Seira didn't wake up as abruptly as before. She stayed still and silent this time, before opening her jade orbs and taking in the same scene as the last time she did.
It wasn't a dream. She can still feel her body slightly swaying as the redhead walked with her in his arms, cold wind caressing her face and the pungent smell of outdoor tingling her nostrils.
The brunette stared at the hard-to-admit good looking man who was carrying her, bridal style and noticed that his eyes were blue, something which she rarely saw in her place(Contact lens not included). It wasn't that his bright hair wasn't enough distraction for people, but that was certainly dyed. The bright red was just too ludicrous to be natural and his eyes brows weren't that red, it was dark brown in fact.
"Where are you taking me?" She said calmly this time, gaining the redhead's attention that had been attached to the road ahead. Why she wasn't in her class, the last place that she had remembered she was in, she cannot fathom why. But wherever she was now, it certainly wasn't an area near her place. The surroundings that she had observed just looked completely different, skies full of twinkling stars and untouched grounds, that they were walking on, which she was certain until now didn't exist anymore in her over civilized country.
"To my place, since the nearest inn would be in Edge and walking there would certainly be a royal pain for my legs." The redhead glanced at her for awhile and quickly watched the road again, as if he was evading eye contact with the girl in his arms.
His actions went unnoticed and despite the weird terms and names of placed that she realized he had used, the brunette shrugged it off and chose to confirm the condition of her body first. "Let me down." She ordered and tried to move but found that her body was restrained by a black jacket around her slim frame, the same jacket which was now missing from the man who was carrying her.
The lanky man, for once, couldn't find a thought to talk back or disobey at the demanding voice. Her familiar jade orbs were filled with fiery determination, a gaze that Reno could easily count, with his fingers, its owners across the whole Gaia.
He lowered his hand from under her knees and slowly let her legs step on the cracked ground, while his other hand still held firmly behind her back, so that he could easily catch her, in case if her legs really gave out beneath her.
Seira clenched both of her fists in anticipation, preparing herself for whatever was coming if her fears were proven to be right.
As soon as the redhead tilted her body to the ground and let her whole weight on her own feet. Her knees buckled beneath the pressure and gave in to her own weight. She relaxed her muscled and prepared for the inevitable. For once, really wanting to feel the pain on her knees as it collided with the ground. But instead of the ache that should've stung to her bone, she felt her face being pressed against a hard wall of muscle, clad in thin fabric and a hand behind her back which held her in place.
"Dammit, girl! What's wrong with you?" The Redhead cursed as he gently placed the limp brunette on the naked ground, unable to retain the uncomfortable position for long.
The teen let her limp hands sprawled, on both of her sides, on top of the dusty ground, shoulders slumped forward in defeat and head hung low. She stared down at the dry, earthy ground as her jumbled up thought tried to take in her situation.
Reno sighed in exasperation and squatted down in front of her, for the first time in his life, a woman was making him think in circles. First she was so full of energy and the next thing he know she was just a heap of depressed, tangled limbs, unable to do anything on her own. "What do you want now?" His words felt harsher than what he had intended it to be, the brunette didn't seem to care and kept her gaze at the ground as if diamonds were imbedded on the dirty surface.
"Go home…." The whisper came after moments that the redhead thought the brunette had turned mute after her legs had died out on her and the next thing he had expected was a shrill scream that would prove that insanity had finally claimed over her.
Another sigh escaped from his lips again and the redhead ran a hand through his fiery, crimson locks. He was certainly going to have grey hair if he sighed again. "Where's your house?"
Another pause and the teen replied with an equally tired voice as before. "Kasukabe.
The name of the place itself struck a question in the redhead's well-informed brain which people, after observing his acts, thought was as small as a nut. He had always been one of the best pilots amongst the other Turks, remembering places which he had flown over or stepped on was as easy as a child learning on how to talk, it was more of an instinct rather than memorizing for him.
