Guilt’s Cost: Part XLV

Morning

Cid woke up at six in the morning, just as he had every day as long as he could remember. He never had needed to use an alarm clock; something for which he took some pride. He laid in the darkness, slightly disoriented both from where he was as well as the fact he felt someone beside him. Eventually he came to remember the events of the night and sat up to see Tifa still very much asleep next to him.

Cid decided to let her sleep for just a little longer while he got ready for the day. She stirred slightly as he rose, mumbling something about Vincent. He sighed quietly, still feeling sorry for her.

He scooped up his clothes from where he’d cast them to the floor the night before on his way into the bathroom. After getting his shower running he shed the tank top and boxers he had slept in and got under the water, absent-mindedly talking to himself about the current situation.

Tifa sat up and rubbed her eyes. The sound of Cid’s voice resonating in the tiled bathroom had woken her. She got up and made her way to the light switch, having to cover her eyes briefly before adjusting to the brightness. Seeing that the clothes she was wearing were in need of changing, Tifa picked up her blanket from the bed and slipped back to her own room. There was also a part of her that wanted out of Cid’s room, feeling slightly embarrassed about her need to cling to him the night before. Somewhere in her mind there was consideration given to whether or not Vincent would have approved but she shrugged those thoughts off as she opened the door to her room.

Cid stepped out of the shower and started to dress. He stopped short of putting his shirt on, subconsciously wanting to see if Tifa would react to his physique. Although middle aged, he still thought he had his high school appearance. Upon opening the door to his bathroom Cid’s cocky smile faded as he found his room vacated. He shrugged slightly in disappointment before going back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

After changing, Tifa looked around her room and found that her luggage from the airship had been brought in and placed on the couch. She opened her bag and rummaged through it looking for things to take with her on the trip to Mideel. When Tifa lifted up a pair of shorts from the suitcase she fell to her knees, realizing that her world had fallen apart. Laying in the suitcase before her was Vincent’s gun. The stark black metal of the weapon was set off by his red scarf, which he had wrapped around it at some point.

Seeing such a personal item of his stung her heart. She reached out weakly and picked up the Death Penalty. Tifa held it gently in her right hand, pulling the red strip of cloth off of it. She took the tattered piece of fabric and brought it up to her face, taking in Vincent’s scent with a deep breath. The gun in her other hand was immaculate. Vincent had cleaned it thoroughly before packing it and his attention to detail showed. Tifa could find no flaw, no speck of dust upon its surface. With these two items held to her chest, Tifa collapsed to the floor sobbing.

Cid stared at his image in the bathroom mirror. After a few minutes of furious brushing, he threw his comb back on the bathroom counter. Strangely enough, his hair looked exactly as it had before he had combed it. He walked out into his room and picked his coat up off the bed, throwing it around his shoulders. Cid pulled his flight goggles from his pocket and snapped them around his head. Even he had no idea why he wore them; all of his planes had enclosed cockpits. Maybe on some level he just thought they made him look like a flier.

Cid went around the room tossing his few items back into his duffel bag before throwing it over his shoulder and walking out of his room. He stood in the corridor not quite sure where he was supposed to go. He had failed to pay much attention to the layout of the base when he arrived the night before. One of the rooms a few paces away had the door slightly ajar and Cid heard crying from within. The sound of the sobbing was all too familiar and he rolled his eyes knowing that Tifa was back at it. He went to the door and pushed it open the rest of the way finding Tifa kneeling with a gun clutched to her chest.

Cid panicked thinking the worst and ran over to her, ripping the gun from her grip. "What the fuck do you think you’re doing?"

Tifa gazed up at him with tear filled eyes. She realized the source of his concern. "No, it’s not what you think… I just found his gun while getting dressed and it started to make me think about him."

Cid was inclined to believe her, but still felt the need to set the gun down a safe distance away. He came back over and extended his hand to help her up. "Come on, Tifa."

