Okay, so this one is like waaaaaaayyyyyyy late. Reno's boyfriend (and Reno) gave me this challenge months ago and honesty? It scared me. He ended up winning my last contest, however, and when I asked what he wanted he simply said to get this one moving. So finally here it is and hopefully decent. I am not very familiar with Zell and Irvine so writing them as mains was hard and the subject was tricky.

Thanks to Tifa and Sassy for all the help putting this together and I really hope this works for you, Josh!

Again, I no own the people.

New Year's True Gift

"Hey, guys," Sora greeted as he and Zell got in line at the coffee shop. The teen had spotted Reno and Irvine immediately upon entering the small building. Then again, the red hair and cowboy hat were both rather hard to miss.

The two had planned to make a quick stop to get a hot drink before heading out to the Maw and spending the next three hours working in the freezing cold. He glanced at Zell, who was looking at Reno, and knew that plan was about to go out the window.

"Yo," Reno half-saluted, barely glanced over. Irvine grinned lightly and tilted his hat. He then continued talking to Reno, grinning at the redhead. Reno leaned in his seat casually, with one arm draped over the back.

Zell watched them interact for a moment before looking away and fixing his eyes on the blackboard behind the counter. Sora frowned at this but it was their turn to order and he pushed the odd event aside. He told the barista what he wanted and after a gentle prod, Zell said his.

They waited a moment for their drinks and when they finally came up, took them over to the other two. Sora motioned for Zell to take the free chair beside Reno and pulled one over from the next table. The teen sat down upon it backwards, glancing at Zell who was still standing there.

Reno lifted an eyebrow at the tattooed blond for a moment then winked. "Sit, Zell. I don't bite, yo."

"Unless you want him too," Irvine added with a smirk.

Zell glanced between them as Reno shot the cowboy an odd grin. He sat down in a bit of a huff and focused on blowing on his almond mocha. He knew Sora was studying him and gave the teen a quick look to show he was fine.

Over the past month, the former SeeD had become rather close to the Keyblade Master. So much so that he had very recently confided to Sora that he had developed a very strong crush on the red-haired Turk beside him. When Sora had offered to help him get Reno's attention, Zell had declined the offer.

It was pretty obvious that Reno was interested in someone else.

"…Zell."

The blond blinked and looked at Irvine; "Yeah?"

The brunet chuckled and downed the rest of his coffee. "I asked if you were going to be part of the Calenning thing Sora here convinced Squall to do."

"Hey!" Sora protested loudly. "It wasn't all my doing! Zack had a lot to do with it, too."

"Yeah," Reno snorted. "And I don't want to know what Fair did to get Leonhart to agree, yo."

"Oh, I have a few ideas," Irvine snickered, ignoring Sora's increasingly embarrassed expression. "I still think Squall's into that kinky stuff."

"Zack's pretty crazy in the sack," Reno commented. He abruptly laughed aloud. "Man, you should have heard him and Cloud this one time, yo. I'm positive that Riku has never gotten Strife to make that kind of noise."

Sora looked like he wanted hide under the table. "Uh, back to the question…"

Both Reno and Irvine chuckled but took pity on the teenager and dropped the conversation. The Turk turned toward Zell again and pulled out a cigarette; "Yeah, you in? It is kinda obligatory for you since the tradition comes from your world, yo."

"Oh. Yeah," Zell grinned, though it lacked some of its usual brightness. "Are we supposed to be buying for everyone or what?"

"I think so," Sora took a drink of his chocolate coffee. "Aerith and Riku are making those apples-on-a-stick things."

"Squall's letting me and Rude shoot off fireworks New Year's Eve," Reno chuckled. "You should've seen Rude's face when Leonhart asked us. The lug already has it all planned out."

"You Turks and your joy of blowing shit up," Irvine adjusted his hat. He gathered his empty cup and stood. "Well, I better get back to work before Squall sends Cloud after me."

Reno also stood. "You headed for the Maw, yo?"

"Yep," the cowboy smirked. "You tagging along, Red?"

"Right behind you," the wiry man moved to follow, waving to Zell and Sora. "See you two later."

"Yeah," Sora nodded. Zell shot the pair a quick smile.

The two walked for the entrance, Irvine muttering something and Reno shoving his shoulder. They were both laughing as Irvine held the door for a woman coming in then rather obnoxiously motioned Reno to step through the exit. Once they were gone, Zell slumped a little and dejectedly swirled his cup of coffee.

Sora sighed and looked at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay?"

Zell shrugged once. After a moment, he shook himself of his dark mood and grinned. It lacked some of its usual cheerfulness. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Sora shifted his lower jaw. "You know, you really should tell him."

