About thirty minutes later...

/Vincent/

I dumped the last bit of broken glass in the garbage can and closed the lid. "We really should stop using breakable dishes," I said. I turned and surveyed the remainder of the damage. All of the dishes and things I had set out had been swept to the floor, and most of them shattered on impact. I made a mental note to call Tifa or maybe Shera, whichever one I didn't call the last time to ask them to find a suitable replacement. A couple of chairs were overturned, but there was nothing wrong with them so I just sat them back up and tried to avoid the sticky sugar that covered the floor.

As I mopped the last of the coffee that had been slowly taking over, I felt something scratching my stomach. I looked down and saw the tag of my pants sticking out. I had put them back on backwards. I smirked thinking of the reason I took them off in the first place. He just left for his mid-morning run a few minutes ago. Usually I go with him, but on mornings like this I have to clean up the mess first, otherwise it'd be fairly putrid in here. At least I had convinced him to put shorts on before he left. If left alone, he'd be quite content to just go out completely nude, a sight I don't mind seeing, but I don't think the other inhabitants of Rocket Town enjoy it.

I go upstairs to change and decide when I get about halfway that I'm not going to wear the cape. I have a desire to feel somewhat normal today. The color of my eyes can't be helped. I've tried color contacts, all the colors contacts come in, but none mask the red. No matter. Most people here are somewhat used to me now, meaning they no longer make religious themed gestures in my direction or run away screaming in fear dragging their children behind them. I choose my attire and quickly get dressed.

As I pass the kitchen on my way out, I think about the events of just a little while ago. Its a quite common occurrence at breakfast, just as some people eat pancakes and read the sports section. I guess it could be called our morning routine.

/Cid/

The sun felt pretty damn nice on my back as I ran. Just hot enough for me to be warm without feeling like I was being burned alive. I run everyday along this route and have done so for the past thirty years except for when I was helping Cloud and the rest of Avalanche save the world. Even my contract with the WRO doesn't prevent me from this. Five miles from town limits to the beach and the same distance back.

Fuck. Its boring not having Vin with me. He doesn't talk much as we go and almost makes no sound as he moves, Turk training I guess, but there's something reassuring about his presence. I'd never admit it to him, but I feel kind of lonely when he's not around. I snickered as I remembered the reason he's not with me this morning. Things have a tendency to get messy during breakfast. At least it was just the table this time. One time the stove accidentally got turned on, and the ends of his cape caught on fire. I always remembered after that not to use a gas stove, the wall works much better and there's no fire hazard.

In the distance, I could start to make out the sand and the ocean just beyond it. A quick swim would be nice. The tourists weren't around at this time of day so it was perfect. I scanned the area as I approached searching for a place to put my shorts so they wouldn't get filled with sand and feel grimy on the way back. I was so engrossed in this that I didn't even notice that he was beside me until he spoke. "Thinking of going skinny dipping again, Highwind?" I grinned in reply and kept running. I used to wonder how he always caught up with me so fast and thought at first he just left the mess and later that he brought someone else in to do it. But no, he puts everything back in perfect order, then leaves and catches up with me without even breaking a sweat.

We finally made it to our destination. I stopped and took the opportunity to just look at him. He was wearing an untucked black button-down shirt and pants to match and had a black headband much like his old red one to keep his hair out of his face. The overall effect was very simple and devastatingly sexy at the same time. He caught me ogling him and acknowledged it with a raised eyebrow and a small smile and said, "Go on, there's time, but don't stay in there too long." I kicked off my shoes and headed for the water.

/Vincent/

I shook my head as he dove in. He didn't even bother to take his shorts off this time. I stood watching as he splashed around yelling for me to come join him. I didn't give in, as tempting as it was to do so, but I knew that if I did we'd stay much longer than we should. It would be fun, but we'd also be late, and there would be a lot of people pissed at us. We were heading to Edge for a week for, as far as Cid knew anyway, a WRO conference. That was a part of it of course, but there was much more. Tifa, Shera, and Marlene were in charge of it, but we were all in on it. My orders, yes orders, Tifa can be quite commanding at times, were to make sure Cid didn't find out and to get him to Edge on time. The actual party wouldn't be until tomorrow, but there were still preparations to be made and legitimate WRO business to take care of.

It was time to leave. I told him this and got back a string of curses mixed with an almost childlike "Just a few more minutes?" I almost relented, but then I thought of the wrath of the three women in Edge and decided against it. He finally got out of the water and came towards me muttering something under his breath. I handed him a towel so he could dry off. In a show of unusual modesty, he motioned for me to turn around so he could get out of his wet shorts. I stood looking out at the water as he dried off, then turned around when he tapped me on the shoulder to hand him his clothes. He was wearing the towel I had given him wrapped around his head. So much for modesty. I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh as I handed him his clothes. He got dressed and I handed him my cell phone. He called the Sierra crew and told them to be ready to head to Edge, that we were on our way there now. We headed back to town at a leisurely pace. I stopped at the house long enough to drop off the wet clothes and pick up our bags. When I arrived at the airship, one of the junior crew members took my luggage and informed me, "The Captain's already inside, sir." There was no need to elaborate. I went straight to the bridge. There he was, giving orders and looking every inch the powerful leader. When he saw me, he flashed a brilliant smile and asked, "Ready to go?"

Notes and such: Once again, I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its wonderful characters. If I did, do you really think Cid would have named his airship the Sierra? And also, things aren't going to be fluffy and happy forever. It should start to fade in the next chapter and be gone for a while after that. The rating will probably change soon. Be looking for the next two chapters: The Party and Nightmares (not necessarily in that order or with those names) sometime this week hopefully...