"Currently Untitled".

Chapter 3

Red XIII had just woken up. The sun was just about to peek over the horizon and the birds had started to chirp their morning songs. He shook his fur and made his way down to where Yuffie was sleeping. She had ordered that he and Cait sleep on the outskirts of the woods, just in case any monsters decided to pop out the woodwork and try to steal her precious materia. Red had wondered to himself what use a monster would actually have for materia, but he decided not to argue. It was bad enough hearing her gripe about how uncomfortable the ground was and how noisey the bugs were at night. Oh and the fact that she hadn't got anywhere to charge her phone. To be honest, he was in no mood to make matters worse for himself by giving her more things to complain about. Besides, he was far too tired. At that moment, He was just glad it was morning and she was still asleep.

Cait had learned his lesson about that too. He went along with her wishes the night before and had settled himself down on a nice comfy patch of moss. He had just started to stirr when Red got up to walk to where Yuffie was and he let out a faint meowl as he yawned and stretched.

Yuffie was flat out. Her mouth was hanging open and a rather large bead of drool was slowly making its way down her chin. "Disgusting", thought Red as he shook his head at the sight before him. He swished his tail and caught the end of her nose for a brief moment. The sound of bird song was drowned out by a loud shriek. Well, that was it! She was awake now!

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

"What was WHAT for? And do you REALLY have to shout so loud?"

Yuffie frowned and rubbed the end of her nose.

"You know what you did, you evil beast. You burned my nose. ON PURPOSE TOO I BET!"

She stood up, rubbed her nose again, before angrilly perching her hands on her hips.

"Don't be so childish", exclaimed Red, wishing he hadn't put his tail anywhere near her in the first place, not to mention the rest of him, "Why would I do it on purpose?!"

"I don't know! Probably because you are a nasty, nasty beast! YOU NASTY BEAST!"

Pouting, Yuffie leaned forwards to add emphasis to her insults. Red just sighed, shook his head and made his way to the lake to have a drink. He wouldn't be brought down to her level, no matter how many insults she threw at him.

Cait was busy waving to Red hoping he would see him. He needed to go to the lake too. He was hungry! "HEY RED! WAIT UP! Aw, darn..."

Red was too interested in getting a drink. If he didn't he would be irritable for the rest of the morning. Not that 'Miss Hyperactive 2000' helped matters any. Even the most patient of people would have blood pressure issues if they spent even 1 minute with her!

"OH GOD! Theres a bug on my shorts now! AND WHERE DID I PUT MY BACKPACK!? Oh man, this ground is SO uncomfortable. And I WISH I had somewhere to charge my mobile phone!"

Red shook his head again and continued his drink, while Cait just waved his arms around trying to get someones attention.

"Guys? GUYS!? Hello?"

"Wheres my backpack?!"

"Hello? Halp!?"

"HRRRGH! OH GREAT! I just stubbed my toe now!"

Tifa, Vincent and Barret had just about given up. The person they were going to meet had not shown up and they had been waiting for nearly two hours. Barret was getting cranky. He always got cranky when he had to wait. He wasn't a patient person (It was a good job he wasn't in Yuffie's party) and he was beginning to make that fact as clear as he could.

"Where the #& are they!? Who d'they think we are?!"

Tifa was trying to calm him down and stop him from flailing his arms too much. There were lots of breakable pots and other ornaments around and she didn't want to have to be the one to foot the bill should he break anything. And if she didn't foot the bill, it would be up to him... Which wasn't a good think. Seeing Barret part with money was like watching a re-enactment of some famous ancient battle or something. In fact, the famous ancient battles were probably less violent.

"When I hear from them again, I'ma kill 'em! Y'hear!?"

"Yes, yes. Thats fine. Just keep your voice down, big guy. People in this village actually ENJOY sleeping you know."

Tifa patted his arm lightly, before turning to Vincent.

"What do you think is going on? I mean, if it was a trap they wouldn't make us wait. And if it was genuine, they would be here."

Vincent just blinked and sighed.

"They could have been caught..."

"Caught!?"

"Yes", nodded Vincent, "After all. They ARE insiders. The F.O.S probably found them out and are torturing them or something. If thats the case then they probably know about the meeting and about us. They could even be on their way right now to 'deal with us'".

Tifa put her hand to her mouth in shock. She had to admit, she had never thought about that outcome and she was suddenly very anxious.

"Jess ignore him", frowned Barret, "He's jess bein' melodramatic, is all."

"Suit yourself."

With that, Vincent walked off around the corner.

"Oh Barret. Now look what you've done!"

"Hmph."

After removing the dirt from his face, Cloud stomped his way towards Cid and Aeris.

"What do you think you are doing!?"

Cid just gave him a puzzled look.

"Aeris shouldn't be messing about like this in her condition! Don't you EVER use your head!? Oh no, thats right... Its too clouded up from all those cigarettes."

