Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ My Happy Ending ❯ Wonderland ( Chapter 22 )

Chapter 22: Wonderland

“You want love,

We'll make it

Swimming in a deep sea of blankets.

Take all your big plans

And break `em.

This is bound to take a while.”

-John Mayer “Wonderland”

Back in Costa del Sol, Brad was busily ringing up purchases at the cash register as Shera bustled about her newly opened clothing shop helping customers. She had waited for this day for months, and it seemed that the many nights of sewing and many days of fixing boats for money down at the marina were paying off.

Customers eagerly awaited the opening of her little store, especially the tourists of the tropical town, and Christmas seemed the perfect time to finally open the doors. Raye and Brad spent their weekends off helping her bring everything together, and Raye had decided to paint a sky themed mural since it seemed to suit the name of her store, Dream Street. The shop was crowded, and she was having a hard time keeping up with everyone, even with Brad's help.

Brad made his way through the crowd to Shera. “How are you holding up?”

Shera smiled. “I am holding up very well, thank you. I just can't believe this is really happening!”

Shera was obviously excited because she was finally living her dream and the life she deserved - no more allowing herself to be dragged down. She had a great boyfriend, a business that she hoped would boom, so how perfect could things be?

Once the last customer had left ending yet another busy day, Shera locked the doors, turned out the lights, and together, she and Brad counted the cash in the drawer.

“Holy shit!” Shera exclaimed as she put the last of the Gil into the cash slots. “I think we turned a profit!”

Brad jumped, surprised by her sudden profanity. “A profit? Really?!”

“Yes! My word! I - I just can't believe how well this opening week has gone!”

Brad pulled her to him and kissed her on top of her head. “I'm so happy for you, and I hope this continues to go as it has.”

“So do I.”

“Dinner to celebrate?”

“Sure. Why not? Where are we going?”

“We're not going anywhere,” Brad said, smiling. “I thought I would be the chef tonight.”

“Oh, you spoil me,” Shera blushed.

“Well, you deserve it.” Brad kissed her again and led her upstairs to the apartment. “Say, Shera, I have something to ask.”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if you would like to come over for Christmas.”

“Really?”

Brad turned to her and smiled. “Of course! My family just loves you, and you and my sister especially seem to get along.”

“Well…I have to do Christmas Eve in Kalm with my family, but of course! I'll definitely be there!”

Brad smiled broadly and kissed her. “Great! I can't wait to call Raye and tell her, but first things first - dinner.”

Brad cooked a delicious dinner for Shera - bitter green salad with gorgonzola croutons and raspberry vinaigrette dressing as the starter, and the main course consisting of apple marinated pork tenderloin served with a side dish of mashed potatoes with just a hint of garlic. For dessert, he'd made a Crème Brule garnished with caramel and chocolate sauces.

“My goodness, you're out to make me fat, aren't you?!” Shera exclaimed as she marveled at the dinner layout.

The presentation was fabulous - the dinner table was adorned with a white table cloth, dishes from Brad's personal stash at home, fine wine glasses and water tumblers, and some of Shera's silverware set up in a most elegant way. He'd lit candles on the table, and was presented the main dish. Brad popped the cork on a bottle of sauvignon blanc and poured it into the lady's glass.

“I'm only out to impress,” Brad told her after serving the salad and taking a seat.

“You are absolutely amazing at food! What are you doing working in a garage?”

Brad swallowed a bite he'd taken and sipped his wine. “Well, food has always been my passion, and it was always my dream to go to culinary school and become a chef, but unfortunately, things happen, and I wasn't able to do that. After my mom died, my Dad was so stressed out, and extra strain was really put onto Raye because she basically had to assume Mom's role in the family. I mean, she helped out to begin with - we all did, but it was even harder when Mom died. Dad started pulling long hours in the garage, and I guess it was sort of his way of dealing with the grief. Raye had always helped him, but she became an even bigger asset because she had to take care of the bookkeeping aspect of it as well as the mechanics.”

“Who did the bookkeeping before? Your mother?” Shera asked.

