WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?
Reno thought about what Tifa had said about her always wanting to get married in a certain dress. "Elena, what is your dream wedding dress?" Reno asked her, interrupting yet another meeting.
"And we can forget about the intel for our newest mission and simply hear Elena's plans for her dream wedding to me. Keep dreaming" Tseng groused at the interruption. "Go ahead, we're all ears and agog to hear these dress plans. Are doves floating your veil down the aisle like in all other fairytale weddings?" He facetiously asked her.
Elena took a deep breath and her eyes became soft and unfocused "I've always been crazy about dark pink orchids. I want to have them in my hair in place of a veil and the colour added to my white dress and the veil itself. Like ribbon edging the hem and neckline, add a sash and along the veil itself. I want my shoes to match the ribbon and I'll carry a huge bouquet of them" she said in a dreamy voice.
The men were silent for a minute. "That actually sounds beauti..." Rude said.
"Unless we decide to get married in Wutai, in that case I shall have to settle for a custom kimono with them all over it" Elena added.
"That's never going to happen" Tseng retorted.
They returned to the meeting but Reno couldn't concentrate. Did all women have such specific ideas about how they would dress on their wedding days?
He decided to ask other women he knew.
Scarlet looked rather startled when Reno asked her about her fantasy wedding dress, given their causal past and his perpetual bachelor status but told him.
He noticed her face softened as she described it, like how Elena's had. "I want a full ballroom style in virgin white without a hint of other colour. I want it really demure and sexy in a very subtle way. I want a cathedral train with a full cathedral veil, with a blusher in front. I would wear hardly any makeup" she said in a dreamy voice. "As for my groom. Who cares as long as he's rich and powerful. A Turk doesn't cut it for me, especially so well used a one. No offense" she said.
Reno bit back a response about pots calling kettles black, but answered, "none taken." Quite frankly, he would sooner marry a poisonous snake and attempt to cuddle it because he doubted her groom would survive their wedding night anyway.
Yuffie didn't seem to be surprised by the question. "As royalty, I will have to marry wearing a kimono but shall have it made the same crimson colour as my groom's eyes" she said with a sigh.
Then he called a few other women.
Lola almost swooned when he asked her about her choice of wedding dress. "Mi querido, my dearest. I think it a leetle soon, but yes. I marry you" she agreed.
Reno hastily told her he wasn't asking her for that. He was just curious on behalf of a friend.
"You, bastardo. You ask because of a puta! You insult Lola's honour. The next time I see you, I will kill you" Lola raged as she rang off in a flurry of swear words in English, mixed with whatever language she spoke.
The others basically told him they were insulted by being banished from his bed and not interested in discussing so weird a topic and that he was dead to them...until he was back in the field again. Then please give them a call!
Reno looked at the picture he still had in his PHS of Tifa and himself. She got rid of her dress. What would she wear now? He pictured someone else in his place. Imagined him living with her, eating her cooking, him helping her raise her children and giving her more children for them to raise together. Reno felt enraged at the idea and didn't know why.
Of course she was going to find another man, someone as wonderful as her certainly would and Reno would be her...her what? What would he be to her? Would they sit around snickering at what he'd tried to teach her? Would he be invited around once in a while as an old friend and have to witness their happiness and their expanding family until he was merely an aging bachelor mailed a Christmas card once a year? Why did this disturb him so much?
THE CHALLENGE
"Are you feeling okay? You're leaving me with potato salad to take home" Tifa joked as they ate lunch in the park when she decided to surprise him with a picnic lunch.
"Huh? Sorry my mind was elsewhere" he said as he started on his third parmesan chicken breast. "Everything's delicious. Do you have a mailing list for Christmas cards?" He suddenly asked her.
"Well that was random" she said as she smiled at him.
"Forget I asked" he said rolling his eyes.
"You starting to feel under the weather again?" She asked him in concern.
"I'm fine" he assured her.
"Good because I don't like you being ill. I've gotten quite fond of you" she said quirking a smile at him that made his chest feel tight. "Remember that time I had to defend you from that gang because you dropped your rod?" She said with a chuckle.
"You only assisted me. I'm great at hand to hand combat" he insisted, happy at the change of conversation.
