Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cid's journey begins, as all good things in life should, with a proper glass of tea. It is thicker than mud and sweeter than sin, almost exactly like his grandmother used to make. A ice-filled glass of this on a hot day is a little slice of heaven, one that he willingly shares with anyone that comes to visit -another thing passed down by his grandmother: proper hospitality-.

On that fateful day his guests were people from Shinra, only one of whom took a glass -Palmer, that fat idiot-, and some idiots who wandered in without having the decency to knock, blathering on about shit Cid didn't give a fuck about and, more importantly, not sitting down and drinking their goddamn tea like a good guest should. The latter served as a distraction from the former. Part of him knew that the new President had no intention of reviving the Space program, but a man could dream, couldn't he?

They drifted for hours in the open ocean, long enough for Cid to learn that these people never shut the fuck up. It was an endless stream of chatter that he couldn't muster the energy to listen to. By the end of the lecture about saving the planet -newsflash: Cid didn't fucking care- and something about being in Sephiroth's anti-fanclub, he was so desperate for silence he did something he had sworn he would never do.

"Y'all are making me need a fucking drink," he swore at them, maneuvering so he could get at the emergency supplies stashed away in the Tiny Bronco. He pulled out a bottle of purified water and then dug around for the sealed container Shera had insisted on putting there in case he ever crash landed. He opened it and poured a little of the powder into the bottle, frowned at it, then poured about twice as much as the initial amount. He put the cap back on the bottle and gave it a good shake before taking a drink.

He made a face at the taste. It was a pale, but passable, imitation of his normal tea, which made it acceptable to keep drinking, but he hated himself for it. Somewhere out there, his grandmother was preparing a wooden spoon for his behind because what proper person drank instant anything?

His newly acquired cohorts exchanged a look. "So, when you said you needed a drink, you meant tea?" The wannabe-ninja asked, looking like she had a firework shoved up her ass. Cid snorted at her.

"What the fuck else?" He took another sip of his fake-tea, scowling the entire time.

Wutai was hot and confusing, not even the food tasted right. The tea they served was nice and strong even if it was served in a funny-looking cup. The waitress gave him a funny look when he asked for a pot of sugar and then promptly dumped half of it in his cup as soon as she handed it to him. He didn't care, after that, it was perfect.

Perfect enough to ignore the fact that the Turks had just walked through the door. Tea like that deserved his full attention.

There was a special place in hell reserved for whoever was in charge of making the tea at Golden Saucer. Cid had nothing against fruit, as long as it was fucking fruit and not masquerading as his goddamn tea. This wasn't even counting the fact that it was saturated with so much sugar, it might as well have been served as fucking syrup for pancakes instead.

It made him mad enough to forget whether or not the rest of the party fucking knew that Reeve's stupid goddamn robot was traveling with them.

The temple of ancients was destroyed and Reeve was shipping another Cait Sith to them. During this small break, with Aerith's assistance Cid had found that the weeds growing around the temple made an acceptable tea-substitute and had brewed a pot, intending to drink it all himself. One look at Cloud's face changed that.

With a sigh, he pulled the second cup, well-worn and matching the battered tin teapot he had kept in the Tiny Bronco, filled it up and pushed it into the blonde's hand. "Don't let that fucker mess with your head any more than he already has." He warned, feeling simultaneously too damn old and too damn young to be dealing with this bullshit.

Bone Village didn't have proper tea either, instead it was wussy herbal shit that scalded Cid's tongue and made him want to punch the foreman in the face. So he did and the workers rewarded him with a mop -he didn't understand that fucking shit either-. They had to stay another night to find the Lunar Harp, but Cid thought it was worth it.

There were more of the weeds scattered all throughout the City of Ancients, but Cid didn't feel like harvesting them. The battle was over and they had scattered to rest, but Cid found he couldn't even think of tea at a time like this. No one was quite sure what to say -she was gone- and they all wandered about, trying to make sense of it all.

Cid was the second-to-last to return to the campfire and was pleasantly surprised to find the his teapot was already hung over the fire, an earsplitting whistle ringing out just as he nudged the cat-wolf over and took a seat. Tits Mcgee smiled at him, passing him his tin cup already filled with piping hot tea.

"I thought we could all do with a drink," she said softly to him, before making her way around the campfire, handing each party member a cup scavenged from the city. Cid huffed at her, blowing on his drink before taking a long sip.

