![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Time Goes On
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Pairing: Cid/Tifa
Author/artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Recipient:fairady
Rating: PG-13
Beta:forgottenlover
Wordcount: 2,513
Warning: None
A/N: This was fun. I love Cid to bits and he very much needs more love.
Time Goes On
Cid liked his ship. He enjoyed spending time on his ship, and considered it far superior to people who traveled around on the ground. The hum of machinery, the smell of the air, the sights he could see from his deck, all those were damn good reasons on why he preferred his ship.
Looking at the way his leg was twisted, he scowled. And here was another reason. He rarely got hurt when he was dealing with his ship, used to the ways of it after years of work. On the ground, he was vulnerable to monster and human attacks, something he did enjoy facing off with from time to time, but not when he had a schedule.
Definitely not in front of a pretty lady, like when Tifa hitched a ride, heading places to work out contracts for her bar. One thing Cid did like to do was relax, and finding new places for the woman to find alcohol was a good way to do that.
This time, they had gotten there just at the right moment to get tangled up in a bandit attack on the town. He and her alone had dealt with most of them, though it seems even their luck could run out time to time. One of the bastards had gotten in a lucky shot, and Cid was going to have to teach the man a thing or two if he ever got his hands on him.
It looked like the shot had gone clean through, and he scowled again. Damn it all, he hated getting cured. It itched like crazy, and he hated the tingly feel. Most of all, he hated the fact he had gotten hurt by some two bit little thief. Good thing Vincent wasn’t there. The smug bastard would have never let him live it down, and Cid would have heard about it forever in that dry humor of Vincent’s during their little fits of one upmanship. For all the angst that man could carry around, he had a damn good sense of humor. When it wasn’t directed at Cid.
Tifa kneeled next to him, forcing him to give his attention to something other than his leg. In her hand was a green glow, which she moved to slot into the band on her wrist. “How bad is it?” She asked, fingers ghosting over the leg.
He shrugged. “Straighten it out and we’re good.” That was another part he didn’t like about being hurt. The setting of everything to make sure nothing healed wrong. Normally everything got taken care of during the healing, but why take chances if you didn’t have to?
There was no hesitation on Tifa’s part, and she didn’t even give him time to tense up, straightening the leg with quick, easy motions. Wasn’t the first time she had done it, and probably wouldn’t be the last, and Cid wondered just how many scraps those kids with her got into. She had that “weary patience” feel that people got when they did things often. He knew it wasn’t Cloud who needed it. As much as he respected Cloud, that man was the type to hide and try to take care of things himself.
It was kinda sad to watch a girl like Tifa, who was friendly and outgoing in the best ways possible, trying to tie herself down to Cloud of all people, who was a good kid as well, but not ready for anything that was past friendship.
Shaking his brain away from the path it was wanting to go, Cid let out a grunt as the bone ends ground against each other a moment, then the cool, tingling, itchy feeling of a cure.
Damnit, he hated those things.
Once it was done, he shifted, then rose to his feet. “Good as new,” he said, wiggling his toes. Felt liked everything was there. With a nod, he looked at her. “So, get the contract?”
///
The nicest thing about Tifa’s bar was that it was a nice place to visit any time the group got to Edge. As far as Cid could tell, he and Barret were the only regular visitors. Hells, sometimes he was sure they were around more than Cloud was some months. Which was a damn shame as far he he could tell. The kids were great to be around, when they were there, the company good, and the food even better. He knew the alcohol was the best, he helped deliver it. So sometimes he and Tifa would sit for hours after closing, just shooting the breeze about the little things that happened every day. She’d tell him about interesting customers, he’d tell her about the oddball things he would see. If Barret was in as well, he’d share the things that happened during the energy searches, and a good time was had by all. Sometimes the timing was right, and it was like a little mini-reunion, catching up and sharing over drinks. He did miss seeing all of them, though he didn’t want to admit it some days.
Sometimes it was just him and Tifa, and he found himself giving the younger advice. Which made him feel a hell of a lot older than he was, and he wasn’t that old. He was only in his thirties, which was nothing at all, anymore. Though people had started to die younger and younger in the last decade, which might have been tied to the Mako reactors as well. Nobody knew, and the report had been buried by Shinra when it had first come out. Only reason Cid had heard anything about it was because he had been the pilot escorting all those scientists around when they were doing their research.
