Jade, Wine, and Turk training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: FVII is not mine. *Darn*
Chapter 2: Home sweet home
"Please don't tell me you live at the bus stop," Reno commented, looking around.
Tifa rolled her eyes. "No, I don't. We're here to get the bus."
"Oh. So...why'd you invite me to your house anyway?"
Tifa glanced at him. "I thought you wanted to talk to me?"
"I do. I didn't expect you to give in so easily though." The redhead grinned.
Tifa shrugged. "Well, if Reeve can date Elena, I guess I can talk to you."
"What? You mean my charm didn't win you over?" Reno looked offended. Tifa laughed as the bus pulled up alongside them.
"Bus 213, Midgar outskirts. Place your fare in the change box, and please enjoy the ride."
"Whew," Reno whistled. "We're pretty far from the Midgar Core."
The pair had been walking in silence for about 20 minutes.
"Hmmm?" Tifa turned around to look at him. "Yeah, I guess we are...but it's so nice out here," she continued, gesturing. "Clean. Even with all the work Reeve's put into it, the Midgar Core's still a city, with pollution and slums... But out here," she spun, her face in the cool, crisp wind, "out here, it's all clean. No smog, no noise...no death, or blood in the air...no memories..." Tifa trailed off, having said too much already.
Reno nodded, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his face tilted toward the sky. "Yeah...I know what you mean."
"And that means no smoking!" Tifa scolded, turning to look at the former Turk again. She gave him a small smile to let him know she wasn't really upset.
Reno grinned back at her. "Don't worry. I'm not addicted or anything."
"Ohhh, aren't you?" Tifa looked at Reno skeptically.
"Nah. I don't let myself get addicted to anything." He returned his gaze to the midnight blue of the sky. "There sure a lot of stars...I never really noticed them before. Midgar wasn't much for a view, y'know."
The bartender looked at him oddly. "Maybe it's better not to notice the stars," she mused. "They've caused me so much trouble...so many false hopes..." Tifa suddenly laughed. "Look at me. Pouring my heart out to a Turk."
"That's ex-Turk, lady," Reno corrected. "Incase you didn't notice my lovely little good-bye speech in Midgar, we went out of business when Shinra shut down."
"Is that so? I've said it before, and I'll say it again – it's not a title you let go of so easily." Tifa smiled sadly at Reno. "Well...come on. It isn't much further."
Five minutes later, Reno found himself looking at an impressive two-story house.
"Daaang, how much money did this house cost?" Reno stared, wide-eyed.
Tifa couldn't help but laugh as she inserted the keys into the door. "Almost all of my savings from traveling the planet." She gave the door an affectionate pat, then walked in. "Would you like to come in Reno, or are you just going to admire the view?"
"I'm coming," Reno answered hurriedly, closing the door behind him. "Wow...nice."
The house had slick wooden floors, except for the walkway, kitchen, and bathrooms, which were light ivory tile. Its windows were large, with billowing white curtains. There were crimson colored couches in what Reno assumed to be the living room, along with a long wooden table, the center of it a glass sheet.
Further along the tile walkway was a bathroom, the kitchen, and another sitting room, this one with a fireplace and forest green furniture. Various pieces of art decorated the two rooms. The house was cool, as Tifa had left the large windows open, and the nighttime air flowed throughout the building.
*And this is just the first floor...* Reno thought, as Tifa led him to the back sitting room. Reno sat on one of the dark green couches, and looked out the window he happened to be next to. He was greeted with the sight of a well-kept gold chocobo and a large garden. *Her backyard's nice too. Shoot, the whole house's nice.*
"Do you want anything?" Tifa asked cordially, her eyes sparkling. She loved playing hostess and showing her house off. Her house was her pride and joy. "Some dinner, maybe?" she suggested tactfully, recalling her previous note of her guest's thinness.
Reno's ears perked, but he couldn't resist the urge to comment. "I thought you didn't go for the dinner idea."
"Okay then," Tifa replied amiably, sitting down on the sofa across from him. Reno felt regret, but promptly shoved that aside. He didn't need Tifa feeding him.
"Why'd you buy a big house in the middle of nowhere?" he asked, covering up his discomfort.
"Buy it?" Tifa giggled, a cute, tinkling sound. "I didn't only buy it, I specifically had it built to fit my requirements. I've always dreamed of this house." She leaned back on the sofa, closing her eyes in content. "This house...I can always relax here. Get away from everything, you know?" She opened her eyes to see how Reno was taking the information. He seemed fairly interested, so she continued. "Everything about this house...its spaciousness, the curtains, the very location, it makes me feel so free. It's my retreat. My place to heal when things get tough. There's no responsibilities here, no criticism. No need to be better for somebody else..." her voice trailed off.
*Somebody else, huh? Hmm...* "It seems a bit big for just you," Reno remarked, looking around. "And it doesn't seem like you get visitors often."
Tifa unconsciously hugged her knees, her eyes gaining a faraway look. "I suppose it is," she admitted minutes later. "And I don't. In fact, I don't get any. None of my friends know about this place. But after all I've been through...I don't feel lonely. I enjoy my solitude. Maybe later, I'll want to share my dream with somebody, but not now."
"Ah." Reno raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that's an indirect hint for me to be on my way, right?"
"What?" Tifa looked startled. "No no, of course not. You're not intruding."
"And how's that?" Reno asked curiously. "How come you'll let me here, but none of your AVALANCHE buddies?"
The brunette's expression turned thoughtful. "I'm not sure. Maybe because I don't have to keep up any pretenses around you."
"Pretenses?"
"Yeah. Like, if I were this...introspective around my old friends, then they'd all think something was wrong with me." She laughed, a bit sadly. "I'm supposed to be the happy, optimistic, I'll-cheer-you-up-when-you're-down sort of person. And to be completely honest, I feel a bit guilty being anything else." Her dark eyes locked with Reno's bright green ones for a second, and his breath caught.
Tifa continued on, unaware of Reno's sudden uneasiness. "I'm needed like that, you know? On our journey to defeat Sephiroth, we all grew to depend on each other...Nanaki's wisdom, Cid's toughness, Vincent's coolness...even Yuffie's obsession with materia," Tifa chuckled. "It was a great way to get a good laugh out of all of us."
Reno listened intently. For all his attitude, he'd found that he enjoyed hearing other people tell their stories to him, thanks to Elena. "What about Barret? And Cait Sith?" He deliberately avoided Cloud. He'd get to him later.
"Barret's devotion. I don't know how many times he kept me going...I'm sure it was the same for everybody else. And Cait Sith..." Tifa's eyes clouded over for a moment, then cleared, "Cait Sith was a reminder. He kept us alert, and focused on our goal. I know he never intentionally hurt us, and he was, is, a good friend, but still...he was a spy."
Reno nodded. "So...why'd you do it?"
"Do it?"
"Keep on fighting."
"Ah. What you wanted to know in the first place, plus a ton of extra info, huh?" Tifa smiled mockingly. She wasn't sure whether it was at Reno or herself.
"Of course." Reno grinned, a smug expression on his face.
The smug look was what ticked Tifa off. "Hmmm... Oh, wow, look, it's past midnight. We ought to be getting to bed." She released her legs, stood up, and stretched.
Reno tried his hardest not to stare; he didn't want Tifa kicking him out. The ground outside wasn't the softest in the world. "We?" he repeated hopefully.
Tifa paused for a second. "We," she affirmed, a bit reluctantly. "Bedrooms are upstairs."
AN: That's my dream house... *wistful expression* Um, anyway...what'd you think? R&R!