Parenthood

Chapter 7 - Thursday

By Crystal Snowflakes

His eyes snapped open in the near darkness as he felt something pressing up softly against his arm. Out of instinct and habit, his hand reached for the handgun before he quelled the urge by stilling his own arm forcefully. A soft whine emerged from next to him and it was only then that he realized that Sayuri had been the one to brush up against him.

A quick glance at his phone told him that it was just past six in the morning. With a tired grunt, he pushed himself up from the bed and slipped his PHS into the pocket of his shorts before leaning over the bed and scooping up Sayuri into his arms. His bare feet barely made any noise as he walked out the room, making sure to close the door quietly behind him before pulling out a clean bottle and preparing the formula. With one hand holding the baby upright, his other measured the milk powder before he started shaking the bottle.

"D'you always wake up this early, kid? No wonder the brat looks so tired all the time," Reno muttered with a barely suppressed yawn.

Sayuri responded by cooing and snuggling up to him—he felt something in his chest tug.

"Aw shit. Don't do that, yo," he grumbled lightly before settling down on the couch with her nestled into his arm as she reached for the bottle, clutching reflexively at it before sucking from it hungrily. Her large doe eyes focused on the bottle for a few moments before flickering up to his face and Reno could have sworn her eyes smiled before they fluttered closed slowly.

Reno's eyebrows rose as he looked down at the baby in his arms that was still drinking, a snort of disbelief escaping his nose. "Tch. You seriously fallin' asleep while eating?" The corner of his lips quirked up as he studied her button nose, chubby cheeks and the peaceful look on her face.

When she didn't open her eyes again, he waited until she was done eating and her breathing evened out before pulling the bottle from her mouth. Propping up Sayuri on his shoulder, he patted her back until she let out a small burp. "Look what ya made me do, kid. Turned me into my goddamn partner, yo." And then he leaned his head against the back of the couch with another yawn and propped his legs up on the table.

A small nap wouldn't hurt.

He woke up to the sound of eggs sizzling in the frying pan and the strong aroma of rich coffee. Without opening his eyes, he continued to listen to the sound of Yuffie humming off-tune under her breath as she bounced around the kitchen. He realized with a sudden dreadfulness that he would miss mornings with the loud, spirited lunacy that was his weekend drinking partner—it didn't help that the days of her being around on weekdays were numbered.

He forced his lungs to breathe regularly as he felt the warmth of Sayuri's breath against his unshaven cheek—even though she had only been in his life for such a short time, he would miss her too.

Without opening his eyes, he felt the shift in the air as Yuffie crept closer until she was bent over him. Curious, he continued to pretend to still be asleep, unsure of what she had in mind.

"Hey kiddo," her voice whispered softly. "Gonna take you off the turkey cause I've gotta get you to Teef's."

He cracked one eye open and it seemed to have surprised her, if her widening eyes were any indication. Their faces were so close together and for a moment, it looked like Yuffie was speechless and her breath caught in her throat.

"Hey," he said softly. Something tickled his nose and he wrinkled his nose uncharacteristically. "What the fu—"

"Burning," Yuffie interrupted, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment as a sheepish smile crossed her face. "Tried to make breakfast, but uh… Apparently eggs are really easy to burn?" She ducked her head slightly, seemingly flustered by the intensity of his stare or embarrassed that she had burnt eggs.

He couldn't help the bark of laughter that erupted from his chest, waking up Sayuri suddenly, causing her to whine.

Yuffie scooped her up into her arms and shot a scowl his way, although her eyes were glinting with undisguised mirth. "It's still edible!" She said defensively, one of her arms flailing around wildly. And then a look of dismay crossed her face as she stared at his chest. "You didn't change her when you fed her earlier, huh? I think she peed on you."

Looking down at his chest, he saw a large dark spot on his shirt that was growing cold, now that Sayuri's warm body was no longer pressing up against him. "Shit, that's gross."

Yuffie snickered amusedly. "At least it isn't liquid shit."

He shot her a flat glare before ripping his shirt off—exposing the toned set of abs on his pale lanky body—and walked over to the bathroom to drop it off in the hamper. As he returned back to the kitchen, still shirtless, he noticed with amusement that Yuffie was having a hard time keeping her gaze off of him. He grabbed a piece of wet wipe to rub down his chest.

She cleared her throat awkwardly before schooling her features to roll her eyes at him. "C'mon Turkey. Can't be worse than all the blood and gore that gets splashed onto you. It's just pee." Her eyes flickered over his body with what appeared to be disgust before she forced her gaze back to his face. "Also, can you like, get a shirt or something? I really don't wanna have to bleach my eyes, gawd."