"Why?" The blond picked up his coffee and took a drink. "He's not interested in me."

"You don't know that," Sora encouraged. "Yeah, Reno and Irvine hang out a lot and they seem to have a lot of private jokes and they flirt a lot, too, but that doesn't mean…"

Zell angled his head and gave the teen an amused look. Sora's expression turned sheepish. "Yeah, okay, so it looks bad for you but come on. There is absolutely no proof that the two are anything more that really good friends."

"Who's really good friends?" Riku asked from behind Sora.

The younger teen gave a start and turned to glare at his best friend, "Dang it, Ku! Stop doing that!"

Beside Riku, Denzel chuckled, "You should pay more attention, Sora. He wasn't even trying to be quiet this time."

The new arrivals slid into the chairs Reno and Irvine had abandoned earlier. Denzel had what Zell assumed to be hot chocolate and Riku's smelled like a vanilla latte. Denzel sipped from his as Riku leaned back casually. "So who were we talking about?"

"Reno and Irvine," replied Zell.

Riku gave the man a knowing look. "Ah."

"Hey, you haven't heard anything about them being…" Sora trailed off, glancing at Denzel. There was an unusually dark tone to his expression.

"Oh, relax, Sora," the silvered teen ruffled the twelve-year-old's hair much to the said boy's annoyance. "You should hear some of the conversations Denzel overhears."

Sora eyed the young brunet a moment. There was something angry about how he did it. "When does he have time to overhear conversations when he's with you all the time?"

Riku made a face at his best friend. "He isn't with me all the time."

Sora looked like he wanted to protest but he kept his mouth shut. Zell glanced between the two, wondering what had caused the new tension. Sora did not normally get moody or even easily bothered but since Riku and Denzel had arrived, he seemed to be growing bothered by both steadily.

Sora waited a moment then gestured animatedly at Denzel. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Denzel blinked. "You haven't asked me anything."

Riku laughed while Sora fumed and Zell grinned. Denzel beamed and took another drink of his chocolate. He glanced at Riku then Sora. Some of the light faded from him when he saw the seventeen-year-old's expression.

He set his cup down and angled his head at Zell. "So, you like Reno, huh?"

Zell looked impressed. "You figure that out on your own?"

"I've always been really observant," the youth spoke dismissively. "He's talked about you a few times."

Zell nearly jumped out of his seat, "Seriously?"

Denzel nodded. "He said you were a nice guy."

The hope drained from the martial artist and he slumped back into his seat. "…A nice guy. Great."

"What's wrong with that?" Sora frowned. "It means he likes you."

"Sora, being called a nice guy is usually the number one sign that someone isn't in to you," explained Riku, sipping on his latte.

"Oh," Sora pursed his lips. "But it doesn't necessarily mean that."

Denzel glanced between the three older males. He considered his thoughts for a moment before licking his lower lip. "I heard Leon and Rude talking about Reno the other day. Leon said something about all the time he and Irvine spend together and Rude said that it was passing thing."

Zell looked at the boy in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"How should I know?" Denzel shrugged. "Just 'cause I hear the stuff doesn't mean I get it."

"It means," Sora put in, ignoring the look Riku gave him, "That there's still hope! If Rude doesn't think whatever's going on with Reno and Irvine is going to last, you can use that!"

Zell was clearly doubtful but he nodded. Before he could say anything, Sora's phone rang and the teen quickly answered it. After a few minutes of conversation, he hung up and stood. "I've gotta go. Yuffie wants my help on some project of hers."

Denzel studied him for a second. With a trace of hesitation, he asked. "Do you mind if I walk with you? Home's on the way and I should get back."

Sora seemed to want to say no but he instead nodded and muttered a sure. He moved away from the table, throwing a quick farewell to Zell and Riku. Denzel smiled at Zell, said goodbye to Riku and hurried after him.

Once they were out the door, Riku fell back in his seat and threw his head back. "This is getting ridiculous."

"What is with those two?" Zell frowned. "I've never seen Sora act like that."

"I don't know," Riku sighed, "For some reason, he's gotten really jealous of the time I've been spending with Denzel. I know that he and I haven't seen much of each other these past few weeks but that isn't Denzel's fault."

Zell shrugged, wrapping his hands around his cup. "He'll get over it. Sora couldn't hold a grudge if he wanted to."

"Yeah," the silvered male did not sound too certain about that but did not continue the line of conversation. He instead eyed Zell speculatively. "So, you've really got it bad for Reno, huh?"

