I Never Told You…

It stops hurting after a while, y'know?

The faces never leave you; that much is true. But they sorta blend together with time… one big, long nightmare with crying children and the back-alleys of cities that are too big for their own good. And blood. Lots of that. Red as my hair when it leaves them, red as your eyes when we leave them.

The drink helps; thanks for it, love. You've a bitch of a punch but you mix the best drinks on this sorry Planet.

I'm going to miss you.

Oh, no, don't look at me like that. I never go anywhere just to talk, much less to you…Fine, fine. I do. But there is a debt to be paid, this time.

You're fast, sweetheart, but I'm faster, and you fall in time with the glass you are holding. It shatters around you, glinting in the crimson halo seeping from your side. I hold your gaze until your stunned eyes close, and walk away, parting the waves of patrons with a glare.

You'll recover; I didn't hit anything serious. In the meanwhile, consider it a payback for the beating at the 'Plate. And a warning.

I'm a Turk; this is what I do for a living.

I didn't become who I am by accident.

I hope someone tells you how beautiful you are before I have to remind you again.

. o .

…finis…

. o .

Disclaimer: Reno, Tifa, and the other facets of Final Fantasy VII written of here belong to SquareEnix. Inspired obliquely by the lyrics of My Chemical Romance's "I Never Told You What I Did For A Living," which I happened across by chance and which does not belong to me, either. Context-wise, consider this an in-game lost story…

Sabe's Scribbles: Writing some characters is a home-coming of sorts; welcome back, Reno. It's exciting and wonderful to be writing for you again. To the reader – sorry I left this collection alone as long as I did, and thank-you for reading.