Jade, Wine, and Turk training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, yadda yadda yadda.
Chapter 5: When the past catches up to you...
"Bye Daddy!" Marlene waved to the big man standing in the doorway. "We'll be back in a couple of hours!"
Elmyra smiled at the 8 year old. "Come on honey, we better be going, or else you'll be late for your field trip."
Marlene smiled up at Elmyra happily. "Okay!"
Barret watched the two leave, chuckling softly. Just as soon as the car had pulled out of the driveway, the phone rang.
"Yo, Barret here."
"Hi Barret, this is Reeve."
Barret almost dropped the phone. "Heyy, how've you been? Shinra's been doing good...heh...never thought I'd say that."
Reeve laughed. "Yeah, thanks. I'm all right. Buried under paperwork, but all right. How about you?"
"Better than ever." Barret lowered his voice. "So Reeve...why're you calling?"
"Oh, well..." Reeve started casually. "I was thinking we could all get together. I mean, we haven't seen each other since Cid and Shera's wedding."
"Yeah! That's perfect," Barret answered.
"Perfect?" Reeve's puzzled voice came over the phone line.
"Yep. See, Elmyra and I are going to get married in three months!" Barret responded proudly.
Reeve blinked. "Wow! Congrats! Should I get Cait Sith to do a reading for you two?" he teased.
Barret shook his head furiously. "No way! Last time you did that..." the big man's voice trailed off.
*Last time I did that, Aeris ended up dying...* "Yeah. Right. So, we'll all meet up in," Reeve checked the calendar, "February. Ohhh, so you guys picked the romantic month, huh?" *Three months away...oh well. Not like we have any real, solid evidence that Hojo's alive.*
"Shaddap," Barret grumbled. "It was Elmyra's idea. Besides...that was Aeris' birth month."
"Ah." Reeve sighed. "Okay. Do you want me to contact everybody, or do you want to tell them the happy news?"
Barret thought for a moment. "Tell Yuffie. I can't stand talking to her."
Reeve laughed. "Will do."
"Tell Cloud too. Thick-headed spiky idiot..." Barret grumbled. "You'll probably be more persuasive than me."
"Cloud? I thought he was doing better."
"Yeah man, he WAS. Ever since Tifa left though, he's been losing it again...ya know, going back to being all depressed and stuff, just like that first year after we kicked Meteor's ass."
Reeve groaned. "Alright." *Hooo boy, I get to talk to Cloud about a wedding! Joy...* he thought sarcastically.
"I'm guessing you don't know where Vincent is."
"Nope. But I'll bet he'll show up anyway, just like at Cid and Shera's."
"Yah, Vincent's like that..." Barret trailed off. "You got any idea `bout Tifa's whereabouts?" he asked quietly.
"No, I'm afraid not...when Tifa told Cloud she was leaving, she meant it. I haven't seen or heard of her for the past two years."
Barret let out a big sigh. He really wished Tifa would come...she was one of his best friends, and had been like an older sister to Marlene. "Aiight then, that's it. Just get Yuffie and Cloud. Call if you need any more info, got it?"
"Got it." Barret could tell Reeve was grinning over the phone. "I'll see you later then, Barret."
"Later." Barret clicked the phone off.
*Come on, Tifa, show up. Wedding wouldn't be the same without ya...*
~~~~~
A brunette stirred and blinked her deep wine eyes. Then she blinked again, unsure whether her eyes were open or not.
*My gosh...it's pitch black...either that, or I've gone blind.* She shuddered, the thought disturbing. As her eyes adjusted, she caught sight of minuscule pinpoints of light coming from tiny holes in the walls. *Whew...least I don't have to worry about that. Now, where am I and how on the Planet did I get here?* Tifa sat up, her legs slightly crossed, and tried to think through her slight headache...but before she could get very far, two indistinct male voices interrupted – one that Tifa definitely knew.
