by crystal tiara
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from FFVII; Square-Enix does.
Reeve looked up at the flashy neon sign of the bar. It was one of the finest bars in Midgar, and was often frequented by company executives. He had seldom been to one, being the workaholic he was, and besides, he could never really comprehend why some people would rather waste their lives drowning their sorrows in a glass of intoxicating liquid. No, he was never that type of person.
But tonight, he felt that he might as well succumb to temptation and give it a try. After all, he didn't have much work to do, and with no one waiting for him back at home, who would've cared anyway? Reeve had made up his mind to just have a drink and then catch the train to his home. And why not---he would be able to enjoy the bar's privacy, as tonight it was reserved only for Shinra personnel.
Heads turned to look at him as he opened the door. He could see several familiar faces. There sat the Turks, engaged in loud, idle conversation. Reeve shook his head, as they were most likely slouching on the job again. A few seats away from the Turks, their fat grouchy boss Heidegger was trying to make small talk with an attractive secretary. And there, sitting alone, was Scarlet, the ice queen.
Scarlet.
Reeve had never really liked Scarlet, but then again, he didn't dislike her either. He had to admit that she was good-looking underneath all those thick makeup she wore, which made her look even older as opposed to making her look prettier. He also knew that she was quite intelligent, if only she'd stop looking and putting on the facade of a promiscuous, uneducated woman. Of course, being the head of Weapons development, she had to have some brains--otherwise she wouldn't have been promoted for sure. But what he didn't like about her was the way she acted---for a clever woman, why on Earth would she keep trying to act so vulgar with an ear-piercing laugh to boot? Sometimes he couldn't help wondering whether she had a heart, for she often seemed so ice cold.
On the other hand, Scarlet never thought much about Reeve either. She'd just seen him as another one of Shinra's personnel, and the underdog at that. However, she sensed something different in him. Like most, if not all, of the Shinra employees, he was intelligent and well-educated, but he seemed to have more of a heart than them, who seemed to have lost all their morals. Scarlet did not really know Reeve that well and besides, she used to get the impression that he was rather bland and uninteresting.
Searching for a seat, Reeve noticed that the place, being rather small (but classy enough), was nearly full---but there was one empty seat next to Scarlet. She looked as if she didn't mind sitting all alone, as if she was used to it. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to sit next to her. Approaching her, he smiled and cordially asked, "Is this seat taken?"
The blonde-haired woman took a sip of her drink and shook her head. "You can sit next to me if you like." Then, calling for the bartender's attention, she ordered another drink. Reeve couldn't help but notice that her face was slightly flushed, as if she was drunk. He decided to order a drink as well.
There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them. Scarlet drummed her perfectly manicured fingers on the table, idly waiting for her drink. Reeve looked around and surveyed the quaint place. Noticing that people were starting to leave, he gazed down at his watch and realized that in probably a few minutes, it would be closing time. He silently thanked the heavens that he was still lucky enough to get a drink before the bar closed.
Finally, their orders were served. Reeve took a small sip of his drink and turned his head to look at Scarlet. She looked more and more unwell by the minute. For a while Reeve wondered if she was going to be fine. Sensing that he was looking at her, Scarlet suddenly muttered, "Don't look at me like that. I'll be fine." as she paid for her drink. Reeve nodded in acknowledgment and lazily stirred his drink with a paper umbrella.
He was done with his drink when he saw that Scarlet appeared to be nauseous. She was slumped on the table, her powdered cheeks flushed, and her painted eyelashes drooping. To his surprise, she passed out on the table, extremely intoxicated from the alcohol. Not knowing what to do, he hastily paid the bartender and stood up to leave, but the bartender stopped him.
"Say, mister," he began gruffly, "what are you going to do about your girlfriend?"
Reeve blushed, slightly embarrassed. "G-girlfriend? What do you mean? She's certainly isn't---"
The bartender could not care less. "Look," he explained, "I don't give a damn whether she is or isn't your girl. But we're gonna close soon, and since you know her, you've gotta do something about her. You just can't leave her here."
Scarlet was still slumped on the table, unaware that the bar was about to close. Reeve knew that however skilled she was at self-defense, it would be dangerous for women like her to be out alone at this time. He supposed he had to take her home, then---but he did not happen to know where she resided. After thinking for a moment, he decided that there would be no harm in taking her to his apartment and letting her stay there for the night.
