Jade, Wine, and Turk training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII's characters, storyline, and settings to not belong to me. Everything else in this story (excluding songs) does.
Chapter 16: Conflicting emotions
Tifa spoke quietly, never pausing her relaxing rub on Reno's back. The amount of compassion she felt for this man, at this moment, was nearly overwhelming.
*God...he carried Rude's death on him for an entire year...* "It's okay, Reno," she soothed.
Eventually, Reno's hold began to loosen, and Tifa pulled back, calmly resting her hands on the Turk's shoulders. "You all right?" she asked softly.
"Yeah." Tifa thought, for a moment, Reno's eyelashes were wet, but he turned his face away too quickly for her to be certain. Reno hastily stood, never removing his gaze from the floor. "I...it's time for Matt's watch again," he muttered, before quickly turning and walking out, closing the door behind him.
Tifa watched him go silently. Once he'd left the room, the brunette sighed. She had many questions she needed to ask, but...
*It can wait,* she determined. *After all, from the look of it, I'm not going to get to wherever I'm going for a while...* Tifa laid back on her back, staring at the ceiling. *How could he carry that burden all on his own...? And for so long. Cloud couldn't even handle Aeris' death for a month, and he had all of us there to help him...wait a minute!* Tifa bolted back up, shaking her head. *What was I doing? Comparing Reno to Cloud? What's the matter with me?* The long-haired fighter frowned. *I'll just explore this trailer...I need to get my mind off that Turk.*
~~~~~
Reno took a deep breath. He'd been standing in the guard's room, regaining his composure. Now that he was sure nothing would see out of place, Reno turned the handle and confidently strode in.
"Hey Turk," Jason greeted Reno cheerfully. "You done with your watch?"
"Yeah."
"`Bout time." Jason checked the clock. "You were in there for five hours."
*Five hours? Holy...*
"Matt, your turn," Jason ordered. Matt sullenly stood up and walked out.
"So, what'd you do in there for so long?" the blond asked casually.
"..." Reno shrugged.
Jason looked as if he was about to press the issue, but a glance from Isa kept him silent. Reno went to stand where he felt most comfortable at that moment – leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, hidden by shadows.
*Tifa...* The redhead couldn't help but give a little self-mocking grin. Ever since he'd left the room, she was pretty much all he'd been able to think about. But...that was natural, right? He did just pretty much spill his guts out to the girl...
Reno closed his eyes, remembering the fragrance that he'd inhaled while burying himself in her stunning silky hair – a strange combination of flowers and perfume and cleanliness, one that warmed him but wasn't overpowering. Reno supposed that was an odd way to put it, but God, there was just no other way to describe it – it was just...Tifa. Fresh, heady, relaxing... *God...you could get addicted just to her scent...*
He recalled how she felt and gave small tremble, one that he was thankful that none other than himself noticed. Truthfully, his arms felt a bit strange, as if they were almost aching for her lithe form...
...it was normal, right?
He didn't care, right?
Right...?
*Of course,* he thought determinedly. *I don't give a crap; I'm Reno the Turk. I'm the cocky, ruthless, heartless guy that dropped the Sector Seven plate and didn't even feel a thing. I'm the merciless follower of Shinra.*
*****
"That's right. And Turk...Hojo may have spoken against harming the girl, but he mentioned nothing about your condition."
"Yeah yeah, I know. I am a Turk."
"Yeah, I figured. Turks – the cold-blooded bastards of Shinra."
"You got it."
*****
Reno's head dropped. He hadn't told her...she'd comforted him, and he was going to let some crazy aid of a mad scientist have her, because it worked for him.
*****
"Being a Turk's been hard at times, but all in all, I'm glad I did it."
"After all, I got to meet a bunch of wing nuts like you."
*****
Reno grinned humorlessly. *Yeah, being a Turk's hard...*
~~~~~
Isa observed the Turk out of the corner of her eye. As an ex-general, she knew the importance of keeping track of everybody under her watch.
She saw as the Turk went through conflicting emotions, although he hid it well. She saw his expression, with her Mako enhanced eyes, go from amused, to a slight yearning, to pensive, and finally self-mocking.
The auburn-haired woman watched, and while watching, she came to a decision.
*Nobody but the Third Class and the Turk will watch the girl. If she's able to cause that effect on a Turk, then she'll be able to cause us to become attached to her.* And as with the original Hojo, it wasn't wise to become fond of anything that was to be used for an experiment.
Meanwhile, she'd have to take care to keep an eye on Reno...
~~~~~
Elmyra walked out onto the plains of Kalm, her stride purposeful, until she came to the seashore. Held carefully in her hand was a gold embroidered invitation – its receiver labeled "Aeris Gainsborough."
The woman clutched the invitation for a moment longer, watching the sunset, before raising her hand and allowing the sea breeze to sweep it away.
She watched the shining piece of paper, strangely being carried toward the ocean, until it faded away in the distance and she could see no more. Smiling sadly, Elmyra turned, pausing only to say one thing.
"I hope you can make it, Aeris."
As the woman returned to the city town, she paid little heed to the trails running down her cheeks, instead pondering the foolishness of her act.
*Ah well...I love my girl. And a mother is allowed a bit of foolishness, don't you agree, Aeris?* she mused.
As if in answer, a small, warm breeze touched Elmyra's cheek, causing the woman to smile once more.
Abruptly, that smile faded away, replaced by a worried expression. There was...something not quite right. Something deep within her warned her of a harm waiting to occur.
AN: The memory of Reno saying that "Being a Turk's been hard" comes from the Wutai incident.
Hello everybody...yes, it's been quite a while since I've updated (two weeks!). Sorry about that. Still, I hardly ever have time to work on this fic (I can write random one-shots in class, but it's hard to do this one). Oh yeah, and as a side note, I'm thinking about making "Christmas Eve," one of those random one-shots, a prequel of sorts for this fic – between the prologue and Chapter One. What do you think? Please R&R!