Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ My Happy Ending ❯ City ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter 17: City

“And all the roads we have to walk are winding

And all the lights that lead us there are blinding.

There are many things that I

Would like to say to you

But I don't know how.”

-Oasis “Wonderwall”

Not more than a few days later, Cid found himself ahead of schedule on getting the engines to run. He figured now would probably be a good time to order the scrap metal he needed to replace the rusted parts of the body, and boy, would he need it. Although he was almost finished with the engines, he still had the tedious chore replacing rusted and holed metal which would prove to be a much more difficult task than the rebuilding the motors.

The pilot was working long and tedious hours in his hangar trying to get the Tiny Bronco up and flying. Being a pilot without wings made him anxious, and when he was anxious, he was irritable, and irritability on Cid Highwind's part was never a good thing.

Cid walked into the front door of Rick's shop only to find the place empty. The footsteps of his boots resounded throughout the place as he sauntered up to the counter and looked around. He waited for a few moments then rang the bell. Again, he waited, drumming his fingertips on the countertop and listening to the music that was echoing in faintly. Rock. Good rock, and it was a band he had not heard before.

Cid began to tap his foot impatiently. He knew that if the bell rang either Raye or Brad would come to help him, but neither was in sight. Finally, Cid shrugged and decided to look for them.

He first decided to check the house, as Raye or Brad may have had to go inside for some reason. Cid walked behind the counter, through the stock room, and straight inside the Shields' home. He didn't have to worry about any kind of formality here because he and Rick were good enough buddies that the pilot knew Rick wouldn't care, but his children would definitely catch hell from him for their negligence.

He poked his head inside and called out to them.

“Raye? Brad? Anyone home here?”

The house remained silent as Cid walked through the kitchen and into the living room. Again, he called for Brad or Raye, anyone who would answer. Still, there was nothing. The pilot shrugged and exited the same way he came in as he fingered his cell phone in his pocket, debating as to whether he should give Rick a call.

That would be a little over the top don't ya think, Highwind?

As he returned to the shop, however, Cid noticed the music was louder as he began to approach the garage. He paused for yet another moment and listened closely as he slowly walked down the small hallway through the parts room and down toward the machine shop area. Once there, the music was loud, and he automatically assumed that the brother and sister were goofing off when they were supposed to be working. He turned his head toward the door, with the intent on crashing the party, but what he actually saw through the glass of the entry shocked him.

There was Raye, her back turned to the door blowing out an amazing guitar solo that Cid was unconsciously bobbing his head to. There she stood her fiery mane of hair flying as she picked out the chords and riffs on a dark purple electric guitar. Her feet were apart, shoulders back, and head bent in unbroken concentration, her feelings and emotions played out through her music. She wore a pair of oh-so-tight dark blue flare jeans, and her top was short enough to show a glimpse of the flesh on her slender backside, and more than enough to catch the pilot's eye, as the guitar strap crossed over her silky-looking skin, encircling the sinuosity of her waist, and back up over her shoulder.

Cid almost regretfully removed his eyes from the redhead, his stunned gaze traveling to identify the other members: Brad on the bass and singing the lead, Jamie on the drums, and the fifteen year old Brian pitching in on his own guitar. The blond cautiously and quietly opened the door to the garage area and leaned inside the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and a wide smirk on his face. He originally intended to crash whatever merry-making was going on down here, but he definitely did not expect them to be rehearsing their own music.

Still, he had to admit that he enjoyed what he heard, and the pilot decided he wanted to hear more, and the only way to do that was to just keep his mouth shut and listen quietly. The more he listened, the more he decided they were good - really fucking good.

The group, at length, ended the song, and they decided to take a breather for a moment. Cid stood in the doorway, still quiet and wondering when they would take notice of him, unconsciously watching Raye lean back against a car, her back slightly arched as she tossed her auburn mane out of her face and put one foot up onto the door of the vehicle. Jamie reached his hand up and quieted a still vibrating cymbal as Brad deliberated a questionable chord progression with Raye and Brian, the girl playing it out on her guitar, her fingers nimbly moving over the frets as she played with different sounds. Jamie stood up, turned around, and started toward the door of the garage for a drink, nearly jumping when he saw Cid standing there.

“Hey…it's Cid!” he announced.

Raye, who was currently distracted with teaching Brian how to improve his riffs, yelled, “Fucking hell! Not you, too!”

