Disclaimer: makes a farting noise

P.S. Pleeease review. Constructive criticism would be great too! Basically, let me know you read this story. It gives me motivation to write faster. Thanks to Akira Darkness' message alone, I finished this chapter at least three times faster than I normally would have.

P.P.S. On that note, I'm going to be really busy for the nest week or so, and then I'm going to Fanime in CA, so it might be a little longer before I get started on the next chapter. But I'm going with my consultant (a.k.a. my friend who I force to read this fanfic and critique it, even though she hasn't played the game), so hopefully, I'll at least have a plot of some sort laid out before I start.

Chapter 7

This time, Suzanne awoke in the comfort of her own bed. Yet… something seemed funny. Like there was extra weight on her bed. Without looking for the source of the weight, she started feeling around. Her hand finally landed on… something… she couldn't quite tell what it was, so she kept running her fingers over it. Maybe it was a lumpy spot in her blankets?

So soft… Wait… Hard? "I'm confused…" She finally muttered aloud.

"Aren't you sober yet?!"

At the sound of his voice, Suzanne flailed around briefly before tumbling off the side of her bed. She shot up and looked at the man in her bed. Well… he was fully clothed, in the same stuff as the night before… Oh… "Last night…"

Reno sat up, frowning. "Yeah, last night. What're you trying to do, give me some serious blue balls?" She stared at him, the memories slowly coming back to her. They were kind of fuzzy, but they were there… "You wouldn't let me leave! 'Don't go, Reno.' 'I'm scared to be alone, Reno.' 'I just want to be held, Reno.' 'Please stay, I promise I'll stop groping you, Reno.' Fuckin' hell, woman!" He turned to face her. "And then you wake me up by feeling up my crotch? Jeez, I know I'm sexy, but of all people, I thought you'd be able to keep you're mitts off of me."

Her mouth, which had been hanging open when she had begun to remember her behavior, slowly shut as he spoke. "Even though I was pushing myself on you… you didn't do anything…?"

Reno glanced to the side. He looked almost… embarrassed… He lifted his hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Well… no." He scooted closer to the edge of the bed. "I didn't want a repeat of last time you were drunk. I didn't want to you get so upset again…"

It was strange. He almost seemed to be blushing. Unusual for someone like him, she thought. He turned his eyes down to her, as she looked up at him, and for a moment, their gazes entwined. It was brief though. Only seconds later, they both looked away. Suzanne's eyes dropped, and something strange caught her eye. A certain pulling of fabric on the crotch of his pants… Immediately, she recalled the way she woke him up, and a strange look crossed her face. She stood up, cringing and squirming, hopping her way to the bathroom where she promptly, and quite literally, washed her hands of him. She glanced at the clock. 12:30. They'd slept late again... Once she had dried them, she waved her hands around and quietly hopped from foot to foot. "Eeeeewwww…"

Reno watched her leave, walking rather awkwardly, and looked down, remembering his little friend. That must have been why she left. "Whoops." He glanced around briefly, before letting his gaze trail up to the ceiling. "Okay, Reno, get your mind off of sex. Not for you, for her..." He closed his eyes. "Okay... fighting. Yeah, that's good. Fighting. Yeah, there's a monster, I've got my electromag rod out... He attacks! I dodge. We trade blows for a while and... we're getting all sweaty. I trap her in a pyramid, and... she starts struggling to get out... She presses herself up against the barriers and- FUCK! Okay, new approach." He closed his eyes even tighter, and did his best to picture Palmer. In his underwear. In a sexy pose. When his eyes opened, he cringed. "Eeew... I feel dirty..." But at least his problem had been solved.

Since his conversation with Tseng, he had decided to try to be a better person for Suzanne. That meant no more constantly trying to get her into bed with him, no more late night drinking binges, no more slacking off, and much more simple romance. It was going to be hard. Very hard, after nearly 10 years of acting like a total prick to get girls to like him. It always worked in Midgar, where most girls below were looking for some humor, and the girls above all just wanted a good fuck from a confidant guy. It didn't work in any of the real places. It definitely wouldn't work on her.

