Parenthood

Chapter 9 - Saturday

By Crystal Snowflakes

The abrupt sound of the blankets rustling softly next to him woke him up and while his instincts screamed at him to grab the concealed gun within reach, he reminded himself that he was no longer alone in his bedroom. Instead, he sat up to let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, the dim moonlight filtering through his closed windows illuminated her hunched-over form faintly.

Her harsh breathing filled with the room as her small frame shook.

Before he could say anything or slide over towards her, she flung the blankets off her body and propelled herself out of the bed soundlessly as she escaped. Knees bent and still groggy with sleep, he rubbed his eyes with his palms before checking on Sayuri, then proceeded to climb out of bed while holding back a yawn.

A quick scan on his phone told him they had gone to bed four hours ago—he had been resting fitfully the entire time. It explained his fatigue. By the time he had returned to the bedroom from his second shower, Yuffie was already burrowed deep under the blankets, her breathing even. He hadn't been sure if she was actually asleep or if she was deliberately avoiding what would no doubt have been another awkward conversation.

Whichever one it was, he couldn't stop the disappointment that washed over him when his eyes fell upon her resting body. He wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting after his shower, but the feeling of disappointment that washed over him surprised even himself.

Stepping out of the bedroom, he surveyed the empty kitchen and living room before glancing over to the balcony door. The cool night breeze coming through the opened sliding doors could be felt immediately as soon as he took two steps from the bedroom door. Instead of walking over to the balcony right away, he pulled out two mugs from the cabinets as he poured pre-boiled tap water into both, carefully keeping his eyes on her stock-still form perched on the ledge, her back towards him.

He made sure his steps made enough noise on the carpeted floors that she would be aware of his presence—the last thing he needed was a kick to the throat or her to jump the sixteen floors off his balcony. Walking past the doorway, he placed a mug down beside her with a clink before he leaned casually against the railing with his body, one of his arms draped in front of him.

The water felt refreshing as it went down his dry throat.

She didn't seem at all surprised when she picked up the cup with a small nod of thanks—it was almost as if she had been expecting him to join her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the way her fingers gripped at the mug so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"Wanna talk 'bout it?" he asked, already knowing the answer before the question left his lips. She was obnoxiously boisterous and shamelessly outgoing and no doubt seemed like an open book with her cheeky grin and ear-splitting guffaws. Looking at her now, he was suddenly acutely aware of how much of herself she deliberately hid away from the world. It was understandable though—he doubted she could afford being herself around others because of who she was.

It must have been a lonely existence.

"Nah." Despite her flippant response, Reno could sense that there was an underlying need and want to share. Her hands shook, barely noticeable as she brought the cup to her lips. "Just nightmares," she murmured after a slight pause before tilting the cup back for a big gulp.

"For how long?" His tone was low and he was surprised to hear the veiled concern in his own voice. For too many years, he'd suffer from nightmares plaguing him—he'd spent more than half his life chasing them away with alcohol.

A small bitter sigh escaped her lips before a wry grin crossed her face. "Nobody ever warns you 'bout being a hero, ya know?" she said breezily. Then her eyes flickered towards him wearily and for the first time he'd known her, she looked much older than she really was. "Turns out you can't be the savior of the planet without it messing up your head."

He didn't know what to say.

Throughout his life, he had accepted that his unpleasant dreams were a part of him—his memories of earlier childhood nightmares were hazy at best. He did, however, remember having numerous nightmares about the first time he had killed someone—the image was so vivid in his mind that he could still visualize the splatter of brain matter against the brick wall with clarity if he tried. Sector Seven had kept him up for years and there were nights when he swore he could smell the scent of burning smoke and hear the creaking of the twisting metal.

It had never occurred to him that there were others who were suffering through the same thing doing the opposite of what he had done. What did she dream of? Although, thinking about it now, the thought of facing off against Sephiroth the war hero himself was enough to give him nightmares for the rest of his life—the carnage the ex-SOLDIER had left behind in the Shinra building had made his stomach quease.

The sudden pressure of her head on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. It reminded Reno of the night when they were in the exact spot and she had laid her head on him the exact same way.

Had it only been three nights ago?