Kasukabe…? He repeated the name over and over again in his head. It sounded like a name of a place from Wutai, but he couldn't remember any places with the exact same name and even if she was really from Wutai…how the hell did she reach Midgar? "You from Wutai?" The question flowed out of his mouth without further thinking. If there was anything Reno was sure of, it would be the origin of the girl, which could be anywhere but Wutai. One glance at her colored eyes and locks would be able to prove that.
The brunette perked her head up and raised an eyebrow at him, in a similar fashion that the redhead did when he first heard the name of her birth place. "Wutai, where's that?"
The redhead was just able to gawk at her. The girl had either been holed up in a tower like rapunzel and had never met anyone since she was a baby or she was an alien which came from another planet. He preferred the latter actually, being the imaginative adult he was. "You don't know Wutai? Wutai war, fight against Shinra, Mako reactor, resort place, vacation, ninjas? Doesn't that ring any bell?" It was Reno's turn to be desperate now. He just couldn't believe anyone without the knowledge of Wutai, the village dominating the western continent of the planet, which went on war with Shinra, the company he worked in, and the town which made the best booze too.
"I know ninjas, and if you're referring to Japan, yes I live there." She said naively and had seemed to be lifted up by herself from her previous breakdown. The brunette was now sitting straight and had gained back the interest in her jade orbs, hands which were previously strewn on her sides were now folded neatly on her lap
He quirked his eyebrow at both the sudden changes and unknown places that he never knew existed. It was either his brain was getting blunt by the lack of hard mission in these peaceful years or the brunette came from another world…or she was just insane. "Japan? Where's that?" It was his turn to inquire in a similar fashion this time.
Silence fell on both of them, before Reno, being the Reno he always was broke the silence by letting out an uncivilized groan and ruffled his hair in frustration. "Forget about this, for now! We'll sort it out once we reach my place. All this thinking is just making me hungry, babe."
And Seira, being the Seira she always was could only roll her eyes and huffed in annoyance. "Don't call me that. My name's Seira, Seira Howard."
"And I'm Reno, nice to meet you…babe." The redhead extended and offered his hand to the sitting girl on the ground with his trademark, cocky smirk plastered on his face. While Seira just sighed and silently prayed in her heart.
God, if this was a dream, a slap to wake her up would be most welcomed.
Another ten minutes of walking passed in silence before they reached a 30 storey tall apartment complex, near observatory-like buildings which was labeled as 'Healen Lodge' on a road sign below it.
Reno walked ignorantly as people stared at the weird 'couple'. The brunette who distracted herself by nervously twiddling with her own fingers and the redhead who never forgot to return a similar stare or a fiercer glare to everyone who walked pass them and gave a curious glance.
It wasn't rare for a Reno to be seen in compromising situations with girls of different ages, but bringing the so called 'lady' to his apartment…wasn't something you could see every day.
The elevator stopped with a high pitched 'ding' and revealed the empty, white painted hallway, decorated by mahogany doors on one side of the wall and green potted plants on the other.
The sound of his boot thumping against the white tiled floor resonated along the corridor and disturbed the perfect silence which had been retained. Dusk had passed long ago and the moon was up high now. Reno paused in front of the furthest door from the lift and went into a debate in his head.
Where did he last left his keys…?
Hard to admit, but this was one of the usual problem that his oh-so-great brain tend to forgot. What could he say, Yo, Turks were also humans. Even though he was sure that no other Turks except him had lost their apartment's key for more than five times in their life.
"Hello? You okay?" Sei waved her hand in front of the redhead's face, snapping him out of his stupor and immediately gaining his attention back to earth, Gaia in this case.
"Huh, nothing, just wondering where did I place my keys." He shrugged and said nonchalantly.
"How are you going to enter if you don't know?" She shot an eyebrow up and eyed her laid back savior.
"I got a spare one behind the post box." He jerked his chin towards the red, classic post box beside the door and lifted her higher up so that her hand would be able to reach up. "It's stuck with duct tape, you gotta rip it off."