"Yeah, I do," Zell shrugged. "I don't know what it is about him but he's just…totally taken over my life. I think about him almost all the time and seeing him with Irvine just…"

"I gotcha," Riku grinned in understanding. He straightened back out and lean forward, arms on the table. "Well, I don't know if it'll help but I have a few ideas you can try to get his attention."

Zell looked at him, a large grin coming to his face. "I'm listening."

--0—0—

A week had passed since the conversation in the coffee shop and none of Riku's little idea's had worked. Reno and Irvine seemed closer than ever and Zell decided it just was not worth driving himself crazy anymore. He could not force Reno to like him and he would not even if he could. If Reno were happy with Irvine, then Zell would content himself with that.

To keep his mind off it, Zell threw himself into getting ready for the New Year's festivities. He loved all holidays but New Year's was one of his favorites. Something about the changing of the year charged him up.

It was decided that for Calenning, each of the Restoration members would draw the names of three members to get gifts for. It would have been ridiculous for all thirteen of them to buy presents for all twelve, not to mention expensive. Zell had ended up with Yuffie, Sephiroth and Reno. He was not sure if he was glad about getting the Turk or not.

Regardless, he happily agreed to help Sora go shopping and after getting some advice from Riku as to what to get Sephiroth (the man still scared him), the pair set off for the marketplace three days before New Year's. The shopping area of town had grown to take up two streets framing up the courtyard. It was crowded with people but not horribly and Zell and Sora were able to thread their way through rather easily.

"Are you hungry?" Sora asked as Zell paid for the new Twilight novel for Yuffie.

"Uh, yeah actually," Zell thanked the bookstore clerk and turned. Sora was a bit to the side, looking over a display of sketchbooks. "Didn't Riku say he needed another one of those?"

"Yeah," Sora stopped looking and moved away. "Come on; let's go to the noodle shop."

Zell lifted an eyebrow and followed the boy out. Sora was oddly quiet as they walked the few stores down. The blond glanced at him, debating whether he should say something or not. In the end, he decided enough was enough.

They entered the shop and as they got in line, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So when are you gonna get over this jealously thing?"

"What?" Sora asked right before ordering his spicy ramen.

"Look, I know you haven't seen much of Riku lately but you can't keep blaming Denzel for it," Zell explained, pointing to a dish on the counter mat. He had yet figured out how to say the name of it properly.

"I'm not blaming the little mingin," Sora countered. "People grow apart, I know that. Riku's doing his thing and I'm doing mine."

Zell frowned and gave Sora a look, "Uh huh."

"What?" Sora took his number from the clerk. "Okay, so maybe I am taking it out a bit on Denzel but, well, if Riku has all this time to hang out with him, I don't get why some of that time can't be spent with me, you know?"

Zell got his number and followed Sora to a table. "You know it's different for Riku with Denzel."

The brunet found a table near the windows and sat. "What do you mean?"

"Riku sees Denzel almost like a…I don't know, godson or something," Zell plopped down in the other chair. "Denzel is pretty much Cloud's foster kid. He's the one who brought him in and Denzel looks to him as a father-figure so Riku, by default as Cloud's boyfriend, is acting in a similar position."

Sora angled his head in thought. "You know…I haven't thought of it like that."

Zell gave him a smug grin and leaned back. "…And?"

"What you say makes a lot of sense…" Sora pursed his lips. "I really have been unfair to Denzel."

"Considering you just called him a mingin, I'd say yeah," the older male laughed.

One of the servers brought both of their lunches over and quickly left. Sora picked up his chopsticks with a sigh. "I'm gonna have to go apologize to him, Riku too."

"Yep," Zell agreed, picking up his own sticks. "But they'll forgive you."

Sora smirked at him. "I know. We're all cool like that."

"Heh," Zell brought a mouthful of noodles to his mouth and paused. Outside, just in his line of sight, Reno and Rude were walking toward the gun shop. He knew that neither of them ever used the weapons so unless they were picking something up for Rufus Shinra, which he doubted, it was likely Reno was getting something for Irvine and dragging Rude along.

Sora glanced over also and frowned. He returned his attention to Zell who had brought his back to his noodles. "You need to talk to him, Zell."

"He's not interested in me," the blond shrugged. "We have, like, nothing in common and he's obviously happy with Irvine."

"Do we even know yet if he's with Irvine?" questioned Sora. "Cause from what I've heard, they're just friends."

"Does it really matter?"

"Well, yeah," Sora gestured widely. "Sometimes people only go out with people because the one they want hasn't come along yet."

