Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

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Princess Miele : Ahhh I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! Alcohol + being on holiday = A slightly softer Tifa xD

Chapter 14 : Better Out Than In

Tifa sat on the couch, staring at the closed door for what seemed like ages as she waited for her heart to slow. What had just happened? She thought he had been into it. No, she KNEW he had been into it. She'd felt just how much when he had pulled her against him. Then all of a sudden he'd frozen and pushed her off. What the hell? Tifa's emotions raced between hurt, confused, angry and back to hurt again. She was in half a mind to go and knock on his door and ask him what the hell was going on. She thought back over what had just happened. It was hard to think of anything other than how his fingers had felt in her hair, and how his tongue had felt in her mouth. An involuntary shudder creeped it's was down her spine as she closed her eyes.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt that flustered during what was nothing more than kissing. Even when she'd kissed Cloud for the first time, she had felt her heart soar but his technique wasn't anything to write home about. She had even thought that maybe she had been his first kiss, but surely he had kissed other girls when he'd been living in Midgar? Reno however... She shuddered again, but for all the right reasons. He definitely knew what he was doing. He'd even encouraged her to take control. She propped her chin in her hands, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face in frustration. She tried to focus on the table in front of her, her vision swimming. She'd almost forgotten they'd been drinking until they stopped, and now she felt absolutely wasted. Wasted and frustrated.

This was his fault. All his fault.

Tifa jumped to her feet and swayed unsteadily for a few moments before she found her balance. Her anger was overruling all her other emotions now as she stomped her way towards his bedroom door, her fists clenched at her sides. She banged on the door, her chest heaving with annoyance now rather than the previous excitement. It wasn't until she heard him opening the door from the other side that she realised she had no idea what she was doing or what she was gonna say. As a result, when the door opened, Tifa was standing gawping like a fish as she tried to find words.

Reno stood there illuminated from behind in nothing but his boxers, his hair loose about his shoulders. She didn't know how long it had been since he'd went to his room but he looked like he'd been woken from a deep sleep. Surely he hadn't been able to fall asleep in such a short space of time? She managed a few noncommittal noises as she stared at him. He leaned against the door frame and rubbed his eyes with his other hand. The way he stretched made the muscles in his torso shift and tighten, and Tifa struggled to keep eye contact.

"Can I help you?" He drawled with a bored tone. It was as if the last few hours had never happened. It was enough to reignite Tifa's rage.

"Can you HELP ME? Are you fucking serious?" Tifa spat the curse and Reno's eyes widened slightly, looking more awake. "Wanna tell me what just happened there?"

"I told you. I don't take advantage of girls when they're wasted." He sniffed, his eyes relaxing again. Tifa's fists clenched a little tighter. Rejection hurt at any time, but more so when it was so flippant.

"That didn't stop you from kissing me."

"Yeah. Sorry. Momentary lapse of judgement." He shrugged. Tifa felt her face heat up.

"Momentary... You are so full of shit, Reno. If you didn't actually find me attractive, you could have just said something." She ranted. Reno raised his finger and opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. She was on a roll now. "I'm a big girl, I can take it. And I can decide whether or not I'm too drunk to sleep with someone! I can handle my liquor just as well as you can!" She waggled a finger in front of his face. Usually he would have grabbed said finger, maybe even made an inappropriate joke, but Reno just stood there, letting her rave on. "How do I know YOU weren't too drunk? Huh?"

"I think you'da noticed if I was suffering from whisky dick." He replied, the corner of his mouth curling slightly. Tifa spluttered as his comment threw her off guard.

"What? I don't even... You know what, I don't care. You're an asshole Reno, don't expect to find me here in the morning. I wish I'd never accepted your help in the first place!" She felt her face growing colder as she started running out of steam. Reno opened his mouth to speak but she spoke over him again. "I'll be out of your hair as soon as the sun is up so don't worry." She continued. She noticed her mouth felt a little watery, but she ignored it and carried on. "And I'll make sure I leave your sweatpants in the room. So don't... Don't..." Tifa clutched her stomach as it roiled. Reno sighed slightly and straightened himself up.

