Rated R for mature situations, drug references, mature language, and explicit sex scenes. You've been warned.

Author's Notes: This is a strange chapter and has drug references in it. Please don't be offended by the things Reno does in this chapter…I just thought his life could go down this path after the downfall of Shinra. And please don't be offended by Tifa's inebriation…it happens to the best of people at least once.

G A W D Y F O R T U N E S

Part 1: Unfaithful

By: Xtine

Chapter 5: Sinful Decisions

Tiny orbs glistened in the blanket of darkness that draped itself over the earth. Night had finally fallen upon the tiny town of Kalm, and the lively inhabitants were all now nestling themselves into their homes, all the while the dark shadows of the night owls began to creep around the building sides. Although Kalm was a fairly decent town, it was one of the towns best known for its illegal substance use and abuse. Since the rebuilding of Midgar, many of the low lifes were eager to get a good paying job, and Shinra was more than willing to pay just about anybody to help. And thus the town became known for its central location, and the streets at night were a dangerous place to be, as anything was possible to happen.

Reno all the while knew of this, and that was one of the reasons he found himself in the small town. He was always short of money, so he found quick easy ways to deal with it. Certainly he wasn't proud of his dealings, but he had to eat, and this was on of the ways.

"Money?" Reno asked a scraggily teenager who was probably barely 17 years of age. The teen was barely as tall as Reno, and his multicolored hair made him stand out like a sore thumb, especially with the worn jeans and patched jacket he wore.

"Yeah," the adolescent answered and pulled out his chain wallet and eagerly handed a wad of money over to Reno. Decisively Reno checked the amount and when he was satisfied that it was what he asked for, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small bag filled with a green plant.

A delighted smile spread across the teen's lips as he took the bag of marijuana off of Reno's hands.

"Thank you much, man," his hoarse voice spoke, still with the smile plastered upon his lips. His eyes were red, showing that he already wasn't exactly in this world anymore, which is one reason Reno checked and double checked the amount of money he received.

"Yeah kid," Reno answered and watched the kid turn away and go on with his business. Reno felt nothing for doing such a thing; it seemed almost natural to be doing such an illegal deed. There was no guilt trip when he felt he was helping the drug problem, there was no guilt when he knew he was helping destroy the lives of the youth—he felt absolutely nothing.

Instead he gave a deep sigh as he sold his last bag. Instead he took out a small cigarette and lit the end up if up. Subconsciously he began taking drags off of the nicotine, feeling the drug take its effects of calming down his nerves. His deeds for the night were over, so he figured it was time to give a certain bartender a little visit.

xoxox

Tifa sat hunched over at the bar table with a drink next to her. It wasn't often that she had a time to drink, but she figured since the bar was to be closed anyway; there was no hurt in inebriating herself. Especially now since Cloud was gone and the only thing she was left with were her tangled thoughts.

I'm just making everything worst. She condemned herself. Oh well Tifa, it happened, it's done with. Just drink and forget.

She took another shot of the drink when she heard the familiar ringing noise of her bar door opening. Her body jerked startled, and she whipped around to see who could be daring enough to enter her bar when it was closed. Her eyes focused towards the dark door and she was able to immediately identify the person from the crimson hair upon his scalp. Of all nights I forget to lock the door…

"The bar is closed," she spoke sternly and annoyed.

"I saw that," the man responded and only proceeded to move himself closer to her.

Tifa had a dumbfounded look sketched on her face as she watched him move closer to her. Her body became tense as she wondered what possessed him to have the nerve to defy her.

She spoke bluntly. "The bar being closed means you have to leave." Her speech was rather slurred and her gaze was towards the ground rather than at the man she spoke to.

Reno simply ignored her remarks, and seeing the empty fifth of vodka next to her gave him the good feeling that she was happily in drunkard land.

"I figured you would be lonely, and I could really use a cold beer," he spoke fluently, almost teasing her inebriated mind.

Tifa found herself at a loss. Her mind was definitely not thinking straight at the moment and she felt herself become a little scared in her vulnerable state. She didn't know if it would be better to try and continue to fight him and make him leave, or just simply give him what he wants—Hell, she wouldn't mind his company anyway.

Wait Tifa. This is going to get you deeper in trouble. Her conscious tried to speak in her poisoned mind. But, I suppose the company really won't hurt. And this time, I'll just make sure to say no. Everything seemed to make sense when she was intoxicated, and she was sure that she could handle any situation, at least she thought she was sure.

