Chapter 5

And here we have arrived to Chapter 5! Yay!

Just like I said in Chapter 1, I am providing a warning for this chapter. It's not too explicit but hey – if you don't like it, don't read it. The story is rated M for a reason and I gave a warning so don't hate.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING related to Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy XII (when it comes to Princess Ashelia's name). All copyrights and ownership belong to the respectable company of Square Enix. I am not creating this story to make money nor am I earning a profit – I simply do this as a hobby because I have a love for writing and this series (and all the other Final Fantasy games for that matter!)

~ oOo ~

"This is seriously all you packed, yo?"

"Why should I pack more? I have more clothes in your closet than I do in mine at home!"

The couple left the bike on the side of the apartment complex where other residents also left their vehicles, if they had one. Hand-in-hand, they strolled their way through the doors and straight in the direction of the elevator. Amalia had become slightly fatigued from the sudden and prominent use of the Mako within her body back when they were at Healen and Reno felt that the idea of using the stairs wasn't the best option, even if he only lived on the seventh floor.

The ding of the doors buzzed their attention and they attentively stepped inside as the doors slid closed in front of them. Reno slung the light weighted bag over his shoulder and leaned against the back wall, his grip on Amalia's hand never once faltering. "Well, angel," he broke the silence. "What is it you want to do today? We've got the whole day ahead of us, yo."

She smiled. "Honestly, I have no idea. I'm just…ecstatic that you're right next to me." She glimpsed her eyes up at her lover. A light blush caressed her silky cheeks and Reno could only grin, pulling his muscles in order to hide the blush that began to heat his own cheeks. Blushing was the one thing he did not want Amalia to be able to see. Ever.

"Ditto to that, angel." Ding, the doors slid open and Amalia exited first with Reno following close behind. Silence gripped the two of them, both merely enjoying the presence of the other and not wanting to ruin their reunion. Walking down the hall, they stopped in front of a raven colored door at the end with the number "29" chiseled onto a golden plague next to the doorframe. Reaching into his pocket Reno fished for his keys, until he heavily sighed. "Oh, please say I didn't leave them at Healen…"

"Are you possibly talking about…these?" Amalia jingled a set of keys on a ring she had made for Reno after they had finally confirmed their relationship. He was always losing them in his pockets and could never remember where they were, until Amalia created a way to keep them altogether at once. It was a simple black ring with a small chain, complete with a small silver chocobo attached. It was a little trinket she had made when Reno had been assigned a mission that left them separated for more than a week; it had been the first of many.

"How did you…" Reno reached out to grab his keys but Amalia pulled back, the jingling of the clanging metal was the only noise to be heard in the hallway.

"No, no, I don't think so. You see," she pulled the set of keys closer to her body. "This is my set. See?"

Holding it up for him to see, Reno examined the blue colored chocobo. "Ah, I see. Then where's mine babe?"

Reaching into her back pocket, Amalia pulled out the original set of keys with a red chocobo dangling from its chain. "When in the hell did you take those from me?" He snatched them from her hand before giving her a peck on her lips.

"I stole them from your pocket right before we left Healen." A soft giggle escaped from her mouth and Reno stroked her hair before finally unlocking the door to the apartment. "You're a clever one. I'll never grow tired of that, yo." He pushed open the door and held out his hand, indicating for Amalia to walk in first. As she did, Amalia glanced around the spacious room, never growing tired of the place she could call her second home. The apartment was huge, the only one on the top floor because it was the penthouse.

Walking in, Amalia found herself in the familiar living room, completely decorated with a matching black eight-foot couch and loveseat along with one huge lazy chair; the living room itself being large enough to accommodate at least twenty people. To the left was the stairs that led to the second floor where the spare bedrooms and the master room were. To the far right, an open doorway led to the dining room, a place which was barely used. She and Reno rarely ever used the dining table, preferring to eat their meals either at the small breakfast table in the kitchen or in the living room if they decided to watch some television with their meal. Along the far back wall was the expansive kitchen, complete with tile covered floors and granite counters that were transported from Costa Del Sol; Reno spared no expense in ensuring his apartment was topnotch and well paid for.

If he could afford it, why the hell not?

Leaving Reno by the door, Amalia made her way into the kitchen, her feet leading her straight towards the fridge. Opening the door, her nose was immediately hit with a mixture of noxious fumes – spoiled milk, rotting vegetables and molding leftovers from the last time Reno was even in his apartment. From where she stood, Amalia looked at the milk jug and could feel the bile crawling against her esophagus. The once white nutritious liquid had turned a sickening, pale, chunky green. Leaning away, she closed the door and scrunched her nose; attempting to relieve the smell her nostrils had just memorized (1).