"You ok? I was trying to tell you that you were going pale." He reached out and she batted his hand away.

"I'm fine! I don't need your he-" Tifa tried to snap but as soon as she opened her mouth she felt her stomach twist as she vomitted. Clutching her hand over her mouth, she bolted past Reno and into his room and doubled over the toilet as her stomach emptied itself. She threw up until there was nothing more, and then retched some more. She was vaguely aware of the figure to her right and a soft clinking noise. Raising her head slightly, she saw Reno knelt beside her, and he'd put a glass of ice cold water beside her. She noticed he'd changed back into his sweatpants but she couldn't see the waistband of his boxers. Groaning, she dropped her head back into the toilet.

Reno was rather proud of himself that he managed not to mock her as she ate her last words. Well, not ate per say. He even managed keep it to himself that she had thrown up all over him. He was grateful he'd had minimal clothing on. He simply popped his boxers into the rubbish bin and wiped his legs down with a damp towel, which he flung into the laundry basket before pulling on his sweatpants. He wasn't worried about her catching him naked as he changed, in fact he doubted she would be moving any time soon. After he set the glass of water down beside her, he got back to his feet and proceeded to soak a small hand towel in cold water before returning to her side. He held it out to her as she peered at him over her folded arms which were leaning on the seat. He did his best to give her a sincere smile as she reached for the towel and wiped her mouth clean.

"So..."

"Don't."

"What? I didn't say anythin'."

"I already know what you were gonna say so just... Save it. I feel terrible enough as it is." She groaned as she pressed a clean part of the cold towel against her forehead, pushing herself back so she was sitting against the side of the bath. She jumped a little as she felt a hand on hers and opened her eyes to see Reno taking the towel from her and holding it against her head. She let her hands fall into her lap. "I dunno what happened. I was totally fine."

"Yeah. However, we did tank a fair amount of alcohol on not a lot of food." Reno grinned slightly as her eyes closed again. The colour was coming back to her face, so he knew he was less likely to be thrown up on again. "How ya feelin'?"

"Not great. I feel like an idiot." She grumbled, opening her eyes again to look up at him. The fire that had been present during her angry tirade had fizzled out and now she just looked vulnerable again. Reno sighed.

"Don't worry about it. I've made a much bigger fool of myself on booze than you ever will." He offered sympathetically. Tifa chuckled weakly.

"Yeah. Even still. I don't even know where I was going with that."

"Eh. I coulda explained myself better, yo." Reno shrugged and flung the now warm towel into the sink. He turned back to her. "You ok to stand?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tifa nodded as he stood up, offering her his hand. She took it gingerly and he closed his fingers around her hand, helping her to her feet. She promptly fell over into him and Reno cried out as they both crashed back down onto the floor. Tifa blushed furiously but Reno just burst out laughing.

"Well, that didn't work. Let's give that another go shall we?" He grinned as he struggled to his feet before leaning over and wrapping his arms around her waist and hoisting her to her feet. She grabbed his shoulder for dear life as her legs wobbled and her head spun. Reno leaned back slightly to look at her face. "All good?"

"I think I need t' lie down." Tifa grumbled, her face paling slightly as she started slurring her words. Before she could say anything else, Reno bent over and swept his arm under her legs and settled the other one behind her shoulders, lifting her up into his arms. Tifa barely had time to cling to his neck as he carried her back into the bedroom. He gently placed her down on top of the covers and made to walk away, but Tifa still had a hold of his neck. She looked up at him and he smiled at her.

"Relax, yo. I'm just goin' to get you a comfortable top to sleep in." He explained as he reached up and uncurled her fingers from behind his neck. She pouted slightly, feeling well and truly sorry for herself as she saw him walk over to a set of drawers in the corner and rake about in one of the drawers before he pulled out an oversized black tshirt. As he walked back over to her, Tifa clicked.

"Hey. S'your bedroom."

"Nice going, Sherlock." Reno couldn't help but snort as he sat on the edge of the bed, handing her the tshirt. She blinked a few times before she frowned.

"I thought I was stayin' in the spare room?"