“Yeah, she did, but Raye is so good at math and science that it came naturally to her. My sister should have gone to college to be a physicist or something - she's so smart. She tried, actually, but she had to drop her classes because keeping up with five younger siblings, working in the shop, making deliveries, and doing the bookkeeping was taking a toll on her, so something had to give.”

“Oh…that's too bad,” Shera told him. “I wish she had the opportunity.”

“Well, I think she's going to try it again in a few years, though.”

“Well, what about you? Why didn't you just go ahead and leave?”

Brad shook his head. “I couldn't stand the thought of leaving them behind to do all of the work. My family is a lot of work by itself, but keeping up with a shop and chores on top of that is harder. So, I stayed. That and Dad had a mild heart attack from the stress of Mom's death and keeping up with everything else.”

“A mild heart attack?”

“Yeah, it could have been worse. I guess I got afraid that Dad would have a bigger one, so that was it.”

Shera shook her head. “That was a very selfless thing you and your sister did.”

“Well, you did a very selfless thing as well, Shera. I mean, you stayed with that asshole all those years who didn't appreciate you. I think you have the patience of a saint.”

Shera giggled. “Well, I don't know where I drew it from, but to tell you the truth, love makes you do stupid things. At least there was nothing stupid about your selfless act. That's all behind me, now, and I don't think I'll ever have to see him again. I'm over him and everything that happened.”

Brad lifted his glass. “Well, cheers, to moving on and to happiness.”

“Cheers.”

The rest of the night went peacefully. Shera helped Brad clean up the dishes and wrap the leftovers, and afterward, the couple went for a stroll on the beach. Brad held Shera's hand as they walked along barefooted, the incoming tide lapping over their feet as the sun began to sink on the horizon.

“This sure is a peaceful place,” Brad told her. “I could get used to this.”

Shera grinned. “Oh, it didn't take me long. I love it here because it's always warm and there's always something to do. I've always wanted to live somewhere tropical.”

“Heh, you know, I bet my sister would live here in a heartbeat. She's all about swimming, and actually, she knows how to scuba dive and surf.”

“Really?!” Shera exclaimed. “I want to learn to do both of those things!”

Brad chuckled. “Well, maybe Raye can teach you sometime. I'm sure she'd be glad to.”

They started up the wooden steps to leave the beach and walk the cobblestone streets back to the apartment. In the time he'd gotten to know her, Bradley Shields felt he had fallen hard for the quiet, shy, former engineer. She was the only person he could think about and the reason why he came all the way from Midgar to help her in the shop, but he couldn't help but wonder if she really was over this Captain she sometimes mentioned. Of course, if she wasn't, she would at least come clean about it, or so he liked to think. Still, what he did for her was not enough to him - he wanted to show her more.

They reached the apartment once more, and Brad sat with her on a newly acquired sofa.

“Shera?”

“Yes?”

“Um…I don't know how to say this, but…I think I have fallen for you…”

“Fallen?”

“Fallen…as in, I...I love you.”

Shera's eyes widened in surprise. He loved her, and the thought of someone actually loving her was hard to take. Still, she was grateful, and truthfully, she was definitely falling for him, maybe not as quickly as Brad apparently fell for her, but it was there.

“Well, I…I love you, too.”

Brad's heart wanted to explode with absolute joy over hearing this. Immediately he took her into his arms and kissed her, their lips grazing lovingly as they held onto one another. Brad broke the kiss and, much to Shera's surprise, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her off to the bedroom.

Gently, he laid her on the bed, bending his head down to meet her lips. He'd never had such a physical need to express himself as he did now. His shirt came off as he loved on her, and soon, layers of clothing were shed on both parts as they soon lay between the sheets naked and passionately making love.

Shera couldn't remember the last time she had been in bed with a man - it was during the rocket project, she knew that, and Cid seemed to be thrown into a bit of a jealous fit over the brief affair she had with a fellow scientist. Of course, that was when Cid liked her. Since the botched launch, she'd been devoted to him, remaining celibate, even if it was one-sided on her part. It had been so long she'd almost forgotten how good it felt to have such a primitive fix and for someone to actually care about her.

The sun's light slowly began to creep into the darker crevices of her bedroom, and soon, it began to illuminate her bed and Brad's sleeping naked body next to her tangled up in the sheets. He was a wonderland, and she - satisfied.