"It's about time somebody had some goddamn sense." He muttered, finding it sweetened to his taste. He watched silently, enjoying his properly brewed drink as Cloud finally wandered back, looking like he was lost in his own little world. Tita -Wasn't that her name?- pushed a cup into his hand -tin, the mate of Cid's own, when had that become Cloud's cup?-, and urged him to take a seat.

As they drank together, Aerith's tea warming their bellies even as her absence chilled their hearts, Cid felt that maybe they were going to be alright.

Chapter Text

When people think about drinking in snowy areas, they think hot chocolate, they think mint-flavor and sweets. What Cid thinks is that he will never get the taste of mint out of his mouth after accidentally ordering the local special. It did warm him up though, which was the only thing that spared the inn worker from receiving a scathing lecture on the importance of serving proper tea when someone asked for it, not this shit masquerading as tea.

He was beginning to notice a trend when it came to tea and the northern continent and he wasn't sure he liked it. As he stepped out the door, out into the cold, he lit a cigarette and took a puff then immediately gagged as the aftertaste of mint combined with the taste of his smoke. He glared at his cigarette like it had betrayed them and reconsidered turning around and giving his server what-for. No one should ever drink mint tea that was that strong.

Before he could turn around on his heel and dish out the scolding they so clearly deserved, a blur of blue, white and blonde went rolling down the hill, right through where he would have been if he hadn't stopped to cough. A couple of Shinra infantry soldiers followed behind the blur, shouting and waving. A glance at the top of the hill revealed blondie standing there with a dumbstruck look on his face.

Cid could put two and two together.

He gave him a thumbs up and kept walking.

By mutual agreement, they never speak of what happened on the glacier. Only that it was a thing that happened and they all should move on.

To this day, Cid would tell anyone who asks that the entire thing is too fucking stupid to comprehend and that they should stop fucking asking unless they want his goddamn spear up their ass.

Only one person has ever dared to ask.

(The truth is that the Glacier is lacking in both tea and cigarettes and Cid required both to be civil to anyone. If he wasn't happy, no one was going to be.)

For entirely different reasons, no one ever talks about what happened in the crater either.

On the way to Junon, Cid and Rufus had a little chat. Names were called, creative swears and chairs were thrown about, but in the end, Cid sat down and listened because the man might be an evil dictator hell-bent on ruling the world -and also the brat he used to baby-sit from time to time when he was rising in the ranks- but he served some damn good tea. He also knew what Cid had learned already.

AVALANCHE was going to do whatever the fuck they wanted to, no matter what obstacle was in their way. They had tasted loss and they didn't like it. Cid didn't bother wondering when he became a part the band of idiots he was tagging along with, instead focused on Rufus and his damn smirk, taking a drag from his cigarette as he considered his offer.

"Shinra," he began, savoring his next words as he cut through the bullshit Rufus was spouting about saving the planet and not making a nuisance of himself, "Get the fuck off my ship."

It's as close to agreement as he would allow himself to get. Rufus had drawn the line when he took his airship and then tried to take his baby and he fucking knew it. The asshole looked at him, gliding to his feet in one smooth movement.

"You haven't changed." The bastard shot at him as he left the room and hopefully the god damn ship. Cid snorted, taking another drag of his cigarette and blowing out a cloud of smoke. He stubbed the remainder out in the ash-tray.

"I've changed e-fucking-nough." He said to no one, thinking of water and flowers, a warm smile even as her life faded out. He might not be doing it for the same reasons, he might not even give a damn about the planet, but like hell he was going to let that little girl's death be in vain.

Cid sat in his quarters, staring at the empty tin cup he had set on the table as he drank from its mate. Shinra's drama was playing out, Tifa's life was on the line and he was waiting for a goddamn chance to do the right thing. His team was with him, like they had been before, no questions asked.

He was stealing his own goddamn airship. For something he didn't believe in. He took a swallow of his tea, glaring at the cup as the intercom crackled and started spouting off some nonsense about sea monsters and rescuing someone off the goddamn Junon cannon.

"You had better be alright," he snapped at it as if its owner were sitting there instead. "Or I'll fucking kill you myself." Then he turned around and went out to save the day.

