Final Fantasy VII and all characters therein do not belong to me! They belong to Squaresoft!
Note: Due to Cid being in this chapter the use of the "f-word" is quite prominent where he is present (and for once I didn't "bleep it"). You have been warned.. that does qualify an R-rating on it's own doesn't it?

Beautiful Nightmare
A FF VII Fanfic By Hika-chan
CHAPTER 3: The Big News

Ralena was actually quite surprised at how easily the news came to Barret and Elmyra. The motherly woman simply smiled knowingly like she had known all along. Barret hartilly slapped Vincent on the back with a laugh and a "Took you long enough!" When they got to Cosmo Canyon and finally told Red, he also took the news as though it was long expected.

"Why doesn't anyone seem surprised, Nanaki?" Ralena wondered.

"Well it seems only natural," Red commented, "You are living in the same house and raising a child together. What else should one expect?"

"Well ya got me there... call me crazy but I was actually hoping for a bigger reaction out of people." She grinned, "Maybe we'll fare better when we tell Cloud, he never was to quick." Vincent cast her a queer look and Red just shook his head.

"Look!" Sephiroth shouted happily as another approached, "There's another Red like Nanaki!"

Ralena and Vincent looked up to see another lion like creature walk up to them. Vincent turned to their friend. "I thought you were the only one of your kind, Nanaki."

"Yes well, it turns out there was a small tribe in hiding..."

"Nanaki are these the friends you mentioned?" Ralena blinked at the distinctively female voice.

"Yes this is Vincent and Ralena," he nodded towards the child, "and that's Sephiroth."

"Hello." she said before casting a suspicious look at the child.

"Jana there is no need to stare," Red whispered to his fellow cat.

"Why isn't your tail like Nanaki's?" Sepiroth asked.

"Hmm?" she looked back, unlike Red's tail hers had a very yellow flame while his was darker and more red. "That's because I'm a girl."

For the most part the stay in the canyon was quite nice. Sephiroth had a grand time playing with several of the cubs, though Ralena could not help but notice the cautious, suspicious eye that some of the adult cat beings watched him with. She sighed and leaned into the Vincent near the bonfire, "I worry for him so much."

"Do you fear he will become what he once was?"

She shook her head, "No, never. But the way others treat him, even other's that don't know he's the same Sephiroth. They think he's a freak, they hate him, and they don't even know him. She smiled sadly against his arm, it's sad to think that no one knew him the way I knew him."

He moved his arm around her glancing over to the boy before looking down at her. "Do not worry so much for him, I am sure he will be fine."

"My you sound awfully sure of yourself."

"I have faith in us, Ralena. Between the two of us, our love for each other and our love for him..." He smiled lightly, "He will be a good man Ralena." She looked up at him and smiled, "I love you, you kow that?"

"Indeed, and I you." They shared a quick chaste kiss before getting up to go to bed, they had some travelling to do tomorrow.

***

The news was delivered to Tifa and Cloud over lunch, unfortunately the method in which they first heard the news was in the same way Reno had heard it. "An' Vincent's been sleeping in 'Lena's bed so that's how I know he's been having bad dreams."

Tifa stared.

Ralena choked.

Vincent wondered why he didn't end the line of questioning earlier.

Cloud who had thus far been ignoring Sephiroth and looking at him more like a circus freak than a child, blinked, then burst out laughing.

"Cloud don't laugh!" Tifa scolded. He managed to reign it back into a chuckle.

"Sephiroth..." Ralena began hesitantly, "you shouldn't..." She wasn't sure exactly what it was he should not do, but she knew he had done it.

"We would much appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else about that," Vincent finished for her.

"Why not?"

"Because..." once again Ralena's reasoning had been lost due to embarassment.

"Because it is something... private not to be shared with others." Ralena nodded. Then Vincent looked to her she looked back and noticed an odd look in his eyes. A kind of childish guilt, "By the way Ralena... according to Reno, he found out the same way."

She turned to him her face coming closer and closer to matching her hair. "And you didn't tell me?!" His look told her he was not sure why he had chosen not to. She looked up at Tifa and Cloud, who no longer looked amused. "I'm gonna go for a ride, excuse me."

Vincent sighed. Sephiroth looked up at the serious adults, "Did I make 'Lena mad?"

"No," Vincent told him, "I did."

***

Riding around she began to realize, that while she might have thought it a big deal, Vincent might not have. In his mind it was probably more of a "he was going to find out sooner or later" situation. But still... it seemed to sit differently with him and she wondered how. She kicked Haretia up into a trot and stopped thinking about it for a moment. After a minute or so she felt a wave of dizziness hit her, somehow sensing her distress the chocobo slowed, but was unable to prevent her rider from falling off.

Lying barely concious on the ground Haretia worridly nugded her rider. She squawked and cood softly for a moment before becoming nervous. The chocobo knew that she could not carry her, or drag her back the distance they had come. To get help would be best but the nervous bird also knew that there must be preadators nearby. Ralena winced, her eyes barely opening through the pain. "Get Vincent girl... hury." Having little choice, especially now that she had been given a command, the bird ran as fast as she could back towards Nibelhiem.

