Jade, Wine, and Turk training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII; that belongs to Squaresoft. All I'm doing is borrowing certain characters and certain locations.
I do own this story, plot, and interpretation of the characters. I also own any original characters featured in this fanfiction. All such things are copyrighted, so don't steal. =)
Any songs/names used in this story belong to their rightful owner(s).
And after that nice, long, hopefully thorough disclaimer, on to the fic!
AN: Three months! ^____^ This is my three month anniversary on ff.net!
Chapter 17: Moonlit fabrications
Tifa noticed that the trailer had stopped moving. Peeking out of her door, she saw Matt standing guard, and considered just knocking him out and making a run for it...
...but gave up and returned to her compartment, realizing there was no way she'd be able to open the door without being heard. *I'll bet they left it rusty just for that reason.*
Once inside, she fell with her back to the bed once more, staring up at the ceiling. There really wasn't much else to do. Tifa sighed and closed her eyes, allowing her mind to drift aimlessly.
*I wonder what's going to happen to me.*
*I hope everybody else is okay.*
*I wonder what I've missed for the past two years...if I get out of this, I'll go back to being in touch with everybody, I promise.*
*...I wonder what Cloud's doing...*
*****
"Hey Cloud?"
"Yeah?" The spiky ex-SOLDIER turned from the window.
Tifa bit her lip. *Well...it has been a year since we stopped looking for Aeris...* "Cloud, I...well...I need to tell you something," she blurted.
"What is it, Tifa?" Cloud had turned his full attention on her.
"I...um...Cloud, I...I love you, Cloud. I know you don't feel the same way," she hurried to reassure him, "but...I wanted you to know..."
Cloud stared at her, shocked. "Uh...yeah, thanks, Tifa..." he spoke, confused.
Tifa nodded. "Sure...no problem, Cloud," she smiled weakly, then hurriedly turned away and ran into the Nibel Mountains.
*He really doesn't love me...of course he doesn't, I knew that, I've known that for ages,* she scolded herself. But she hadn't been able to keep herself from hoping...
The next day, Tifa had followed Cloud. That was when she found out about Cloud's daily trips to talk to Aeris...
One month later, Tifa packed up and left. She'd finally given up, and given in. Aeris had Cloud's heart, and there was nothing she could do about it.
*****
Tifa opened her eyes. This memory, out of all of them, always returned to her. She'd fight it off for a while, but it would always find its way back...
Unexpectedly, there was a knock on the door. "Hey, Tifa!" a muffled voice called.
Relieved to be shaken from her thoughts, Tifa immediately jumped out of bed and opened the door. "Reno?"
The Turk stood there, hands in his pockets. "The one and only," he grinned. "I, uh, well..." Reno faltered for a moment, before clearing his throat. "Isa said you could walk around outside, if you want. They've all got this guard thing set up, so don't try running away." Reno turned quickly to leave, only to be stopped by Tifa's hand on his arm.
"Why don't you walk with me, Reno?" she suggested lightly.
Reno stared. He had hoped to just tell her and go, therefore avoiding any awkward questions, but if Tifa wanted him to walk with her... "Sure. I knew you'd appreciate my charm sooner or later," Reno winked.
Tifa rolled her eyes and grinned. "Come on, Romeo, let's go."
Reno walked next to the beautiful AVANLANCHE member, glancing over at her occasionally. "You've been quiet," he remarked.
"Oh. Sorry, just thinking..." Tifa looked up. "Isn't this a lot like that first night when I met you? On the way to my house?"
Reno looked up at the sky and saw thousands of tiny diamonds, each giving off their own ethereal light. "...yeah."
"Even the wind feels the same..." Tifa mused, a strand of hair nimbly being pushed around her face by the chill November breeze. This time though, Tifa didn't have her coat with her, and gave an involuntary shiver.
Reno, seeing this, moved to take off his navy blue jacket, but a quick shake from Tifa stopped him. "No, I like it better cold. It's more clean..."
Reno cocked an eyebrow. "What is it with you and being clean anyway?"
Tifa laughed softly. "I'm sorry...you probably think I'm obsessed or something." Her deep hair shimmered as she smiled sadly, lifting her hands and turning them over before her. The moonlight caused them to seem even whiter than usual, shadows making strange rivers across her palms. "Ever since I lived in Midgar...and that episode with Meteor...I've developed a greater appreciation for cleanliness. Purity." Tifa shook her head sorrowfully, still staring at her hands. "It doesn't matter though...blood doesn't wash off..." Tifa's voice trailed away, and she laughed again, this time at herself. "Sorry. I'm not making sense."
"No, you're making perfect sense," Reno responded seriously. Hey, if anybody knew about bloodstained hands, it would be him.
Tifa smiled up at Reno. "Thanks." She shivered again, rubbing her upper arms against the cold.
Before she could protest, Reno's jacket had been dropped around her. "There you go, Tifa."
Tifa moved to take it off, only to find Reno's hands holding the article of clothing firmly on her shoulders. "Reno..."