Sighing, Reeve picked her up and carried her on his back. He was rather embarrassed at the looks people were giving him and the amused expressions on their faces as he walked out. One of the Turks, Reno, called out, his speech slurring, "Reeve! I've always known you and Scarlet made the perfect couple!" Reeve could feel his cheeks turning red, but he ignored Reno and continued to walk. Outside, he was relieved when he was able to flag a taxi to drive him home.
As soon as he reached his apartment, Reeve immediately dropped Scarlet on his large and rather comfortable bed. He did not mean to drop her so rudely like that, but he had to admit that carrying her was somewhat exhausting. She lay there on the bed, and there was no sound made between both of them, save for their breathing. A small smile played on Reeve's lips, as he could not help but notice how peaceful Scarlet appeared when she lay like that, very much unlike her catty, loud self. Glancing up at the clock, he realized that two hours had passed since he left the bar. He decided to leave her like that and to relax and unwind by taking a shower first.
Thirty minutes later, Reeve was done with his shower, and feeling his stress and tension disappear, he stepped out and was surprised to see Scarlet sitting upright on the bed, still looking dazed, with one hand pressed on her forehead, but looking a bit better than she did a while ago.
She clutched her forehead harder, muttering to no one incoherently, "What...why..." but when she turned to see Reeve, she screamed shrilly and glared at him. "Reeve...why am I here?" She jabbed a finger at his chest. "Explain."
At a loss for words, he hastily explained how she had gotten drunk, passed out and finally ended up in his apartment. When he was through explaining, she nodded, seemingly satisfied by his story.
"Are you going to take me home now?" she asked, fiddling with her blonde locks and looking bored. "Because I don't have any money left..." she said, her voice trailing off and staring out the window.
"I would, but it's late. At this time, it would be hard to find a taxi, and the last train's already left."
Scarlet peered out the window again, looking at the streets. He was right; little to no people were left on the dimly lit streets outside. "Damn. So this means that I'll be sleeping...here?"
Reeve nodded. "Obviously." He began to make the couch comfortable enough, as he was going to be sleeping there, what with Scarlet on his bed. She continued to play with her hair while giving him an odd look.
"Would you mind telling me what the hell you're doing?" she asked, slightly slurring.
"Fixing the couch. I'll be sleeping there."
"I can see that," Scarlet snapped. "What I meant was, why do you have to sleep in the couch when the bed's big enough for both of us?"
No response. Reeve went on, placing some pillows on the armrest.
"It's not like I'm going to rape you in your sleep," she jested, but then her voice took on a more serious tone. She looked almost sober now, but not quite. "I know what you're thinking, but let me assure you that I'm not a nymphomaniac."
He paused to look at Scarlet. "I never thought of you that way," he said, genuinely meaning it, "but I thought that you would not be comfortable with me sleeping next to you."
She began with her piercing laugh again. For a moment, Reeve slightly cringed. "That's what you say...but I know what people talk about behind my back...all sorts of rumors. Slut, bitch, whore, nympho...I've heard it all. And you don't know the least of it, Reeve...no...you don't know..." Her voice started trailing off again, and her eyes looked a bit moist. Reeve supposed that the alcohol was bringing out the pent-up emotions in her. He found it vexing that she, whom he had never really known that well, was now randomly spilling her emotions to him.
Not knowing what to do with her, he calmed her down by assuring her, "I don't believe the rumors..." he started, but he knew that it was only partly true. His first impression of her was anything but positive, but as time passed, he had grown used to her, and even felt sorry for the fact that she was widely disliked. Reeve could've sworn that he heard her sniffle, and he noticed that her eyes were filled with tears. "Shhh...calm down."
Scarlet brushed off his arm. "I'm not crying," she insisted firmly, though her voice was shaky. "I want to go to the lavatory."
He watched, puzzled, as Scarlet walked hurriedly and locked the door. He could hear her throwing up and sobbing softly. He knew that she was trying very hard not to let anyone see the sensitive side of her---not even when she was under the influence of alcohol. However, right now she was failing rather badly at hiding her tears.
When she had emerged after a while, he noticed that she had no more make-up on her face. Reeve thought that she had probably washed it off because it was running down her cheeks. "Feeling better?" he asked, gently, fearing anothr mood swing.
