Valentine's Day
"Damn it!" Reno cursed, pounding the dashboard in frustration. This was just so typical. You pay this much for such a beautiful car – BMW M3 in midnight blue with sequential semi-automatic gear box, traction control and of course swish black leather seats - and then the second you get it out on the road it breaks down.
Now he was stranded here, in Neibleheim of all places, with no form of transport and nowhere to stay. It was meant to have been quick and easy: Get in, get the files, get back out again. Why did things never turn out according to plan?
Reno sighed and flipped out his cellular, again. No reception, again. He swore and tucked it back into his shirt pocket, wondering what the hell he was going to do now.
Well, he reasoned, no point in just staying in the car all night. Maybe he could find somewhere nearby to stay.
Tifa reached for another glass, wiping it down with a few deft flicks of her washcloth. She was exhausted; the bar had been thriving earlier and she'd been glad no end when closing time had finally arrived. And it wasn't just because of the rush.
The bar had, of course, been filled with couples tonight.
She sighed and put the glass down, leaning her hands on the bar counter. Quiet sobs racked her shoulders. Two years. It'd been over two years now since the group had separated, each moving on with their own lives.
Barret and Marlene had gone back to Midgar in an attempt to rebuild all that was broken. They'd asked her to go with them but Tifa found the memories too fresh and too painful. Vincent had gone on a "journey of self-discovery" as he'd put it. Yuffie had said this was just a fancy way of him saying, "anywhere you lot aren't." Yuffie herself had gone back to Wutai and Cid was, of course, with Shera.
And Cloud.
What had happened to Cloud? At first he had come back with her to Nebleheim, started up the new Seventh Heaven with her. They'd even started to date.
She'd thought he was happy.
Then, one morning, she'd just woken up and instead of him lying beside her sat a note. A note which simply said "goodbye." The rest of that day Tifa had spent crying, alone.
That seemed to be the story of her life.
Now, Tifa felt the same sense of loneliness she had felt then and the tears brought no relief to the void that threatened to consume her.
Tifa started as a sudden rapping on the bar's door brought her crashing back to reality. She quickly wiped the tears away and took a shaky breath, steadying herself. "We're closed," she called.
The banging continued.
Tifa turned apprehensively. It was probably just one of her regulars so out of it they thought that closing time wasn't for another five hours. Probably. Still, no harm in being cautious. "I said we're closed!"
"Tifa …" called an oddly familiar voice through the heavy oak.
Tifa froze. Could it be? On today, of all days, could he have finally come to his senses? She swallowed, a lump having formed in her throat and wiped her eyes again. If it was Cloud, he sure as hell had a lot of explaining to do.
After a second's longer hesitation, Tifa moved towards the door, weaving between various bar stools and upturned chairs. Her trembling fingers fumbled with the doors various locks and bolts. She heaved back the door and-
"Reno!" cried Tifa in astonishment. The shock of red hair and arrogant glint in his aquamarine eyes made it obvious who it was, but him actually being here seemed so unlikely she needed the confirmation.
"No need to look so pleased to see me," Reno replied, eyebrows raised. The look on Tifa's face was one of shock, obviously, and deep sadness.
Tifa's heart fell. It'd been stupid to think it was Cloud and she'd known that but it didn't seem to make the blow any easier. To her supreme annoyance and embarrassment, she felt tears well up in her eyes once more.
"You… okay?" asked Reno, feeling more than a little uncomfortable.
Tifa nodded, moving quickly towards the counter, wiping her eyes furiously as she went. No way was she about to cry in front of Reno, of all people.
Reno watched her go and looked around the bar in an effort to ease the tension. "The place looks nice," he commented, sitting down on a bar stool nearby. He looked around at all the red and pink accessories recently added. "Appropriate."
Tifa pulled a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses from under the counter. "Cut the bullshit Reno and just tell me what the hell you're doing here."
Reno shrugged. "Fair enough. My car broke down back there. I don't have anywhere else to go."
Tifa stared at him quizzically, trying to work out whether she could trust the man who had tried to kill her so many times. Probably not, but his story seemed plausible enough. Besides, what could he possibly want with her?
"Want a drink?" she asked eventually.
"Thought you'd never ask," said Reno, grinning.
She pulled out the cork and poured them both a shot of the vodka. Reno accepted the glass she offered gratefully. He hadn't had a drink in hours.
He downed the shot then caught Tifa looked at him strangely out of the corner of his eye. "What?" he asked bluntly.
"Do you even know how many people you killed?" said Tifa softly, distaste evident in her tone.
Reno rolled his eyes. "Not this again."
"Yes, this again!" she snapped angrily. "How can you not even care? All those lives gone – just like that! Have you no heart, no conscience?"
"I doubt it," said Reno quietly.
"Not at all?" persisted Tifa. "No sense of guilt? No little voice telling you that what you're doing is wrong?"
"Sometimes. But I tend to drown it out with a little thing called alcohol."
Reno stopped. He'd never told anyone that before. He stared up into Tifa's deep, dark eyes and felt his pulse quicken. He swallowed.
They sat in silence for a while, occasionally asking one another to pass the vodka bottle. Finally, Reno spoke.
"So what happened to Pretty Boy?"
"Pretty Boy?" said Tifa blankly. "Oh, you mean Cloud…"
"Tifa? You okay?"
Tifa began to briskly scrub at an imaginary stain on the counter, keeping her face hidden with a thick curtain of chestnut hair. "It didn't work out."
