Greetings, all! My years of hiatus are over and I bring to you my latest works, a collection of one-shots featuring my OC. I will publish them as they come to me, so there won't really be a chronological order, and the format and timeline is meant to be confusing. I hope y'all enjoy getting to know my character and her life and enjoy the ride!
"Reno?"
"Hmm?"
Silence. The rustle of fabric in the breeze. Wind howling through the trees and grass.
"What is it?"
Another gust of wind. The metal of the helicopter nearby creaking. The blades beginning to rotate.
"Thank you."
Grass crunching. Blue eyes staring intently at an unmoving profile. Long black hair whipping in the wind.
"For what?"
Confusion. Teal eyes glancing sidelong at red bangs. Apprehension.
"You know what."
"I don't. Or I wouldn't have asked."
An elephant in the room neither would acknowledge.
A sigh, "Ria, talk to me."
Twiddling hands. A nervous gesture. Anxiety.
"Do you remember when you came to visit me in Edge a couple years ago?"
A pensive expression. Red facial tattoos scrunched in thought. A nod.
"What about it?"
"You made a promise. Do you remember it?"
No hesitation, "Of course."
A petite body laying down on the grass. A suit-clad arm sliding behind her head. Black waves splayed on a blue shoulder.
"That's what I'm thanking you for."
A teasing tone, "A pinky promise?"
Narrowed teal eyes. The hint of a smile. Two bodies side by side, lightly touching.
"For keeping your promise."
A playful grin. A calloused hand pulling the petite body closer. The top layer of black waves being tousled.
"You don't have to thank me for that."
"I want to."
"Why?"
A shrug. Teal eyes avoiding blue. Red lines become the focus.
"Just felt right in the moment."
Companionable silence. Black hair tangled in red. The breeze intensifies.
An unnaturally tender gaze from blue eyes, "I take pinky promises very seriously."
"I'm glad."
A smile as bright as the sun shining that day. Deep red lipstick smudged on teeth. Blue eyes take notice.
"Ria."
Teal eyes close. She basks in the sunlight. Energy is gained from the sun's rays.
"Hmm?"
A shifting of the larger, leaner body. Red bangs brush across a makeup-clad face. Blue eyes observe studiously.
"You've got lipstick on your teeth again."
Teal eyes shoot open. Cheeks turn pinker than the blush covering them. A finger brushing front teeth.
"Better?"
Blue meets teal. His gaze lowers. A sheepish smile.
"You missed some."
Exasperation. Disbelief shows in the teal eyes. A red ponytail whips over a shoulder as he leans forward.
"Let me help you get the rest off."
Teal eyes narrow. Her gaze lowers. The breeze blows again.
"You're going to make a mess."
A devilish smirk. Carefree energy surrounds him. A smile outlined by red lips.
"I don't care."
"Clearly."
Words diminish. The distance closes between them. The sunlight and breeze join in harmony that day.
The bar was full that evening. Voices carried and bounced vibrantly off the walls. Dim lighting broke through the windows, giving a sheen to the décor and its occupants. One occupant, the bartender, basked in the outdoor lighting penetrating the nearest window. Shoulder length black curls glimmered as they moved behind the bar in harmony with a loose black crop top, swishing with every turn. A wet palm was wiped on jeans, encountering rips in the medium washed denim along their journey to dryness.
The door opened, though the bartender did not pay attention to the patrons leaving or entering the bar; she was focused on the men in her immediate vicinity, approaching the corner of the bar. Teal eyes widened as they took note of the dark blue suits that she had not seen since she was last at Healin Lodge, and had not seen for over a year and a half before that. She glanced down the bar, hoping a customer would offer an escape, though she was forced to return her attention to the two newcomers when one of them spoke up with overt enthusiasm.
"Hey there, beautiful. Mind if we grab some drinks?"
She began to chew on her lower lip, catching a taste of the dark purple lipstick she was wearing. Fiery red hair and a friendly smile taunted her from across the counter. She glanced at his companion, whose face was impassive, as was typical of him.
She forced a smile, "The usual?"
