Reno Drannor, Yuffie Kisaragi, Emmerson Reeve, Scarlet Reeve: Reno Spiegel
Elena Sayler: Lindz
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Chapter 7
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Cloud felt oddly all right walking beside Reno, even if the red head seemed to think his current wearing of high waters was Cloud's fault. Tifa would need more than a fair bit of mollifying to get onto their side of matters. By now the news would have them all plastered everywhere. She had to know what was going on. To that end, Cloud and Reno left the others in the truck. Cloud would have to hold Tifa back while Reno explained the whole plate event that happened over a year ago. With a glance at Reno he knocked on the door.
It opened showing Tifa's face. Shock moved to anger and then there were two very loud smacking sounds. Cloud staggered back, a palm shaped bruise on his cheek and Reno's hands were cupping his left eye. Tifa's fists had lost none of their power.
"Shit! Teef what – " Cloud began.
"Don't you 'Teef' me, Cloud Alexander Strife." She glared at Reno. "What are you doing with this piece of shit?"
Reno had to chuckle, even though he couldn't see straight. "Alexander..."
Cloud sighed. "Let us explain, Tifa; please..."
The other wasn't about to let an insult go that easily. "Pardon me, but this "piece of shit" just saved his ass and got socked in the eye for it."
"I will kick your worthless ass from here to the crater and back, you murdering scum bag." Tifa moved forward, only to have Cloud come in-between the two of them.
"Tifa, this is important. You can kick my ass if you really want, but just listen first!"
Reno had taken a few steps backward, though his undamaged eye was watering badly. He could barely make the two of them out, and his head throbbed with every yell. But he was smart enough not to speak up anymore; he'd been hit by her his fair share of times.
Suddenly, Reno felt Rude's hand on his shoulder. "This is pointless. If the bitch doesn't want to listen we don't need her."
"Excuse me you, walking land mass?"
Cloud grabbed Tifa, hauling her up before she could lunge at Rude and Reno. "Tifa! Tifa, please, just leave Reno alone."
Deciding this would get them nowhere, Reno took the momentary safety and shrugged Rude's hand off, walking up to maybe a foot away from Tifa-- when sight went, so did depth perception -- and beginning to speak. "Look, I came here to apologize for something I didn't want to do in the first place, and we both know damn well what it is." He paused and sniffed, his nose clogging up.
Tifa growled, then backed up. "Come in."
Cloud started to walk forward, but after wiping his eye, Reno held out a hand and stopped him. Tifa didn't see it, as she had gone inside immediately, but he walked past them all with a look of defiance and into the house, closing the door before they could follow him. "Alright, Lockheart. Let me have it now, 'cause when I start talking I won't stop 'til I'm done."
Tifa growled at him. "You killed my friends; my family; the only people that ever cared about me. What can you tell me? Make it fast before I kick your ass."
His eyes turned to smoldering remains of a fire that used to burn before they took down his company. "Oh, get off you're fucking pedestal. One, I tried to save your friends and your family. Two, I killed half my own family in the plate-drop, so don't talk down to me like I don't know how it feels to lose."
She blinked at him and the fist that was raised to strike him again came down to her side. "What made you do that?"
He would have been smug had it been anyone else. "Who is a better question. President ShinRa, Tseng, Heideggar? Ever heard those names? I made to botch the plate-drop intentionally, but Tseng went for a second look because I'm not the best demolitions man anyway, and he caught the mistake I made. Otherwise, you'd still be working in your goddamn bar. Four words: It ain't my fault."
"Prove it," she snapped.
"Biggs, Jessie, Johnny? Yeah, all my cousins. I found Johnny in Costa a few months back, but you told me yourself Biggs and Jessie died. The rest of my family got killed by ShinRa for some "war-traitor" bullshit." He paused. Her words had passed him by for a moment. "Prove it? You wanna see some fucking family documents? Missions report saying I didn't need to be handling explosives anymore?" His voice took an emotional edge it was unused to having. "Don't happen to have 'em on me, but that might be because whatever Weapon it was that obliterated Rufus' office and all the Turk documents." He shook his head. "Look, I can't make you believe me, but I didn't mean to drop the Plate on people who meant just as much to me as they did to you, even if you don't believe me."
Tifa stormed into the kitchen, her voice carrying. "Jesse used to tell me about her big cousin. She looked up to him so much..." She could be heard flinging open a freezer. "Because he did what they couldn't but he couldn't get away from ShinRa... I didn't want to believe that it was you. Not after what you did... but I'm not stupid Reno." She walked back into the living room and handed him an icepack. "But I can accept you, I can forgive you. But don't expect anything else from me." Her tone changed to an honest warning. "And if you come within three feet of Barret, you won't get the chance to talk..."