His hand twitched nervously for a moment before he put an arm around her and drew her closer to him. Her breath hitched a little in surprise. The skin under his fingertips was cold to the touch and she shivered slightly—he wasn't sure if she was reacting to the cold or to his touch.

"Let's go back to bed, princess," he murmured quietly, nudging her with his arm slightly. "You're fuckin' freezin'."

Somehow, she nuzzled part of her head deeper into the crook of his neck and the sudden waft of scent coming from her reminded him what they had been doing earlier on the couch.

"In a min," she whispered with a small yawn. "You feel so warm."

He couldn't help the chuckles that rolled out of him. Instead of letting her do what she wanted, he drained the water from his mug before sliding his arm under her legs and lifted, carrying her bridal-style—she yelped in shock.

"You're 'bout to fall asleep and fall to your death, brat."

She laughed before hiding her face against his chest.

"Admit it, Turkey. You'd just miss me too much."

Yuffie looked around the living room that seemed suddenly bare without the makeshift playmat, the changing pad, the bag of diapers, the clothes and toys scattered throughout. Sure that everything was packed back up into the old diaper box that Tifa had given them a week ago, she struggled briefly to unroll the tape before sealing the box shut.

The only sound that could be heard was the erratic noise produced by the toy in the infant's fists.

A small sigh escaped her lips.

"You good?" Reno asked as he turned around from looking at the balcony, Sayuri in his arms. His gaze turned towards her as his eyes searched her face.

Lifting her hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she nodded. "Yeah. It's better this way, ya know? It's just…" she trailed off as she bent over slightly to pick up the paper bag off the ground. Inside contained the piece of jewelry, a hardcopy of the pictures they had taken during the week and a letter she had written Sayuri—Yuffie had written out an account of the evening they had found her. Her fingers pulled out the small jewelry box and studied it for a moment.

"Whaddya have?" he asked as he walked towards her.

The lid popped open and the pendant hung off a silver necklace glittered brightly against the early morning sun. "You think it's cheesy? It's a lily."

His mouth pulled up into a cryptic smile. "I've always liked lilies."

Yuffie hummed in agreement before closing the lid with a sharp snap and dropping it back into the brown bag. With a small yawn, she looked up towards him. His back was towards her again—she couldn't help but stare at his fiery hair as it caught the rays of sunlight and it glowed brightly. Not for the first time, her heart leapt out of her throat.

What happened on the couch last night almost seemed like it had been a dream. Her face pinked involuntarily and ignoring the way her chest fluttered wildly, she dropped the bag on top of the cardboard box before strapping on the baby carrier. And then she sauntered over towards them, peering up to Sayuri with her usual cheeky grin.

"Heya kiddo."

Sayuri gurgled happily.

"You ready?" A raise of his eyebrow.

"For four hours of hell? Heck yeah!" Yuffie cheered in a mocking tone all the while punching the air with her fists. "What's not to like about vomiting the entire trip and back?"

Reno snickered before nodding towards the kitchen countertop. "Grabbed some pills from HQ yesterday. Two each way should do it."

Yuffie blinked in surprise. Not only had she not seen the bottle of pills the entire morning she had gone around to clean up and pack up the mess, she had also not expected Reno of all people to be so thoughtful—she forgot her own tranquilizers for airship rides more times than she could count. "Wow. Thanks Turkey!" she chirped out instead as she bounced towards the kitchen and poured two out before tossing them in her mouth and washing it down.

"Last thing I need is for you to blow chunks all over my 'copter."

She almost choked on her mouthful of water as she refrained herself from laughing. "Grossness!" she burst out as she doubled over in a heaving wet cough. "That image in my head," she gasped out with another giggle because all she could think about was her first trip on Cid's airship. "I wish you woulda been there on my first right on the Highwind!" she wheezed out.

"I'm good, thanks," he muttered dryly.

The corner of her eyes had teared up from laughing and she drew in several deep breaths, her stomach aching. "Oh my gawd I'm gonna die!"

When her own giggles finally subsided moments after and she caught her breath, she looked up to see that he was just steps away—their gazes locked. With a sheepish smile, she took the few steps to close the distance between them before leaning up boldly to brush her lips against Sayuri's chubby cheeks. Eyes sparkling and mouth growing playfully and still on her tippy toes, she turned towards Reno's jaw before blowing raspberries against it.