A boyish grin was received in response, "You know us so well."
The two men took the last two empty seats and the bartender turned away from them with urgency. She felt ridiculously uncomfortable, and it read in her body language. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and returned to the men, beers in hand. The edge of her shirt dusted the top of the counter as she set the drinks down and slid them across the counter. She pulled lightly on the cotton fabric, knowing that it wouldn't cover her exposed midriff, but hoping to hide regardless.
The last time she had seen the two men had not ended on the best of terms. Their boss, a childhood friend of hers, had attempted to sway her opinions and insulted her in the process. Harsh words had been exchanged between them, and she ended up uncharacteristically berating him and his employees. She stormed out afterwards and was emotional for some time. She had been staying with a couple of former comrades ever since, and felt guilty for her behavior. Given the current health of her once closest friend, she felt the need to apologize, though could not set her pride aside enough to do so.
Now here were the other two men she had insulted, and she was uncomfortable. She was embarrassed and ashamed of allowing her emotions to get the best of her and for allowing the situation to escalate and include the two of them, who had not done her wrong. Judging by their current body language and the fact that they were here, she assumed that there were no hard feelings. These men were masters of keeping their thoughts and emotions on a leash, however, and she was unnaturally unsettled by their presence after their last encounter.
She attempted to leave, though the calling of her name stopped her in her tracks.
"Ria."
It was said calmly, and Ria felt less at ease than she had a moment before, "Yes?"
Blue eyes gazed at her intently, causing her to feel very exposed, "No hard feelings."
She was confused for a split second before releasing a breath that she did not know she was holding. She glanced at his companion for confirmation, and he nodded at her in response.
"Rude and I get that you were just upset that day, yo," the redhead stated, swirling his beer around in the bottle as he spoke, "so there's no hard feelings. Stop stressing over it. You look like an abused dog waiting to be kicked again."
Ria flinched at his choice of words, feeling the pain at the accuracy and the backhanded insult. The redhead, Reno, maintained a neutral expression, though she wondered if his words were meant to hurt like they did. She did sort of deserve it, however.
"I'm glad," she responded simply, bowing slightly and allowing her black curls to brush across her shoulders, "thank you."
The two said nothing more, and Ria took her chance to escape. Her gray heeled booties tapped against the floor as she resumed tending to her patrons, joining in on shots when requested. When Ria made her way back to the other end of the bar some time later, Reno was alone, nursing what he stated was his fifth drink.
"Did Tifa grab you while I was gone?"
He nodded, causing some of his hair to fall out of his ponytail in the process, "You're a busy bee. Can't be helped."
The bar was as busy as it was before, though Ria was happy to be making good tips, and receive free drinks in the process. She had lost count of the amount of drinks she herself had consumed that night, though she was feeling quite relaxed, and swayed to the beat of the music playing.
"Kids upstairs?"
Ria attempted to push the wave of alcohol hitting her and responded, "They are. They don't sleep early on the weekends anyway."
Reno nodded in understanding and began to swish the beer around in the bottle again. He studied her through narrowed eyes, causing her to feel self-conscious.
"Is there something on my face?" she asked, brushing away a wayward curl that was beginning to unravel.
Reno shook his head, "Nah. Just thinking about how different you are."
Before she could inquire further, Reno chugged the remainder of his beer and gestured for another. Ria obliged and handed him a fresh beer, watching the cool vapors emanate from the top of the bottle.
"Can I buy you a shot?"
Teal eyes narrowed in curiosity, "What do you want?"
Reno sent her a charming smile, "Lady's choice."
"What a gentleman," Ria commented offhandedly, not having to move far to grab her favorite whiskey and pouring two shots, her hands slightly more sloppy than earlier in the night.
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't put a woman's wishes before my own?"
Ria turned around to Reno's seemingly innocent expression, though the light smirk playing on his lips from behind his bottle did not fool her. She playfully rolled her eyes at the sexual undertone to his comments, not out of character for the redhead, and handed him his shot. She placed her elbows on the counter and leaned towards Reno, unintentionally giving him an open view of her chest. He chose to ignore it.