Reno finally hopped to his feet. Maybe today, he'd take another shot at the 'romantic evening together' angle. But there were two problems. Number one, he had to get Suzanne out of the house for a while so that he could prepare. Since today was her day off, that could be a little tricky… And number two, he had to get someone to watch Sean for the night… Well, best start with the first one. What excuse to use… What would make her leave… 'Suzanne, Cid's house is on fire'? No, he lives down the street, so that wouldn't give him enough time… "I know!"

The Turk casually walked across the hallway and lightly pushed open the bathroom door. He could hear the shower running. One little peak wouldn't hurt, right? The glass was frosted, but he could still make out the vague details of her perfect body. He sighed. "…… SUZANNE!" He couldn't help the slight smile which quirked his lips when she jumped a foot in the air. The blurred figure opened the glass door a few inches, showing just one of her eyes peeking out.

"What the hell?! Stop walking in on me all the time!……. And stop that smirking!!"

Now to make his move.

"Did you hear they're selling gold chocobo eggs in Nibelheim?" There was some distance between them, but at that moment, Reno could have sworn that her pupils grew twice they're size.

To properly display her response, it will have to be written in lolspeak. "OMG LIEK RLY?! I LUV DEM!! 3"

So he had been right to assume she liked chocobos. 'How did he figure that out?' you ask. Well… He remembered the chocobo underwear she had been wearing just yesterday morning. With her personality, he figured she wouldn't wear something like that unless… she loved chocobos.

The shower door promptly shut, the water turned off, and she leaped out wearing only a towel. "Reno, I need to fly to Nibelheim pronto! You think you could watch Sean for the day?"

He smirked. All was going according to plan. Even by plane, it would take her more than three hours to go, find out that he lied, and come back. "Sure, no prob."

Perfect…

"All right, kiddo..." Sean stared up at Reno, a thoughtful and curious stare on his face. "I'm getting you a babysitter for the night, okay? When Suzanne gets back, I need some alone time with her."

"Are you gonna kiss her?"

This caused Reno to pause. He didn't actually have an answer for that. It sort of all depended on how the night went. And even so, would giving the kid the knowledge that there could actually be something between them upset her? Well... The kid was pretty good at keeping his mouth shut. "Yes. But that's a secret, okay? Don't tell anyone. You can't even talk to your sister about it next time you see her, understand?" Sean made a motion of zipping his lips closed. "Right, good kid. Now come on, we gotta go out and pick up some things..."

Suzanne sat in the cramped back seat of the Tiny Bronco, leaning forward a little to see the landscape. They were nearing the mountains now, a sure sign that they were almost there. Cid sat in the front, doing what he loved most. Flying. But today, his brow was furrowed in concentration. The plane wasn't exactly at 100 yet, and as they went, he kept making mental notes to himself. Things he had to fix, things that needed adjustments... "Why the fuck are we heading to Nibelheim again?!"

Suzanne grinned. "Gold chocobo eggs!" She shouted the words above the noise of the little plane. "I heard they were selling them!"

Cid sighed. "I did need to take her out for a test flight, but that sounds pretty fuckin' fishy, if you ask me! Did you get the tip from that Turk?!"

A strange question. Did it really matter? He knew how much she wanted a gold chocobo, and that she would work off of any hearsay she was given. "Yeah, why?!"

"Shit... I thought you said that no one knows what kind of chocobo it'll be until after it hatches! What if it turns out to be a regular one?!" There was a long silence in the cockpit, the only sound coming from the noisy propellers keeping the plane in the air.

"That sonova bitch..." In her excitement at the prospect of getting a gold chocobo of her very own, it seems she'd forgotten all the information she'd learned about the birds. Namely, the fact that Cid just reminded her of.

"What?!"

"I SAID!! THAT SONOVA BITCH!!"

"Oh! So we're okay to turn back?!"

Suzanne sighed. Reno had ruined her hopes and dreams... jerk. "Yeah...! There's no real point in going the rest of the way, unless you need to refuel!"

"No, we're good!"

'Good', she thought to herself, 'because there's an ass back home that needs kicking...'

"Do a HAFTA go?"

