Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all related franchises don't belong to me. Such a shame. Or not.

I have always wanted to write a Cid fic. Sad to say, this probably isn't the best representation of Cid. Combined with seeing Advent Children, I was inspired to write a combo of Cid thoughts and a minor explanation for the whereabouts/future for the rest of the cast.

Summary: Cid contemplates Shera and the Shera, along with the minor details of life in a post-Meteor and –Kadaj world. Rated for safety, in case some teens out there have virgin ears.

Exhaling slowly, Cid Highwind leaned over the rail on the Shera and contemplated the ground rushing by below him, letting his cigarette burn close to the filter. He had no fear of the airship crashing; the young man he had trained back on the Highwind had been the first person he sought out to pilot the Shera. If the airship crashed, it would have been for more hazardous reasons than manual complications, and no one on the airship could have helped it.

Well, except maybe him. He was, after all, the ace airship pilot in the whole damn Planet.

Of course, crashing was out of the question. Shera had been reluctant enough as it was to let him use her airship to pick everyone up for their reunion; he would never live it down if he let the Shera crash.

At first, he hadn't wanted to name the new airship 'Shera.' He rather liked the name 'Eternal,' a tribute to Aerith's memory and the knowledge that AVALANCHE's actions would be known by future generations.

Cid's plans had gone down the proverbial toilet when Shera suddenly usurped first the plans, then the decisions, and ultimately the project from him. He hadn't even seen it coming. One day, he was delightfully thinking of all the good trips he and the Eternal would take, and the next Shera was smashing a wine bottle against the hull of the Shera.

Damn how he loved women with the gall to face him down for a beautiful airship.

Even if Shera had not wanted to let him take the airship, she really didn't have much of a choice. The Highwind had long since been repaired since Meteor, but there were some technical glitches that needed hammering out before it was safe to leave the hangar. Cid wasn't afraid of risking his own life, but he'd be damned to an eternity in Sephiroth's fucked-up universe before he let a crewmember pilot a malfunctioning airship, even one so beloved and trusted as the Highwind. That only left the Shera to act as the taxi.

Shera might not have liked it, but dammit he wore the pants in the relationship, not her. Even when she started getting pissy about how he left the mess of grease, oil, and miscellaneous parts for her to clean-up, he was the one who had the final say in all matters.

Which still didn't explain how she got to have his new airship model, but that was beside the point. Or the time when he refused to have an extension built for the house, yet when he woke up from his strange haze at the end of the week they had an extensive upstairs network and two new rooms on the first floor and more splinters in his fingers than before. Or when they got that fucking new kitten Shera adored so much from the old man in Rocket.

Cid still hadn't forgiven the furry monster for scratching his Dragoon Lance.

He also hadn't managed to forget the fact that he had bought the damn monster for Shera out of his own pocket. That's seventy-two hundred gil I'll never see again.

Cid didn't like to admit it, but when it came to Shera he tried to do what he could to make up for his previous behavior. The one time he had failed (at least, he liked to think it was the only time) was three months ago, when he came to the others' aid on the Shera to fend off Kadaj and his two brothers. Shera kicked up one hell of a rampage against him for that, but in the end she forgave him.

It just wasn't in his heart to ignore the call for help from his friends, just as it wasn't in his heart to fry his engineers in his rocket engine, even for his dream. She knew and understood that.

Cid turned his thoughts away from Shera, which were steadily growing uncomfortably personal, to his friends and their activities since Meteor and the fiasco with the second Reunion.

Tifa and Cloud were patching things up between them, what with Cloud's annoying habit of shutting people out and struggling with memories and Tifa's endearing but still suffocating habit of being overly protective. The two were enjoying life in Edge with Denzel and Marlene, along with visits from Barret when he took breaks from searching for alternatives to Mako.

Reeve, both in-person and as his mechanic persona Cait Sith, also took time to drop in on Tifa, Cloud, and the children at Seventh Heaven. He was currently busy with the World Restoration Organization, which he had high hopes for. Personally, Cid didn't hold much water with such a grand undertaking, but he wished the best for Reeve—so long as he kept Cait the damn hell away from him; one rat-catcher was enough for the pilot.