"Liar. I know I look good," he muttered flippantly as he ignored the sudden blush on her cheeks and looked down at the plate of burnt eggs with a small chuckle. "You're fuckin' hopeless."

"At least I cooked for you, 'kay? Quit your complaining, you jerk." She stuck out her tongue at him, her face still pink.

Part of him debated on just tossing the eggs in the trash, but seeing her hopeful glance, he gave a gruff sigh before taking out the black pieces. He shoveled the eggs in his mouth and swallowed it before his taste buds had a chance to savour the bitter flavour of char. By the time he looked up, she had placed Sayuri on her makeshift playmat and was gathering the baby supplies.

"I can take the kid to work," Reno offered as he placed the plate into the dishwasher.

Her head snapped up and her mouth fell open in surprise. "Huh?"

He shrugged. "Boss okayed it yesterday when I asked."

She raised both eyebrows in disbelief. "Rufus letting you take a baby to work? Really?"

The corners of his lips quirked up slightly. "Told 'im I'd be forced to work on paperwork with a baby strapped to my chest."

A peal of giggles escaped her lips as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with her hands. "Is he that desperate to have you do your paperwork?"

"Been over a decade since I handed in my last mission report, yo."

"Gawd, you're old," she muttered with a snort before grabbing the empty baby bottle from the coffee table and walked towards him. She hip-checked him to get to the sink, causing him to snicker slightly before washing both dirty bottles. "You sure 'bout bringing Sayuri to work? She's a good baby, but… It's not easy."

"Sure, man," he said with a shrug. "I've always got Rude and 'Lena."

She nodded as seriously as she could before her usual mischievous grin snuck up to her lips. "Broody and Blondie could use the practice, I guess."

Which was precisely what happened, because the moment Elena had caught sight of Sayuri in his arms when he walked out of the elevator, she had squealed and promptly whisked the baby out of the baby carrier and out of his arms. Reno's gaze trailed over to Tseng almost involuntarily and it was nearly comical how embarrassed he looked due to Elena's antics.

He snickered loudly. "Baby rabies, 'Lena?"

She didn't even react to his words, so enthralled with the baby that she kept making babbling noises. Sayuri giggled with delight as she pulled on Elena's hair playfully and Elena pretended to be hurt, which caused even louder laughter. "Oh goodness, you are so cute. How is Yuffie ever gonna give you up, hmm?"

Reno rolled his eyes as he sank into his desk chair and leaned back nonchalantly, his feet propped up on his desk. As he watched Elena interact with Sayuri, bringing the baby closer to Tseng in a teasing way, he felt Rude's stare on the back of his head and he turned around to face him with a bland expression on his face—his eyebrow lifted almost defiantly.

His silence didn't last very long—he had never won a staring contest against him in all the years he'd known his partner. Lips twisting into a scowl, he continued to meet Rude's gaze. "I love you, man. But I swear, if ya keep hintin' at the fact that I like the brat, I might hafta kick your ass," he drawled.

Rude's forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows lifted above his sunglasses in doubt. "Perhaps you think it's much easier to feel nothing at all?" he asked, his voice a smoothing rumble.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Reno yelped crossly as his eyes narrowed, deep creases forming between his brows.

The corner of Rude's lips curled up at his immediate and vehement response. "You've spent your entire life shunning meaningful relationships—"

"It's the job, partner," Reno interrupted aloofly with a shrug. Rude deliberately lifted his elbow to his desk as he clasped his fingers together, flashing the gleaming wedding ring in his left hand. "You showin' off or what? We know—"

"Things are different now. I think you're still using it as an excuse." Rude murmured, his voice low and levelled. The man would have been good at narrating those damn documentaries about animals and plants and shit.

All Reno could really do was scowl. Over the years, Rude had always left him to his own devices outside of work, whether he thought they were good choices or not—it was the only reason why they could be such good friends. He didn't need someone to tell him what the fuck to do—one Elena in his life was enough, fuck you very much. There had only been a handful of times, even with Reno's unpredictable nature, that Rude had ever intervened in his affairs and that worked just fine with both of them. But now that he had brought this up, he felt compelled to listen to what was being said, despite the fact that it made him uncomfortable to even think about what he was implying.

"This comin' from you or Lockhart?" He finally mustered a response after a long moment of silence.

"Both of us," Rude acknowledged calmly. "Yuffie clearly means more to you than you let on."

Reno was going to deny everything. Rude had clearly had too much to drink at ten in the morning.