Cid blinked. `Not you, too'? What the hell did she mean by that? Still he shrugged and nodded at Jamie. Brad was about to say something when he glanced over in Jamie's direction to find it really was Cid standing in the doorway!

“Holy shit…it really… Hey, Cid! How ya doin'?” Brad yelled with a grin.

Brad waved at Cid happily as though he were overjoyed to see him. He carried a mischievous glint in his eye, and the pilot couldn't help but to wonder why the hell Brad was acting so giddy. Still he put it aside and took a few more steps into the garage. Raye had just turned from Brian, and a look of horror crossed her face followed by a slight scream.

“Fuck! What the…how the hell did you get in here?!”

Cid laughed at the redhead's surprise. “Um, through the door, dumbass!”

Brad snorted at Cid's ballsy comeback and grinned while the other two brothers tried their best to hide smirks, knowing if they dared laugh, their sister would maim them later.

The redhead tossed her hair in an aggravated manner, her jade eyes laying on Cid and narrowing just a little.

“And why the fuck are you here?” she scoffed, embarrassed to be caught in rehearsal. She wasn't too sure about her merits as a musician, but it didn't stop her and the rest of the band from performing gigs on some nights they were free. Still, to have him of all people…

Wait a minute. And I care because...?

Cid, sensing Raye's embarrassment, stood down abashedly. “I wanted to place an order, actually.”

The other brothers stood behind Raye, each one with a smirk on their face. Cid found it almost creepy, but he shrugged it off.

“You know there is a shop for that, jackass!”

“There was nobody in there!” Cid argued.

“Yeah, because it's after hours, stupid!”

“There wasn't a sign!”

Brad, Jamie, and Brian listened as the pair bickered back and forth, engaging in what Brad like to call a `Lover's Spat.' A mischievous grin was tugging at the corners of his mouth as he tried his hardest to restrain himself from saying anything.

“Then who was the idiot who let you in?!”

“Nobody! I let myself in!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You just waltzed right into my house totally unannounced and uninvited?!”

Cid nodded and grinned at Raye. “Sure did.”

“You bastard! I got a half a mind to nail your ass to the wall and rip your ba-“

“Whoa! Hey now!” Brad interrupted before things got really nasty and his younger brothers learned things they shouldn't be learning, yet. He turned to his sister. “Honestly, Sis, it's our own fault. We forgot to lock up while we were down here. The least we could have done was put up a sign.”

Raye shrugged and deflated, regretfully admitting defeat. “You're right.” She turned to Cid fixing him a mean look. “Can you give me a few minutes?”

“Sure.”

Raye removed her guitar and placed it in its case.

“We can clean up down here, Sis,” Jamie offered, shooting a knowing look to Brad.

“Yeah, go and help him out,” Brad added, smirking at the evil look Raye cast him.

The redhead turned to Brian. “Remind me to put sand in his lunch.”

The girl strode over to Cid, shoving him out of the way as she passed though the door. The pilot followed behind her demurely into the parts shop. Clearly, she was aggravated, her strides long and quick as she hurriedly put up her hair into a ponytail, a few short chunks of her layered hair falling into her face. Raye pushed the strands behind her ear as Cid lazily sauntered over, leaning against the counter. He was in an ornery mood today, and there was no better person to take it out on than Raye.

“Alright,” she huffed. “What is it you want?”

“How long you been rehearsing?” Cid asked curiously nodding to the garage.

“Why do you care?” Raye asked, blushing.

Cid shrugged. “I dunno. I really like what I heard down there. If you ever get an album out, I'd buy it.”

The red-haired girl was taken aback by Cid's compliment. “R…really?”

“Sure,” he earnestly answered giving a thumbs up.

“Um, thanks…” she began. Then she snorted. “Not that I care or anything…”

Raye sneaked a glance at Cid who only sniffed cynically at her. There was an awkward silence, as Cid could not get the vision of her rocking out to her solo to leave his mind.

He finally cleared his throat. “So, about that metal that I mentioned before… I need some.”

“Um, okay…”

“For my airplane.”

“Duh! I knew that!” Raye cleared her hair out of her face again as she fussed with herself, trying to tug her shirt down and pushing strands of hair behind her ear. Then she finally said, “You'll have to go to the scrap yard with me, then, to find some.”

“Can we do it today?” Cid asked. “I'm kinda in a hurry.”

There was a slightly anxious undertone to the man's voice, and Raye noted the look of concern on his brow.

