Hey, I wasn't expecting me to update it either. I decided to take my one-shot with the most hits and reviews and continue it to some extent. It was this one, obviously. It had almost twice as many hits as ALL the other fics. Makes me a little sad when I think that it was written on borrowed talent XD The song, if you can't tell by this title, was 'Norwegian Wood,' by The Beatles. Go download it if you don't know it. Anyway, I was a bit concerned I might ruin a good thing if I continued, but I went for it so I'm hoping I was wrong. Let's hear your opinion.
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"Hey."
A hand nudged him in the ribs. Hey yourself, he thought irritably.
The poking got more severe. "Hey! Wake up."
Uhh? Reno opened his eyes to find Tifa staring down at him. "I wasn't sleepin'…" he said unconvincingly. He most certainly had been, of course.
She frowned and folded her arms. "Have you been in my liquor cabinet?"
"…You have a liquor cabinet?" He wished he'd known that sooner.
She shook her head and picked up the grocery bags she'd set down near his hand. "Never mind."
He still hadn't moved—he was probably too stiff to—and watched her leave as best his position would allow. He wondered if she knew that he could see up her skirt from where he was. It was one of those rare occasions he thought better of commenting—he didn't really feel up for an ass kicking.
"I'm not letting you sleep there, you know," It was a shame—he hadn't really any plans to stay awake. "I mean it's one thing you sleep in my bathtub…"
He rolled over and rested his chin on his folded arms so he could somewhat see her in the kitchen. "Well if you'd invited me into your bed we wouldn't be having this problem," he said with a hint of a smile, even though she had disappeared from view.
"No," she mused, returning to the living room after a moment, "We'd be having an entirely different problem."
He smirked at her as she drew closer. "Says you," He was going to say something else but was cut off when she grabbed him by the arm and effectively pulled him to his feet. "Oww, watch it would you?" Not that he had any further aspirations to, but he was NEVER sleeping in a bathtub again. He followed her back into the kitchen.
"What, are you all sore from spending the night on cold, hard tiles?" She stood next to him and imitated the way he leaned forward on her counter.
He feigned distress. "Yes. It's murder on the spine. I could really use a massage…" He desperately hoped she'd take the bait.
She walked off and started to put away groceries. "Yeah, I bet," she said pleasantly.
The thought of offering him a massage probably hadn't even occurred to her. Dammit. He'd get her eventually… "So did you get a couch or were you not actually serious about that?"
"Oh no, I was serious, but I haven't gone yet. Would you like to come with me?"
"Well, actually—"
"I'm not letting you sleep here."
Well, so much for that plan. "…Then sure."
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Tifa had to suffer his ridicule all the way to the furniture store when he realized she had a fully functional set of chairs with a table in the kitchen, and they'd spent the entire time on her carpet. It also resulted in a complete rehash of what had occurred the prior evening. He seemed to think she needed reminding despite the fact that she had been there the entire time, as he had.
"You invite me up to your place, try to get me drunk, tell me there's no furniture and then conveniently use me for a chair. Oh, and then you tell me I can't leave and I, just as conveniently, have to spend the night. You know, a man could get ideas…"
"Ideas?"
She had to know what he meant. Or did she just want him to say it so she had an excuse to beat him up?
"Y'know, like you want me to lure me into your bedroom and jump my bones."
"I don't."
"Will you let me know when you change your mind?"
"I don't think I'll have to let you know," she replied calmly, opening the front door of the furniture store. "If Hell freezes over, I'm sure it will be on the news."
He grumbled something as they went inside.
They were ambushed by a perky saleslady within seconds. "Good afternoon! And how are we today?"
Tifa seemed uncomfortable with the woman. "Oh, um, we're fine, tha—"
But the woman had already turned to Reno. "Looking to buy some furniture with your girlfriend?"
Tifa turned red at the assumption and then pale when she caught the grin on Reno's face. He knew by now she'd learned to recognize when he was up to something. "Oh, um, we're not—"
But she'd have to be quicker than that. Reno promptly threw an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Oh yes," he said dramatically, "My girlfriend and I are moving into our new love nest," He smirked at Tifa and the indignant look that graced her face as he said that, "All that's left is the living room and the bedroom. And I'm afraid to say, that we probably won't be shopping here for the bedroom…"
He seemed to have the saleslady's interest, as she leaned closer in a silent request for him to elaborate. He cleared his throat. "You see, Tifa here has got kind of a…" he signaled for the woman move in even more. "Well, her taste is kind of wild, if you know what I mean…" The woman looked embarrassed at what he was implying, but he didn't care. The point had been to embarrass Tifa—but she looked like she was about to tear his throat out. "Isn't that right baby?" he addressed her. She said nothing, just glowered at him. He loved doing this to her.
"Well just…" The saleswoman looked ready to flee, and her perkiness seemed to have vanished. "Just come and find me if you need anything," And she was gone.
Tifa turned on him and smacked him on the arm. "Why do you do these things to me?"