"That's not—"

"You brought a baby to work," he cut in with an eyebrow raised and a small mocking quirk of his lips. Even behind the sunglasses, Reno could swear he saw the way his eyes crinkled in amusement. Just as Reno was going to explain himself, Rude continued, "Tifa says you're sharing a bed—"

Reno almost jumped out of his chair, but chose to shoot a glower at his partner instead. "Holy shit—"

Rude never stopped talking, choosing to ignore his outcry. "And when was the last time that happened?"

Reno didn't know what to say. Because he knew, deep down, that his partner was right on all accounts. The brat had somehow dug her way into his life without truly meaning to and he didn't want her out, didn't want to push her away. She drove him up the wall like no one had ever been able to do, but the idea of her not being a constant annoyance in his life was unthinkable.

And then he realized that the office was quiet—suspiciously so. Sayuri's gurgles were still heard and the sound of scribbling from Tseng's pen started suddenly again, but Elena was carefully silent and he noted with growing exasperation that everyone was listening in on the conversation.

"I thought so," Rude suddenly spoke, his voice bringing Reno's brain back into focus.

His frown deepened because why the fuck was everyone getting all up in his business? It was between him and the fucking brat and no one else. "She's—"

"Sounds to me like she isn't appalled by the thought."

Reno gritted his teeth, because he also knew that was true. He had seen the looks Yuffie had given him and while their relationship had remained strictly platonic, he found that it was growing difficult to keep it that way the more time he spent with her. Except he wasn't sure if that was a bad thing because he found himself wanting to spend more time with her, wanting her. However, he also realized she was too young to know what she wanted—he would rather have her be a permanent fixture in his life as a companion than to lose her due to a lover's spat.

The corner of Rude's lips lifted up. "Good. You have been thinking about it."

He scoffed. Reno knew there was no point in denying it—his partner had known him for too many years and would be able to see through his bullshit anyways. "Her and Lockhart talk a lot, huh," he muttered as he ran his hand through his fiery mane.

Rude snorted out a laugh and Reno nearly fell backwards off his chair in shock because it almost sounded like the genuine laughter that Rude only reserved those for people he cared about—he hadn't realized that Yuffie was one of them. "I don't think she can shut up if her life depended on it."

Reno let out an unexpected bark of laughter.

"She reminds me of someone," Rude murmured with a hint of humour in his voice.

"Oh, fuck off, partner."

Reno stretched to his full height and heard his back and shoulders crack satisfyingly. And while Sayuri hadn't been strapped to him all day because Elena had basically taken over babysitting duties, he had still felt obligated to complete some of his paperwork like he had promised Rufus. His eyes were dry and exhausted from staring at a screen all day—he had even managed to finish two pages of his most recent report. Whether he was ever going to complete it was another matter altogether.

His gaze flickered over to the clock on the wall before deciding that he would call it a day—as a Turk he didn't have a strict work schedule although he spent more time at work than off work usually. It was getting close to Sayuri's next feeding time and both the bottles had been used and he hadn't packed any additional formula. Surprisingly, he hadn't received any texts from the brat all day—she must have been busy with work and that meeting with Godo. The amount of bullshit that she was forced to put up with never failed to amaze him—it was so uncharacteristic of her to blow to their constant demands.

Letting out a groan, he rolled his shoulders tiredly before packing up the bottles and toys back into the bag. His back was sore and not for the first time, he wished his work included more field missions and less office hours—his body was not meant to sit in office chairs.

When everything had been packed, Reno threw on the baby carrier, motioning for Elena to get over—she was hovering over Tseng with Sayuri, attempting to get him to carry her. She had tried throughout the day to get Tseng and Rufus to hold the baby to no avail.

With a small pout and a small bounce in her steps, she cuddled Sayuri gently before passing her towards Reno. "You know," Elena said in a teasing tone, "I didn't think I'd ever see you with a kid in your arms voluntarily."

Reno snorted as he placed Sayuri carefully in the carrier before strapping her in. "Whaddya mean? I've held Lily before." Rude looked up in interest at the sound of his daughter's name.

"You know what I mean, Reno." Elena winked at him and waggled her eyebrows with a playful grin on her face. "It's a good look on you—parenthood. A little weird with those tattoos on your face, maybe. But the affection when you look at your kid erases some of that."

"The fuck?"

Elena shrugged. "Just a thought."

