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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 5

Tifa may have slept well, but Cid was another story. He remained awake for a long time, furious over the thought of what had befallen the girl during her capture. Although his arm fell asleep that was curled under his pillow, the pilot didn�t dare move, not wanting to disturb Tifa who�s slow, quiet breaths indicated that she was blissfully unconscious.

There was also the knowledge that come morning, Cloud would be ready to head back to Midgar, and he would undoubtedly be taking Tifa away with him. Cid wasn�t particularly happy with this, wishing that he could spend a little more time with her, just to be reassured that she was going to be all right if nothing else.

Well, that�s the reason that he was willing to admit to himself. He was just concerned-- a concerned friend. That�s how friends are supposed to be, right?

Sure, that�s it, he told himself, as his exhaustion finally won out.

Cid awoke later to a furious pounding at his room door.

"Hey, Cid? You in there?" came Cloud�s voice from the other side.

Tifa stirred and looked over, seeing the pilot still beside her. "Oh, he sounds upset�"

The blond grunted in his morning tiredness and climbed off of the bed. He went and answered the door. "What in the hell do you want, Spike?"

Cloud motioned down the hall. "Tifa�s not in her room! I�I can�t find her anywhere! Vincent said that he saw you with her last, so I was hoping that you could tell me where she might have gone?"

Cid rolled his eyes, not really sure that he wanted to break the news to Cloud, but when Tifa came up and slid her arm around his waist, pushing him aside so that she could see the boy, he got his reprieve.

Tifa offered Cloud a smile as she clung to the pilot. "Calm down, I�m all right."

At first, he seemed relieved, but then he knit his brow. "Wait, what are you doing in his room? Why�did you sleep with him?"

"Yeah, she did." Cid crossed his arms over his chest. "Sleep as in sleep, kid. That�s it."

The fact that Cid was stepping up to her defense caught her attention, but she never took her eyes off of her childhood friend. "Yeah."

Cloud seemed to take this with a grain of salt, but since he wasn�t romantically involved with her, he knew he had no place to say anything. "Okay, well, whatever. I�m all packed and ready to go back. Hurry up."

Tifa huffed, not liking the fact that Cloud figured he could order her around as he tended to do. "Hurry up? Who in the hell do you think you are?"

"We talked about this before, Tifa." Cloud�s expression became annoyed. "We�re going back to Midgar-- together."

"I agreed that you could stay with me when we got to Midgar," Tifa shot back, "but I�m not ready to go yet. I still want to talk to the others some more. If you have some pressing need to go, then leave. I�ll catch up with you later."

The young man instantly seemed a little hurt. "Catch up with me?"

"Come on, Cloud." Tifa let go of Cid and stepped forward toward him. "You�re a grown man, I think you can handle getting to Midgar on your own, and so can I for that matter. If you�re not willing to wait for me to give my good byes, then you�ll just have to go on without me. You know I�ll show up. I have to get the bar put back together and running again. You have the key, just stay in the apartment above it like we planned."

Cloud relented and dropped his gaze to the ground. "Okay, if that�s what you want."

Tifa reached out and placed her hand on Cloud�s shoulder. "I won�t be too long."

"Okay," he sighed with a nod. "I�m going to go, then. I�ll see you."

Tifa went ahead and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye."

"Bye." Cloud brought his gaze back up and met Cid�s. He extended his hand toward the older man. "Thanks for everything."

Cid accepted the handshake. "Sure thing. You take care."

"I will." Cloud picked up his pack from the ground and slung it over his shoulder before turning and walking down the corridor.

Cid and Tifa retreated back into the room, closing the door. As Tifa got to picking up her clothes off of the floor and dressing, Cid went over and sat on the edge of the bed to have a cigarette. He made it a point to not watch as she got her outfit back on. "So, was Cloud pissed you�re here with me? He�s too fuckin� hard for me to read."

Tifa laughed to herself, as she arranged her shirt to her liking. "I think he was surprised that I was here and he was disappointed that I�m not willing to leave right this moment. But you know, if he was really determined only to go back with me, he would wait, and as far as being pissed, he�ll get over it."

"True." Cid flicked some ashes to the floor. "So, my plan was to drop off Barrett in Kalm to be with Marlene, and then I was heading to Wutai to get rid of Yuffie."

"I like the way you say, �to get rid of Yuffie�," she said with a giggle.

"Well, it�s true. She�s driven me fuckin� nuts over the last few months. She needs to go." Cid took a long drag and then looked up at the ceiling. "Once she�s gotten off, or been pushed over the railing, I honestly don�t give a rat�s ass which, then I�m gonna take Red to Cosmo and Reeve wants Cait Sith left there, too. I can take you to Midgar after that, if you want."

"And what about Vincent?" she asked, sitting on the bed to lace up her boots.

"What about him?" He got up from the bed and went over to his locker, rummaging around for some clean clothes. "He�ll get off wherever in the fuck he wants, if he�s even still here. If he asks for someplace specific, then I�ll take him wherever. I guess I owe him at least that much for bein� such a good friend to you and all."

Tifa smiled at him as he got dressed. "So, your plan seems to be to keep me on this ship as long as possible."

"Hey, that way you can say your good byes to everyone and take your time with it, right?" Cid offered her his smirk. "That�s what you�re after, isn�t it?"

Tifa stood up and came over to him, once he was outfitted for the day. She placed her hands upon his shoulders. "Cid?"

He looked down into her eyes. "Yeah?"

"I really want to thank you for last night." She moved and put her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. "The way you actually cared to notice that something was wrong�no one else ever would have bothered to do that."

Cid closed his eyes and put his arms around her in return. "No problem, Tif."

