By the end of the night, Reno was on step 4. He stumbled through the blurry streets clinging to Elena's shoulder for support.
"One more drink he says, I'm not drunk at all…" She muttered miserably.
"wha'd'you shay?" Reno said in a slurred voice. Elena shook her head.
"You're heavy, Reno." She told him instead. Reno looked up at the three Elenas swimming in his line of vision.
"Eh?" He settled for confusion. Elena sighed.
"I wish you knew how drunk you were!" Elena said, exasperated. Reno attempted to understand through the drunken haze of his mind.
"'Lena…" He started. "You're my… my… my besh' fren'" He said eventually. Elena sighed. If he wasn't drunk out of his mind, she'd be touched.
"You…" She started "Got wasted, even though I specifically told you not to!" she said, annoyed. Reno stumbled a little and ended up on the floor.
"Wha' happen'd?" He asked, confused. Elena shook her head and bent down next to him.
"You fell over." She informed him. "Come on." She grabbed hold of his arm and tried to pull him up, with mixed success. He ended up sort of collapsed across her. "Reno…" She muttered.
"I… lo' you." Reno said, kissing her drunkenly. Elena was shocked. Even drunk, he was still quite a good kisser… oh no…
Reno was so plastered he couldn't see much beyond the area just in front of his face. He could work out from the noises Elena was making that he was either being carried or she was supporting most of his weight. He felt slightly guilty about getting so plastered when Elena had asked him not to… thinking about it (well, what passed for thinking in Reno's current state) Tseng had yelled at him about it.
"'Lena…" He started.
"Y-Yes, Reno?" She asked, struggling under his weight,
"Whe'…whe're we goin'?" He asked slowly. It was hard for him to form complex sentences when drunk.
"The coffee shop." Elena answered. "They've got coffee strong enough to send even you over to the other side of sober." She explained, trying not to drop Reno when he reacted in a rather over-the-top manner."
"Wha'!" He yelled (well, slurred.). "I don' wan' to be sho... sho… thingy!" Elena laughed.
"Do you want to risk Tseng's wrath?" She asked slyly. Reno stopped moving, which wasn't good news for Elena…
"Ple' God no!" Reno said. Elena collapsed under his weight.
"Reno!" She yelled in frustration. "You're damned heavy!" Reno moaned slightly.
"sh'ry… 'Lena" He replied eventually, trying to stand, and managing a wobbly stand for long enough to allow Elena to roll out of his way. He fell to the floor after about three seconds, hitting the floor hard.
"Ow…" He complained, trying to rub his head but, not being able to find it, gave up. Elena got into a sitting position.
"Reno, you need to sort yourself out." She told him.
"Wha'? 'Lena, I-I-I'm perfe… perfe…c'ly fi… ne, than's v'ry much." Reno argued. The fact that he had to think about the long words made it obvious that it wasn't, however. Elena knelt close to him.
"You're not." She whispered in his ear. Reno looked up at her. There were still three of her swimming in his line of vision. He tried his hardest to remember what had happened in the past few minutes, but it was all an alcohol-induced blur.
"'Lena…" He muttered. "Wha'… wha' hapn'd?" He asked. Elena shook her head… heads, from Reno's perspective. Elena smiled at him.
"You are so drunk you can't remember?" She inquired. Reno nodded. "Fine. It's the coffee shop for you!" She declared. Reno moaned. "Was that for the coffee or the potential hangover?" Reno moaned even more.
"Oh… God… han'ovver…" Reno moaned. "was f' the cof… coffee… bu'…"
"Oh, goodie." Elena smiled evilly. She hauled him up and continued on a (slightly wavy due to Reno's inability to walk) path to the coffee shop.
The shop had one of those annoying ringing bells that tingled when you opened the door. This made Reno resume his groaning.
"A bell…" He moaned in a tortured voice. Elena's grin widened. She dragged the moaning Reno up to the counter.
"Your strongest coffee." She ordered.
"Which… one?" The counter girl asked, glancing at the moaning Reno.