"You're not bad but you have to focus and make your movements tighter. You're too loose that you're all over the place and sloppy. You've obviously gotten used to depending upon your weapon" she criticized him.
"I have not, I could kick your can anytime I want to" he challenged at the insult.
"I'm an advanced martial artist and you think you can take me on with your intermediate hand to hand combat training, which you haven't practiced in years? You're dreaming in technical colour" she dismissively said, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I'm a Turk" he snapped.
"That's your answer to everything. You can shake your tail feathers but without skill and rhythm, it doesn't mean anything. You look like a monkey when you fight" she told him.
"Put your money where your mouth is and we'll settle this in the Turks' dojo this Saturday. How much do you want to bet I'll trounce you?" He challenged her.
"I don't bet gils. The loser has to do whatever the winner wants for all of Sunday, excluding anything sexual or any form of slavery" Tifa said. They agreed and shook on it.
KICKING HIS CAN
The Turks were all in attendance when the challengers got ready for their fight.
The males hushed and almost sighed when Tifa stepped out wearing a black and red sport bra and matching mesh ankle crop leggings. Her sneakers were a whimsical glitter red and it looked like she would be transported elsewhere if she clicked the heels together three times. Her hair was bound back in a tight ponytail and she looked ready for business.
She barely noticed them as she put down her water bottle and towel and started stretching. Elena just rolled her eyes at how the boys followed every single one of her body movements.
However, Tifa froze when Reno came out wearing: black shorts, they weren't skin tight but weren't baggy either. They rose to about his mid thighs and showed off his long, lean legs to an advantage. It wasn't his shorts that had everyone's attention but his matching black top might as well have been painted on. "What are you wearing?" She asked him.
"The standard Turks workout outfit" he replied to how her eyes almost popped out of her head when he exited the locker room and he glared at how his colleagues were blatantly eyeing Tifa.
"Yes, but I think his top is a few sizes too small for him and possibly the first one ever issued to him when he first joined up. He was even thinner back then" Elena chimed in.
"It is not! Why are you guys even here?" He snapped.
"Avalanche vs. The Turks training. Who wouldn't want to be witness that?" Tseng said with a shrug.
"Not us" Rude replied on behalf of all of them. "Besides, I have money riding on this" Rude explained to him.
"And I'm here to see her clean your clock" Elena explained.
"Whatever" Reno said to that vote of confidence and set down his own water bottle and towel and started stretching as well with Tifa stealing glances at him. He really had a nice body.
Rufus had agreed to referee it. "Okay this has to be a fair fight, no weapons and no hits below the belt" he said and they were off.
Tifa ducked Reno's round house kick and gut punched him and he quickly recovered and then tried to charge her and she swung out of the way and delivered a blow to his chest. It was like they were doing aerial ballet as they seemed to float in place and charge each other. People frowned at how they seemed to cling together longer than necessary and rub against each other when attempting to pin each other. Reno finally managed to pin her against the well and leaned his entire body weight against Tifa. "I got you. Do you surrender?" He asked her as he held her by the throat.
"Are you through fancy dancing around and ready to fight me for real?" She smirked and head butted him and they followed with a right cross and Reno went down.
"Reno" she screamed and put his head in her lap as she examined him for wounds and instinctively pushed down his shirt where it had rucked up. He wasn't actually hurt, merely unconscious.
He blinked his way back to reality as she cried his name and the others leaned over him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry" Tifa said.
"You got punched out by a girl" Rude snickered.
"I'm fine, Tifa, stop bellowing at me and help me up" he said, his head and jaw ached a little but he felt hungry more than anything.
"Tifa if you would ever like a job with the Turks, please let me know. I might be looking for a new second-in-command. I'm sure you could do a much better job than my present one" Tseng deadpanned. Reno just glared at this while Tifa helped him to his feet and started fussing over him like a mother hen.
"We should go put you to bed" Tifa said to Reno.
"Nah, let's go have some lunch. Wanna get showered and changed and go to the park and hit my favourite food truck?" He asked her.
"You're always hungry. It's amazing you're not fat" she teased him.
"I could never get fat. I have the metabolism of a teenaged boy" he snapped.