Reno looked down at the huge watery brown eyes, similar to those of Suzanne's, but differently colored. "For the thousandth time, yes. You do. Do you know the meaning of 'alone time'?" Sean looked genuinely disappointed.

They had spent the past hour or so out shopping together. He supposed that maybe the kid saw him a bit as a big brother. Which was weird, considering his own interest in the boys sister, but it was understandable. How long had Suzanne said it had been since his father died? Three years? Sean had probably forgotten what it was like to have an older man in the house. Maybe he took comfort in the feeling of having a role model. It almost broke Reno's heart. 'I'm not the guy you should look up to' he wanted to tell him, 'Look up to the pilot, look up to the president, anyone but me...'

A knock on the door broke his concentration. Before he had the chance to open it, two Turks, Elena and Rude, let themselves in. "We're here. Where's the kid?" It only took a second before Elena saw him. "Aww, he's cute! Come on, kiddo, we'll be your babysitters for the night."

An almost worried look appeared on Sean's face, and he clutched Reno's hand. The redhead looked down curiously to the child, seeking comfort in him. Strange. "Elena, stop grinning like that. You're scaring him." He knelt down beside the little boy. "They're nice, I promise. Why don't you go introduce yourself?"

"Why do I have to leave?"

"Cause you're being a cock blocker." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew what would come next.

"What's a cock blocker?"

Reno sighed. He hadn't exactly thought ahead on that one. "Damn it..." He covered his mouth. So swearing as a response wasn't a good idea either. "Shit! I mean... Shoot!" Another deep sigh left his lungs, and he pointed at the others. "Just... go over there..."

Sean reluctantly left Reno's side to greet the strangers. "He-hello." He mumbled quietly. Elena smiled down at him, this time, with less enthusiasm, trying not to scare him away again.

"Hi there! You ready to go?" Sean shook his head, staring down at the floor. The blond Turk crossed her arms in thought. "Hmm..." Rude, who had been lurking near the door, finally stepped forward.

"I'll show you three different ways to break a man's neck." Sean's eyes lit up at this. Not quite from excitement, from... curiosity. He wandered over and took Rude's hand, leaving Elena to glower at them from a distance.

Bitterly, she muttered "We'll see you tomorrow... Good luck." The trio wandered out through the front door leaving Reno alone in the house with nothing to do but wait for Suzanne's return.

It turned out that he didn't have to wait for long. After a mere half hour, he heard some angry mumbling outside. Well... he wasn't sure if it could be considered mumbling if it was loud enough for him to hear... She finally slammed the door open, frustration and rage clearly showing in her eyes. Reno decided it would be best to diffuse the situation as soon as possible. "Heeeyyy!! You're home!" He said cheerfully. She opened her mouth to speak, and he quickly cut in, looking at a wristwatch that wasn't there. "Would you look at the time? It's past four o'clock! Only a few more hours before we should have dinner!" This time, there was an incredulous look on her face as she got ready to talk again. "You know what? Why don't you sit down? You're probably tired, by the looks of it, and a little disappointed since you didn't get that egg you wanted." He took her arm and led her to the couch, sitting her down. "You just sit here and relax, and I'll go take a shower, m'kay?" He was beginning to realize that maybe he should have waited until later in the day to send her off so he didn't have to stall until a decent time... 'Oh well. We can't all be perfect.'

"RENO." He slowly turned to look at her before he'd even taken a step up the stairs. All at once, he was pushed up against the wall, her forearm pressing against his neck.

"Wow." He coughed. "You're a lot faster than you look."

"Only when I'm upset." The anger was still burning in her eyes. "Now you listen to me... If you ever lie to me again, I'm going to beat you within an inch of- WHERE'S SEAN?"

Reno managed to pry her away from him. "Back! Back, you beast!" He laughed a little, though she didn't seem to find anything funny about it. "I got him a babysitter for the night, okay? Now leave me to my shower, and when I finish, I need to take you somewhere, alright?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "Am I going to regret it?"

"Hopefully not." He smirked and she frowned skeptically.

"...Fine." She walked past him up the stairs. "No peeking in while I'm changing, understand?"