She nodded silently. Reeve thought of complimenting her to keep her spirits up. "You look much better without all your thick make-up on," he commented, in all honesty. "There's no use painting your face so heavily. You look good naturally."
Scarlet said nothing for a while and just stared at the floor. "Thank you," she finally spoke softly, after a few seconds. "You're the only person to compliment me like that." She walked over to his direction, and he could smell the alcohol on her breath.
"Feeling sleepy?" Reeve asked, moving over to give her some room. She shrugged indifferently, and settled on the bed, lying on her side and facing the window. On the other hand, Reeve took a book and started reading. "I hope you don't mind," he said cordially.
"No, it's fine with me."
Silence passed between the both of them as Reeve went on with his reading and Scarlet shifted about uneasily. Getting the notion that she was unable to sleep because of him, he eventually closed his book and asked if something was wrong.
Her voice drawled. "I can't sleep."
"Sorry. Is it because I was reading?"
"No," came the reply. "Insomnia. It happens when I drink too much."
"Oh." Reeve offered helpfully, "Would you like something to drink, then?" He remembered his favorite tea, which always soothed his nerves after a rough day. Perhaps she would like it, but he thought twice about offering it to her, especially since she was drunk.
"No, no thanks." She sat up and surveyed Reeve's apartment casually, looking for something to amuse her and pass the time.
"Well, what do you want to do? Watch some television?" Scarlet shook her head. "Listen to some soothing music?" She looked pensive, but then declined. Reeve was now at a loss of ideas to help Scarlet with her sleeping problem. He had never thought that she suffered from insomnia. "How about a game?" Reeve suggested, after doing some thinking. He assumed that if she did not want to sleep, she could always entertain herself with his old board games.
He noticed a slight twinkle in Scarlet's usually icy blue eyes. "That would be nice," she remarked. "Want to play 'Twenty Questions'?"
"What's that? I've never heard of that." Reeve never remembered having played such a game as a child.
Scarlet pursed her lips slightly as she tried to think of a coherent and sufficient explanation. "That's easy. We'll take turns asking each other ten questions each, and that's twenty questions in all. And, you're supposed to give me an honest answer." She paused for a while, then added, "So, how does that sound to you?"
It seemed that Reeve was hesitant at first to play such a game with her, at the risk of the game getting too personal, especially with Scarlet drunk and with her tendency to spill out secrets at random. But he eventually let go of his worries. "It seems interesting, to say the least. All right, I'll play."
"Go ahead and start firing away with the questions, then."
The room was once again filled with an uncomfortable silence as Reeve took the time to come up with a question. "Here's one. What, for you, is your greatest achievement?"
A sigh was heard as Scarlet appeared to be deep in thought. "I don't know, honestly. I don't think I've been able to achieve anything good in my life." She gazed deeply into Reeve's eyes, wondering if he could relate to her. "I'll just take a guess and say that being able to land a high-ranking position at Shinra is my greatest achievement. Though it doesn't really feel like anything great...it feels like something's missing..."
Reeve nodded, understanding very well how Scarlet felt---that there was much more than being one of Shinra's elites. "So," Scarlet slurred, "are you a virgin?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"I couldn't think of a good one. Go figure."
Breaking out into what Scarlet made out as an embarrassed smile, Reeve answered, "Would you believe me if I said yes?"
She began to laugh. "You're not kidding?" Reeve shook his head.
"Don't you ever feel tempted to do it?"
Reeve shrugged, expecting her to probably mock him. "Of course I do sometimes. Doesn't everyone? It's just that I try to keep those innate desires under control." He expected Scarlet to be mocking him by now.
But she didn't, although she did tease him a bit about it. "I've always thought of you as someone who'd put his career first before love, anyway. God, you work too much. You need to loosen up a bit; find a girl; take time to smell the roses." She winked. "So, I suppose you're waiting for your true love to come?"
It was ironic to Reeve that Scarlet seemed more open and approachable while she wasn't sober. "Save that for your next question. I'll ask first. Who do you find the most physically attractive among the Turks?"
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "How corny of you to ask something like that. Let's see now...I think it would be Tseng. He has this shiny, flowing black hair that's always neat and combed in place. He always manages to dress and act professional, and is never ever drunk on the job. Even better, he has this exotic Wutaian look."
"So, this means that you don't find Reno attractive."
