Cid Highwind was the man who had everything. He had the respect of the people of his town, the title of 'saviour' of the Planet, a nice cozy post at the WRO for his airships, a home that finally had the mortgage paid off, an angry ex-girlfriend, and his prize airship named after her.

He sighed, a plume of smoke drifting into the night sky.

It had been nearly five years to the day that they seen Meteor fall, and they'd defeated Sephiroth for the first time. Five years. He couldn't decide if it felt like longer or shorter than that. He'd seen Shinra – the company he was once proud to work for – fall into ruin, and saw Reeve's World Regenesis Organization rise to take its place. He'd seen Midgar collapse as the Lifestream came up from the cracks in its pavement to ward off the latest calamity from the skies, and watched Edge pick up the pieces and try to move on.

And he'd watched the one constant in his life promise him a life of something else – something more – and end up walking out like all the others.

To be fair, he'd never even pretended to be surprised. He and Shera had started on rocky ground, and they'd really only made it out of the foothills. But they were friendly and occasionally even dinner partners, and he'd made a vow that since the Highwind was beyond repair, the next airship would be named for the woman who saved his life. She'd been flattered; she'd insisted it was too much. But he'd done it, and she'd loved it, and he'd even gotten a kiss out of the ordeal. Everything looked like it had finally started down the right path.

Until she came along.

She wasn't anyone to him – and Cid couldn't convince Shera of that. Just a little fling he'd had once while he was still in Shinra. She was a young up-and-coming fighter with a legacy in the company; he was the head of the Space Program. She had a crush and he thought she had a nice body for a kid. It had never been serious, not even back then. A little playing around, some soft words spoken through waltzes at Shinra balls...nothing serious. And she'd come back looking for him, and they'd started talking, and he'd almost let himself forget who she was and what she'd done – and they'd lapsed right back into their own ways.

Neither of them had expected it. And it had only been one chaste kiss.

But Shera had seen. And the teetering tower of cards they'd begun to build came crashing down.

Everything had changed after that. The argument that finally sent her packing was the one where she informed him that she was tired of being the cook he came home to instead of the woman he loved. He'd argued for time – that love doesn't grow on trees and that if she didn't want to get treated like some stray he'd picked up, then maybe she could start earning her keep around the house.

In retrospect, she didn't deserve that. But he'd said it – and there was no turning back.

She'd left that night, not even bothering to pack most of her belongings. She'd taken the essentials, spat at his feet – albeit through tears – and walked away. He didn't know where she'd gone. He didn't think she wanted to know. About a month after, Reeve had haltingly asked if he wanted to run a search through the WRO database because surely she would have been settled by now and into their records...but he'd said no. Shera was gone. The human had left and kept the captain with his airship.

No surprise there.

That was about five months ago – six since she'd left. Life had continued on for the most part, nothing of note really changing in Rocket Town. He'd spent more time working from the office he'd set up in his house, but that was to be expected. Even Reeve didn't expect him to come out to Edge every day for work. No, he kept his projects on a tight leash that he could stick a stake into right here in Rocket Town, and keep an eye on their progress with a screwdriver in one hand and his bottle of whiskey in the other.

Damn, he'd become a sorry sight.

*knock*knock*knock*knon-knockknockknockkkk*

"What the.." From his vantage point on the new back deck, he couldn't see who was making a drum out of his front door. Tossing the stub of his cigarette onto the wood and grinding it out, he walked back through the house and opened the front door, ending the percussion solo.

Standing there was one of the last people he expected to see outside his door, especially wearing such a serious face. In traditional garb of her village, soaking wet, and scowling, was Yuffie Kisaragi, crown princess of Wutai.

"Drowned rat" would be a good term.

"Are you gonna let me in or not?" she snapped, and with eyebrows reaching toward his hairline, the captain stepped to the side and let her stomp in.

"Lemme git ya a towel, kid," he murmured, shuffling off to the bathroom and grabbing one of the towels from the cupboard. Looking back, she was still standing in the doorway, dripping onto the welcome mat, shivering from the chill. He walked back, draping it over her shoulders with a confused look flitting across his face. "How the hell'd you get so wet?"

"It's raining in Wutai," she answered simply.

"And how'd you get from there to here?" He heard a distant rumble of thunder; looked like her storm was headed her way.

"Hijacked a boat." He had to smirk. It was too like her.

"And why'd you come all the way to Rocket Town t' bang on my door?" he asked, rubbing her arm briefly through the towel before taking a seat at the kitchen table and gesturing for her to do the same.

