This was somewhat inspired by a recent visit to a Polish festival - where the focus, of course, is on kielbasa sausage. I adapted this a bit for Nibelheim, and injected Reno's pervy sense of humor into it. Ended up with something halfway between silly and sappy, hope you enjoy!
Usual disclaimer - don't own, wish I did. This is written for fun and not profit.
After Meteorfall, it fell upon the major cities and towns of the Planet to rebuild; some had been more damaged than others, particularly Midgar. Nibelheim, however, was virtually unscathed; though a different kind of rebuilding was taking place there, a restoration of a happier time in the town's past. Those years before the time when Sephiroth went mad, learning of his true origins, his rage over the lies leading to him razing the town, reducing it to cinders and ashes.
The conspiracy and cover-up spread far and wide; Shinra employees were re-assigned to Nibelheim to pose as residents following Sephiroth's decimation of the town, and the official story was...that there was no story. Nothing happened, nothing to see here, move along now. Those who grew up in that town only to return years later - namely, Cloud and Tifa - were confronted with a revised version of the history they knew to be true, a web of lies constructed by Shinra in order to save face, and cover up one of their greatest scandals and shames.
Rebuilding Nibelheim physically, had already been done years ago following the burning of the town; now a much greater, more difficult task was at hand, to rebuild the spirit of the town, to restore Nibelheim to its true roots for those who had once called the small mountain village their home. The once-famous Nibelheim Sausage Festival was resurrected, and Cloud found himself returning to Nibelheim, ready to relive some of the few good memories he had from his childhood, as well as confront the last few ghosts that might linger in his hometown.
Naturally, seeing that Reno would be tagging along, Cloud was taking a great ribbing from his lover as he explained the origins of the once-famed sausage festival. They'd taken Reno's chopper to get there quickly, Cloud's massive motorcycle tucked in the cargo bay of the rear of the helicopter. Cloud hoped to take a ride around the mountain pass following the festival, to explore the "new" Nibelheim, such as it was.
"So, tell me, Cloud..." Reno drawled, glancing over from the pilot's seat to smirk at Cloud. "This shit is serious, then? Nibelheim used to get together once a year to pay homage to a fucking sausage?" He giggled like an idiot as he banked the helicopter around, well aware that Cloud was glaring at him.
"Knock it off," Cloud snapped. "Reno...seriously. It used to be a big industry in Nibelheim, okay? My uncle was a butcher in town, until he died. There were a few sausage-makers in the area, who would compete to see who could produce the biggest sausage."
Reno nearly fell over in the pilot's seat, laughing. "Oh, Gaia, Cloud...sorry, I'm not making fun of your uncle, I swear! But, yanno...I can produce a pretty hefty sausage myself, wanna see?"
"Shut up and fly, Reno," Cloud replied with a groan. "Really...how old are you, twelve?"
"Mentally, that sounds about right, yo." Reno gave Cloud a wink. "Hey, I'm just teasing. Tell me more about the famous Strife sausage, babe." He clenched his teeth as he held back another laugh.
"You're hilarious, Reno," Cloud said dryly, rolling his eyes. "Believe me, it's not like I didn't hear this crap growing up, either. 'Oh, Strife, show us your sausage! Bet you're good at giving head, sausage-sucker!' That kind of shit. It got old, you know."
"But you are good at giving head, Cloud," Reno said evenly, grinning at Cloud. The comment earned Reno a soft cuff to the arm, though Cloud was now smiling. "But hey, I know what ya mean, though. Kids can be real assholes, sometimes. I had some tough times growing up too, back in the slums." The humor left Reno's eyes for just a moment, a shadow going across his face as he thought back to one of those times, being beaten and bloodied, a skinny little kid with barely a gil to his name; a runaway, one who lived on the streets as a pickpocket, making his way through life one grim day at a time until that fateful day he crossed paths with Tseng, eventually falling into employ with Shinra and the Turks.