He picked up the small glass in his hand, blue eyes meeting teal, "What are we cheering to?"
Ria shrugged lightly, a curl falling into her face. She left it there.
"I know," Reno said, mirroring Ria's body language and leaning on his elbows on the counter, "how about to attractive brunette bartenders and good friends?"
Ria couldn't help the laugh that escaped, "You mean Tifa and Rude?"
Reno playfully scowled at her, "Actually, both of those were referring to you, but now that you mention it…"
Ria shoved him on the shoulder that wasn't holding the whiskey, and he let out a loud laugh in response. She smiled brightly at him. His personality, the alcohol, and the atmosphere put her at ease.
Reno's expression softened, and he sent her a genuine smile, "I have a better one."
"Oh?" Ria questioned, leaning further on her elbows and feeling the contrast of the cool countertop on her bare midriff.
Reno raised his glass in the air, "To Ria's smile."
She tilted her head to the side curiously, though raised her glass in the air as well. The two clinked glasses, tapped the bar counter, and downed the alcohol. Ria reveled in the warm liquid burning down her throat and sighed contentedly, closing her eyes. When she opened them, Reno was studying her once again, his slightly raspy voice flowing into her ears.
"It's good to see you smile."
Caught off guard by his words, Ria inquired of him, "What do you mean?"
Reno lifted his beer bottle to his lips and took a large swig, "Haven't seen you so carefree in a long time. A smile looks good on you."
"You're awfully nice this evening," Ria commented, eying him skeptically, "what gives?"
Reno shrugged carelessly, his lips playing into a lopsided smile, "Just being honest."
Though still unsure of his intentions, Ria took his words at face value. Her expression quickly turned pensive, however, and she felt the alcohol loosening her tongue.
"There's not much to smile about these days; hasn't been for a long time."
Another empty beer bottle was placed on the counter. Ria glanced to the side and noticed a slightly shorter brunette in a black ensemble helping the customers and sent the other woman a grateful expression before grabbing another beer for Reno. She would have to thank Tifa later.
Reno nodded in thanks and grabbed the next bottle, "Tell you what; I'm in a generous mood. How about I make you a promise?"
"A promise?" Ria questioned, leaning on her elbows once again.
Reno nodded, "I promise that I will try my hardest to make you smile, as long as you let me."
Touched, though confused by Reno's words, Ria asked him, "Why?"
The Turk began swishing the contents of his beer bottle around again, switching from clockwise to counterclockwise. He turned his attention back to Ria, an earnest expression on his features.
"Do you remember when you stayed behind at the Temple of the Ancients and healed Tseng until backup arrived, even though you two were on bad terms?"
Ria's expression grew troubled, the dark makeup around her eyes making her look more solemn than she had a moment before. She chewed on her purple colored lips once again, nodding in response to Reno's question and waited for him to continue.
"Do you remember what you said to me in the helicopter when I was taking us all back to HQ?"
"Vaguely," was Ria's non-committal response.
Reno knew he was getting into touchy territory, but persevered, "I asked you why you would go through the trouble of saving Tseng even though you two were fighting. Why you ditched your other crew to stay with him and save him, even when you didn't owe him anything. You told me that even though you didn't agree with Shinra all the time, and you were mad, that Rufus and the Turks were family to you. That even though Turks aren't supposed to have personal connections, you weren't a Turk and you really cared about us. That's why you and Rufus saved us. Well, what was left of us."
His expression had turned so serious, Ria was enraptured. She was not used to seeing such a look on him, and eagerly awaited his continuation of the memory, recalling the incident in her own mind as he went.
"Anyway, you said that all of the Turks were like family to you, in a way, and even though most of them were gone and you blamed Tseng for a lot of it, you still cared about him. You wanted to keep the rest of us close. You got really emotional about all of it."
Ria's gaze lowered as Reno relentlessly tugged at her memories, almost lost in his own memories as he recollected them. She wondered why he was bringing up such an incident, though she had an idea.