"Hey, hey, hey..."

Cid was then interupted mid-sentence by Aeris.

"Oh, pulease! What do you think I am!? An invalid!? Cloud, I just came back to life, for holy's sake! I hardly think that a little messing around is going to do me any harm."

Cloud reverted his gaze to the ground in a sheepish manner.

"I'm sorry Aeris. I was just trying to look out for you."

"You actually think I need you to?"

Aeris' words caused his head to snap up instantly. He had never really given it much thought before.

"N-no. Y-yes, er..."

"I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, Cloud. Please, don't worry so much! I know you are only trying to help, but you should worry about other things."

"Perfectly capable of looking after yourself!? Hah! Yeah... Is that why Sephiroth stuck his sword straight through you, eh? Yeah... PERFECTLY capable."

"Er", exclaimed Cid, trying to get a word in to stop them both before they started fighting.

"You KNOW why that happened. I had to allow it! You honestly think I'd just sit there and let him do it unless it was for a valid reason?"

"I don't know!"

"Er..."

"OH!. Oh, I get it now... THATS why you have been torturing yourself all this time. You think I was defenceless and you were supposed to save me. Is that it!? It had nothing to do with mankinds future or anything... It was all down to you and you think you failed me!"

"YES! OK, you are right. Thats how I felt. Happy now?"

"ER..."

"God, Cloud. You can't expect that much of yourself all the time. You aren't some freakin' superhero. Sometimes people know what they are doing and are capable of looking after themselves. Not everyone needs someone to rescue them."

"Well, I'm so sorry I tried to help you. I didn't hear you complaining when ShinRa had you and I saved you then."

Aeris frowned, took a few steps towards Cloud and snatched the overalls from him.

"Thank you for the clothes, Cloud..."

"ER..."

"Oh, spit it out, Cid", shouted Aeris trying to put on the overalls.

"Jeeze. I was just tryin' to shut you two up. You sounded like a couple of moanin' minnies."

"Hey", said Cloud in a sarcastic manner, "I wouldn't try to help Cid, you might be wrong and get shouted at!"

"Oh grow up Cloud..."

"Me grow up!? I think you need to take a step back yourself, Aeris!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes, REALLY! Ever since you came back, you've seemed different somehow. You aren't like I remember."

"So sorry I haven't lived up to your expectations, Mr Perfect."

"Thing is Cloud." Cid rubbed the back of his neck. "Shes not long since come back. How can you make that assumption?"

"Oh bugger off, Cid! Its none of your goddamned business!"

"&, sorry I spoke!"

With that, Cid walked off into the other clearing to fetch more wood, leaving the two to argue amongst themselves.

"Cloud! That was not very nice! Go and say you are sorry!"

"HAH! Not very nice!? I'll tell you what isn't very nice. When you try to rescue someone you really care about, someone you really... love... Only to have it thrown back in your face in an ungrateful manner! THATS not nice!"

"I did not throw it back in your face at all! I just told you what I thought you should hear. You worry about me too much."

"ITS BECAUSE I CARE FOR YOU! IS THAT A CRIME?"

Aeris stood there in silence, the frown on her face slowly turning into an expression of sadness.

"No..."

"So, why do you make me feel like I'm doing something wrong?"

"Cloud, please..."

"Well, I want to know. Tell me!"

"Cloud, just go and say you are sorry to Cid."

"CID!? Is he all that you care about right now? I'm the one who is hurting here!"

"SO IS EVERYONE!"

"Hmph!"

"Just go and say you are sorry..."

"You know what... I give up."

"Cloud..."

Aeris pointed towards where Cid had gone in another an attempt to make him go and say sorry.

"Oh, I see. I get it now... Well, You can be with your chain smoking pilot if thats what you really want. You can go smother him in attention and kisses. If he is that special to you, then go on. I know thats what you want. I can tell. You want him so bad. So, go!"

Aeris' face turned a very bright red, as she snapped her angry gaze from the floor to Cloud.

"Excuse me!?"

"You know what I'm talking about..."

"That isn't fair..."

"Don't! Don't you ever use that word again... You aren't qualified to use it."

Cid was busy collecting firewood. He was positively fuming. Cloud was really being a jerk about everything. But, Aeris was being a little unfair too. It made his head spin trying to figure out who was in the right, so he just gave up and grabbed more firewood. After all, as Cloud had so kindly put it, it was 'none of his goddamned business'.

After he had grabbed all the wood he was capable of carrying, he made his way back to the clearing, only to walk in at the same moment as Cloud was making a statement about Aeris. He stood at the edge of the clearing, partially obscured by a tree and listened to what they were saying.

Cid nearly dropped the wood he had under his arms in shock. He felt his face flush red.

"Excuse me!?"

"You know what I'm talking about..."

"That isn't fair..."

