Story Title: Complicated
Rating: T
Genre: Romance and Drama
Disclaimer: All characters do not belong to me and are copyrighted to their respective owners.
A/N: I haven't been a particular fan of RenoxTifa but after stumbling upon some adorable images of them I decided to take a shot at this. The events take place some months before FF7AC in Reno's perspective. I apologize if Reno's character isn't as "funny" or "comical" as most would expect him to be, but he seemed to have a very coy and sly character that wasn't expressed much. Tell me what you think, and if you enjoyed the story please look forward to the next (and last) chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

o--------------------------------------------------o

Chapter 1

You can't be close enough

I walked through a small alleyway in town. People stared at me as I walked by, their eyes peeling onto me. I don't know why they always stared; maybe it was my clothes, or my hair. It's not like you see someone walking around in a suit with flaming red hair all the time. And it's not my fault I'm always in full uniform–I was always on the job after all. Regardless, they didn't stare long enough to see me disappear into a building in the alleyway. The sign above it read: Tifa's 7th Heaven.

It was a small bar, but it wasn't bad. In fact, it was one of the best places to get a drink. But today it seemed like no one was in the mood for getting drunk–it was completely empty. I took a seat at the counter and whistled a tune to fill in the silence. Since the door was open, someone must still be here. I didn't have to wait long before I saw a familiar face coming down to check who could be bothering them on a day off.

"Yo." I waved to Tifa. When she saw me, she blinked, surprised.

"Reno!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. "What brings you here?"

"I thought Cloud would be here."

She laughed a bit. "Well, as you should remember he rarely is."

"Oh. Then maybe you can treat me to a drink since I walked all the way here?" I grinned.

Tifa sighed quietly, then she looked at me and smiled. "I could use some company."

As she poured me a drink, I realized it was rather quiet in the bar. There were no signs of the two kids I always see running around, the fans above the ceiling weren't moving, and though the windows were open it was silent. Was it always this quiet during the few times I came to get a drink here? Something in me wanted to ask, but I kept my mouth shut and sipped the drink Tifa had placed on the counter for me.

She had poured herself a drink as well and sat one seat away from me. In other words, we were separated by one measly seat. I never found myself attracted to her much (not that she isn't attractive), but now that we were alone, I finally realized how much of a man and woman we were than just people.

I kept my thoughts to myself and hoped she didn't realize that I was beginning to feel slightly awkward. Her long, silky black hair hung over her sturdy shoulders, and the black outfit she wore pressed tightly against her body. It showed the feature of her curves perfectly–I tried not to stare too much.

"Why did you need to see Cloud?" Tifa asked after a long silence.

I grinned, holding my glass cup to my mouth. "To get him to join us." As I gulped down the last of my drink I took a glance at Tifa. She was staring at her cup, her hands that were free from the prison of her gloves looked rather small as they lay on the counter. I placed my glass down on the counter and stood up to leave. "Thanks for the drink. Whenever that blonde shows up, tell him I dropped by."

Just as I was about to turn the door knob to leave, Tifa suddenly asked, "Why do you insist on pursuing him?"

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. This wasn't the first time she questioned me about it, but it's been a while since she has. "Why, you ask? Because he can help us."

"To rebuild ShinRa Corp? That's folly." her eyes didn't betray a word she said. I never knew how intense her stare was. I shifted my weight, suddenly feeling uncomfortable beneath the gaze of her amber eyes. "He's got the reputation we need to get the peoples' help." I leaned against the wall. At this point, Tifa was glaring at me. I continued. "If Cloud, a trusted citizen is with us, the people will practically bow down to our demands. How can it go wrong?"

"Cloud will never submit to you." Tifa's voice rang strong. She sounded so confident, I had to laugh.

"Cloud may be strong physically, but he's not that strong up here." I pointed to my head. For a moment, a fleeting look of despair flashed across Tifa's face, then she once again looked determined. But she knew as well as I what I meant. After a few seconds, I realized the conversation wasn't getting anywhere and decided to leave for good. "Make sure you tell him." I said, returning my attention to leaving.

"No."

I stopped. I turned back around, squinting my eyes are her in disbelief. "What?"

"No." she repeated. "I will not tell Cloud that you came by."

I laughed. If I were any other guy, I would've shoved off her comment and leave anyway. But I'm not–I'm Reno. As much of a cocky bastard Rude and the Turks often called me, it was something I valued. Maybe I had too much confidence, I don't know. But at the moment, this woman dared look at me with the same confidence in her eyes. I ticked me off. I walked closer to her.

"Why not?" I said, my voice low and quiet. "Is it that hard for you to trust Cloud?"

She looked hurt for a second. But she looked back without blinking, not stepping away as I moved closer. I placed my hand on the counter and leaned toward her, whispering, "I think you're afraid."

She said nothing.

"Why don't you try putting more faith in him?" I suggested casually. "If you don't like it, just tell him."

"I won't tell him what to do." she finally said, her hands clenching into fists.

"Right." It wasn't that hard to see that she was an independent woman. Yet it always seemed as if she were denying something within herself. I leaned closer, our faces barley inches apart. Her sweet scent filled my nostrils. She looked so much smaller than she appeared now that I was hovering above her. Does Cloud ever notice these details?

"You know what I think? I think you're afraid of putting faith in him."

She could've smacked me a good one right then and there, I was letting my guard down after all by taking advantage of the situation. I didn't mean to tease her so much, but I couldn't help it. Rude had often told me not to get on Tifa's bad side since we needed to somehow gain her trust. If he found out I had just been put on Tifa's hit list, he'd kill me. That is, if Tifa didn't kill me first.

