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Surely, She Ain't Serious	By : KSipesh Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female Views: 1917 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Surely, She Ain�t Serious

Chapter 20

(Yes, the last one.)

Cid remained at the helm for the rest of the day, thinking about things and all that had happened. Tifa remained scarce, her feelings hurt by the way he�d addressed her after dropping off Vincent. Eventually, her need to see what was going on with Cid won out, and after finishing her dinner ration, she made her way to the bridge, to find him still dutifully guiding the ship toward Midgar.

Tifa walked up close to him, but stayed back a little further than she would have before that morning. "Hey."

"Hey yerself," the pilot replied back quietly, a cigarette between his lips. He never took his eyes from the window at the head of the bridge.

She bit her bottom lip for a moment, wondering what she should say to him. "So, you seemed sort of�angry this morning."

Cid shrugged slightly and reached up to grab the cigarette in order to flick some ashes onto the floor. "Naw."

Tifa smiled. "Yeah, you did."

He huffed and finally turned to her. "Tif�"

"Are you�upset with me? What did I do?" She dared to take a step closer.

"Nothin�."

"Cid, it�s not like you to just�shut someone out like that without a reason. I must have done something." Her tone reflected how hurt she honestly felt about his rejection.

He narrowed his eyes at her and took one last, long drag from his smoke before dropping it to the floor and extinguishing it. That done, he turned to one of his helmsmen. "Ericson, get over here and keep �er headin� to Midgar."

"Yes, Sir," the red haired man replied, hurrying over to take control.

Cid looked at Tifa again. "Come on, we�ve got shit to talk about."

At least feeling like she was getting somewhere, Tifa complied. When he led her up to the open deck of the ship instead of his room, her heart sank, as she knew that she wouldn�t be with him again like she had been.

Once out in the air, Cid went over to the railing and leaned against it. "Okay, first off, I just want to make it real clear that what was goin� on between us�is over with."

Tifa nodded slightly, already knowing this to be true. "I figured."

"But, Tif, I ain�t mad at you." He looked pained for a moment, dropping his gaze away. "It�s more just that I�fuckin� Vincent said somethin� that got me to thinkin� the other night, and I had one of those light comin� through the clouds kinda moments, you know?"

She cocked her head to the side, wondering what he was trying to convey. "Go on�"

Forcing himself to continue, Cid intentionally kept from looking into her eyes. He was getting that emasculated feeling again, but he felt that he owed Tifa an honest explanation, and that�s what he intended to give her. Luckily, he actually knew the truth for himself finally. "Well, it�s sorta like this-- Sarah�what I had with her I really loved. Bein� married, the whole thing."

"Right, you said that before," she said quietly.

"Yeah, and�I�ve wanted that again-- in theory but really, I guess I�ve been scared of gettin� attached to a woman who would be devoted to me like she was. Part of me, I think, was afraid that I�d lose whoever it was just like I lost Sarah. I couldn�t stand to go through that again." Cid knit his brow, thinking for a moment. "So, even though I kept thinkin� I was lookin� for another woman like her, I was only pickin� out women that would never be willin� to make that sort of commitment to me. We�d screw around for a while, then things would cool off and they�d leave and it didn�t really hurt that much. But if I got a woman who I could really fall in love with, just not be infatuated with�well, I ran the risk of gettin� hurt."

"Oh�" Tifa suddenly felt sorry for him. "So, what did Vincent say that changed things?"

"Well, sorta jokingly, I told him that if he ever found a woman that was wife material, you know, able to put up with my shit and stick around through thick and thin, to send her my way." Cid smiled. "The fucker looks at me, gives me that weird grin he has, and told me that I already have one."

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "That you have one?"

He nodded, looking down at the deck between his boots. "Yeah, and I was confused about it for a minute or two, but then� well, I realized that he was talkin� about God damned Shera."

"But you said that you didn�t have any feelings for her." Tifa wondered exactly what was going on in his mind.

"And all along, I�ve been a real bastard to her, tryin� to push her away, tryin� to keep myself pissed at her for the rocket thing so that I wouldn�t�well, that I wouldn�t admit that at the end of the day, I really do like her." He felt his cheeks go red.

Tifa gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my God, you do?"

His smile returned, and he finally met her gaze. "Yeah, I do. She�s been there�stuck around no matter how terrible I was to her. Shit, if I didn�t really like her deep down, I would�ve eventually asked her ass to leave, but I never did. Tif�I love Shera, always have. Well, I have for the last few years, anyway."

She felt tears in her eyes, but not of sadness or disappointment. Tifa was honestly touched by what he was admitting, as well as excited for him finally getting what he really needed. "Oh Cid, I�m�I can�t believe this!"

"Neither can I." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I�m so relieved. I really thought I�d made you mad at me or something." Tifa moved to lean against the railing next to him.

