Long time no see! Sorry about the wait. I haven't forgotten about this fanfiction. Not at all. The home stretch is around the corner. The next chapter will have a familiar format if you happen to read my drabbles.
I.
Cid whistled. "Where the fuck did this hunk of shit come from?"
He lumbered over with protein shake in hand. He drank heavily out of the plastic cup Shera had granted him upon waking up. He wiped remnants of the chalky liquid from his mouth with his forearm, only to scowl and remember he was covered head to toe in dirt. He sputtered for a bit, trying to snort granules from his nose and the corners of his lips. The Captain settled for swiping his hands on the fabric of his replacement pants.
"You dragged it here, actually. Wouldn't leave me alone until I took a look at it." Shera lifted her hand to cover a heavy yawn. She swayed on sore legs and pushed up on the balls of her feet to relieve the stiffness in her heels.
"You mentioned that you had an unexpected visitor last night?" Nanaki caught her yawn. His muzzle pulled back over his teeth and his tongue curled between wide open jaws. He passed a tired snort of his own from his nostrils and stood after he'd had enough of sitting. He padded around clumps of tossed dirt in the dampened grass, and prompted the small group to make their way back to the house.
"Ugh..." Shera cringed at the thought "Tamar was stalking around the neighbor's home taking pictures. I ran into her, and she strapped me down to the porch for an interrogation. I'm kind of glad you left when she showed up. Tamar is the last person you want to have to explain anything to." She handed Cid a pair of gloves. They were caked from leather palm to leather finger tips, in the same dirt the Captain was lightly dusted in. Her finger prints, and two sets of paw prints, smeared and stippled the propeller they were walking away from.
"Are you fuckin' kidding me?!" Cid scowled and squinted the brightness of the early sun from his eyes. "I told her to get lost when you were sleepin' yesterday. She came up to the house after Ross harpooned my ass, and tried to stomp up after her n' hassle me for details."
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Shera placed her hands on her hips. Avoiding Tamar had an unspoken protocol. If she knew she had been there earlier, Shera would have been on alert. "I thought she was on vacation?"
"I thought the bitch was still on vacation, too! I didn't think she'd sneak up on me in-the-middle-of-the-fuckin'-night!"
"Well, she snuck up on the both of us, and you left just in time. You came back with the propeller there, and then you woke up here after we scraped off most of the dirt. It's not for a plane, though. I've made sure." Shera's nose scrunched when she passed him by. Cid stunk.
"Nah, it's a dorsal fer' a ship." Cid stuck his tongue out at the expression his partner was giving him. Something registered though, and he adjusted himself with a brief pause. His brows furrowed and he lowered the rim of his cup from his pursed lips. "Ya'll wouldn't happen to know where I dug it up from?"
Nanaki was far ahead on the porch steps. "Not a clue."
II.
The sound of hot shower water against bathroom tile filled the silence of Shera's bedroom through the thin wooden walls. She could barely hear Cid grumbling to himself while he washed away the muck and grime of last night. She sighed; nibbling on the edge of her tongue on the inside of her mouth. Her cellphone was poised to her ear; knees folded up on the edge of the bed while she waited for the other end of her call to respond.
"I know it hasn't been very long, but any progress at all?" Shera tried to keep her voice from sounding too anxious. Fidgeting, she pulled a grainy clump of dirt from the strands of her hair.
"There's…some." Reeve dodged. His tone seemed to amble as if he wasn't very sure of how to properly answer. "I believe they've been able to decipher some of what was in Professor Hojo's physical file. They're doing some sample tests using a bit from the vile I had you keep for me." The Commissioner cleared his throat. "You can be positive that I'll contact if there's any more important news in regards to Captain Highwind's current condition."
Well, okay. It wasn't good news, or bad news. It wasn't very descriptive either. Shera supposed, it had been what she was expecting. "Okay, Reeve." She sighed.
"Are you and Cid alright? I heard he got away from you last night." Reeve nudged the topic in another direction.