Dejavu. She felt her hand along the dusty surface and can't help but smile when her hand caught the unnatural lump on the even metal, feeling all too familiar with the situation. "Got it." The brunette peeled off the sticky, pointed metal and immediately shoved it into the keyhole as Reno lowered her back.
The room was dark when they stepped in, hiding Seira's grinning face from the redhead, who was trying to search for a way to turn on the lights without using his currently unavailable hands.
Reno was able to walk without any difficulties in the dark room, while Seira was left in the dark, just wondering how the apartment looked like.
Suddenly, a soft cushion met her bottom and she felt the redhead's arms leaving her back and leg. The light flickered on before she was even able to register everything in mind.
A fifty inch LCD TV was propped on top of a waist height, wooden cabinet, complete with its speaker standing tall on either side of it. Magazines were strewn across a glass coffee table between the TV and a beige, three seated sofa that she was sitting at, a thin layer of dust coating each and every exposed surface.
The living room was quite spacious even with table and shelves of different size and types against each wall of the room, with either photo frame or other random decoration on top of it.
A round, analog clock which was mounted on the light blue wall, which she previously thought was white, right behind the LCD, showed that it was already half past ten.
"What's so funny?" Reno entered the room, from a short hallway beside the television and hastily piled the magazines on the table on top of each other, hazardously. "Ignore the mess, I don't really stay here that often or clean up."
Seira straightened herself and erased the silly smile from her face, but not before giggling to herself for a while. "Nothing important, the place where you kept your spare keys reminded me of someone."
"Great mind thinks alike." He snorted and grinned as he moved closer to the brunette and hoisted her up in his arms again. "I'll prepare something to eat while you take a bath."
The wall on the back of the living room had two doors. The one to her left, which was open, let her took a glance of what seemed like an open kitchen area and a dining table. The other, which Reno had just opened with the help of one of his elbow, was occupied by a king sized bed in the middle of the naturally dimly lit room.
"Will it be okay for me to stay here, I mean, what about your family or girlfriend?" The brunette inquired after she was placed on the edge of the huge, plain, white bed and Reno disappeared to the door on the right side of the bed.
"It's okay, I live alone here. Don't worry about these things will ya, how do you even know that I have a girlfriend or not?" She could hear his voice echoing in the other room which she had guessed to be the bathroom and started to crack, twist and turn her fingers. A habit which she had took since she was small, whenever she was either nervous, waiting or both.
"Well," She nervously started and darted her head from side to side, taking in the content of the room. Two nightstands, one with a lamp and the other with a digital clock which was shining off bold, green numbers, was pressed against the wall, beside the pillows which were messily arranged on the top side of the mattress. A mahogany closet furnished the wall on the left side of the room, while a window, the only current source of light, showed the night sky on the wall across it. "You're not that ugly, and your house seems to be a bit too big for someone who lives alone-"
"I know I'm hot, you don't have to be shy to say it." The redhead suddenly poked his head out, complete with his trademark cocky smirk and disappeared in the other room again after startling the poor girl who almost dropped from the corner of the bed.
"Ass." Seira breathed out and rolled her eyes, shuffling back to a comfortable position on the soft bed, with the help of her hand.
"And for the size of this place…you can just say that my company had its glory days." Reno finally appeared from the mysterious room and easily hoisted her up in his arms again.
"Had? Are you some general manager or director? Normal employee wouldn't get an apartment of this size from their company."
The bathroom was as grand as the other rooms that she had seen. A big, transparent, shower cubicle stood on the furthest corner of the dimly lit room. The floor, different with the other rooms which were covered by white tiles, were decorated by wooden patterned marble, bouncing back the lights from four yellow artificial lights on each corner of the ceiling. The white, classic looking porcelain sink was lodged on top of a similar patterned stall which took almost half of the wall, a mirror of the same width stuck on the wall above it. Blending in with the other pastel colors was a white toilet on the opposite side of the basin and another mahogany closet, similar to the one in the master room.