“You okay?” Raye asked slightly worried. Okay, so maybe they didn't get along all the time, but after getting to know Cid some, she decided she kinda liked him as far as a good acquaintance, though she'd never admit that to Brad in the least. Luckily, though, she hadn't had any more weird-ass dreams of him.

Cid looked up and blinked at Raye, having no idea that his thoughts were showing so clearly on his face. “Well…it's jus'…I just wanna get back up in the air already! I've been grounded far too long, and it's pissin' me off! Dammit…I jus' wanna get her done.”

Raye's features softened from aggravation to empathy. “I bet. Well, give me a second to get Brad's ass up here, and we can go.”

After a moment, Cid and Raye left the house in Rick's new truck. Cid liked that `new car' smell about the interior, and he was able to have a closer look at its features. They were soon caught in traffic, and Raye was sure that a snail could crawl faster than these people could at the moment. She was starting to regret her offer to Cid, but the redhead figured that it could be worse. The heater was good, some of the band's latest tunes were playing in the CD player, and she had to admit it was somewhat nice to have someone to talk with, even if it was Cid.

“Dammit! Why the hell do people get so crazy this time of year?” she complained.

Cid sat back in his seat and shrugged. Now that he got a free ride to the scrap yard, he was at liberty to pester Raye once again.

“Aw,`s not so bad,” he said lazily.

“Do what?!” Raye interjected at Cid's indifference. “Have you ever tried to parallel park in traffic like this?!”

“Well, shit, get out and walk, then,” Cid said unemotionally.

Raye glared at him. “You do know I live clear across town right?!”

“Well, so? I've walked the whole fucking Planet!”

Raye rolled her eyes at Cid. Suddenly a motorcycle came zipping out from a side street and right into the path of Raye's truck. The female slammed on her brakes, jolting the two of them forward.

“Goddamn motherfucker!!” they both screamed in unison, startled. The pair exchanged glances as Raye let off the breaks and continued on. The traffic was beginning to pick up, much to Raye's absolute glee.

Cid craned his neck to watch the disappearing motorcyclist, and he could swear he recognized that golden blond head of spiky hair. Cid sighed and turned back to his prior conversation with Raye.

“Anyway,” Raye began. “If you like walking so much, you can just feel free to walk your happy ass downtown and see if someone doesn't try to run you the fuck over.”

Raye shot Cid a vicious grin.

Cid chortled at Raye. “Heh, you mean someone like you maybe? I know yer jus' waitin' for a chance to get rid o' me! Smack! No more Cid Highwind to worry about, eh?”

Cid punched his fist into his hand to mimic an impact. Raye looked at him appalled.

“Hey, I may be a vindictive little shit, but I'd never stoop to that level,” Raye told him. As an afterthought she added, “Well, I might be inclined to do that to this one person…”

Cid was slightly alarmed at that, but he blew it off.

“Yeah? Well, I'll remind you of that next time you threaten to rip my balls off!”

Raye sniggered at this and continued to the scrap yard with Cid.

Once they reached the yard, Raye and Cid got out and went into a small building to talk to the foreman. Cid gave the supervisor a list of dimensions and asked to see his best aviation-grade metal.

“Yeah, I think I can help ya,” he told Cid with a thick Midgarian accent, leading the pair to his store of metal.

The pilot overlooked the sheets of aviation aluminum, and upon approval of what he saw, ordered what he needed. He paid for the material, and after loading some of it into the back of Rick's truck, they started back to the Shields' house.

“I ain't gonna be able to take this home right off,” Cid told the redhead. “I had to borrow a car from someone back in Rocket Town just to get my ass here. That piece of shit truck of mine won't make it to Midgar and back anymore, I don't think. I…ah…kinda neglected her…heh…”

The blond laughed embarrassedly as he recalled giving Raye so much shit when she drove up in that old beat-up truck when she first came to his house. Honestly, the responsibility of truck maintenance was left up to Shera. She kept the old thing in perfect working order, but since his assistant left, Cid didn't think to take care of it himself, nor did he really have the time with the ongoing work on the Tiny Bronco. As a result it was falling apart rapidly just like everything else in his life.

“Yeah…yeah…” Raye said interrupting his thoughts. “You know we deliver, and something like this is not shippable through mail, ya know.”

Cid laughed and shot her a teasing look. “So that means you get to come see me again!”

“Augh!” the redhead spat. “I know! Brad's lazy ass won't do it, the freaking bum!” The girl paused and a small smile played across her lips. “If you recall, though, we got along pretty good.”

