a/n: This fic is a dedication to and request of The Sacred and Profane. Tifa and Reno think their doing a sweet favor for Cid…they soon find out that this favor costs them their personalities!
Hope you guys enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, as much as I'de just love to.
"Reno, get up! Or we'll be late!" Tifa yelled as she yanked the comforter away from her boyfriend's body. The red headed Turk was facedown, head buried under a heap of pillows the ceiling, a small shiver coming from his lips as he felt the cold morning air brush across his now bare back. A smirk formed on Tifa's lips as she backed up slowly like she was going leave the room, only to run and jump on Reno's back, straddling his hips.
"Ugh…Ti..fa…get off…" Reno grunted as he reached behind him to grab her. She held strong and began to tickle him mercilessly, causing bursts of laughter to fill the room.
"O-o-okay, stop, stop, I'll get up, please, Tifa!" he whined as he tried to catch his breath. The brunette let up and hopped off of him, pumping her fists in the air for victory as she walked into the closet.
"Well, come on already! We have a busy day ahead of us!" she informed the Turk as she began tossing a pair of jeans and a maroon button up shirt at Reno from the closet.
"Wait…its Saturday. We don't have anything…" he trailed off, scratching his head slowly as he yawned and sat up on the bed. Reno grabbed his clothes and walked to the bathroom.
"Sweetie…we promised Cid last week that we'd help him test his new invention, remember?"
"Oh…yeah…that. So that's what the old man is up to now, after working for Shin-Ra..." Just what Reno wanted to do…visit the sailor speaking, bad tempered, pilot. Cid wasn't too keen on the Turk either.
"Reno, just finish getting ready and behave! For me?" she asked, walking up behind him once he finished combing through his hair, wrapping his arms around his torso, giving him a tight hug. Reno smiled and turned so he was facing her.
"I'll behave, babe, no worries. Now let's go see what Cid wants us to do." Tifa winked at her boyfriend and snatched up her purse and followed Reno out of their apartment and to his car.
"Now what exactly are we doing, Tifa…I don't want to have to fly some crazy rocket ship or something, yo. Helicopters I can handle, but space ships? Not a chance." Reno explained on the way to their destination. Tifa simply shrugged and nodded as she played with the radio. She was pretty sure that Cid wouldn't trust Reno with anything that involved flying, so she wasn't worried.
"Yer late!" was the first thing that left Cid's mouth as they enter the large lab like structure. Of course, the words were muffled, due to the cigarette clinging to his lips as he spoke.
"Sorry Cid, Reno took a little but longer than usual to get up this morning." Tifa explained, giving Cid an apologetic look as she crossed her arms. Reno rolled his eyes and forced a smile.
"Alright, whatever. Come on over and I'll show ya what I've got goin' on here!" the pilot stated as he walked off, Tifa and Reno hurrying close behind him. Their eyes roamed the lab to see all kinds of contraptions and strange devices. They soon arrived at a station with two pod looking devices, with wires sticking out at the top and buttons on the inside. The couple stared at the pods with their wide eyes, wondering what was going to happen.
"Okay…basically what yer' gonna do, is stand inside these two pod things here, hit the button on the inside and see what it does! That easy, right?" Reno held a hand up, while Tifa obeyed and walked into her assigned pod.
"Whoa…wait just a minute, Tifa. What exactly are we doing here? How do I know that this thing here won't blow me and my girlfriend to smithereens?" Reno snapped, pointing at the two pods before them, one with Tifa in them. Tifa crossed her arms once more and glared at Reno.
"Reno…stop being difficult…you said you were going to beha-" Tifa began to complain, only to be stopped by Cid.
"Listen here Turkey boy. Who are you to be doubtin' me and shit? Get in there before I kick yer ass." Reno growled and curled his fists together, ready to take the first hit at the pilot.
"Reno! Get in. Now!" Tifa's voice filled his head. He had promised to be good. Sighing in defeat, he resigned his position and walked with a pout to the pod next to Tifa.
"Okay Cid, so we press this button and we're done?" She asked, going over the instructions. Cid nodded and tapped his foot, indicating that they should go on. The couple closed the doors and counted to three together and pressed the white button on the side. A bluish glow filled each of their pods, Reno squeezing his eyes shut. If this glow hurt him in anyway, Cid was a goner.
Then, within seconds, it was over. Tifa felt a little strange but she opened the door anyway and looked out. Reno did the same. Just then, she saw something gleaming on Reno's belt. It was materia, obviously, as he carried it everywhere, but why was she so fascinated with it all of a sudden? Reno, on the other hand was feel rather…gloomy about something, which was also strange because he was usually an upbeat person.
"Damn, it didn't work." Cid mumbled to himself as he tossed his cigarette and grabbed another.
"Reno…is…is that...materia?"
"Yes." He raised an eyebrow in question to her strange behavior.
"Give it to me!" Why did she want it so bad? She couldn't help but have a sudden desire for the green orbs of magic.