His eyes widened in surprise before his unexpected laughter filled the air—loud and husky—he wiped his chin on his shoulder. "You're so nasty, yo." And then he shoved her backwards gently, causing her to stumble slightly.

Her loud, girlish giggles echoed in the room shrilly.

Reno passed Sayuri along to Yuffie, who strapped her tightly in the carrier before bounding towards the entrance, leaving the large diaper box and bag for Reno to carry. The car ride to the Shinra Headquarters was a short one and they didn't run into a single person on the way from the parking lot to the roof.

As Yuffie settled into the passenger seat of the helicopter and struggled to buckle the seatbelt with a sleeping Sayuri strapped in front of her, Reno began the preflight inspection by doing a visual check of the exterior. Hopping into the helicopter cockpit, he dug around behind his seat before pulling out a tiny pair of light green headphones.

"For the kiddo," he explained quickly as he handed it to her and put on his own.

Yuffie quickly grabbed hers off the hook and placed it on her own head before she placed the green ones over Sayuri's ears and held it there as gently as she could. Reno glanced over at them and when he was satisfied, he looked up above his head and began flicking on switches to complete the rest of his preflight checks.

Sayuri murmured in her sleep slightly. Yuffie watched as Reno started the engines and the blades began to rotate faster and faster, the noise becoming louder and louder. The small infant at her chest shifted in her position and Yuffie hoped that she would be asleep for the majority of the ride, after all, she had fallen asleep just as they arrived at the Shinra building.

By the time they were in the air, the sun had risen fully and its deep golden glare lit up the skies and the world below as far as she could see. The sunlight danced on the ripples of the ocean waves and it never ceased to amaze Yuffie that Edge was just that close to the sea—it was easy to forget that the majestic expanse of water lay just a small distance from the dull grey concrete jungle.

She was thankful that Reno had remembered the motion sickness medication because she was sure she would have been miserable the entire flight while carrying Sayuri around and she would have probably projectile vomited by now.

Sometime within the first hour, Yuffie had dozed off and it wasn't until Sayuri started wriggling to display her irritation that she woke up. Sayuri began to first attempt to remove the headphones from her ears, but when she realized just how loud it was when they shifted off her ears, she stopped trying to take them off. And then she tried to remove herself from Yuffie's carrier and it was only when Reno reached his arm backwards into the paper bag to pull out the rattler that she finally calmed down as she slobbered over the toy.

"Jeez," Yuffie huffed out with a small grin. "You're being so fussy and it's your last day with us!"

Sayuri peered up at her, eyes wide with innocence and wonder and Yuffie felt her own heart stutter painfully in her chest.

"I'm gonna miss you, 'kay?" Yuffie whispered softly, pressing her against her chest tenderly.

The village of Gongaga hadn't changed too much in the seven years since she'd last visited—the ruins of the mako reactor still sat within sight, a constant reminder of the deadly explosion that had happened years ago. She did, however, notice that there had been an increase of residential houses from when she had last been here and she wondered if there had been an influx of inhabitants from Midgar Post-Meteor.

"D'you remember the last time we were here?" Yuffie asked as she took Reno's offered hand while he helped her out of the helicopter. Normally, she would have slapped away the offensive offer with a scowl, but sitting for an extended period of time with additional weight on her back and shoulders caused her legs to tingle as she stood up. The way her legs almost gave way as she exited the helicopter caused her to curse because he looked like he was close to snickering.

Holding onto her by her arms tightly to make sure she wouldn't fall, he had a condescending smirk stretched across his face. "Ya mean when we kicked your ass?"

When she could finally stand on her own, she pushed away from him with a snort. "Pretty sure we opened a can of whoopass on you while you cried for Broody."

"Not how I remember it, brat." His gaze studied her briefly and when it seemed like he was sure she was capable of not falling over, he climbed back onto the helicopter to grab the diaper box and the paper bag.

Her eyes wandered to the crossroads just past the tall grasses and her lips lifted up just slightly. "Actually," she murmured with amusement, "pretty sure you and Baldy were just gossiping about who you liked. I remember 'Lena complaining about that, now that I think 'bout it. Said that that was all the two of you ever did."