"We're fine. He left, and came back by morning lugging around a two ton propeller in his mouth." Shera fell over on her side, only to cringe when sharp pain reminded her of her wounds. Her small corner bed protested and creaked beneath her, and her ribs throbbed in just as much rebellion.
"The Captain has a one track mind, don't you think?" Reeve was wholeheartedly amused. He chuckled quite earnestly and the sound made Shera's inner ear itch. "Did he burry it somewhere in the yard for safe keeping?"
"Stick to cats, Reeve." Shera unclenched her teeth, and wholeheartedly rolled her eyes.
"Will do." His laugh tapered back down to serious business. "I'm glad you called, actually. There's something I need you to do."
"And that is?" If it involved her moving from bed, right then, at that moment, Shera was going to have to pass.
"Don't you find it strange, that there's only a physical file?" Reeve lowered his voice as if there was a chance someone was listening in.
The pipes in the walls stopped wheezing. Bare feet on hardwood. More grumbling in the bathroom. Rattling cabinets. Something clattered on the counter, then nosily fell to floor. Cid loudly cursed. The door squeaked open, and then slammed closed a short moment after. "Shera?!"
"Now that you mention it that is strange." Shera bitterly sat up. Cid was going to bypass knocking and gripe right on into her bedroom in five…four…three…two... "Just a moment, Reeve."
Her bedroom door was bumped open. Cid was still fairly damp with a towel clutched around his waist. He appeared irritated per usual. "Shera? You seen my razor?! C'aint fuckin' find it!"
Shera pulled the phone from under her bangs and covered the receiver with her palm. "I haven't seen it, Cid. Why don't you try and look for another in the bottom cabinet?"
"I ain't got one there either! I looked!"
"If you need to shave so badly, there's always mine?" She shrugged her shoulders.
Cid upturned his nose. "Ain't it pink?"
"It sure is."
"Er… forget it." The Captain griped right on out.
"Sorry about that." Shera snorted. "What were you saying, Reeve?"
"I was saying, most if not all researchers working under ShinRa were required to keep their recordings in company accessible databases. I would like to know if there's more helpful information, if any, in his digital files on the previous, dilapidated network. I'll figure out how to get a portion of the connection running. I know it's been down for quite some time."
"Good luck with that. Where do I come in? You think there's some pass, or network key hidden in the project folder?"
"Precisely. If you could dig around in the file for me, I would appreciate it. I had a network key myself for public works projects in Midgar. It should be an eight character code, followed by a specific password for the project."
"Rodger." Of course. Always more things to do. "Is this a time sensitive task?"
"That's a good question."
"…I'll take a look as soon as I've had the chance to clean up."
"Thanks in advance." Reeve's voice tapered. He was probably ready to wrap up the conversation.
"I have a request, too." Shera continued before the Commissioner could sign out of the call.
He hummed; sounding a tad apprehensive. "Oh? And what can I do for you?"
"Pay me." Shera demanded more so than asked. With Cid finally out of shower, she wobbled from bed and prepared for her own morning wash up.
"Pardon…?"
"You're going to have to pay me. He's your investment, right, Mr. MiddleMan? Pay me to take care of your future airship captain. Being the only one available to watch Cid at night kind of cuts into my working hours." Shera explained. "I feel like I'll only have time to sleep and eat during the day. No one knows how long it will take for any developments, so I don't know how long I'll have to do this. If you could pay me to watch after the Captain, I would really appreciate it."
"Alright," Shera imagined Reeve was probably pensively stroking his beard "that sounds reasonable. Why don't you give me an hourly rate?"
She blinked stale, tired eyes and squinted into the depths of her top clothes drawer. Shera tugged out a clean bra and tossed it to her bed. "Not sure, I'll have to factor Cid's sleepwalking into the monthly budget." Her own freelance income. Expensive amounts of raw meat. Property damage repair. Medical expenses. They did have a number of domestic pets to courteously replace. Chocobos were not cheap.
"Let me know what amount when you happen to find the code then, Ms. Joules." Reeve was smiling in his voice again. "Welcome to the WRO."
III.
