Hey, I hope yall enjoy this. It's a lot longer than normal but I couldn't end it until I felt it was in a good spot to stop. Then I started writing and couldn't stop. So hope yall enjoy thank you for reading
Ps. This is like 2,400 words
Ps.s. this is late but woooohhhooooo we hit 250k views thank each and every single one of you who reads this.
Chapter 52: tourism and confessions
By noon, the whole operation was already finished.
Between Cid clearing his site and Stars pushing through the remaining locations with her team, the coordinated robberies collapsed faster than the local forces had expected. No one died. Every hostage came out unharmed. By the time the last group was in custody, there was little left to do but hand things off and head back.
They returned to base not long after.
Stars stretched her arms over her head as they walked in from the tarmac, looking more satisfied than tired. Then she turned toward Yui with a sudden grin.
"Alright. You and I are going to the mall," she said. "I know a place with really good clothes."
Yui's face lit up almost immediately. "Really? That sounds great, I've been wanting to get something specific and never got around to it."
Cid looked at Stars with a faintly strange expression.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I'm still a woman. I like shopping too."
He gave a small shrug, then reached into his pocket. Then tossed to Yui who looked surprised and caught it.
"Go wild, it's not my money."
Yui blinked, then took it with a bright smile and Stars looked just as pleased.
As the two of them started off, Cid was left standing there for a moment, considering what to do with the free time. He didn't get long to think about it.
As a heavy arm dropped across his shoulders.
"C'mon," one of the pilots said, already steering him toward the common area. "You're coming with us to celebrate."
The rest of the guys were spread out around couches and a large tv, a game on the screen and a few open bottles of beer were already out. Someone pushed a beer into Cid's hand as soon as he was dropped onto a seat.
He stared at it for a second, confused.
"What's wrong?" one of them asked. "Never had a beer before?"
"…No," Cid said honestly.
That earned a round of short laughter.
"Well, better late than never."
Cid cracked it open and took a sip.
He immediately turned his head and spat it back out, face twisting slightly in pure rejection.
The whole group broke into louder laughter.
"Yeah," Ethan said from the side, clearly amused. "That's a pretty common reaction."
Cid set the bottle down without a second thought. Then cleaned up his mess by shrinking it away.
"…I'll just get a coke."
Someone snickered and opened the fridge nearby, tossing him one.
After that they all settled in and passed around 2 really old looking controllers and started playing an old game called halo or something. Apparently it came out in 2001 a few years before quirks started appearing. Cid also didn't recognize the device they were playing on, it was a black box with a green emblem.
"Oh by the way don't break that thing, stars will actually kill you, she said it was priceless or something. I think it just has sentimental value to her though."
'Huh this game is actually pretty fun.' he thought as they all got further into the game.
After that, the days settled back into the same routine. And another week passed until Stars finally called them aside at the end of training one day.
She stood with her arms loosely crossed, looking between the two of them.
"Alright," she said. "Your last week in the states is your's, do whatever you want."
Yui blinked. Cid just watched her.
"I've taught you what I wanted to," Stars continued. "You both did good. Keep up with the training on your own." She exhaled through her nose, a little wry. "I've been focused on you two for three weeks straight, and duty's starting to call. So go explore. Have fun. Relax a bit before you have to head back to U.A."
Yui's face bloomed into a bright smile filled with excitement.
She grabbed Cid's hand, already talking about all the places they could go. "Yes. Can we go see New York? And the Grand Canyon? And the West Coast, oh, and the beaches in LA, and—"
The list kept going.
Cid watched her for a moment, then smiled softly.
"Sure," he said, squeezing her hand lightly. "We'll see all of them. I'll take us around with my Quirk so we don't miss anything you want to do."
Yui let out a short squeal of excitement, threw her arms around him in a quick hug, then spun toward Stars.
"Thank you for the training!"
Before Stars could answer, Yui was already running off.
Cid stayed where he was for a second longer, then looked back at Stars.
"…Thanks."
Stars chuckled.
"No problem, kid. Now go, before she breaks something trying to pack too fast."
They left the next morning after saying their goodbyes.
There was no real plan beyond a list Yui made and Cid's ability to get them where they wanted.
New York came first.
The noise hit them before anything else, the traffic, voices, the constant movement of people packed into too tight spaces. Yui was immediately drawn into the cahotic flow, pulling Cid along through crowded sidewalks and intersections while she tried to look at everything at once. When they got to a monument that she couldn't see due to the crowds, she didn't even hesitate to have cid carry her.
"Up."
Cid gave her a flat look. She only patted his shoulder expectantly. He rolled his eyes and let out his version of a playful sigh.
Then moments later she was sitting on his shoulders, hands resting lightly on his head as she peered over the crowd with open satisfaction. He held her legs steady and kept walking, expression mostly unchanged except for the faint pull amused look on his face.
"This place is so hectic," she said, clearly not complaining. "But it's also kind of amazing as well."
He made a quiet sound of agreement and let her keep looking.
She also refused to let him stay out of the pictures. Every time she wanted to take one she pulled him in beside her, adjusted his posture when he stood too stiff, and made him stay there until she was satisfied.
They didn't stay only in the big cities.
In between the major stops, Cid took them through smaller places as well, quiet towns in the South with area that had nothing but forest as far as the eye could see and humid afternoon heat. Up north through the mountains where the air ran thiner and cooler, long stretches of rolling hills felt nothing like the coasts. Yui made him stop for pictures at every chance she could, A local atraction, roadside stands, A short walk along a haunted stretch of beach she decided was necessary. He went along each time, mostly quiet, but he never complained about it he enjoyed it purely for the fact that she enjoyed it.
