Summary: Reno will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Cloud finds this out the hard way. A prequel of sorts to 'Snapshots.'
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII characters belong to SquareSoft, now known as SquareEnix… I think. Whatever the case, I don't own them.
Tactics
A Final Fantasy VII Fanfiction by ntc
Mission objective: Cohabitation with Cloud
"Get out of here, you treacherous, backstabbing, scum-sucking, charcoal-hearted, lily-livered deserter! And take your bag of cheap apples with you."
Rude was impervious to the glare of doom that was directed at him from the redhead currently lying in a miserable, crumpled heap on the bed. The bald Turk wordlessly drew a chair closer to the bedside and proceeded to peel one of the said cheap apples with his boot knife. "A good morning to you too. What are you so upset about?"
"You weak-willed sorry excuse for a Turk! Where were you when— ow ow ow ow!" Reno whimpered in pain when his attempts at screaming at his traitor of a partner only aggravated the wounds on his swollen, split lips.
"Sharing your fate would have served no purpose." Rude began placing slices of peeled apple on a ceramic plate on the bedside table. "Besides, you wouldn't be able to receive such prompt medical attention if it weren't for me." He pushed the plate towards Reno. "Eat up. This is supposed to be good for your health. It's guilty of having those things called vitamins and fibre."
Reno ignored the peace offering. "I wouldn't need prompt medical attention if you had demonstrated some loyalty to your own partner instead of letting yourself be swayed so easily by a pair of boobs!"
Rude gave him an unrepentant smirk. "You're just jealous coz you don't have any."
Before Reno could pick up the plate of apple slices and hurl it at him, Rude deftly snatched it out of his partner's reach. Deprived of his projectile weapon, Reno resorted to glaring at him once again.
Rude sighed and ran a hand over his shaved head. "What this latest fiasco has clearly shown us is that Strife hates your guts and is not above using his deadly allies to keep you at bay. Why can't you just accept that you've lost and give up?"
Reno flashed him a confident and, at the same time, highly unnerving smile. The last time Rude saw Reno smile like that, the redhead was about to string some poor, hapless sucker up by the thumbs above a roasting fire. "What makes you think I've lost?"
As Rude gazed into the wild light blazing in the redhead's eyes, he found himself pitying a certain blond who wouldn't know what hit him until it was too late. "What have you done, Reno?" Rude's tone was apprehensive. He still hadn't forgotten Rufus's decision to make him completely liable for every blunder or insane crime committed by his partner.
"Heh, do you think I wouldn't have a contingency plan in place?" Reno crowed triumphantly. "My kidnapping attempt was all a ploy to draw Cloud out of that house, and he predictably fell for it."
Rude let out a skeptical snort. "I suppose getting kicked in the balls was part of the plan as well?"
Reno's fierce scowl didn't quite succeed in concealing his flinch at the painful memory. "Curse that blasted, busty man-woman to an eternity of spinsterhood! If I find out one day that I'm shooting blanks, there will be some serious reckoning to pay," Reno swore fervently. "So maybe I wasn't expecting her to accompany him; but that only worked out in my favour in the end."
Rude pondered over his partner's words. "You wanted them to leave their residence and come after you, which means…" There was too little time to set up comprehensive spying equipment, but more than enough time for… larceny. His thoughtful gaze took in Reno's exaggerated look of innocence. "You were after something inside Seventh Heaven, weren't you?"
The smug grin on Reno's face was an answer all by itself.
"What were you after?"
'Shall we find out?' was Reno's cryptic reply before he whipped out his cell phone and punched in a number. Rude's raised his eyebrows in surprise when he found out the identity of his partner's accomplice.
"Yo, Ninja-girl. I presume the mission was a success?"
xXxXx
It's… gone?
It's gone.
IT'S GONE!!!
With the mantra of 'don't panic don't panic don't panic' replaying in his mind like a broken record, Cloud began his frantic search for his most treasured possession. Perhaps he had hidden it so well that he couldn't even remember where he hid it? He systematically turned everything in his room inside out. Mattresses were lifted and flung aside; beds and tables were overturned; cupboard doors were close to getting ripped off at the hinges; clothing, pillows and blankets were scattered all over the room. Cloud was even half-tempted to use his sword and start hacking into the mattresses and pillows. Thankfully, he was held back by a saner, calmer voice of reason inside him which pointed out that there was no possible way that he could have hidden the box in those places without remembering having done so. Besides, he was never any good with needle and thread.