"Cause I really dig it when you hit me," He grinned at her. She hit him again. "Hey, don't go nuts over it…"
"Is this what I get for inviting you over? Cause if that's the case, then forget it, I'm not ever doing it again."
"Like it's such a loss to me. With your nonexistent furniture and your muddy carpet…"
"My carpet is muddy because of YOU!"
"Well your bathtub is uncomfortable!" He was only faking being angry, but he wasn't sure if she was. They bickered for a few more minutes—the stupidity of his last comment didn't seem to faze her—before another employee, a man this time, walked over.
"Can I help you?"
Tifa stopped to smile at him. "Oh no thank you, we're just browsing."
"All right," he smiled back at her and Reno kind of didn't like the way he was looking at her. "If you and your boyfriend need any thing, feel free to ask."
"Oh, Reno here's not my boyfriend," she glanced at Reno and he knew he was in for it. She was getting revenge. "You see," she put her hand on his arm and he wanted to do something to prevent whatever was going to happen, but he had no idea where she was going with it. "Reno doesn't like girls… he likes men. He umm… oh, what was it you called it?" She turned to Reno, pretending to be trying to think of something. "Oh right. He 'plays for the other team,'" She smirked at him smugly when she turned to him again. "If you get my drift…"
Ouch. Reno thought her vengeance was duly gotten. And he suddenly didn't like the way the salesman was looking at him either. He grumbled. "We'll call you if we need you," he said and pulled Tifa away. She giggled, apparently pleased with herself.
He glared at her and she just shrugged, smiling innocently. She walked slowly, perusing the items as she went. Reno wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be doing, so he sat on a nearby sofa. He thought it was kind of funny that people assumed they were together. It suited him perfectly well—any man would want to be seen in public with a girl like Tifa. And either way, he couldn't blame them for coming to that conclusion. Shopping for furniture was kind of a couple-y… thing…
"Ugh, Reno, don't sit on that couch," she commented from a few meters away.
He paused, wondering if he'd sat in something questionable, but he didn't leap up, lest he look like a sissy little girl. "I guess you don't like it?"
"Oh no it's perfectly fine. But you clash," she explained. She made a face. "Horribly…"
He was silent for a while. "…What?"
"Your hair. Don't you know that's why redheads can't pull off wearing pink?"
So he was sitting on a pink couch. Big deal. He narrowed his eyes. "Well I'm not wearing pink, and I wasn't planning on it, thanks," He did value his masculinity after all…
"Don't sit there," she said simply, and walked away.
He wasn't sure why, but he was inclined to listen. It was kind of funny that she considered whether or not he 'clashed' with the couch she was potentially buying.
But he'd lost sight of her, so he wandered off in some random direction and chose a new couch—he made sure it complemented his hair—and stretched out on the entire length of it, not paying any mind to his muddy shoes. It was certainly more comfortable than a bathtub or a floor…
"Hey."
Well isn't this familiar? He quickly opened one eye, hoping he could spare himself from the finger jabs to the ribs. "I wasn't sleepin,'" That was familiar too.
"Hmm, I'm sure," Tifa slid next to him on the couch, surveying the store. "I haven't really seen anything I liked," She turned to face him as best she could. "What about you?"
"Uhh…" He hesitated. He was actually a bit distracted by having her in such close proximity. In addition to that, he obviously had been sleeping instead of looking for something to buy. "I like this one," he said grinning.
She looked contemplative for a moment and rose to her feet in front of him, prompting him to sit up.
"You know…" She put a finger to her cheek in thought and shifted her weight from side to side. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "So do I," she said smiling. "I mean, it's way better than anything I've seen so far, and it'll go great in my place… I'm gonna go ask someone about it."
Personally, he found it a bit suspicious that none of the furniture in the store had a labeled price.
He resisted lying back down, knowing he'd fall asleep if he did. Even then, he could feel himself nodding off. He snapped himself out of it when he saw Tifa return. She looked disappointed, and he could see a salesman not far behind. She'd obviously spoken with him.
"It figures," she said miserably, sitting down beside him. "It's way out of my price range…"
He frowned. He really did like the couch, even if he'd only said so as an alibi for sleeping through the whole shopping expedition. And it would certainly be a lot more comfortable sleeping on that than her floor or her tub…
"Miss?" Both their heads snapped up at the sound of the salesman's voice. Reno was glad to see it wasn't the one from earlier. "We have some more things downstairs," he pointed in the direction he was indicating, "If you'd like to take a look."
"Oh…" Tifa didn't seem so gung-ho about it—she must've liked the couch more than he thought. "All right…" she said getting up.
"…I'm gonna stay here," he told her.
"All right…" she said again, just as absently.
He watched her until she was out of sight. The salesman was still close by. "Hey, uhh…" He looked at the man's nametag. What the fuck kind of name is that? What are people thinking when they name their kid something that NO ONE can pronounce? "Hey uhh," With nothing to address the guy by, Reno found himself being ignored. And he'd be damned if he was gonna call him 'sir' or some shit… God this guy is oblivious… The salesman—more of a kid, really—seemed to be zoning out, so Reno hauled himself off the couch and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh, can I help you, sir?"