The Turk ignored the mention of his past tense and placed her on a white bathtub beside the shower."I'm sort of a…multi talented body guard."
"Bodyguard?" The brunette repeated in confusion. "I would really love to work in your place if a bodyguard can get an apartment of this size for himself, can't even imagine how much your salary is."
The redhead reached for the shower head which was hooked to a peg on top of the tub, feigning ignorance towards the unaware girl below him. "Do you want me to help you take a bath?" He bent down till their face were only inches apart and smirked, succeeding in gaining a blush from the teen's cheeks.
"W-w-what! Don't make me take back that compliment I gave you just now, I said you were a BIT good looking but it doesn't mean that you're my type." Seira shoved the inching man away as she grew flustered at her own body reaction.
She could feel the heat rising within her cheeks, which was definitely growing red to such an extent that it could put her savior's unnaturally bright hair to shame. Yes, she admitted that the redhead was a bit of her type, in fact, he was everything that she had imagined of. Tall, well built but not overly buff, handsome with a bad boy personality and so far he looked kind enough to save a damsel in distress like her. She frowned at the label that she had just given herself with, she hated being a helpless and weak type of person but she knew that she wasn't in any position to complain right now.
"Aaw, you hurt me, babe. I was just trying to help." Reno pouted with a mock hurt expression and held his heart with his free hand.
"Whatever." She spat and snatched the shower head from the redhead's hand, looking away childishly in hopes of hiding her beet red face.
"Chill, babe. I was just joking." He couldn't help but chuckle, even though he knew that it would further provoke the brunette. "Guess you'd have to bear with my clothes for tonight. And try not to see your shirt. Don't want you fainting again." He grabbed a set of fresh, white towel and clothes from the closet on the furthest corner of the room and placed it on a chair ,beside the tub, which he had dragged from somewhere in the room.
"Nah, I won't faint. I don't usually faint because of blood. Just now was an exception and don't ask me why." The brunette denied with a wave of her hand in front of her face and peeled off the black blazer-like jacket from her torso. "See, nothing happened."
"Just warning, who knows what you're capable of doing after all that show you've put up just now." Reno took the jacket from her offering hand and pulled the transparent, vinyl curtain around the tub. "Take your time, we'll think of everything later." Was his last word before he closed the door behind him and flopped on his bed.
The redhead stared at the white ceiling and groaned as he rested his hands on top of his face. What had he actually picked up this time? Why had he even bothered to check on her, when he first saw her comatose body in Midgar?
He doesn't know a damn thing for sure, except that he wasn't acting like himself today, maybe it was because of his visit to sector seven, after months of avoiding it as Tifa had suggested.
Her eyes were one thing which had certainly gotten his attention now. It really reminded him of Aerith's, the last Cetra who had been spied by him and the other Turks for more than her short life could allow. It was a pool of green, but lighter than the older brunette's dark, hypnotizing orbs.(Not that his damsel in distress' wasn't distracting him enough)
She came from another world? Wasn't that just a little too…fiction? But there were no other possibilities, except that she had actually knocked her head hard and lost most of her memories…but she didn't act like some amnesiac almost-insane-panicky-damsel-in-distress-with-secret-power or anything close to that of a story from some random-romance-fantasy-inducing novels.
Reno finally sprung up and sat straight as he roughly ruffled his fiery red locks with both hands, emitting a low growl of annoyance at the white flag which was swaying deftly in his brain. Too much thinking was never his field of sports, eating was.
And now he got two empty stomachs to fill in.
Reno finally stood up and walked out of the room, trying to ignore the beating sound of water against some naked skin in his bathroom.
Little that he know, that the Turk's wheels of fate had once again taken a big turn.
"Reno, where should I put my dirty clothes?" The brunette called out while she rolled up the sleeves of the white, oversized shirt that hung around her slim body.