He stood straight and saluted her. "Aye aye, my lady!" She stared at him for a moment, as if to say 'I'm watching you...' before finishing her trek to her room.

Suzanne sat downstairs in some comfortable, but nice looking clothes. The kind of thing you might wear to lunch with a friend you haven't seen in years. It wasn't often that it was the girl waiting for the guy to finish getting ready for a date. "Date..." Was this a date? It had never really been specified. She supposed she should assume it was, what with Sean being sent out with a babysitter, and Reno somewhat obviously stalling until it got dark. She leaned back and sighed, resting her arms over her eyes. How had she gotten here? She remembered being pissed off, since he lied to her, and all of the sudden, they were going on a date? She supposed she'd never understand...

Her concentration was finally broken when she heard the thump of Reno's footsteps going down the stairs. She glanced over. The boy was fond of his neutral colored buttoned shirts, wasn't he... This time it was grey, and he was wearing jeans, for an interesting change... But his work shoes remained. He was used to them, she supposed. She stood. "It's about time... It's already dark outside, how long were you planning to take?"

In all actuality, Reno had hoped to stall just a bit longer, but he supposed this would do. Disregarding her question, he gripped her hand. "Let's go." He smiled down at her in a way that made her blush. 'It's just that it's different from his cocky smirk' she told herself, 'that's all.'

The redhead led her through town, down the main street, all the way until they hit field. Even then, he kept leading her along. After no more than five minutes of walking, they were at the old rocket. She looked up at it. No matter how many times she saw it, it always amazed her. The first, and only ship every built to fly among the stars, and it would never have the chance to. "Shinra 26..." She mumbled. Reno glanced back at her.

"Huh?"

"Nothing... Are we there yet?"

"Almost." Reno grinned as he led her just around the back of the rocket, where he'd left a blanket, a bottle of champagne, and a lantern. "Here we are." He knelt down to light the lantern before helping her to the ground.

"More alcohol?" She asked. It seemed like whenever they were together and drinking was involved it led to some... well... undesirable behavior. On her part, anyway. He laughed it off, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Don't worry. I won't let you drink too much." He let some more wick out in the lantern, letting it grow brighter. "Besides, it's only champagne, right?" He handed her a glass.

Suzanne took the glass gingerly, holding it by its delicate stem. "I guess so..." So his aim was not to get her drunk tonight. Maybe for once, he just wanted to spend time with her, you know, actually get to know her before jumping her like a horny high school boy. He didn't seem to be preparing for an attack, she decided as he poured her a glass of the chilled liquid. He was really doing quite well.

Little did she know that Reno definitely wanted to jump her like a horny high school boy. And if he knew she wasn't going to put up a fight, he'd probably do just that. If he had his way, they would have gone to the bar, had fun there, gone back home and jumped into bed for some hot, steamy lovemaking. Unfortunately, he'd already tried that, and it hadn't exactly ended well. "So..." he began, once they had settled in. "How was your flight?"

She slowly turned and glared. "Are you asking me to splash this in your face...?" He just shrugged and chuckled. Idiot. Despite that fleeting thought, she could feel her frown turn into a slight smile. She supposed even she wasn't completely immune to his boyish charm. "It was great. I haven't flown in a long time. So who's watching Sean anyway?"

A beat. "Some friends." ((A/N: Cut to Rude demonstrating headlocks on Elena, Sean grinning wildly.)) He looked up at the rocket, taking a sip of his drink. "So what happened with good ol' Shinra 26, anyway? Just a failed experiment?"

Suzanne's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You didn't hear?" The blank stare he gave her answered her question. They covered it up a little in the news, but she thought someone with a high ranking like Reno would have at least heard a little. "Shera, the woman who lives with Cid, was down with the oxygen tanks when it was supposed to launch. She would have died if Cid hadn't aborted the launch. I remember that day... everyone was devastated..." She looked at the rocket thoughtfully for a moment before quickly turning to face him again. "But I assure you, it would have flown. I know it. And maybe... Maybe once Shinra starts up the Space Program again it will fly someday..."