Abruptly, her eyes narrowed and fists clenched. *Reno.*
*That little...* Tifa shook her head. She didn't cuss, but any other words to describe Reno at that moment fell short. *Okay, got that part down. Now, just where am I...* Thoughtfully, Tifa stood up and walked forward, keeping her arms out in front of her. *I'm inside some sort of motor vehicle,* she mused, feeling the 'ground' vibrating beneath her.
Carefully, her fingers brushed against cold metal. Tifa's eyebrows rose, feeling the large ridges. She turned and walked, keeping a hand on the wall. By the time she was done, she had a good idea of where she was.
*Reno, you are so DEAD the next time I see you...*
~~~~~
"Alright Turk, we're gonna stop here for the night." Josh pulled on the brakes in a clearing near a small forest.
"Fine with me." Reno leapt lightly out of the vehicle and stretched. "Do you ever wash that thing?" He motioned toward the truck.
"Ain't mine."
"Should've known." *He doesn't got enough gil to buy a bicycle, forget a truck.* Reno snorted, then started walking away into the twilight.
"Where do you think you're going, Turk?" Josh asked, looking up.
"To check on our beautiful guest," the redhead answered over his shoulder. "And it's Reno."
"Reno, Turk, same thing." Reno could hear Josh's shrug.
*Fool.* Reno let it slide. He wasn't worth wasting breath over. *I'd better get a blanket for her, it'll be cold at night...* He considered how it'd look to Josh if he walked back to the truck right after he'd left. *Eh. Do it later.*
The Turk tapped on the door of the trailer. "Hey Tifa, you awake?"
Silence was all that greeted him.
*Gonna play quiet, huh?* Reno knew that she would've woken up hours ago. The sedative he gave her wasn't that strong.
Whistling softly, Reno swiftly undid all the locks and prepared to pull the door open. "Okay babe, I'm gonna open the door, and if you try anything I won't hesitate to drop it on whatever body part's available."
Still only silence.
Reno shrugged, and pulled the door halfway open. Quickly he slid in, prepared to slip just as rapidly out if necessary.
Inside, he found Tifa calmly sitting cross-legged, blinking against the sudden light. Her cream pajamas seemed to glow in the darkness – as did her burgundy eyes. "Do you want something, Reno?" she asked wearily.
Reno watched her suspiciously. "Why aren't you attempting to beat the crap out of me?"
Tifa laughed, slightly bitter. "With you that close to the door?" She shook her head. "I'm fast, but not that fast. Besides," Tifa turned away, studying the now-visible walls of her prison, "it's not as if I have anywhere else to be..."
Reno's eyes narrowed. Tifa's uncaringness for her situation bothered him. For Christ's sake, she was drugged and kidnapped! "Okay," he stated tersely, "what's up? What do you have planned?"
Tifa turned sad, tired eyes toward Reno's. Again, Reno found himself breathless. *Snap out of it! Don't let her affect you this much, Reno. You're a Turk.*
"Look," Tifa's resigned voice interrupted his thoughts, and much to his relief, her eyes were once again locked on some nonexistent point on the wall. "I've been sitting in the dark for the past, oh, probably five hours. And you know what I've been doing all that time?"
"What?" he asked, wary of the answer.
"Thinking." She smiled, a jaded quality finding its way on her face. "I'll admit, at first all I thought about was how much I hated you for doing this...for leading me on as a friend, then turning around and backstabbing me. I didn't particularly care I was kidnapped, just betrayed." Tifa paused a moment, to let that sink in. "But I got over it. I was never good at holding a grudge, and it was stupid of me to trust you in the first place."
"Uh-huh," Reno responded, just to let her know he was listening.
"So then I started thinking about my life. Would you like to hear about it?" The brunette glanced at him, seemingly uncaring whether he did or not, but Reno could tell. This had been building for a long time, and she needed to let it out.
"Sure. Not like I got anything else to do," he answered casually.
