Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ My Happy Ending ❯ Christmas Drama ( Chapter 23 )

Chapter 23: Christmas Drama

“These are my words

That I've never said before -

I think I'm doing okay.

And this is the smile

That I've never shown before

Somebody shake me

`Cause I must be sleeping.”

-Staind “So Far Away”

Christmas morning came with much anticipation on everyone's part, and with as welcome as Cid felt in the Shields' house, even he was somewhat looking forward to the holiday. Brad had made it home the previous night and was surprised to hear Cid had been staying with them for the past few weeks. What shocked him, however, was that it was Raye who had insisted on him staying, thus making her the butt of his antagonizing for the rest of the evening and probably the rest of her life.

Raye was awakened that morning to Thomas bounding into her room and jumping on her bed. Before long, everyone was gathered around the Christmas tree in the living room. Raye had brushed her hair, put up her hair in a ponytail, and then got dressed before coming downstairs. Her youngest brothers didn't even bother as they had congregated around the gifts stuffed beneath it. Cid, having been awakened by the commotion, was the last to gather around the tree.

“C'mon, Sis!” Mark begged. “I've been waiting for this all month.”

Raye smirked. “I don't know…”

“Oh, stop teasing them and just let them have at it,” Rick told her, chuckling.

Thomas was the first to grab a gift, and eventually, the sound of wrapping paper being ripped and torn and the excited voices of the recipients were the prominent voices in the room.

“Hey, Cid,” Raye said, sitting next to him.

“Yeah?”

She ventured a small smile. “Merry Chirstmas.” She handed the pilot a small box.

“F…for me?” Cid questioned, confused.

“Well, yeah.”

Cid didn't know what to say. He accepted the gift from Raye and opened the small parcel and gasped a little. Inside the package was a fine wristwatch that was even better than the one that had shattered when he'd broken his arm. The face was large and manly, and displayed both aviation time and standard time. If he pressed a button, the aviation time display showed the current date, and the band was made of strong brown leather.

“Wow…” Cid breathed, slightly misty-eyed. He looked up. “Aw, you shouldn't have…”

“You like it?” Raye asked.

Cid nodded. “It's nice. I…I bet it was expensive…”

The redhead shook her head. “Don't worry about it. I…figured the other could use a replacement.”

The pilot looked at Raye touched that she'd thought of him. By far, this was probably the best Christmas he'd ever had.

“Quit getting mushy, you two,” Brad softly teased.

Raye didn't have the heart to screech a `fuck you' at him on Christmas, so she punched his arm instead.

Soon, they were interrupted by an excited scream from Thomas upon opening his new remote control airplane that made everyone in the room jump. He tackled his sister excitedly, repeatedly thanking her for his airplane.

“Hey, that's pretty interesting,” Cid commented upon examining it. “I kin help you get started if ya want.”

Thomas readily agreed as he carried off his new `toy'. The day wore on after the rest of the family members finally dressed for the day. Brad and Raye busied themselves in the kitchen as Cid and Thomas conversed over building the airplane. Jamie, Brian, and Mark disappeared to the basement to play a new game.

Eventually, dinnertime arrived, and Brad nervously checked the clock. “Damn, where is she?”

“Who? Shera?” Raye asked, as she spooned mashed potatoes into a bowl.

“Well, who else?” Brad replied sarcastically. “I thought she'd be here by now.”

“I'm sure she'll be along, Brad. Let's just go ahead and get all this out on the table and round up the circus, shall we?”

Brad smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure she got held up at her family's house.”

Raye and her brother set the table and brought out the turkey. Brad called for everyone to gather at the table, and soon, the blessing was said, the turkey was carved, and everyone was happily eating and chatting when a knock came at the door. Soon the door opened.

“Hello?” a voice called. Shera entered the room. “Sorry I'm late.”

She put down a stack of gifts and removed her coat, not noticing who was at the table. Cid, on the other hand, looked up at the voice having heard that Brad's girlfriend would be joining them for dinner. However, the said girlfriend was definitely not who he expected. He stared at her, slack jawed, wide-eyed, and going paler by the second. The grip on his fork loosened, and the utensil fell from his hand and onto the plate with a slight clatter.

The noise caused Shera to turn her head to it, her eyes widening at the sight of the person the noise belonged to. “C…Captain?!”

“…Shera…”

The table suddenly went silent as Raye and Brad exchanged glances.

Cid's lips worked silently as his throat began to close, tying several times to speak to her. “Shera…”

Raye turned her head to Cid. “Y…you know her?!”

