Warnings: Language

Pairing: Cloud/Reno

Sassy's Note: Idea struck me randomly and refused to leave me alone. I'm sure others have had it, but I don't care.

Learning to Wark

When Reno suggested casually one day that they should get a house pet, he'd had in mind a dog, or maybe a cat if Strife was a cat person, or maybe even a few colorful fish – just something to liven their house up a bit. He'd expected Cloud to think about it for a few days, which he did; he'd expected Cloud to give in after a bit, which he did; and he'd expected the two to go down to the pet store together, which they did.

He did not, however, expect for a young man to be standing out in the front of the shop holding a crate in his hands and pleading with anyone that walked into the shop. Cloud's eyebrow had risen suspiciously, but they approached the shop all the same.

"Excuse me!" the young man called to them, sounding a tad desperate.

"Yes?" Reno drawled, coming to a stop and blinking lazily at the guy.

"You two wouldn't be interested in a free pet, would you?"

Reno snorted. "What's the catch, yo?"

"He's an orphan," said the boy. "And he needs a home, but not many people want a… uh…"

Cloud, intrigued, peeked over the edge of the crate.

The change in the blond was immediate. His mako eyes widened a second before his mouth dropped open ever so slightly. His face softened into a look of childish wonder. His lips quirked upward. Reno raised his eyebrow at the blond. He had never seen Cloud's eyes quite that big and wide.

"Reno," he said, his voice sounding strangely breathy.

"What is it?" The redhead walked over and peered into the crate as well.

A pure black… thing with amber eyes blinked up at him. It warbled softly and stumbled around in the blanketed crate, flapping its tiny wings. Cloud made a soft noise next to him, and when Reno glanced over, he could tell that the blond was damn near about to turn to goo.

The guy smiled at them. "It's a –"

"Baby miniature chocobo," Cloud finished for him.

"Chocobos come in pocket size?" Reno asked, not wholly convinced.

"They're really rare," said Cloud, not taking his eyes off the tiny bird. It made a soft chirping noise up at them, and Reno swore Cloud melted a few inches into the pavement.

"Yeah," said the man holding the crate. "I found this little guy stuck in a half-broken egg. They make great pets, but I don't have the room for him."

"So you want us to take him off you?" Reno asked. The guy nodded nervously, and Reno saw Cloud melt a few more inches into the ground.

After Reno saw his lover cooing at the ugly black chocobo-thing, he knew they had found their pet. Cloud was already in love with the thing. It really came as no surprise to Reno when they arrived home with the crate with their new chick inside.

"Onyx."

"Annoyance."

"Zephyr."

"Brat."

"Midnight."

"Tseng."

"I am not naming our chick after your boss. Precious."

"Well, it's black like Dot-head's hair. Oh, and I am not living in the same house with a chocobo named Precious."

Cloud growled at Reno, carefully scratching the soft fuzz on the top of the chick's head. It warked softly in contentment, turning its head so Cloud could reach beneath its beak. The blond smiled down at it, and any other time Reno would have found that look absolutely breath-taking. Now, though, the redhead just scowled.

Why did he ever suggest they get a pet?

"Reno, we've had him a week," Cloud sighed. "He needs a name."

"I told you. I vote Tseng."

"And I told you it wasn't happening."

They both huffed. This was getting them nowhere.

The worst thing about it all? The little brat chose Reno to follow around. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd come to a sudden stop and had a little ball of fuzzy feathers smack into his ankles. Cloud, wherever he was at the time, would put on his "aww" face and coo at them. Cloud Strife fucking cooing. Reno had never been so disturbed in his life.

It wasn't that he disliked chocobos. Oh no, he'd ridden a few in his life and he'd even helped raise a couple. It was just that this miniature menace was so damn annoying. Not only did it starve for attention from them – loudly, he might add – but also Cloud was more than willing to give the little brat more attention than Reno thought was healthy.

Then there was the matter of naming it. Reno had – at first – been willing to compromise. That was until the feathered brat decided he was mama and wouldn't leave him the hell alone.

