"Cid?"

The grizzled pilot looked up from the car he was repairing, a ferocious frown on his face. "Who the $&* would block my sun? It's my damn sun and I'm about to…" Squinting his eyes, he could barely make out a spiky-haired young man, the cause of the shadow. "Cloud? What's yer problem, boy? You know that I don't like being disturbed when I'm in my workroom!"

Cloud scratched the back of his head with one hand, a sure sign that the young swordsman was in trouble. "Well, yeah, I know that, but…"

"But what?" Cid prompted, still glaring at the blond.

Cloud took a deep breath, but even so, it took him a while before he spoke. "Well, I kinda need help," the young man confessed, looking at everything else except at the man he was talking with.

In spite of himself, Cid's curiosity piqued. It wasn't common for Mr.-I-Can-Save-the-World-Myself-So-Go-Away-and-Leave-Me-Alone-With-My-Buster-Sword to ask for help. "Yeah?" He said, his frown dropping a little.

"Well… You know you and Shera are… Well, you know…" Cloud mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Which Shera are you talkin' about?" Cid asked, an eyebrow raised. "'Cause if ye're talkin' about my airship, I'll have you know that all those stories about me and the airship aren't true and…"

"Not that Shera!" Cloud said, his voice annoyed. "I meant the other one!"

"Well, what about her?" Cid asked, his expression was confused at first, but then he frowned. "Are you havin' those kinda thoughts about my wife, Spikey? Because if you are, I'm gonna grab my trident right now and…"

"I don't care about Shera, I care about Tifa!" Cloud half-yelped, half-growled in irritation.

"Oh!" Cid's anger suddenly turned into a full-fledged grin. "Oho!"

"Fine, fine," Cloud growled. "Go ahead. I know you're not gonna shut up until you get it out of your system."

"Oho!" Cid exclaimed again, his grin wider than ever. "Took ya long enough, boy!"

Cloud glared at the pilot.

Undeterred by the glare, Cid's grin grew even wider, his wide smile threatening to pop out of his face. "So you like her, huh? You love her?"

Glare.

"So are you gonna pop the question?" Cid asked, wiggling his eyebrows and nudging Cloud on the ribs with an elbow. "Get the old ball and chain? Tie the bonnet?"

Cloud glared harder. "I only wore a bonnet that one time, and you know it!"

"I meant ask her to marry you, you idiot!" Cid shouted, but his face still bearing that wide grin. "You finally decided to ask her to marry you!"

"Yes!"

"Well, so what's the problem? You propose, she accepts, you two get married and have lots of annoying little brats that can punch as hard as they can kick, and you'll live disgustingly happily ever after."

"I wish it was as easy as that," Cloud mumbled.

"Well, so what's the problem?"

"I don't really know how to ask her," Cloud confessed. "Heck, I don't even know if she loves me like I love her."

Cid gaped at Cloud, his expression incredulous. "If you think that boy, you're denser than I thought."

Cloud looked at Cid in irritation. "So how did you do it? How did you court Shera?"

Cid grinned, his eyes softening in remembrance of the recent past. "Well, you know, old-fashioned wooing and all… Give her flowers and candy, you know, giving her compliments, that sorta thing."

Cloud narrowed his eyes in thoughts. "Flowers, candy, compliments…" He recited slowly. "Alright, I'll try it your way. Wish me luck." Without another word, Cloud turned around and headed for the door.

"Good luck!" Cid called out after the blond man. "And close the damn door!" He yelled as an afterthought.

xxx

A week has passed since Cid's talk with Cloud. Personally, the pilot was pleased with himself for giving good advice and was only waiting for the call from Seventh Heaven to invite him to the wedding.

He did get a call, but not in the way that he expected.

He was in the workroom again when Shera peeked in. "Cid?" She asked. There was something about her tone that made him pause. "Are you busy?"

"Not really, just doin' a little bit of fine tuning," Cid replied. "What's going on?"

"Tifa called. She wants to talk to you dear." Shera paused. "And she doesn't sound happy."

A confused expression appeared on the pilot's face. Tifa? Not happy? Is that even possible? Given that the swordsman was about to propose marriage any day now, he would have thought that the martial artist would be happier. "Alright, she still on the line? Never mind, I'll just call her." In so saying, Cid trudged his way to the house and headed for the telephone. No sooner did the Seventh Heaven phone did someone pick it up.