Cid looked away shamefully. “Yeah…”

“Captain…” Brad trailed. Then it suddenly dawned on him. “Wait a second! Shera, he's the Captain you spoke of?!”

Cid cringed.

“Yes…” Shera said sheepishly, reverting immediately to her old, quiet habits.

“Wh…WHAAT!?” Raye exclaimed. Then she remembered the near-empty room she and Cid shared the night ne broke his arm and the sewing chest she noticed while she waited for him to wake up. “Oh, my God! The sewing chest in that room… I can't believe I didn't add that up!”

Cid suddenly jerked, scooting his chair out from the table. He suddenly felt claustrophobic and had to get out of there. “Excuse me…” he mumbled quietly as he stood up, stumbling on his chair, and hurried out of the room. Raye looked after Cid, wanting to go after him, but she thought it would be best to let him be for now. Jamie, sensing the seriousness of the situation, gathered his plate and glass of milk and motioned for Brian, Thomas, and Mark to do the same. They retreated quickly to the basement leaving Raye, Shera, Brad, and Rick alone.

Brad sat at the table unusually quiet with is chin resting on top of his interlaced hands. The young man was so quiet, in fact, that even Raye couldn't tell exactly what it was he was thinking or even feeling.

“It's funny…” Brad quietly trailed. “This kind of reminds me of Alan…”

Raye cringed at the mention of the name. “Shit…”

Shera turned her head slowly. “What?”

Raye sighed. “You remember when we went Christmas shopping and I mentioned a similar incident?”

“Yes?”

“His name was Alan…” Raye turned to Brad, not really wanting to discuss it any further. “At least hers is on a lesser level than what I went through…”

Brad frowned. “That doesn't mean it's excusable. Abuse is abuse no matter what form it comes in.”

Rick cleared his throat and stood up sternly. He calmly exited the dining room to go find Cid.

Brad stood up. “I'm gonna go kick that bastard's fucking ass.”

Raye grabbed Brad and jerked him back down into the seat. “And what would that solve, hm? It will just make things worse, so sit your ass down and let him be for now.”

“Besides,” Shera broke in meekly. “No offense, but you don't stand a chance. He's a tough brawler, even with a broken arm.”

Down in the shop, Rick peered inside from the shop's door to find Cid leaning against the outside door of the garage smoking a cigarette.

“Hey, Highwind…” he began.

“Fuck…” Cid took another drag and blew the smoke out into the cold air.

Rick strode all the way into the shop and stood next to Cid inside the door. “Cid, come on…”

The pilot turned his head hollowly toward Rick. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“It'll work itself out, Cid.”

“Like hell it will!”

“Well it won't if you turn tail and run off!”

“Goddammit…”

“Get your ass back in the house, Highwind,” Rick told him calmly.

Cid didn't budge and chose to smoke on his cigarette instead.

“You think that by just leaving everything'll just go away?” Rick asked him. “You'd be no better than she is.”

Cid's face twisted into a hard scowl but soon relaxed. “Goddamn it why do you always have to be so fucking right?”

Rick smirked a little. “Say again, Highwind?”

Cid mumbled something incomprehensible.

“That's what I thought. Go back inside.”

“Yeah, hang on…” Cid mumbled.

“You're stalling, Highwind.”

“Yeah so what if I am?” Cid asked.

“You've smoked that cig clean to the filter. You gonna smoke it, too?” Rick asked.

“I might,” the pilot sulked. He fumbled around the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a Zippo lighter followed by another cigarette from the pack he held in the band of his goggles. “Besides, I need another fucking smoke before I go back into this mess…”

“What you need is to get your ass back inside the house and get this taken care of before I send Raye down here to break your other arm.”

Cid cringed and put the lighter and cigarette away. He nodded silently and went back inside the house.

Shera, Raye and Brad sat at the table together.

“You don't have to stay, Shera,” Raye told her. “I won't be offended if you decide to leave.”

“But I want to stay! I came all this way to see you guys!”

“But it isn't worth it if it makes you uncomfortable,” Brad added.

Cid was on the other side of the door hearing the conversation. He bit his lower lip and cringed before slowly opening the kitchen door. The opening door caught their attention, and upon seeing Cid, Shera began to rise from the table. Raye reached up and pulled her down.

“I don't think so. You stay put,” she told her.

Cid noticed the expression of panic on Shera's face and sighed heavily. His voice was low when he spoke, “I don't know where to start…”

Shera remained quiet as Raye rose from the table, giving her brother a slight jerk up forcing him to stand. Brad fixed Cid a cold glare.