Speaking of which… Reno looked down to find a pair of wide amber eyes staring up at him. The chick warked softly and nuzzled his ankle. The redhead snorted.

"Keep moving, brat," he said, sidestepping the small chocobo. It squeaked unhappily at being ignored, flapping its tiny wings. Reno might have felt a bit guilty, but he'd had a long day at work, and just wanted to relax. In bed. With Cloud. However…

"Reno." The tone of Cloud's voice was stern. The Turk balked and raised his eyes to meet Cloud's angry mako gaze.

"Uhh, hey, baby." He grinned suggestively. Cloud just clucked his tongue and shoved past the redhead who watched with disdain as his lover scooped up the tiny bird and held it close to his chest. It chirped happily and snuggled against Cloud's collarbone.

Reno could only scowl and curse when Cloud stomped past him with the chick and locked their bedroom door behind him.

That was only the beginning.

Over the course of the next few weeks – in which the little brat still never earned a name – more than enough odd and annoying incidents occurred around Reno and the small bird. Stupid things, too. Some of them looking back, Reno – and Cloud, actually – could find amusing.

There was once Reno and Cloud had totally lost the chick for two full days. Cloud was nearly hysterical with worry, and even Reno was grudgingly concerned for the thing. After all, he really didn't want to find a dead baby chocobo lying somewhere in his house. It turned out that the little brat had been accidentally locked in a closet – Reno's closet. Cloud snatched the baby chocobo up immediately when they saw him and wouldn't even look at Reno for almost a week. It wasn't his fault the little brat liked sleeping in his shoes!

The most bizarre incident occurred so fact, neither Reno nor Cloud could have prevented it. The pair had retired to their bedroom one afternoon for a little overdue fun, when in the midst of passion Reno had thrown his head back onto the pillow, only to hit a lumpy ball of feathers instead. All three of them shrieked at once, and the chick tumbled off of the bed and onto the floor. Reno actually made to lean forward to make sure the thing was okay, but Cloud shoved him back on the bed with a glare and went to go retrieve the chick.

Somehow the blond managed to blame the whole damn thing on him. It was so unfair.

The little brat also had the horrible habit of sleeping – while not in one of Reno's shoes – on the bed with them. Cloud, of course, thought this was the most adorable thing on the Planet, so now whenever Reno wanted to cuddle with Cloud, he also had to cuddle with their joyous bundle of feathers as well, and Cloud simply wouldn't hear of moving the chick.

What really took the cake occurred whenever Cloud woke up earlier than Reno. The chick, apparently lonely since his other mama had left, would snuggle up on Reno's chest. The redhead reached the point where he either did not have the heart or the energy to push the brat off and just snorted and went back to sleep.

Oh, all of the pictures Cloud took when he saw them.

All of this managed to happen just before the day marking the third week they had had their precious little chocobo. On that day, Reno was off from work and lounging in the den when Cloud approached him fully dressed and holding their chirping chick, which he unceremoniously set in the redhead's lap. Said redhead looked up at his lover with a raised eyebrow.

"And you put the chicken in my lap why?" he asked.

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "I have a few deliveries to make, and I won't be back until later tonight." He lowered a gloved hand and stroked the chick's head gently. "Take care of him."

Without another word – not even a goodbye – the blond left the house. Reno sat there for an incredulous moment, not even hearing the chick wark cheerfully up at him. How dare Strife just dump the brat on him! Especially on his day off!

Reno scowled and glared at the baby chocobo. It stood on his stomach and stretched its head up to him, tiny wings flapping to keep his balance. Reno sighed and ran a finger down its back, causing the chick to squeak in delight. The Turk let the chick clamber its way up his shoulder and sit there, nuzzling his cheek until it fell asleep.

Brat…

Reno yawned. The day had been thoroughly uneventful and lazy – just the way he liked his days off. The little chocobo had barely moved from his shoulder – sometimes to his lap, but he didn't stray far. Reno caught himself a few times absentmindedly stroking the fuzzy baby feathers on the chick's back. Okay, so the brat was cute sometimes.