Cid returned with a smile of his own. “Yeah…I guess we did, didn't we?”

“Ah, but don't you tell Brad,” Raye warned, a devious glint in her eye.

Cid turned in his seat to look at her, a playful grin creeping across his face. “Oh? And how come?”

Raye rolled her eyes trying to hide the fact that she just made a huge mistake. I am such a fucking blabbermouth…

“God damn! I shoulda never fucking said anything!”

Cid's smirk grew. “And what are we keeping from dear Bradley now?”

Although Highwind was pretty sharp, he could also be as dense as a brick wall. What he didn't realize was that whatever this secret Raye was keeping from Brad had to do with him, and he hadn't the faintest clue that this secret could be landing him a whole shitload of trouble. Although Raye was blushing hotly, she had the courage to try to blow it off and laugh.

“Oh, he just gives me shit about you all the time,” Raye explained, trying to sound glib.

“M…me?”

“Yes you!” she said shortly. “You've had many a wrench flying at his dumb head when he talks shit like that!” She emitted an irritated huff. “Gawd, I just wanna kill him sometimes!”

Cid frowned a little. “Hey, I thought you said you were above murder an' all that shit. Wha's he sayin' anyway?”

Raye heaved an annoyed sigh. There was no way she could answer this question honestly and not get hell from both parties about it. “Anything and everything that will make me annihilate him in his sleep if he doesn't shut the hell up!”

“Sounds fun! Remind me to commend him!” Cid replied with a laugh.

Raye's fiery head snapped around as they stopped at an intersection. “Are you completely insane?! You'll incriminate yourself, too, ya dumbass!”

“Wha? Me?! What the fuck?!” he asked, Raye looking away at a motorcycle passing by.

“Now that is a bike!” Raye commented, looking for a way out of this conversation.

“What about me?” Cid pressed.

Raye tensed. “Like I said, I shouldn't have said a thing!”

The pilot grinned. “Then I have nothing to fear,” he added smartly.

“Suit yourself.”

The same biker that they had a near miss with earlier zipped by weaving his way dangerously through traffic, the rumbling engine making Cid frown. He cut off Raye again, and she slammed on her brakes.

“Oi! Watch it!” the redhead barked rolling down her window to make sure he heard her this time. A blast of cold December air flooded the cab of the truck, and she hastily rolled the window back up. “Fucking moron…where is a cop when ya need one?”

“I think I know that guy…,” he muttered, pulling out his cell phone. “Lessee here…” He began to poke at a few buttons. “Good thing I got you guys programmed on my speed dial, eh?”

Cid winked at Raye as he held the open flip phone to his ear, grinning deviously. The redhead looked over at the blond in utter horror and slammed on the brakes, causing motorists behind her to honk and shout.

“Hey! Give me that!” she howled, doing her best to stay on the road and grab the phone from the pilot. The vehicle swerved a little, but Cid was too busy laughing to care. He easily dodged the redhead's frantic attempts at grabbing the phone, turning away from her, using his back as a shield. The girl could only watch in dismay as he spoke into the receiver as Brad answered the ringing.

“Hullo, Brad!” Cid beamed. “No…nothing else for now. Say, listen, I'm in the truck with your sister, and telling me sumfin' about you havin' all kinds of harassment fodder on her…”

Raye slammed on the brakes and pulled the truck off the road abruptly so she wouldn't cause an accident while she was murdering Cid.

“Damn you, Cid!” the girl yelled. In a flash Raye had her seatbelt unbuckled and lunged at the hapless pilot, pummeling him with her fists and making a mad grab for the phone. “Give me that or die!”

Cid laughed even harder as he occasionally yelped in pain as Brad screamed with laughter on the other end, even over Cid's own hee-hawing.

“Hurry up and tell me before she fucking kills me!” Cid managed to choke out between fits of laughter.

He batted Raye off with his free hand, and she began climbing on top of him trying to get the phone, eventually winding up in Cid's lap, straddling him. The other motorists passed by and gawked, scandalized expressions written on their faces as Raye continued to wrestle Cid for his phone, neither of them noticing the dirty looks they were receiving.

Raye grabbed a hold of Cid by his shoulders and shook him hard, but Cid held out, managing to keep the phone glued to his ear farthest from Raye. The truck rocked a little from the outside view, causing pedestrians on the street to gape while mothers rushed their young children by, covering their eyes.