Reno chuckled, his index finger tracing the top of his bottle as he reminisced, "I thought to myself, Why is she getting so emotional? What am I supposed to do? This is so weird. But I thought about it a lot after that, yo. Especially after Meteor. I guess the world nearly ending really makes you think about people and what they say; the bigger picture, y'know."
"I didn't just grow up with Rufus; I grew up with the Turks too," Ria stated, smiling softly, "You guys were all like bodyguards to me. Even when I didn't want you to be."
"Boss's orders," Reno chuckled, remembering Veld's overprotective nature towards Ria.
"I think he was always secretly in love with my mother," Ria revealed, referring to Veld, "He thought of me as his own."
"He was the one that found you in the slums, wasn't he?"
Ria nodded, the nostalgia causing a forlorn smile to appear on her face, "Supposedly it was his insistence that led me to Shinra, but I have Torben and Eben to thank for keeping me out of the labs."
Reno smiled smugly from behind his bottle, "Must have been rough, being adopted by two rich Shinra execs and growing up in the lap of luxury. You were pretty spoiled, if I remember right."
Ria's face broke into a shameless smile, "I got away with anything and everything I wanted."
"Sometimes I thought it was you who ran Shinra, not the old Pres," Reno laughed, "You always had Rufus wrapped around your finger too."
At the mention of Rufus, Ria's smile wavered, and she remembered the poor state of their relationship. Reno reached forward to pat her shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"Will you tell Rufus I'm sorry?" Ria blurted, teal eyes desperately locking with blue.
Reno smiled softly and nodded, "'Course, Ri. You know he couldn't ever stay mad at you anyway. You guys have always been like two peas in a pod, yo."
"Comes with the territory of growing up together, I guess," Ria said, placing her hand over Reno's, which was still on her bare shoulder, "Thank you."
Reno pulled away and leaned back on the stool slightly, crossing one leg over the other and placing one ankle on the other knee. He sent her another grin.
"Anyway, that's why I'm promising to keep that smile on your face."
"Because of Rufus?"
Reno furrowed his brows, though let out a laugh when he saw Ria's teasing expression, "Idiot. No."
"Because I have a smile that could break a man's heart?"
Reno grinned at her as she seductively leaned forward on the counter, smiling coyly at Reno.
"You're a fucking minx, Ri. I get it. But no, that's not it either."
"I give up," she said exasperatedly, tossing a hand to her forehead in a dramatic manner.
Reno rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "You said you wanted to keep the leftover Turks close because they meant a lot to you. Do you remember what I said to you after that?"
After a moment of thought, Ria responded in a normal tone, "You told me that you guys would always have my back. Not because Rufus asked you to, but because you all wanted to. That you cared about me too."
Reno nodded, "Right. And that really stuck with me, yo. So yeah, you've got a killer smile and you're a smoking hot woman. But it's been so long since you've been able to be happy and smile, Ri. And that sucks. So I'm telling you that I'm taking it upon myself to be your knight in shining armor and I promise that I'm gonna make you smile as much as I can. Got it?"
Startled by his sincerity, Ria watched in confusion as he stuck out a fist with the pinky finger outstretched, "What's that for?"
Reno watched her intently, "One of your quirks. You always made everyone pinky promise you. Well, here I am, making a pinky promise."
Ria smiled brightly, "That shit's intense, Reno. You sure you can commit to a promise like that? You can't even commit to breakfast."
"Breakfast is a stupid and unnecessary meal," Reno said in defense of himself, "Don't change the subject."
Ria lifted her hand and gingerly wrapped her pinky around Reno's, her finger dwarfed by the length of his. The two shared a genuine smile and returned their hands to themselves.
"Well now that you made that promise, I expect you to stick to it. I take pinky promises very seriously, you know."
Reno allowed his gaze to wander across Ria's face, which was illuminated by the street lamp just outside the window she was standing in front of. She brushed a curl out of her face and sent him a shy smile, though he could feel the happiness radiating from her. Reno had not ever been as serious about a promise as he was in that moment, enraptured by the smiling woman standing before him.
"Whatever it takes, Ri."