Scarlet scowled and smacked him lightly. "He would be good looking if he'd quit dressing like a drunkard and learn to iron his clothes." Both of them laughed at this statement, knowing that Reno always looked like he had slept in his clothes. Eager to continue the game, Scarlet prompted impatiently, "Next question. So, answer the question I asked a while ago...are you waiting for your true love?"
Shifting uncomfortably, Reeve took a deep breath. "Maybe," he began. "I never really had the time to think about love. For a while, my only interest was to have a job and make money. That was all I thought about---putting my career above my love life, because love can ruin people, or so I've heard. But then I felt distant from people; I see couples spending time together and I think; look at me, I've got lots of money, but there's no one waiting for me at home; no one to share it with." He sighed again. "Well, I suppose I'll find that special someone someday. But I think it would take a long time."
Scarlet's gaze averted out the window, and then she smacked Reeve again. "Reeve, you idiot," she admonished him. "You can't wait for that special someone to come your way. Because if you do, all you'll do is wait in vain, and by the time you're dead as a doornail, it's most likely that 'she' will never come." Her expression softened slightly, and Reeve wondered if she was still drunk. "You can't just be passive all the time and expect things to come to you."
He had to admit that Scarlet's words did make a lot of sense. He knew she could be quite smart when she wanted to. Realizing that it was his turn to ask something, he questioned, "What did you want to be as a child?"
"To be honest with you," she replied, after much prodding, "when I was a child, I've always wanted to become an actress." A slight laugh was heard from Reeve. Scarlet? An actress? It had come across as a surprise to him. "What's so funny?" She asked crossly.
"Nothing."
"Mention this to anyone and I'll kill you."
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
"Anyway," she continued, making a gesture with her hand, "I've always been fascinated with acting. When I was a student, I was always a member of the drama guild and acted in school plays. I was so serious about pursuing a career as an actress. But my parents never let me take up drama."
"Why...?"
"They always thought showbiz was crazy. Besides, by the time I was in college, I had lost interest in being an actress. So here I am now."
"That's a shame," Reeve remarked, shaking his head. "You said that you were serious about it."
"I could never be one anyway. But when I look at it now, I'm glad I never joined showbiz. Everyone seems to think that sex sells. Well, it doesn't, at least not all the time." Reeve thought that it was rather ironic to hear that from Scarlet. He was definitely convinced that Scarlet was a different person when drunk. Scarlet then went on to say, "What do you think is your best physical feature?"
Reeve laughed. "That's a hard one, since not many have commented about me. I think it would be my eyes, because Elena says so."
"She said that? I'll have to agree with her." There was a pregnant pause that lasted for a few seconds, and she broke the ice. Folding her arms around her chest, she drawled, "Are you going to ask me a question or not?"
"Patience, Scarlet. I was thinking. Here's one...have you ever thought that you had found Mr. Right but turned out that you hadn't?"
The weight of the question affected Scarlet. "It was someone I knew in High School. My lab partner, to be specific. He was charming, sweet and really smart, and once we got to know each other, one thing led to another, and then we started dating. I thought that he was the one. But things didn't work out between us."
"Why not? Was he with another girl?"
"No, it wasn't anything of that sort. He said that he never meant to fool me, but his girlfriend died two years ago in an accident and it left a big impact on him. He said that I reminded him of his girlfriend, and he was hoping that I could fill the hole in his heart. He started to like me, but he realized that it was only because I resembled his girl. But I couldn't live up to his expectations, and that was the start of it all."
"Well, you certainly don't deserve to be with him. He was too idealistic."
"It wasn't entirely his fault; I was to blame too," she said. "We could never live to each other's expectations. I was expecting him to be my Prince Charming, and he was expecting me to be his ex. I suppose we were doomed to begin with. We were both so immature then."
Reeve sighed. "I'm sorry."
"No need for that," she said. "I saw him in the streets once. Our eyes met for a while but then we went on our way. I don't harbor any hard feelings towards him, though. But let's not talk about that and move on to something else, shall we? Describe your first kiss."
"That's not even a question," he pointed out.
A pillow came flying in Reeve's direction. "Smart aleck."
"My first kiss...nah, I don't think you'd want to hear about it. It wasn't even of the romantic sort."
A bit annoyed, Scarlet said, "Oh, but I am. Do tell."