"Keep eating the way you do and you'll look like a fat one" she bugged him and went to change.
He was already wearing his street clothes when she returned wearing a floral sundress that he was partial to. It had a boat neck with a profusion of flowers at the top of the bodice and hem and was plain black everywhere else. It seemed to float on her as she moved and flowed just past her knees. The other Turks had gone about their days and they were all alone.
"Why don't you look just lovely. Shall I escort you to lunch" he said, offering her his arm.
"Why thank you. I'll protect you since don't have your rod with you" she said with a flirtatious smile that was actually convincing and his heart lurched in his chest. What would they be when her lessons were at and end and she no longer needed him? He wondered again as she held onto his arm as they walked.
They sat on a picnic table as he ate his bacon double cheese burger and onion rings and she ate her chicken wrap. He noticed she kept looking at him. "You'd better be looking at my eyes because they're my best visible feature and not making sure they're not dilated" he cautioned her.
"I hit you awfully hard" she said, lowering her gaze.
"I've been hit much harder and am tougher than I look, just like you" he reminded her.
"I don't like hurting anyone" she told him.
"And that makes you a nice person" he honestly told her.
"You're a nice person too" she said.
"No, I'm not" he said shaking his head negatively at this.
"Well I like you" she said. "No matter what you've done in the past" she added.
"I like you too" he said. "Tifa why did you give your dress away?" He asked her.
"I always wanted a dress like that when I married Cloud. I couldn't wear it to marry another man. It's time I face reality, he's not coming back and my home is gone and everything I had left of it. I'm a blank slate now and have to reinvent myself. You gave me the courage to do that, you made me brave enough to let him go. You make me feel confident and beautiful when I'm with you" she said, giving him grateful smile.
"Tifa, I..." he said, struggling with words was not something he was used to but being a smartass was. He quickly recovered "I ought to marry you for the good of all mankind and put you out of your misery" he said with a smirk.
"What?" Tifa said.
"I, Reno Sinclair take thee, Tifa Mildred Lockart to be my lawfully wedded wife." He playfully took one of his onion rings and slid it onto her finger. "With this onion ring, I thee wed. With this body I worship thee" he said giving her a vivacious look and comically waggling his eyebrows at her.
Tifa recovered and giggled, "oh I do, I surely do" she declared. "I, Tifa Mildred Lockhart take thee, Reno Sinclair to be my awfully wedded husband" she mockingly said.
"Oh golly gee, shucks, I'm the luckiest fella in the world. I guess I get to kiss my bride" He said and she could only nod, all the levity leaving the situation.
His head lowered and his silken lips tentatively covered hers.
They had kissed before when she was drunk but this was much different as all of her senses came alive. Their mouth met and fused.
Reno was a handsome, sexy and compelling male and everything in her responded to that. She had come to care a lot about him but this was something completely different.
Their kiss was gentle and sweet and almost shy as she cradled the nape of his neck and he stroked her cheek. They shifted so they were closer together and their arms went around each other, she could feel his body warmth through the thin cotton of the shirt he wore and his clean masculine scent tickled her nostrils and titillated her senses. She turned her head on an angle to allow him to deepened their kiss. His hand settled on the small of her back to draw her closer and deep inside of her, desire began to stir and shine. Reno's tongue explored the plush contours of her lip, demanding admittance when a familiar female voice exclaimed "holy fuck!"
They looked sharply up and sprang guiltily apart. Both were blushing as they resumed their meals. "I have to run after this, I have some accounting to do for the bar" Tifa said in a tight voice as she forced her libido under control.
"Yeah, I have laundry to do" he agreed in a strangled voice, glad he didn't have to stand up yet. "So where do I have to take you tomorrow because I lost the match?" He asked her to change the subject.
"Bring your swimsuit, a towel, hairbrush and anything else you would wear for spending the day in a pool and I'll bring all the rest. Oh, and a sweater for later is a good idea. Pick me up at 9am tomorrow" she said, giving him a mysterious smile. They finished their food and parted ways.
LORNA IS MEDDLING AGAIN
Elena was observing them from where the sight of them kissing had led to her outburst, she hadn't been following them, she had just gone for a walk before heading home.
