the ones that did something.

"It was called Time Compression, an idea that was so stupid, so impossible, that only a sorceress could think of it and make it work. The sorceress from the future, Ultimecia, was going to reach her consciousness so far back in time that she would create a compression in which only she could exist. Never got what the point of ruling if you were the only one alive, but it was what she wanted. And to do it she needed that poor girl Laguna had saved when I was a child. So we used her, her own desires, to put her in reach. Used Time Compression and the limited strength that we had from the Guardians to keep us there for a while. Even now no one is sure just how long that final battle was, but in the end the Guardians were exhausted for keeping them, us, in place for so long, and for a moment it was almost like there was no hope.

"They got home though, in the end, and everything was going to be good and peaceful again. Esthar was back as part of the world after seventeen years of hiding, the world was safe, and the only two sorceresses were kept in check because they were so deeply involved with SeeD anyway. But peace… Well… Six months in, if my memory serves, war broke out all over the globe. During that war I got my rank, as SeeDs took control of the military forces of the nations. I don't want to get into that though, other than to say it wasn't easy. Good people died for the worst reasons. For a while, I even gave up hope. The peace we have now is so carefully guarded. So precious. So tenuous. All we hope to do is hold it and hope that nothing goes wrong…"

His hands were shaking, and he could do nothing to hide it. Had he a Guardian like Brothers such a little thing would be easily kept at bay. As it was he had Siren. She enhanced his hearing, and he could hear them all breathing. Hear their hearts beating. Sometimes he was sure he could almost hear their thoughts, but he didn't want their pity. He refused to take it.

"Since then," he said, voice sharp to snap them from their thoughts, "We've done our best to protect the world. We've had battles, we've lost people, but it's back to the ways of the mercenary now. I haven't actually had to pull rank on anyone, wave my position under their noses for two years, and I'm happy. The scars I get now don't come from struggles for peace, but just the average power play that is involved with dueling some of the strongest warriors the world has seen because we get bored sitting on our hands. Hell, I teach kids to fly now, which is pretty damn stressful. I've even lived out my dream of going to space, spent a whole week on the Estharian Space Station learning more about things. My missions are few and far between now, mainly things that lesser SeeDs can't handle, or rescue ops, or dealing with things that are remnants of the wars. It was a damn mission that landed me here. I was supposed to watch over an experiment performed that would look into the facets of Time Compression. I can only assume things went wrong, because I'm here with no way of going back."

Nida smirked and slowly sat down, "And that… though hardly in detail, is my story…"

There was silence, and he knew that they weren't likely to speak for a while. They'd be lost trying to understand his tale as he was still trying to understand theirs. He hadn't of course, nearly given him the detail they probably would have wanted, but he didn't have to, right?

Right you are my little lark, Siren assured him, her consciousness stroking his in a very motherly way.

Lark? What happened to birds of prey Siren? Am I rendered as harmless as a little songbird?

Forgive me dove, there are only so many generalities for such creatures before I have to get into those that fish, or into carrion eaters. Are not song birds better than those?

I suppose they are, my lady. But I am not in the mood for this now.

You are in the mood to remember, and to forget. Who knows this better than I my dear? Come, let us take time to remember those who deserve it before I shelter you again. Surely their debates can last a time without you.

With a nod Nida rose from his seat again, drawing the attention of the others with that movement. "If you would excuse me." Then, without awaiting either acknowledgement or permission, he left the table and the others behind. Once more he found himself feeling to Cid's bedroom, his only sanctuary in this place. It wasn't home, he was sure of that. Not home of any time. The only thing that even rung a bell to him was when they had spoken of a people called the Cetra. But even he would not leap to the conclusion that those Cetra and the people of Centra were related in any way.

You know, my little wren, things could be worse.

Nida frowned as he looked up. Here he was, perched upon the bed, and there was Siren, slightly transparent, sitting beside him, her wings resting at her sides, her harp in her lap, and her ghostly fingers toying absently with a strand of his hair. She was one of the more forceful Guardians from his experience. The others, save Shiva and possibly Carbuncle, wouldn't draw from you to manifest in any way in the real world unless called. Carbuncle, being such a slight drain, was known to frolic about Selphie at the oddest times, but mainly when Laguna was around. It was almost physical when it did show up, but it wasn't in a summoned state and thus had more free reign. Shiva, on the other hand, only appeared to Squall when he was alone, and even then the word was that she only showed up to duel her chosen one. Siren was the only one he'd heard of that made social visits.

"And how is that?" he hissed, jerking away from her touch. He didn't FEEL like this now. She was enough of a drain as it was.

You could have Cerberus to keep you company.

"Good point," he mumbled. No matter what he did, he couldn't get along with that three headed beast.

Listen, Siren said, her voice becoming serious, and thus losing its sing-song qualities, all things happen for a reason. We know not what they are, but Hyne is said to work in mysterious ways.