"And," Tifa sighed heavily, "maybe�maybe we can try again in a few days. I mean, now that you know, I�m sure I�ll feel differently."

The pilot wasn�t opposed to this idea in the least. "Sure thing, and you bein� on the ship while I cart the others around for the next few days�ll make it a lot more bearable. I appreciate you comin� along."

She visibly blushed at this. "No problem. Hey, I�m going to go to my room so I can take care of some things."

"All right." Cid gave her a quick kiss and then freed her from his grip. He watched her go and picked up his jacket and flight goggles, putting them on and then stepping out into the hall.

No sooner had he closed his door did Vincent try to walk right past him.

"Good morning," Vincent said quietly, attempting to get by, most likely suffering from a hangover.

Cid reached out and claimed Vincent�s right arm, detaining him. "So, have a mechanical problem in your room last night?"

Vincent who, in a rare instance, was without his headband and cloak, cocked an eyebrow at the pilot. "Excuse me?"

Cid smiled in his amusement. "I just thought you must�ve had some sorta mechanical problem with your bunk or somethin�, what with takin� my head mechanic to your room last night and all."

Vincent produced a small sound, and then just blinked down at the other man for a few awkward moments.

The blond took more than a little pleasure in this, never having seen Vincent embarrassed and at a loss like this before. The only reason that Cid was taking the time to bring this up was to make sure that if he let it somehow slip out that he knew of Vincent�s sexuality, that he could just blame it on the fact he�d seen the gunslinger with a man. That way, Tifa would be free and clear.

"Y�you saw me with, oh God, Br�?" Vincent dropped his gaze to the floor, honestly trying to remember his fling�s name. He knew it started with a B, perhaps Brian?

"Bradley O�Malley, Vince." Cid let go of the other man and crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn�t think you�d be the type to go for the one nighter with someone who�s name you don�t even know."

"Generally, I�m not." Vincent shrugged slightly. "I was drunk."

"So I noticed." Cid�s smile lost its sarcastic air. "It�s cool, I�m not gonna razz you about it. Tifa and I thought it was pretty fuckin� hilarious, though."

This caught Vincent�s attention. "So, she was with you?"

"Yeah."

The gunman considered him for a moment. "Did anything transpire?"

"You�re downright talkative this mornin�, ain�t ya?" Cid laughed.

"Merely curious." Vincent looked away again. "She had expressed�an interest in you prior."

"Yeah, she was with me, but we didn�t do too damn much." Cid leaned back against the wall. "I guess�she went through somethin� kinda messed up when Shinra had her, huh?"

Vincent nodded, his mouth pulling down into a frown for a second. "She disclosed that to you?"

"Well, I could see that there was somethin� botherin� her." He let his hands fall back to his sides and straightened up again. "I asked her about it, and she told me. I feel so damn bad about it. I had no fuckin� idea."

"Yes," Vincent sighed, "I wondered if that was going to effect her at some point. I�m certain she�s never dealt with it beyond the discussion she had with me some time ago."

Cid nodded, and got a cigarette between his lips and lit up. After a long drag, he met Vincent�s gaze again. "Anyway, she�s gonna stay on the ship while I drop everybody off where they wanna go, then I�ll take her to Midgar. I�m hopin� I�ll be able to help her past it."

"She will appreciate that, I�m sure, and so will I." Vincent offered his ghost of a smile. "There was only so much that I was able to do for her, you know."

Cid didn�t want to think about that, and so opted to change the subject. "So, seein� as that you�re still here and all, and I really thought you woulda bailed by now, is there somewhere you wanna go?"

Vincent became pensive for a moment. Cid had spent much of the time previous ridiculing and taunting him. The fact that he was now being down right friendly seemed odd. He wondered if Tifa was honestly having that much of an effect upon the pilot. "You�re offering to go out of your way to take me where I wish?"

"I�m takin� Yuffie all the fuckin� way to Wutai, so I can justify droppin� you off somewhere, too." Cid produced an amused smirk, before taking a long drag.

"Then I should like to be left in the City of the Ancients," Vincent said flatly.

Cid knit his brow. "Why the fuck you wanna be left way the hell out there?"

"Unfinished business." The gunslinger crossed his arms over his chest, his left one resting on top as it had to do, lest he harm himself.

"What�d ya mean?" Cid asked.

Vincent tersed his lips for a moment. "I feel�that somehow, this isn�t over yet. I need to watch over the situation."

"Waitin� for the other shoe to drop?" Cid pulled his cigarette from his lips and flicked some ashes away that landed upon Vincent�s right boot.

"Very nice, Cid." Vincent stooped down to wipe the mess from his brassy sabaton. "But, yes."

"Well, what in the hell else could happen?" Cid wondered exactly what Vincent knew. "Seph�s dead, Meteor�s gone, so what?"

"I don�t know, but the circumstances that led to this whole chain of events were complex and reached farther than I think anyone of us truly knows. Perhaps nothing more will become of Jenova, Sephiroth, and such, but in the rare chance that something does, I need to be on guard. All of this is ultimately my responsibility-- ergo, I must keep vigilant." Vincent stood back up, his expression determined.

Cid, knowing that he would never fully understand why Vincent insisted that he bore so much of the blame for the past, opted to just let it go. He knew that Vincent would do what he felt he needed to do, no matter how illogical it seemed. "Okay, well, I�ll take you there."

"I will appreciate that." Vincent turned and started walking away, saying no more.

"Weird mother fucker," Cid grumbled to himself as he crushed the remnants of his smoke to the floor with his boot. After that, he went on up to the bridge. If he hurried, he could have Barrett with his adopted daughter by afternoon. That would be one down.
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Surely, She Ain't Serious