Chapter Text

Because he was such a kind and caring person, Cid made certain that everyone on board had a cup of tea before they started discussing what to do next. From the airsick ninja and the brooding vampire to Tits Mcgee and the talking dog-lion thing, he pushed a cup into every hand. He even snarled to Reeve’s stupid goddamn robot that its operator had better have sat down and drank some goddamn tea before they held a meeting or they were turning this ship around so Cid could put his boot up his goddamn ass.

Not even a minute later and his phs dinged with a message from Reeve. It was a photo of an empty mug and an emoticon. Upon opening it, Cid snorted and immediately deleted it, stomping off to punch a robot in the nose.

One of them was going to regret being a fucking smartass, and it might as well be the fucker within reach.

Cid had elected to stay on the Highwind while Tifa searched Mideel for Cloud, citing that he had to stay and make sure everything was in working order for Cloud’s return. Which was only partly true, his crew had followed his routine perfectly despite him not being there, barking out orders and looming over them like an angry chimney -smoke included-, there was something more important to be fixed before they reunited.

It’s an upgrade he’s been desiring for a goddamn long time.

With a fond pat, he tucked away the battered tin pot and the assorted cups they’ve been using -Aerith’s is set in a place of honor- and pulled out the nice ceramic set Shera bought right before everything went to hell. The set was a plain serviceable white, no trim, no decoration, eight cups and saucers and a single tea pot. Cid laid it out on the table, eyeing the cups speculatively.

As he finished, he dusted his hands off, realizing what was missing. He rummaged through his pockets for a moment and brought out a marker. With careful broad strokes he wrote out the names of each team member and set them down in their ‘assigned’ spot.

Cloud went at the head of the table, Tifa on his left, Cid to his right. Vincent took up the spot on Cid’s free side even though he would likely take up residence in a nearby corner. Barret sat across from him. Yuffie near the end of the table, closest to the door. It took him a moment to decide what to do with Red, in the spirit of camaraderie, he sat his cup next to Barret’s spot. It’s the thought that counts after all.

When he reached the eighth cup he paused, wondering for a moment which name to put on it. For half a second he considered writing Aerith’s, but dismissed it just as quickly. Honoring her wouldn’t work with something that she had never touched. No matter how he tried to convince himself, he just couldn’t bring himself to write the name of a robot on a tea cup.

Then it came to him, and he quickly scribbled it across, hand writing a bit sloppier than on the other seven and took a picture of it with his phs and sent it off. Finally satisfied, he took a step back and studied his work.

There would be time to introduce them to proper tea later, with ice and secret family recipes. Hot tea would have to do for now. He nodded once to himself and went off to find what his idiots had done with the hot plate. There was a better use for it now.

After that he was taking a nap and nothing they could say was going to change that.

Miles away, Reeve’s phs chimed with a message. He opened it to find a cup with his name written on it and an accusation. He chuckled a bit and closed the phone. He had more on his plate than a disgruntled pilot.

The tea he was forced to serve before the meeting was a pale imitation of what they would have in Rocket Town. The cheap, mass-produced kind that you could get anywhere in Midgar, it almost tasted right but there was something off about it that Cid couldn’t quite describe. It was still worlds better than instant, so instead of complaining, he drained his cup.

And then he immediately nodded off. Let the others handle the hard stuff, he’d handle the flying, the fighting, the explosions and of course, the goddamn tea.

Of course, they didn’t think of it that way and when Cid woke up he found himself in charge of this band of maniacs.

In Corel, dust is everywhere. In the tents they pass off as houses, in their water, even in their goddamn tea. Never let it be said that Cid is not a patient man, his lip only curled slightly when he sipped at their offering -strong, but bland, no sugar added at all-, but he allowed no harsh words to escape. At least, not any more than he normally did.

Ultima materia in one hand, Huge Materia in the other. He returned to the Highwind.

It took him three full cups to get the taste of dirt out of his mouth. He saved them and they were grateful. It should have been enough.

Fort Condor has nothing but instant tea, so Cid did them a favor and brought enough to last them a week -if they drank like he did, a month of ‘normal’ use-. After the fight is over, the egg has hatched and everyone is free, he settled down with the head honcho and talked shop while he waited for Cait Sith to finish repairing himself after taking a heavy blow from the Grand Horn.

