It'll Be Great

(Warning: This chapter contains rape!!! Ask your mom's permission before reading!)


For several nights, Cid remained the tavern’s only patron. Arnie had begun plans to transform his beloved bar into a family-friendly restaurant, but his innate pessimism kept him from truly believing this would work. Gentle encouragement from Airica and gruff, yielding silence from Cid kept him on his task however, and he worked diligently, determined not to lose his business altogether.

Each night, Arnie left in his usual grumbling state, and Airica and Cid would pour more drinks and toast one another’s increasingly miserable reputations. They regaled each other with stories of their pasts, Cid often reminiscing about his training at ShinRa, and Airica carefully stepping around her Midgar horror stories in lieu of more fun, and more interesting, clever ones. She was often tempted to tell him about the murders she’d seen, the shady boyfriends she’d had in her naïve youth, but always stopped herself before she could utter a word. These talks were meant to be fun, not painful.

They did not share another kiss, but often exchanged small smiles during natural pauses in conversation. Sometimes these smiles were shy, sometimes boldly challenging. Their flirtation was rampant, but they both exercised a degree of self-control, mostly to avoid further chatter by their neighbors. ‘Although,’ she caught herself thinking one night as she gazed at his profile happily. ‘What better way to shut them all the hell up? Both their objects of fun have solved their own problems with each other.’

One night, just before Arnie left, Airica stood with her back to the door, carefully scrutinizing some figures he had given her to look at. Number of tables he could fit in the main dining area, how much a big enough cooktop would cost, things of that nature. She was so absorbed in her task that it barely registered with her when the front door flung open.

“Just a minute,” she called distractedly. There was a pause. Then, a low snicker.

“Well, well, well…” a soft voice cooed from behind her. The voice made her blood run cold.

‘No…’

She turned around slowly to face a malicious smile. The man was short, about as tall as she was, with hair as red as hers. He was flanked on either side by a tall, brooding bald man, and a small, nervous-looking blonde woman. They all wore disheveled black suits.

“Oh, fuck no!” she cried, perhaps more loudly than she intended. Arnie came bustling out from the back, alarmed at her cry. His expression turned from one of concern to one of relief, however, when he saw his three newest patrons. It didn’t matter to him that he’d never seen them before, or that they were dressed rather oddly for such a hot summer day. They were customers, and that’s all that mattered.

“Welcome, welcome,” Arnie said happily, holding his hand out in greeting. “Please, have a seat, I’m sure Airica would be more than happy to get you all something cold to drink in this heat.”

He turned and shot Airica a look that would send chills down the spine of any weaker woman. Her eyes turned cold, however, and she shook her head vehemently.

“No, Arnie, they do not belong here.” She turned her attention to the trio. “Get the hell outta here, asshole! You’re not welcome.”

“Airica!” Arnie hissed, but the red-headed ringleader interrupted him.

“Please, madam, we are paying customers after all. Besides, we only wish to have a quick drink, then gather some information and be on our way.”

He grinned at her slyly and gave her a mocking bow. Airica shuddered in disgust, but snatched three glasses off the shelf and slammed them down on the bar. Reno, Rude and Elena took their seats near Cid.

“Who the fuck is this?” she heard Elena whisper to Reno as she poured their drinks. “Do you know her?”

Reno looked Airica up and down appreciatively and sipped from his glass. “We are acquainted. Isn’t that right, babe?”

Airica merely slammed the bottle down on the counter and shot daggers from her eyes in response. Arnie, looking thoroughly confused by the entire matter, slowly began to collect his plans and head out the door. Before he left, he glared at Airica firmly. ‘You’d better treat them nicely, girl, or it’s your job!’ he thought grimly as he exited the building.

The three Turks made idle chit-chat for a few moments, complaining vaguely about the heat, the long journey, and how expensive inns seemed to be getting these days, until, quite surprisingly, Reno turned to Cid and gave him a friendly, if a tad rough, pat on the shoulder.

“So, Cid…have you considered my employer’s offer any further?”

Cid, who had remained completely silent since the Turks’ entrance, didn’t even bother to turn his head and look at Reno.

“No, I ain’t considered shit, and you know it. I said no, and I mean no.”

Reno sighed and shook his head. “You understand of course that we have been instructed to use force if necessary, right, Cid? Now, are you sure you don’t wish to reconsider your answer?”

Airica glanced up sharply from her washbin. Her eyes darted between Reno and Cid for a moment, then moved over to Rude, who was staring into his drink, and Elena, who was glaring at her icily. Airica flinched a bit and returned her attention to Cid and Reno, awaiting Cid’s response.

There was a long pause as Cid finished the last of his drink.

“We’ll go somewhere else to talk about this. Somewhere a little less conspicuous.”

Reno smiled. “Now you’re speaking my language, old man. Let’s go.” He pulled out his pouch and sifted through it for the appropriate gil, but Cid stopped him. He looked at Airica.

“Put their drinks on my tab.” He gave her a stony gaze, as if to tell her not to follow. She opened her mouth, ready to stop them, but they had already turned and were halfway out the door before she could think of anything to say.