"Hey, what's wrong babe?"

Looking up, Reno stood in the open doorway leading from the living room and was watching her. "Oh," she smiled inwardly, knowing she was about to do something completely cruel. "I think I saw a spider in your fridge!" Creeping away from the appliance, Amalia forced her lip muscles to not smile. "Will you please kill it for me?" She batted her eyelashes, devilishly want to ensure Reno would take a peek.

Shaking his head and laughing, Reno grabbed a few paper towels off the counter and held the door in his hands. "Only been here for a few minutes babe and already you're asking me to kill spiders, yo."

"You know you love me."

"That I do, angel." Opening the door, Reno leaned inside looking for the spider only to retract himself from the confined space and slam the door shut, the machine slightly shaking as he did so. "Holy shit! What the hell did I leave in there, yo?!" Amalia clutched her sides, the laughter she held within herself dared to escape but she desperately tried to prevent it from leaking out of her lips. As the red-haired turned to her, his fingers holding his nose shut, she lost control. Doubling over, her laughter echoed throughout the apartment, tears eventually forming in the corners of her eyes as her lungs stung from lack of oxygen. Reno grew quiet as Amalia continued to laugh. As it died away, she looked up into his eyes as he stared blankly at her. Wiping away the tears that were able to fall from her tear ducts, Reno asked, "There was no spider in here was there?"

Amalia meekly shook her head.

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I get it, yo." He dropped the crumbled paper towels onto the floor and leaped at Amalia who registered his actions and ran into the living room. Reno chased after Amalia around the apartment where she carefully dodged each of his advantages. Running out of the kitchen, she made a full circle around the living room, watching the corner of the rug she always managed to trip on. With Reno hot on her tail, Amalia knew he would eventually catch her, but she was having too much fun to let him immediately catch her for tricking him to smell the murderous fumes in the fridge. Bounding across the bottom floor of the apartment, Amalia made her way towards the stairs and took two at a time, wanting to hide in one of the spare rooms before Reno could find her.

She was successful in avoiding his hands as she bounded around the corner at the top of the stairs. Losing his balance, Reno tripped on the top step and fell against hardwood flooring. "Son of a bitch!" she could hear him yelling from the hallway. Knowing he did in fact hurt his face from the fall, Amalia also knew that he was just trying to lure her to him by pretending he was seriously hurt. Dancing down the hall, she sneaked her slim body through the door to the master bedroom they shared and slipped into the darkness that was before her. Knowing the layout of the room by heart, she quickly tiptoed her way across the room to the bathroom door, thankful that it was open because the hinges tended to squeak when pulled on. Feeling her way through the bathroom, Amalia found the coolness of the shower curtain and slipped inside, undetected.

From her hiding spot, she could hear Reno's footsteps from the hallway. "Alright little missy," he said. "I know you're hiding up here. Where the hell did you go?"

She tried not to stifle a laugh; Reno was just too much fun to play with. She knew he would find her but she didn't care.

The bedroom door silently creaked open; Reno's breathing the only thing she could hear as she saw the flicker of the lights being turned on in the bedroom. "I know you're in here, angel. You always hide in the bedroom. Did you know that?"

Shit, he's right. I do always hide in the bathroom. How the hell didn't I remember that? Amalia thought to herself as she tried to think of another hiding place she could use in the future. The bathroom light flickered on and Amalia held her breath.

"You could be in here…but are you?" Reno was purposely talking to himself. He took a few steps into the bathroom and she could hear him mutter something but the noise was inaudible to her ears. "Hmm, I guess I was wrong then Amalia, you're not in the bedroom or the bathroom. But if you're not here, then where could you be? I wonder…" Walking out of the room, Reno turned off the lights and closed the door enough where there was barely a gap before it would close. Still holding her breath, Amalia listened, wanting to know where Reno was heading next. His chunky work boots echoed across the room and she heard him exit the door, shutting it behind him as he left; the echoes he produced disappearing down the hall and she wondered if he went to the next room or back downstairs.