The tea they served was his own, of course, but with something extra added. Strong and sweet with a bit of a kick. Cid heartily approved, but before he could ask what they added, he was distracted by an explosion from where he had left his comrades. He exchanged a look with the boss, shaking his head as he stood up to see what Cait had done to himself now.

There are bruises on his bruises, but the smile on Cid’s face hasn’t faded. He has a cigarette in his mouth, a cup of Mideel’s local brew -sweetened with a stalk of sugar cane- in his hand and Cloud at the head of the table, a mildly bemused look on his face. Cid took a sip of his drink -almost too sweet, it had a fruity aftertaste, but he could overlook it because it was as close to perfect as it could be without being from home-, lips quirking up in a smirk.

“Life’s too fucking short to sweat the small stuff,” he said, smoke billowing out of his mouth. “Stop fucking worrying about it and tell us what we’re going to fucking do to solve the fucking problem.”

Chapter Text

Something must’ve broken in Cloud’s head when Tifa unbroke whatever was broken in Cloud’s head because instead of leading them to civilization like any fucking normal person, Cloud points the Highwind to a spot in the middle of fucking nowhere. Cid spends half the trip yelling at the trainee for almost flying them into a goddamn mountain and the other half complaining to the robot about their glorious fucking leader having no goddamn sense. Reeve sends him a smiley face and his robot spends the rest of the trip holding the ninja’s puke bucket.

The air turns blue when they land and Cid finds that not only have they landed in the middle of nowhere, but there’s a house there. A house with a person in it. A person who most certainly does not want any company because they live in the middle of fucking nowhere.

They go in the house anyway. The chocobo sage is very glad for the company and serves some very nice tea. Proper tea. Just sweet enough, with ice and a proper glass instead of a mug.

Cid gets more out of him about tea than Cloud gets out of him about Chocobos. Nobody is happy, nobody wins.

The really funny thing about your boss getting run over in your front yard is that no one gives enough of a fuck to report you as AWOL. No one even batted an eye when Cid walked into Junon like he belonged there because technically he does. Cloud gets slowed down a little by security and some other crap that Cid didn’t really give a fuck about, but he’s not one to worry about small details.

He grabbed a bottle of tea from a nearby vending machine (no one sane drinks the water in Junon, despite Hojo’s rave reviews), bitching the entire time for having to settle for this cheap-ass premade shit. After a moment’s thought, he grabbed another three bottles, stuffing them into his bag as he ambled towards the entrance of the underwater base.

The brand he’s chosen is the least offensive of the three, but it’s still tantamount to cussing in front of your mother. An attempt was made and they fucking failed.

He finished the first bottle in the elevator and then promptly chucks it at the head of the nearest soldier as soon as the elevator doors chime open.

Cloud’s running a little late, but that’s ok. Cid does what Cid does best after swearing and piloting, he makes a fucking nuisance of himself.

As it turned out, Reno was in agreement with him: this was some of the stupidest shit Shinra has come up with in a while. He bribed Cid into quiet disagreement with tea done Turk style: Wutaiian blend brewed Rocket Town style. It’s slightly too sweet, but Cid will take it over just about anything else he’s encountered on this journey.

They end up sitting on the dock, drinking tea and watching incompetence in action while they wait for Cloud to show up. If a word or two of gossip was said about their colleagues, well, that’s just their own fucking business now isn’t it?

It’s the most pleasant experience Cid has had in a long while.

Of course Reeve and his stupid fucking robot have to fucking ruin it.

To no one’s surprise, they end up accidentally kidnapping an entire squad of soldiers along with their shiny new submarine. Which is no reason to be rude ass heathens, in Cid’s own words.

He doesn’t particularly care if they are comfortable, but he does make sure to offer them a cup of tea like a gracious host. If the mouthy one ended up choking on it, well that’s not his fucking problem now is it? Maybe he should’ve been drinking his goddamn tea instead of running his goddamn mouth.

Cloud told him not to poison the prisoners. Cid told him where he could stick his poison. It’s fucking basic hospitality goddammit.

Sometime between Junon and Rocket Town Reeve sends Cid a picture of a glass teapot with a flower unfurling inside it. Barret has to physically sit on Cid before he succeeds in turning this whole fucking submarine around to beat the shit out of Reeve. The fucking robot just cackles.