"You were. But this bed was closer and you looked like you were gonna hurl again. And one dousing is quite enough for one evening."

"I got you?" She asked innocently, trying to prop herself up on her elbows but failing miserably. Reno gripped her forearms gently and pulled her slowly to to a sitting position.

"Yeah, Teef. Ya 'got me' good." He couldn't help but laugh a bit. Even in her blurry mind, she didn't miss the nickname he gave her. Usually only her friends called her Teef. She hadn't exactly been pleasant to Reno, but he'd been nothing but accommodating towards her. She pouted, making her look younger than her years.

"M'sorry Reno. Didn't mean to." She said, almost whimpering. Reno shook his head.

"I probably deserved it. And it ain't the first time I've been puked on. Won't be the last either. Now c'mon, I'll leave you to change your top so you can go to sleep." He pushed the tshirt into her hands and stood to leave. As he turned away to face the wall, he heard her shuffling behind him. Then he heard a whimper and a low whine and the shuffling stopped.

"Renooo."

"Yeah?"

"M'stuck."

"Whaddaya mean you're-" Reno turned and his eyes shot open. She was sat in the middle of his bed, her arms over her head, one of which was trapped in the sweater along with her head. Meaning that she was pretty much naked from the waist up apart from her bra. Her red, lacy bra. And below that, the tattoo she had mentioned earlier. It's wings curved round her right breast, disappearing under her bra slightly, and the tail curled down almost to her hip. He almost didn't notice the large, slightly horrific (when you knew where it had come from) scar that snaked from above her navel and up between her bust. He noticed that the tattoo did indeed work well to distract the eye. The way the placement of the design accentuated her curves even more was insanely sexy. Reno gulped hard. It had been the most difficult thing he'd done in a long time, walking away from Tifa earlier, and he'd had to splash himself with cold water to calm himself down. Now here she was, half naked and needing help. He slapped his hands over his face and drew them down slowly, pulling at the skin under his eyes. "You're killing me, Teef." He sighed as he walked over and sat down beside her.

Taking hold of the sleeve with the arm still talked inside, he raised his eyes skywards to stop himself from staring. He tugged on the sleeve to try and free her arm, but Tifa had let the arm go limp and it just waggled around in the air. He furrowed his brows until he heard her start to giggle.

"M'stuck, Reno."

"Yes, I can see that, Tifa." He sighed, unable to stop a smile spreading across his lips. He managed to get her arm free and then removed the clothing from her head, revealing a very giggly Tifa.

"M'free!" She exclaimed happily, throwing her hands in the air. Reno nearly snapped his neck trying to stare at the ceiling and ignore the fact that Tifa was bouncing about his bed in just a bra. He had heard that karma was supposed to reward people. This felt more like torture. He looked back down as he felt her tap his shoulder. She was leaning forward on her hands and knees, staring up at him with wide eyes. He gulped. "Reno. Tshirt?"

"What? Oh, right." Reno flushed with colour as he picked up the tshirt. Tifa leant up on her knees and put both her arms in the air. His chest was at his eye level, the eye of the Phoenix head tattoo seemingly judging him, and Reno decided he deserved a medal for willpower this good. He pulled the tshirt on over her arms and down over her head. It was baggy on him, but on Tifa's petite frame it practically drowned her. She grinned widely.

"Ready for bed." She sung, scootching back towards the pillows. Reno thanked his lucky stars that the torture was over and he could head to the spare bedroom and sleep off the booze. No sooner than the thought entered his head, he noticed as Tifa untied the knot at her waist and hooked her fingers in the waistband before pulling it down. Reno's mouth went totally dry as he watched her wriggle out of the sweatpants, catching a flash of underwear to match the bra she had on. He couldn't help but be reminded of an old saying that if a woman's underwear matched, then the guy wasn't one who had decided to have sex. That thought made him groan that maybe Tifa really had wanted to go through with it when she was still on a high. She eased the last bit of material off her feet and tossed it aside. "Can't sleep with these on. S'uncomfortable." She informed him as she reached to grab the edge of the thick duvet. Reno nodded dumbly, feeling like his tongue had swollem about three sizes bigger. He couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched her long legs curl up to duck under the covers, her bare toes wiggling slightly as she did so. Even as they disappeared from sight, Reno was still staring.