Yuffie sat down slowly, clutching the towel around her for a moment before loosening her grip a bit to rub her hair with the corner. She didn't speak for a moment or two, and while Cid had never been the patient member of the team, he knew better than to rush the ninja. Whatever had brought her here, and with this kid of a serious attitude to boot, wasn't anything to scoff at. "I...don't know, to be honest," she finally managed. "I just... There was too much going on back there. Back in Wutai, and with me working for Reeve. It's just too much."

"Didn't Reeve let you out of that draft you got caught in?"

"Yeah, and the spy network's basically set up by someone else – I just help as, like, you know, a consultant or whatever." She shook her head, small droplets of water spraying everything. "But it's just always there. And Reeve calls and asks questions, and I've got half of Wutai to run because Godo thinks I should become leader now that all the wars seem to be over, and..." She stared at the wall for a moment, looking more lost than the pilot had ever seen her. "I don't know, Cid." She looked over at him. "I'm only twenty-one years old."

"An' yer still sixteen to me," he said, gruff but with good intention. She smiled slightly, proof she'd taken it with humor. "An' I'm getting' older every second I sit in this town. So why come t' me? Why not Cloud, or Tifa – hell, or Vince?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen Vinnie since the stuff with Deepground, and Cloud wouldn't get it."

"Who says I do? And you forgot Tifa."

"Tifa and Cloud may as well be the same person, and besides. Edge is too far away. You're the closest one I've got." Her voice wavered slightly on that, and it struck an odd chord with the captain. Yuffie had always been a bit of the irritating daughter-slash-little sister to him, so to see her choked up like this hit him...but it still struck him as an odd feeling. ...Too odd.

"Well, I ain't much for comforting." He glanced around, trying to think of something better he could do. "You want me t' find you somethin' dry t' wear?"

"Um...sure, if it's not too much trouble. I'm really soaked." The thunder was louder now, and Cid could almost hear rain starting to fall over the water. Even at a few steps from forty, his hearing was still his most heightened sense.

"Hope yer not planning on leaving Rocket Town tonight," he said as he stood, going back to his room to find clothing. "That storm you came through is on its way here."

"No, I was thinking of getting a room at the inn," she called back, and he paused. A room at the inn? Why wouldn't she just crash here for the– And then he realized. It would have been presumptuous of her to ask to stay here, and not intend to fend on her own – especially if she didn't know... "Where's Shera?" came the logical next question, and he closed his eyes for a split second.

Grabbing a pair of flannel pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, he came back out, trying to keep his emotions off his face – and apparently failing. "Wh-" she started.

"Left about half a year ago," was the short response, all he could manage as he offered her the clothes. "Bathroom's back there, if ya wanna change. And ya don't need a room at the inn; you can stay here fer th' night."

Watching him for just a moment, the ninja took the offered clothes without a sound, and slipped into the bathroom. Cid took the opportunity to go into the living room toward the fireplace he'd installed two winters before. He hadn't had any reason to use it, but if Yuffie was this cold and the temperature was dropping with the rain, he'd have a good reason to light one-

And as luck would have it, about halfway through setting up the firewood, the storm decided that it'd had enough waiting and let out a bright flash of lightning and clap of thunder that even had him jump. He heard Yuffie squeak from the bathroom, and a second later, the power flickered and died.

"Ya know, I know you said a storm was comin', but I didn't think it'd strike two minutes later," he called out, chuckling a bit under his breath as he finished setting up wood by sense of touch. He hit open the flue and reached into his pocket for his lighter, slowly setting the starter aflame.

"Cid?" a meek voice came through the darkness. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her looking into the kitchen, towel clutched in her arms. "I can't see."

"Turn around, ya dopey ninja," he said, standing up and brushing his hands off on his jeans. "I'm in here."

She spun on her heel and ducked into the living room. "Oh." Now she sounded embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don' worry. Here, lemme take that." He took the towel from her and set it on the corner of the fire screen, where it could dry a bit faster, and grabbed a nearby blanket to drape over her shoulders. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I just..." Another flash of lightning, and he had just enough time in the light to see her head snap around to the window, look of fear evident on her face, before the thunder clapped loud and she flinched, curling in on herself.