"Get away from me." Tifa demanded coldly.

"Why?" I asked, testing her patience.

"You're standing too close."

"Heh," I chuckled. "Well, excuse me."

I stepped away but she still did not relax her hands. I took another glance at her. She didn't look happy at all. I took this as a victory and decided it was about time to leave. I had spent more time here than I intended. "You obviously don't trust me," I said before I left. "But I trust that you won't tell Cloud about this incident, will you?"

I disappeared out the door without waiting for a response. She wouldn't have said anything anyway. As I walked away from the little alley street, the same eyes that were staring at me before were no longer staring. I wasn't worried about that though–I felt bad for upsetting Tifa. I never do, but I did. Maybe it was the way she was looking at me. I swear, that stare of hers can burn a whole in someone's skin. It was a confident look, but I saw something more behind them... unhappiness? Geez, this woman is making me feel more distorted than I already do.

- - -

I stepped inside my office in the rusty old building we were living in. It was located in a mountain pass surrounded by a jungle of trees. My office was average sized, with a little doorway to the left that lead to my bedroom (which was even smaller). I sat down in my chair, leaning my head against the back. After a few seconds someone knocked on the door.

"What?" I called. I wasn't in the mood for visitors.

The door opened and Rude stepped in. Like me, he was wearing the same business suit, besides the sunglasses. As usual he stared at me beneath his shades with that stern look of his. It's surprising that he doesn't have any wrinkles when he frowns so much.

"You took longer than you said you were going to take." Rude said, getting to the point.

"Yeah, well, things happen." I replied lazily.

"Cloud wasn't there?" Rude guessed.

"Bingo."

"..."

The silence meant that he wanted to know what was it that took me. It wasn't like him to ask, and it wasn't like me to answer his silence. But I decided to tell him anyway, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I had a little chat with Ms. Lockheart."

Rude's eyebrows shot down into an even sharper frown. "You upset her?"

"That's right."

"...Reno."

I looked at him. "What?"

"Apologize to her."

"What?!" I shot up from my seat, almost knocking the chair down. "I didn't come all the way here just to be told to go back!"

"And that's just what I'm telling you to do."

"Geez..." I looked around for some sort of escape route but there was none–besides the window. I wasn't going to risk a broken arm for this though. "She'll get over it."

"Then try again in another week."

"Hey, I already tried looking for Cloud's ass today, it's your turn."

"I have other things to do." Rude said, heading out the door. "Otherwise, talk to Rufus."

He shut the door when he left, leaving me to ponder my thoughts alone.

There were a lot of reasons I could find about not going to apologize. For one, I don't like apologizing for things that happened in the past. If I were going to apologize for something I did then I shouldn't have done it in the first place. And secondly, if I went back Tifa really might want to pick a fight. Then again, she's a more composed person so maybe it'll be me picking a fight. Regardless, I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to be looked at with that stare of hers, I didn't want to see her sitting at the counter all alone, I didn't want to be in that silent atmosphere.

I didn't want to see her sad smile.

...Am I going crazy? When did I start noticing these things? Was it just because for that one time, I happened to have been alone with her? Was I that much of an idiot that I never realized how lonely she looked?

No. I always knew. From the time that I met her she had always been an easy person to read. Her eyes betrayed her emotions which revealed her thoughts. It wasn't hard to decipher what she wanted to say. Maybe that was why I teased her, I wanted to see how far she'd go for what she believed in. Her spirit was admirable, but someday she'd break. I know it. Her eyes looked far too dry as if she had forgotten to cry. Not that I was a crybaby with watery eyes, but for a woman it was too sad.

- - -

The next time I went to the same alley street, I finally found Cloud. He was just about to enter the bar when I called out, "Yo!"

He turned around, not too surprised. His blonde hair and blue eyes were peculiar in this gloomy day of time, but it made it a lot easier to find him. He didn't look like he wanted to talk, of course he didn't. He turned his back to me and proceeded to enter Tifa's 7th Heaven, but there was no way in hell I was going back in there.

"Let's take a walk." I suggested.

Cloud glanced at me suspiciously.

"It'll be quick."

He agreed and came with me. We walked a ways from the busy streets so no one would overhear our conversation. He didn't say a word, and only followed me quietly. That was just like him.

"Where have you been?" I asked jokingly. "We've been looking for you."

"Why do you persist on finding me?" he ignored my last statement.

I chuckled. "Someone asked me that too."

He looked at me, puzzled, but didn't ask.

"But what I find more amusing," I continued. "Is that though you decline, you still listen to us."

"..."

Silence. Cold as ever, Cloud was. But he knew I spoke the truth.

"How is Tifa doing?" I asked.

He looked at me with the same puzzled expression before turning away to ponder my question, "I didn't get to see her yet."

"Ah, because I came, huh? Did you want to see her?"

"..."

"You should've told me, I would have waited." I grinned, though he didn't see me because he was looking straight ahead.

"We're not here to talk about that." Cloud said sternly.

"Heh, I just wanted to ask."

Cloud obviously had a sense of overprotectiveness about Tifa, but he never showed it. The fact that he didn't want to talk to her was proof of that, not because he disliked her. I was another man after all, and a dangerous one at that (not that I'm bragging).

The rest of the walk filled with my useless comments and Cloud's silence. We eventually returned to the alley street of Tifa's bar. I found myself staring at the entryway, wondering if I should go inside or not. Instead I parted ways with Cloud there. If I had told him about the conversation I had with Tifa earlier, what would he have done? What would he have thought? Regardless, even if I didn't tell him, they would've solved all their issues sooner or later. They only have each other after all.

For some reason, the thought of that hurt me.