He tipped his head back and put the icepack on his eye, muttering "thanks" before laughing softly. "Yeah, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But, yeah, I suppose you could blame Tseng for what happened, though I'm not one for pointing fingers. Any way you look at it, I'm sorry for what happened to you, me, and all the people who can't hear me speak anymore."
Tifa moved to the door and laughed. "I like to think that they still hear me. But that's just me. Now if you will excuse me… Cloud!"
Reno skittered to the side. It would be a few minutes before his right ear would function properly.
Cloud and Tifa started a quick line of snapping to each other, trapping Reno inside the house. Even with half of his face covered, he looked afraid to get between them. "Don't screech at me like that, Tifa!"
"Don't you tell me what to do! How dare you just fucking show up at my door after leaving without so much as a damn goodbye!" she snapped in anger.
Even though it seemed to war with his personality, Cloud was nose to nose with the brunette fighter. "You never called! I know damn well you could have found me!"
She smacked him again. "After I took care of you for so long."
His hand covered the place, still purple from before. "To clear your damn guilty conscious for lying your ass off?!"
Her jaw dropped, it seemed for a second that she was going to cry. Instead her fists clenched and she ground out, "You screwed-in-the-head son of a bitch!"
The rest of the group had made their way there when Reno had disappeared inside the house, and now Yuffie made to end this before she killed them both. "Would you two shut up?!"
Tifa stopped and turned to look at Yuffie "Yuff?"
Cloud shouldered past Tifa roughly.
Yuffie looked steamed. "Good to see you, too. Cripes, I thought we'd have a reunion without screaming, but noooooo."
Tifa frowned, crossing her arms under her chest. "I'm sorry for that Yuffie... But Cloud deserved it."
The Wutain girl held her arms out at her sides. "Wouldn't know. I've learned not to meddle in your affairs, personally. Now, if we're done with all the screaming..." She cast a look round at all the faces, then grinned widely, ran up, and threw her arms around Tifa's neck and went back to her cheery tone. "How y'been?"
Tifa hugged Yuffie back. "I missed you."
Cloud came out, another ice pack against his red cheek.
Yuffie squeezed her old friend tighter, then let go, stepped back, and looked her over. "You look healthy. All that matters, right?"
Rude had gone mute, standing between Cloud and Reno.
Tifa smiled, starting inside. "I have been fine – " She glared at Cloud. " – considering..."
Cloud turned on heel back inside the house. Yuffie rolled her eyes and followed them in.
Inside, Cloud flopped on the couch. It had now been over twenty-four hours since he actually slept. He yawned again.
Rude looked to Scarlet and Elena, who remained standing near the truck. "Inside." He almost growled the word. It was clear Rude was pissed off.
"Awww, c'mon Rude. Tifa hates us. Are you sure you want to hang around here?"
"Tifa hates Cloud more than you. Now inside."
*****
Cloud filled Tifa in on the whole problem, including their fears on Panderfaust. The brunette fighter sighed. "Fine. I will help you. Let's stay the night here and get the rest of the team together tomorrow then?"
Exhausted, Cloud nodded.
"There are two bedrooms aside from mine, and the couch folds out. Do this however you want." She stood up and went up the stairs.
Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose, the red mark at last starting to fade from his skin. "Okay, do you and Reno want to share a room Yuffie, or do you want to sleep with Elena?"
Before the ninja could respond, Reno shrugged. "Either way. This just mean's someone'll have to see me naked." His lips curled upward at the thought.
Obviously fed up, Rude rattled off quick orders. "Yuffie, you and Reno take a bedroom. Scarlet and Reeve get the other. Strife, Lany and I make do down here. Is that good enough for you all?"
"Who's sleeping on the floor then? The couch isn't going to hold three people and no offense to you Rude, but you bloody kick in your sleep," Elena said moodily.
The bald man rolled his eyes at her. "I'll sleep on the floor."
Reno gave Elena a look. "Lany...you do know how loud you snore?"
Elena glared at Reno. "Well you mumble under your breath in your sleep."
He stuck her tongue out at her. "Only to keep you awake."
Cloud dug into his bag, taking out four sleeping pills and downing them. "I don't care."
Rude blinked at the bottle. "Vicatrol? Holy fuck, Strife..."
Scarlet looked at the spike-haired blond. "Cloud, that's an – "
Cloud threw the couch bed out and fell down on it. "Don't start..." Scarlet didn't look convinced, and Cloud continued. "I built up a tolerance after a year. Deal with it."
