A/N: This fic is questionable to say the least. I won't be surprised with hate or confusion but reviews are always appreciated. Inspired by the song "Good Girl Gone Bad" by Rhianna. Standard disclaimers for SE apply.
"Good Girl Gone Bad"
by MakoRain
Tonight it was busy, crowded with people who wanted to relax and drink away the stress of yet another hectic workweek. Seventh Heaven was packed with patrons eager to get enough drinks in their system to forget that another week of this was just around the corner. Tifa was only too happy to oblige her friends and fellow townspeople by pouring drink after drink, talking and smiling with everyone as if they were all her close friends. Most of them were, for she was the type of woman almost anyone could get along with.
That was part of her appeal. Her waist length dark brown hair, warm hazel eyes, sensuous hips and dazzling smile only added to the very sexy bartender of Seventh Heaven and Reno couldn't help but stare like every other guy in the room. If she noticed, she didn't let on, instead treating every man equally and not showing to play favorites but the red head knew he held a part of her, something that made her smile broaden as she approached him now to take his order at the bar.
"Hey Reno, haven't seen you around in a while."
Score, Reno thought. She missed me.
"Yeah, had to do some out of town work. You know how it goes. Miss me?" Always more eager than anything, Reno cut right to the chase and Tifa just laughed, used to this kind of behavior from him. It was, after all, a Reno thing to do.
"Sure. What can I get you?"
Biting his tongue on the rather provocative notion that came to mind, he ordered a gin and tonic before enjoying the view of her moving behind the bar, grabbing the bottles with the skill and agility only her fighter's body could show. Again his mind went somewhere unclean and he had to close his eyes, removing her tempting image from him only to see it dance across his eyelids, doing something very skillful with her hands. He opened them to see those hands pouring his drink and he swallowed a bit hard, taking the glass from her hand on the bar counter.
"Reno, are you alright?" Tifa asked, concerned for the red headed Turk who she had grown accustomed to having visit the bar every week or so.
"Fine." He choked out, trying his hardest to not watch her move away to take someone else's order.
What the hell was wrong with him? Yeah Lockheart was hot but she was also dangerous. She could kick his ass faster than he'd like to admit. Plus, she had a pesky little house mate who would not take too kindly to a Turk such as himself taking advantage of his curvaceous best friend. No, pretty sure Spiky would kill me dead right on the spot. Reno thought, shuddering. But what a way to go…
Unable to hold back a wolfish grin aimed in her direction, Reno winked before taking a sip of his drink and Tifa giggled, always entertained by his antics. Of course, she would never take any of them seriously, he just wanted her body and nothing else and she wanted none of that.
Looking back over her shoulder, she watched as he watched her and her cheeks flushed. Why was she acting like a schoolgirl with a crush? She was used to getting looks such as his from many of the male patriarchs for months now and suddenly his wink made her flustered? Pah-lease.
Still, he always did look attractive in his uniform, his suit adorably rustled and those tattoos under his eyes made him unique and that red hair going crazy in all directions…just like another man she knew. Except his spikes were blond and his blue eyes would never let hers go to look away as easily as she did now with Reno.
Tifa forced herself to look away and occupied the time working, taking orders and making drinks as much as possible to avoid his gaze she felt on her with every turn she made. It was unnerving. Finally, closing time was upon them and the locals all made it outside, some sturdy while others stumbled out the door until she realized it was just her and a certain red haired Turk.
Why was he still here?
"You know the drill Reno, closing time means time to go."
To do something with her hands, she poured a shot of whatever was within her grasp and drank it down, burning a trail of fire down her throat before she made a small face at the bitter taste. Never a good idea to drink a straight shot of tequila, need salt at least. I should have looked at the bottle; she scolded herself, now dealing with his green eyes back on her as he took in her face in the wall mirror behind the bar since her back was turned to him.
"Fine." She coughed slightly, answering the silent question in his eyes and annoyed that he had seen her unable to hold her liquor very well. In truth, for a bartender, she didn't drink that much, preferring to keep a level head.
"You look fine Lockheart but you don't sound too good." He smirked, moving around the bar but before he could reach her, she moved past him and out among the tables, overturning chairs for closing.
"I said I'm fine, Reno, thank you." Tifa didn't want to lose her patience with him but she wasn't in the mood for his crap tonight.
Why the hell was he still here?
"Here, lemme give you a hand." That being said, his rather large and very capable hands were overturning and placing five chairs to her two and she was grateful, seeing that her cleanup time was almost cut in half.
"Thanks."
"No problem, don't look so surprised. I can help out every now and then, you know. Be a good guy and all that."
"I know and I appreciate it." Tifa said sincerely but was a little concerned as to how much closer he was standing since the last time she bothered to look.
"I can help you out with more than cleaning up, Tifa."
