Cid/Shera: Lessons Learned
Title: Lessons Learned
Canon: OGC, AC
Theme + Number: 64) Fall, 2) Journey, 99) Peace, 23) Shinra, 46) Magical
Claim: Cid/Shera
Characters/Pairings included: Cid/Shera
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A bit of strong language.
Summary: Cid/Shera drabbles, snippets exploring their relationship through the years. The rest can be found here.
Spoilers: none
(i)
It was his fault. He staked his future in the hands of the Shinra. He should have worked independently. They both had the talent. But when the Space Program fell, he fell with it, and took Shera with him.
They lived in a rundown town, where nothing happened, where time itself seemed to have stopped, marked only by the gradual tilting of the rocket. Degree by degree, it measured out the town’s decay. His dreams burnt out, just like the rocket.
If not for her, he would have turned to drink. She was the reason he got up each day.
(ii)
When he heard that Rufus Shinra was coming, he felt alive again. But the son-of-a-bitch had no intention of reviving the Space Program. He was off on some fool chase instead.
Cid strode around the small kitchen, fuming. “Never shoulda trusted Rufus Shinra. Never shoulda got my hopes up.”
Shera sipped her tea. “What about Cloud and his friends?”
“What about them? Bargin’ in to steal the Tiny Bronco. They can fuck off!”
“I don’t think they’re with Shinra.”
“So?”
“Don’t you want to find out what’s happening?” asked Shera gently.
That conversation started a journey that changed Cid’s life.
(iii)
“Things are peaceful now… but the world will never be like it was before, will it?”
“We can rebuild. I’ll make a better airship.” And I’ll treat you better, he vowed silently.
She nodded. “We all need to rebuild our lives. Did you know that some people threw away their entire life’s fortune at the Gold Saucer? They decided that since the end was near, there was no point in saving up or planning for the future. So that’s what they did.”
“You coulda done the same. Why didn’t you?”
“I was waiting for you to save the world first.”
(iv)
He looked at the finished airship in satisfaction. There was no Shinra logo. He had made it and named it after Shera. It belonged to them alone.
Because he knew now, that’s how things should be. A man made his own future. He had relied on those money-grubbing Shinra bastards, and they used him. They took everything he had for themselves and left him to rot in the gutter. But Cid wasn’t like that. He wasn’t a man to stay in the gutter. He wanted to fly.
And he went to find Shera, so that she could fly with him.
(v)
From the deck of the airship they had built together, they gazed out at the stars.
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
“Yeah,” Cid agreed - thinking of Shinra, of Meteor, of Geostigma - of all those damn things with capital letters that had done nothing but screw him over. Even now, in the velvety silence, his anger still burned.
Shera seemed to sense his discomfort. She squeezed his hand, smoothing out the tense muscles, and then leaned against his chest.
“But we’re all right now. We’ve achieved the sky.”
Those simple words gave him a soaring feeling he couldn’t describe.
Canon: OGC, AC
Theme + Number: 64) Fall, 2) Journey, 99) Peace, 23) Shinra, 46) Magical
Claim: Cid/Shera
Characters/Pairings included: Cid/Shera
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A bit of strong language.
Summary: Cid/Shera drabbles, snippets exploring their relationship through the years. The rest can be found here.
Spoilers: none
(i)
It was his fault. He staked his future in the hands of the Shinra. He should have worked independently. They both had the talent. But when the Space Program fell, he fell with it, and took Shera with him.
They lived in a rundown town, where nothing happened, where time itself seemed to have stopped, marked only by the gradual tilting of the rocket. Degree by degree, it measured out the town’s decay. His dreams burnt out, just like the rocket.
If not for her, he would have turned to drink. She was the reason he got up each day.
(ii)
When he heard that Rufus Shinra was coming, he felt alive again. But the son-of-a-bitch had no intention of reviving the Space Program. He was off on some fool chase instead.
Cid strode around the small kitchen, fuming. “Never shoulda trusted Rufus Shinra. Never shoulda got my hopes up.”
Shera sipped her tea. “What about Cloud and his friends?”
“What about them? Bargin’ in to steal the Tiny Bronco. They can fuck off!”
“I don’t think they’re with Shinra.”
“So?”
“Don’t you want to find out what’s happening?” asked Shera gently.
That conversation started a journey that changed Cid’s life.
(iii)
“Things are peaceful now… but the world will never be like it was before, will it?”
“We can rebuild. I’ll make a better airship.” And I’ll treat you better, he vowed silently.
She nodded. “We all need to rebuild our lives. Did you know that some people threw away their entire life’s fortune at the Gold Saucer? They decided that since the end was near, there was no point in saving up or planning for the future. So that’s what they did.”
“You coulda done the same. Why didn’t you?”
“I was waiting for you to save the world first.”
(iv)
He looked at the finished airship in satisfaction. There was no Shinra logo. He had made it and named it after Shera. It belonged to them alone.
Because he knew now, that’s how things should be. A man made his own future. He had relied on those money-grubbing Shinra bastards, and they used him. They took everything he had for themselves and left him to rot in the gutter. But Cid wasn’t like that. He wasn’t a man to stay in the gutter. He wanted to fly.
And he went to find Shera, so that she could fly with him.
(v)
From the deck of the airship they had built together, they gazed out at the stars.
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
“Yeah,” Cid agreed - thinking of Shinra, of Meteor, of Geostigma - of all those damn things with capital letters that had done nothing but screw him over. Even now, in the velvety silence, his anger still burned.
Shera seemed to sense his discomfort. She squeezed his hand, smoothing out the tense muscles, and then leaned against his chest.
“But we’re all right now. We’ve achieved the sky.”
Those simple words gave him a soaring feeling he couldn’t describe.