Scarlet growled at him. "Fine, you want to not wake up in the morning, fine with me."
Elena gave Scarlet a look. "Why don't we all just go to sleep?" she stressed the last word in the hope that the older woman would take the hint and leave the room.
Scarlet rubbed her temples with a muttered apology, then she and Reeve stood and went up the stairs, the latter not having spoken a word through the whole thing.
Reno decided he, too, was a bit behind on his usual amount of sleep and took up Yuffie's hand, pausing to smile at Rude, telling him, "Now that you're making me stay here, we're going to keep you up all night. Toodles, Chromie." He knocked on his friend's head -- and almost got three broken fingers for it -- before he and Yuffie followed the other two upstairs.
*****
"How you holding up, Hero Boy?" Elena asked the blonde man as she watched Rude walk out the door, cigarette pack in one hand.
"My face just quit hurting," Cloud tried to joke.
Elena laughed gently. "What exactly did you do to the... Tifa anyway?" she asked after her laughter had died down.
"I left her." He rolled over to face Elena. "She – ah – lied about a lot of things. I just left one day..." He sighed. "Maybe I should have left a note, or talked to her about it, but... I didn't know how..."
"Maybe because you thought she'd shout at you, just like she did when you came back?" The blonde woman offered.
Cloud laughed. "Yeah, that and how do you tell someone you care about that they're a liar?"
Elena shrugged. "Never had that problem. I always seem to hate people who lie to me."
"She's the first person to ever really talk to me. It – well it hurt..." He was getting drowsy from the sleeping pills, but would be up for at least another half an hour. It was relaxing to just lay there, in a bed. Lord only knew where he would be tomorrow.
"Why do you think she lied to you?" Elena asked, as she pulled the blanket she was using closer to herself.
"She did it because what I thought was nicer then the truth... When I was fighting Sephiroth, I didn't remember Hojo, SOLDIER, Nibelheim... Now I do, and… " Cloud flopped onto his back.
"And now you're drugging yourself up on Vicatrol?" the blonde woman said with a hint of sympathy in her voice.
He looked at her. "Yeah."
The floor above them started to squeak... Apparently Reno and Yuffies's room was above the couch.
Elena scowled, picked up the boot she had taken off earlier, and threw it at the ceiling, not caring who else it woke up.
The squeaking subsided for a moment, a muffled "What the hell?" coming through the floorboards, then it continued louder than before.
Cloud laughed. "Be happy for them…"
Elena glared at the blonde. "You live with that nearly every night and then tell me to be happy for them."
"Would you rather they were all alone?" Cloud stretched, his eyelids getting heavy.
She sighed. "No," she said quietly.
Sleep was starting to slur Cloud's speech, but he was continuing the conversation. "What about you? You with anyone?"
Yuffie's voice could be heard, praising some deity of some nature in the midst of it all.
Elena paid her no heed. "Ha – as if!" she said a little bitterly.
This made Cloud confused. "Why do you say it like that?"
"I just seem to attract men who want just a one night stand. I had a boyfriend once, before I was a Turk, but that didn't last long."
"Maybe you weren't looking in the place? Or for the right person?" Cloud blushed. "I – ah – shit, I'm getting all druggy here..."
Elena giggled. "People tend to tell the truth more when they're half asleep."
"So if I am going to tell you the truth... You should ask me something." Cloud closed his own eyes. The numbing feeling took over his feet.
"What would you want me to ask you?" she asked.
He yawned. "I'm not a really bright guy; you think of something."
Elena thought about it for a moment. "What makes you think I was looking in the wrong place?"
Cloud let out a little laugh. "Women as pretty as you that like to blow shit up? I would think you'd have to have Rude scaring them off with a bat."
Elena laughed a little too. "Not a bat, a stick would do."
"Have to be a pretty big stick," Cloud muttered.
Down the stairs floated some yelp from Reno, followed by him yelling about his hair being caught in the springs.
Elena shook her head lightly at the noise from upstairs and looked to Cloud again. "Where exactly should I be looking then?"
Cloud yawned again and propped himself up on one elbow to look at her. "You like blonds?"
"Maybe," Elena said with a little smirk.
"Would your big brothers have to beat me up?" Cloud looked up, listening to Reno whine again. "Well, Rude at least…"
Elena started laughing, but about that time, the squeaking started up again. Cloud and Elena both closed their eyes to go to sleep, thinking they would rather not know what Reno did with his hair.
*****
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