Jade, Wine, and Turk Training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: Refer to chapter seventeen, please.
Chapter 21: Close call
Reno stealthily entered Tifa's room, not wanting to wake her. He and Matt also took shifts during the night. Although tonight, he didn't plan on sleeping until certain issues were resolved.
Reno settled down, in the same exact spot he had been before he'd confessed to Rude's death. And as he sat, he thought.
The redhead knew something wasn't right, and as a Turk, he'd learned problems are better out in the open. So what was bothering him?
Tifa.
*...her words. Her words and Simone's,* Reno thought firmly.
Her ideas were ludicrous. She was going to end up dead, or shattered, because of them. How could she possibly try to help everybody at the expense of herself?
Reno shook his head. What did it matter to him if she was hurt? He was the one handing her over on a silver platter...
When he'd accepted that proposal from Hojo (so far the 37th crackhead to call himself that), it was true that he didn't care that it was Tifa he was kidnapping – except that it made his job a little more complicated.
*But somehow she got to me,* Reno admitted. He'd regretted drugging her, although certainly not enough to even pause in what he was doing. He'd felt guilty about leaving her in the inside of a cargo truck. He felt guilty right now for using her to comfort him and not doing a thing to help her.
He still hadn't told her, by the way.
So now what?
Telling was out of the question...helping her escape was even less imaginable. But he had to do something...
*****
"Screw you if you like, but don't get attached."
*****
Reno closed his eyes, remembering the kiss he'd stolen months before. He hadn't tried anything since then. *Maybe...*
Maybe that would get her out of his head. Maybe that would get him to stop savoring every touch, every blasted glance she sent his way. Maybe...
*It's worth a shot, right?* Reno stood slowly, his gaze fixated on Tifa's sleeping form. He walked over to the bed, an eerie sense of déjà vu invading his thoughts.
The Turk watched the brunette's chest rise and fall softly in slumber, her dark hair spread like a silken river. He noticed as he carefully drew the blanket to the floor that she was wearing her cream pajamas again.
Reno mused about what would happen when he was done. *Well...let's see...she'd hate me. She'd probably never want to see me again. She'd treat me like a piece of crap, and then I wouldn't feel guilty anymore.*
*I'll probably end up forgetting her then. Like all the others.*
*I could do it nicely. I could make her scream, make her beg, make her plead...then I wouldn't feel so freaking guilty about it. Why am I feeling so guilty nowadays anyway?*
*It doesn't matter. She'd still hate me. Just that she'd probably end up hating herself too.*
*Either way...it works for me.* With that in mind, Reno looked around for some strong rope – if Tifa managed to get free, he'd be a dead man, by the members of SOLDIER if not the fighter before him.
Right before he was about to tie her down, Reno hesitated. Why, he didn't know, but as he watched her sleeping peacefully...
*Oh, crap.* The Turk put the rope away and sat back down, his head in his hands. *Why can't I...?*
Reno almost let out a groan. Things were not supposed to get this complicated, all he wanted was to get his gil and live decently. Was that such a hard thing to ask?
He knew that, as a Turk, he was overqualified for practically every job out there on the Planet. But technically, he had no schooling, which every business used as a grateful excuse to turn him away. And he wouldn't go back to Shinra.
With 700,000 gil though...heck, he could start his own company. He could get out of living by murder; he wouldn't sleep worrying about getting backstabbed or being thrown in the Corel prison.
And the only thing standing in the way was...Tifa.
*God really is an ass...*
~~~~~
Tifa woke up, shivering. *It's cold...where did my blanket go?* She looked around, and saw the cloth on the floor. *Huh. Must've kicked it off during the night.*
The brunette reached down and wrapped herself into the blanket, snuggling into its warmness. For a few moments, she tried falling back asleep, but gave up. It was going to be morning soon, she could feel it.
As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Tifa looked around the room, when a bit of white caught her eye – Reno's shirt, untucked as always. She gave a little smile when she saw him, sleeping against the wall of the trailer.
*He's probably cold too.* Tifa moved slowly to get up, trying her hardest not to make a sound. The gracefulness attained by years of Zangan arts helped her to achieve this goal.
Walking softly, Tifa reached above the dresser to grab the extra blanket. She carefully unfolded it and headed toward Reno. Tifa knelt down beside him, hoping she'd be able to place the blanket on without waking him.
She leaned closer, her arms hovering around the Turk's body, about to drop the blanket...when she noticed that Reno's eyes were open.
Reno was awake, alright. He'd been dreaming of her again, of her smile, of her warmth, of her scent...her scent had seemed so real...when his Turk training kicked in, warning that there was somebody too close.
And...hey, her scent was real. He'd awoken to the sight of her head bent slightly, concentrating on the carefulness of her task, only to shift a split second later, causing her eyes to meet his.
He wasn't quite fully alert though. What he noticed was that Tifa's face was only a few inches away, that even in the dark he could make out her wine eyes. He could smell the fragrance of her hair, and he could feel the warmth radiating from her body.
So what else could you expect? He kissed her.
Again.
Reno's arms moved from underneath the blanket Tifa's nerveless fingers had dropped, and used them to push himself off the wall, not breaking contact. If anything, he leaned in closer.
Tifa's mind whirled as her eyelids slid slowly shut, lost in the emotions coursing through her. Slowly, almost helplessly, she became aware of her arms rising to wrap themselves around Reno's neck.
This vague awareness created enough alarm for Tifa to recognize two distinct choices – she could fall backwards on her bottom, thereby breaking the kiss, or she could fall forward on her knees, deepening it.
She fell back.
Tifa looked up at Reno's face. She noticed his dark eyes, his slightly open mouth, through which faintly ragged breaths were emitting. Tifa wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, if she was supposed to do anything. She wasn't even sure how she felt about this whole thing. She only sat there, trembling slightly, trying to recover from the shock.
Reno sat up completely, the blanket dropping to hang from around his waist. One of the Turk's arms hung off of his knee, the other brushed through his messy crimson hair. His gaze didn't remove itself from the floor.
Tifa sat wordlessly, wishing he'd say something. Or just let her see his expression, even.
"What are you doing to me...?" Reno muttered. Tifa had to strain to hear it.
"What?" she asked softly, not quite sure of what she had heard.
The Turk shook his head. "You should go back to sleep," he spoke abruptly.
Tifa shrugged, her head down. "It's almost morning anyway."
"..." Reno knew she was right.
The two of them sat there in silence.
"...we'll be reaching Junon today." Reno broke the silence, just as the sun's rays were brightening the dawn.
"Oh."
"It took two months because of the detour around the basin."
"I see." Tifa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"...I'm gonna go..." Reno stood, the blanket falling from him as he did so.
"Wait." Tifa stood too, trying to make eye contact with the Turk. She didn't succeed. "Reno..." She stopped. What was she trying to say anyway? "...it's okay," she finished. Tifa wished desperately she was better at talking in these sort of situations.
"...yeah. Sure. Well, I'll be seeing ya." Reno stuck his hands in his pockets and walked out.
Tifa sunk back to the floor, hugging her knees. *Is it? Is it okay?*
AN: Um...hi? Man, I've just been dead at ff.net lately – sorry! Ack, so many fics I need to review...and the lack of updating... *wince* Well...I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Does anybody still remember this story? lol...I get this feeling I'm going round and round the same thing...bleh – I'll edit it later) Please review!