Cid didn't really believe her when Shera mentioned that 'being the boss of him' was now an official, paid title. Well, not completely official, but it was fun to tease him with it anyway.
He scoffed. "Ain't I tell you Reeve wasn't the boss of me?"
"Whatever you say, Cid." Special tasks aside, there was nothing else to report over breakfast. Neither of them were expecting extensive progress overnight, but at least they were trying to stay hopeful. What now, though? Continue on with the rest of the day with night at the very back of their minds, probably.
"Did you want any more?" Shera dabbed a bit of syrup from the corner of her lips with her tongue. She'd had a stack of pancakes, and Cid had just finished devouring his third.
"Nah, I'm gonna make myself sick if I eat any more." You think with that, and the SOLDIER's slurry, he'd be satisfied.
"I'll save the rest for Nanaki, then. I think he's still napping out on the porch." Shera's chair was pushed back; dragging some of the dining table rug with it. Her own, and Cid's empty plates were placed down in the sink to be washed later.
"He stickin' around?" The Captain leaned back. The wooden bars of his chair bumped and pressed into the line of his back. He seemed a little lethargic, but maybe that was because he had overate…again.
"Oh, yes. He said something about it being more practical to remain here in case I needed help." Shera suspected that Nanaki probably wanted to be near the residential grass as well. His worm problem was still irritating him.
"Guess that ain't a problem." He sat up again, and then stood all together. Cid stretched out a kink in his lower back before pushing his chair under the table. "I'm ah, gonna go down to the warehouse today. Just to see if they've got the space set up and cleared out. Thinkin' about hauling some parts and that propeller there, too. You stayin' here, Shera?"
She nodded and keenly looked her partner over. Shera could see why he was scrambling to find his razor this morning. He was looking scruffier than usual. All of his facial hair had grown back overnight. Her eyes drifted up to his head. Strawberry red roots were creeping past his hairline. Cid was starting to look more and more subtly unusual.
"What?" The Captain could feel her pondering him. Was there syrup on his face?
"Nothing. I'm staying here. I have a little favor to do for Reeve, and then a few house chores." Shera tussled her hair a bit and wound the still shower damp tresses into a messy bun with the usual yellow band. "I plan on taking a nap after that. It shouldn't take me too long to contact him, and straighten things up around here."
Cid lumbered off to the mat before the front door. He dug a pair of working boots from behind one of the potted plants, and began to strap them on. "If what's-her-face comes n' knocks on the door, you ain't here. Don't answer." He grunted and squinted around the counter tops for his goggles. Where the fuck did he toss them this time?
"I promise I won't." Shera took the leather eyepiece from behind her bangs. She had placed them back on after washing up. "I have them right here." She handed them to their rightful owner, and watched him strap them in place.
The padded underside was warm and damp on his forehead, but Cid didn't mind. Not wanting to leave just yet, he lingered in place before the front door with hands stuffed in his pants pockets. He thought maybe Shera would want to…
"What's the magic word?" Woman sensed it before he could think of asking.
"Aw, Shera, come on."
"That's not even close." She gently laughed and pushed up on the balls of her feet to reach him. Shera placed her hands on the sturdiness of the back of Cid's neck, and steadied herself to grant him a warm kiss. Nights were uncertain, but at least he could have a good day. That was just about all he wanted, and all he needed.
"Close enough."
IV.
She was tired, not crazy. Where in the world did she put it?!
The contents of Shera's shoulder bag were dumped over the floor of the living room. Useless junk here. Useful junk there. The cracked vile was counted for; containing all that it was supposed to. No folder. It was gone. Poof!
She growled into standing to her feet and nudged objects apart with her toes. Not…here. Where? Shera really did hate Murphy 's Law. Frustrated, she made her way out to the porch. Her short stomp stirred Nanaki from his cat nap. His head rose with jaws opened wide in a boisterous yawn. His head fell again with a tired plop over his paws.
"Something wrong?" Nanaki's eye cracked open. Shera stood at the very start of the back yard with hands on her hips. She scanned here and there; eyeing where the blanket had been last night. She didn't remember seeing the folder when she had scooped up Cid's clothes and folded everything away inside. The only things left out over the lawn were dewy clumps of his fur.