"Okay then, Reno." Tifa took a deep breath. "My mom died when I was eight – just old enough for me to remember her and understand what was going on. My town was burned down, my father murdered, and my torso slashed by my idol when I was 15. I lived in the slums for the next five years, working in a bar. When I was 20, I found an old crush of mine, and embarked on a journey to 'save the Planet.'" She emphasized the last words mockingly. "Along the way, I happened to fall in love with my old crush, only to be rejected for a dead girl. And now," she finished up, her voice steadily rising, "now, I've spent the last two years all alone. And you know why? Because I can't bear to go near my friends anymore, because I don't want to have to deal with their pity, because I can't keep up my pretenses of being happy, sweet, cheerful Tifa, because I'm too in love to let go!" she finished, fighting for control over her voice, which she quickly regained.
"And you know what, Reno?" She went on, not giving him a chance to answer. "I'm tired of it. Tired of it all. I don't care anymore." Her frame drooped exhaustedly, and her eyelids closed. "I'm not going to kill myself or anything," Tifa continued, her voice soft, "but I don't care if I die either."
"Yeah? Nice sob story," Reno remarked callously. Tifa's gaze flew to his face, first shocked, then disgusted.
"Of course. Why did I think you'd understand..." she muttered, returning her stare to the floor.
Reno strode over to her, angry. He didn't know why, but Tifa's 'I'm-just-going-to-give-up' attitude pissed him off. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly, not trying to hurt her, just get her attention. "Listen Lockheart, I understand all right. I've been there, done that; I know all about it. You want to hear about my story?"
Tifa looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes. "...okay..." she answered, uncertain.
Reno nodded, as if satisfied. He released Tifa's shoulders and stepped back. "Okay girl. I was abandoned as a child; I never had parents to miss. I survived at a filthy orphanage until I was seven, when I was moved out for more needful kids," he scorned. "I begged on the streets until I was nine, and I got adopted into a gang. I eventually became the leader of that gang when I was 14. When I was 17, we picked on Tseng and I got knocked out. When I came to, I got the proposition to join the Turks." Reno glanced over at Tifa, who was listening closely. "You know what it's like in the slums. So yeah, I joined. If I hadn't, I probably would be dead by now. You don't often live past 18," he laughed hollowly. "Once in the Turks, I spent the next five years doing Shinra's dirty work. I won't go into detail on that, because trust me babe, you don't want to know," he drawled. "And then you guys, the big bad AVALANCHE came along, and waddaya know, I'm back on the streets." *Nobody wants a Turk.*
"But Reeve offered you a job," Tifa interrupted, her eyes intent.
"Yeah. I didn't take it. I wasn't going to rely on Hamasaki's pity for me." Reno sneered at the memory.
Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it the same when Tseng invited you into the Turks?" she pointed out.
"You don't get into the Turks unless you've got talent," Reno informed her, his voice icy.
"Well, I'm sure that your 'talents,' would have been of use to the new Shinra," Tifa retorted.
"Is that so?" Reno leaned down towards her, his eyes glinting stones of jade and his face only inches away. "Fine," he hissed. "Fine. So I accepted pity that one time. But that was a long time ago. I'm a man now, I don't need anybody's pity."
"Oh oh, so you're a man now," Tifa answered sarcastically. "Right. You're a man because you won't take a good opportunity when it slaps you in the face. You're a man because you're starving and kidnapping. Well I have to say, I didn't have a high opinion of the male spectrum before, but now it's at an all-time low," she mocked, the adrenaline of standing up to a Turk – and Reno at that – making her giddy.
And she was stunned when the said Turk leaned those few more inches and crushed her lips to his in a rough kiss. Almost immediately, Reno pulled back. "I just took a good opportunity right there," he smirked, then quickly left before Tifa came to her senses. A few seconds after Reno pulled away, the brunette jumped up and punched the metal door, making a nice dent right before it slammed to a close.
Enveloped in the inky void once more, Tifa curled up in a corner and hid her face from the darkness.
AN: *blink* Well...I have to say, I didn't expect that to happen in this chapter either...but oh well! The story writes itself. (O_o;; I have as much of a clue about what I'm going to write next as you do, trust me) R&R if you want more faster! (Maybe this is what happens when you get writer's block...)
And Ayumi Hamasaki's name belongs to Ayumi Hamasaki. ^_^