At one mountain peak she stood near the rail for a while without speaking.
"…It's really beautiful," she sais in a quite voice. "It so different from Japan….in a good way."
Cid watched her more than the view.
Watching how the glow of the afternoon sun framed her as if intentionally highlighting her beauty.
"Yeah, it is beautiful" he said quietly almost to him self.
A few days later they made it to The Grand Canyon. Which stopped her in place for a few seconds, after first seeing it.
Then she was pulling him closer to the viewpoint leaning againsthis should so they could look together and making him take hundreds of photos. When she tried to get him to pose with both arms out toward the canyon, he refused, She pouted, but he held strong and did not relnt.
By the time they reached the West Coast, the week had dwendled down to only a day or 2 left.
The beach was warm, bright, and crowds were more spread out than New York. They decided to go to the beach there at a more secluded area, once there Yui disappeared into a changing area with the bag from earlier in the trip and came back in one of the bikinis she had made him wait whule she tried on back in DC.
When she walked out Cid did a double take as his eyes locked on to her.
[Image here]
His eyes moved over her before he could stop himself, and a faint heat touched his face, enough that it showed. Yui noticed immediately, a small flicker of shyness crossed her expression, but it was quickly overtaken by something bolder and far more pleased. She didn't get that kind of open reaction from him often, especially outside private moments, and she clearly had no intention of wasting it.
She shifted her weight, stretched her arms up and turned to show off for him, watching him out of the corner of her eye the whole time.
Cid turned away first, jaw tight, trying to kill the heat in his cheeks.
Yui laughed quietly, then jumped onto his back without warning, arms and looping around him.
"Onward to the ocean," she said, clearly entertained.
He exhaled through his nose, adjusted his grip under her thighs, and started walking.
They spent most of the day there, messing around more than anything. She dragged him closer to the water, then into it. That was when she found out he couldn't swim.
She stared at him, startled.
"…You can't swim?"
"Never really learned, im probably only good enough not to drown." Cid said, lightly embarrassed about the topic.
For a second she just looked at him. Then she broke into giggles, covering her mouth as she tried, and failed, to stop. After that she stayed close to him while in the water, half teaching, half just playing with him, clearly enjoying every minute of it.
By the ended of the day they were sitting on the top of a cliff over looking a lagoon, watching the sun set..
"I know I've said this a lot latley but wow is this country really is beautiful."
Cid glanced over at her and thought 'If she ever wanted to move here i wouldn't mind honestly, as long as its with her.'
Then the he realized what he just thoughtsteuck him.
Not just agreement. Not just compromise. The quiet, solid understanding that he was actually willing to rearrange his entire life around her if that was what she wanted. It was a little shocking, as well as scary that he had someone that close to him now. But under that fear and uncertainty it was strangely comforting. He had something he cared about that deeply again. Someone. And this time, it hadn't been taken from him yet and if he had any say in the matter it never would be.
Later that night, in a top-floor hotel room they had gotten to stay in, the city lights cut faintly through the gaps in the curtains.
The bed was a mess. Sheets half-kicked down, barely covering them, clothes scattered across the floor where they had been left earlier in a moment of excitement. The air still carried the clean warmth of a recent shower and a thick smell of them.
Yui lay against Cid's bare chest, one leg draped over his, her fingers idly tracing small shapes against his chest.
Cid suddenly spoke, breaking the quiet atmosphere.
"…While we were at the base," he said, eyes on the ceiling, "I got an offer."
Yui's hand stilled.
He kept talking, telling her everything that was said, not leaving anything out.
He stopped there for a second, then exhaled through his nose.
"I already told them I wouldn't go anywhere without you." His voice stayed even, but quieter than usual. "That hasn't changed."
Yui lifted her head slightly to look at him.
"But this week…" Cid's gaze lowered, not quite meeting hers yet. "Watching you here. How much you liked it. How easy it was for you to be happy here." He was silent for a moment. "It made me realize that if you ever actually wanted to move here… I would, No problems, no questions asked."
There was a heavy moment of silence between them
"And that," he said, almost like he was still turning it over himself, "made me realize how much you truly meant to me, How much you've come to mean to me. You're the first and only person ever since my parents died that has made me feel comfortable, or even safe, near them. Realizing that made me realize just how much I loved you" he said as he pressed his head against hers looking her in the eye.
Yui stared at him.
For a second she didn't move at all. Then the surprise hit properly, not just at the offer, but at him saying any of this out loud. Cid didn't open up like this. Not cleanly. Not ever. Not without something keeping him distant enough not to get burned.
Her throat tightened.
"…C-Cid," she whispered wobbly.
Her eyes teared up before she could stop them. She pushed herself closer, forehead pressing harder against his as her fingers curled against his chest. It wasn't just the content of what he'd said. It was that "he" was the one saying it. That he would rearrange his life around her without hesitation. That she mattered to him enough for the decision to start and end with her. That he felt this way about her and only her. That she made him feel this way.
She held onto him tighter, breath unsteady as she choked back a sob.
"You can't just say something like that, to a girl," she managed, voice thick. "Not like it's something so simple."
Cid kept his eyes locked on her. After a moment, one arm settled more firmly around her back.
"…I know, but for me it is that simple…." he said. Then leaned in to kiss her deeply.