In the early afternoon, Reno meandered around making lunch for himself. He didn't forget a small handful of greens for his little chocobo chick. Well, he was more Cloud's chick. Dye Strife's hair black and they could just as well be related.

"Hey, brat," Reno called out to the living room where he had left the chick. "Lunch. Get your feathered ass in here, yo."

No answering wark or chirp came from the den. Reno frowned and called the chick again. Still no answer. Hmm, the brat was probably asleep in his shoe somewhere. With a mental shrug, Reno sat down to eat, thinking nothing of the chick's disappearance.

He didn't see the chick for an hour after that, and worry began gnawing at him. Finally, he sucked up his pride and went in search of the brat.

The chick wasn't in the den, nor could Reno find him in the kitchen, the bathroom, or the study. Great… Cloud was going to kill him if he didn't find the little chocobo soon. He glanced at the clock. Cloud would be home in a couple of hours at the latest.

Then, he finally heard a chirp, quickly followed by another and another, though they were muffled slightly. Great, the chick was probably stuck behind something. Reno followed the strained-sounding chirps out of the kitchen and into the den, where he paused, listening carefully. It sounded like it was coming from the bedroom.

Before he could even take one step in that direction, a horrible screeching sound erupted. It was a horrible noise, and Reno reacted immediately by ducking and covering his ears. It took a few seconds for his brain to catch up, but when it did, he realized how much the horrible noise sounded like screaming.

Without pausing to think, he ran toward the bedroom and burst in. The shrieking grew louder. He looked around the room frantically until his eyes cause a flurry of movement at the baseboard of the bed, and he rushed over.

The little chick was trapped there, right wing caught at a horribly unnatural angle while its left beat furiously, only making it worse.

Reno made a strangled noise of panic in the back of his throat. He didn't know what to do! The little bird was quite as panicked as he was and obviously in pain, and Reno didn't want to make it worse but he had to help the little thing.

"H-hey," he tried, voice not wanting to work properly. "Hey, calm-calm down!"

The chick's screams died down, and it turned its amber eyes on Reno pleadingly, wing still beating as its legs kicked furiously to free itself. The Turk gulped and carefully reached down to the chick.

"Be still!" he ordered in the firmest voice he could manage. The little chocobo made a whimpering sound that tugged harder than it should have at Reno's heart. It stilled, though, whimpering as its weight settled on the hurt wing. Carefully as he could, the redhead scooped the chick up from between the mattress and the baseboard, wincing at the odd way its right wing still hung limply.

The chick continued making that whimpering chirp, and Reno knew he needed help. He bit his lip and turned the chick over in his hands so it could brace its feet against his palm. The little chocobo did so, warbling pitifully, trying to lift its wing.

"It's okay, yo," Reno said softly. "I'll take you to someone who'll make you all better."

The only problem was… he had no idea where to take him. No one he knew could help a chocobo with a broken wing, especially a chocobo as tiny as this one…

The chick whimpered again. Reno muttered a soft curse, turned on his heel, and ran. He didn't bother to lock the front door behind him or leave a note for Cloud.

The chick in his hands let out another pained wark at being jarred, and Reno held his firmly but gently to his chest as he tore down the street. He received a few strange stares from passersby, some of them muttering about delinquents and hoodlums. The Turk thought this was distinctly unfair, and if he hadn't been rushing his little chick to an emergency animal care center, he turned to show them just what kind a hoodlum they were dealing with – a ShinRa employed hoodlum.

At a full run, he reached the emergency veterinary care office in less than ten minutes. Heart pounding and chest heaving, he threw himself inside. The young woman behind the desk looked up at him, taking in his labored breathing and slightly disheveled appearance.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes!" he said urgently. "I have a baby miniature chocobo, and his wing is hurt! I dunno if it's broken or not, yo, but he's in pain and needs help!"

"Please, calm down, sir," she said gently, rising and walking over to him. He uncurled from around the chick, holding him out for her to see. It warbled up at her tiredly, eyes closing, wing still limp and crooked.