"Let's not think about that shit right now though, right?" Reno said with a tone of artificial brightness. He was determined to make this trip back home a good one for Cloud; Reno knew better than anyone about the ghosts that still haunted the blond hero's cracked and mended mind.
"We'll have fun, I promise," Reno told Cloud as he brought the chopper in for a landing. "And I swear...I'll keep the sausage jokes to a minimum."
This time it was Cloud who laughed out loud. He shook his head as he gathered together his duffel bag, and opened the back hatch, ready to back Fenrir out of the cargo hold.
"One hundred gil says you won't last five minutes before saying something stupid, once we get to the festival," Cloud called over his shoulder as he straddled the bike, Reno slipping on behind him, arms coming around the blond hero's torso.
"One hundred gil, eh?" Reno repeated, grinning like a loon. "You're on, Cloud. You're fucking on. You think I can't keep my mouth shut, eh? I'll show you, and tell you what, make it double or nothing."
Cloud laughed as he adjusted the throttle on the bike. "This is going to be too easy. Like taking candy from a baby. I should feel bad, but..." The rest of his words were lost in the roar of the engine as Fenrir jumped to life, and Cloud sped off toward the small mountain town he'd once called home.
The town square was brightly decorated and festooned with streamers, food vendors and craft booths lining the cobblestone-paved road. Cloud's footfalls fell into a familiar pattern, and it surprised him once he consciously realized it; how his feet knew just where to go, avoiding the loose stones that had never been fixed, not since he was a teen.
Before I left here for Midgar, Cloud recalled with a rueful smile. He felt Reno's hand reach for his own, and the smile grew wider as he felt the slim fingers wrap around his own. Comfortingly, like they just belonged there. Even though Reno was unpredictable and could make Cloud crazy, the love between the two grounded him, kept him from spiraling back into the madness and confusion he'd conquered so many years ago. Falling in love with Reno...it was a different kind of crazy, the good kind.
"You okay?" Reno said quietly, squeezing Cloud's hand as they made their way through the town, nodding as they greeted a few familiar faces here and there. Familiar, but not family; Cloud's mother was long gone, having died when Sephiroth burned down the town so many years before. He glanced at the house he'd grown up in - though it wasn't the same house of course, merely a facsimile.
"Maybe it was a mistake coming here," Cloud whispered, shaking his head. The jovial sound of accordion music playing an old Nibelheim waltz drifted to Cloud's ears, and he cocked his head to listen. It had been one of his mother's favorites, Cloud remembered. "So many memories...some of them good, some of them...not so much."
"Listen, if you wanna split, just say the word," Reno told Cloud firmly. "But we've got the power to change things, ya know. No, we can't change the past, but we can make new memories here, Cloud. Good ones," he emphasized.
Cloud nodded, smiling. Reno's words comforted him on one level, but his heart still hurt. "This was my idea, to come here. To come back to my roots. I'll be okay."
"Damn right you will be," Reno said brightly, dragging Cloud toward a food vendor. The scent of smoked sausage was delectable, and Reno's mouth was beginning to water. "Mmm...I can't wait to eat, yo. I'm fucking starving. Hey, look, Cloud - " Reno said, pointing at a sign near the inn. "Sausage eating contest. I'll sign us up!"
"Reno..." Cloud murmured in mild protest, but the redhead was already off, red ponytail bobbing along behind him like one of the colorful streamers that hung over their heads. Cloud couldn't help but laugh at Reno's enthusiasm, and groaned slightly as he felt his stomach grumble. He was famished, and he'd only realized how hungry he was just then. Food would be a welcome distraction from the anxiety Cloud was feeling.
He laughed as Reno came back over, brandishing two plastic bibs, handing one over to Cloud. "Here ya go, I signed us both up. We gotta eat six pounds of Nibelheim's finest sausage in like, five minutes. Or something like that, I don't know what the world record is. Who cares! We get free food this way," Reno crowed.