It is fitting that the first proper cup of tea he has had since he started on this weird journey is consumed in space. The stars stretch out into infinity around them and the planet makes Cid feel both impossibly big and improbably small. For one instant he is at peace with himself and the universe around him.

And then Reeve’s stupid goddamn robot starts playing his trumpet and all Cid can think of is shoving that stupid teapot up Reeve’s goddamn ass.

Chapter Text

Sometime between point A and Point B (when exactly Cid doesn't fucking know), Cloud acquires a gold chocobo and instead of figuring out what the fuck they should do with the huge materia, they go to the Golden Saucer instead. At first, Cid, Vincent and Reeve's robot (and Reeve by extension) stand in a corner griping about idiots getting distracted by shiny. Vincent just happened to be in the corner Cid and the robot wanted, and didn't bother to walk off. Then Cid heard a rumor about a rare tea being served to the jockeys and Cid became the idiot he was griping about.

Turned out the rumor was true, but the tea itself was weak and watery, barely worth the effort it took to convince Cloud and Tits that he wanted a turn riding the giant fucking bird. However it was fun rubbing his win in that asshole's fucking face after the race was over.

"Can we fucking get on with it now?" Cid complained, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he glared at his dumbass leader. Cloud smiled and proceeded to win twenty more races.

Cid was awarded three cases of their special tea when he and the robot managed to drag their idiots back to the Highwind.

Continuing the trend of we don't know what we're doing because we are dumbasses, instead of listening to Cid, they ended up in the middle of fucking nowhere again. This time instead of finding a house with a raving lunatic in it, they found a cave with Sephiroth's mother.

Cid didn't know his life could get any fucking weirder than it already was, but that just goes to fucking show him what he knows. Sephiroth's mother might be a giant fucking weirdo who lives in a cave, could also possibly be a vampire and dated -Vincent- of all people (Cid thinks the latter speaks more of her character than any of the other things, Vincent's easily the most fucked up of the entire group), but she also knew the importance of proper hospitality. She ushered the group into another part and offered them all a cup of tea before she and Vincent fucked off to do whatever it is possible vampires and were-monsters do in a fucking cave.

The tea is not the best he's ever had, but it's pretty fucking decent for being cave vampire tea. Vincent came back alone with a gun. Nobody even thinks about asking for an explanation.

Cid takes the rest of the tea. Vincent can fucking bite him (as long as emo isn't contagious).

When they ended up on the submarine again, Cid thought, maybe Cloud knows something we don't. When they found the giant weird spikey thing underneath an island, Cid felt vindicated for having faith in their maybe-crazy leader. Then they found the crashed Gelnika, which not only still had breathable air, but was filled with monsters. And Turks, but they were beaten easily in comparison to the monsters.

After one of the monsters turned into a cup of fucking tea, that is when Cid gave up on any of this making any fucking sense (cause he could take the robot, he could take the talking dog, but this was where he drew the line). He did, however, find the equipment he needed to call in a fucking air strike, so it wasn't a complete loss. And once the ninja survived drinking the fucking monster tea, it turned out to be pretty good as well.

Cloud insisted that the tea boosted their stats or some stupid shit like that (Cid didn't know if Cloud didn't make sense because he wasn't paying attention or if Cloud really was crazy), so they spent longer than was probably wise wandering around the labyrinthine corridors of the plane. Just long enough for Cid to decide that he doesn't need to be paying attention to know if the stupid kid is making sense or not (he's not).

Cid had been expecting a lot from Cosmo Canyon's tea, considering how in touch with the planet they were rumored to be. Not to mention that Red was the only one who understood the importance of tea and proper hospitality. So yes, Cid was greatly anticipating the meal after they discussed the planet.

He was not disappointed. Not only did they carefully select the tea they brewed, but the water was high quality as well. No sweeteners, of course, but still very good. It almost made up for the fact that the meal was nothing but plain, unseasoned vegetables.

Red XIII looked way too smug once the meal was over and Cid hadn't insulted anything or anyone. Cid let him revel in his victory as he, Bugenhagen, and Reeve (through his annoyance of a robot) started talking shop. Next thing he knew, they were sketching out the blueprints and arguing over whose theories were right (well he and Reeve were, Bugenhagen was watching them and laughing).

Not as good as drinking tea in space, but even with trash-talking with Reno.