"Hold it first, I'll drop it to the washing machine before we eat." She heard his muffled reply and not a moment later the steam covered, transparent veil which was separating her from the rest of the dimly lit room was yanked away, revealing the lanky redhead. "You look better."
Seira contemplated as she was hoisted up to his arms again and brought out of the room. She gingerly touched her face and frowned. Was she looking that bad before? She hadn't really bothered to check on her appearance before she took a bath, and decided that it was better off for her not knowing.
She was carried to another big room through a doorway which she just realized was lacking a door, beside the redhead's bedroom and placed on a chair in front of a rectangular, cherry wood, dining table. Four chairs, including the one she was sitting at, were set on each side of it. Overall occupying a side of the spacious room, while an open kitchen area, with steel bordered, mahogany cabinets circling the top of the whole U-shaped structure, occupied three fourth of the room.
A black marble surfaced, narrow counter in the middle of the spacious kitchen, probably serving as a breakfast area caught her attention, despite the other expensive looking white stoves, refrigerator and other smaller kitchen counter surrounding it. Each kitchen ware touched with a simple, yet elegant look.
"Gimme your clothes and eat first." Reno's voice brought her back from her observing trance and snapped her attention to the bowls which she didn't realize has been sitting on top of the table for awhile now, visible, white smoke puffing from its unknown content.
The brunette leant forward and peered at the reddish-yellowy content the plastic bowl. "Reno…?" The brunette raised an eyebrow and called out to the redhead, who was uncertainly jabbing at the mini buttons on his washing machine, located on the end of a narrow, visible passageway beside the kitchen. "You eat ramen…instant noodle for dinner?"
"Instant noodle with egg."He corrected and walked back to her, after finally managing to make the unfamiliar machine function properly.
"Exactly the same." Seira sighed and mumbled to herself. Exactly how many times should she do this? This was the exact same scenario which had happened not long after her cousin moved in to his current house. Well, the end result wasn't bad, Kei would have dinner in her house every night and his brunch remains as a mystery to her, which she would love to keep it as it is. "It's just the same, Reno. Don't tell me you eat this every day?"
"No, I also order take outs, but since it's late, you'll have to bear with it." He replied defiantly and took a mouthful of the yellow strands of condensed carbohydrate, noodle.
"I wonder how your stomach hasn't had a hole yet." The brunette heaved another sigh and rolled her eyes at the slurping noises that the redhead was deliberately making. Actually, she herself wasn't really in a position to get mad at him, since she also wasn't really a healthy type of person. But what could she do? Nobody could resist junk foods, right. "Stop eating it, Reno! I'll cook something. What do you have in your fridge?"
Reno could only gawk at the teen and let his mouth hang open, noodles which were halfway in his mouth dropped back on his bowl under his chin. "You can cook?"
"Gross, dude, close your mouth. What's so wrong with me cooking?"
"You just don't look like the type of girl who can cook." He answered sheepishly and let out a nervous laugh, receiving an annoyed look from the brunette in front of him.
"You don't have to talk anymore, just show me your fridge." She shook her head and huffed, dramatically.
"Yes, milady." The redhead mock saluted and wiped his mouth with his white shirt's sleeve, before bending down into an almost squatting position beside her chair, showing his back against her. "Put your arms around my neck." He patted his back and crouched backwards, trying to close the little distance left between them.
Seira carefully reached for his neck and reflexively let out string of curses, when Reno suddenly straightened his back, and jerked her thighs up with both of his hands. "Careful!" She smacked his forearms and frowned while her carrier laughed at her choices of colorful words, which he was sure could even put a certain blond pilot into shame.
"Never knew you had it in you!" Reno literally roared out spurts of laughter while he walked to the open kitchen space.
"Shut up." The brunette mumbled before yanking open the refrigerator, with built in dispenser, which she was facing at. The content of the shelves were not really surprising, it consists mostly of different types of beers and some, she managed to recognize as foreign brands of junk foods. "Don't you have anything edible, which is out of the junk food category?" She whined as she rummaged through every corner of the large, modern cooler box and couldn't help but grin when she spotted a round, brown egg, just to see two more beside it.