"You're such a cheapskate," Cloud teased. "Well...I am hungry. I could probably eat ten pounds, though I don't think I could eat that much quickly."
"I bet you can put away a lot of sausage, Cloud," Reno said with a straight face. Cloud rolled his eyes at Reno, who immediately protested. "What? What'd I say?" Reno asked, maintaining an air of innocence.
"Remember our bet," Cloud reminded Reno, chuckling. "That last comment of yours...kind of borderline, I think. I'll give you a second chance, though, to redeem yourself."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Cloud," Reno said, placing his hand over his heart. "I was merely complimenting your manly appetite. For food," he added quickly.
Cloud wasn't buying it, but he snorted a laugh. "Whatever. I don't really believe you, but...I'm going to wait until you really slip up. Two-hundred gil is riding on this, don't forget!"
"Young man! Young man..." A shaky-sounding female voice called to Cloud, and he turned to look.
"Yes, ma'am?" Cloud replied politely. It was an elderly woman who was tugging on Cloud's sleeve to get his attention.
"Young man, aren't you the one?" the woman asked him, her eyes full of hope and pride. "Cloud Strife, the hero who saved us all?"
Cloud turned as bright a red as Reno's hair. He cast his eyes away from the woman's piercing glance, and scratched his head, feeling awkward. "Uh...well, yes, I am Cloud Strife. But I wouldn't call myself a hero..."
The woman scoffed, waving her hand dismissively at Cloud. "Pshaw! Don't be so modest, boy. It's good to see you come back. I knew your mother, you know," she added. "Reyja Strife. Beautiful woman, hard-working, too. My name is Anjuli. Do you remember me, Cloud?"
"Anjuli ? I'm sorry, but I don't – I don't remember you. You - knew my mother?" Cloud said incredulously. "But I thought - " He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. I thought that everyone from Nibelheim died that day, except for me and Tifa. How is this woman still alive?
"Lucky for me, I was in Rocket Town that day, visiting my sister," the old woman went on. "But I could see the smoke coming over the mountains. When I returned home, the Shinra army wouldn't let me pass. I gave them a piece of my mind, but they still wouldn't let me back to my house. Gave me some song and dance about a natural disaster, and that the town would have to be rebuilt."
"More like an unnatural disaster," Cloud muttered, shaking his head. The woman nodded at him and continued.
"Indeed," Anjuli replied. "Well, now we know the story, don't we? What Shinra tried to cover up. After the meteor, they made - what's the word - rep...rep - "
"Reparations," Reno supplied helpfully. Cloud gave him a curious look. "You knew about this?"
"Yeah," Reno said softly. "Rufus – the president - it was his idea, to try and make amends for everything his father did." He could feel the woman's skeptical eyes on him, judging, no doubt, just as so many others had done after the world nearly ended. Suppose I deserve some of that scorn, Reno thought ruefully. There was no amount of "I'm sorry's" that would help the Turks and Shinra to atone for what had been done. All they could do was to move forward, and rebuild.
Rather than rip him a new one – as Reno half-expected the woman to do – she merely shrugged her shoulders. "The son's a mite better than the father," Anjuli admitted grudgingly. "Still, I want no part of mako reactors or anything like that, not ever again."
"The WRO is looking into alternate forms of energy," Cloud explained to Anjuli. "I've been running errands and deliveries for Reeve Tuesti…and things are moving along, he says. We won't have to rely on Mako anymore."
"Good to hear," Anjuli replied with a grunt. She narrowed her eyes, and gave Reno the once-over, eyeing him up and down. "One of the president's men, eh? Hope you're worthy of a hero like Cloud Strife," Anjuli added pointedly, giving Reno a stern look.
"He is," Cloud said quickly, crooking his arm in Reno's almost possessively. "He very much is. I wouldn't plan to spend the rest of my life with someone who wasn't," he added, a bit angrily, though he tried to sound as polite as possible. Reno's eyebrows rose slightly at this, but he said nothing for the moment. "It was nice meeting you, Anjuli….if you'll excuse us?"