And he was suddenly right there, his body much too close for comfort and looking for a way to put some more distance between them, she backed up and ran into a table.
"Careful, don't want to break anything we just cleaned up."
His face was full of laughter as a chuckle escaped at how flustered he was making her. She scolded herself, not understanding how Reno of all people could do this to her. His eyes held something for her…desire, lust, anything, everything, she wasn't sure. But she was sure that his legs against hers pushing the table was doing something to her that she hadn't expected and she moved again, this time towards the stairs.
"Why are you still here?" Tifa finally asked the question she had been quietly contemplating since she closed the bar around half an hour ago.
Reno's expression darkened but his voice stayed its normal and light tone.
"Isn't it obvious, Teef? I'm here for you."
"And what could you possibly do for me?" She said with more disdain then she meant and saw his face turn into a scowl at her implication that he was nothing to her. He was something to her, a friend, but that was all.
"I could take care of something that I think you haven't dealt with in a while."
His eyes roved her body hungrily like before, making her feel dirtier than if he had touched her and she turned away, ignoring the nagging inside as to what he meant by that. He seemed to sense her internal dilemma as he came up behind her, one hand snaking around her waist to feel her body. It felt so good and he moved forward, brushing his chest against her back as he whispered, "You know what I mean and I can help you completely."
The shiver through her body did not go unnoticed to Reno as he smiled, moving his hands to her hips while her frame leaned back against his. They were standing at the base of the stairs and her room was just up there…he turned her around and kissed her softly, with more tenderness than she thought possible from him.
His mouth moving to kiss her jaw line and then to trace the shell of her ear with skillful precision had her knees weak and he wrapped his other arm around her form, holding her up mostly.
"Tifa," he whispered in her ear, his breath warm over the wet trail he had left there that she couldn't help but shudder in his arms as he went to lift her legs to wrap around his waist for the walk up the stairs to her bedroom.
"Reno," she breathed and was met with his mouth on hers more passionately this time as she felt his hands on her legs, wrapping them around his waist as they were in motion.
She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. She needed to be wanted…needed…desired. It had been too long since she had been physically fulfilled and so she kissed him back. She did more than that, she urged him on, pulling him closer with one arm around his neck.
He tasted sweeter than she expected, the sensual alcohol still lingering in his mouth as well as hers as she licked his lips parting them eagerly to explore inside. His tongue, teeth, his entire mouth was ravished by her tongue as she drank more and more in and she could tell he approved when she felt the wall at her back and the hardness of his body before her. She didn't even recall how he had gotten them both up the stairs so quickly but didn't question it, instead getting lost in his taste once again.
Tifa looked up at him through slightly dazed eyes and the fire burning in his was shining, letting her know how much he cherished her, right here right now, and he needed her the same way she needed him. Reno's hands explored her body, fingers brushing over the zipper of her vest to pull it down and move it aside to fondle her ample sized chest, hands kneading her through the fabric of her white tank top and she couldn't hold back the gasp his touch brought forth. His mouth was on hers once again, swallowing her moan as his fingers slid under her top to tweak the nipple of her breast and she shuddered, earning a grin against her now bruised lips from his kisses.
It was as if her mind shut down, no longer attached to her body and so the protests she fought with earlier were gone, replaced with the rapturous feeling of his mouth on hers, his tongue teasing and hands sliding down her smooth skin to the small of her back, reaching down to squeeze her ass and she couldn't help the shock in the cry that came out of her mouth and his chuckle scratched against her skin unpleasantly.
He would never laugh like that…
Shaking her head clear of this thought, it was time for her hands to do some exploring of their own. Tifa moved along his shoulders, catching the fabric of his overcoat with her fingers along the way and he moved his arms to let the jacket fall off before his hands were on her in a heartbeat once again. She tried to focus on the feel of his skin under the white dress shirt he always wore untucked but something didn't feel right. Reno didn't think anything was wrong, what with the way his fingers worked quickly along the waist of her pants and she felt his fingers creep along her stomach, moving to her hips to pull along the fabric and expose more of her pale skin to his eagerness as she felt the hardness within his pants rigid against her thigh.
It was then that the warning bell finally shrieked in her head. No matter how much she wanted this, the physical intimacy to quench the fire burning within her, it was not with the man before her. Reno was not what she wanted, needed, desired. No, the man that she required was somewhere riding out in the darkness on his way home to her after a long day of deliveries and here she was, pressed between the hard wall and harder body parts in her place of business which also served as her home…his home.
"Reno…I…" Her hands were flat on his chest, her body trying to find the energy to push him off of her. She needed to breathe, she needed to think before she did something she would really regret in the morning.