"Yes. Making Sorceresses who repeatedly attempt to destroy the world is quite mysterious!"

At the same time, it gave you us, did it not? Come now nightingale, can you not think of one thing that makes this all remotely worth while? When he didn't respond she answered for him. You do not have to deal with Odine. You're still getting your vacation, as well as back time. And what of Cid? Do not tell me that you do not enjoy his company? He's like a mixture of Seifer and Laguna. Strong, arrogant, loud, foolish, sweet, kind, hopeless. What more could you want?

"My bed back?" he growled, turning away from the Guardian.

"I know what ya mean."

Nida turned wide eyes upon Cid. He hadn't heard the man coming. These days he was so used to Siren warning him of any danger, her abilities heightening his own hearing, that having someone sneak up on him, especially someone he was speaking about, was unnerving. He turned to glare at Siren, who merely giggled.

"You did that on purpose," he hissed angrily, before standing and glaring at Cid. "I'm pretty sure I asked to be left alone."

"Actually," Cid pointed out, "You asked if you could leave, and then didn't wait for a response. Tifa sent me to check on you. Didn't expect you'd have a guest."

"Guest?" Nida looked around, and after a moment his eyes alighted upon Siren, who was grinning and waving her fingers at him. "Wait, you can SEE her?!"

"Am I not supposed to be able to?" Cid asked. "She's kinda obvious. Those big yellow wings stickin' outta her head, the large green thing in her lap… Hell, she's dressed in a feathered bikini. She's kinda see through though…"

Nida sighed. Great, just what he needed, Siren showing off.

Aren't you going to introduce me to this fine young man, Nida? Have you no manners?

His patience was quickly running thin. Very thin. Thin as ice.

"Cid, this is the Guardian Force Siren. Siren, this is Captain Cid Highwind. Happy now?"

Good, you are at least learning.

"So this is that thing in your head that lets you do magic? She doesn't seem very…"

"In my head? I know," Nida grumbled. "She's a real… free spirit I guess."

"I see… Well, I'm just checking to see if you're okay and all…"

Nida nodded, "I understand, but I need some time Cid…"

The older man nodded and, after bowing a bit to Siren, slipped from the room, closing the door after himself.

Well that was hardly kind, Siren said, her voice taking on a tone Nida was sure that she'd stolen from Quistis. It was the sort of tone that happened before someone began to lecture you.

"Shut up!" he snarled, turning on her. "Just leave me alone! Is silence once in a while too much to ask for!?"

The Guardian looked shocked, and after a moment faded away with a pout. She didn't like being yelled at. He didn't like yelling at her. But there were times when he needed silence, when he needed to think, and sometimes she wasn't conducive to all of that. Were he back home he would have gone into his room for silence and sent her into her necklace, but as it was all he could do was hope for her to stay out of his business. There was a lot of thinking to be done after all.

--------

It wasn't until after Cid's friends had left that Nida had dared to venture forth from the small room. Already it was dark out and stars were dotting the sky. The whole of the house was silent as Cid, the town's unofficial mayor, had gone with Shera to escort his buddies to the inn. The place was his for now, and Nida took advantage of that to sneak out back.

The Tiny Bronco was where it had been the night before, waiting for him. Well, for Cid really, but there was nothing he could do about that. The cool evening breeze brushed over his bare arms as he made his way for the thing. Once the cool metal was under his fingers Nida began to relax. What he would give for even a piece of the Rag to be with him now. Four years of work on that thing had made it like another part of him, his only true sanctuary. With a sigh he stripped off his undershirt, intending to avoid getting it oily as it was the only one he had, and opened the access panel below one of the engines. The tools they had left the night before on one of the wings were still there, and with them in hand Nida went to work. There were always small things that needed fixing or inspection, so he knew that he could be distracted for a while.

For a while he worked, tightening here, tweaking there, checking everything in his reach. His hands and arms were already covered in the black grease that soaked everything in the engine, but that was to be expected. He wasn't, after all, working with computers or something. This was machinery, it had to move to work, and moving things had to be lubricated, and lubrication could get rather messy…

Great, his mind took that to all the wrong places far too fast. Part of him wanted to blame Siren for it, but he knew it was his own fault. Ever since he'd kissed Cid in the extra room he'd been on more than one edge. Oh, and that kiss… He could still feel it on his lips. The taste of tobacco, the shock in the other man, the feel of those strong muscles that Cid both hid and displayed with such skill. And the way that Cid had looked at him after he'd pulled away, like a fish out of water really, or deer in headlights. He'd played along so well.

Hyne, if he didn't stop thinking like this… Well, he didn't want to get grease on his pants. They were his only set of clothes here. These were his uniform pants, as much a sign of SeeD as his jacket. It was something to respect… This was all Cid's fault.

