Jade, Wine, and Turk training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: Hehe, more original characters! They're all mine too. All written text is copyrighted. ^_^ Oh, but FFVII, and any characters/settings from FFVII are property of Squaresoft.
Chapter 9: The last of the invitations
Tifa fidgeted. The inside of the truck had been filled with an awkward silence for the past hour. Carefully, she peeked sideways at Reno.
He hadn't moved. Still leaning on the door with his hands behind his head, staring at some point on the ceiling she couldn't see. Tifa noted that he must have moved at some point, because there was an unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth.
Tifa sighed. "Can you tell me anything about my..." she paused for a moment, trying to decide on the best word, "...abduction?"
"Nope."
Tifa sighed again. "Fine..."
Reno flicked his glance at the brunette. "It's nothing personal, you know."
"Of course it isn't." Tifa hugged her knees and lowered her head, watching the strands of hair twist and glide across the floor. "Let me guess, 'It's your job.'"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Hmph." Tifa tossed her head disdainfully. "Like I said before, a Turk's a Turk."
"You got it babe, so why don't we move on to something else?" asked Reno, a little edgily.
The female AVANLACHE member glanced over at Reno, surprised at his outburst – but she decided against questioning it. She couldn't even find the right words anyway. "You have something in mind?"
"Sure." Reno moved his hands to his legs. "What've you been doing these past two years?"
Tifa blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You said earlier you've been hiding from your AVALANCHE buddies for the past two years. So what've you been up to?"
Tifa's gaze returned to the floor. "Nothing much." She played with the dark chocolate waves near her feet. "What about you? How'd you get by after Meteor? Don't tell me you've been kidnapping the whole time." She glanced up, a small smile on her face to show she didn't mean it.
"Nah. Takes too long; I prefer a quick in and out, `specially after that whole 'catch the Ancient' thing," Reno smirked. "And I don't think I'm gonna tell you what I've been doing these past four years. No need to give incriminating evidence."
Tifa lifted an eyebrow, then shook her head exasperatedly. "I might've known. Are you going to answer any of my questions?"
"Yep. See, I just answered one right there."
If Tifa had a pillow she would've thrown it right about then.
The redheaded Turk grinned at her expression. "Y'know, you're cute like that. Guess Strife must've been part blind, huh?"
At his first comment, Tifa had begun to roll her eyes exasperatedly; but once Reno mentioned Cloud, her face turned melancholy. "No...you've seen Aeris. You know...how she was..." *Beautiful. Kind. Loving. Fun. Mysterious. Alluring. Gorgeous. Angel-*
"Keyword: was. She's dead now, ain't no way you can bring her back," the Turk's voice interrupted her thoughts. Scooting a little closer, Reno slung his arm around Tifa's shoulders. "So don't go moping over it anymore. His loss."
"Maybe..." Tifa played with a lock of her hair. She never did get the chance to put it up, or change her clothes, for that matter. Looking down at herself, a small smile appeared on Tifa's face as she took in her loose, long-sleeved pjs.
"Wat'cha thinking about?" Reno cocked his head, noticing her lighter attitude.
"Just my clothes." Tifa giggled. "I'm still in my pajamas, did you notice that?"
"Of course. You aren't showing your sexy flat stomach like before," Reno answered, completely serious.
"Reno!" Tifa punched him on the shoulder – lightly.
Reno laughed, before leaning in closer. "But I like it," he spoke softly, his breath tickling her ear. "The cream makes your eyes, hair, skin...heck, all of you even more gorgeous," the fiery Turk purred.
Tifa stiffened, then quickly wiggled out from Reno's arm. Just in time too, as his mouth just barely brushed against her neck.
Once at what she deemed a safe distance away, Tifa glanced back at Reno. His wounded expression cut her, even though she knew he was probably faking it.
"Reno..." Tifa shook her head. "What are you doing?"
*Good question.* "Uh...I don't know," he confessed. "How about we just ignore that?"
Tifa bit her lip, then nodded slowly. "Fine. But let's get something straight; I'm not, and will never be, a one-night stand. Is that clear?"
"Yeah, crystal." Any hint of the relief Reno felt at Tifa's answer was well-hidden.
"Okay then." Tifa hesitated for a moment, then crawled back next to Reno, who replaced his arm around her shoulder. They sat there together for what could have been hours, lost in their own thoughts.
~~~~~
"Hello, Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon."
"Yo, Red!"
"Barret?" The feline settled down next to his custom made speakerphone, his tail swishing contently. "It's wonderful to hear from you. How have things been?"
"Everything's been good over here. How's the Canyon?"
"It's doing very well. The research on the Huge Materia is going quite nicely. It may be that the magic Huge Materia is capable of curing certain diseases." Nanaki's voice lowered. "Of course, each piece also holds destructive powers, which are also being researched in hopes of finding a form of containment."
Barret nodded. "That's good, man."
"Yes, it is. So, for what reason have you decided to call?"
"Heh, jus' callin' to check up on ya." Barret scratched the back of his head.
"Mmm-hmm." Nanaki didn't sound convinced.
"Aww, all right. Guess I can't fool you."
Something that sounded remarkably like a smirk came from Nanaki's end of the phone.
Barret grumbled. "Can't a guy call his friends without them jumpin' all over him?"
"Not after two years. So what's the big news?" Nanaki waited patiently.
"We~ell, Elmyra and me are getting married this February!" Barret boasted proudly.
"Ah, my congratulations. Have you set an exact date?" Nanaki inquired.
"Yeah, we're thinking February 19th."
"19th? Why then?"
"Shoot, I don't know! It just is!" Barret yelled, annoyed by all the questions.
"Very well. I'll be sure to keep that day clear for the special occasion."
"That's good, Red. See ya then."
"Until then. Good-bye, and thank you for the call." Nanaki nosed his phone off and stretched. *My my... It seems as if all of us are finding our mates. Barret and Elmyra, Cid and Shera, Reeve and Elena...I wonder if I shall ever find mine?* Nanaki's thoughts drifted to Tifa and Cloud, and he unconsciously gave a small growl. *Poor Tifa. I suppose I needn't worry so much right now, I'm still too young, plus I have a good 1000 or so more years to live. Not so for Tifa...or Cloud. Humans...* The red feline shook his growing mane. Why couldn't they just move on?
~~~~~
Reno observed the woman leaning against him. From the look of it, the vibrations and sunlight had combined to make Tifa drowsy. Her eyes were half-lidded, and her mouth open slightly.
*Very sexy...* Reno mentally shook himself. *Don't go there; you almost blew it just a little while back, so get a grip.* Still, nothing wrong with looking, right?
Fairly soon, it became obvious that Tifa had fallen asleep. Reno adjusted his body so that Tifa's head lay on his chest, and most of her upper body was supported by his. Using the wall behind him as a support, Reno found he was growing sleepy himself. Absentmindly, his hand dropped to the floor to play with Tifa's rich, silky hair.
*That's better. She won't end up stiff when she wakes up...whoa, déjà vu.* Reno's lips twitched in a sardonic grin. Since when did he start worrying about other people's comfort anyway?
For a moment, Reno felt like standing up, just to prove he was still the bad-ass, ruthless, "I'll do what I please and screw you if you don't like it" Turk he'd always been...but after glancing down at Tifa's tranquil form resting on him, the urge drained away.
Reno closed his eyes and let his body relax.
AN: Whew! This chapter was easier than the last couple, yay! What did you think? (I always get sleepy in the car, hehe)
Don't forget to review!