"Hence why it's called dating, Sor," Zell rolled his eyes. "But it isn't like he hasn't met me yet. Heck, we talk nearly every day!"

"Then maybe he's waiting on you to make the first move."

"I doubt it," dismissed Zell. "Reno doesn't seem the type to simply wait for someone to ask him out. He's more the 'go out there and take it' type."

"That's not true," Rude's voice came from behind him. The bald man was looking down at Zell with a neutral expression. "Reno is actually rather shy when it comes to relationships."

Zell turned to speak, hope lighting his eyes. "So, what does that mean?"

"It means," Rude slowly clarified, "That Reno is in fact not seeing Irvine."

Biting his lip, Zell flicked his eyes out the window to where Reno was negotiating something with the gunsmith. He did not say anything further but nodded that he understood. Rude was telling him that he had a good chance with Reno if he just got off his ass and pursued it.

Sora grinned, also understanding what Rude was not saying. He fixed his attention on the large Turk. "Has Reno said anything to you?"

Rude shrugged. "It shouldn't matter if he has."

"He's right," Zell looked back at the two of them. "I need to just go out there and talk to him myself. Even if he doesn't want to go with me, I can hold my head up and say that I tried."

Rude patted his back once and nodded. "Good."

"Hey, whatcha come in here for anyway?" Sora asked.

"I noticed the two of you sitting in here and told Reno I was going to pick up a few almond cookies for the boss."

"Ah," Sora chuckled. "Yeah, Rufus really likes them from here."

"Hey, thanks, Rude," Zell smiled gratefully. "Knowing that you felt it necessary to step in is really encouraging."

"All I care about is Reno's happiness," Rude stated simply, walking away from the table. He went to the counter, purchased the almond cookies and left. Zell and Sora watched through the window as he rejoined Reno and the pair continued on their way.

"So," Zell faced Sora at the sound of the teen's voice. The brunet grinned widely at him. "When are you going to talk to him?"

--0—0—

"You know what?" Zack's voice drifted from the house and out onto the back porch. "Loving you is like putting bones in a beer bottle."

"That doesn't make any sense, Zack," Leon stated in a confused tone. There was laughter surrounding Leon's words, probably from Riku, Irvine and Cid. Zell smiled to himself and shook his head.

The New Year's celebrations had gone off without a hitch. There had been a parade in the morning and over the course of the day, everyone had met up at various others' houses to exchange gifts and eat. Reno and Rude had pulled off a spectacular fireworks display a few hours before and now the adults, minus Rude and Tifa who had to put small children to bed, were at Leon and Zack's house.

Zell had gone outside a few minutes ago, deciding it was a bit crowded inside. Plus, watching Riku and Cloud groping one another on the recliner was getting old. While the day and night had been a blast, he was still a little bummed out.

He had not had a chance to talk to Reno and when he had gone with Aerith, Cid and Yuffie to Tifa and Rude's to exchange gifts, Reno had seemed rather preoccupied. Zell gave him his gift and the Turk had flashed him a surprisingly mild smile before excusing himself and leaving. Rude had advised him to leave it be.

When he saw Reno again, the redhead appeared to be perfectly fine. Of course, that may have been because he was being allowed to blow stuff up. Regardless, Reno snagged his attention a few times but there were not any of the usual flirtatious winks or smirks.

"Hey, what's with you?"

"Just wanted to get away from the lovebirds," Zell chuckled, turning toward Irvine who was leaning against the patio door with a beer in hand.

Snorting, Irvine strutted forward, "Which ones? I swear I've never seen Squall act like he does with Zack…Creeps me out sometimes."

"Doesn't it?" The tattooed blond agreed. "If Rinoa saw him now…"

"She'd never believe it," Irvine took a drink and leaned against the rail near Zell. He angled his head and gave his friend a considering look. "Now, what are we gonna do about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you," Irvine laughed. "You've been drooling over Reno for over a month now and haven't done a damn thing about it. I never pegged you the shy type. In fact, you're usually the most social and positive of all of us."

"I'm still social and positive!" Zell shouted, jumping a little in the process. He then paused and scratched at his chin. "It's just…more subdued around Reno."

"Yeah, and he's noticed," the cowboy tilted his hat.

Zell frowned. "He has?"

The auburn-haired man nodded. He moved away from the rail to go back inside. "It's fucking cold out here. Anyway, I suggest you do something soon. Reno isn't going to wait on you forever and who know," he smirked back at his friend, "I may just have to snatch him up."

Zell jerked his head once before exclaiming, "Hey! You had your chance!"

"No, he didn't, yo."