"Of course, of course," Anjuli said hurriedly, patting Cloud's hand. "Welcome back, Cloud. Enjoy the festival, yes?"
"We will," Cloud replied, smiling slightly. "It was good to meet you."
"And you also," Anjuli threw over her shoulder as she turned to take her leave of the two. "Keep well, Cloud Strife of Nibelheim."
"I will," Cloud called after her, and then turned to see Reno staring at him incredulously. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Did you really mean that, yo?" Reno asked softly. "What you said, about…spending the rest of your life with me?"
Cloud froze, and then a slow smile crept over his face as he nodded. "Yeah. I mean – I kind of just blurted it out, but I meant it, Reno. "
"I'm glad," Reno murmured, nuzzling Cloud. "I feel the same. But, you might get a lot of that, ya know. A lot of flak and shit, from people who think I'm not worthy of a hero like you. That lady was nice, but some people might give you shit about being with me. One of Shinra's men, who nearly ended the world," he added bitterly.
"It wasn't your fault," Cloud assured him. "Granted…I've got my own issues with Shinra. And I'm still wary of Rufus, probably always will be. But, you're more than worthy of me, Reno. Never doubt that. Sometimes I wonder if I'm worthy of you."
It was Reno's turn to do a double take, and he shook his head in disbelief. "You shittin' me, Cloud? Of course you are. It might not make sense to some, but since when do I give a fuck what others think?" He grinned, giving Cloud a nudge with his elbow as they made their way around the square. "Come on….let's check this shit out. It's a sausage-stuffing demo!" Reno cackled, nodding toward a booth where some area butchers and sausage makers were demonstrating their craft.
"Look at that shit," Reno whispered to Cloud, as they observed the butcher stretching a casing over the sausage stuffer, the meat mixture filling and expanding the casing. "It looks like putting on a condom. Man, this is making me so horny…"
Cloud rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Only you, Reno. Only you."
He smiled as he looked around the town square, realizing with a sudden sadness how true the old saying was – that "you can't go home again." In Cloud's case the meaning was, of course, quite literal. There was no home to return to, no family to speak of, with Cloud's mother having perished in the infamous fire so many years ago.
Reno smirked at Cloud, cocking his head to the side. "Only me what?" he asked, a teasing lilt in his voice.
Cloud pulled Reno into a tight embrace, resting his head against the Turk's shoulder. He sighed deeply then smiled, looking up into eyes that seemed to change from emerald to aqua and back again.
"Only you could make me laugh at a time like this," Cloud said gratefully. "I was dreading coming back here, and there are a lot of bad memories - obviously. But you made it bearable. Hell, you even made me laugh, Reno. In Nibelheim. A few years ago, right after I got all my memories back…something like that wouldn't even have been possible."
Reno's face reddened and he buried his face in Cloud's hair, inhaling his scent deeply. "It's nothing," he muttered, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. "You know me, Cloud…I'm just a fucking goofball," Reno added, self-deprecatingly.
"Well, I won't argue with that," Cloud replied, laughing, which earned him an elbow-jab from Reno. "But…I just wanted you to know. How much it means to me, that I can feel normal, in the same place where my life went straight to hell."
"I know what it means to you," Reno said, kissing the hero of Nibelheim tenderly. "You've done the same for me, Cloud. Kept me sane, and loved me when I thought I might lose my fucking mind altogether."
"Let's go home," Cloud said suddenly. "Let's get out of here. This isn't my home anymore, anyways. My home is with you."
"All right," Reno agreed, and the two headed out of the town square, away from Nibelheim and all its ghosts.
"Wait a minute, Cloud," Reno said, an impish grin on his face. "If we leave now….does this mean I don't get to see you deep-throat a shitload of sausage?"