Brad's screamed proclamation, coming through the speaker of Cid's phone, could very well have been heard all the way to the other continent.

“She…she has a crush on you, maaaan!” Brad hysterically declared. His laughter, however, was drowned out by his sister's screams of fury.

“I DO NOT YOU BASTARD!”

Cid, however, sat very quiet and still.

“…”

Slowly, she stopped yanking on his flight goggles, concerned that the pilot might actually believe her brother. Luckily, her alarm was a little impulsive. After pondering the idea that Raye actually liking him in that way, the pilot began to roll with laughter.

“HA!” he bellowed, startling both Raye and Brad. “That's fucking hysterical! Shields, you're full of shit, man!”

Raye grabbed Cid's wrist, yanking his entire arm and the phone close enough to yell at her brother.

“God damn you, Bradley! Don't you say a fucking word more or I swear as Bahamut as my witness you will die when I get home!” Then, using the shocked silence as a chance, Raye snatched the phone clean from Cid's hand and screeched more directly to both men. “I am gonna kill BOTH of you!”

Cid couldn't help but to stare up at the redhead in surprise as she continued to pin him against his seat, wondering if Raye indeed really did hate him that much. What confused him, though, was that they had gotten along so well that night at his house, and for the most part, thereafter. Brad could still be heard laughing as he hung up the phone on the other end, and Cid's own guffaws began to take on a rather uneasy tone.

“Uh…Raye…”

Cid's voice caused the woman in his lap to look down. Turning completely scarlet, she recoiled back, settling into her position in the driver's seat once again.

“I told you he was an asshole,” the woman said, trying to relieve the tension. Cid couldn't manage a logical answer, much less even think of one, so he just kept quiet. “He talks big when he's protected by a phone line, but so help me when I get home, he is so dead.”

Raye was too distracted by her own embarrassment to catch on to Cid's. She looked over at him grimly. “And, you…oh, I'll get you!”

The blond, who was still laughing nervously, blanched for a moment and went silent. Raye turned away from the horrified man, put the truck back into gear, and pulled out onto the road.

“I have a feeling this is going to be an all-out practical joke war between me and Brad, now,” Raye sighed.

With the spotlight off him for the time being, Cid ventured a grin.

“Sounds pretty dangerous.”

Raye let out a giggle that made him shiver.

“Right now,” she said mischievously, “I have a can of salt with his name all over it.”

The pilot gawked. “Gawd, yer fucking evil!”

He grabbed his phone away from the redhead and stuffed it into his pocket as Raye laughed.

“When I get even, boy, do I get even! Now if I wanted to be really mean, I know where I can find an electric shaver…”

Cid's eyes widened. “Goddamn, you're evil!”

“You said that already! Besides, when did I ever say I was innocent?” Raye said with a little wink and a smirk. Cid returned with a devious smile of his own.

“Make sure ya only do one side, though.”

Raye busted up laughing, snorting in the process. Her face turned red at the embarrassing sound as Cid chortled at her as well.

“Well, I am the master at pranks,” she finally said, “so you don't have to worry.”

The redhead winked cleverly at Cid, and the pilot returned with a smile and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket again.

“I s'pose in that case I better warn him…” Cid mumbled, already snickering, knowing what kind of a reaction he would get from the female.

“YOU BETTER NOT OR I SWEAR I WILL DO THE SAME TO YOU, YA FUCKING SNITCH!” Raye hollered.

Cid cracked up even harder, replacing the phone back into his pocket, deciding that maybe he ought to behave himself the rest of the drive back to the Shields' house.

Later that evening…

Cid found himself back in Rocket Town and in the hangar, up to his elbows in work - literally. The pilot had loosened many components within the Tiny Bronco, but there was one in particular that refused to budge. He struggled with it, cursing under his breath, and it didn't help matters that it was bitterly cold in the hangar, especially since the heater he was using wasn't doing shit as far as putting out any real heat.

The man pulled his hands out from the cowling and sighed, glancing at his watch. Making a face, Cid took a shop rag from his back pocket and wiped away the grime that covered it and looked again, sighing. No wonder why he was so dog ass tired. It had gotten late on him rather quickly, which explained why he wasn't having much success.

He returned early that afternoon, bringing supplies with him. Cid estimated that the work would take two to three days, but the rest of the day and most of the evening he spent working hurriedly on his baby. The hours passed by quickly, and the new components dwindled down to just a few pieces as he managed to get an entire wing section replaced.

