Title: I bequeath you my girl, always and no matter what
Pairing: Reno x Tifa
Summary: When someone writes a will, it's always about leaving their loved ones with something that's dear to them. For Reno, it isn't quite the same.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and its characters rightfully belongs to Square Enix
A/N: I decided that since I have a bunch of ideas for one-shots (or maybe I should say drabbles since they are probably going to be short and simple ones) I should just place them all together in a single story instead of starting a new one every time. So yes, the drabbles' update depends on the readers' interests...meaning - reviews are an absolute must if you wanna see another soon. Nah, I'm kidding. Leave a review if you want to, don't if you don't feel like it. Just enjoy the fic and it's all good. Cheers!
P.S Be well aware that the drabbles are probably gonna be really fluffy (sorry 'bout that). So you've been warned people.
Tifa Lockhart eyed the young man before her. With an engrossed look, he was sitting by a corner table, writing away. She observed as his fiery red hair fell before his blue eyes, hiding them from her view, and his lips lightly pursed themselves as his hand scribbled on the paper in a swift motion. He had been sitting there, writing for the past hour and her curiosity had been building up since then.
Marlene, who helped her closed the bar earlier, even went over to see what he was doing but was shooed away. The young girl shot him an annoyed look before he hastily apologized and promised he would treat her to ice cream later. She had always held a soft spot in his heart and she knew it, which was why she would always use it to her advantage. Her annoyance turned to joy at his words but before she left him to his devices, she couldn't help but ask what exactly was he writing. He had answered with a solitary word – "secret", and a wink. Marlene stared at him for a moment before shrugging and making him promise he would tell her about it later. Reno good-naturedly nodded his head and sent her on her way.
Tifa had the bar closed and cleaned, with just the glasses to dry, and yet he was still writing in his corner of the room. Her nose scrunched in confusion as she wondered what he was up to. Just as she decided she should go over to see, the pen fell from Reno's hand with a clatter as he stood up. He pushed the chair back – causing a painful screeching sound to her ears, as he made his way towards her with a huge grin. Her eyebrows lifted themselves on suspicion but she said nothing. As soon as Reno reached the counter where she was at, he stuck the paper in front of her face without a word. Lightly taken aback, Tifa took a step back as she tried to read the scrawl of words in front of her.
Her face distorted into a mix of disbelief and confusion as she read the title on the top, "Reno's Will. I, hereby declare this piece of paper as my will should I leave this sucky world and –" She guffawed. "Reno, what in the world is this?"
"It's a will," he stated simply as he reached behind the bar to grab a glass and a bottle of whisky. His hands deftly undid the cap before pouring a drink for himself.
"I know. It says so. But why?" she asked with a confused smile yet her wine orbs twinkled in amusement.
"I just figured that I should write one. Never know when you're going to die, so I thought, ah what the heck."
Tifa shook her head at his response. She walked over to his side of the counter and sat beside him on the stool. "What prompted you to think of your own death? You've never came across as the morbid type. Or are you?"
He chuckled before whispering in a mysterious voice, "You never know."
"Ha-ha," she replied dryly. She turned her attention to the paper in her hands. "For Rude, my bald drinking buddy, I leave him my collection of comics and stash of cigarettes – that is if I still have them when I die. And also, my EMR which I think would serve as a great memento for him to remember me by. And no way in hell is he allowed to throw, donate, or destroy it in any way. I know I smashed his sunglasses one too many times, but no, he is not allowed to take revenge with my EMR.
"For Elena, I leave her with Tseng, whom yes, I know I have no authority over but I know he wants her and she wants him, so I think it would be quite appropriate to proclaim them a couple. I mean, you can't go against a dead guy's wishes can you? No, definitely not. And Tseng, Elena…if you do, I swear I will come back to haunt you. I really will."
Reno smirked as she read the bit on his friends. She paused to look at him with a disapproving look, "You can't demand someone to be with someone else in your will."
"Normally you can't. But I can. Anyway, just go on reading the next part."
"As for Tifa Lockhart, I bequeath her my girl, always and no matter what," Tifa read aloud. She raised an eyebrow before shooting him a dubious look. "Don't you think you've got it wrong here?" Reno shook his head with a grin. "It says, I bequeath her my girl, always and no matter what. Reno, that makes no sense whatsoever. In a will, if this can be passed off as one, you leave someone something. Not that I'm anxious for your money or other worldly possessions, but what exactly are you leaving me with?"
"I thought it was stated obviously," Reno replied casually as he took another swig of his drink. He watched as she shook her head with the word 'confused' clearly stamped on her forehead. With a cluck of his tongue, he playfully enunciated his next words like he was talking to a lost child, "Lockhart, even if I go, you are still going to be my girl. I'm leaving you the title as my girl. Reno's girl. Always. No matter what." Reno watched as her face turned from a flushing red of annoyance to a blushing red. A determined look appeared on his face as he spoke the next words with a tone of finality, "Nothing's going to change that, and it's sure as hell no one's allowed to take you away either."
Tifa couldn't help but embarrassedly look away from him as soon as those words left his lips. "It's selfish but hey, if you are my girl now, you are my girl always." Wanting her attention, he reached out for her hand and pulled her towards him. With her two hands in his own, he gazed up at her with a confident smile, "Because I know no one's going to be able to replace you. Even if I'm going to be in the Lifestream and meet all those dead babes, I'm still your Reno."
This time Tifa could only laugh, "What makes you think I want you to keep being my Reno?"
"Because," he said with a smirk, "no one's going to be able to replace me." At that, he pulled her closer to him and quickly captured her lips in a quick kiss. When he pulled away, a satisfied grin was evident on his face.
"You think you're so smart," Tifa said with a roll of her eyes as she pulled out of his grasp. Despite her cool demeanor, she was actually flattered and very much touched by his words.
"I know so," he drawled with a wink.
"You're quite on the egotistical side aren't you?" Tifa joked as she reached for the dishcloth on the counter and continued drying the glasses.
"Ah, that's not egotistical. It's self-confidence."
Tifa snorted in response.
"If you keep doing that I'm gonna have to take you off the will. It's quite unappealing you know?"
Tifa shot him a nonchalant look before replying, "Go ahead. Knowing you, it will take forever to have you dead. So the will won't come into effect anytime soon anyway."
"Well, that is quite true. Long live Reno. Yay me."
She couldn't help but laugh at his words, "You are such a dork."
"But you love me still. Who's the bigger dork?" He replied with a smirk.
Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to hide the growing grin playing on her lips.
"Dork and dork, we make quite a match Lockhart," he joked.
"Whatever," Tifa replied as she swiftly threw the dishcloth at his face. Tifa quickly ran up the stairs as she heard him recover from her sudden 'surprise attack' with a few muttered curses before his footsteps hit the floorboards.
"You're not going to get away with that Lockhart."
"Oh yeah? Try me." She shouted back as she bolted from him.
Reno grinned as he quickened his pace to chase after her. If everyday for the rest of his life was like this, he wouldn't mind if his will would never come into effect. Death can wait. He mentally noted that he was going to keep himself alive as long as possible, just to have more time with the woman he loved.