Reno rolled his eyes. Why yes, actually, you can. "Yeah, how much was that couch she asked about?" He winced at the information. The hell kind of store is this anyway? "All right… I need a favor."
"A favor?" He looked confused, and even more so when Reno pulled out his wallet.
"Yeah," he shelled out a good amount of cash. Elena nagged him about carrying so much money around, but he wasn't really sure where anyone was going to get off trying to mug him. The kid looked on the verge of panic for some reason. What does he think this money is for?
"I want you to take this money and put it for payment on that couch," He pointed his thumb behind him to specify the one he wanted. The boy-with-the-unpronounceable-name took the money with a strange look, nodding. "Okay. I'm going to go outside. When she comes back upstairs, tell her you know that it's going to be on sale next week—make a big show that you shouldn't be telling her that—and that she should come back. When she does, sell it to her at the price you told me minus… whatever I gave you."
Reno got a grin in response. "Tryin' to get on her good side huh? I don't blame you—she's really hot. I wouldn't mind—"
"Running your mouth like that can get your ass kicked, kid. Don't forget that. And by the way, don't even think about cheating me out of my money. If you fuck this up, I'll find out about it, and there will be consequences," The sales-kid looked almost scared now, and Reno was weirdly pleased about that. He still had it in him… "Thank you, come again, and have a nice day," he said, with a smirk and a wave as he left the store.
He leaned against the brick building, wishing again that he'd brought a lighter and some cigarettes with him—not so much for the nicotine, but for lack of anything better to do.
When Tifa emerged from the store she had an odd, but happy look on her face. "You know that salesman I talked to about the couch?"
"Oh yeah, that guy with the name I couldn't pronounce."
"…Simon?"
All right, massive stupidity moment. "Err, yeah, him. What about him?"
"Well, you're not going to believe this…"
He believed every word.
Once his stomach got the better of him, he insisted they get something to eat. She suggested she cook something for him at her place, and he had a suspicion that her reluctance to go out with him somewhere for a meal had to do with the first 'date' they'd had.
While they walked, Reno couldn't help but get annoyed over the number of men who undressed Tifa with their eyes as they passed her. Sure, he'd been guilty of the same thing on… several occasions, but in when it came down to it, it was an insult to him too. Who were these guys to assume that he wasn't her boyfriend or something? What, a guy like him couldn't possibly be with a girl like her?
His arm was on her waist again, and if she minded, she didn't say anything. And that was something he was extremely grateful for. It did his ego good to see that fewer men were staring at her, even more so when they looked at him with jealousy.
But he couldn't help his hand from wandering…
"You know, you can stop 'accidentally' touching my butt at any time," Tifa said after a while.
"You like it," he accused.
"And how do you figure that exactly?"
He grinned. "If you didn't you would have told me to stop sooner."
She removed his hand and rolled her eyes as she opened the door to her apartment.
He could tell that Tifa missed cooking for people. She seemed eager to ask what kind of food he wanted, how he wanted it, and how much he wanted. It worked well enough for him—he was starving and he'd heard good things about the food she made. Once he tasted it, he regretted as much as she appeared to that she didn't serve meals in her new bar, like she had in the old one. Then again, better I get it for free…
He suddenly excused himself from the table by getting up and stalking away without a word.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm tired."
"Oh…"
He smirked, wondering how long it would take her to notice that he wasn't heading for the door.
"Hey! I told you I'm not letting you sleep on my floor."
"I wasn't planning on it," By that point she had come after him. He awaited further commentary as he turned into her bedroom.
"Ohhh no. I don't think so," But he'd already flopped down on his back on one side of the bed. She sat on the other side, being a bit more patient with him than he would have expected. "C'mon," she nudged him in the side when she didn't open his eyes.
"Shh."
That made her tolerance wane slightly. "No!" she leaned towards him and moved one of his shoulders up and down. "I'm serious!"
"Geez, I dunno how a guy's supposed to get any sleep around here with you yakkin' like that," he smirked, picturing her expression turning even more infuriated.
"Reno!" she turned over completely and shook both his shoulders. "Wake up!"
She carried on like that for a while, eventually slumping forward and resting her head on his chest in defeat. "You're impossible…" she mumbled.
When he thought of the situation he was in, he was grateful for the fact that he was terribly stubborn when he felt like it. After a few minutes, he was curious about the fact that Tifa has stopped, and a little disappointed that she'd given up so quickly.
But she wasn't the only one who'd been tired, apparently—she'd fallen asleep half on top of him. He put an arm around her again and let himself drift off into the sleep he'd been after all day.
OoOoOoOoOI had at least one person proof read everything except the last bit, so sorry if there are any mistakes. Thanks to Rachie for her input.
Please, PLEASE review. Do it for John Lennon.