Before Nida could really think about it he rubbed the back of his wrist over his right cheek, something Siren said he always did when he was in an awkward situation. She always said it was amusing to watch him try to do the motion when he was being addressed by a superior, or when he had a weapon in hand. The thing was that it was something he couldn't forget, a cut he had taken during his first duel with Squall, back during his training days. The blood had run down his cheek, and he'd deserved it. He'd been too focused on Squall to notice the attack. The memory had kept with him until this day.

"Ya know… that's kinda cute," came Cid's voice through the night, "and don't you tell no one I said that."

Nida looked around quickly, trying to spot the blond pilot. Damn Siren for failing him again. He was going to give her a piece of his mind one of these days… Well, a piece other than the one she was currently inhabiting.

"You feelin' any better kid?" Cid asked, and finally Nida spotted him. Somehow the man had snuck around the house and was now leaning against the low fence. That damn cigarette was in his mouth again, and a slight relieved smile on his face. Nida couldn't help but wonder if he had any clue just how desirable he looked like that. Part of him, which he assumed was encouraged by the recently awakened GF, said he should pounce. The other part didn't want to ruin the beauty of the man standing there, watching him. He didn't mind this really, watching Cid watching him. It was peaceful.

"I suppose," Nida said at length, forcing a smile.

"Are you aware you've got a bit of grease on your cheek?"

The SeeD blinked and started to rub at his cheek, unknowingly only spreading the patch of black on his light skin. Cid laughed and moved to the gate. It only took the man a whole five seconds to arrive in front of Nida and, after taking off his own shirt, wipe the stain from Nida's cheek. The younger man brushed uncontrollably. He had never felt so much like a kid in his life. After Cid cleaned his cheek the man slowly moved on to wipe Nida's hands on the shirt. Apparently he didn't care much if a single shirt was stained. The shirt was then tossed aside like a rag and Cid just smirked at Nida. The SeeD? Well, he wasn't sure what was going on.

"Thanks," he mumbled nervously. Here was Cid, the object of his desires, so close to him. It was so tempting. But the courage that had been there earlier in the day, that had led him to cop a feel as it was, had long since fled.

"You know," Cid spoke, apparently with the same thing in mind, "I still owe you for that stunt you pulled earlier. Yuffie teased me for ten minutes. She's sharper than I give her credit for."

"A lot like my friend Selphie. Sometimes she's the first person to know things and we never suspect that." He could think of it now. Selphie would know just by looking at him, that he was falling fast and hard for this man, and there was nothing he could do about it.

The thought distracted him long enough for him to actually have to take a moment to realize that he'd been pulled closer to Cid, that those tobacco lips were pressed against his, cigarette lost somewhere in the grass. When he did realize it, it held all of his attention. Those lips and now the calloused fingers of a pole arm user lingering on his scarred back, held all of Nida's attention. Slowly the fingers quested around to his chest and played upon his torso. Nida almost wanted to laugh at the way his flesh jumped when touched by this man, but the moment was too serious for any of that bullshit.

Before he could react the cold metal of the Tiny Bronco was pressed against his back, and Cid stood before him, easily pinning him to the body of the plane, not that Nida wanted to escape just yet. Cid pulled back to look at him for a moment before renewing the kiss, this time with far more force, far more desire, and it was all Nida could do to keep up. It was all going so fast, and Nida couldn't find it in himself to slow it down, to want to make it stop. It wasn't until Cid's hands started to ghost along the top of his pants that Nida finally pushed the man away.

"Don't start something you can't finish," Nida said, his voice coming out in a husky growl.

"Who said I can't finish it?"

"First," Nida said, panting as Cid decided this would be a great time to attack his neck with kisses, "You've never been with another man."

"How do you know?" Cid asked, nipping at the skin at the neck.

"Because you hesitate when you… Get close to my pants," the youth chuckled. He'd noticed it very quickly. The man wasn't quite sure about himself, which meant only one thing.

"Okay… But I could still…"

"Even if you had been, we're supposed to be walking to the Nibel Mountains tomorrow, and I don't like having shooting pains when I walk…"

"How did you…?"

"Siren enhances my hearing. Except she seems to enjoy leaving me clueless about you Highwind."

"And third?"

"You can't handle me," Nida said, a playful smirk over coming him. If Cid really thought he was capable of dealing with this, then who was he to say no to what he wanted? What they wanted?

"Oh? Is that so?" the pilot asked, slightly amused. "If memory serves you are the one pinned here."

"You are getting old," Nida pointed out before easily slipping from Cid's hold. It was easy enough to slide down the side of the plane until he was crouching before Cid. The look of shock in those too blue eyes was something that had to be seen, but Nida was very glad that it was only for him. Before Cid had a chance to stop him, Nida had unbuttoned the other man's pants and started to unzip them... It was all that he could give Cid if he still wanted to be able to walk in the morning. And, with Siren's laughter twinkling in his ear, Nida set to his task…