"Yeah?" he muttered, his voice harsher than he'd intended. Over the years, Elena had proven herself to be a fantastic Turk—someone he would trust to watch his back. And yet, even after so many years, she had never quite learned how not to overshare. After all, a large part of what was going on between him and Yuffie was due to her. "Well, next time, try and keep your fuckin' thoughts to—"

The sudden unexpected ding of the elevator interrupted, causing the four Turks to look up simultaneously. Whoever needed to be on this floor was already here so who could possibly…

"Heya Turkeys!" The familiar sound of her voice rang shrilly as her small figure bounced purposefully towards them. "Thank gawd you were here. I'm so hungry and I came straight from the WRO—"

"Oh, hey Yuff—"

"How the fuck d'ya get up here?" Reno interrupted Elena with a small scowl—she gave him a look of exasperation before waving to Yuffie and walking back to her desk.

Yuffie shot a grin at Elena before rolling her eyes at him. "Didya think I wouldn't be able to hack the elevator?" she asked with a pretend-hurt look.

"Don't gimme that, you brat," he muttered. "We specifically had Tuesti design the security system to keep people like you out."

She gave a snort before a small laugh rolled out. "D'you really think anything can keep me out if I really wanted in?" She was such a cocky little shit—although he had to admit that she was good at her job. There were places she had gotten him into that even he would've had trouble getting into—her dossier was impressive as hell for her age as well. As if she could read his mind, she threw him a cheeky grin while she fist-pumped the air ecstatically. "Great Ninja Yuffie goes where she wants to go!"

"Seriously, man," Reno said flatly. "How'd you manage?"

"Fine, fine," Yuffie replied with a sheepish grin as her fingers flashed the very distinct-looking Shinra security card before it disappeared again. "Swiped it off of Reevie. I'll return it first thing tomorrow and he won't know any better!" But then her hands went to her hips as she stuck her tongue out at him. "But I coulda totally hacked it if I tried!"

He didn't doubt it—he just wouldn't give her the satisfaction having her ego stroked. "Sure, brat," he agreed dismissively.

With a huff and another eye roll, she bounded towards him and peered into the baby carrier. "Heya Sayuri! You look warm and snug and ready to go home."

"We're ready," he grunted out as he grabbed the bag and threw it over his shoulders before starting his way out of the office.

Yuffie waved to the rest of the Turks before turning back towards the elevator and matched his steps. "So Turkey, what's for dinner?"

"Don't care."

"You never care! I'm the one who always has to pick—"

"Have a fun family time!" Elena called out to them—Reno had been expecting some sort of comment and merely rolled his eyes as he held up his middle finger in the air.

Yuffie, on the hand, blushed bright red before turning around and sticking her tongue out childishly. "Yeah? Well, you go and make one with Broody and you can have family time too!"

There really was something about holding babies that made him want to doze off. Stifling a yawn that was threatening to escape, Reno looked down and saw that Sayuri was still fast asleep on his chest with her eyes closed, her little body rising and falling with each breath that he was taking. Leaning his head back against the couch, he fixed his weary eyes on the bright screen again—he wasn't sure if he was exhausted because he was holding the infant or because he had woken up so early because of her.

How Rude managed to still function as an adult when he had a baby, a child and a teenager at home full-time was beyond him.

"You sure you wanna finish the movie?" Yuffie asked and he glanced out of the corner of his eyes and saw the hint of concern on her face. "You kinda look tired, Turkey."

"I'm fine," he grunted out as he shifted slightly in his seat. His ass and arms were starting to go numb from being in the same position for an extended amount of time.

She let out a small huff before swiping the remote control and turning it off. "I'm here for another night tomorrow anyways. Let's finish it then. You're not even paying attention to it and there's almost an hour left!"

At that, he was reminded that she would only be around another night—the thought of that brought an unexpected feeling of unease. It was then that he realized with disbelief that he would miss the little shit on the nights she'd be gone. Soon they would go back to their regular routines and he would be spending his weeknights with Rude and the kids and she would be back at the WRO, only returning on the weekends.

Hopping off the couch, she stretched with her arms lifted in the air. He watched as the hem of his worn t-shirt rose up, exposing her lengthy legs and not for the first time, he wished she hadn't been wearing her pyjama shorts.

"So I was thinking," she said quietly before a yawn escaped her lips. And then she was looking down at him, eyes bright and glowing. "Since it's our last night with Sayuri tomorrow night, d'you think we could have a little celebration or something?"

"With Lockhart and the kids?" he asked.