"Keep it on," he ordered, a trace of his old Turk authority running through his voice. "You need it."
She tilted her head up so she could see the redhead, "What about you?"
"Me?" Reno grinned, looking down. "I've been through worse, don't worry." *Hey, she's cute like that...*
Tifa sighed and gave up, snuggling into the jacket, still warm from Reno's body heat. She caught a whiff of Reno's cologne, and breathed deeply. *He has good taste...*
She expected Reno to remove his grip, but to her surprise, his hands began to gently massage her shoulders.
"Reno...?" she asked, puzzled.
"You know," Reno spoke huskily, almost as if he hadn't heard her, "you're beautiful in the moonlight."
Tifa barely refrained from laughing. Of all the pick-up lines he could have used, that had to be one of the most cliché ones she'd ever heard. She tilted her head back up, planning to tell him just that, but the teasing sparkle in her eyes died when she locked eyes with Reno's gaze.
His eyes were dark...it was almost hypnotizing to Tifa as he gently brushed the strand of stray hair behind her ear. Slowly, Reno's hands turned her around, and her body followed him compliantly. Instinctively laying her hands on Reno's broad chest, Tifa submissively closed her eyes as Reno's lips touched hers.
Reno pulled Tifa in closer to him, savoring the kiss. *Gods...she tastes sweet...* No sooner had the thought occurred to him when Tifa stiffened, then used her hands to push her back, away from the Turk.
Tifa backed away, her eyes wide. Trembling, she shook her head. "No."
"Why not?" Reno didn't move toward her, afraid that she'd run. "It doesn't have to mean anything..."
The brunette closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she reopened them, her face was calm. "But it does, Reno," she affirmed. *It does.*
Reno sighed. He knew she was right. "Fine. I'm sorry," he apologized, now walking over to her. He hugged her, being careful not to pull her too close. "I'm a man and you're gorgeous; you'll have to excuse my hormones."
Tifa giggled slightly, partly at his inane comment and partly at relief from the tension. "You're just gifted with so much etiquette, Reno."
"I know, babe." Reno inhaled quietly, concentrating on her scent, before letting her go.
Tifa smiled fondly at the redhead, when her expression turned serious. "Reno."
*Not good...* "Hmmm?"
"Do you know anything about why I've been kidnapped by three ex-members of SOLDIER?"
"Nope, sorry," he lied. "They wouldn't explain anything to me either."
"Oh..." Tifa turned away, her eyes distant. "Okay...why did you kidnap me anyway, Reno?"
*Oh crap, this isn't good...* "Cause I wanted to screw you silly?" he suggested.
"Reno!" Tifa glared at him. "I'm serious!"
"Don't take anything too seriously, you'll always feel guilt in the end," he quoted. "We better go back in, or else Isa's gonna start using me as target practice," Reno grinned. "Come on, Tifa," he turned to walk off as fast as he possible could.
Tifa, however, had other plans, and grabbed onto his arm. "Reno..." she admonished.
"Okay!" Reno threw his hands into the air. "I had an assignment to kidnap you by some nutcase calling himself Hojo."
"Hojo? You were going to hand me over to somebody named Hojo?" Tifa exclaimed, her voice incredulous. "How could you do that?"
"Look babe, I've met so many Hojos that he'd have to have had at least 50 siblings and twice as many cousins," Reno snapped. "Besides, I figured you'd be able to beat the crap out him anyway." That was a lie too, he hadn't really concerned himself with Tifa's safety at the time, but if it made things easier...
"Liar." Tifa put her hands on her hips, and her eyes narrowed. "I doubt you've ever worried about the personal well-being of any of your victims," she retorted.
For a moment, Reno looked as if he was about to protest, but he ended up breaking into a grin. "You know me too well, girl."
Tifa still looked faintly annoyed, but she dropped the "you better tell me what I want to know right NOW" act. "You didn't have to make yourself sound better, you know. I didn't expect anymore from you," she said irritably, folding her arms across her chest.
"Okay okay, I'm sorry," Reno replied, getting exasperated with the whole thing.
Tifa opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed. "It's alright." She gave Reno a rueful look. "Just don't lie, okay? I trust you now; I know you'd tell me if anything was wrong."
Reno flashed Tifa a quick glance, marveling at how women always knew exactly what to say to make a guy feel like a complete jerk. "Yeah, sure... Come on, we really do need to be going," Reno muttered, and turned to walk back to the trailers.
AN: The quote "Don't take anything too seriously, you'll always feel guilt in the end" was said by one of my friends, Oliver – it's the only thing he's ever said remotely serious (hence why I remembered it, lol). And, uh, pretend Shakespeare existed, okay?
To WrexSoul: Ahhh, this probably has a ton of errors since I forgot to let you beta read it! Sorry about that; I was planning to update on my 3 month anniversary, but I didn't even realize that was today until I checked my profile again! -_____-;; Egh...IM me or something if you see anything though, okay?
Oh, and everybody, don't forget to R&R! ^_^