She stood there for a long time, staring at the door, but she heard nothing. Finally, she cleaned out their glasses and left, locking the door tightly and rushing home as fast as she could.


In spite of all her best efforts, she could not sleep. She tossed and turned and counted sheep, but it just wasn’t happening. She sat up and lit a candle, making her way into the kitchen to make some tea. Just as she reached the stove, however, she heard a very soft tapping on her door. She almost jumped out of her skin, but once she regained control of herself, she slowly made her way towards the front of the house. Her breath quickened. It could only be one of two people, and she prayed it was one and not the other.

She was sorely disappointed. Reno stood there calmly, hands in his pockets, smiling contentedly at her. A cigarette dangled from his lips – one of Cid’s, she noticed wryly. He didn’t say anything for a moment as he stared at her in her nightgown, making no attempt to hide the fact that he was leering like a maniac. She was just about to ask him what the fuck he was doing at her house, when he launched himself at her.

He was so fast…he’d always been so fast, even for her. She hardly knew what was happening before he was upon her, one hand around her throat and the other cushioned against her stomach as she crashed to the ground. He fell to his knees, one on either side of her hips, and kicked the door shut behind him. She tried to scream, but his grip on her throat kept a single noise from escaping. She began to panic as she felt her breath being squeezed out of her. Her fingers clawed desperately at his right hand, which continued to tighten maddeningly.

“Now,” he said calmly, dragging on his cigarette and removing it with his left hand. “I believe you have something of mine. Where is it?”

She made a disdainful gurgling noise and removed one of her hands to shoot him the bird. He shook his head and slowly put his cigarette out on the flesh above her right breast. The pain was unbearable as the burning cherry seared her skin. She tried so hard to scream, but she couldn’t. His grip was strong, and her struggles became weaker and weaker as her body was denied the oxygen it needed.

“Sorry about that, love,” he said mockingly through grinning teeth. “Now, where did you say it was?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she lifted her hand up and pointed towards her night stand.

“Aha…thanks, dear,” he said. He released her throat and strode over to the nightstand. Opening the drawer, he dug through it a moment, before pulling out a small photograph and slipping it into his pocket. Airica remained on her back on the floor, gasping for breath and trying desperately to halt her own tears.

He walked back over to her and crouched, looking at her with pity on his face. He lifted her halfway up, throwing her arm over his shoulders, and half-carried her to her bed. He laid her down gently, and wiped her tears from her cheeks. Before she could protest, he was lying down on top of her.

He lifted her nightgown, exposing her lower half, and unbuttoned his own pants. He placed small kisses along her collarbone, tenderly licking the fresh burn on her décolletage, causing her to buck and scream in pain. She tried to fight him off of her, but he pinned her wrists above her head with his hand, using his other hand to gently stroke her opening, quickly finding her clitoris and massaging it gently. His lips moved down to her nipple, which he suckled and nibbled gently through the thin fabric of her shirt. She moaned loudly in agony, trying so hard to fight the re-emergence of those good feelings he used to give her.

“Shh…” he cooed, removing his fingers from her center and grasping his penis instead. He slowly guided it towards her, and she felt that familiar pressure of its head against her opening. She tried to squeeze her legs shut, but his hips remained firmly in the way. She screamed as he entered her, slowly filling her until every inch of him was buried. She began to cry again as he thrust in and out, but not because of the pain or the terror. Those were there, of course, real emotions that she was experiencing, but there was something else there as well. Try as she might, she simply could not push the memory of their past out of her head, and much to her disgust, she found herself beginning to enjoy herself. Her cries of pain turned into reluctant cries of pleasure as he gradually picked up speed. Soon he was pounding into her with all his strength, groaning slightly with every inward stroke.

She found herself drawing close to her peak, when he spoke, menacingly, quietly, into her ear.

“You like it when I fuck you, don’t you, bitch?”

She stopped moving. She stopped crying out. He seemed not to notice. Her stomach turned. This man just tried to kill her. Now he was raping her. He had released her hands when he’d noticed her moans of pleasure. She reached under the pillow next to her and retrieved a little gift she’d bought herself before leaving Midgar, specifically for such occasions.

There was a harsh click as she cocked the pistol and held the end of the barrel against his temple. He stopped moving abruptly, his eyes widening in panic.

“Get out of me. Get out of here. Don’t come back.” The words came out in a low growl, and she found it easier to control herself than she thought it would be. It still took all her willpower not to pull the trigger and blast his wicked little brains all over her floor.

He slowly pulled out of her and re-buttoned his pants. She pulled her nightgown back down to her knees and sat up, keeping the gun on him as he slowly backed out of the room. He opened the door and hesitated a moment, before tapping his forehead in a mock salute and leaving her home. The door shut behind him with a satisfying creak.

And she found herself quite suddenly alone. She released the hammer on the pistol and replaced it under the pillow. Then, she stood and made her way towards the bathroom. After calmly treating her burn wound, she returned to bed and cried herself to sleep, shaking with uncontrollable anger.