Cid decided to give up for the night, and he stepped away from his airplane, lighting a cigarette as he did so. He walked to the door of the hangar and puffed on his cigarette as he surveyed the damaged and bad pieces scattered about on the hangar's floor. The carnage was absolutely disgusting as he looked over all the rusted, bent, holed, and the decaying parts, but then he figured that all those parts were now replaced or were soon going to be replaced. Still, the mess wasn't pretty, but he figured that it was kind of like the healing process; sometimes you had to hurt more before you could get better.

The pilot flicked a cigarette onto the hangar floor, crushed the butt beneath the toe of his boot, and headed out into the cold air outside toward the house. Stop being all philosophical, Highwind - it don't suit ya at all.

Once safe inside the warmth and comfort of his home, Cid got out the teakettle, filled it with water from the sink, and put it over heat to boil. He glanced at his reflection in the stainless steel thinking about Shera using the thing over the years. He got out a box of chamomile tea to help him relax and placed a bag in his favorite mug - an old chipped cup with a flying Stearman on it. He did a lot of thinking about other things, mostly about the Bronco in the hangar, and after much deliberation, Cid finally made a decision.

The Rocket Town time zone was ahead of Midgar, so the pilot felt it was okay to make a phone call there at such a late hour. He picked up his house phone and dialed a number, and a ring tone came over the receiver. As he listened, he became momentarily lost in his own thoughts, and was startled when someone picked up at the other end just as he was about to hang up.

“Hello, Shields Garage and Parts,” a woman's voice said.

“Raye? Uh, it's Cid.”

“Hi Cid,” Raye replied. The pilot flinched a little at her tired voice. “What can we do for you?”

Despite their fiery attitudes toward one another, Cid was a highly respected customer of theirs, and the redhead made sure to give Cid respect when talking business with him and find nothing but the best materials for him.

“Say, listen, would it be possible to deliver the rest of those parts?” Cid asked Raye. The female raised an eyebrow. He was being unusually polite. “I know I said I didn't need them for a few more days, but I'm ahead of schedule and would love to get this done if ya know what I mean.”

Raye sighed a little.

“Alright,” she finally said. “I'll be there in the morning, sometime before noon. Anything else while I'm going to the trouble?”

Cid paused for a minute, deliberating as to whether or not he should make this one other request.

“Umm…” Cid started, wondering if he was going to sound like a complete idiot.

“Just spit it out, dipshit,” Raye drawled impatiently.

Cid cleared his throat. “Could you…ah…bring some more recipe cards?”

The blond grimaced at how timid the question came out and fingered the phone cord. Raye, after an awkward pause, burst out laughing on the other end.

“Yeah, okay. I'll see what I can come up with,” she finally said between giggles. “Gawd, you're so pathetic…”

Cid huffed. “Aw, shaddup!”

“Alright, alright. I'll behave. See you tomorrow.”

With that, she hung up. Cid sighed tiredly and poured hot water over his chamomile tea bag. He drank it alone at the table and decided to hit the sack and skip dinner.

I'll eat tomorrow when I'm actually awake enough to see those fucking cards…

Back in Midgar, Raye turned to walk out the shop door when she found Brad leaning in the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and grinning as wide as a Cheshire cat. His eyes were full of mischief, and she scowled.

“What is it?” she had an idea of what it was, but the girl knew he'd tease her worse if she gave no response.

“Havin' a late night chat with your man?” Brad teased.

Raye shot daggers at her brother.

“Late night my fucking ass! It's only after eight!” A slight pause. “And he is not my boyfriend, dammit!”

“Mmm-hmm…I thought that was Cid. You get the strangest look when he calls,” the brother pointed.

Raye turned a little green. “Yeah, because that look means I'm gonna fucking puke because that wheezy ass voice of his is so damned annoying!”

“I don't think the man sounded wheezy,” Brad said. “In fact, he sounded a little rough, but you like men like that, don't you, Sis?”

Raye, who was wearing slip on sandals for inside the house, kicked off her shoe and sent it flying at Brad's head. He dodged the projectile easily, laughing hysterically at the hissy fit his sister was throwing.

“Will you shut up?!”

“So what exactly are you fixing up for him, anyway? A bondage kit? Role playing costumes? Oh I bet he'd like that!”

Raye's jade eyes lit up dangerously, and Brad could swear he heard something in her snap as she exploded.

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”

His hotheaded sister tackled Brad to the floor, causing the entire Shields' household to shake.