Still, even if it did make him feel like a creepy old bastard, Cid did try to help Tifa figure out the questions she had. Sometimes it was ethical debates, sometimes it was just random observations on human nature, sometimes it was hypothetical questions.
Those late nights were nice. It was a good harmony between the two of them, just talk.
Then, one night, she had asked him the big one.
“What should I do about Cloud?”
That was a tricky question, one he really didn’t want to get in the middle of. Too many personal connections for him, really. He could answer questions and comments she had over strangers all day long. However, he knew both her and Cloud, and he had his own personal interest in how the situation worked out.
Grumbling to himself, he focused on his drink for a minute, trying to work it out in his own mind. Hell, why’d she have to ask that? He could have dealt with any damn question besides that.
“Time,” he said finally. “If you really want the spiky haired idiot, you’re going to need time. If then. He’s a lot more damaged than what we know. Don’t push. Pushing makes him run.” He held up a hand to stall whatever she was going to say when she opened her mouth. “Lemme finish. He does. I’ve seen it myself. How many people has he lost? Good, close people? What, two, three? I saw him after Aeris, and after that I think he’s been too scared shitless to reach out again in case that person gets hurt, too.”
“That’s not right,” she sighed at him, draining her own beer. “He shouldn’t be scared to do that.”
Cid shrugged. “Human nature girl. Human nature. Burned a few times makes you learn to not do something. If you got your heart all set on him, you’re going to have to be patient and wait. Maybe forever.”
It was as honest and fair a response as he could give. And he wanted more beer himself.
It seemed like Tifa was in perfect harmony with him on that one, as she collected him and her new drinks. “This sucks,” she muttered, handing him his new beer.
“That’s life,” he told her, agreeing totally.
///
“Wrench.”
Tifa pulled the requested tool from the collection and handed it over Cid’s shoulder to place in his waiting hand. Something was acting a bit odd in her storage area, the temperature inside of it fluctuating all over the place. She couldn’t store things in there, not with it like it was, so she had asked Cid to take a look into it the next time he visited. Cloud was out of town, again, and she thought that, despite how well maintained he kept that bike of his, the man was probably as clueless as she was. Cid, on the other hand, had a gift for machinery, and it was nice to have someone who knew what they were doing to look at it.
So, when Cid brought the latest delivery, and before he settled into his normal beer, she asked him to take a look at it. He hadn’t really hesitated, but she added on the offer of supper to help sweeten the deal. Besides, she liked talking to him, and it was nice to have another adult in the house. As much as she loved Denzel and Marlene, sometimes she just wanted someone who was a little...older to talk to.
“Hold this for me.”
Wiggling a bit, so she was under his arm and out of the light, she stretched and held the wrench in place as he collected another tool and started to mess with something. It was all gibberish to her, but he moved easily with it, as at home doing this as she was doing her workouts. It was just inherently part of him, and Tifa decided that she simply couldn’t imagine him without him with the marks that said he worked with his hands like he did. The scent of oil, the smell of fresh air and metal. The little scars that decorated his hands and arms, from where tools slipped or things burned. All of them were a part of him, just as much as that cursing of his.
He moved, obviously trusting her to keep up what he needed her to do. No further instructions, no curses hurled at her head, though she could hear him muttering under his breath. He tended to do that while here, trying hard to not curse to much around the kids. Chewing on his lower lip, the mumble was too indistinct to be heard, but she could tell that he was saying a few choice words at the cooler.
This was nice, really. They worked well together, meshing together in a way that got things done. And things got done.
She loved Cloud. Had loved him for a while. But she was starting to see past him. He cared for her, cared for the kids, maybe even loved them. He just never wanted to reach out. Maybe he was afraid of what he might do, maybe he was afraid of what had happened. She didn’t know, and figured that she wasn’t ever going to find out.
There was a nice feel to this, though, and she thought that maybe, finally, it was time to move on. Cloud would always be her friend, possibly her best friend. They had shared too much to ever lose that.
But, maybe, it was time to see what else, and who else, the world had to offer.
///
It had been a long few months. Everyone just seemed to be run down to the bone with the cold, clammy weather that came with winter around Midgar now. It was getting worse and worse every year, and a few people suggested it was a reaction to all those years the Mako had kept Midgar tropical hot. It wasn’t like they were that far north or south, but it was far colder than anyone had anticipated. Cold winds and wet snow that melted too fast to be of use and was mostly Mako tainted as well, were not what the people of Midgar were used to.