Reno stood next to her now, waiting to get some sort of response out of her. Even a go away would satisfy him as he would then know that she was at least still paying attention to his poor, attention starved soul.

"Well, take a seat then," she spoke calmly. She then hopped up and stumbled her way behind her bar, accidentally hitting the corner of the bar with her hip rather hard.

"Careful there, waitress," Reno commented, seeing that she was drunker than he had at first thought. I suppose that would make sense though, as she is letting me stay.

Taking a little more time than usual, she finally managed to poor him a cold beer. She leaned over the bar countertop to give him his beer and a deranged smile was perched on her lips as she gave him his drink.

Reno could see that she definitely wasn't there mentally at that moment, meaning that conversation would be easy and he could easily get any information out of her that he normally would not be able to. Not to mention he would more than likely have the ability to do anything he pleased with her, as long as his conscious didn't judge him.

"So Reno, what is the real reason that you came to town," Tifa spoke smoothly, and Reno was able to smell the alcohol on her breath as she leaned in close to him.

"Let's just call it business." Reno winked at her with a smirk.

"Business huh? That's interesting because that's why I came here, as you can tell," Tifa spoke freely. She seemed to become quite talkative when she was drunk.

"And Cloud?" Reno dared bringing him up in the conversation.

"Oh, well Cloud is here to help rebuild Midgar and he wants to live with me, so it works out well."

Reno for once was unsure if he wanted to get further into the conversation. Part of him demanded him to gather full details, while the other really could care less, as he knew he was not going to get himself too involved in her life.

Tifa was the one on the other hand that did bring it up though. She spoke confidently, "Did you know Cloud asked me to marry him?"

"I think I figured that one out the other day already," he reminded her, wondering if she recollected the ordeal.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, but I figured I would just tell you, not to mention there really isn't much else to talk about."

"Well, I suppose it's good to see that punk finally get over that damned Ancient."

Tifa felt a sharp pain jolt through her heart. Even in her wasted state she knew what that "Ancient" was still doing to her relationship, and it burned her soul. Slowly she was being tortured by the false love she was stuck in, but in a way, she felt she had no choice but to let herself suffer.

Reno felt the silence fall in the air and he knew he hit a nerve on her. He cursed himself for being so arrogant in the conversation, but in a way it was a good thing as she responded in a way he never would have imagined.

Suddenly Tifa just roused up a mighty jealous rage and she slouched more on the countertop as her mouth jabbered away. "Yeah, Cloud still loves that damned Ancient and there's not a damn thing I can do about it! I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I love Cloud but he doesn't love me!"

Tears welled up in her wine orbs, burning the dry lids that covered her eyes. She sniffled her nose as she felt herself break completely down in front of him, her energy now being completely drained from the expense of her bottling up those few words and feelings and now letting them explode out in her drunken state. She kept mumbling about how pathetic she was and other things that Reno couldn't make out, although he did catch the names Cloud and Aerith every once and a while.

Reno sat shocked watching her upper torso fall upon the countertop and just completely losing it. A worried expression covered his face as he found himself in a situation he had never found himself in before. He couldn't just leave her there now—she was half passed out on the countertop for God's sake and she was randomly opening up to him about things that she would probably never even tell a best friend if she were to have one anymore.

"It'll be okay," Reno tried to be reassuring. Watching such a strong woman break down perplexed his sober mind, but he had dealt with many women completely breaking down before, and he knew what they would always lead too. A grin was placed on his lips as he stood up from the bar seat and walked behind the bar and gently put his hand upon Tifa helping her stand fully up.

She stumbled in his grasp, and fell onto him making him shuffle his weight to fully support her. She was now completely locked in his embrace, as it was the only way that she was to stand halfway upright. Her nose picked up the sweet scent of his aroma, and she felt a strange comfort come from him, making her arms clasp around him for security. She felt her body continue to weep, but her mind had by then fully passed out, leaving her to be nothing more than a body working on impulses.

Reno held her tightly; feeling her body become heavier as she slowly left the conscious world. He rolled his eyes at the predicament. He was left with limited options, and leaving her on the cold tiled floor was probably not the best, not to mention for some reason his conscious would not let him simply leave her in that situation. So with her (and his) best interest in mind he cautiously placed and arm down behind her legs and another across her back and with great ease lifted her lithe body into the air. He held onto her protectively and made his way up the stairs where he learned from the other night that the master bedroom was.

He laid her gently upon the satin sheets of her queen-sized bed. He made sure to rest her comfortably with her head rested on the pillows and her body not in a sporadic assembly. A warm rush went through his body as he peered down at her sleeping body, her innocent nature coming out in her peaceful rest.