"Don't! Don't you ever use that word again... You aren't qualified to use it."

He heard Cloud stomp off somewhere and heard the sound of Aeris sobbing her heart out. He wasn't sure if he should go back or not. He thought he may cause more trouble, especially if Cloud wasn't gone completely. And then there was the fact that he had a face redder than a Bomb. But, he just couldn't ignore Aeris, not when she was so upset. So, he took a deep breath and strode out from behind the tree, dumped all the wood down onto the dim fire and plonked himself next to Aeris, wrapping his arms around her to try to comfort her as best as he could.

"Cid", exclaimed Aeris lifting her head from behind her hands in surprise, "How long have you been there?"

She was obviously embarrassed by Cloud's statement about her and Cid and was secretly wishing Cid hadn't overheard. He didn't answer her, he just tightened his grip, the frown on his face getting more prominent as he wondered how Cloud could make her cry like this. He knew why she asked, but he tried to ignore the meaning behind it. That'd just lead to more trouble.

"Oh, Cid. I'm so fed up."

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest, as she cried even louder.

"Shh. Don't worry", he chirped, trying to calm her down, "Everything will be ok, you'll see. Tiffs like this are a part of life, chicky. He cares about you, is all. He wouldn't react like that if he didn't. I know first hand how much. I've had to put up with all his whining ever since you left us! Its Aeris this, Aeris that. To be honest, I've felt like flattening that hair of his with my fist a good many times."

Aeris laughed through her tears. Cid always knew how to make her laugh, no matter what the situation was.

"Yeah! Its true! I nearly did once too!"

Aeris released her grip and laughed as Cid gestured wildly, attempting to re-enact an occasion where he and Cloud nearly decked each other.

"See! Its nothin'. Its just Cloud bein' his pokey-headed self. He'll get over it in time. I mean, you had a point there, he WAS being a tad bit over-protective really."

"Yes, he was."

Cid smiled at her sympathetically.

"I mean, don't get me wrong", she explained, "I AM grateful to him for it, but its overpowering. I think I just worded it wrong... I really am grateful. Honest!"

"Hey, hey, hey! You don't have to explain yourself to me, babe."

Aeris sniffled and wiped her nose and eyes on her sleeve while giving him the playful evil-eye.

"Don't you 'babe' me, Mr Highwind."

"Hehehe. Say, where IS pokey anyway?"

Aeris looked around. She hadn't realized that he wasn't there. She thought he'd gone down to the lake, but he wasn't there at all.

"I don't know! Oh my god! I gotta go find him!"

She leapt to her feet, only to be pulled back down.

"I'd let him stew, if I were you."

"But, what if he is in trouble... Or GETS in trouble?"

"Er... You want yo be careful! You are starting to sound like him!"

Aeris clasped her hands over her mouth as she realized what she had said. He was right! She DID sound like Cloud! Cid just grinned.

"You are both as bad as each other, you know that."

Blushing, Aeris just smiled and hugged Cid. She was happy to have him with her, even if he did just compare her to Cloud.

"Unfair... UNFAIR MY ASS!"

Cloud was striding his was through the Ancient City, cursing as he went. On occasion he'd stop and shout things back towards where Aeris and Cid were, just to make himself feel better.

"I'll show her. If she thinks she doesn't need me then fine. I won't be there for her. She can KEEP HER BLOODY FOUL MOUTHED GIT!"

He stopped as he got to a ledge overlooking the city and booted a small rock over the edge and listened to it as it hit the bottom after a moment of silence. He didn't know why, but it was unusually satisfying.

He took one more look at the city, before turning on his heels and leaving it all behind.

"Why is she not how I remember her?"

Yuffie was still busy cursing over various things that she wasn't happy about. Red was getting more annoyed by the minute and swore that if she moaned about one more thing he'd do more than burn her nose!

"Hmph", she whined, "Yep, the battery is dyin' on my phone for sure. I better call Cloudy to tell him whats goin' on. If he tries to call and I don't answer he might worry!"

Cait muttered a quick "I doubt that" to Red, before finishing the rest of his fish that he finally caught.

Beep. Beeeep.

"Oh lord, she has him on speed-dial", exclaimed Red in dismay, "How tragic."

"SHH", hissed Yuffie, "See this in my hand? Its a phone! And what do people do with phones? They talk on them. So, SHHHH!"

Red sighed and walked off quickly. Cait wasn't expecting it and nearly swallowed his fish down the wrong way.

"Oh, HIII CLOUDY!"

"Yuffie... What do you want?"

"Just letting you know that my battery is acting stupid."

"Thats not the only thing..."

"Whut?"

"Nothing."

"'Kay! Well, I just thought I'd let you know in case you worried about m..."

There was another silence.

"Well, how do you like that! He hung up on me!"

"Oh great", thought Red, "Something ELSE for her to moan about."