We arrived back at the location of my new housing at about the time the sun went down and part of me feared living in that building with Reno. Which, truly, there was no other word I could think of that would better describe his place besides: 'clusterfuck'. It also didn't help that the redhead seemed very territorial.
Zack didn't bother knocking before he waltzed into the room. Reno was sitting on the floor, what you could see of it, in the living room constructing something out of metal pieces.
"Reno…what the fuck are you doing now?" Zack raised a dark eyebrow and cocked his head slightly.
"I'm playing with interconnect-able pieces just like a kid. Don't bother with me daddy." The Turk lifted his head and winked, flicking the cigarette previously in his mouth into the ashtray at his side.
"You know you look like a girl when you do that. More than you already do, and would you quit calling me 'daddy'? I've got some of my officers thinking weird shit because you keep calling me that!"
"Not my fault they think I'm being kinky." Another flick.
"Well stop it!"
"Sure thing daddy. So this is my new roomie?"
Zack sighed and shook his head. I'm sure he felt like he was talking to a brick wall. And somehow I got the feeling that he, Sephiroth and Reno were actually much closer than they let on.
"Yeah…this is Cloud. He's going to live in your spare room. Please tell me it's not trashed too…"
"Naw, I don't go in there, so it should be clean. Not promising anything though…" Reno glanced up at Zack. "So where's Hot Stuff?"
"I don't know Reno. I figured you, stalking him and all, would know more about where he went than I would. I assume he's with Hojo though." Zack sighed. Both of them looked perplexed that neither knew where the General was. I supposed that it was not something that happened often.
"I'm sure he'll turn up…" Reno finally said, looking over at me. "So…I guess you'd like to bed down then."
"That would be nice…" I responded.
"Oh, snippy one are ya? No wonder Zack seems to like ya. Don't hop him in bed too fast, daddy."
"Reno, hush your face. And quit calling me 'daddy'!"
"Anyways, your name was Cloud you said?" I nodded and he snorted. "Alright Cloud, follow me and watch your step, yo." He didn't have to tell me twice. In that room you had to watch your step.
We walked into the only clean room in the apartment and even then it could have used some work. I suppose either Reno really did have an ulterior motive or he just didn't care.
"Okay you two, I'm gonna go check up on some of the other Soldiers, I'll be back and we can go fetch Seph together. I'm sure he'll be out of Hojo's care by then, assuming that's where he him?' look. "Now Cloud it won't be that bad, you might as well get to know Reno a little bit. Be back later. And Reno?"
"Yes Daddy?"
"Don't skin him alive okay?"
"I'll try not to!"
"Good." He turned and left us alone. Just the two of us in an over cluttered apartment with clear anxiety between us, for whatever reason I am unsure of. He snorted and walked into his kitchen.
"Hey you wanna beer?" He asked raising a single red brow and flicking back the thin tail of hair that normally hung down his back.
"No, I'm good."
"God, you're not one of those 'I'm a loner don't try and talk to me' kinda guys are ya? Because if that's the case we will have a problem, you and I. Because I like to talk damn it and I don't like to drink alone when I have access to a drinking buddy, so waltz your happy ass over here and pretend you like beer."
I was a bit taken back by this demand. Never before had someone so blatantly told me what to do and actually had me listening to them. I felt compelled to watch him with distrust though. He seemed cool enough but that sneer he'd given me before just didn't set well with me.
"So, what's your deal?" He spoke breaking my concentration.
"Pardon?"
"Why are you here? Sorry kid but you look a tad bit too scrawny to be in Soldier. Not to mention the glow in your eyes ain't damn strong enough to convince me. After all I'm pals with the First Class bunch. Ya look like maybe you got outside exposure to Mako but not injected, so spill it."
"Observant aren't you? Your looks are deceptive because I was here thinking you were just a love sick dipshit." I replied politely considering the content of the sentence.
"Oh, this one has spunk does he? Well looks like there hope for you yet angsty-boy. If it makes ya feel better I'll tell ya why I'm here. Not that I care everyone knows anyways., but I'm here to spy on Seph for the Pres. Ya know how them corporate whores can be. Afraid Seph's gonna turn on them or something. Please. Sephy wouldn't know what to do with himself if he left ShinRa, and don't tell him I called him Sephy, he'd fry my ass several times over."
"So you mean Sephiroth knows you're only spying on him?"
"Oh hells no that's not the case! Well…yeah he knows I'm spying on him but he also knows the only reason I took the job was so I had a reason to cling around him. After all who would refuse to continuously prance around Sephiroth? Shit, I nearly gave my left arm for the chance!"
I watched him go on and I cautiously took a sip from the glass he'd handed me. At that moment I was starting to think Reno wasn't that bad, but then again I knew how deceptive formalities could be and I had the distinct impression that he was just being nice to please Zack, which wouldn't surprise me either.
"Okay now bout you?"