The woman made a sad "aww" noise and hurried back over to her desk. There, she pressed a button on a small black box and said firmly, "Dr. Oriana, please come to the front desk." The little black box – a PA system, Reno assumed – beeped as she took her finger off the button. She turned to the redhead, smiling gently. "We'll get your little chick all fixed up." Reno nodded, pulling the chick back against his chest protectively.

He only had to wait a moment before the doctor appeared. She was tall with long dark hair pulled back from her eyes. She smiled at him as she approached, clipboard held in one long-fingered hand.

"Hello, what seems to be the trouble?" she asked, eyeing from behind small glasses.

"My chocobo's hurt his wing," said Reno, biting his lip and holding the tiny bird out for Dr. Oriana to see. She "hmm"ed and bent slightly to examine the chick.

"Doesn't look good," she muttered when she saw his wing. Glancing back up at Reno, she asked, "May I?" He nodded and let her take the chick from him. She felt of his wing and down his neck and across his back. Reno just watched with anticipation, hoping she could set the little thing right. He'd never forgive himself if…

"It's definitely fractured," Dr. Oriana said finally with an unhappy sigh. "Not uncommon for the miniature chocobo breed, especially hatchlings. How old is this little guy?"

"A-about three weeks," said Reno, mouth gone dry.

"Oh yes, at this age they can get into a lot of trouble. Still not very stable on their feet but curious as ever." The doctor suddenly smiled up at him. "The good news is, this is a common injury and can be corrected no problem."

Reno almost melted with relief but decided upon exhaling a deep breath instead. So the chick was going to be okay…

"However," said Dr. Oriana, and Reno's breath caught again. "This is still a broken bone and will have to be treated as such. We can set his wing and heal him with some light materia, but he'll have to keep a splint on his wing for about a week."

Okay, that wasn't so bad. Reno nodded his understanding. The doctor smiled.

"Right then," she said, stroking the top of the chick's head gently. The tiny bird warked softly. "I'll take this little guy back, and we can get started. What's his name?"

Oh… fuck… He didn't have a name, but Reno couldn't very well tell the woman he had a nameless chocobo chick. His mind cast around frantically for a name, and before he had really time to think, his mouth blurted out, "Onyx."

"Onyx," Dr. Oriana repeated with a small smile. "A fitting name. Well, little Onyx," she addressed the chick, "let's go get that wing of yours fixed up." She turned with the chick in hand and disappeared behind a heavy metal door.

Reno stared after her for a moment then collapsed onto a nearby bench. All he could do now was wait.

It was dark by the time Reno tiredly traipsed up to his front door. No light were on inside, and while he idly thought this was rather strange – Cloud should have been home by now – he was more preoccupied with the sleeping chick in the basket in his hands. Dr. Oriana had done the trick, showed him all of the x-rays, and walked him through the next week of caring for the chick as his wing healed. The set bone was still inflamed and fragile so he was confined spend his time in a basket or crate, not that the poor chick would feel up to much exploring, or anything but sleeping, really.

The splint was bigger than the chick's wing, and Reno winced every time he saw it. The little chocobo looked lopsided, even when it was curled up asleep. The doctor assured him the splint, while uncomfortable, would ensure the bone's return to proper function and strength, and Reno had no choice but to trust her. Also sitting beside the sleeping chick was a glowing green materia orb, one that contained some less intense forms of cure and heal. To insure a speedy recovery, it had to be kept near the chick almost constantly.

With a combination of Dr. Oriana's work, the splint, and the materia, the little chocobo was to be completely healed by the end of the week.

Reno sighed and tightened his hold subconsciously around the basket as he slowly turned the knob on the front door. It wasn't locked. Reno slowly stepped inside the dark house, eyes not having to adjust too much from the darkness outside. The first thing he noticed was the glowing, catlike gaze trained on him. The mako eyes narrowed and Cloud rose from his semi-seated position and took a few steps toward the Turk. Even at a few feet away, Reno could tell his lover was livid.

"What the fuck, Reno?" the blond demanded, advancing on the Turk, his voice dangerously low. "I get home, and the door's standing wide open! You're nowhere to be seen! I can't find the chick anywhere! And you finally decided to show up now? What is going on!?"