Staying as quiet as she could, she gently pulled the shower curtain aside and gingerly stepped onto the padded rug. Walking through the bathroom as quietly as she could muster, Amalia stepped towards the door in the bedroom that led into the hallway. Her fingers traced the handle; eventually her muscles tightened as she grasped it firmly in her hand and turned it, unlocked the mechanisms and pulled the door towards her. Thankfully, it didn't squeak. Poking her head out, Amalia didn't see her red-haired lover in her vision. Leaning back, she exhaled a sigh from deep within her chest and softly pushed the door until it almost clicked into the hinge. Amalia closed her eyes and as soon as her vision went blank, she faintly heard a click within the confined walls around her. Once open again, her eyes adjusted to the sudden light penetrating her vision. Her back tensed as she could feel steamy breath pouring down her neck.

"I finally found you."

Amalia barely had enough time to register what was happening; Reno's arms wrapped around her body as he lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder. A yelp escaped from her lips as Reno carried her over to the bed they shared and he tossed her onto the non-so-neat bed, where the sheets were pushed all the way towards the end of the bed, exactly the way he had left it before his mission began. Amalia fell upon the soft sheets beneath her and her body bounced a little with the force Reno had given into throwing her.

"You're such a little sneak, you know that?" Noticing the bed began to drop she glanced up and saw Reno leaning over her body, his face dangerously close to hers. Amalia's breathing suddenly quickened; her pulse beating against her throat.

"Yeah but you like that about me."

"Of course I do. That's never going to change babe." Placing his hands on both sides of Amalia's face, Reno leaned down and pecked her lips with his. One peck turned into two and two turned into a soft kiss and a soft kiss turned into Reno running his hand along her jawline. With a chill running throughout her entire body, Amalia felt weak against Reno; a weakness she always had with him, even when they were technically enemies all those years ago.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes. The left was green and the right blue; both glowed with a majestic beauty he couldn't describe from the Mako that was infused into her body during her experimentation under the supervision of Hojo. He loved them nonetheless; it only added to the loveliness Amalia held.

As if on cue, Amalia leaned into his hand, wanting him to simply hold her. His skin against hers sent a calming sensation down to heart and she felt soothed and relaxed. "You knew I was in the bathroom the whole time, didn't you?"

"Well of course I did. The shower curtains not very thick, I could see the outline of your figure the entire time."

"So then where did you hide? I heard you shut the door and walk off."

Reno laughed. "I hid in the closet. That was the door you heard and I stomped on the ground as if I was walking away."

Amalia stuck her tongue out at him. "You cheat!"

"So I did. Do I care? No. I was able to find you in the long run, yo." Reno glanced up and down her body. One of Amalia's arms was above her head while the other lay across her lower stomach; her cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyelids tilted just enough that made Reno swallow an inner growl. "I must say, my angel, you look…quite ravishing right now."

"Oh do I now?"

"Yes, I just want to kiss those lips of yours…" Amalia took a chance and leaped towards his mouth, her lips crashing against his and they folded together. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down to her. Their body's clashed as Reno thrust his hands into her hair. Moaning at the tingling sensations Reno was rubbing into her scalp, Amalia molded her body into his. She always wanted more of her lover, but in that instant, her fear of going to the next level coursed through her veins. But all they were doing was kissing and she could handle that.

Reno's kisses were like magic; he knew exactly where to kiss her and how much pressure to apply. Her nipped and sucked, pecked and licked. Moving over her jawline, Reno feathered kisses against her gorgeous feature. Making his way towards her ear, Amalia tilted her head and he kissed directly behind her ear causing the girl beneath his arms to writhe in pleasure and gasp. Slowly, he moved downwards, pecking feather-like kisses on her flawless skin; all-the-while Amalia moaned, encouraging the red-hair to continue his torturous exploration.

Knowing he didn't need any permission to pursue any farther, Reno removed his hands from her hair and graced her skin with his fingers, gradually making their way to Amalia's breast. He squeezed slightly and a moan was able to be released from his mouth this time. Her flesh molded against his hands and Reno could feel the bulge within his pants growing by the second. With one hand on her breast, his lips focusing on one spot on her neck and the other hand holding her hip, Reno was surprised Amalia had allowed him to reach this far. He squeezed her breast more as he kissed her neck more. He didn't want to leave any marks on her skin but he did want her to remember what he had been doing.

Amalia was in bliss and amazed at herself she hadn't stopped Reno from continuing. This is getting out of hand. If I don't stop I know Reno'll want to…but I just can't… I can't do it. Although she was nervous about what was going to happen next, Amalia couldn't ignore the feelings Reno was granting her to feel. Her muscles melted under his touch, her breathing increased to match his and she could feel a heated awareness between her legs. The more Reno massaged and kissed her, the more she was becoming aroused. The way she was feeling in that instant, Amalia didn't want to stop. She wanted Reno to finally take her; she wanted him to give her an amazing pleasure; she simply wanted to become his.