"No…why do you want it? It's just materia, Tifa. I really want to go home, I feel like being alone right now." Huh? Reno almost didn't understand the foreign words coming out of his mouth.
Even Cid started to notice a change. It was almost like they were…Yuffie and Vincent!
"GIVE IT NOW!" Tifa screamed and jumped on Reno suddenly, knocking the red head to the ground. Reno gave her a glare and pushed her off.
"Stop it, Tifa. Leave. Me. Alone." Reno said darkly as he turned away from her, tucking his knees to his chest and staring off in the distance.
"Stop being such a meanie! Give it, Reno, Give it." Tifa continued to whine, inwardly wondering why she sounded so much like a ninja she knew very well.
Cid was continuing to notice this change too. Suddenly, the idea stuck him. Instead of collecting all sorts of data about that person, like it was supposed to, the button had switched the couple's personalities, into the personalities of people that they knew!
"Uh…err…both of ya! Get back in there! Uh, its…its not done yet, ya hear?" Cid yelled suddenly, startling them both. Tifa whined all the way to her pod and slammed the door, muttering about Reno and 'not wanting his crummy materia', while the Turk walked solemnly to his.
Cid motioned for them to push the button again and so they did. Cid crossed his fingers, hoping the machine would restore them and do what it was supposed to…but he was wrong.
Suddenly, anger and annoyance overwhelmed the brunette instead of the hyper feeling she had before, as she kicked the door open and started yelling at Reno who was straightening his shirt, and buttoning the two buttons that had been previously unbuttoned when he got dressed that morning.
"Listen here Turkey, ya better get me that tea and get to work…lazy ass!" Tifa yelled as she pointed an angered finger at Reno. In her mind, Tifa was wondering when she started liking tea…before today she hated the stuff. She wasn't looking for materia anymore either.
"Excuse me! I'm a Turk. I have orders. I don't have to do anything for you!" Reno reminded her, placing his hands on his hips and pursing his lips.
Instead of cussing back at the redhead, Tifa let out a laugh. Reno looked down and noticed what he was doing and huffed. "What the hell? Reno, ya never do that!" she pointed out, in between laughing spells.
"Me? What about you? You never drink tea, or talk to me like that!" Reno retorted. Both turned to Cid as he held up his hands defensively.
"What's going on, dammit? You better tell me boy, or I'll kick yer ass nine times to Sunday!" the martial artist warned, getting closer to Cid with narrowed brown eyes.
"Yeah! I'm a Turk! Turks always follow orders!" Reno said, causing both Tifa and Cid to look at him before looking back at each other. In most cases, Cid would laugh at their strange behavior…but since he caused it…it wasn't so funny anymore…and did he really sound like that?
"Hey, uh, wow, did ya hear that ringin' sound? I gotta phone call. I'll be back later!" Cid cried out as he left the couple, waving behind him as he ran.
"Get back here, dumbass!" Tifa screamed as she started to run at him, only to have Reno catch her and hold her back.
"Stop it, Tifa, We must act professional about this!"
"I ain't no damn Turk, boy, ya better remember that!" Reno rolled his eyes and shook his girlfriend slightly before making her look him in the eyes.
"Tifa…don't you see? That button makes us switch personalities! You were acting like Yuffie a minute ago, wanting my materia and I was acting silent like Vincent…now I'm acting like…like…'Laney and your acting like Cid!" he explained to the brunette, his eyes wide like Elena's when she explained a mission or report. The brunette smiled at his expression before shaking her head nervously.
"What are we going to do, Reno? I don't wanna be stuck like this!" She asked, getting a little panicked about the situation. Cid was gone, and they weren't themselves! She didn't want to be stuck cussing and carrying on like the pilot all her life. She hated tea!
"Well…let's be professional and just think about this…" Reno replied calmly as he paced around the pod, looking for any strange contraption on the outside. Tifa tapped her foot, glaring at him.
"Can ya at least get me a damn cigarette?" Tifa complained, not really sure why she wanted one, but she did. The Turk glared at her before continuing his investigation.
"You will not take up smoking Tifa, I don't care what personality you're stuck with. Now, what would Tseng do?" Tifa laughed at him again, this time hysterically as she clutched her stomach.
"Stop laughing! I can't help it!" Reno yelled, placing his hand on his hips once more.
"Sorry! It's just…anyway, why don't we just get back in this thing here and just press the button, til' we get our personalities back." Tifa suggested after calming down. Reno agreed and they both hopped back into the pods, pressing the button again.
This time, Reno came out biting his lip and looking around, rotating his wrists as he watched Tifa come out again. He could tell he wasn't back to normal just yet…in fact, he felt like his girlfriend.
Tifa came out, unusually quiet, but at least she wasn't cussing again.
"Tifa?"
"……"
"Oh, damn, you're Rude now!" he complained, sighing roughly as he cracked his knuckles and crossed his arms, swaying a hip to the side; a typical Tifa gesture.