Reno sighed. "Yeah, more like 'if' Shinra starts up the Space Program again..." She gave him a sharp look.

"What?"

"Nothing." Probably best not to go there... "So, are you happy? Doing what you're doing?" Yeah. Speedy change of subject. Smooth move...

She cocked her head. He had to know by this point that she wasn't exactly stupid... She heard what she heard, but she'd just attribute it to his big mouth and leave it be. He was trying hard to make this a nice night for them. She at least owed him a good attitude. "You mean working under Cid?" Great... He probably just twisted that into something dirty in his head... "It's alright. He and I are friends, so it's not really a big pain or anything, but a job's a job, you know?" She looked over at him. A smirk was stretched across his face, and she sighed. "What about you? Do you like being a Turk? Do you like kidnapping and beating people?"

Ha ha... "Working under Cid"... After having sat there for a moment, grinning as he tried to come up with a good response, he realized she'd asked him a question. "Um... yes." There was another long pause. They stared at each other, one not quite sure what he had just said wrong, the other just a little more turned off by his personality. Finally, Reno broke the silence with a snort from the laughter he tried to stifle. The noise made Suzanne break into laughter herself, and the atmosphere generally eased up between the two.

four hours later...

Suzanne and Reno lay next to each other on the blanket. The bottle of champagne, half empty, sat discarded in the bucket as they both stared up at the stars. "What do you think it's like up there?" She finally asked. Reno turned his head a bit to look at her. She was stretched out with her hands folded across her stomach, her eyes turned to the sky. He smiled.

"It's probably a lot quieter." There was another short silence, before he rolled onto his side to face her. "You know, I could probably talk to the president. Try to get him interested in the Space Program again." Suzanne rolled to look at him as well.

"You'd do that? It'd mean so much to everyone..." Reno studied the earnest smile on her face as he sidled closer.

"Weeeell... I'll think about it..." He raised a finger to his lips as though he were thinking. "I'll tell you what. I'll think about it- IF. You agree to go out with me." A smug look crossed her face, but before she could say anything, Reno cut in. "Tonight doesn't count." She pouted and rolled to her back again, closing her eyes.

"I can't date you... What if my knight on a shining chocobo shows up, sees you, and goes home?" Reno scooted closer still, until he was right up next to her. She opened one eye and stared at him grudgingly.

"If he's your knight on a shining chocobo, he's not gonna give you up so easily." He leaned over her and reached one hand up to stroke her cheek. "I know I wouldn't." He let the words sink in for a moment and grinned when he saw her blush. The Turk tilted her head back slightly, and slowly brought his lips to hers. The kiss only lasted a second before she giggled.

"Your hair's tickling my face!" He sat up, feeling a little dejected, and ran a hand through his hair. "What's your natural hair color, anyway?" He briefly stopped adjusting his sunglasses and smirked.

"What do you mean? This is natural." Suzanne's head dropped to the side a little.

"Right, sure... seriously, what is it?" He frowned this time.

"I'm not telling you." Her mouth hung open angrily. "You'll just have to find out for yourself. Now come 'ere." He pulled her closer, his hair now out of his face a bit, and kissed her again. She was surprised briefly with how quickly he had his lips on hers, but soon fell into the rhythm of it all.

So maybe he wasn't her knight on a shining chocobo... But she couldn't deny the fact that at this moment, there was no one she'd rather be with.

A/N: Sorry that certain parts of the format keep changing... IT'S NOT MY FAULT!! Okay, it IS my fault... I'm just forgetful. Anyway, I drew a happy little doodle that's sort of a

PREVIEW FOR ONCOMING PLOT. Yeah. See what I did there? I made it so people will notice that this isn't just me going "Hmm... yeah... this is a webpage... and there's some words on it." This Author's Note actually has something in it. There's a linky below:

http : / / uberwekkness . deviantart . com / art / At-the-party-85687269

Just use that, minus the spaces. This will probably come up in the next few chapters. I'm not completely sure on all the details of it, but it'll end up being the first of two plot points in the story (since thus far, it's basically been "SEX PLZ!!" "Noooo thank you!!" forever.) SO BE EXCITED!! YAAAAY!