His groan into her ear and his hands slowing their eager administrations let her know that he had some kind of inkling as to what she was thinking. Reno pulled his head from her neck where his mouth had currently been working wonderfully before her interruption to look into her face and he tried not to wince at what he saw. Her face was so beautiful, flawless, and yet there was uncertainty clouding her eyes. Huh, clouding, now that was one way to put it, he thought bitterly, knowing that look.
For that look meant it was not his night, and would never be with Tifa, not with Spiky still in the picture. Instead of doing something stupid that would most likely cause her to hate him forever and would guarantee him getting a good ass kicking, he removed his hands, albeit regrettably, away from her soft skin and leaned back, but not before brushing his lips against hers softly.
The tone of his actions changed so abruptly that Tifa felt her face flush at how kind he was being. She had expected anger, frustration, surely a string of curse words that would put a sailor to shame but nothing like this. He was incredibly soft with his last kiss before he backed away from her and straightened the shirt she had wrinkled more than it usually was. Reno bent to pick up his jacket carelessly discarded to the hall's floor from their actions and slipped it on, not bothering to zip it up. Tifa couldn't help it as her motherly side kicked in and she moved closer to brush down his suit jacket, smoothing the wrinkles beneath her skilled hands. Reno took one of them and placed a soft kiss on the top of her hand, making her eyes widen and her cheeks blush.
"I guess tonight wasn't our night then, huh, Lockheart?"
Guilt curled in the pit of her stomach for leading him on so much and she opened her mouth to protest. "Reno, I really am-"
"Please don't say it."
"Sorry."
Reno sighed, shaking his head. "There's nothing to be sorry about. You have a great guy, and looking the way you do, it's a good thing you can keep the wolves off of you."
His trademark smirk curved his lips and she couldn't help relaxing at the sight of her friend, for she really did consider him a friend, especially after everything and now.
The lighthearted air with which his words carried broke through her silent realizations.
"I knew my charms would break through eventually, but I believe the alcohol might have weakened your defenses."
"Reno, I hardly drank anything."
"Obviously you needed more then." His remark had an underlying hint of resentment it hurt to hear.
"I never meant to hurt you or let it get that far." Tifa needed him to know how much she valued his friendship and didn't want this to jeopardize what shaky ground they had established already.
"Don't worry about it Teef, it's all a part of the game, that ever treacherous game of love."
At her raised eyebrows, he corrected. "Or more correctly in our situation, the ever tantalizing game of lust."
He flashed another one of his fun loving grins and she couldn't help laughing a little at his constant state of ridiculousness. To prove this further, he turned to her bedroom door that she had almost been pushed up against and turned the doorknob, pushing it open for her.
"After you, Miss Lockheart. The safety of its walls should secure your purity for the night."
All she did was shake her head and walk past him, ignoring his innuendo. "Goodnight, Reno."
With a forlorn look past her to her four-poster bed, he sighed. "And to think the adventures we could have had, my friend."
She swore he was talking more to the bed than her but waved it off as Reno being Reno.
"Goodnight Teef. Take care."
"I will, thank you." Her hushed words reached his ears before he closed the door quietly behind him, careful to not wake the children whose rooms were much too close come to think of it.
And to think he almost did that when there were kids right down the hall. Man, he was desperate. More currently, he wanted her, that beautiful barmaid in the bedroom he had just shut the door on. Was he being stupid to walk away from something like that?
Yes his mind screamed but a smaller part in there had the balls to remind him that not only would Tifa kick his ass if and when she changed her mind on the whole situation but Blondie would be on him as well, and he really didn't fancy the idea of the warrior's buster sword up his ass thankyouverymuch. So with a tired sigh Reno left his contemplating thoughts behind in the hallway and made his way down the stairs to the front door of the quiet bar.
Making sure he didn't leave anything behind because 1) he didn't feel like having to come back here anytime soon to awkwardly collect a piece of clothing, not that he'd lost much due to Tifa's actions but whatever, and 2) he really didn't feel like having Cloud breathing down his neck if he came across before mentioned items. Reno picked up his rod which had been placed on the bar counter and so walked to the door only to have you-know-who walk in, home from work.
Instead of a "hi" or even "what the hell are you doing here?" Cloud just stared at the red headed Turk, his eyebrows raised. Seeing the rather dishelved state the man was in and with his electromagnetic rod in hand, his eyes traveled past Reno to the stairs and his hand went for the hilt of his gigantic sword strapped to his back. He never left home without it.
"Woah woah hey." Reno said, moving his hands to stop Cloud from trying to chop him to pieces.
"Hey man, alright, it's not what you think. Tifa's upstairs in her room, safe and sound."
Cloud narrowed his eyes at the idiot, the words not registering. Then taking in how nervous Reno was, Cloud came to a conclusion as to how the red head could be in such a state and felt fury build up in his chest.