"You wouldn't have happened to see a manila packet?" Shera hoped Red had.
"Hmm…" He stretched out his front legs with a shorter yawn; extending his claws. "I haven't seen one. Is it very important?"
"Very. It's the one Vincent found." Shera nibbled her knuckle. "Last place I saw it was in my bag, and now it's not there anymore. I had my bag out with me last night while I was watching over Cid."
"You think you might have misplaced it inside?" Nanaki shook and flung grogginess from his muscles. He took in a sharp breath of air through his nose and moved out of the shade of the porch to warm himself in the light of the late morning.
"I've dumped my bag out twice, flipped over the couch cushions, dirtied up the closet, and my room. I don't know where I put it."
"That's unlike you. At least, I think. I've been told you're rather organized."
"I like to think that I am. I know I had it here." Her arms and hands fell limp from her waist. Shera sputtered and sucked all of the air out of her cheeks. She combed through her memory and back tracked through all that had happened last night. The folder was in the bag on the blanket. Cid fell asleep. Cid turned. No complications for a while, and then Cid ran off because…
"TAMAR."
V.
"Where are we going, exactly?" For once, Nanaki was the one who had to keep up. He upped the pace of his trot to remain in good step with Shera's brisk stride. His eye was a bit droopy in mild fatigue. He would have rather gone back to sleep, but of course, if he was going to stay at the Captain's Quarters for a few months, he would have to lend a helping paw. It was only courteous that he go with her, whatever she was doing.
"I need to talk to the Reporter. I'm almost positive she took it." Shera pushed aside her own fatigue and turned a corner. What the hell did this broad live again? Ratchet trail? Or was it Old Exhaust?
"Are you really positive?" For a moment, Nanaki was slightly uncomfortable. They zipped around the corner store, and a few of the locals out on the street paths eyed him with hints of concern. What an unusual…beast.
"She's known to have sticky fingers. Takes her hobby too seriously. There's no other place to look. Can't hurt to ask her…hopefully." Shera stopped in her tracks. She was partially sure of her direction. "Ah, excuse me?" She recognized the comedian attempting to 'entertain' patrons leaving the local diner.
"Hey-ho, Ms. Joules!" He chortled and offered her a short wave. "Came to fill up on jokes?" The comedian rubbed his hands in anticipation. He took quick note of Shera's worn out exterior, and curiously observed Nanaki paused beside her.
"No." Shera cleared her throat. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know Tamar's exact address, you know, the reporter for the Daily Rocket? I don't remember where she lives. It's kind of important I get to her this afternoon."
"Ohh, yeah yeaahhh. Good ol' Tammy." The comedian rubbed his chin. His tongue ever so slightly poked out from the edge of his mouth. Shera's hazel eyes narrowed into venomous slits. He was thinking of a dumb ass pun to answer in, wasn't he?
"She pens herself up on Old Exhaust. Last house on the dirt trail cul-de-sac." He chuckled a bit; reveling in both Nanaki and Shera's dead pan expressions.
"Thanks." She muttered and curtly turned on her heel. The joke was nowhere near as bad as she was expecting. Shera wasn't going to give him the chance to come up with something worse.
"N-no problem!" The comedian cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to them as they revved back up and attempted to briskly walk away. "Tell Tammy not to scoop, er, snoop up more than she can chew!"
"Ahah...hah. Sure thing?" Shera limply waved back.
"He's strange." Nanaki's tail flicked behind him.
"We know."
VI.
Cid had stared at his phone screen for a solid minute. It had gone black by now; contact list no longer visible. He considered popping Shera a message. A call? Maybe she hadn't gone to sleep by now? Maybe she'd want to join him for a lunch break before she decided to konk out for the rest of the day? Well, what if he asked her how her side was doing first? Can't forget that. Shera was just as busted up as he was now of days.
"Captain H…?"
"What?!"
