A Match Made in Heaven
"Reno, I don't want to do this," Rude grumbled as usual, to one of my best laid plans this side of Midgar.
"Sure ya do. Ya'll thank me fer it later," I said, dancing around him as we made our way to the Seventh Heaven, "I know ya will."
When we entered the small tavern that Tifa and Cloud had rebuilt on the outskirts of Midgar, known as Edge, my senses were assaulted with that all too beautiful nightlife scent that I had become more than familiar with over the years.
The sweet, sweet smell of smoke and alcohol filled the air, along with the exotic aroma from the kitchen, courtesy of Tifa's new cook. "Mmm, mmm, somethin sure smells yummy," I said, as I casually half-danced and half-walked to the bar checking out all the ladies.
When I finally saw our target of the night coming our way, I covertly nudged my accomplice in question, to remind him to be prepared for the wonders that laid ahead if he played his cards right. And consequently, I think he tried to make a run for it, because I found myself having to swiftly grab his arm as an encouraging reminder to sit back down.
"Trust me," I said, through the corner of my mouth, trying not to make it move as I spoke, "Ya'll thank me."
"Hey, Babe."
With a greeting that only a few could get away with when it came to the silky black-haired idol of Rude's worship, I got up from the stool at the bar and put my arm around Tifa's waist to see exactly how agreeable of a mood she was in that wondrous evening.
There was, of course, another motive to my actions. It involved the verification, or lack of, in regards to one particular suitor that was rumoured to be the only man Tifa ever had eyes for. Some people had even gone far enough to say that they were already coupled.
So, I manoeuvred myself behind her, while still keeping my arm about her waist, and managed to get a good inconspicuous view of Cloud's expression from where he sat alone, at the far corner of the tavern. From what I could tell from his bored and uninterested expression, I could have had my tongue down her throat, and I doubt he would have cared.
So far, so good. Looks like she's unclaimed.
"What's a pretty thing like ya doin in a dive like this?" I asked in a playful manner, and swayed her from side to side.
With a rosy blush to compliment that beautiful milky complexion of hers, she pushed me away and punched me in the arm for calling her place a dive. Not too hard though. It was all in good fun. Every woman liked a little attention from time to time, even if it was from someone like me, and that didn't exclude Tifa.
"Will it be the usual, Reno?"
"With a little Tifa on the side," I said, patting her on the backside and winking at her as she walked behind the bar and reacted with a chastising, yet flirtatious smile. Then I looked back over at Cloud to make sure that my initial judgement wasn't mistaken, and still, there was nothing.
Yep. Confirmed.
She's free for the takin.
Now, for faze two…
"So, Tell me, Pretty lady." With a playful glint in my eyes and a crooked grin, I leaned over the bar to get closer to her, and asked, "What kind'a lucky man do ya have hidin out with ya?"
While looking at me sideways with her cool brown eyes, like she was a little suspicious of what I was up to, but interested in where I was going, she swayed her upper body a bit and grabbed a short glass from under the counter. Then she filled it with the cheapest alcohol that she had on hand as she continued to think of a way to avoid the question.
But like most people when it came to curiosity, even Tifa couldn't hold out forever, and she cracked rather quickly as her interest peaked. "Why do you ask, Reno?"
"I jus find it a little hard ta believe that a beautiful lady like yerself is still single," I said, and winked at her.
Blushing again, she playfully swayed her upper body back and forth with the prettiest smile she could muster, while she placed the glass down in front of me. And it sure was a pretty smile, if I didn't say so myself.
"Well, Reno, if you must know," She said, with a role to her eyes and grabbed a pint glass to fill with beer, "There isn't anyone in my life right now."
I couldn't help but notice that she almost looked a little disappointed at the admittance to being alone.
"Anyone ya got in mind?" I asked, while lighting the cigarette I'd gotten ready for myself.
With a pause and a suspicious look, while sizing me up, she placed the beer on the counter in front of my silent partner, who could have passed himself off as a rather large rock at that point. Then she smiled again and rolled her eyes at me. "Reno…" While tilting her head, she placed her hand on her hip in a weird sort of compassionate but playful manner, "I'd have to be mad to consider you."
Still playing. I like that in a lady.
"Nah, I was'n askin fer myself, Pretty lady."
There was no disappointment on either part, really. I honestly didn't think either of us had ever considered entertaining such a thought, not that we didn't like each other, or hate each other. We just managed to find a common ground after all the hardships that took place over two years ago. But besides all that, I'd managed to get her interest peeked to a point to where I had her full attention, nonetheless.
"Say, ya know, Sweet thing…"
Leaning over the counter to get more intimately private with her, I kicked Rude hard in the calf to get him to sit back down, since he was about to try and get himself as far away from the scene as possible.
"What's that, Reno?" she asked, and followed my lead by leaning closer to me as well. Then she rested her forearms on the counter and brought her face closer to mine so she could hear me better.
"I know a guy who thinks yer the sweetest thing ta ever grace his presence," I purred lowly into her ear, and then I took a drag from my cigarette.