Tifa settled herself down under the duvet, wriggling down so her head was on the pillow. Everything felt soft and cool on her skin and she let out a contented sigh. She was just about to close her eyes when she felt the bed shift as Reno got up. She looked up at him as he wandered into the bathroom and returned with the glass of water. He placed it on the small bedside cabinet beside her head and turned to leave.

"Wait! Where you goin'?"

"To the spare room. I need sleep." He answered as he stopped in his tracks to turn and look at her. That over exaggerated pout had returned and Reno's face fell. "What now?"

"Aren't you gonna stay and look after me?" Tifa asked in a small voice, looking the most vulnerable he had ever seen her. It wasn't like Tifa to ask for help. She must have really been gone. Reno sighed.

"I need to lay down, Tifa. Believe it or not I'm still pretty wasted myself." He explained. Tifa simply sat up slightly and threw back the other side of the duvet, the top of her thigh just visible as she leant over and patted the empty space next to her.

"S'only fair. I stole your bed after all."

"Tifa... I already told you..."

"No, I know. Just to sleep. Promise." She gave him a wide smile. Reno ran his hand down his face again. When he looked back at her, her smile had faded. "I know you probably don't want to. But I feel so crappy. I could use some comfort. Even if it is just knowin' someone is beside me." She trailed off, looking down at her hands. Reno felt his heart ache a little. She was actually asking him outright to just sleep beside her. He looked to the sky as if asking an invisible deity what he had had done to deserve such temptation. Looking back down at the petite woman in his bed, he sighed heavily.

"Alright. But no funny stuff, Lockhart." He jokingly scolded as he headed to switch off the small lamp in the corner before he rounded the bed and climbed into the space she'd made for him. He couldn't help but sigh happily as he sunk down into his pillows. One thing Reno treasured was a truly comfy bed. He pulled the duvet up over his chest. Sleeping in sweatpants was gonna annoy him but he didn't have much choice as the moment. He stretched his arms out before folding them behind his head and closing his eyes. He had just started to relax when he felt cool fingers sliding across his stomach and he jerked to the side. Turning his head, he saw could just make out Tifa lying with her head right next to his in the darkness. She stretched her arm back out over his stomach and he tensed slightly, wondering what she was thinking. He began to relax as she snuggled into his side, her arm tightening slightly and pulling him towards her. Reno watched her face as she rested it against his shoulder, her lips brushing against his skin in a way that caused him to shudder. Sighing quietly, he dropped the arm closest to her and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

This felt more intimate than if they'd actually had sex. Reno had bedded plenty of woman and the occasional guy, but he could count on one hand how many he'd actually stayed the night with. He let his eyes drift close again even as he felt her shift beside him. His eyes shot open again as he felt her soft lips press against his. His stomach fluttered wildly as she pressed against his side, her lips lingering on his. He couldn't help but squeeze her gently with the arm that was wrapped around her as she melted against him. He was suddenly very grateful that his own legs were covered by material as he felt one of her legs slide against his. The feel of her smooth thighs against his if his legs had been bare would have well and truly destroyed the already shaky willpower that was stopping him from picking up where they'd left off earlier. Just as quickly as it had happened, Tifa shifted back into the crook of his arm and settled herself again him.

"G'night Reno. Thank you." She mumbled sleepily, her breathing quickly softening as she fell asleep. Reno raked his free hand through his hair and looked up at the ceiling. It was gonna be a long night.

AN : Awww tender Reno. This chapter ended up kinda cute. It is also a mammoth of a chapter, but I couldn't find a good stopping point that didn't result in one teeny chapter and one huge chapter. So there ya go.

Tifas behaviour in this is inspired by an old fic I read soooo long ago called Yuffie's Little Escapade by Tini. It's kinda hilarious. If you haven't checked it out, get yourself to Google and find it!

Also, thanks to Princess Miele for reviewing so often! I really makes me happy! And to FantasyHearts818 for following ^.^