A woman who was once his enemy now simply was sleeping in front of him. The irony of the situation was apparent, but for some reason it didn't bother him. Instead he looked over the curves of her body and wondered how a man—no, not a man to Reno but a simple boy who still had his heads in the clouds—could simply let this woman rot within his grasp.

He could see it. Even in the time that he was deliberately fighting against her righteous cause, he could see the power and strength that was in her spirit, but now, after the defeat of Sephiroth, that spirit was dying. Her nature was being washed away by the cruel intentions love had in store for her. In a way, he felt it sad to see such a good heart go to waste, but who was he to say.

A little disappointed that she had passed out, he sat his body at the edge of the bed, the rusty springs giving their holler of complaint as he put his weight on them. The noise wasn't too loud, but apparently loud enough to stir the sleeping Tifa.

She carefully sat up in bed and looked around confused until she saw the figure sitting at the edge of the bed. Her eyes attempted to focus on the person, but the only thing she could clearly make out was the blaze of red hair upon the man's head, and there was only one man she knew with that hair.

"Reno, is that you?" she asked, curious as to why he was sitting on the bed with her.

Reno turned around to see the young woman, and he nodded his head to her. A grin perched on his lips as he saw her come to consciousness. "Yeah, I figured you didn't want to pass out on your bar floor."

Tifa nodded in agreement of the choice he had decided. Her mind was still completely blank of the whole situation, but at the moment she was beginning to care less. In fact, the only thing that she seemed to be concerned with was the fact that there was a charming man sitting on the edge of her bed who was actually being thoughtful towards her.

"Hey, where's Cloud? He's going to kill you if he sees you," Tifa spoke softly, feeling the alcohol still running through her veins but her mind was sobering up.

"I don't know, you tell me," Reno responded, also becoming concerned as to where the spiky-haired wonder could have drifted off to.

Tifa then nodded as she recollected, "Oh yeah, he's going to be gone for the week. That's why I closed the bar. Sorry, I had forgotten." She giggled.

Reno shook his head at her girlish act. It was rather cute, he would have to admit, but it still showed how much she was intoxicated.

"Well look, you'd probably best get to sleep, as you'll be needing it," Reno suggested, figuring it would be the best option for her at the moment. What am I talking about? Turning down sex for her well-being? I'm going soft…

Tifa took a second to contemplate the idea. Truthfully she didn't want to sleep right now, she felt lonely, the loneliest she had felt in a very long time. Right in front of her eyes she was losing everything, and there was no remedy for it that would make things right again.

"I-I don't think I can get to sleep," she stuttered like a child pleading to their mother. Reno scoffed and stood from the bed and bent down to take off his worn boots. It didn't take him long to untie the rusty colored laces and glide the boot off his foot. He definitely wasn't going to say no in this situation, as now it was her initiating his stay.

With small graceful movements, Reno approached the opposite side of the bed that Tifa lied on and he sat himself next to her, moving his face towards hers, allowing his warm breath to gently caress her sensitive flesh. A shiver went down her spine as she could feel his close contact. Reno placed a hand on her right cheek and he gently stroked her soft skin as he moved her head to face his and he let his lips touch her, waiting for some sort of reaction. Immediately she perked her lips to meet his, letting her lips slip into place with his, where they for a moment spent their time massaging his with hers.

Reno was the one to release the kiss. "Is that a little better?" Tifa only responded with a nod of her head as her eyes were closed as she waited for his lips to return to hers. A chuckle escaped Reno's throat and he greeted her small nod by closing in the space between them again and forcing their kiss to become slightly fiercer.

Tifa felt his enthusiasm and she eagerly returned it, as her body once again was a blaze from him. She found herself letting her body slide up against his, her breasts gently rubbing against his body, the warmth of his body upon hers giving her gooseflesh.

Reno deepened the kiss between them, allowing his tongue to press between her lips. He took the initiative and placed one of his arms around her waist and gently pushed her fully upon her back with him resting upon her. He could feel the passion begin to build between them, and for once in his life he felt a connection form in the midsts of his love making actions, and for once he was enjoying and embracing the feeling, not wanting to let it go.

Author's Note: I believe there might be something starting to happen within Reno. Perhaps some emotions are starting to stir? Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter and I promise there won't be any drunken love anymore. Everything becomes a lot more sensual and true from here on out.

Disclaimers: I do not own any of the names, characters, or places mentioned in this story.