“We'll leave you two alone,” Raye told him coldly. Her face was expressionless, which Cid found odd for her. He figured she really must be that angry over this to not even care to show any kind of emotion. In fact, her entire demeanor made him wince as she disappeared upstairs with Brad, but rather than retreat to a room to talk, they opted to pile on to one another at the top of the stairs to eavesdrop.

They sat a moment in awkward silence, not really knowing what to say or how to react. Finally Cid decided to break the ice. His apology and all the things he'd never said were a long time overdue.

He fixed his eyes down, unable to look at her. “I'm sorry it had to come to this, Shera…”

Shera remained silent and expressionless, though perplexed he'd actually apologized. Still, her head remained bent down and hands folded in her lap in the same manner as she always was whenever she was around him.

Cid shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Are you happy? Now…I mean?”

Shera ventured to look at Cid and nodded softly. “Very…”

Cid swallowed hard, his eyes meeting with hers. “Good…”

“You?” Shera ventured.

Cid's eyes slid away. “I dunno, yet…” He unconsciously glanced toward the direction of the stairs, though he hadn't a clue she and her brother were spying.

“You…you've been doing okay, though…right?”

Cid shrugged, nodding off toward the other room. “Raye came an' saved my sorry ass a few times an' I've been gettin' on better now…I guess…”

“That's good of her…she really is a wonderful person…she's helped me a lot, too…she and her brother…”

Cid nodded. “Yeah…”

Shera glanced at Cid's arm. “So how did you do that?”

“Do wha - oh! My arm…” he looked down at the cast. “Heh…um…messin' with the Bronco… I was tryin' to move faster than I'm…” He trailed off as the whole thing began to sound all too familiar to him. “…able.”

“Getting into a hurry again, I see?”

Cid sighed. “As usual…fat lot of good it did me this time, huh?”

“It almost killed you before.”

Cid looked away. “I know…”

“Who found you?”

Cid pinkened a little. “Raye…she was actually there when it happened. She got a doctor for me an' shit…”

“You were lucky this time.”

“Yeah…”

Shera chewed her lower lip in awkward silence.

Cid looked up hopefully. “Hey, Shera…”

Of course, the woman got the wrong impression and immediately shot Cid down. “I'm with Brad now…”

The pilot grimaced. “I know…wasn't what I meant…”

“Oh…” she said.

“Say, um, could you…could you ever forgive me?”

Shera hesitated a little. Forgiveness was something she wasn't sure she had any more of. “I always have before…but it…it's harder now…”

The tears she'd been holding back since she first saw him again were beginning to well up, and she turned away.

Cid sighed heavily. “Damn it, I never meant for it to come to this, and honestly, I probably don't expect you to forgive me, and even if you do, I know you won't forget. But I don't want it to end like this.”

“I never wanted it to end up like this, either…” Shera trailed. “I…I always thought we could've had more…I always wanted more, but…”

“But what?”

“Old habits die hard, Captain. I thought things would be better after you came home, and they…weren't.”

“I have to know one thing, Shera…” Cid began. “Why did you stay? I mean, as long as you did?”

Shera went quiet - so quiet that Cid could have heard a pin drop in the room. “Because I loved you, Captain.” She flushed.

Cid held his breath a moment and exhaled. “It's too bad I was too much of a dipshit to see it, Sher. I took you for granted and made you waste years on me.” He stood up from the table. “Maybe we can't go back to where we were and try it again, but…” He stopped and turned to look at her with all the pain and regret in his eyes. “You should know that…that I am sincerely sorry for all the shit I put you through all those years. All the things I called you, blaming you for the failed launch when all you wanted was for me to achieve my dream…you wanted nothing but the best for me and all I could do was push you away and take you for granted. You deserve better, and better ain't me.” He began to leave the room but paused at the door. “I don't expect you to forgive me, Shera, but I just wanted to clear that up.”

With that, Cid left the dining room leaving Shera alone to think. Should she forgive him? Or should she let it go? Or maybe somewhere inside she'd already forgiven him and that's why she was able to move on. Still, an apology from Cid Highwind was no easy thing to come by, and the fact that he seemed to realize the error of his ways made her wonder if he was truly ready for change. Still, she'd already decided that she'd never go back to Rocket Town, but it wasn't too late to at least part on good terms, despite the hurt they shared.

Shera shook her head. She had no idea what to do.