"Where did you say you wanted this?" A young buck, volunteer mechanic had been trying to get Cid's attention. It was his third time asking him.
"Just chuck it in a corner, r'somethin'." He stuffed his cell phone back in his pocket. "I s'pose y'all can double up and help me drag that propeller in here, too." Cid scratched at his unruly stubble with a slight hint of annoyance. "I've got to take a smoke. I'll be right back." He muttered toward the exit and passed right by the portable restrooms set up around back.
"What's up with him?"
"Don't know." He left the other volunteers wondering what corner he meant.
Cid slipped a cigarette from under the strap of his goggles and fiddled around in his other pocket for a lighter. Steady eyes mindlessly observed the outer field that encompassed the edge of town. The Nibelheim Mountains were cold slates of jagged blue over the lush green of the distant tree line. It didn't take him long to suck his cigarette down, so he smothered it on the warehouse wall and lit another. The Captain still considered checking up on his partner, but then he figured it was probably better he didn't bother her at all. Shera was bothered enough. With him. As always.
Something blistering and savage twisted in the very pit of his belly. A jolt of anger shot up Cid's spine and he gnashed his teeth in an attempt to control himself. Fuck! He wanted to kick something. "This is bull shit!" He growled to himself. Puffs of tobacco fumed from his flared nostrils.
Now, he could admit that a lot of things in the past had been his fault. Being an asshole to Shera was one, but all of this? This wasn't his fucking fault. Not this time. This was the year, the start of his long road to making it up to her, and it hadn't been going well at all. Cid wanted so badly to stop making things so hard on Shera, but now, there was no way that he could help it.
Fucking Professor Asshole. The Captain didn't know what pissed him off more; the fact that he had become a test subject, or the fact that he didn't remember becoming one at all.
His cigarette was suddenly unappetizing to him. Cid tossed the half consumed stick to the dirt and crushed it with the toe of his boot. His hand hovered above the pocket containing his cellphone. It was so hard to go on like everything was normal, because he certainly didn't feel that way. Cid felt guilty, and well, he really disliked the sensation of having to keep a secret.
"C'mon Highwind…" Just pick up your damn phone and tell her what's up. Er…or maybe this sort of thing was better face to face? Goddamn. He was a mess. Inside and out.
A sudden vibration on his pants leg notified him from his thoughts. Guess who was calling? Holy shit, Shera always had the worst timing. Cid scrambled to remove his phone from his pocket. His heart leapt up to his throat. The Captain had just placed the speaker to his ear when…
"GIVE ME THAT DAMN FOLDER!"
Nearly dropping it in the process, Cid yanked his phone as far away as possible to give his eardrum a split second to recover. He dug his smallest finger into the duct. Shrillness was still ringing down the now sensitized sides of his neck. What…the fuck?!
"Shera?!" Cid lent the phone to his other ear. The heart caught in his throat was pounding. What the hell was going on now?!
"Cid…sweetheart…" Shera responded. Her tone was downright eerie. Another voice was just as loud and venomous in the…not so distant background.
"Uh…yeah?"
"How strong are you?"
"Pretty…pretty strong?" What the hell kinda question was that?
"Strong enough to break down a door?"
"…depends on the kinda door." Good glory.
"Mm…meet me on Old Exhaust."
VII.
Ross' red, polished finger nails were a continuous, brooding metronome on the wood top of her working desk. She looked from face to face. A principle. Very, very displeased with her 'students'.
"Nice to see you again, Ms. Chartreuse..." Her rattle snake eyes lingered on the reporter's shriveled appearance. She sat, bitter, and cross legged with hands neatly folded on her knees. Tamar had tightly puckered her lips with a stiff tongue prodding the inside of her cheek. Her leg was wagging in utter impatience. Her head, turned. Eyes, trained on the ceiling. She had a darkening bruise on the underside of her chin in the perfect outline of a pair of knuckles.
"Mm hn." Tamar stiffly crossed her arms.