The last time they were at the city of ancients, Cid had gathered up a fair amount of the weeds Aerith had introduced him to while they were dealing with the aftermath of Cloud's breakdown. He hadn't used them, but he had passed the seeds off to someone in Rocket Town and had dried the rest.

Now that they were back, he carefully brewed it like Aerith had taught him over the campfire as Bugenhagen wandered about and everyone else tried to make it look like they weren't thinking about the hole in their party and failed. A makeshift shrine was erected on the shore of the lake.

He would have never thought of using water materia to create drinkable water, but she did. He would've never even looked at these weeds when he was craving a drink, but she did. The stuff about Ancients and the Planet went right over his head (because he didn't give a fuck), but he knew that she was special.

The water boiled, the tea was brewed to perfection. They all gathered about the campfire, waiting. He took out the cups and very carefully doctored each to every person's preference.

His own had a fourth of a cup of sugar, because tea wasn't tea unless it was sweet. Cloud's was done the same way because he was going to teach that fucking kid some good taste if it killed him. Tifa's he very carefully diluted, she hated the strong stuff. Barret took three spoons sugar and cream, almost like coffee, but he drank it so Cid wasn't going to fucking judge. Red (and therefore Bugehagen) took his straight. Yuffie took half a cup of sugar, because she was a fucking maniac. Vincent pretended he took his straight like Red, but he liked a little cream and a larger amount of sugar in it.

"To Aerith," Cid said, holding his cup up after everyone had theirs. "To Aerith," everyone echoed, raising their own cups in unison.

Midgar, the city of rotten dreams and broken promises.

There wasn't time for tea, with all the fucking fighting and walking and even more fucking fighting. With every step he took, Cid was further resolved to put his spear up someone's fucking ass and out their goddamn throat. Reno took one look at his face and very calmly walked away.

As soon as the Turks were out of sight, his fucking PHS dinged with a notification (A heart emoticon sent from Reeve), then his worse nightmare appeared. Another of Reeve's stupid fucking robots with a teapot with that dumbass flower blooming in it.

Cid told him where he could shove it (He drank the tea anyway).

"You're fucking creepy, you know that?" Cid said to Cait as Cloud and Tifa pummeled yet another monster into a paste. His PHS dinged again, this time with a :D.

Chapter Text

Cloud told them to go home. Cid remained on the Highwind because without the rocket that made Rocket Town Rocket Town, the Highwind is his home and he doesn't trust any of his friends idiots to take care of his baby properly. Not to mention that this is where he keeps his stash of cigarettes and tea.

Cid leaned back in his chair, a lit cigarette in his mouth and a cup of good, proper tea in his hand as he thought back on his journey.

Originally it was out of spite. To spit in Shinra's eye and make a nuisance of himself while doing what he thought was a good thing. Now there was a meteor looming above them, a good kid was dead, and some moron was trying to manipulate the planet into making him a god. And Cid, wonder of fucking wonders, was right in the middle of it despite his own protests and common sense telling him not to be. 

He didn't have to be. He doesn't have to be. That's what Cloud was trying to tell them. If he wanted, he could walk away right now and return to his normal life.

Only, Cid doesn't have a place to go back to. Not anymore. There's Shera, but Cid would be the first one to admit that he doesn't fucking deserve her. He's never fucking understood why she stayed, not after what she did and not after what he kept doing to her. (And maybe, just maybe, he doesn't want to be that way anymore). 

In the end though, what kind of person would Cid be if he knew people needed his help and he turned his back on them. He liked to think he was better than that.

Decision made, Cid snuffed out his cigarette and headed over to the teapot to start brewing a cup of tea for everyone. 

His friends were better than that too. (And the skies only knew when these idiots he was begrudgingly traveling with somehow became his friends instead of people he was with because he had nothing better to do.)

Vincent was the first to arrive.

Or rather, he was in the fucking corner lurking in the shadows like the fucking vampire he was and Cid pretended he didn't notice him because he's not going near that bundle of issues until Vincent finally fucking admits he has a fucking problem and lets them help. Now that he had stepped into the light, Cid was willing to communicate with him. But not one second before that, he was not going to fucking encourage that behavior any longer (and Vincent was perfectly fine with that).

Sometime during the journey, the original cups had been broken or moved or some other bullshit that Cid wasn't paying attention to. Other mugs and cups had been stealthily acquired and replaced, each better suiting the person they belonged to than a plain white cup with their name written on it. Reeve's was the only one that was left unscathed, and that was because he never fucking drank from it.