"There should be some leftovers from my friend's visit a week ago." Reno thought out aloud a he moved closer and let the brunette's eager hand to reach forward.
"Got it." Seira held three eggs and a medium sized container of some cold rice in her hand, while Reno moved one of the stools, from the center counter, in front of the stove. "I need a pan, two plates, cooking oil, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and any other spices that you have"
"You're really cooking?" He asked skeptically as he placed the teen on the black leather seat.
"Ya think?" She shot back and retorted. "Never heard of a phrase 'Don't judge a book from its cover?'"
"Okay, okay, sorry. Just give me some time to find all the things that you just said. What was it again?"
Seira rolled her eyes and sighed for the umpteenth time of the day, as the redhead searched through every cabinet in the kitchen and spot her orders one by one.
How the hell this guy does even managed to live until today, was better kept as a mystery.
"Dinner's ready!" The brunette called out while she squeezed a bottle of tomato ketchup, spewing its slimy, red content on top of the rice omelet that she had managed to make from the little resources that was provided to her.
"Looking good…" The redhead mumbled as he showed up from the living room and moved the two plates of decent meals on top of the dinning table. "Hmm, really not bad, Seira, this is actually good. When was the last time I ate any homemade food?" Reno managed to say between mouthfuls as he dug on the home cuisine, literally.
"Hey, I'm still here. Remember?" Seira yelled to him, her voice sounding too cheerful, much to her liking. She just knew that Reno could really get some effect out of you. The said man ran to the kitchen and swiftly carried her to the dining table before he continued his appetite.
"Eat slowly or you'll choke, the food won't run away from your mouth, okay." She said in a sing-song style, a smile of satisfaction on her face.
But the warning was too late, as soon as she finished her ranting, the redhead led out a fierce cough, his hand forming a fist, pounding on his chest to let the jammed food down.
"See, what did I told you, go drink some water." Reno had already ran back to the kitchen and chugged a pitcher of water from the fridge, before the brunette was even able to finish her sentence.
The redhead sighed in contempt after the previously full jar was only left with a third of its clear liquid. "Man, I haven't eaten these since ages ago." He said in exaggeration and sat back on his chair, across the brunette.
"You're over reacting. When was the last time you ate a proper meal, what about your family?" Her barrage of question hit the right spot.
He tried to feign ignorance by stuffing more food in his mouth, but when she kept her gaze at him, still waiting for an answer. All he could do was plaster his trademark cocky smirk to his face and ignore the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach that he hadn't felt since a long time, one that he had forgotten how it felt like, since he started his life as a Turk…pity, being pitied by someone. "Family's gone, since I remember. My friends come over once in a while, but… the kitchen always became more of a playground and so, we prefer takeouts."
"I'm sorry." The brunette apologized softly and looked down, focusing her eyes on her food, despite Reno's clear attempt to shrug off any tragedy airs beforehand.
"Don't say sorry, you've done nothing wrong." The Turk wiped his smirk off as he finished his meal and walked over to the kitchen with his plate. "Eat or your food or it'll get cold. You need to rest, kids should sleep before midnight." His voice sounded harsher than what he intended, and he busied himself in the kitchen to ignore the uneasiness which was still lingering in his stomach, partly of guilt this time.
"I'm done, Reno." Came her reply not more than five minutes after his retreat.
The redhead wiped his hands with a piece of cloth, hanging below the sink and carried his guest in his arms, bridal style again. Mentally making sure that he kept a straight face along the supposedly short journey, which felt like ages, to his room.
"Are you mad?" The sudden timid voice caught him unguarded and he couldn't help but slightly jump. She was too caught up with her fingers to notice though, Reno was glad of that.
