iii. theme #7 "middle finger salute"
The church needs repairing.
Of course it does, Reno thinks, as he walks in slowly through the broken-down main entrance, kicking aside small stones and planks of wood. The place smells of decay and flowers and something else he can not quite place – a presence long lost but never forgotten, the silent laughter ringing in the corners.
In the middle, there is a garden of yellow flowers that prosper in the misery of the slums. Reno haughtily thinks that the only resident of the place has certainly not showed such inner strength but instead has bent under the weight he choseto carry on his shoulders. Such stubbornness, Reno snorts, but does not really know if it is good or bad.
Not his business, anyhow.
If it only weren't for her.
Her smiling face and sorrowful eyes and crushed hopes and heart, and every time he sees her he wants to kick Cloud in the groin and electrify him with his weapon. Helplessly he still knows that she would protect him from everyone and everything, even if it meant her death. Such stubbornness, Reno sighs, and knows it is insane.
"What are you doing here?" Cloud asks as Reno walks down the aisle between the old benches, the signs of fighting still visible on them and the walls. Cloud gets up warily, not knowing what to expect, because he has not bothered to take interest in anyone else's life since his is already miserable enough. The level of bitterness is high in Reno and he can hardly conceal a snarl – beating Cloud into a bloody pulp is the top priority in his mind.
"Are you an idiot or what?" Reno asks, not bothering to reply to the question. The answer is so fucking obvious to him. He does not hear what Cloud says or if he says anything at all when he pulls out his fighting rod and taps it to his shoulder.
"...What?" Cloud's voice betrays a hint of doubt andhe eyes Reno skeptically.
"I said, are you a fucking idiot or what," Reno repeats, not quite succeeding in concealing the dislike in his loud voice. Handling Cloud and his fucking materia-sized brain is becoming increasingly difficult. His patience is wearing down.
"What are you talking about?" Cloud asks, not bothering to take up his sword. He knows that Reno will most likely not attack, since they both know that it is only the wisest thing to do in his situation.
Showing Cloud a very rude hand gesture, Reno charges at him, bringing his rod to his left shoulder and swinging it down hard on Cloud's face. He misses, of course, and is sent flying against the church's wall. As he stands up, wiping blood from his nose, he knows he is being stupid. But then again, so are all three of them, so he decides not to really care.
Charging again, he earns a few more punches and kicks,and he knows that Cloud is not taking him seriously and it only infuriates him more. Finally, Cloud has him pinned against the same wall where Tifa had practically flown during her fight, and Reno is not quite yet enough out-of-breath to be gasping, but Cloud's hands are certainly doing hell to his air supply.
"What do you want?" Cloud asks again, pressing his hands harder on his throat, feeling the pulse beneath his gloves.
And suddenly, Reno grabs a handful of Cloud's hair with his free hand and pulls his lips to his, not exactly in a kiss, but something more brutal and memorable. "That," Reno spits blood on his face, "is from someone who you're killing who's killing me."
Taking advantage of his surprise – the naïveté of the man, really! - Reno takes his leave, letting Cloud brood and wallow and change if he wants to.
He only wanted to get the gears moving again, is all.