Yuffie looked thoughtful as she bent down to try to scoop Sayuri out of his arms—she gave a small whine of discontent the moment her fingers held onto her and Yuffie burst out into a giggle while simultaneously looking like she was offended. "Gawd, you're such a little jerk. I haven't held you all day." Casting him an eye roll and a shrug as if to say that it was his job to put her to bed then, she began to make her way towards the bedroom—he couldn't look away from her swaying hips.

"Well, the bar's pretty busy on Friday nights and Rude's probably watching the kids, so I was thinking that maybe we could just order take out and have cake by ourselves?" she said in a questioning tone.

"Whatever you want," he said as he stood up, making sure to not let Sayuri's head loll off before forcing himself to look away. The last thing he needed was for her to realize he was staring—she had been persistent with her touches even without his encouragement, not that he was really complaining.

And yet, as soon as the thought of him making a move—any move—on the future Empress of Wutai, he froze. Because Rude was right. He had spent his entire life shunning any chance at any meaningful relationships because he had learned early on in life that no one was trustworthy—not his birth giver, not his sperm donor, not his so-called-friends and brothers. Any of them would have thrown him under the bus for a goddamn hit.

The opportunity to join the Turks had fallen into his lap and he hadn't looked back.

Over the years, he had found people outside his chosen family he could trust, but he was always sure to keep them a distance because they could leave at any time.

And yet…

Yuffie had turned around at the doorway to his bedroom and she was biting the inside of her bottom lip as she looked at him with her big fucking brown eyes—she clearly had no idea how she looked at that moment. "D'you think I'm being stupid?" she asked, her voice wavering and unusually uncertain as she continued to stare at him. "I mean, she won't remember anything and it's really just gonna be the two of us, right? So—"

He let out a harsh breath. "Who the fuck cares?"

A flash of anger crossed her face and her arms instantly crossed in front of her with a scowl and before she could start her usual tirade…

"Like I said, do whatever you want."

Her mouth dropped open as her eyes grew larger with surprise, if that was even possible. "Huh?!"

"What?" His voice was rougher than he had expected and he realized abruptly that he was nervous.

A faint blush coloured her cheeks. And then as quickly as it happened, the doubtful Yuffie Kisaragi disappeared in a flash and her usual self returned, almost causing him to have a mental whiplash. "Nothing!" she chirped cheerfully. "C'mon Turkey! Let's put the kiddo to sleep."

Looking at her skeptically, he walked past Yuffie at the doorway and climbed the bed, placing Sayuri gently into her sleep slack before zipping it up. And then he made sure his and Yuffie's pillows were on either side of her, just in case she decided to roll around.

It was then that he looked up and watched as Yuffie leaned forward towards Sayuri to give her a kiss. He noted distractedly that she smelled of him—of his shampoo, of his clean laundry, of his smokes. She was just inches away with her small nose and large eyes and those thin fucking lips. The fact that she was just inches away from him didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. As a matter of fact...

As if she knew he was watching, she peered up at him, her dark eyelashes bringing out her luminous eyes in the dim lighting of the room. With her short hair, short build and scrawny figure, she wasn't what he would consider a classic beauty. Except there was something with the way she was so spirited and cheeky and fucking loud that made him look again and again and again—that sent his heart pounding in his ribs over and over again.

The way she sent her weapon through the air, the way she laughed with reckless abandon, the way she fought no matter how meaningless it seemed—every goddamn thing about her drove him up the wall. She was wild and dangerous and free and insane.

She'd caught his attention and kept it all without meaning to—it scared him more than anything to admit it.

"Turkey?"

Taking a deep breath, he tried to keep his heart from racing as well as steady his chaotic thoughts while she was looking at him with those damn eyes he would no doubt do anything for. He hadn't been able to exactly pinpoint what it was about the goddamn princess that he was so captivated by.

She was so fucking mesmerizing and she had no fucking idea.

But she was the next ruler of Wutai, and he was nothing but a slumdog turned guard dog.

Letting out a gruff breath, he was about to pull away when she bit her lips again and leaned forward. He froze and swore he could hear the loud thudding of his chest in his ears.

Ah shit.

And just as the thought of pressing his lips against hers crossed his mind, a small snore escaped Sayuri's lips and his head snapped back in clarity.

There was a flash of disappointment behind her darkening gaze, but she covered it well with her usual cheeky grin. "Nighty night, Turkey!" And then before he could respond, she turned around with her back towards him, burrowed her head into her pillow and threw the blanket over herself.

He let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. "Night, dipshit."

Fuck.

Author's Notes: For some odd reason, this chapter was really hard to write and it took me over two month to complete it. I'm still not entirely happy with it D:

As usual, comments and kudos are very much appreciated!

Completed: November 10, 2020