***

Tifa sat there watching Sephiroth draw across the table from her, Cloud and Vincent had walked outside only a few minutes ago. The blonde had been showing him around the house, telling him about the remodling that they (Tifa) had planned. It was just mind boggaling that this mere child before for her had, in all techinicality, been the same man who burned down her home and kill her friends and family. But somehow, this child could not drudge up the same anger in her. There was still was some bitterness there, but she believed that to be from the memory itself. Though sitting across from him now did bring back that memory, she could not help but think of the potential of children. How simple they were in their cheerful little worlds where everything was so new. But while they took on so much new information they never seemed to stop, processing so quickly, that they would move right on to the next thing without mssing a beat.

What she found most amazing was that by simply looking at a child you could not tell if he would become a hero or a murde- Tifa looked up as she heard squawking and scratching at the door. She stood, making a gesture to Sephiroth that he could keep drawing. She opened the door surprised the see a blue chocobo's head come in through the doorway, it's size preventing it from entering much further. "What in the-" Suddenly she acknowledged the paicked state of the bird. "Vincent! Cloud!"

The two men came in from the back, rushed by the tone in her voice. Vincent froze when he saw bird. "Where's Ralena?"

"I don't know, she just came up to the door squawking."

"Stay here and watch Sephiroth." He grabbed the reins led the bird all the way outside before mounting it. He could feel his panic rising as they ground rushed beneath him, and the bird was not helping his mental state.

After several agonizing minutes he saw her laying there, her red hair splayed out upon the grass. He all but jumped off Haretia and to her side. "Ralena, Ralena are you ok?" now unconcious all she could do to respond was roll her head to one side and groan. Gently he picked her up and walked toward the chocobo, "Haretia down." The chocobo complied, sitting on the ground. He sat on the mount cradeling Ralend in his arms. He grabbed the rein with his claw and urged her forward. At a slower easy pace, so as not to jostle her to hard. She regained conciousness before they got back. Confused and a bit disoriented Ralena soon felt embarassed about falling off her trusted steed.

-A few days later-

"I told you guys I'm fine, really."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay another day or two, just to make sure you're alright?"

Ralena smiled at her friend, "Tifa I'm fine really. Besides if we do that it will look like we only showed up at Rocket Town just to bum a ride off Cid."

Cloud grinned, "Yeah, but now it'll look like you're trying to bum food off of him too."

Tifa caught a look of Ralena's smile, "What is it?"

"I just remembered, that's where we first met."

Cloud grinned, "Hey that's right! You hit Palmer with that truck!"

"You ran someone over 'Lena?"

The empath blanched slightly at the child's question. "Yes, but he was a very bad man. You should never hit anyone with a car like that do you understand Sephiroth?"

"Yep!"

***

Taking the path through Mount Nibel they reached Rocket town that evening, as they were not staying with Cid and Shera Ralena was not sure they should bother them until morning. But as it happened Cid was walking outside for a smoke when they passed his house. "Holy-fucking-shit! What the hell are you guys doin' here already?"

Ralena belatedly put her hands over Sephiroth's ears. "Hi Cid. we didn't know whether or not we should wait till tomorrow to bother you or not... Why are you smoking outside?"

Cid shrugged, "Well it seems a man's home is his castle right? Turns out as soon as you gt maried the home turns into a fucking female dominated society."

"Cid who are you talking to?" Shera opened the door and smiled at the visitors. "Oh hello, how was your trip here?" Sephiroth waved at her, his ears still covered by Ralena's hands.

"Not to bad. And no one really seemed all that surprised about me and Vincent so far."

"Surprised? Shit! You mean you actually got this guy to show some emotion? Fuck I can't believe it!"

"Cid! Watch your language there's a child present!"

"Yeah Shera I hear ya,-grumble grumble-"

"What was that?"

Cid was about to respond when Ralena giggled at the scene before her. "What the Fu-... what the hell are you laughing at!?"

"Cid!"

"What? 'Hell' isn't a curse word."

Shera shook her head in dismay, "Why don't you put the chocobo's in our yard and come inside."

Vincent took Haretia's reins from Ralena, "I'll get them, you go on inside."

The red head smiled, "Thanks hon."

The door closed and Cid burst out laughing, "'Hon!?' Oh that is too fucking rich! Hey where ya goin'?" Cid followed Vincent around to the back, opening the gate for the red and black clad man. "So you and Ralena finally officially got together huh? Sooo how official is it?" Vincent raised a brow. "Oh come on man have you two....?"

"...," Vincent took the bridle's off the two mounts.

"Well?"

"That, I believe, is none of your business."

"Ah! So you have! Ladies and gentlemen his is a real boy!" Vincent narrowed his eyes, shook his head, then walked into the house without so much as a word, leaving Cid to finish his ciggaret alone.

----------------------------
Hika-chan: I really bullshited some of this and didn't want to BS other stuff so this chapter is really choppy but since I had Chapter 4 done before this one so I really rushed this.

Cid: Well since I'm not gonna be around for a while I better fill in the cussin' quota -ahem- FUck fuck fuck fuck fu-

HC: *Covers his mouth* That's alright Cid, we're bringing Reno back in later to take care of that!

Cid: Whadda 'bout me? Don't you love me anymore *big puppy eyes*

HC: *Is scared of cid with big puppy eyes* errr... I'll see what I can do ^_^'

Cid: *back to normal* good 'cause if you don't I'm gonna burn you with my ciggaret!

HC: @_@ AHHHH!!!! *scurries to find way to put Cid in fic more*

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