"It happened when I was about twelve or thirteen. I was with my childhood friend; she was a few years older than me, and I really looked up to her. I guess you could say that I had a crush on her. One day we were just sitting there, talking, and then all of a sudden we brought up the topic of kissing. I asked her what it was like to kiss someone, and right then and there she just kissed me on the lips."
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "There's no thrill in that! It wasn't even of the romantic sort."
"It was just so I know how it felt like," Reeve said. "But needless to say, it did feel rather awkward, having your crush kiss you like that." He laughed slightly.
"Reeve, you've got a tight cork up your ass," Scarlet said teasingly. "Loosen up, will you?"
Reeve felt his cheeks turn red. "I do not!" He threw a pillow back at her.
"Oh, sure you don't." She was laughing now, and seemed to be enjoying the game. "Don't leave me hanging like this, and ask me a question now."
He began, "How would you describe each of the members of the Shinra executive board in one word?"
"Your questions never have any thrill or challenge in them," Scarlet pouted. "Does that include President Rufus? And the Turks? And us?" Reeve nodded. "And Rufus's father too?" He nodded again in reply.
Scarlet inhaled deeply. "Here goes, then. For Rufus, I'd say 'brat'. His dad, on the other hand, is a horny bastard, so 'horny' or 'lecher' is the word. 'Bastard' would be best for Heidegger, and I'd describe Palmer as 'fat'. Or 'hyper'. All that coffee must be getting to his head. As for Hojo, there couldn't be anything more appropriate than 'insane', or 'loony'. For the Turks, Tseng would be described as 'professional' or 'sane', since he's the only decent one among their lot. Reno's a right old 'slob', and Rude is....silent. Elena's an 'airhead', need I say more?"
"You forgot the two of us," Reeve pointed out helpfully.
"Right. It's easy to sum you up in one word: workaholic. And me? I'm the 'whore', as people say."
"Liberated would be more fitting," Reeve suggested. "Slut is too strong a word."
"But it's true, isn't it? Because of how I dress and act?"
"Well..." Reeve tried to think of something. "People started calling you such because of that, yes. And because of rumors that you would shag anything that moved. Just ignore them; they just made them up because they were bored."
"If that's what you say then," Scarlet said. "I'm my own greatest critic."
"Don't you start getting moody all over again," Reeve teased. "Are you always like this when you've had too much too drink?"
Scarlet narrowed her eyes, feigning anger. "How the hell am I supposed to know? Besides, I'm supposed to be the one to ask you something right now!"
"Sorry, Mistress Scarlet. Even when you're drunk, you're still so observant," Reeve said, dodging as another pillow came flying towards him.
Scarlet crossed her arms and grinned at Reeve. "Remember when we set you up on a date with Elena so that you could finally find a pretty girl---how did it go?"
Reeve began to laugh, and when he regained his composure, he said, "Oh, that? Thanks a lot," he said sarcastically. Then he continued, "Obviously, things didn't work out between the two of us. Elena said that I was nice and sweet, but she admitted that I was flat and rather uninteresting. Besides, she was hopelessly devoted to Tseng by then. As for her, she was a sassy, cute and bubbly girl, but she was too loud and talkative for my tastes. It was as if she couldn't stop talking. And the date was a disaster. We were both too awkward and embarrassed to even hold hands or order something for dinner. But at least we got to know each other a bit more. For instance, I discovered that Elena is actually quite smart and skilled when she wants to, otherwise she wouldn't have become a Turk."
"That's...nice," Scarlet said. "But you know what's funny? Reno guaranteed that all the couples that he previously set up on a date had a 100% success rate. If he wasn't bluffing, then I guess you and Elena were the first failure."
Never in his life did Reeve realize that Scarlet was such an interesting person, and that she had a sense of humor too. He simply shrugged and replied, "Yeah...I suppose so. Next question."
"It had better be an innovative and challenging one," Scarlet snapped.
"Look who's talking," Reeve said casually. "I remember the first ever question you asked me. It wasn't even an innovative question."
"Whatever."
"Alright, then." Reeve quipped, "I know you're probably going to kill me for asking this question, but what's the real deal between you and Rufus? I know people who said that you two used to be an item."
"What do you think?" Scarlet countered calmly.
"Well..." Reeve swallowed. "I honestly have no idea."