"Cid?" The voice was deceptively soft, although a bit muffled.

Cid gulped. "Tifa?" he asked meekly. He heard that tone before. When Tifa spoke that way, it was usually followed by a roundhouse or an uppercut. "You sound strange."

"Never mind that," came the voice again. "Cid, what exactly have you been telling Cloud?"

"Er… Hehe. Funny thing, really, but…"

"I don't really see what's funny about it," Tifa said, cutting him off. In his mind's eye, Cid imagined Tifa, leaning by the bar counter with her teeth clenched. The pilot didn't want to admit it, but Tifa intimidated him. He wasn't used to women fighting back, and Tifa not only could fight back, she could beat the crap out of you with one hand tied behind her back. "Do you know why Cloud's acting weirdly?"

"Er… How weird is weird, exactly?" Cid hedged.

"Well, let's see…" Tifa said, her tone still in that scary sing-song manner. "First, he stuck a lollipop on my hair. I couldn't get rid of the damn thing for hours, and he did it just as I was about to open the bar."

"Oh."

"Do you know how hard it is to serve drunk men with a lollipop stuck on your hair, Cid? Do you know how many of them tried to pull it out or tried to lick my head?"

"Erm, can't say I have."

"Not yet, you haven't," Tifa muttered.

Cid gulped. "Has he done anything else?"

"Now that you mention it… He struck flowers in front of my face the other day."

"Well, that doesn't sound bad. Women like flowers." No reply. "Right, Tifa?" He asked, his tone worried.

"I would have liked it… If not for the fact that it's poison ivy flowers."

"Oh!"

"Yes, Cid. Oh!" Tifa mimicked. "Oh. My face is still swollen. I can barely talk and eat because my lips are puffed up."

So that explains the muffled voice, Cid thought, his heart sinking.

"Cid? Are you still there? I'm still waiting for an explanation."

"Well, the thing is… Er…" He was saved from replying by the sound of the door slamming in Seventh Heaven.

"Tifa?" he recognized Cloud's voice. "Who have you been talking to?"

"No one!" Tifa replied quickly.

"Okay," came Cloud's voice again. "Erm, how are you feeling?" The swordsman sounded timid. In spite of himself, Cid chuckled. It was rare to hear the young man out of his element.

"Aside from the fact that I feel like my face has been attacked by a hundred wasps, I feel peachy."

"Sorry," came Cloud's voice again.

"It's okay," Tifa said wearily. "You didn't really know it was poison ivy, anyway."

A few seconds of awkward silence followed before Cloud spoke. "Tifa?"

"Uh huh?"

"Did I ever tell you that you punch like a guy?"

"What?"

Cid groaned. Leave it to Cloud to mess up all of his instructions.

"I'm serious!" Cloud said, his voice sincere. "Those muscles! I think you could take down an elephant by yourself!"

"Cloud…" Tifa's voice said warningly.

Predictably, Cloud didn't recognize the warning in her voice. "I mean, if you didn't look the way you did, I'd swear you're a dude! I mean, really!"

Cid didn't know whether to laugh or cry. A few seconds of silence followed, before Tifa spoke again. "Cloud, dear, can you go upstairs for a few minutes? I'll follow after you after I finish this phone conversation. I think you and I need to have a little talk."

"Okay," came Cloud's voice. "Oh, and did I tell you that your punches can give the Behemoth a run for its money? You are…"

"Upstairs, Cloud!" Tifa's voice came again, this time on the verge of hysteria. Cid heard heavy boots climbing the stairs before Tifa spoke on the receiver. "You're next," she growled, before hanging up.

Cid looked at the phone in his hands, his eyes wide. Today might just be the right day to take a visit down Mideel. He wondered how fast Shera can pack their stuff.

xxx

Thanks for the reviews so far.:D I really appreciate it. Sorry about the lack of updates, I haven't been feeling creative recently.

Inuyasha'z Girlfriend: Thanks for the suggestion! I have a bit of an idea on how to do your suggestion, but I need to think for a while to give it a comic angle.:D