"I snuck in, that's all there really is to it. They mistook me for one of the Soldiers, signed my name to the list and here I am."
"That's it?"
"Yep."
"No elaborate and over cliché triumph of the last moment?"
"Nope."
"No last minute ass kicking of the leader and pursuit for your life?"
"Nope."
"Well damn…that's relatively boring. No wonder you look like an amateur." He snorted whirling around and hoisting himself up onto the counter. Zack was right to a degree he did have a bit of a feminine look, in a masculine sort of way…if that makes any sense at all.
"Amateur or not I'm still here aren't I?" I huffed.
"Ohhh pissy! Don't hiss at me now. Relax kid, I'm not gonna bite your head off. I think I'm mature enough to keep you out of my way with menial threats."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, like stay off what I've claimed and you'll be fine. Get it? Got it? Good."
"Sephiroth's not yours you know."
"He will be." Reno said smugly looking at me with a half-cocked grin. He was so incredibly haughty considering he wasn't very much bigger than me, and it was clear that his favorite weapon of choice was an electric rod and that really didn't make for an impressive offensive.
"What makes you so sure?"
"Put it this way kid, when you can make Seph blush like I can then I'll worry about you as competition."
"What if I'm not even interested?" I asked, truly amazed that the redhead was so damn open with the fact that he had a strange obsession with another man, much less the man god of all men.
"Better for me, and I won't haveta drive ya away. And why are you looking at me like that? You got a problem?" He blinked at me and then sat back as if realizing something profound. "Ah I see you're one of them homophobes aren't ya?"
"No…I'm not." I said with less hesitation than I thought I was gonna face.
"Good, I don't like homophobes. They make me antsy. And if it makes ya feel any more comfortable I would chase Seph no matter the gender… if he were a man or woman, or hell…both."
I looked up at him with wide eyes and he clearly eyed my expression with a certain amount of amusement. He smirked and bust out into an enthusiastic laughter that made me realize that he was just joking about that last part, even if it was hard to tell with Reno. I'd never met anyone like him. He was definitely beyond strange and so cocky it was a surprise he wasn't in Soldier himself.
"Man if you could see your face! Listen kid I'll give ya the benefit of the doubt. I'll be civil until you give me a reason not ta be. Now don't go thinking that gets you off the hook for my relentless teasing and occasional drunk babbles but at least I won't have to work extra hard to make you hate me."
"Naw, I think you can achieve that merit without effort." I replied grinning smoothly.
"Good come back there…Cloud was it? Weird name you got there kid. Now I gotta think of a nick name for ya…" He looked like he had to think for a moment then a sighed and shook his head. "Hell I guess I'll go with the obvious. From here on out I deem you 'Spiky'!"
"Do you nick name all or your 'friends'?" I rolled my eyes knowing that there was possibly nothing short of killing him or myself to make him change his mind about what to call me.
"Yeah, but I don't generally use them in public you see. People apparently don't think me calling Seph, 'Hot Stuff' and 'Sex God' is appropriate 'work place behavior'. I s'pose the same could be said about Daddy's nick name."
"Reno?"
"Yeah Spiky?"
"You are very, very strange."
"Why thank ya, I take the compliment. Better to be strange than boring, yo. I'll take abnormality to normalcy any day of the week."
Heavy footsteps sounding on the tile gathered both my attention and Reno's, and we turned to see the source of the sound. It was Zack as I could clearly tell by the black spikes of hair. He looked at the two of us and gave a serious look to Reno.
"What did you do Reno?"
"What?" Reno looked at him innocently.
"You bit him and turned him into a life stream sucking vampire like yourself didn't you?" I suppressed a snort at the dead pan the expression the Soldier wore even as he spoke.
"Certainly I did not. That's not until later when he's sleeping in his room unaware that I am stalking him in the middle of the night preparing to feast on his life blood and turn him into a child of the darkness."
"You need Gaea, son…."
"What, now are you a preacher?"
"Perhaps, now are you gonna sit there and get toasted drunk and leave me all alone in retrieving Sephiroth? I couldn't imagine what he would think if his stalker was not there to greet him! Oh I'm sure he would be devastated."
"Hey, hey, who said I wasn't going?! Up an at'em Spiky. Daddy's gonna take us to go see Hot Stuff!" Reno slid off the counter and I stood up from the stool I'd perched myself on. Feeling a little buzzed and slightly tired I yawned following them out of Reno's wretched apartment.
"Reno, may I ask you a question?" Zack spoke.
"No, but you will anyways."
"You're right I will." Zack rolled his eyes. "Why on hell's earth do you call me 'daddy'? It makes me sound like a pedophile."
"Ah you're just looking at it all wrong!" Reno turned as I left the apartment. He locked the door to his apartment and noticed I was giving him a questioning look. "I only lock it at night. I'll haveta get you a card key."
"Are you done Reno?"
"Yep! Now let's go find Hot Stuff!"
To be Continued…