She got up, wobbling slightly from her continued crying. Tifa still had the red scarf in her hands and buried her face in it, knowing that Cid didn’t want to see her cry.

Cid crossed his arms over his chest and watched her for a moment. Such a pretty girl shouldn’t have to go through all this heartbreak, he thought. Why is it always the cute ones that fall for the weirdoes? Seems like a damned waste if you ask me.

Tifa almost seemed to hear his thoughts and she looked up at him, wiping the remaining moisture from her cheeks with the back of her left hand. "Sorry, Cid. You probably think I’m being a big baby about this."

Cid’s unconscious frown shattered. "No, Tifa, I don’t. I think it’s the guys who would put you through this that are the fucking idiots."

She came up with a smile, finding it ironic that Cid Highwind would have something to say about how a man could treat a woman. "That’s kind of funny, coming from you."

"What?" Cid donned another frown. "There is nothing wrong with the way me and Shera get along."

Tifa laughed out loud. "Yeah, never mind the fact that she almost left you the night Vincent and I were there."

"God Damned pregnancy hormones did that one." Cid scoffed. "Shera loves me for whatever reason, and she knows I like her too."

"You like her?" Tifa crossed her arms, mimicking Cid’s stance.

Cid narrowed his eyes. Women and their need to talk about feelings bugged him. "What the Hell do you want from me?"

"I want to hear you say it, Cid." Tifa wasn’t going to let him off without a confession.

Cid stretched out and scratched the back of his head. "You know I do, otherwise I wouldn’t still live with her, and I certainly wouldn’t have knocked her up."

"Say it." Tifa shoved him lightly.

"Jesus, Tifa." Cid let his arms fall back to his sides. "You women folk are a right fine pain in the ass, you know that? Fine, I love Shera. Happy?"

Tifa grinned widely and threw her arms around him. "See? Don’t you feel better for saying it?"

"No," Cid wriggled free from her embrace. "I feel like a God Damned ass. Can we knock this the Hell off now, please?"

Tifa turned around and picked up her backpack that she had been filling with personal effects for the trip. She carefully folded Vincent’s scarf and placed it in amongst her things. "Okay, I think I’m ready to go."

They turned to leave finding Tseng standing in the doorway. "Good morning."

Cid and Tifa nodded in response. They may have both been somewhat embarrassed at the thought of Tseng having eavesdropped on their conversation.

Tseng felt their tension and smiled. "Don’t worry Mr. Highwind, you true feelings for your wife are safe with me."

Cid produced an uncomfortable smile. "Yeah, well, isn’t it time we took off?"

"Yes, you should probably get Tifa on her way." Tseng turned and started down the hall, Tifa and Cid following behind.

Before starting up the corridor that ascended to the airfield, Tifa quit walking. Tseng and Cid turned to her.

Tifa fidgeted. "Will you guys wait here just a sec?"

The two men knew what she was up to and nodded.

With their permission, she ran down a corridor to the left and emerged in the prison area a short while later. She made her way to the side of Vincent’s casket and knelt down so she could see him through the window.

She cleared her throat. "Hi Vincent. I have to go to Mideel for a while to check on something for Tseng. I would rather stay here with you, but it seems really important to him that I go. But just so you don’t worry, I want you to know that Cid is here and he’s going with me, so rest easy."

She was caught a little off guard by her own remark and laughed. "Sorry, no pun intended there. But I’ll be back soon, okay? Then I can see what I can do about getting you out of there, and I’ll tell you what we did in Mideel, even though Tseng wants it to be kept secret. I can trust you though, huh? Well, I got to go."

Tifa got back up and started away. She stopped just short of leaving the room and ran back to the casket. She bent down and smiled through the window. "I almost forgot." Tifa kissed the glass, leaving a lipstick mark. "I love you, don’t forget."

With that, she flew from the room and met back up with her companions. "Okay, let’s go."