Tifa was understandably bewildered and upset when she stepped into the disaster area that had once been her guest room. "Cloud?" She didn't even need to voice out her question of 'What in the name of all that is holy are you doing?' It was already evident from her mildly reproachful tone.
Cloud threw her an apologetic glance. "Sorry, er, for the mess. I was… looking for something." At that moment, Cloud arrived at the logical conclusion that if what he sought was no longer in his room, it must mean that someone else had taken it out of his room. "Have you by any chance seen a metal box around? Four by six inches in size. Grey in colour."
"No…"
"Then have you seen anyone enter my room recently?" His frazzled state of mind made it difficult for him to keep his voice calm. "Denzel? The other kids? Have you seen them touch any of my belongings?"
"No, and no." Tifa was watching him closely, and Cloud knew that he was not fooling her one bit with his mask of placidity. "What's wrong, Cloud? What have you lost that is so…?"
"Nothing important," Cloud interrupted quickly, not wanting to delve into the subject with her. Not when he knew that Tifa would only get her feelings hurt if she found out.
Tifa gave him an incredulous look. "You're telling me that you're freaking out over 'nothing important'?"
Cloud racked his brains for a plausible lie. "It's just some stuff my mom had sent me when I was younger— lucky charms, old letters, that sort of thing. They have senti… what d'you call it… " Damn it, he couldn't lie even if his life depended on it. He just hoped that Tifa wouldn't (correctly) deduce that his obviously flustered state was the result of guilt.
"Sentimental value?"
"Yes! That's the word I'm looking for." Cloud's voice was slightly too loud and his smile slightly too forced to be convincing. "I apologize if I've come across as a complete nutcase just now. You know me, Tifa. I tend to overreact sometimes."
"Cloud, in all the time I've known you, you've been under-reacting to things. Never overreacting."
This was one of those rare instances when Cloud wanted to curse his childhood friend for knowing him too well. He was relieved when the phone rang and he immediately jumped at the chance to break up their conversation. "I'll answer that."
He carefully avoided Tifa's eyes as he walked out of the room to pick up the handset. His relief, however, dissipated when he heard the voice of the caller.
"Hiya, Cloud," came the lazy, familiar drawl through the receiver. "Missing something?"
Utter dread hit Cloud like a punch in the gut. "What do you want, Reno?" rasped Cloud through a suddenly dry throat, the tone of defeat in his voice.
If it was possible for smirks to be transmitted through telephone lines, Cloud was positive that he would have been blasted with a massive one at that moment. "Whatcha doing this Friday night?"
xXxXx
After one whole hour of watching Reno patting himself on the back and doing his shameless victory dance, Rude decided that it was time to leave. In a final, desperate attempt to instill some sense of self-preservation into his reckless partner, Rude had dropped numerous warnings and drawn out numerous scenarios of how the volatile situation could blow up in their faces, but Reno had only laughed at his fears.
After a very frustrated Rude left his apartment, Reno took some quiet time to fully savour his victory. He may have lost the battle last time, but he sure as hell had won the war. The moment Cloud had caved in to his demands, Reno knew that he had the blond by the metaphorical balls. 'Leverage is such a wondrous thing,' thought Reno with great satisfaction as his eyes settled on the object that the Wutaian girl had delivered to him. It had cost him all of Cloud's Materia and quite a few of his own (that avaricious ninja was a master at applying leverage to her maximum advantage), but Reno had no regrets.
Curiosity gnawed at him like a thousand cats as he studied the unimpressive-looking box on his table. His hands twitched with the immense effort it took not to break the tiny lock on the box and bring to light whatever little secrets Cloud had kept hidden inside. Who knew what useful stuff he could unearth? Some blackmail material maybe? Such as evidence of Cloud being a closet cross-dresser…? Reno wrinkled his brow in mild puzzlement. Now where did that particular thought come from?
Mmm…. Cloud in a dress. Complete with laced…
Shaking off the distracting mental images in his mind, Reno determinedly pulled his mind out of the gutter and focused it on his current dilemma. He had given his word that he would keep the contents of the box unmolested, as part of his agreement with Cloud.