But she wasn't ready.

Without her knowing, Reno had let go of her breast and made his way south; he kissed her neck, nipped her shoulder and pecked her collarbone all the way down until he was at her navel. Still unable to let go of the emotions and sensations swirling within her, Reno looked up at the beautiful woman. He would never live it down that this was the woman he loved and that he received her love in return. She was everything to him and damn it to Rufus if would ruin their relationship. Shaking his head, he banished those thoughts from his head and went ahead to make sure his girl would feel good. He kissed the top of her navel and could feel Amalia's skin; he tilted his head to begin kissing lower when he felt a rumbling against his skin. Amalia groaned and grabbed her stomach.

It was growling because it was hungry.

Reno couldn't help but laugh – he never thought that a growling stomach would stop him from continuing to kiss his woman. Propping herself up on her elbows, Amalia gave Reno a small smile but he could tell she was relieved they weren't able to continue, with the mood now lost. One of these days, he thought, I'm going to discover why she doesn't want to go all the way and have sex with me.

"I'm sorry, Reno."

"Nah, don't worry about it, yo." Amalia sat in a sitting position and Reno perched himself on the edge of the bed. Turning his head towards Amalia, she could tell he held a question within his eyes. "Hey babe, have you even had anything to eat today?"

Leaning against the wall, Amalia thought back to this morning. After a few seconds she replied, "Not…really."

"And what does that mean?"

"All I've had is a plate full of buttered toast." Reno narrowed his eyes at her, not approving of the answer she provided him. "What's with the look? At least I ate something."

"Yeah but all you've had is toast? It's…" he glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "After four in the afternoon you need to eat something. I'm guessing you didn't have any lunch either."

She shook her head. "No. After our call ended I headed straight home to shower and change then I went to Healen and now we're here."

"Still, you know I don't like it when you don't eat." Reno stood from his position, stretching a leg that was about to fall asleep.

"It's not like I do it purposely."

He sighed. "True, I'll take that." He extended a hand towards Amalia, helping her up from the not-so-neatly-made-bed. She grabbed it and stood, his hands immediately wrapping around her waist. "Come on, let's get an early dinner."

Her cheek's flushed. "With what food? We'll need to go grocery shopping considering your fridge is a ticking time bomb of deadly fumes."

"I know," Reno said as he pulled her hand, leading her out of their bedroom. Walking down the stairs, red hair bouncing back and forth against his back, Reno never let go of Amalia's hand. "That's a project we can take care of tomorrow; grocery shopping, cleaning, all of it. I'd rather not mess with…nastiness right now. Too disgusting, yo. So instead," Opening the front door and letting Amalia exit first while he locked the door, he led them to the elevator. "I'll be treating you to any dinner that you'd like."

"Anything I want?"

"Anything babe."

She thought for a second. "How far can we travel?"

"Hmm, well considering I don't have the copter on me…only as far as Shiva will take us. In a decent amount of time," he added.

"Ok…well, there's a new restaurant that opened a few weeks ago. Or…"

"Or?" The ding of the elevator signaled their attention and they walked in, the doors shutting behind them.

"We could always go to our usual over in Kalm."

Kissing the top of her head, Reno said, "I'd love that." They exited the room when the elevator reached ground floor and both walked hand-in-hand towards Shiva. Reno draped his leg over the bike first as Amalia crawled on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Shiva suddenly arose to life and Reno pushed the throttle and gunned its speed, winding his way through the streets of Edge until he made his way to the outskirts of the city. Amalia tightened her grip and, acting quickly, Reno placed one of his hands over hers that lay on his stomach. A smile grew onto his face as he pushed Amalia's bike further, driving the vehicle off into the distance, the vast expanse of the wilderness becoming their playground as they made their way towards Kalm.

~ oOo ~

Authors Notes:

(1): If people think I was using Axel's "Got it memorized?" as a reference to this, I must apologize, that was never my intention. I was editing this chapter and it hit me that it was similar but I swear that Axel's quote never crossed my mind as I was writing this.

Another chapter finished, but I would really like to know: is it even good? Could someone please tell me?

If you don't oh well…I hope you at least enjoyed this one! I'm telling ya now, the next chapter might be insanely long! I haven't edited it yet so we shall see! And so shall you!

Chocobocolina ~ :3