Vincent had separated himself again, but in less of a reclusive manner. He had everyone's numbers for one thing, and everyone had his. And shockingly enough, he hadn't chosen to live in Lucrecia's cave or in the Sleeping Forest up north, but bought a small house in Gongaga. He even agreed to be a pen pal of Marlene's, an agreement of which no one had deigned to inform Barret of; while Vincent could handle himself against the trigger-happy bear, everyone had agreed the messenger would more than likely wind up in the hospital unless they were far (or high) enough away from Barret and his temper. Barret was highly protective of his little girl, which meant any potential for tainting her innocent nature was a factor that would be quickly (but still painfully) eradicated.

Yuffie was Yuffie, still trying to pawn everyone's materia and acting as Princess Ninja of Wutai. She had aged like the rest of them, but she was still the liveliest of the party. A part of Cid envied her for her youth, but usually he just wanted to ram his Venus Gospel into her throat to keep her from jabbering so much. Besides, blood was an easier smell to cover up on an airship than damn vomit. Cid could still smell Yuffie's puke on the Highwind, even after a thorough gutting.

Red watched over Cosmo Canyon in Bugenhagen's place, but still had time to travel and see the world, as his 'grandfather' would have wished it. The inhabitants of Cosmo Canyon had even insisted on it, since they couldn't bear the thought of chaining down the one who was supposed to be their protector. Red was researching both methods to improve worldwide peace as well as any sign for more of his race. Everyone hoped the best for him, and had promised to contact him as soon as possible if they saw any indication of a four-legged, flame-tailed lion-creature. Particularly, Cid thought, of the female variety.

Regarding the cigarette that burned dangerously close to his lips, Cid sighed and flicked the ashes off, dropped the burning filter to the floor and extinguished it with a well-placed heel. Orienting himself with the topography, Cid identified Wutai's landscape and the indistinguishable Da Chao mountains. Vincent and Red were onboard, leaving only the Wutaian brat to pick up. Then, they'd join Barret, Reeve (with Cait), Cloud, and Tifa at Seventh Heaven, and even quite possibly the Turks and President Rufus Shinra.

Most of AVALANCHE had reservations about trusting the Turks, and outright pessimism regarding Rufus. But Cloud, Tifa, and Reeve vouched for the Turks, and had added that Rufus had suffered Geostigma like so many others had, including Cloud and Denzel. Rufus was a changed man, so Reeve claimed, and therefore ought to be given a chance.

Cid would sooner give Shera's damn kitten Venus Gospel to chew and claw before he trusted Rufus, but he contented himself with the knowledge that once (or possibly if) Rufus backstabbed them all, he'd have the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so." Right after he Dragon Dived Rufus' scrawny ass, that is.

The Turks he was more willing to trust, if only because he had seen glimpses of Reno and Rude's fight with Loz and Yazoo, as well as heard of their contribution to saving the children from Bahamut SIN and setting off the explosions at the tunnel to stop Loz and Yazoo. Elena and Tseng had sacrificed plenty to the clone brothers, but Cid was in agreement with Vincent that the duo had it coming to them; fucking around with remnant parts of JENOVA was a bad idea in and of itself, no matter whose orders they were. But overall, in Cid's opinion, the Turks were allowable in any Gatherings they hosted.

Yuffie had come up with the term 'Gathering,' as the word 'Reunion' still made everyone twitchy and liable to shoot, beat, or slice up the closest offender, particularly in Cloud's and Tifa's cases. Shit, Cid had nearly pitched his body off the airship just thinking of the word.

Pushing off the rail, Cid stared out into the extensive blue of the sky, thoughts wandering to subjects less frightening and more along a theme of brunette, glasses-wearing women. He rubbed a velvet box in his pocket unconsciously.

The intercom hissed alive, announcing the Shera's imminent landing. Turning, Cid lazily made his way to the deck to greet the undoubtedly bubbly Wutai princess and get the Shera headed back to Edge.