As Reno studied the box some more (all the while cursing his lack of X-ray vision), the Turk began to wonder what the hell had possessed him to agree to Cloud's terms in the first place. Cloud was in no position to bargain with him.
Besides, it wasn't as if Cloud expected a Turk to keep his word, right?
Right?
'I trust you to keep your word, Reno. Despite what my common sense tells me, I want to believe you when you say that you will return that box to me unopened.'
Damn.
xXxXx
"You agreed to a date with Reno?" Tifa cried out in shock and disbelief.
"No, I agreed to let him ride on my motorbike without tossing him onto incoming traffic; eat in a restaurant at the same table as him without stabbing his eyes out with a fork; accompany him to a bar without poisoning his drinks. That's all."
"That is a date!" argued the brunette. "How did he manage to coerce you into this?"
"He… I… er… I feel a little bad for what happened," muttered Cloud, fixing his gaze on the countertop so that his eyes would not betray him. "He's so pitiable that saying 'no' to him is like kicking a starved puppy. And who knows? Maybe if I actually agree to something as preposterous as spending some time with him without attempting to kill him, he might lose interest and find someone else to amuse himself with. Maybe if he finally get what he wants, he'd leave me alone."
"What do you think he wants, Cloud?" For a long time, she had her suspicions; but it was only recently that she had her suspicions confirmed when Denzel revealed the redhead's true motivations to her. They had both agreed to keep it a secret from Cloud, mainly because they were afraid that the truth would spook the blond warrior so badly that he would flee Kalm and forever disappear from their lives.
Cloud frowned. "I just told you what he wanted."
"Are you so naïve as to think…?" Tifa stared at him as if she hadn't seen his species before. "You're a guy! Shouldn't you understand the male libido more than me?"
"I don't see what my understanding of libido has anything to do with Turks or their motives."
Tifa merely looked at him with an expression of fond exasperation and sighed. She approached Cloud and pulled him off the barstool he was sitting on.
"Tifa?" Cloud sounded perplexed as she spun him around. "What are you doing?"
"Damage control," answered the martial artist. "You're not bringing your Ultima Weapon to the date, I gather? So I'm going to teach you a few moves that you could use to defend yourself." In demonstration, she wrapped her arm around Cloud's neck in a headlock. "For example, if you angle your elbow like so, you could cut off the blood supply to his brain and render him unconscious momentarily."
She released Cloud and got into a ready stance for her next move. Once Cloud had turned around to face her, she lashed out one leg in a swift and upward kick up to groin height. Even though Tifa had deliberately missed, Cloud still couldn't stop himself from wincing in imaginary pain. "And this popular move is highly effective when it comes to…. Is something wrong, Cloud?"
Cloud was shaking his head in vehement protest. "There's a universal unwritten pact which dictates that guys don't kick other guys in the junk. It's just not done. It's too… dishonourable."
Tifa scoffed, "To hell with honour!"
If Zangan, Tifa's martial arts sensei, had been dead and buried, he would have turned in his grave; for the old man had repeatedly, almost obsessively, drummed the importance of the warrior's code of honour into the skulls of all his disciples. As Zangan was not dead yet, he ended up doing a full somersault and a half body twist in his sleep, causing him to fall out of bed and crack his coccyx on the floor.
Heedless of her sensei's howl of agony in a distant corner of old Midgar, Tifa continued, "We're talking about defending your honour— your chastity— here!"
Cloud grimaced. Something about the whole discussion felt inherently wrong to him. Normally, shouldn't it be the male worrying over the female's chastity and not the other way round? "You're overreacting, Tifa. Although Reno is a decadent Turk without a smidgen of decency in his bones, that doesn't mean my chastity is in danger. He acts like a shameless flirt most of the time, but he has never hit on members of the same sex before."
Except you. "Cloud, I fear for you. I really do."
"I appreciate your concern, but there really isn't anything to worry about." Cloud gently flicked Tifa's forehead with his index finger. "Besides, I could break Reno's backbone in several places barehanded if he tries anything funny. So stop worrying about me, okay?"