"And…Ms. Joules." Head Honcho's eyes flickered to Shera's. She was just as sour and disheveled. The bun her hair had been in no longer existed. It was all a tangled auburn mess over her shoulders. Her eye lids were heavy in a deficit of adrenaline, but her body was rigid and upright in her seat. Probably an acknowledgement of the trouble she was in. Cid, who was absolutely lost to what had transpired in the last hour, was at her other side, and in trouble (again) by default.
"…I can explain!" Shera blurted.
"Please do. I'm listening." Ross massaged her temple.
"I have good reason to believe that Tamar took something important from the Captain's Quarters, and it would be in everyone's best interest if I had it back." Shera viciously side glared her opponent.
"I don't know what she's talking about." Tamar lied and twirled a piece of her greying hair around her pinky finger.
"Yes, you do! You were the only one who was—"
"Ms. Joules, I would think that your companion's hotheadedness is rubbing off on you. Temper simmered, if you please, what are you accusing Ms. Chartreuse of taking?" Really, what was it that made this little, mild mannered woman spark a brawl on the Reporter's doorstep?
"She took a folder containing some important documents." Her eyes flickered for a split second to Cid (who was nearer to the door now than she remembered) in an effort to grant Ross a hint and keep the description vague. Shera hoped Tamar hadn't read through the file thoroughly, and if she had, she hoped she hadn't made any accurate conclusions for her dumb paper.
"Ah, information." With what had been occurring in the past month or so, that made sense. Ross wouldn't put it past Tamar to lift records if it meant connecting scandalous puzzle pieces. "Ms. Chartreuse. Are you so sure of being clueless? I suppose I can debunk you as town sleuth." She unclipped the chain of her glasses and cleaned the lenses with the fabric of her blouse.
Tamar was very reluctant to flatten her ears and tuck her tail. "No…what file? I find lots of discarded junk. How am I supposed to know which one I might have accidentally taken from her."
"Accidentally? Yer' such a hot load of bull shit." Cid interjected. He was two times as close to the door since the last time Shera had glanced back at him.
"You can shut your trap, fly boy!" Tamar spat "You weren't even there! You took off after you fucked her sideways over your messy ass lawn!"
"Excuse me?!" Shera was dyed an instantaneous, bashful red.
"That is enough!" Ross thundered. She reared up from her chair and sliced the space between them with her hands. "None of us have time for this. Tamar, if you have her documentation, return it, or you can expect a warrant."
"Whatever! Fine!" Tamar ripped herself from the chair she had been forced to sit in. She retched open the clip of her tote bag, produced the subject of their predicament, and threw it with a sharp smack to the floor. "There's your damn project folder!" She jabbed an accusing finger toward both Cid and Shera. "You've got something to do with this man eating R-E-M Hound, a modified monster, and you aren't filling anyone in. You'd better be damn sure that I'll figure out what you two love crows know."
Tamar stuffed her arm through the loop of her purse and shoved Cid out of the way while barreling through the exit. "I should press fucking charges!" She screeched behind her. "She assaulted me!" Her voice became distant. The door snapped closed.
"That was a little uncalled for, Ms. Joules." Ross turned her attention, and pointedly glared Shera down. Her intimidation wavered upon noticing the spackles of already drying bloodstains peppering the side of her shirt. The head official ended their brief 'meeting' with a sigh.
"I have days when I'm short in patience, Ross." Shera scooped the file from the floor with a mild amount of pain, and tucked it under her arm. "I started out being nice. In case you were wondering."
"She had it comin'." Cid awkwardly cleared his throat and rattled the door knob. That was bizarre. He was going to need a thorough debriefing.
"Maybe so." Ross placed her hands on her hips. "You both know what the concern is now. I haven't said a word." She paused to lower her voice. "But, if Tamar manages to put two, three, and four together, there isn't much I can do."
"We get it." Cid scratched the itchy gauze wound on the back of his thigh. Just fuckin' great.
"If you're done causing a commotion, you both can leave." She waved them off. "And please," Ross' eyes were still on her reopened wound "Ms. Joules you seem a little…aggressive today. You should get some rest."
VIII.