Zell gave a start as he turned toward Reno. The Turk casually took a drag of his cigarette from the deck steps, giving the blond that neutral look from earlier in the day. Irvine looked between the two and grinned. "Play nice you two."

He disappeared back into the house and Zell and Reno were left alone on the porch.

Reno came up the steps, flicking his cigarette over the rail. "Leonhart's gonna kill me for that but oh well. Guy's gotta loosen up more anyway."

"You didn't know him before," Zell chuckled. "He's almost a completely different person now."

"Then I'm glad I didn't know him, yo," Reno stopped about a foot from the ex-SeeD. He waited a moment before angling his neck down and flicking his eyes up. "I really liked your present, yo. It was perfect."

"Uh, thanks," Zell managed out. It was uncomfortable having the object of his affection standing so close.

"Yeah, so," Reno trailed off and an awkward moment formed. He then abruptly laughed and turned away. He put his hands on his hips and leaned back, sighing loudly. "This is ridiculous, yo."

"It is, isn't it?" Zell also laughed. "I should have just told you months ago. I just…I don't know."

"Convinced yourself that I was fucking Cowboy," The redhead spoke easily. He glanced back at Zell. "We tried once but…there's no bang, yo. We're great friends but that's all and he knew before I did that you were the one I wanted."

Zell studied the other man for a breath of time before taking the few steps forward to stand beside him. The pair looked at one another then Zell grinned and turned Reno toward him. The Turk smirked back at him and it was like a wall had come down.

"So," The blond lifted an eyebrow. "That's it? We're together now?"

Shrugging, Reno traced the tattoo framing the side of Zell's eye. "Sure, yo."

The shorter man shoved at Reno's shoulder and Reno quickly grabbed his waist and pulled him close. He gazed into Reno's blue eyes for a long moment. He only hesitated for a second before stretching up enough to close the distance between them.

Zell lips were met halfway by Reno's and he almost smiled. How long had he dreamed about this? The moment was not at all what he imagined but it was more than he hoped for.

It was broken by Sora's amused voice. "Well, it's about freaking time."

The new couple looked over to find nearly everyone watching them from the back door. Sora, Irvine, Riku and Zack were smirking and Leon, Cloud, and Aerith gave them little smiles. It seemed they all knew what was going on.

"Rude's going to be pissed he missed this," Riku noted, chuckling and taking Cloud's hand as they turned away. "Hopefully Yuffie set up the hidden camera."

Sora chuckled, throwing a wave at Zell and Reno before following the other two in along with Aerith and Zack. This left Leon and Irvine, who were both looking at they're friend. Leon smirked and shook his head before glancing at the taller ex-SeeD beside him. "You've corrupted him."

"Hey, you're the one who went suddenly queer," Irvine protested. "Y'all have always known where I stand."

"Whatever," Leon dismissed easily.

Reno snorted and pulled Zell up against him again. "Who cares, yo? Now you gonna leave us or do you want a show?"

"Hey, I'm all for watching!" Irvine perked up. Leon hit his chest and sighed with a shake of his head before leaving the porch to go inside. Irvine grinned at the remaining two. "I'm going but I want details later!"

Zell rolled his eyes. "Well if Yuffie is already secretly recording us…"

"Oh yeah," Irvine brightened further. "Then by all means, carry on with whatever you're gonna do."

"Thanks for the permission, yo." Reno snorted.

"Hey!" Irvine pointed at Zell. "That's one of my best friends so it you even think of screwing him over, I'll kick your ass and then give Squall the follow through."

"Yeah, yeah," Reno sounded completely unconcerned. "Now get the fuck out of here so I can have my way with Zell."

Irvine laughed and tilted his hat toward them as he left. Zell gave Reno a questioning look and the Turk just chuckled and kissed him deeply. Zell wrapped his arms around Reno's narrow waist and simply took in the joy he felt that the redhead was now his.

Reno ended the kiss and changed their positioning so that he could throw his arm over Zell's shoulders and steer him down the porch steps. "Come on, it's fucking freezing out here, yo."

"Where are we going?" Zell asked.

"I guess your place, yo," Reno glanced over. "Unless you wanna deal with Rude lecturing you first thing in the morning. He's a bit protective of me, yo."

Grinning, Zell ran his hand along Reno's back. "I noticed. I figured you were a package deal."

"Yeah, sorta," the redhead shrugged. "I'm sure Tifa can give you all the tips you want."

"I'm not worried," the blond looked at him happily. "As long as you're mine, I'll deal with whatever I have to."

"Good," Reno squeezed his shoulders. "Cause I can be tough to handle, yo."

Zell made an amused noise. "I'm looking forward to it."