This is a longer chapter than the rest. I just couldn't make a 'simple' fluff story. It's still cute though. And the next chapter is good, if I do say to myself. Which I do. Reno and bugs just don't mix well...
I don't own FF VII or any of her characters. I'm just using them for my own, non-monetary purposes.
He was almost back at Yuffie's house when his cell phone rang. It was her number, and he answered it just as the house came into view with her and Renji sitting on the porch stairs.
"Reno, where are you? We're ready to leave and you said you'd come!"
"Look to your right, sex-kitten."
"Wha...you idiot why didn't you just yell and wave?"
"For the same reason I'm talking to you on a phone when your three feet in front of me." He laughed as Yuffie hung up on him. She was glaring at him, but he just smirked at her. She smiled back eventually. Renji, meanwhile, ran up and hugged his leg until Reno picked the boy up. "Sorry I'm a little late, buddy. Had to do a couple things this morning before we left."
"It's okay. Mommy just got done helping me tie my shoes." Renji was happily hugging Reno's neck, snuggling against his father like a cat. "Can we go, now?"
"Yeah. Hey, you want to go for a ride later, Renji?"
"A ride?" Renji left off snuggling to stare at him in wonder. "IN A 'COPTER?"
"Shhh! It's still early, Renji. People might be sleeping." Yuffie gently repremanded.
"Yeah, in a 'copter." Reno grinned when Yuffie once again glared at him. He rolled his eyes at her. "Helicopter. Looks like you and me have the Pronunciatoin Police on our tails, buddy." Renji giggled, his eyes still wide at the prospect of a helicopter ride.
"Can I get a ride, Daddy? Please?"
"Yeah. Your mom said it was okay, so we'll go. I just have to make sure everything is safe before we take off."
"Safe?"
"You know, make sure there's fuel, that the little dials work, the rotors are attatched...make sure it works right. It was a looooooooooooooooong flight from Midgar, so I need to make sure it's safe for us."
"Oh, okay. Mommy, will you come with us?" Yuffie made a slightly desperate face at the prospect of riding in a moving vehicle. "You said Daddy's a good pilot. Please?"
"Yeah, come on, Mommy!" Reno chimed in, mimicing Renji perfectly.
"I think you should go with just Daddy. Don't you want to spend time with him?"
"Yes. But I want to spend time with you too, Mommy."
"I'll have a special dinner ready for you when you come back from flying, with sundaes for dessert. How about that?" Renji considered for a moment before nodding his head. He then proceeded to tell Reno about all the buildings they were passing as they walked and the people who lived in them. He had extensive knowledge on who owned what cat or dog in the neighborhood.
Renji was now walking between Yuffie and Reno, each hand holding one of his parents'. They became disengaged a time or two as Renji waved to the few people that were out and about in the morning. One was an old woman, sweeping her porch. A grey furred dog sat at the bottom of the steps. The dog got up and slowly padded his way over to the street, waiting for them to reach him.
"That's Mrs. Yu. And the dog is Bartie. Hi Bartie!" Renji let go of both their hands to run up to the dog who was wagging his grey tail like a puppy. "Hi Mrs. Yu!" The old woman set aside her broom and walked up to them at the same slow pace as Bartie had. Renji was happily rubbing the big dog's ears and neck. It was a funny site, seeing as the dog was half a foot taller than Renji was.
"Well, who's this strapping young lad petting my dog?"
"It's me, Renji!"
"Renji! My word, you've grown at least three feet since yesterday then!" Renji giggled and recieved a slobbery kiss from Bartie at the same time. The woman looked up from Renji, nodding pleasantly at Yuffie before looking at Reno. "And who might you be? Reno, if that hair is any indication. Welcome to Wutai, finally."
"Thanks." He was just a bit perturbed by this woman. She had no hostility toward him, yet Reno did not want to be around when this woman got angry.
"Daddy's going to the mountains with us to catch butterflies! And then he's taking me for a ride in his big 'copter!"
"Is he now? You be sure and have fun then!" Renji nodded enthusiastically. "Do come by for tea sometime soon, all of you. Bartie gets so lonely without you, Renji, and I'd like some company."
"Okay!" Renji gave the big dog one last pat on the head before going back to his parents, taking each of their hands once again. "We'll come back soon! Bye!" Mrs. Yu waved them off, returning to her broom while Bartie watched their departure. They were outside the city before too long, walking down a well worn path that was patrolled by guards on Chocobos. Renji was estatic to see the large yellow birds go by, but he was careful to stay out of their way. Renji had told him to be careful on the paths, because 'getting run over by a big bird was bad'.