"And who is that, Reno?"
Damn. She has pretty eyes.
Half-smiling at her, I tapped my ashes into the tray on the counter and moved my eyes slowly over to Rude, and then back to her without turning my head.
"He's a big guy," I said with a feigned caution to my voice, and then took a drink, "And a little shy." Then with a gasp after I took my first drink, I lowered my voice and moved closer to her, "Ya think ya might be interested?"
She looked over at Rude, catching on to where I was going, and smiled her pretty smile again.
"Maybe," she answered, and then she swayed again while looking back over at Rude.
"Well then, I'll let the two of ya get acquainted."
Raising my voice to a level that was clear enough for everyone around us to hear, I patted Rude on the shoulder and snickered at him when he cringed. Then I grabbed my drink and got off my stool since the initial part of my agenda had been accomplished and my presence was no longer needed.
You see, I figured I'd only be a hindrance to the cause if I stuck around and distracted either of them from each other. So, it made more sense to me if I simply removed myself from the scene. But before I left them to their own devices, I pulled up behind Rude, placed my free hand on his shoulder, and leaned over to his ear, "She's all yours, buddy".
Cringing again at the fact that he wasn't too happy about the situation I put him in, Rude put his head down and buried it in his drink. But I wasn't about to stick around and be his chaperone when he was more than capable of taking care of himself, especially when he was given the right push.
Plus, there was so many other pretty ladies in the pub that night that I would rather have spent my time with. I also knew he'd wind up thanking me later, and I smiled to myself as I heard the conversation from the two of them get started while I took another drink and left them to work out the rest between them.
Reno, ya've outdone yerself, man. Now, if ya could only do the same thing for yerself.
The rest of the evening pretty much went on like most evenings out did, I danced, got slapped, drank, and I snacked. I even went so far as to sit with Cloud for a bit and caught up on old times with him. Of course, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be blessed with my charming presence, but I ignored him and stuck around, regardless. And every now and then, I'd look back at the bar to make sure everything was going as planned.
It was nice to see Tifa smiling and blushing at the random points in the conversation she was sharing with the man I considered to be the greatest friend that ever entered my life. And what made it even more rewarding, was the fact that he was smiling along with her.
Yep, everything was as it should have been, and even though I wasn't really getting anywhere with the ladies myself, I was as happy as a chocobo who'd just won first place.
After all the excitement was over and done with, and Cloud threatened to cut me in half if I didn't leave him alone, I wound up having to awkwardly carry Rude home from the Heaven that night.
He'd gotten so smashed that he was unable to carry a sentence if his life depended on it, which was something that always made me smile a bit. And of course, he kept thanking me over, and over, regardless of the fact that he was less than willing to go along with my plans at the beginning.
"I, can, Tank you , 'nough," he kept saying, as a result of his inability to hold himself together for much longer. As it turned out, he had such a good time getting to know the obsession of his life that he forgot to watch his limit for a change.
"I told ya ya'd thank me," I kept saying back to him in a playful matter-of-fact manner, "So, when ya seein her again?"
"Tomrrrwn, nt," he answered.
For those of you that are having a little trouble reading Rude when he's drunk, he said, 'Tomorrow Night'.
It was hard not to feel happy for the big guy, it had been a long time since I'd seen any of us truly happy like that, but on the other hand, I had to admit that it left me feeling a little jealous.
Anyway, in the end, we finally made it back to Healin unscathed, and we stumbled up the stairs. Me, mostly because I was trying to carry a man three times my weight, and him, well, I guess you all get the picture by now. He was a little drunk.
Oh well, as it turned out, I had to carry the man all the way to his room and help him get into his bed. It would probably seem odd to most that a man as big as he was couldn't hold his liquor as well as I could. But then again, I spent most of my life building up a tolerance to the stuff.
Whereas, he only really started drinking the day AVALANCHE started kicking our butts. And as an added precaution for his well-being, when I got to his door to leave, I turned to regard him once more to make sure he was okay. Then as an afterthought, I went into his bathroom and grabbed a bucket for him before leaving just in case he'd wind up needing it.
Admittedly, as happy as I was for the big guy, the whole scenario left me feeling a little depressed and sorry for myself, for reasons I couldn't quite put my finger on.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Tseng now had Elena, Rude seemed like he was on a new start with Tifa, and me, well, I was still single with no prospects in sight, and I was suddenly feeling like I might have just screwed myself over.
After all, we all know what happens to a friendship when a woman gets involved, not to sound sexist or anything, but we all know it's the cold, hard truth. I guess the other part that made me a little uneasy was the fact that I would probably wind up being the odd one out, and therefore, the one who would be left behind to have to stay and safeguard Rufus.
Now, I'm not saying that watching over Rufus' well-being was all bad. Under usual circumstances, he would simply ignore the fact that I existed and read his books, or get caught up on paperwork while minding his own business. I'm just saying that it wasn't fair, that's all.
Hm…
If only I'd known how wrong I was…
About everything.
Revision 1: Revised on August 17, 2010