From the place where Scarlet was sitting, she stood up and walked to a corner of the room. "You're hopelessly clueless, you know that?" she said, grinning. "Rufus and I never went out. Oh, sure, we had dinner once, but that was purely professional."
"So he wasn't your type?"
"Never was. He was, and always will be, a boy. I thought that he was really immature; the brat. No wonder he still hasn't found someone who could truly stand him. He's got an ego about the size of Meteor." Scarlet made a gesture with her hands to illustrate her point. "He is good looking, and I think that he would only be worth a good lay. You know what I mean," she said with a wink. "That's all."
Reeve scratched his chin slightly. "I don't think I will ever comprehend you, Scarlet. You really are quite a complex person."
"People who know me always call me an enigma," she said. "But some say I'm just inconsistent. Take your pick." She ran her fingers through her shiny blonde hair, and proceeded to ask the next question. "I thought of one, and I'm confident that you'll find it interesting. What's your sexual preference?"
"I'm very much heterosexual, thank you," replied Reeve, defensively. "Why do you ask?"
Scarlet attempted to come up with a way to explain it. "No offense meant, but Heidegger always thought of you as a, well, goody-two-shoes. Too selfless for your own good and too concerned with trivial issues about the citizens of Midgar, he said. He also mentioned about you being rather quiet, passive and good-natured, like a saint. No machismo whatsoever."
There was a slightly hurt expression on Reeve's face. "So this means that I'm gay because I care about the citizens of Midgar, huh?" he asked sarcastically.
"I never said that. But now that you mention it...it did cross my mind sometimes." She looked at Reeve. "Hey, you're okay, right?"
"Of course, I'm fine. Tell me more." Scarlet took a quick look once more at Reeve's face to see if he really wasn't hurt by what she said. Reeve spoke up, "You can really go on talking. I'm not at all affected."
"And then there was the issue of you not having a girlfriend for the past few years. There was also the failed date with Elena."
Reeve pointed out, laughing it off, "Well, look who's talking. He doesn't have one either."
Scarlet smirked and shrugged. "That's Heidegger for you; a lousy, pathetic bastard, and stupid, too. Never even bothers to think before he acts. If you ask me, he's more of a pansy than you. Ha!"
Reeve merely smiled. "Now, what are your views on love and sex?"
Leaning against the wall, a small smile played on Scarlet's lips. "Now that's a challenging one. In my honest opinion, they are two different things. You don't neccessarily have to love a person to sleep with him, at least for me. But that can never be defined as making love, because that is considered merely as an act of pleasure. It satisfies one physically, but romantically, it feels empty and hollow. On the other hand, if you sleep with someone that you love so much, that for me is making love. It's an intimate thing that I can't fully understand, though. Am I making sense?"
"Wow, Scarlet, that certainly was profound," Reeve said in awe. "What you said did make a lot of sense. You must have been through a lot of things."
Scarlet continued, "I admit that I've slept around with men only to achieve pleasure. And I liked it. That was during the time in my life when I was going through so many difficulties. Back then, I just wanted to lose myself and find some temporary solace. It wasn't the right thing to do, I know, and even now I haven't fully learned my lesson. I'm a fool."
"We all make mistakes, Scarlet. We're all fools in one way or another. But I think that you are one of the smartest women I've ever met, but you sure don't look the part."
"Thanks for the compliment...I guess." Scarlet was smiling and was looking at Reeve's collection of books, slightly blushing. "You have a lot of nice things to say about everyone. And now for my next question---how do you define fate?"
"You know, fate has a funny way of bringing people together. It's strange, isn't it? It's one of the mysteries of life."
Scarlet nodded. "I agree. Is that all?"
"Yeah," Reeve replied, "since your question basically wasn't that interesting." At this, Scarlet coughed but didn't say anything, and walked over to pour herself a glass of water. "So, if you ever got married, would you ever want to have children?" was the question.
Scarlet nearly choked on her glass of water and began coughing. "Do I look like someone who would make a good mother? I don't think I would ever see myself settling down and having children. Because, you know, I don't have much tolerance for them."
"But wouldn't it be nice to have a child who loves you and is proud of you?"
She took another small sip of her water. "No way! You can never tell how the brats will end up. After giving your all and sacrificing practically your entire life for them, they grow to shun you and soon, you don't exist in their lives. I wouldn't want to waste my life struggling to take care of a child if it's all for nothing."