"No, I'm not." He said nonchalantly and straightened back his face again. But a sudden cry caught him off guard again and he leapt noticeable than before, the brunette ignored it again for a different cause, he was glad for again.
"My phone, it's in my bag?" She cried in alarm and looked around frantically.
"Calm down, you almost gave me a heart attack right there. Black bag, right? I brought it with you." He managed to say after regaining his composure and finally settled the panicky brunette on his bed, before disappearing from the room in another split second.
Seira sat restlessly on the edge of the bed, squeezing and cracking her fingers in her usual nervous habit. She couldn't help the tingling feeling inside her stomach. Maybe this was the only chance that she had to contact her family, and she wouldn't waste it.
"This one?" The redhead showed up with a slim, black, leather bag and handed it to the eager teen.
"Phone, phone, phone." The brunette chimed the electronic gadget's name like a mantra which would help her hands in fishing her phone out of her bag faster.
"Let me hel-" The redhead was roughly cut by Seira's frustrated growl and the rustle of the bag's content being thrown to the bed by the force of gravity.
Yup, she had lost her patience and finally flipped the bag over, a bit too harshly. "There you are!" She couldn't help but squeal in joy at the shining, black, gadget on top of the pile of books and papers. Yup again, she wasn't the neatest person on earth who bothered to organize her bag, but quite annoying when it comes to another person's hygiene.
Reno watched as she expertly flipped open the sleek, black device and pressed the phone to her ears, after pressing, or more like jabbing, some numbers.
"Sorry the number you are calling-" The brunette quickly pressed the red button and redialed the number in the speed dial again. "Sorry the number you are-" The phone snapped shut with a tad bit too much force and she let her head down, enabling her companion to set eyes on her face which was half covered by her long bangs.
The annoying, mechanical voice of the operator was loud and clear enough for the redhead's trained hearing to get it all. He gently patted the soft looking golden brown locks before sitting beside her and placed the spilt content on his bed back to the small bag, which amazingly could fit all of those things, he mused. "C'mon, you need to rest. It's getting late."
Seira stayed still at her position for another minute before Reno huffed in annoyance and snapped his fingers in front of her hair clouded face. "You still there, yo!"
"Uh, yeah, I'll sleep now."The brunette jerked her head up and hurriedly pulled the covers over her head. "Good night."
"Night." Was all she heard before the sound of the door slamming to its frame and a painful silence which followed suit.
Her body shook as she clenched the blankets over her head and slowly tugged it down. A whimper escaped her lips instead of the calming breath that she was trying to take. She swallowed, hard and choked as her throat constricted around the growing lump of distress in it.
The side of her face was suddenly wet and she futilely tried to rub the pooling hot, fresh, tears out of her jade orbs.
"Just cry it out." The masculine, yet gentle voice made her jump and leapt to a sitting position, rubbing more furiously at her eyes to clear her clouded vision.
"R-Reno? My eyes are just itching, I'm not crying." The redhead ignored her as he went to the bathrooms and reappeared with a roll of tissue in his hand.
"Use this." He sat beside her and handed the Kleenex to the girl who was finding it harder to stop the sobs which keep coming instead of her breaths, despite her attempts to stop it
"I-I'm not-" Her feeble attempt of covering herself was roughly cut by a wall of muscles which was suddenly pressed against her face.
"You'll feel better if you let it out. Just ignore and think of me as an oversized pillow." Reno looked away and gently stroked her hair out of her face while the brunette stayed still for awhile before letting her hands crept around his waist.
The redhead wasn't really familiar with comforting people, especially girls, even though everyone thought that he was one of the most professional ladies men in Gaia. Yes, he was and still is, but his jurisdiction was mainly centered in flirting and giving them pleasure, physically, not mentally.
Her sobs which were now more like cries of pain felt like a deep cut in something inside him, and he couldn't help but tighten his embrace, every time her body trembled, and cradle her small body which fits perfectly against him till it tired them both.
The night was going to be longer than what he had expected.