Now Cid was concerned. Yuffie was a good ninja – a little immature at times, but good – and he knew if nothing else, she got motion sickness. Fear of thunderstorms was not on the list however. And if she was afraid of storms...why on Gaia had she crossed the ocean (giving her motion sickness, no doubt) in a storm? "Yuff, you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" she said, voice growing shrill. "Totally fine and you're making a big deal out of absolutely nothing and I—yeek!" Her sentence got cut off by another sharp clap of thunder, and he could just barely make out her choking back tears.

It was too much for him. He knew well enough that she was just as stubborn as he was; she'd stand there, insisting she was fine until she passed out, and she sure as hell wasn't fine. He grabbed a couple pillows and a blanket from the couch and set them near to the fire, then sat down, indicating for her to join him. "C'mon, ninja. Sit with an old man for a few."

After a moment of staring at him, she knelt down and sat just in front of him, arms still wrapped around herself. Slowly, falteringly, Cid put a hand on her shoulder, then pulled her gently to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned against him in an instant, all pretense gone, burying her face in his shirt. He could smell a faint scent of lilacs drifting off of her hair, mixed with the salt of the ocean and the lingering smoke that was on all of his clothing. "Hey, sorry 'bout the cigarette smell," he murmured.

He felt her shake her head slightly. "It's okay. It doesn't bother me," he heard the soft muffled voice come back. A moment of silence fell over them, and Cid began getting restless. Not that he wanted to move away from her, just that he figured he should be doing something and he wasn't. To be sure, he was a man of action – but these actions weren't ones he knew well. And any actions he did know for dealing with women were not ones for this situation – or this person.

But he couldn't say the thought didn't cross his mind, unbidden or not.

The storm raged outside, and Yuffie shivered gently in his arms. She'd calmed a bit, but with each strike of thunder she jumped just a little closer into his chest. He occupied himself with humming any song he could think of off the top of his head (probably out of key, but what the hell) and rubbing his thumb back and forth on her shoulder. It was the only thing he could think of to do.

After another moment of silence between the two of them, he had to ask. "So...why you hate storms so much?"

The ninja didn't answer right away. "I..." She flinched away from the thunderclap and Cid held her closer on instinct. "I was climbing...up Da Chao one day, cause I was mad at my father. So I didn't tell him where I was going, I just went. And I got to the top and was just sitting there looking at Wutai, when a really big storm hit. I tried to get down, but slipped and twisted my ankle on a ledge. I just had to sit there until the storm ended." She laughed, a weak and faint laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. "I had such a bad cold for like the next week, and I couldn't run at all for about a week after that. I was miserable."

"Aye, I bet you were." This time, when the silence fell, he welcomed it. He could imagine the scene: a young Yuffie, probably before she'd even met the team, sitting on one of the numerous ledges on the mountain...with rain pouring down on her as she sat, getting soaked, injured, unable to get help. Hell, that'd make him afraid of thunder too. The only time storms worried him was when he had to fly through them – and even then, it was a challenge, an adventure. Nothing to really be worried about.

"Do you think it's stupid?" he heard her whisper, barely audible through the storm and the crackle of the fire.

"What?"

"That I'm afraid of storms. I'm the great Materia Hunter Kisaragi, heir to the throne of Wutai...and I ran away from my responsibilities in the middle of a thunderstorm that I'm terrified of." She turned her head slightly to look up at him, and the mixture of pain and hopelessness in her eyes sent a shock right through to the captain's heart. "Do you think it's stupid?"

In an unprecedented move, Cid just set his lips lightly against her forehead and gave her a bit of a hug. Her skin was soft, softer than he'd expected – though he couldn't tell you why he was surprised. "Nah, I don't think it's stupid. Maybe not the smartest move you've ever made, but not stupid." He glanced at the lightning flickering outside. "You got fed up what you had to do, and knew something you didn't like was coming. You came and found someone you figured you could trust. No harm in that."

She shifted slightly, and Cid went to let go of her since it felt like she was trying to escape, but a second later she had freed her arms from the blanket and wrapped her arms tightly around Cid's torso. He blinked, stunned at the sudden outburst of emotion, but returning the embrace best he could. "Thank you," she mumbled, barely audible even to the pilot's hearing.

"Fer what?"

"For being here. For letting me come in and giving me clothes to wear and letting me stay and building a fire and everything." He smirked and just nodded a bit. Seconds later, he caught something just loud enough on the water to worry him.

"One sec, Yuff." He let her go and she released him from her hug, and he stood, making his way to a window. Eyes wide, he backed away, trying his best as he turned to block Yuffie's view of the window. "We gotta move."