"……we're not ourselves yet."
"Well of course we aren't. I'm acting like you and you're acting like my best friend! Tifa, this is just frustrating!"
"…..try again." Was all Tifa said as she walked back in her pod and waited for Reno to do the same.
This charade went on for a good hour, both coming out with everyone else's personality but their own. Reno had once come out as Cloud, feeling full of sadness and regret, beginning to question his purpose, while Tifa came out as Cait Sith, speaking in a strange accent. Other times, Tifa came out as Heidegger with his notorious "gya ha ha" laugh and Reno came out as Rufus, demanding Tifa to be quiet and get him the budget report.
The couple grew more and more frustrated with each outcome, until they finally gave up, as Tifa with Aerith's personality and Reno with Tseng's. At least that was bearable because Tseng was attracted to Aerith at one point and time.
"Oh, Reno, what will we do? We're stuck like this." Tifa said finally, beginning to cry. Reno rushed to her side and rubbed her back softly as he kissed her forehead.
"It's alright, my dear…we'll just have to make the best of it and wait until Cid comes back; if he does come back. That pilot…I told you this was a bad idea, Tifa." Reno accused slightly as he stood up. Tifa scoffed and turned to him.
"It is not! I thought we were testing some machine! Not turning ourselves into someone else! I never thought this would happen!" She said again, her voice choked by a lump in her throat. Reno saw her and felt bad for accusing her, kicking his pod in frustration.
Suddenly, the blue glow activated itself and flowed across Reno's angry form and he was knocked off his feet and to the ground, hitting his head as he was knocked out from the fall. Tifa immediately rushed to the Turks side.
"Hello?" she called out repeatedly, much like Aerith would. Reno slowly opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his head.
"That really hurt, yo." He said, gasping after the words escaped his lips. He sounded like himself again. He smiled widely and looked at his girlfriend, who was now glaring at him and asking if he was alright.
"Tifa, I'm back, I'm normal again!"
"Oh, how did you do it, Reno?" she asked, her hands clasping together like she was praying. Reno laughed a little before telling her that she needed to kick the machine really hard, to activate the glow. Tifa nodded slowly and kicked it in a girlish manner.
"No no, don't give it a little kick. You have to give it a major kick. A Tifa kick, c'mon babe!" Reno supported as she tried a couple times more before finally kicking it hard enough to send the blue glow at her, much like Reno's had.
She was spared the blow to the head as Reno was there to catch her. She opened her eyes one at a time, brown staring up at blue and she smiled.
"Tifa?" Reno asked, hoping his girlfriend was back to normal. She raised an eyebrow and reached up, tickling him as a reassurance. He laughed and held her, careful not to drop her as he pulled her up with him.
"Okay, Okay, I get it! You're good!" he yelled in defense. Just then, Cid could be seen walking back in hesitantly, like he was sneaking around or something.
"Uh…are ya back to normal, yet?" he asked slowly, with wide-eyes. Reno and Tifa looked at each other with a sly smile and Tifa pushed past the redhead gently as she approached Cid, grabbing his collar.
"I will destroy this planet and restore it to my Mother." She said, in a tone that scared even Reno. For a second, he wasn't sure if she had changed or not. Cid's eyes widened even more as he gulped loudly. Just then, Tifa laughed and let him go.
"You should've seen your face, Cid!"
"That shit's not funny, Tifa! I thought ya were Sephiroth or somethin'!" Cid yelled, whipping out a cigarette and lighting it furiously. Reno snorted in laughter as he joined the two.
"Whatever Cid, we're back to normal, no thanks to you! Next time, don't make us your guinea pigs for something like this, got it?" Reno warned as he jerked his car keys out of his pocket. Tifa shook her head at her boyfriend and gave Cid a hug.
"It's alright Cid, good luck with your invention. You might want to check it better before inviting friends to test it out though. Call me if you need me!" Tifa said as she waved and followed Reno out of the lab, leaving Cid staring at his now beat up invention…dumbfounded.
"So…it was kinda funny seeing you act like Elena, with your hands on your hips, like a girl." Tifa reminded him as she laughed once more. They were back at the apartment, curled up on the couch after the long, exhausting day they had. Reno raised an eyebrow and looked down at Tifa.
"Oh yeah? Well, if I can recall, you were cussing like a sailor as Cid…very lady like of you, babe." He said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him.
Tifa sighed and leaned in, breathing deep as she kissed him gently. "I'm just glad we're back to normal. I was beginning to miss my silly, lazy, hot-headed Turk." Reno winked at her and returned the kiss.
"Ah, and what would I do without my strong, funny, tickling girlfriend, Tifa?"
They cuddled for a moment longer before both fell asleep on each other, not even caring to move to the bedroom. They were just happy to be back to normal and the way they usually were. No one else, just Reno and Tifa.
A/n: I hope this was alright. This was my first ReTi ever! Let me know what you think!