Even Cloud was being bothered by it, and he ignored most normal weather. Not to mention he and Tifa were mountain born and this chilled them both to the bone. He started bringing home things from some of his deliveries that were welcomed like mad. Thick quilts stuffed with down, heavy jackets, good boots, a hell of a lot better than what most of the people had. Those gifts to Tifa and the kids had quickly been noticed, and Cloud had been swamped with delivery orders and funds to go get more for people.
Tifa knew that the man was also going to dip into his funds and buy even more for those who couldn’t afford them for themselves, the street people and the poorer people in town. Especially the orphans. It wasn’t like he didn’t make enough, not between his birds and all the new deliveries. This was part of why she loved him still, but it was slowly being tempered by age and experience. Which was just as well. It did neither of them any good for things to go too far, and then break. Neither would take it well.
Time had been the answer, though not in the way Cid had meant it when he had told her that. She had accepted reality, and now was ready to see what was out there for her.
And right now, it was just more of this nasty, nasty cold weather.
The door burst open, letting in a blast of air that made her yelp and spin, glaring at whoever was there. It would have been impossible to tell who the man was under all the gear he wore except for the blue streak he was cursing. That told Tifa right there how much Cid did not appreciate the weather, as he was usually extremely good about not cussing where the children might hear him.
“How the hell do you stand this damnable weather?” he growled, glaring at her, cheeks bright red from the cold. “Forget this. Grab the kids, I’m taking you guys somewhere warm for a vacation. You need one anyway, one that doesn’t involve kicking someone’s asses. How’s Mideel sound to you? Warm, nice, people who know how to mix a drink that aren’t you and let you enjoy relaxing for a bit.”
Well, with an invite like that, how was she supposed to say no?
“I think I’ll take you up on that. Business has been miserable since this hit, nobody wants to leave their houses if they don’t have to. Here, I got some tea on, I’ll pour you a cup, then go get the kids ready.”
The look on his face, one of stunned, and pleased, shock caused her to smile at him as she collected a cup. Then she kissed his cheek. “I think it’s time I learn to see what else is out there,” she murmured at him. “And who else.”
His grin was worth the mess of melting snow he was leaving on her floor.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Pairing: Cid/Tifa
Author/artist:
icedark_elfRecipient:
fairadyRating: PG-13
Beta:
forgottenloverWordcount: 2,513
Warning: None
A/N: This was fun. I love Cid to bits and he very much needs more love.
Time Goes On
Cid liked his ship. He enjoyed spending time on his ship, and considered it far superior to people who traveled around on the ground. The hum of machinery, the smell of the air, the sights he could see from his deck, all those were damn good reasons on why he preferred his ship.
Looking at the way his leg was twisted, he scowled. And here was another reason. He rarely got hurt when he was dealing with his ship, used to the ways of it after years of work. On the ground, he was vulnerable to monster and human attacks, something he did enjoy facing off with from time to time, but not when he had a schedule.
Definitely not in front of a pretty lady, like when Tifa hitched a ride, heading places to work out contracts for her bar. One thing Cid did like to do was relax, and finding new places for the woman to find alcohol was a good way to do that.
This time, they had gotten there just at the right moment to get tangled up in a bandit attack on the town. He and her alone had dealt with most of them, though it seems even their luck could run out time to time. One of the bastards had gotten in a lucky shot, and Cid was going to have to teach the man a thing or two if he ever got his hands on him.
It looked like the shot had gone clean through, and he scowled again. Damn it all, he hated getting cured. It itched like crazy, and he hated the tingly feel. Most of all, he hated the fact he had gotten hurt by some two bit little thief. Good thing Vincent wasn’t there. The smug bastard would have never let him live it down, and Cid would have heard about it forever in that dry humor of Vincent’s during their little fits of one upmanship. For all the angst that man could carry around, he had a damn good sense of humor. When it wasn’t directed at Cid.
Tifa kneeled next to him, forcing him to give his attention to something other than his leg. In her hand was a green glow, which she moved to slot into the band on her wrist. “How bad is it?” She asked, fingers ghosting over the leg.
He shrugged. “Straighten it out and we’re good.” That was another part he didn’t like about being hurt. The setting of everything to make sure nothing healed wrong. Normally everything got taken care of during the healing, but why take chances if you didn’t have to?