Reeve smiled. "But isn't that the thrill of parenting? To raise your child? And besides, wouldn't it make you happy to see your child calling you 'mother' for the first time?"
"Right," she replied sarcastically. "It's barely touching for me, Reeve. I don't like children, and I guess they don't like me either." With that abrupt statement, she closed the topic on children. "Who would you like to experience 'it' with?"
"What do you mean?" Reeve asked, vexed.
"You know perfectly fine what I mean."
The expression on Reeve's face was an awkward one. "Sex, again?" No one said a word as Reeve thought of an answer. "Isn't it obvious? With someone that I love."
Scarlet frowned. "Who? That's too vague."
Reeve smiled. "I have no idea." He could hear Scarlet muttering something under her breath and rolling her eyes. Reeve wondered whether she was annoyed that he couldn't answer her question specifically. Scarlet then laughed and slapped his hand playfully. Reeve sighed in relief that she wasn't at all angry and queried, "What, for you, is a romantic night out?"
"A romantic night out..." Scarlet started to say, then thought of something more detailed. "Anything goes for me, but I think I'd go for the traditional dinner by candlelight. We'd just gaze into each other's eyes and then talk about anything under the sun. After that we would probably see a good movie and then take a walk around the park or just around the city, amid all the bright lights and lively atmosphere. When we arrive home, well, we'd get intimate...and that's about it."
"So you're a romantic after all."
Scarlet was rather embarrassed by Reeve's comment. "Well, you did ask for my view of a romantic night out. Though I doubt something like that would ever happen, since I haven't found the right person for me yet, or so it seems."
"Ah, don't worry," Reeve assured her, "you'll find your Mr. Right soon enough."
Scarlet's smile widened. "You think so? I'm sure you'll find the one for you too."
"I wish," Reeve said, rolling his eyes, just the way Scarlet usually did.
Scarlet cleared her throat. "For my next question, what do you look for in a woman?"
Reeve looked at Scarlet's blue eyes, attempting to come up with a good answer. He had not had much experiences with women, and he certainly was not sure of what he liked in them. "I'd like a spunky and sassy woman, and not a damsel in distress. She can fend for herself, and she has a balanced view on life---not too optimistic and not too pessimistic. She has to have a good sense of humor, can put up with me and understand me, is lively and interesting but not hyper or loud, has a fair amount of intelligence, and is sweet and thoughtful, but not too much. She can also help me relax from my stress and is able to take my mind off my work when I'm being my typical workaholic self. Yes, someone like that would be fine."
"That's sounds nice," Scarlet commented. "But it's just difficult to find such a woman."
A sigh escaped from Reeve's lips. "I know."
"Now we're only down to two questions," Reeve said. "So far, it's been a really interesting game. Who would you like to spend the rest of your life with?"
From the expression on Scarlet's face, she couldn't find an answer to a question, but she wouldn't admit it, of course. "My god, Reeve, you ask the cheesiest questions." Reeve kept his silence and merely smiled. She then went on to answer the question. "Er...ahh...with someone who could undertsand me, would listen to me no matter what I said...like me for being me---since when did I start being so sappy? Like I said, he'd trust me, and I'd trust him...just be comfortable and act like myself, never having to pretend to be someone else. He'd be sincere, and shy but sweet...but I don't think that person exists. If he did, he'd be someone like...like..." There was a pause as Scarlet reflected on her words for a moment. "...Someone like you, Reeve."
Incredibly stunned by her words, Reeve was slightly taken aback for a moment and was tongue-tied. He averted his gaze and quickly threw a glance at the clock instead. It was past midnight now. Scarlet threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "I can't believe I said that," she mumbled. "I'll never live it down." On the other hand, Reeve was lost in thought whether Scarlet had truly meant what she had said.
"Let's end this game with one last question," she said, with a definite note of embarrassment in her voice. Reluctantly, the question slipped from her lips. "It was nice knowing you more. Can I come here and drop by more often?"
The room's atmosphere seemed to lighten. "Anytime," came the definite reply.
Notes: This is probably my longest one-shot yet. Reviews, as always, will be greatly appreciated! Flames will be merely ignored. I really hope that you liked this fic, and that I was able to portray the characters accurately. I had to do a lot of research online and offline just to make sure that circumstances in the fic were believable---I just hope they were. Tell me what you think; I don't think it's good enough, as I'm only fourteen.