Vincent hadn't picked his out, but then Vincent hadn't broken his in the first place (Yuffie did it). His was now red with a black bat on it with the words 'let's hang out' written below it. No one was willing to take credit for it, but Cid had laughed for an hour straight once he saw it so it stayed (it wasn't like Vincent was complaining).

Yuffie came in next, looking a little green around the edges. Cid eyed her warily for a couple minutes before he reluctantly allowed her to fill her mug up with tea. Her chosen mug was green with a shuriken on it, proudly proclaiming some dumb phrase about ninjas. Cid had wisely chosen to shut the fuck up and not comment on the choices made by dumb teenagers.

Reeve's dumb fucking robot was third. Like Vincent and Cid, it hadn't even left, but instead had deactivated itself while it conferred with Reeve in another body. It couldn't drink tea, but Cid set a mug in front of it anyway. Not Reeve's, but a novelty one they had picked up somewhere. It was clear, but changed colors into a pretend drink when placed near heat.

Cid's phs chimed with a text notification. Reeve assured him that he was drinking his goddamn tea with the rest of them from where-fucking-ever he had taken refuge.

Barret stomped in while Cid was distracted with his phs and grabbed his mug while the pilot was distracted. His was a chipped and well-worn mug with a floral pattern he had picked up in North Corel after his first mug had accidentally made the acquaintance of the wall (it was no accident, Barret had thrown it on purpose). Cid sensed there was a story behind it, but he wasn't fucking asking.

Red arrived next, tail twitching as he waited for his cup to be set on the ground for him (the largest coffee mug Cid could find, he was not going to be rude and give his friend a fucking bowl to drink out of like the dog Cid thought he was for the first week of their adventure).

Cloud and Tifa arrived together. Cloud's mug was from the Golden Saucer, another prize from Chocobo racing and very clearly chocobo themed. Tifa's was styled like a Beer Stein, which Cid thought was fucking hilarious because it didn't suit her at all.

"So," Cid said as everyone took their places, tea in hand and determined looks on their faces. Cid slammed his mug, black with the word F*CK on it (Like Vincent's, no one was taking credit for it), onto the table. "We're fucking doing this."

For some fucking reason, they end up in Rocket Town anyway. Cid crossed his arms and stood in the center of the plaza, determinedly not going anywhere while he waited for Cloud to finish with whatever fucking insane plan he had now. It's not like they were about to get hit by a fucking meteor or anything like that.

One of the older engineers is kind enough to not only bring him a cup of tea, but a brand spanking new spear for him to threaten to put up Cloud's ass if he doesn't fucking quit it. It's sharp, it's shiny and it might have some weird magical powers. Cid fucking loved it.

(Shera came out too. Neither one of them was willing to be the first to speak, so they stood there, leaning against the fence until Cloud returned.)

After what feels like years, but was probably just a couple days, they finally end up at the North Crater.

It went without saying that there is not any tea at the North Crater. Nor did Cid really feel like preparing any as they make their final charge.

Cid went left, Cloud went right. Cid viciously mocked Cloud for using terms that were outdated when Vincent was young. Cloud put Vincent on Cid's team.

Nobody won (They all won in the end).

It was finally over. Cid had bruises on his bruises. Cloud might or might not have had a mental breakdown, but Cid knew it was fucking coming sooner or later.

It was over.

Sephiroth was fucking dead. Meteor had fucking hit. Holy fucking saved everyone.

Aerith saved everyone and Cid couldn't be any fucking prouder of that little girl.

No more adventuring, it was all about rebuilding, being fucking helpful for once instead of being a violent weirdo (Cid strongly doubted that Cloud, fucking weirdo that he was, would be able to adapt to this part of his life).

They gather in Kalm's Inn, all of them. Cid finally met Barret's daughter Marlene, Aerith's mother Elmyra and Tifa's fucking other weirdo stalker friend Johnny. Shera served them tea, Tifa cooked the food and Reeve finally had a cup of tea with the rest of them.

It's not the end. Cid had plenty of plans, and the more he talked with Reeve, the more he thought he'd actually accomplish them. They were going to accomplish great things.

(The robot was still pretty fucking stupid though.)