He scoffed. "Leave it up to her to complain 'bout gossip when that's all she ever does with you." His eyes gleamed as he raised his eyebrow and she knew he was referring to the last time Elena had visited her at the WRO headquarters.

"Yeah?" she huffed proudly as she placed her hands behind her back before shooting him a wicked grin. "You should thank her for it, ya know. Otherwise I mighta never kissed you."

"I am not going to thank her for it," he muttered dryly as he began the trek to the village.

A small laugh bubbled out of her as she caught up to him and matched his steps. "Okay, okay. Don't. She can never know or she'll never let me live it down anyway. Both her and Teef." With both hands wrapping around Sayuri, she continued to peer up at him with slightly narrowed eyes as she bounced each step she took. "Kinda funny how life is, right? Rude's with Teef now… Who did you like anyway?"

He snickered. "Ya think I'm ever gonna tell you, dipshit?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me!" she exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

"Weren't you ten?"

She punched him jovially in the shoulder, probably harder than she should have and she watched him wince, a little smug. "I was sixteen, asshole." Curious to see his reaction, she tried to choose her next words carefully, except she was Yuffie Kisaragi, so who was she kidding. "Spikey's kind of a good kisser!"

Reno stuttered just slightly in his footsteps and a flash of annoyance crossed his face before his usual scowl took over. "Did anyone not like the First-class asshole?"

Yuffie laughed. "I'm kidding. I totes just kissed him on the cheek and he tried to push me off… I was never part of the love triangle!" She couldn't stop her lips from widening as she teased him, "Are you jealous, Turkey?"

He looked like he was about to retort with what would no doubt be a sarcastic remark when it looked like he caught a glimpse of something that rendered him speechless from the corner of his eyes. And just as quickly as it happened, he averted his gaze from whatever he had seen and continued the walk towards the small houses scattered around. It seemed as if he knew exactly which house he was heading to.

Yuffie couldn't stop her curious self from glancing over at what had caught Reno's stare. There was a redheaded woman standing in the graveyard—there was hardly anything distinct about her with her jeans and dark hoodie and Yuffie had a feeling it was done purposefully. With a small shrug, she mentally committed the woman's face to her memory. If she was her younger self, she would no doubt pester Reno until he gave in or possibly murdered her, but she was older and wiser—he was allowed to have his secrets. Plus, she doubted he would be willing to part with whatever information he was withholding—he'd probably take it to his grave if it was what he was determined to do.

Casting one final look at the woman, she followed Reno's steps instead.

At the very northern side, right by the edge of the village stood a semi-dilapidated house that was practically overrun with long, messy tufts of wildgrass. Yuffie couldn't help but notice the crumbling roof that had been patched up by metal sheets and wood—she suspected the patchwork was done with whatever materials could be found. Even the bricks that made up the entire building were cracked and badly weathered.

When she caught sight of the elderly couple standing outside, their hair white and their skin wrinkled with age as they talked softly amongst themselves, her heart stopped and her steps faltered.

"Reno…" she whispered as her hands clutched tightly onto Sayuri. "What the hell are we doing here?"

His body turned sideways partially as he glanced at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Bringin' the kid back to her grandparents."

"But—"

"It's not ideal, princess. But she's got people who'll wanna take care of her and that's a helluva lot better than what the kids on the streets in Edge has," he muttered, keeping his tone low to make sure his voice didn't carry far. "It's a shitty house in a backwater village but she's gonna have people who love her and want her here and trust me, it makes all the fuckin' difference in the world." His face was carefully blank as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she let out a harsh breath as reality sank in. She realized then that he'd been through it—that he was old enough to remember being abandoned and unwanted.

Just like all those orphans in Edge.

From the corner of her eye, she saw movement and when she finally turned towards it, Sayuri's grandparents were waving happily with a beaming smile on each of their faces—the joy in their eyes was unmistakable.

"You're right," she admitted because she wouldn't know any better. As shitty of a childhood as she thought she had, she had never been deserted and forgotten. "Let's go." Plastering as big of a grin as she could on her face, she bounced over to the battered home. It would be the best choice for Sayuri—it wasn't like she was capable of giving her the best home possible either.

"Oh, thank you so much!" the grandmother exclaimed as she reached out her arms to embrace Yuffie, crushing Sayuri between the two of them.