There was no hesitation on Tifa’s part, and she didn’t even give him time to tense up, straightening the leg with quick, easy motions. Wasn’t the first time she had done it, and probably wouldn’t be the last, and Cid wondered just how many scraps those kids with her got into. She had that “weary patience” feel that people got when they did things often. He knew it wasn’t Cloud who needed it. As much as he respected Cloud, that man was the type to hide and try to take care of things himself.
It was kinda sad to watch a girl like Tifa, who was friendly and outgoing in the best ways possible, trying to tie herself down to Cloud of all people, who was a good kid as well, but not ready for anything that was past friendship.
Shaking his brain away from the path it was wanting to go, Cid let out a grunt as the bone ends ground against each other a moment, then the cool, tingling, itchy feeling of a cure.
Damnit, he hated those things.
Once it was done, he shifted, then rose to his feet. “Good as new,” he said, wiggling his toes. Felt liked everything was there. With a nod, he looked at her. “So, get the contract?”
The nicest thing about Tifa’s bar was that it was a nice place to visit any time the group got to Edge. As far as Cid could tell, he and Barret were the only regular visitors. Hells, sometimes he was sure they were around more than Cloud was some months. Which was a damn shame as far he he could tell. The kids were great to be around, when they were there, the company good, and the food even better. He knew the alcohol was the best, he helped deliver it. So sometimes he and Tifa would sit for hours after closing, just shooting the breeze about the little things that happened every day. She’d tell him about interesting customers, he’d tell her about the oddball things he would see. If Barret was in as well, he’d share the things that happened during the energy searches, and a good time was had by all. Sometimes the timing was right, and it was like a little mini-reunion, catching up and sharing over drinks. He did miss seeing all of them, though he didn’t want to admit it some days.
Sometimes it was just him and Tifa, and he found himself giving the younger advice. Which made him feel a hell of a lot older than he was, and he wasn’t that old. He was only in his thirties, which was nothing at all, anymore. Though people had started to die younger and younger in the last decade, which might have been tied to the Mako reactors as well. Nobody knew, and the report had been buried by Shinra when it had first come out. Only reason Cid had heard anything about it was because he had been the pilot escorting all those scientists around when they were doing their research.
Still, even if it did make him feel like a creepy old bastard, Cid did try to help Tifa figure out the questions she had. Sometimes it was ethical debates, sometimes it was just random observations on human nature, sometimes it was hypothetical questions.
Those late nights were nice. It was a good harmony between the two of them, just talk.
Then, one night, she had asked him the big one.
“What should I do about Cloud?”
That was a tricky question, one he really didn’t want to get in the middle of. Too many personal connections for him, really. He could answer questions and comments she had over strangers all day long. However, he knew both her and Cloud, and he had his own personal interest in how the situation worked out.
Grumbling to himself, he focused on his drink for a minute, trying to work it out in his own mind. Hell, why’d she have to ask that? He could have dealt with any damn question besides that.
“Time,” he said finally. “If you really want the spiky haired idiot, you’re going to need time. If then. He’s a lot more damaged than what we know. Don’t push. Pushing makes him run.” He held up a hand to stall whatever she was going to say when she opened her mouth. “Lemme finish. He does. I’ve seen it myself. How many people has he lost? Good, close people? What, two, three? I saw him after Aeris, and after that I think he’s been too scared shitless to reach out again in case that person gets hurt, too.”
“That’s not right,” she sighed at him, draining her own beer. “He shouldn’t be scared to do that.”
Cid shrugged. “Human nature girl. Human nature. Burned a few times makes you learn to not do something. If you got your heart all set on him, you’re going to have to be patient and wait. Maybe forever.”
It was as honest and fair a response as he could give. And he wanted more beer himself.
It seemed like Tifa was in perfect harmony with him on that one, as she collected him and her new drinks. “This sucks,” she muttered, handing him his new beer.
“That’s life,” he told her, agreeing totally.
“Wrench.”
Tifa pulled the requested tool from the collection and handed it over Cid’s shoulder to place in his waiting hand. Something was acting a bit odd in her storage area, the temperature inside of it fluctuating all over the place. She couldn’t store things in there, not with it like it was, so she had asked Cid to take a look into it the next time he visited. Cloud was out of town, again, and she thought that, despite how well maintained he kept that bike of his, the man was probably as clueless as she was. Cid, on the other hand, had a gift for machinery, and it was nice to have someone who knew what they were doing to look at it.