It would appear that there was little point in arguing with Cloud when he was in one of his stubborn moods. Tifa decided to keep her misgivings to herself for the time being. "Okay, but bring along my pepper spray just in case."
xXxXx
When the evening of the 'date' came, Tifa still harboured huge misgivings about Cloud's safety. However, she also knew that she couldn't push the issue further without seriously damaging Cloud's fragile ego, so she had kept quiet. She bade Cloud farewell and watched his motorcycle turn a corner and disappear from view.
It wasn't long after Cloud left that Denzel appeared at the doorstep of Seventh Heaven, looking so winded that Tifa wondered if he had sprinted the entire distance from his school without stopping. Most probably that was exactly what had happened. 'Where's Cloud?' was the first question out of the panting boy's mouth upon seeing her.
"He has left to find Reno. You just missed him."
"You let him go?" Denzel exclaimed, dropping his book bag in alarm. "To meet that perv? Alone? Gods, woman, what were you thinking?!"
Tifa's lips pressed into a thin line, evidently not appreciating the way the street urchin had addressed her. "Do you think I haven't tried my best to dissuade him? I don't know why, but Cloud is adamant that he sees Reno tonight. What else do you expect me to do? I can't exactly lock him up in his room and throw away the key. That would've been totally pointless anyway, since he could have easily smashed the door down or jumped out the window to get out."
"The least you could have done was accompany him!" Denzel started tugging on tufts of his curly hair in distress. "I can't believe you would knowingly put Cloud in danger like that!"
"Will you calm down?" said Tifa in what she hoped was her most soothing voice. "You're giving Cloud too little credit here. He's more than capable of taking care of himself."
"Do you really believe that?" When Tifa opened her mouth to reply, the boy interrupted, "Look me in the eye when you answer me."
They spent one silent minute trying to stare each other down before Tifa averted her gaze in defeat.
"Thought so." Denzel knelt down and dug inside his bag for his wallet. "I'm going after Cloud. Do you know where he's headed?"
"He would be stopping by Reno's place first…" Tifa found Denzel's fierce determination both endearing and contagious. Tifa walked over to the boy and patted his shoulder in encouragement. "Come on, let's go together. Cloud needs us."
Both woman and boy exchanged an understanding smile before marching towards the main door… Only to collide against solid wood when the door refused to budge open.
Rubbing her bruised nose, Tifa blinked at the tightly shut door in confusion. "What the…?"
No amount of tugging and pushing could get the main door to open; or the backdoor; or all the windows downstairs and upstairs.
They were trapped.
xXxXx
"The tigress and the rat have been contained. I repeat: the tigress and the rat have been contained."
"Acknowledged." Reno was in such a pleasant mood after hearing the good news that he even added, "Good job, delta-two."
The wide smile stayed on Reno's face long after he had hung up his cell phone. It was in such an expression that Cloud found him when the unarmed swordsman arrived at his apartment.
"What the hell's with that creepy smile?" growled Cloud, using gruff behaviour to conceal his uneasiness. A happy Reno was never a good thing— for everyone else concerned.
"You're early." Reno slipped on his jacket and deliberately invaded the blond's personal space as he squeezed past the doorway. "Can't wait to spend quality time with me, eh?" Reno dipped his head so that their noses were nearly touching.
Refusing to allow the Turk to intimidate him, Cloud resisted the urge to move away. Affecting nonchalance, he snorted, "The sooner we start, the sooner we can finish. Let's get this unpleasant business over and done with."
The turmoil of emotions that flickered across Reno's face was too complex for Cloud to decipher them all, but he could definitely sense a strong undercurrent of rage. What the hell? Reno was angry with him? What right did the redhead have to be angry with him?
"Don't you worry, Cloud," said Reno huskily. "It all ends tonight. One way or another."
For some reason, the Turk's words gave Cloud very little comfort.
(To be continued)
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A/N: I apologize for the slow update and the relatively short chapter. I had been distracted by another idea for a fic recently and I had to finish writing that one first before I could concentrate on this one.
I want to thank those of you who had so kindly left reviews to brighten my day. One thing that struck me as I was reading through the reviews was that I have some very perceptive readers following this story. I try to aim for subtlety in my storytelling, so I get oddly excited and pleased when there are people who could pick up the hints and correctly guess what's happening and what is yet to come. And no, I would not identify which reviewer(s) had gotten it right, as doing so would totally ruin what little suspense this fic has :P