What Renji considered 'mountains' were large hills in a huge expanse of grassland covered in flowers. They were still glistening with morning dew for the most part. They had entered through a small gate that was surrounded by fences.
"I didn't know there was a park, here. When did they make it?"
"About a year ago. It took almost three years for it to be built. Godo started it when he found out he'd have a grandchild soon." Yuffie was scanning the area out of habit. No one wandered the world on foot without learning to take careful stock of their surroundings. "It's safe, though. The patrols go around the clock and there are some that are in the park itself. Lots of people come here to play or relax."
"Great place for kite flying...ever flown a kite, Renji?"
"No. Is it fun?"
"Only the second most fun thing in the world!"
"What's the most fun thing then?"
"Rolling Races! You roll down a hill like a log, and whoever gets to the bottom first wins."
"That sounds so fun!"
"It is! But, hey, how are we going to catch butterflies, Renji? I don't want to catch a bug in my hands..."
"Butterflies aren't bugs! I hate bugs. Butterflies are pretty and nice and don't bite." Reno smirked at Yuffie over his son's head. "Mommy's name means butterfly. And she's pretty and nice and doesn't bite." Renji let go of their hands and ran over to a cluster of blue flowers a short distance away.
"You do too bite, Yuffie." Reno was speaking softly, so that Renji would not hear. Yuffie grinned at him, the same grin he had fallen in love with years ago. It was the reason he had been interested in her in the beginning. "You know why I asked you out the first time?"
"Because I was finally eighteen and legal in Midgar?" Reno grinned, remembering the times they had spent together before her birthday. He had been very sure to keep things from getting racy until then. It had not been easy though. The legal adult age in Wutai was seventeen, and she had been anything but helpful to his plans.
"Because of how you grin at me. Remember, after we got you and Elena from that Don character?" She nodded. "Well, before we went seperate ways, you ran up and thanked me, grinning. I always remembered that afterwards. Rude kept asking me why I was smiling when we got in the helicopter. You should have seen his face when he found out who I was taking dancing after the Three Stooges were taken care of. It was classic." Yuffie smiled but remained silent. "To be honest, I was scared you'd be all 'omg EW' and leave me hanging."
"Reno, remember how I used to flirt with Phill all the time?"
"Yeah." Reno scowled, remembering Yuffie caressing the man's arm in a suggestive way. "Pissed me off."
"I did it to try and make you jealous, so that you'd take me home with you. I was so frustrated that you were playing at being an upstanding citizen. I wanted to get naked, not play."
"There's this thing called 'standards' and I don't hold with taking underage girls to bed. If you'll remember correctly, you were in my bed, naked, promptly at twelve-o-one, which was your birthday. I had the hardest time waiting long enough to get your clothes off."
"Which was why I wore something that was easy to take off." Yuffie raised her voice so that Renji could hear her. "Don't wander so far, Renji! Come back this way!"
"Mommy, the dew's still here! The butterflies won't come out til it dries." Renji said, running back to them.
"It did rain all day and night. Want to go play on the swings while we wait?"
"YES!" Renji was skipping ahead of Reno and Yuffie, who were holding each other's hands instead of their son's. The boy ran back to them every once in a while, showing them a pebble or pointing out different shaped clouds. "That one's a chocobo, see?"
Once the swings came into view, they all ran up to them. Reno investigated the area while Renji chose a swing and knocked the water off of it. It was a wooden swing set, complete with slide. Wood mulch covered the ground, lending a distinct aroma to the area. He was distracted by Renji's squeal of delight from the swings. Yuffie was pushing him while he was pumping his legs to get higher. Reno walked back and took over the pushing from Yuffie, giving Renji a bit of height.
"I don't want him to fall, Reno."
"He won't fall. Relax, Yuffie. Don't you remember wanting to fly to the moon from your swing?"
"Yes, but..."
"Just relax. He's holding on tight and its not really that high." Yuffie sighed and sat down on the next swing after brushing off the water. She was moving gently, watching him push Renji. He snuck in a good push on Yuffie's back, sending her higher in the air than she anticipated. She had to grab the ropes to keep from flying off. Yuffie glared at him as he continued to push Renji as though nothing had happened. He pushed her again, and this time, she was prepared for it, soaring through the air at nearly the same pace as her son. The boy smiled at her. He had the same smile when he was truely happy as Reno did.
"Can I jump off the swing?"
"Renji, you fell and hurt your knee last time, remember?"
"But it was fun before that!"
"I said no." Renji pouted.
"But I want to!"