"Why, what's up?" He just shook his head and grabbed her elbow, pulling her to her feet. "Whoa, what the heck, Cid? What's going on?"

"Move, an' I'll tell you later." He hustled her to the only room in the house without windows: the guest room (which had once been a garage before it was Shera's room, hence the lack of windows) and hunkered her down with him there in a corner.

"Cid?" She was worried again.

"Jus' hold on." He put an arm around her shoulder and lowered his head, watching her out of the corner of his eye do the same. A moment later, what sounded like a wall of wind hit the side of the house. Even at top speed in the Highwind, even with the most powerful Materia typhoon he'd ever conjured...none of that matched what it sounded like just then. For about thirty seconds, Cid doubted the structural integrity of his house – and then it was gone, the storm fading away along with it.

"Wh- What was that?" Yuffie asked, voice shaking but not quite the same way it had been.

"Tornado," was the answer, and the ninja's eyes grew wide. "I don' even wanna know what it just did to the town. With any luck, it went behind us and just wrecked where the ol' rocket used to be." Never mind how much that structure had meant to him, or what the wreckage of that steel monster could do to the town if the tornado had flung it about, but...

"Just...now come on, old man – you're not fooling anyone." Now that was the voice of the ninja he knew all too well. "That's not just some old rocket to you, and everyone that's talked to you for three minutes knows that. Come on – let's see what it did." She grabbed his hand and led him back out to his back deck – which was there, albeit not without damage. One of the panels of glass in the door had been broken, and pieces of the railing were shattered and tossed about. They stepped outside, avoiding the broken glass, and clear as day, the site of Shinra No. 26 came into view.

Cid's breath caught in his throat. Most of the metal seemed to have missed the town – not all of it, but only small pieces had been sent through roofs and sidewalks – but the structure was essentially no more. The one thing that had always stood as a reminder to him of why he kept working and what he was always aiming for...had finally been brought to the ground.

"...I'm sorry, Cid." He glanced at Yuffie, but didn't allow his gaze to stay on that pitying look long.

He coughed. "S'nothing. Wasn't usin' it anyway; s'just junk metal. Relic of the past. Last little piece of Shinra the world's brought down." He couldn't hide the pain in his tone, but he'd use his words to cover it up. "Just a hunk of goddamn shit now, anyway."

"Stop." He'd made a move to enter the house again, but a hand on his arm kept him from moving. He finally looked back to Yuffie, and she gave him a tight hug – one he superficially reciprocated. "You held me. Let me hold you now."

The thought was ridiculous. He was what, sixteen years her senior? And she was going to hold him, as he mourned the loss of something that had become utterly insignificant to everyone but him years ago?

But it happened, and though he didn't cry, his shoulders shook just a little. And after a moment, he let her go, and she pulled his face down to hers, and set feather-light kisses to first his forehead, then his nose, and finally his lips. He raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?"

Suddenly she was bashful. "It's what my dad use to do when something bothered me when I was a kid, especially at night. He said the first kiss is to represent good thoughts and dreams, the second a symbol of always thinking positive, and the third a reminder that he loved me." She scuffed her shoe into the wood. "I just figured it fit. Sorry, that's probably pretty weird, me kissing you, huh?"

Weird? He had to think. It wasn't the first word he thought of. Unexpected? Sure. A little bizarre? Of course – the age difference only began to cover that. But for whatever reason, it wasn't weird. "Nah. Not like that, at least." He shrugged. "C'mon, let's get back inside. S'late – we kin check out the destruction in the mornin'."

They trooped back into his house, neither one of them really sure of what to make of this odd turn of events. He quickly made up the bed in the spare room with clean sheets – he hadn't made it properly as no one slept in there anymore. "S'not much, but here's a bed for ya. You kin just let me know if you need anything. You know where the bathroom is and all."

She nodded. "I left my clothes in there; I didn't know what you wanted me to do with them."

He glanced out into the living room; the fire was out. He'd have to wrangle with the dryer. "I'll take care of 'em, don't worry." She nodded, tucking her hands into the pockets in the pants. He smirked again, finally taking in a look at the ninja all dressed in his clothes. Irrational or not, there was a piece of him that was exceptionally pleased to see her in his clothing.

"Thanks again."

He just nodded, and in a split second decision, walked over to her and returned the favor of what she'd done moments ago to him. A kiss to the forehead, nose, and lips – and if the third kiss had lasted just seconds longer than expected, neither of them commented.

And with that, Cid left her to sleep, before he got himself any further into things and people he'd never understand.