"I'm sorry," Reno whispered, head bowed, he moved the light blanket off the materia, and the green glow illuminated both his and Cloud's face. And the chick. He watched Cloud's eyes widen in utter shock and lock on the splint held tight to the chick's wing.

"What did you do?" Cloud asked in a breathy voice as if he were searching for each word he said.

"Th-this afternoon I was ramblin' around, and I-I lost track of-"

"What did you do?"

"And when I found him he'd fallen between the bed an' the board at the end, and-"

"What did you DO!?"

"I'm sorry!" Reno burst out frantically, startling the groggy chick out of its slumber. "I only let 'im out of my sight for a second, an' then I couldn't find 'im, an' he was screaming, an' I knew he was hurt, but I wasn't sure what to do, so I took 'im to the vet, an' the doctor fixed 'im up, but it'll take a bit to heal an'…" Reno bit his lip, eyes burning. He angled his head downward so Cloud couldn't see the moisture gathering there.

"I'm so sorry, Cloud! I never wanted the little thing to get hurt, and I was so scared after it happened! If the little guy had of… I… I'm sorry…"

The house was silent for several long moments. Reno couldn't bring his eyes up to Cloud's. He was – to put it frankly – ashamed. Ashamed of what he let happen to a defenseless chick just because of his carelessness; ashamed to have caused the person he loved more than anything grief and worry; ashamed of the way his throat constricted with emotion because he could do nothing else.

But his thoughts faded away when a gloved hand slid under his chin and brought his face up. Cloud's face was stunned, but even as Reno searched his eyes, the blue depths became warmer, filled themselves with the affection Cloud showed only to Reno. The Turk just blinked at him, eyes still swimming, but his countenance held firm. Then, something changed in Cloud completely.

He smiled.

"C-Cloud?" Reno questioned softly, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.

"You were really worried about the chick," the blond stated, head tilting curiously to the side. "I thought you hated him, but…" Cloud trailed off and looked down at the chick, still smiling. "Thank you, Reno."

"What're you thanking me for? M'the reason he's hurt."

"It was an accident." Cloud removed his hand from Reno's face and carefully stroked their chick's back. It warbled tiredly at Cloud, closing its eyes and resting its head on the soft cloth that lined the basket.

"He'll be okay," Cloud whispered. Gently, he tugged Reno the couch and pulled him down. The warm smile on his lover's face only choked Reno up more, and he angled his head down again. "Reno?" the blond questioned.

"M'a Turk and damn good one at that, but this little brat has me tearing up like an overemotional broad," said the redhead, chuckling a bit. He felt Cloud's hand squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. After a few deep breaths, he was okay and looked up. "Oh, our chick, uh, has a name, yo."

"Oh?" Cloud's eyebrow rose.

"Yeah, uhm… the doc asked for his name, and I didn't know so I just said the first thing that came to mind…" He reached into his pocket for the vet bill and handed it to Cloud, who scanned it quickly, then chuckled.

"Onyx, huh?"

"Well, you said it awhile ago, and… if you don't like it…"

"Reno, just shut up," Cloud sighed. Reno shut up. "It's alright. Our chick has a name; I'm happy."

The Turk gave him a lopsided grin. "So does this mean you love me again, yo?"

"That's the idiot I know." Slowly, Cloud leaned in and sealed his lips to Reno's. Neither one of them could remember their last kiss; the chick had caused too much strain on them. Now… maybe that would change.

The soft wark from between them prompted them to pull apart and look down. The chick – Onyx – blinked up at them, making chirruping noises.

"I think he's getting jealous, yo."

The green glow from the materia illuminated Cloud's still-smiling face. "You don't really mind, though," he said knowingly.

The Turk shrugged. "No. Guess I don't."

Their hands interlocked, and gently they ran their intertwined fingers down their chick's back.

Onyx warked in contentment.

-end-

Sassy: Feel lucky I managed to get this done… I'm in a really big Zack mode, and a bit sore at Reno… blame Crisis Core.

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