"I'm sorry."
Tifa smiled weakly. "No you're not."
"No, honestly I am. Splitting up is never easy."
Tifa stared at him for a moment, surprised at how profound and sensitive Reno was capable of being. Then-
"Plus, now I owe Rude fifty gil."
It took Tifa a second to process this. "Wait… So you're saying that you and Rude BET on whether or not Cloud and I could make it work!"
"Not just you and Cloud," said Reno hurriedly. "Everyone… Rude bet twenty gil that the Vampire dude and the ninja chick'd get it on which they haven't. And that the Ancient would start something up with Cloud but I said that'd never happen as he was totally into you-"
Reno stopped, realising that he was just making things worse. "I'll just pop off into the grave I just dug for myself, shall I?"
Tifa smiled despite herself. "First of all, gambling is a crude and expensive habit. Second, my friends do have names – Vincent, Yuffie and Aeris. Third… Vincent and Yuffie? What the hell was Rude thinking?"
Reno, who'd been hanging his head in mock shame, looked up at her and grinned again. "Rude never was a smart gambler."
After that, the tension was broken and as they lapsed into another moment of reflection, there was no sense of awkwardness or wariness. It was the silence of friends, friends who knew each other well and didn't need words to express how much they were enjoying each others company.
A thought occurred to Tifa. "So, what've you been up to these past few years? Besides betting on my personnel life, that is. Still working for the most evil forces on the Planet?"
"I'd love to tell you, Tife, honestly I would," Reno looked up at her in mock seriousness. "But if I did I'd have to kill you."
Tifa laughed. "Who the hell do you think you are, Bruce bloody Willis? Fine, okay. Well, what about Rude and Elena? Can you tell me about them?"
"'Fraid not," grinned Reno and he winked at her.
Tifa shook her head, tipping the last of the vodka into her shot glass. As she knocked it back, Tifa was uncomfortably aware of Reno's eyes upon her. She put the glass down and stared at him quizzically.
"You're too good for him, you know that?" he said softly.
His words caught her off guard, not to mention the gentle, compassionate tone he'd used the likes of which she'd never heard in his voice.
"Cloud, I mean," Reno said, getting up from his stool and walking over to her. "You're way too good for him."
"Reno…" said Tifa then stopped. How did she plan to answer him? Some bland excuse about how she was completely over Cloud and couldn't care less whether she was good enough for him or not? Or defend Cloud's honour, telling Reno how brilliant a boyfriend he'd been and how upset they'd both been when it hadn't worked out? Both were total lies, and somehow lying to Reno just didn't… feel right.
"You deserve someone better," continued Reno, before she had a chance to reply.
"What, like you?" choked Tifa, the lump lodging itself once more in her throat. "Someone who kills people for a living and spends their recreational time in bars or with hookers?"
She stormed out from behind the bar, these new feelings frightening and confusing her, and strode straight past Reno to the door, not daring to look him in the face. She wrenched the door open. "I think you should leave."
Reno shook his head. "I don't want to leave."
"This isn't a game, Reno!"
"I never said it was."
She made to the bar again but this time Reno grabbed her arm. His grip was strong and firm but not so much that it hurt her. She stared down at her arm, a tingling feeling spreading through her body. She took a deep breath.
"Listen, Reno-"
"No, Tifa, you listen," said Reno, his voice assuming the gentle tone once more. "Today is the most romantic day of the year and today everyone must have some sort of romantic encounter. It's, like, a law."
He pulled her a little closer and Tifa was too shocked to protest. With his other hand, Reno, stroked a stray lock of hair from her beautiful face. She shivered, the contact alien to her for so long.
"So," Reno said, now using the hand not gripping her arm to lift her head up gently, so that her deep, brown eyes stared into his own aquamarine ones. "How about you have yours with the person you least expect?"
And then, he leant forwards, gently brushing his lips against her own. For a second Tifa pulled back but then she surrendered to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his. She felt his arms twist around her waist, pulling her closer still. It was the best feeling she had experienced in so long now and it occurred to her now, for the first time, that Reno was right. She did deserve better than Cloud. He'd neglected her, ignored her and abandoned her and yet still she'd remained devoted to him.
Of course, this didn't mean that Reno was "the one," the idea of having any romantic involvement with him was strange enough as it was. But for now, it'd do.
She smiled inwardly to herself. It would more than do.
For quite possibly the first time in his life, Reno got "that" feeling. As he kissed Tifa, he knew that this was a turning point in his life. Behind his eyes, he saw fireworks, starlight, rose petals the whole romantic shebang. And he'd thought all that stuff was made up by Disney to try and sell more sappy movies.
He pulled her closer and caught the sweet aroma of lavender and various other unidentifiable flowers around her. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. Even he felt beautiful!
Eventually, they pulled away, for air more than anything else. Tifa rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his body wash over her, melting the cold of her heart. Reno ran his fingers through her shiny, dark hair, amazed at how soft and supple it was.
"Tifa…" he whispered.
She nuzzled further into his chest but nodded to show that she was listening.
Reno looked around the deserted bar, taking in the scented pink candles placed in the centre of each table, petals strewn haphazardly around them. Paper hearts in various shades of pink and red and yellow hung from the ceiling and Reno smiled as he caught sight of the banner spanning the wall behind the bar's counter. He quoted it now:
"Happy Valentine's Day."