So, when Cid brought the latest delivery, and before he settled into his normal beer, she asked him to take a look at it. He hadn’t really hesitated, but she added on the offer of supper to help sweeten the deal. Besides, she liked talking to him, and it was nice to have another adult in the house. As much as she loved Denzel and Marlene, sometimes she just wanted someone who was a little...older to talk to.
“Hold this for me.”
Wiggling a bit, so she was under his arm and out of the light, she stretched and held the wrench in place as he collected another tool and started to mess with something. It was all gibberish to her, but he moved easily with it, as at home doing this as she was doing her workouts. It was just inherently part of him, and Tifa decided that she simply couldn’t imagine him without him with the marks that said he worked with his hands like he did. The scent of oil, the smell of fresh air and metal. The little scars that decorated his hands and arms, from where tools slipped or things burned. All of them were a part of him, just as much as that cursing of his.
He moved, obviously trusting her to keep up what he needed her to do. No further instructions, no curses hurled at her head, though she could hear him muttering under his breath. He tended to do that while here, trying hard to not curse to much around the kids. Chewing on his lower lip, the mumble was too indistinct to be heard, but she could tell that he was saying a few choice words at the cooler.
This was nice, really. They worked well together, meshing together in a way that got things done. And things got done.
She loved Cloud. Had loved him for a while. But she was starting to see past him. He cared for her, cared for the kids, maybe even loved them. He just never wanted to reach out. Maybe he was afraid of what he might do, maybe he was afraid of what had happened. She didn’t know, and figured that she wasn’t ever going to find out.
There was a nice feel to this, though, and she thought that maybe, finally, it was time to move on. Cloud would always be her friend, possibly her best friend. They had shared too much to ever lose that.
But, maybe, it was time to see what else, and who else, the world had to offer.
It had been a long few months. Everyone just seemed to be run down to the bone with the cold, clammy weather that came with winter around Midgar now. It was getting worse and worse every year, and a few people suggested it was a reaction to all those years the Mako had kept Midgar tropical hot. It wasn’t like they were that far north or south, but it was far colder than anyone had anticipated. Cold winds and wet snow that melted too fast to be of use and was mostly Mako tainted as well, were not what the people of Midgar were used to.
Even Cloud was being bothered by it, and he ignored most normal weather. Not to mention he and Tifa were mountain born and this chilled them both to the bone. He started bringing home things from some of his deliveries that were welcomed like mad. Thick quilts stuffed with down, heavy jackets, good boots, a hell of a lot better than what most of the people had. Those gifts to Tifa and the kids had quickly been noticed, and Cloud had been swamped with delivery orders and funds to go get more for people.
Tifa knew that the man was also going to dip into his funds and buy even more for those who couldn’t afford them for themselves, the street people and the poorer people in town. Especially the orphans. It wasn’t like he didn’t make enough, not between his birds and all the new deliveries. This was part of why she loved him still, but it was slowly being tempered by age and experience. Which was just as well. It did neither of them any good for things to go too far, and then break. Neither would take it well.
Time had been the answer, though not in the way Cid had meant it when he had told her that. She had accepted reality, and now was ready to see what was out there for her.
And right now, it was just more of this nasty, nasty cold weather.
The door burst open, letting in a blast of air that made her yelp and spin, glaring at whoever was there. It would have been impossible to tell who the man was under all the gear he wore except for the blue streak he was cursing. That told Tifa right there how much Cid did not appreciate the weather, as he was usually extremely good about not cussing where the children might hear him.
“How the hell do you stand this damnable weather?” he growled, glaring at her, cheeks bright red from the cold. “Forget this. Grab the kids, I’m taking you guys somewhere warm for a vacation. You need one anyway, one that doesn’t involve kicking someone’s asses. How’s Mideel sound to you? Warm, nice, people who know how to mix a drink that aren’t you and let you enjoy relaxing for a bit.”
Well, with an invite like that, how was she supposed to say no?
“I think I’ll take you up on that. Business has been miserable since this hit, nobody wants to leave their houses if they don’t have to. Here, I got some tea on, I’ll pour you a cup, then go get the kids ready.”
The look on his face, one of stunned, and pleased, shock caused her to smile at him as she collected a cup. Then she kissed his cheek. “I think it’s time I learn to see what else is out there,” she murmured at him. “And who else.”
His grin was worth the mess of melting snow he was leaving on her floor.
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