"I want to send him to the other side of sober." Elena declared evilly. Reno slumped down on the counter, still moaning.
"I see." The counter girl turned and yelled into the back of the shop. "What did he drink?" She asked. Elena thought back, wincing when she remembered exactly what Reno had drunk.
"18 pints of beer, 8 Tequilas, 5 Vodkas and… 12 Gin and Tonics." Elena replied, wondering how he had managed to convince her he wasn't drunk for most of that. Then she remembered how much she'd paid for.
"Reno…" She started.
"Wha'?" He asked in despair.
"Where's your wallet?" She asked him. Reno tried to see through the haze of alcohol to remember something about himself.
"To'… pocke'…shir'…" He mumbled eventually.
"Thank you, Reno." She said, fumbling in his top pocket and eventually finding his wallet.
"Here you go." Said the counter girl, returning with a steaming mug of thick black coffee. Elena fished some money out of Reno's wallet.
"There." Elena said. Reno lifted his head, possibly to protest. "That makes up for the drink I bought you." She told him. Reno slumped back onto the counter.
"My… hea'…" He muttered. Elena shook her head.
"Sorry about him." She apologised to the counter girl, who shrugged. Elena dragged Reno over to the nearest table and then returned to the counter to grab the coffee. "Drink." She ordered Reno, who looked up at the mention of a word he connected with 'alcohol'.
"coff'…" he murmured.
"Yes, Reno. Coffee. It'll make you sober." Elena explained slowly. Reno tried to look up. Elena saw rings of red in his eyes.
"shobe'" Reno repeated.
"Close enough." Elena replied, handing him the coffee. Reno, capable of getting any drinks receptacle to his mouth even in his most plastered state, drank the coffee very quickly, before placing his head back on the table. "Good Lord, that coffee was piping hot!" Elena said.
"Mmmp." Reno said, clutching his mouth. "That hurt!" He cried. He shook his head back and forth.
"Are you OK?" Elena asked, worried. Reno looked over at her.
"There's only one of you…" He murmured. Elena looked confused for a second.
"It worked?" She asked tentatively. The memory of the night's events came back to Reno in a rush.
"Oh my God…" He muttered.
"Is that… a yes?" Elena asked.
"Yes. Hell yes." Reno replied. "The depressing thing is that I'm probably still going to get the hangover." Elena patted him on the shoulder.
"Never mind." She comforted him.
"Oh, dear God…" Reno repeated. He thought through the night's events, most of them characterised by the all-too-familiar blur caused by excess alcohol. He sat up suddenly. "Did I… kiss you?" Reno asked, dreading the answer.
"Um… yes." Elena said. Reno relaxed slightly. She wasn't yelling at him. Good.
"What on earth do they put in that coffee?" He asked. Elena consulted the menu.
"Something Materia related…" She squinted at the tiny writing. "Oh! They cast Esuna on it." Reno thumped his head back on the table.
"Great…" He moaned. Elena looked confused.
"What's so bad about that?" She asked. "You're not drunk any more…" Reno shook his head.
"It won't last. And I'll still get the hangover!" He moaned. Elena sighed.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have drunk the damn alcohol in the first place!" Elena tried very hard to stop herself from shouting. She was quite pleased when her voice barely quivered. Reno, his head still on the table, merely waved a hand.
"Can't stop myself." He mumbled. Elena shook her head. Reno lifted his head off the table. "What?" He asked. Elena just shook her head again. Reno sat up properly, a little worried. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked. Elena put her head in her hands.
"It's just…" she started in despair.
"What?"
"Well, you know you have a drink problem, but you don't care! Reno, you could lose your job!" Reno got up and went over to her.
"Elena…" He started. Elena looked at him. "I… I know I'm sometimes a little over the top with the drink, but…"
"Reno! For God's sake, sort yourself out!" Elena replied.
"Elena, why does it matter to you what I do to myself?" He asked, confused. Elena hit the table with her hands.
"Because I'm not heartless, unlike some people I won't mention!" She screamed at him. Reno took her hand.