"And I said no. No more buts."
Renji stayed quiet after that, but Reno gave Yuffie a curious look. One of the things Soodi had told him was not to disagree with Yuffie in front of Renji. He was not used to doing something so diplomatic, but he did know that Yuffie was the only authority figure Renji knew. No point conteracting that just because he was here now. He was about to say something to change the subject when he heard a noise. It was soft, and barely audible, but both he and Yuffie looked up at the same time. It was the sound of a rope breaking. He quickly stopped Renji's swing, and got him off despite a great deal of protesting on Renji's part. Yuffie was keeping the boy away from the swing as Reno took a closer look.
Near the middle of the length of rope was a cut, about three quarters the way through.
"Someone cut the rope..."
"What? Kids play on these swings! Who would cut one?"
"I don't know." Reno pulled out a knife from a sheath on his back and cut both supporting ropes off near the top, keeping well away from the middle cut. "Used a sharp knife. Small one though. Had to make multiple cuts." He made a face at the rope, then turned back to Yuffie. "Anything like this ever happened here before?"
"No, This place is patrolled, I told you. No one gets in without being seen by one of the guards."
"In a town full of ninjas, you say there is absolutely no way anyone got in here and cut this?" Yuffie remained silent, not wanting to admit that someone from her home would do something like endanger a child. "Who else knew we were coming here today?"
"Just Rude and Rufus. I didn't tell anyone else."
"Godo knew." Yuffie threw him a dangerous look. "Hey, I'm just saying someone might have overheard me tell him. I'm not blaming him." Yuffie scowled, then frowned in worry. Reno directed his next words at Renji. "Hey, this your favorite swing, Renji?" The boy nodded, but he looked puzzled. "We'll see about getting it fixed soon. Kay?"
"What happened to the swing?" The voice belonged to a man on top of a chocobo, wearing a green uniform and a hat. He did not act officious. He simply wanted information.
"Hang on a sec." Reno turned back to his family. Family? Is that what we are? Man, I'm going soft..."Why don't you go play on the jungle gym for a minute or two? I'll be right there." Yuffie nodded, and pulled Renji along after her as he stared back at his father. Reno smiled and waved, waiting for the boy to turn around. When he did, Reno went back to the chocobo rider. "You got a name?"
"Tiam. Why did you cut the swing ropes?"
"Some one cut them before I did. I'll show you if you'll get off that damn bird." The man frowned, but dismounted. "Look." Reno held out the length of rope with the cut in the middle. "Some one came in and cut it. Fresh too. No water in the rope fibers. Did you notice anyone coming in here this morning, a little after seven thirty maybe?"
"No. But I'll get with the outter patrols and find out for certain. Good thing you caught it, else someone could have gotten hurt. I'll have it replaced immediately." Tiam started to turn back to his chocobo, who was waiting good naturedly nearby. Reno grabbed his arm before he could move more than a few inches.
"That was cut this morning. On the swing my son likes. And few people knew we were coming here today. What does that say to you, Tiam?"
"It says two things. You're Renji's father and you think someone is trying to hurt him."
"Good deductions. Here's the kicker. Why would anyone want to hurt Renji?"
"To get at you, for some reason. I won't say there aren't those that don't like you. But no one hates you enough to harm a child to get to you."
"Don't be so sure. I want to know why the hell someone's playing a game that involves my kid. Just me and I'd accept it, but not with them in the picture. I want to know if you find or see anything. I'm not asking you to break any oaths of office or shit like that. I just want to know before it goes up the ladder too far." Tiam looked at him, then the direction Yuffie and Renji were in.
"I will make my reports to my superior. If I happen to write a second copy and you happen to find it, I expect it to be burned. I tarnish my honor on this for the child's sake, not yours, and you had best remember that, Reno of the Turks."
"You're the second person to call me that."
"What else are we to call you? Yuffie gives you no name beyond 'Reno'."
"And Turkey." Tiam grinned then, looking for all the world like a small boy. "Don't get ideas. Just cause I let her say it doesn't mean anyone else can."
"Of course. I must go now. Take care."
Reno did not bother to watch him leave. He walked back to where Renji was hanging upside-down from a metal bar. Reno had done much the same as a child. The playground in front of Sector 7 had been his haven. He went there at every opportunity, even skipping classes. That playground held most of the happy memories of his childhood. Seeing Renji waving at him, he pushed thoughts of his childhood away for the second time that day.
Man, someone trying to hurt Renji to get at Reno! Who would do such a thing? Beats me...yeah right, when I have at least four more new chapters ready...
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