Nanaki was waiting (as far removed from the confusing conflict as possible) in the hallway for the whole ordeal to be sorted out. He, and several others taking their complaints to the Rocket Town Main Hall, snapped their heads in the direction of Tamar snarling from the head official's office.
He made eye contact, unfortunately, and the Reporter came to an absolute halt. What an unusual beast. This was the third or fourth time he was made uncomfortable today, but this…was probably the most uncomfortable he'd been with human interaction in years. Being in Hojo's containment unit was better than this. She stared at him, as if he were new found prey. Her interest in him was so intense that it nearly activated his fight or flight.
It did, actually. Nanaki lifted and immediately slunk around the other corner of the lounging chairs.
Tamar didn't follow him. Red's reaction was enough.
IX.
Shera chunked her cellphone off to the side of the spread out mat covering the grass. She twisted onto her other hip; reminding herself not to lie on her fresh bandages. Time had flown by yet again. Time to go down the list.
All contacts had been made. Thank god, that in all her efforts to get that file back in a timely manner, that the passcode Reeve had been searching for, was in fact contained in teeny, tiny little blue ink on the inside. Shera conveniently left out all of the unnecessary details to retrieving said information. There came more small morsels of good news with it. They had graduated to fiddling with blood samples, and had even given them a production time line. Cid could have his first counter trial by the end of the season.
What else… Another side stack of thawed, raw meat had been unrolled and prepared several yards from where they were. Check. The doors were locked aside from the porch. Check. The lights were out, but the moon and the stars were high and bright above them. Triple check.
Shera had blankly stared up at the sky for the past hour in exhaustion. That was it. Nothing else to do tonight except to be somewhat alone with her thoughts. She rolled in embarrassment; burrowing herself in the bare warmth of Cid's chest. Wished she didn't have to count for that.
"I've done worse when I've been pissy. Trust me darlin'." The Captain placed his hand on the small of her back and rubbed to offer her a bit of comfort. It worked to assuage how tired and weird and awful she was feeling.
"Pissy? Really? You don't think she'll come back here tonight snooping again, do you?" His chest hair tickled her cheek. Shera could hear the hollowness of his breathing.
"She knows better. Least, I reckon she would." It was silent for a while. If you didn't count Nanaki's snoring up on the porch as noise. "You not fallin' asleep on me, are you?" Cid's voice was low and gruff in the dark. He sounded like he had things on his mind.
"No. I'm just listening." Shera heavily exhaled.
"Good, cause, ah, I've been meaning to tell ya that I was gonna make it up to you. I know I said the same shit last year, but you know, I mean it. All of this…this ain't fair."
"I know, Cid." She placed his hand over his mouth before he could continue. Shera pressed a coy finger to her lips "Shh. I'm sorry. We'll both be better soon. What's life without rough patches?" She passively rubbed the welts on her knuckles and sarcastically scolded herself. "Really…rough…patches."
"I'd be an awful lot less dog hair, and a halfway fuckin' decent night's rest."
"You have a point." She hadn't slept as much as she wanted to earlier in the afternoon. She really wasn't supposed to, but Shera was growing comfortable and drifting off.
That made it quiet again. The crickets weren't as loud as they usually were, or maybe he was just too focused on the pretty face that was trying to relax atop of him. Cid had cupped Shera's bottom without realizing it, and she hadn't the care to notice. Affectionately, he hitched her up on his waist and brought her overheated forehead close enough to kiss.
Maybe he would fuck her sideways over their messy ass lawn if it meant it would make her feel good again. And maybe if Nanaki wasn't there. And maybe if the doc hadn't advised him against it.
He was going off on a tangent. Get it out now Highwind before you fuck up in your sleep.
"Hey?" Cid placed another kiss on her temple, and then another on her nose. He wanted to keep her there like that; showing all sorts of uncanny amounts of his well hidden softness.
"Hmn?"
"I'm gonna make it up to you, because I love you."
Shera opened both hazel eyes behind the lopsided rims of her granny glasses to properly gift Cid her reply. "And you don't have to, because I love you, too."
I love you. Goodnight.