"Elena, I'm sorry, but drinking is my way of coping with things." He tried to explain. Elena looked at him, shaking her head.
"Reno, there are so many other things you could do!"
"Like what?" He asked. Elena sighed.
"Coffee works." She replied. Reno nodded.
"I tried coffee. I can't forget if all I'm drinking is coffee!" Elena blinked.
"What do you want to forget?" She asked him. "The job's not that bad, is it?" Reno thought about it.
"These days, mostly the building." He admitted. Elena laughed, and Reno smiled at her. "Glad you're not mad." He told her. "I don't think I could cope with having you and Tseng on my back." Elena shook her head.
"I wasn't going to be 'on your back'. I just wish you'd sort your life out." She replied. Reno smiled.
"I'll try." He said. "Now, shall we head back in case the drunkenness comes back?" He asked. Elena laughed again and nodded.
"But I'm driving!" She insisted.
"Fine!" Reno agreed, and they headed back to the car.
By the time they got back the sky was black, with the stars showing as little pinpricks of light. There were no clouds.
"You drive really slowly!" Reno complained.
"Well at least I don't put my passengers in mortal danger!" Elena retorted. They started walking up to the building. Elena started to try and start tidying herself up a little. Reno looked over at her.
"Don't be a goody-goody, Elena." He told her. Elena glared at him.
"Just because I like to look tidy doesn't make me a 'goody-goody'." She retorted. "The fact that you don't, however, makes you a slob." Reno laughed.
"It's usually only one button. But seriously, you don't need to be so picky when you're not even on a job! It's not like Tseng minds." Elena gave him a withering glance and started rolling down her sleeves. Reno sighed and grabbed her hand. "Elena, no." He said in a commanding voice.
"Hey!" She protested, struggling against his hold. "Let me go!" Reno smiled and shook his head.
"Oh no. You need to learn to be a rebel!" Reno teased, not letting go despite Elena's best efforts.
"Let go, Reno!" She insisted. Reno shook his head again, and started dragging her into the building. Elena gave up and went with him. "You're annoying!" She informed him, fuming.
"Ah-ah-ah, you shouldn't go around insulting people." Reno teased her again. Elena tried hard not to lose her temper. Reno swivelled round and grabbed her other hand. "Can't give you any opportunity to tidy yourself up, can we?" He said, smiling. Elena laughed.
"You just don't give up, do you?" She asked, wondering why she wasn't resisting. Reno was thinking the same. He stepped a little closer to her.
"Of course not." He replied. "You've got to learn!" her skin felt soft against his…
"Teach me, then." She whispered, smiling. Reno released one of her hands and reached up to touch her cheek.
"Elena…" He murmured. She smiled at him, reaching up and taking his hand again.
"I don't mind, Reno." She told him.
"This time, I mean it." He said, and leaned over and kissed her. Elena returned it passionately, moving an arm over his shoulder around his neck. He couldn't half kiss…
Reno had had plenty of experiences with girls, but Elena was something new. It felt… different, somehow. Her touch sent shivers running through his body, and he clung to her, not daring to let go. He hadn't planned this, but… he was glad for it. He had always liked Elena, in fact practically everyone liked her as a friend, but he had never really thought of her like this before…
After what seemed like an eternity for Reno, they broke apart. "Elena…" He whispered. She smiled shyly at him, the starlight sparkling in her eyes. Reno reached out and brushed a stray strand of her beautiful blonde hair behind her ear. Elena caught his hand as he took it away. He smiled at her. "Elena, I'm sorry… for being such a fool tonight." He said to her. She laughed.
"Reno, I… I don't mind." She replied. "I just… was worried for you." She admitted. Reno watched the way she moved.
"Just tell me what to do." He whispered. "And I will do it for you." Elena went bright red.
"Reno, you don't…" she started, but he kissed her again, she couldn't finish, but she didn't resist.
"Come inside, it's cold out here." Reno suggested when they broke apart. Elena nodded slowly, and they walked indoors, hand in hand.