"If you touched her…" He moved menacingly towards the Turk who stood his ground, surprisingly.
"You should keep an eye on her and treat her right or tonight might have turned out differently."
Cloud's expression went from furious to curious at these last words.
"She's a good girl, Cloud. Make sure she stays that way."
Feeling comfortable to leave now, Reno headed once again to the door but Cloud's words stopped him.
"Thanks."
"No prob…I mean, we're buddies, right?"
And there was that trademark Reno smirk as Cloud just shook his head and closed the door behind him, locking it for the night.
He climbed the stairs with ease and stopped at her door where Reno had just been standing moments before and he took a second to try and stop the images of them together from going through his mind. Once his mind stopped playing the torturous scene over and over, Cloud swallowed and eased the door open, peering inside to see Tifa asleep in bed. Or so he thought.
"Reno?"
She was on her elbows facing the doorway and all she could see was spiky hair. Her cheeks grew hot instantly when the moonlight caught on Cloud's blond locks.
"Cloud… you're home."
He eyed her posture, sensing the embarrassment at calling him Reno from the heat her body radiated as he came closer, stopping to stand at her bedside.
All he was doing was staring at her and so she sat up, fiddling with the blanket along her waist nervously before she couldn't take the awkward silence anymore.
"How were deliveries today?"
Tifa bit on her lower lip when he didn't answer, instead sitting down on her bed beside her and looking her in the eye, making her fall into those twin ocean pools of blue like every other time.
Ignoring her question, he simply looked her in the eye and asked, "How are you? Are you okay?"
Tifa's eyes widened with mild shock and awe. He never asked how she was, always assuming that she was okay for she was strong and could take care of herself. It touched her deeply to hear the caring tone of his words and even more so when she felt his hand brush and then rest over hers on the bedspread.
"I'm fine, Cloud."
He looked uncomfortable, choosing to watch his hand covering hers instead of looking at her when he said the next words. "Even after…he was here?"
Oh no…her mind was numb, unable to process. Of course he had known Reno had been here, what with her calling Cloud that name by accident. They probably ran into each other downstairs and god only knew what happened. If Cloud was up here then Reno must be…
"Oh God. Cloud, you didn't hurt him, did you?"
He blinked at her a few times hearing this. "Should I?"
Tifa let out a sigh of relief and looked up at Cloud's concerned face.
"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Nothing…happened."
"It didn't look like nothing." He mumbled, lowering his head once again and Tifa had to fight from laughing. She had never seen Cloud so…so…jealous before.
"Okay, so something could have happened. Almost happened. But it didn't happen."
Cloud looked up into her warm hazel gaze and felt the tension lift a little that had made his body taut since walking in and seeing the red head here…in his house…when he wasn't home.
"I'm glad it didn't, Cloud." With these words, Tifa turned her hand under his so she could lace her fingers with his.
"I'm glad, too." The words were quiet and surprised both of them as he said what he thought he said aloud, his fingers curling around hers warmly.
All of the emotions he had felt for her for so long came flowing, creating a tingling sensation along his body. When he first saw Reno here all he could feel was rage that he was taking something that rightfully belonged to Cloud. Tifa had been his in his mind since they were children and to think of another man touching her, especially someone as low as Reno, made his blood boil. But the short walk up the stairs to her room had made Cloud realize that she wasn't his and never had been formally. He had expected her to stay home and wait for him these past years and how was that being fair to her? Didn't she know how much he cared for her? He looked up into her smiling face and felt his own lips respond in a small smile of their own. She was the only one who could ever do that.
Tonight was not the night for life changing confessions. Tonight, all he wanted to do was hold her, and so with a look in his eye as if asking permission, he slid his arms around her waist and lowered her with him to the bed, snuggling together.
It had been much too long since she had enjoyed the feel of his strong arms holding her close to his body, his heart beat echoing in her ear as she placed it against his chest, the comfortable thump-thump, thump-thump helping her relax from what had been an exhaustive evening. At first, she thought Cloud would be mad at her and furious at Reno. But instead of seeing the anger and disgust and rejection she had expected to see in his eyes, she met a look full of concern, of worry, for her. A woman who had been waiting for Cloud as long as it took for him to realize she wasn't going anywhere and maybe he finally did, if his possessive hold on her meant anything.
Tonight was not a night for such earth shattering discoveries. Tonight was a night to feel wanted, needed, cherished by the man she wanted by her side. Tonight was a night to be loved, no matter for how short a time. And so both drifted off in their own thoughts to the other's breathing becoming with one of sleep taking over. Tonight was a night to sleep in peace. Tomorrow was a day for everything else.
As it was meant to be.
The End
Easy for a good girl to go bad...once we gone, we gone forever...don't be the reason...cause once a good girl goes bad, we gone forever
The End