Awkwardly, Yuffie patted the elderly woman's back comfortingly. "We're just glad we could help," she said softly.

"We're just so happy you could bring Abigail back to us," the grandfather said as he patted his wife's shoulder gently, as if reminding her to let Yuffie go.

Yuffie heard Reno's footsteps catch up and she looked backwards to catch his gaze as he stepped up next to her. "We've brought some stuff that we've been using," she explained as she motioned to Reno, who was just in the process of laying down the box and the bag.

And at last, with a small watery smile, Yuffie unbuckled the baby carrier and held Sayuri up to her face. "I'm gonna miss you, 'kay, kiddo? Be good for your grandparents!" And then she nuzzled the baby close to her, taking a large sniff of her comforting scent that she had grown so used to over the last few days before kissing her on the cheek. Knowing that Reno would never admit to missing the infant, she passed her to him, half expecting him to push her away.

Instead, he held her close and spoke quietly into her ears before brushing his lips softly against the top of her head.

It took everything she had not to burst into tears.

When the goodbyes were finally said and Reno had helped carry everything inside the house while Yuffie reassured them to call if needed, they finally walked away from the house. Her heart felt heavy and light all at once and she couldn't quite understand her conflicting emotions.

"D'you think we shoulda done more?" Yuffie asked with a loud sigh as they made their way back to the helicopter, her gaze flickering over to the graveyard that was now empty.

"Like what?"

"Iunno," she responded with a shrug before giving a backwards glance at the house. "Like give them money or whatever. I mean, they're clearly struggling…"

His steps paused as his gaze followed hers before flickering briefly at the cemetery. "I'll keep a tab on 'em." And then he began walking again.

Her lips widened into a smile as she matched his steps, her shoulder brushing against his arm. "Thanks Reno. Means a lot to me."

His grunt was the only response.

The silence between them was comfortable even though she felt that something was missing—it would take her a while to get used to Sayuri's absence. She couldn't stop the small sigh that escaped, nor could she stop the way her chest squeezed painfully. The only consolation was knowing that Sayuri was alive and being taken care of by loving grandparents.

"Yo, brat."

"Yeah, Carrot Top?" she responded, her tone more solemn than usual as she looked away from the helicopter that was growing larger and larger as they drew closer to watch him instead.

His lips quirked up. "You hungry?"

A small laughter rolled out from her because his question triggered her to finally realize that they hadn't yet had any food all day—her stomach growled noisily in protest. "Starving!" she exclaimed with a grin. "You know just what to say to get me going!"

"There's this restaurant in Junon—"

"You're totally paying!"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered offhandedly. And then Reno did something that she would never, in a million years, have expected from him—he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they continued to walk.

Giddy because just a week ago, he would have never initiated any physical contact whatsoever. She laid her head against his side as she peered up at him. "I'm gonna miss the kiddo."

He was silent for a few seconds before he admitted with a small exhale, "Me too."

"We still gonna meet up for drinks tonight?" she asked, a little apprehensive. "It's Saturday." She wasn't sure how much of last week changed anything, if it changed anything at all—she hoped it did.

A small shrug from him. "Sure thing, princess."

"Usual meet up time and place?"

His arm tightened around her just slightly before she felt him force himself to relax. She noticed he still hadn't looked down at her. "I don't have any plans for the afternoon."

Oh.

Oh.

She felt her cheeks burn as her trademark grin beamed widely on her face. "Huh. What a coincidence, Turkey." And then she stopped in her steps and forced him to stop alongside her before reaching up to grab his cheeks and turn him to face her. "My schedule's free too. Guess I'll just crash your place till we go out."

His lips curled up and his eyes glowed as he snorted with amusement. "Isn't that what you've been doin' all week, short stuff?"

"Yep!"

And before she could lose her nerve, she stood on her tippy toes and rested her hands on his shoulders to brush a quick kiss against his lips. Then she hopped away from him, bouncing her way towards the helicopter as she shouted backwards towards him.

"If you hurry up, we might even have time to finish our make out sesh from last night!"

A loud bark laughter could be heard behind her.

"You fuckin' tease."

"You love it!"

Author's Notes: Can anyone guess who was at the graveyard? :)

As usual, comments are very much appreciated!

Completed: Nov 23, 2020