"Naw, not at all." The blond sighed. "You were just in this for fun and damn it, it was, but now I see what I�ve been doin� all this time. If this hadn�t happened, I might not�ve figured it out and I might�ve kept right on doin� what I�d been doin�. So, in a way, I sorta�I sorta thank you for this."

The thought that she could help him figure out what he truly wanted and needed in his life brushed aside the last remnants of her hurt feelings. Even if she wasn�t in love with Cid, Tifa did care for him deeply as a friend and to see him happy was wonderful. The fact that he wasn�t going to be upset and hurt anymore elated her, and the idea that she had played any part in that was great, and that Vincent had played a part as well, amused her. "Wow�this is great, Cid. I�m really happy for you. I was worried that after I went back to Midgar that you�d be upset."

"I ain�t upset at all. In fact, I plan on stayin� up all night and steering this heap toward Midgar. No offence, but I need to get your ass there, so I can get the hell home to�my woman." Cid nearly laughed at the sound of it.

"And does Shera have any idea about this revelation of yours?" Tifa asked.

Once more, color came to his face and he looked away. "Yeah, I called her and told her I was sorry for bein� such a fucker all these years."

"And?" Tifa smiled. "Is that it?"

His blush deepened. "I�I told her that really, deep down, I loved her."

Tifa outright squealed and clapped her hands together before her chest. "That�s so�cool!"

Cid shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Tifa let a brief silence pass between them, but she did have a question for him still. "Cid?"

"Huh?"

"You and I�we�re going to be okay, right?" She stared down at the deck. "I mean, we were really good friends before this and I�d like to think that we still will be even after all that�s happened."

He tensed his jaw and thought for a moment. "Yeah, we�re just fuckin� ducky."

"Okay," she sighed, smiling faintly, "because if we ever have to be together again, I wouldn�t want things to be�weird."

The pilot reached over and patted her on the back as he straightened up. "They ain�t gonna be weird, Tif. Now, I�m gonna go back to flyin� my ship."

"All right." She remained in place as she watched him retreat back within the ship. Inside, Tifa envied the man for finding what he wanted.

Cid kept his word and remained on the bridge through the night and into the next morning. Shortly after Tifa arose for the day an appeared, Midgar was just becoming visible off in the distance.

The blond brought his tired eyes over to meet hers, and he raised his right hand, pointing forward. "You�re home."

She turned to see the city growing closer. "I can�t believe you got us here so quickly�"

"Like I said, I�ve got shit to take care of." He pulled the last cigarette from his pack and got it lit up. "Go get your stuff and I�ll land this thing."

"Okay." Tifa offered him a slight nod and then retreated to her cabin to gather her few belongings.

Cid, in the meanwhile, brought the ship down just outside of the city before going to look for Tifa and escort her off. He arrived at her room door, just as she emerged with her pack slung over her shoulder.

He walked her off of the ship, and they stood facing one another for a moment, wondering exactly how they should say good bye after all that had transpired between them.

Finally, Cid broke the quiet. "So, you�d better be gettin� on your way. Cloud�s probably wonderin� where in the hell you�ve been."

Tifa laughed a little to herself. "Maybe."

The pilot thought for a moment. "You do love him, don�t you?"

"Yes," she answered honestly.

"You�re sorta gonna sit around and pull a Shera, then?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Even through he pretty much blows you off, you�re gonna sit around and wait for him to snap the fuck out of it."

"I have to make sure that he�s going to be all right." Tifa looked over her shoulder, back at the badly damaged city behind her. "And hey, if you were able to come around, then�well, then maybe he will, too-- someday."

"Okay, I just want you to be happy, that�s all," Cid said quietly.

"Getting my bar back up and running will make me happy. Seeing to Cloud�s needs, that will make me happy as well. I�m going to be watching Marlene here and there for Barrett, so�I�ll keep busy." Tifa offered a smile. "And you�re going to go back to Rocket and hook up with Shera?"

"That�s the plan, I guess." Cid motioned back toward the airship. "And, I�ll get to building that new ship I�ve been sorta designing for the last few years. �Cause you know eventually, Shinra is gonna come lookin� for that thing and I�m bettin� they repossess her."

"I�d imagine so," she said with a giggle. "Well, I guess I�ll see you later, then."

"Yup." He looked down at the dirt, not sure what to do.

Tifa made the decision for him and put her arms around him briefly, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I�ll miss you."

He watched as she stepped back. "Yeah, I�ll miss you, too. Now, go the hell home."

She knew from his tone that he was honestly okay with her and all that had happened. "Okay, bye."

Cid turned toward the airship and started walking. "Bye."

He was ready to get home.
A/N-- There is a small epilogue I�ll be putting up. We will see his homecoming, and his reunion with Shera. J
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Surely, She Ain't Serious