Heart of Glass

04

They had all been to Costa del Sol before, it was a nice pitstop to relax before continuing on with their mission at hand. However, this time around everyone wasn't as overjoyed to relax, or to mess about like last time; that still isn't to say it didn't happen, Yuffie for one seemed more than happy to drag out being on land, and Cloud with Tifa went off to read the noticeboard. New jobs were appearing every so often all over the different regions they had visited, whether it was them that ended up fulfilling the tasks was another thing completely.

Aerith and Barret with Nanaki and Cait seemed more than content to either go find some shade or enjoy the white sandy beach; that was more Aerith doing that with wide green eyes sent in Nelly's direction. She had, after all, mentioned wanting to go for a swim, Aerith seemed more than up for strolling about the beach again. Nelly didn't have a chance to speak before the Ancient grabbed her hand gently and was pulling her towards the nearest changing station.

"Erm, Aerith? Our stuff won't be there anymore, remember? We had to ditch everything at Johnny's!" Nelly called out as she hated to state the obvious, Aerith let out a gasp and turned suddenly on her it had Nelly almost bumping into the brunette.

"You're right! Shall we go see how Johnny is doing anyway? It'll be a win-win! We can get changed, but we can also make sure he hasn't got into any more trouble. What do you think?" Aerith tilted her head to the side with a warm smile on her face. Truth be told if they were staying, they'd all wind up back to Johnny's anyway, so did it really matter if they all appeared in dribs and drabs? Probably not, so with that reasoning, Nelly gave a nod and thumbs up.

Cid had been left with the Broncho, he wanted to just double check everything was still all in order, but also do anymore running repairs. It wasn't like the journey here had put huge strain on the vehicle, but even still...he'd go catch up with everyone else eventually, although with a side eye he just ended up shaking his head and sighing. The only company he had at the moment stood silently up the top of the mooring the Broncho was situated at. Well, it wasn't like Vincent was any hassle, Cid didn't think the man would hang around here in the blazing sun, but what did Cid know?

Meanwhile Cid was debating whether to crack on or go find Barrett, Nelly and Aerith had made most of the way to Johnny's. They both seemed curious over the lack of boxes which were in the alley near his place. "I guess they had a tidy up?" Nelly offered as she followed her friend down the alley, the pair encountered a few people milling about, what had them looking curiously at each other were the content and happy reviews the people seemed to be sharing.

"I'm glad," Aerith said with a sure nod as her arms swung by her sides, the pair were walking up the stairs. "I probably don't know Johnny as well as you, Cloud or Tifa, but it was a shame to see him so downtrodden before. So, I'm glad he's managed to make this place work." Aerith was honest, the man was definitely something...especially with how he fawned over Tifa, which was only worth watching for Cloud's bad attempt at trying to look unbothered, but everyone deserved a chance to make something for themselves.

It was safe to say when they reached the top of the stairs they were taken back. The place was utterly different, like completely different. No longer looking like it was leaning and collapsing under its own weight, the building looked stable, probably thanks to the Johnny clones which were all thanks to Yuffie, but it wasn't just that, the atmosphere around the place was light, cheery, people seemed pleased to be here, and the building looked welcoming. As it was a couple were walking past them smiling and joking about, Aerith and Nelly turned and watched them go before looking at each other.

Before either of them could say anything, a familiar voice belonging to an all too familiar redhead shouted out. They looked around and spotted Johnny on the balcony of the building, it ran the majority of the top floor and he had seemingly just finished checking guests in and as he turned to direct them to their rooms, he saw them. Watching him scramble with what could be described as absolute unhindered joy and excitement, Aerith and Nelly smiled and waved a hand his way.