Was it possible? She thought over Reno's behaviour as of late and wondered if he had been in bed with one of his chippies since agreeing to mentor Tifa. She doubted it, whenever he talked it was: "Tifa this and Tifa that". Then there was that almost wistful smile he got on his face when he mentioned her, which was all the time. "Well I'll be damned" she said as she fired up her computer when she got home and fired off a final email to Tifa.
"Dear Tifa,
I haven't heard from you for a while.
I assume you managed to convince Mr. Player to give you some pointers or perhaps a deeper connection is developing between the two of you?
Can I give you some advice about players? They are often men who have been deeply hurt before and are afraid to commit. He even might have come from a dysfunctional family or is perhaps, an orphan and doesn't know how to show love in a normal way and is afraid to.
Deep down inside, a player is normally lonely. He uses his sexual urges to keep women at bay by giving himself to many. A player normally wants to be captured by a special woman who, with loving patience and guidance, shall capture him before he knows it has happened. Don't be demanding of what you want from him, just do something that will cause him to have to admit his real feelings for you.
I hope this helps.
Lorna"
"Don't you say I've never done any favours for you, Asshole. You ought to name your first kid after me, whether it's a boy or a girl" Elena groused when she hit send.
WALLY'S WET AND WILD WORLD. OH LOOK, AN OLD FRIEND...AWKWARD
Reno could only goggle at what was before him, he was topless and wore black swim trunks and sandals after getting changed and putting everything into their rented locker.
Tifa wore a black bikini with a wraparound bikini top that normally drove him wild. There was something about extra straps wrapping toned female stomachs that reminded him of lingerie. She wore sunglasses and was licking a red popsicle that he'd bought her. The way she looked and the way her tongue licked it might have been suggestive if her adopted daughter and son weren't beside them doing the same with their own popsicles.
They were at Wally's Wet and Wild World, a local water park where Wally appeared to be some kind of gopher type creature. Though what a gopher had to do with water escaped Reno.
It was Family Day and the place was wall to wall with children of every age and their doting parents. He felt self-conscious at how other families were smiling at him as if he'd joined some weird cult by having a supposed wife and adorable children with him. He was mystified by what Tifa had insisted they do as a forfeit. He was only glad that no one he knew could see him...
"Hey Reno" a voice shouted in greeting.
He turned around and spotted Rod waving and standing beside a really attractive blonde and what appeared to be their offspring.
"What are you doing here?" He asked him.
"It's Family Day" he said in tone of voice that spoke that Reno should have known this. "Tifa, you're looking lovely. And you two must be Denzel and Marlene. You have to come meet my kids" he ventured. "Jasmine, this is my old work mate that I told you about" he called to the blonde.
Reno froze, Jasmine was the image of an old movie star he'd had as a crush on as a kid: Veronica Lake. She was the embodiment of her, the flowing hair, the long legs, the almost miniscule waist and the ripe curves. Her smile was nothing but friendly and wholesome when she looked at him, she was obviously just a happy wife meeting her husband's friend. Certainly, the toddler on her hip wasn't a fashion accessory.
Reno averted his eyes when he realized he was staring at her. "Nice to meet you" he said.
Rod slapped him on the back. "Don't worry about gawking at my wife, she's used to it. I'm sure your almost wife feels the same with that hot body of hers. It doesn't hurt checking out the menu as long as you don't eat out" Rod said, putting a protective arm around Jasmine.
"I don't mind but only have eyes for my husband. I so adore coming to water parks so I can ogle Rod in his swim trunks and watch other women admire him and know he's coming home with me. How about you Tifa? I'm sure you like checking out the lean hotness that is Reno and knowing he's all yours" Jasmine said in a bell-like voice.
Tifa just blushed.
"Say what now?" Denzel said.
Reno sighed, "come on Rod, you and me have to talk."
"I'll keep Tifa company. Denzel, Marlene, I would like to introduce you to: Sarah, Anthony and our youngest is Peter" Jasmine told them while Tifa didn't know what to say. She's been embarrassed about how she'd acted and put herself and Reno in danger. They had made peace and she'd thought she'd never see anyone she'd met that night again.
