Disclaimer:
Yeah, I own Final Fantasy VII! See, it's sitting right over there on my shelf! That's how I own it!
Author's Note:
Wow, another chapter! Didn't think I'd get another one up this fast but oh well. Hope you guys like this chapter. If you're confused about anything let me know. I wrote this one kind of fast so I could have left something out.
Thanks so very much for all the wonderful reviews! I loved every single one of the them! So, after you finish reading this chappy I would enjoy it very much if you let me know how I did on this chapter! Hope you enjoy it!
I was sitting at the kitchen table the next morning practically fuming.
Why was I so nice to Reno yesterday? I thought to myself. What the hell is wrong with me? I can't be nice to Reno.
Logan walked up to me with his plush chocobo and climbed onto my lab. "When's Reno coming?"
I stared at my son stupidly. He had taken to Reno quite quickly and it surprised me. I looked at my watch. "Around three o'clock."
"Okay," he said, hopping down and returning to his room.
But it's strange. I began to think once more. It's almost like Reno's a totally different person, almost. But I haven't been around him long enough to find out what he's really like. Three years is a long time. Maybe I am being a little stuck up about this whole thing. I mean, he's so sweet to Logan and all. But the question is, can I trust him?
Ugh! What am I saying! I'm talking about Reno here!
Exasperated, I got up from the kitchen table and walked into my bedroom. I pulled out my cosmetics bag and filled it with all my make-up before grabbing a smaller bag to put all my toiletries in. After I had finished that, I grabbed all the money I made and sat on the couch, beginning to count out how much I had.
When I was done counting it I had over one thousand two hundred gil and since I didn't have to make the truck and all the utilities payments until the next pay period I could use the money and save whatever I had left.
I put all the money in my wallet, safely tucked away in my purse then walked into Logan's room. He was sitting on the floor in front of his small duffel bag. I walked towards him and sat beside him. He smiled and gave me a hug. "Hi, Mommy!"
"Hello, Logan!" I said, kissing him on the top of his head.
He crawled into my lap as I pulled his suitcase towards me so I could go through it.
"I packed all by myself!" He said, smiling up at me.
I smiled back at him. "Yes, you did! And you did a very good job!"
He giggled as he wrapped his arms as far around my waist as his little arms would allow.
After I was finished sorting through all the clothes he wanted to bring I found the only things he forgot were socks and some sleepers when he went to bed.
I was about to lift Logan off of my lap when someone knocked at the door. "Go get that, sweetie."
He ran out of his room as I got up off the floor and walked to his dresser.
"Reno!" Logan exclaimed.
"Hey, shorty! How ya been?"
I froze in place and looked at my watch. It was ten minuets past noon. I raised my index finger to my wrist and tapped the glass before looking at the small digital clock that was sitting on the top of Logan's dresser.
I looked at Reno as Logan pulled him into the room. Reno froze immediately when he saw the look on my face. "What?" He asked, giving me an inquiring look.
I looked at my watch again. "You're early." I paused. "Three hours early to be exact."
"What's wrong with that?" He asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
I ran my hand through my hair and shrugged. "Somehow I expected you to show up at the last possible second."
"Well, I thought I'd come early to see if you needed any help."
My eyes widened at his comment. This man was unbelievable.
"What?"
"Never mind," I said, turning back to Logan's dresser and pulling out three pairs of socks and two sleepers.
"Alright," he said, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, Reno, come here!" Logan said, waving him over to his toy box.
"What's up, kiddo?" He asked, walking toward him and kneeling on the floor.
"Look at this!" Logan said, handing him one of his toys.
"Wow," Reno said, trying to use his best 'I'm talking to a little kid' voice. "Now that's a cool toy!"
"My mommy got it for me for Christmas!" Logan said, taking it back from Reno and hugging it to his chest.
Reno looked at me and gave me a thumbs up. "Nice gift, Mom!" He said, smiling stupidly.
I rolled my eyes as I sat down on the floor and put the socks and sleepers into Logan's bag. "You're welcome, Son," I said, as sarcastically as I could get.
Logan set the toy back into his toy box and crawled over to me. "Mommy, is Reno coming with us to Cosmo Canyon?" He asked, grabbing a strand of my hair and playing with it.
I smiled. "No, sweetie. He's going to see some friends of his own in Rocket Town."
"Oh," he said, sort of disappointed.
"Well, maybe I can stop by Cosmo Canyon. How long are you guys staying there?"
I didn't reply for many moments. Why Reno wanted to stop by and see us was mind-boggling. I snapped back to attention. "Till Tuesday afternoon. I have to be back to work that night."
"You think Cid could give me a ride back?"
I shrugged. "I guess," I said, nodding.
I looked at my watch and sighed. It was two o'clock. Cid wouldn't be here until at least another hour. I left Logan's room and walked into mine, beginning to rummage around in my suitcase to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. I opened my closet and looked around, seeing what else I could bring.
I didn't notice Reno's presence until he cleared his throat. I looked at him while I was transferring a long, frilly skirt to my suitcase. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked toward me.
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked, stopping a few feet away from me.
"What is it?" I asked, crossing my arms and looking directly into his eyes.
"Why…" He stopped and ran his hand through his hair. "Why are you being so, I don't know, nice to me all of a sudden? The last few days you've been a witch with a capital B and now you're not. What's up?"
I looked down at the floor then peered over Reno's shoulder. Logan was sitting on the floor, holding the picture of Cloud in his hands. "You see that little boy over there?" I asked him, causing him to turn around. He looked back at me and nodded. "That little boy is my pride and joy. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him. He's all I have. You should have heard him this morning. He was running around asking me 'When's Reno gonna get here?' I don't know how and I don't know why but Logan's quite taken with you. If a two year old can give you a chance, I'm pretty sure that I can try."
One corner of his mouth curved up. "Oh, Tifa, you're so sweet!" He said, moving to give me a hug.
I grabbed his wrists though and shook my head. "Nuh-uh."
He put his hands up in the air defensively. "I didn't do a thing." He walked out of my room to go sit by Logan, who was still staring at the picture of his father. "Whatca got there?"
"It's my daddy," Logan said. I swallowed hard for I knew what he was going to say next. "He doesn't wanna live with us."
Reno was silent for many moments. "Gee, I'm sorry, sport." I turned to continue going through my closet when Reno turned his head to look at me. I could feel his eyes drilling into my back. I closed my eyes and turned away from my closet, staring at my suitcase.
I heard Reno get up from the floor and walk towards me. "Tifa, you never said anything about Cloud not wanting to live with you. Why didn't you say anything about it?"
"It's not important," I said, looking over my shoulder briefly before turning back around and beginning to bite my nail.
"Not important, Tifa, what do you mean?" He asked, stepping closer to me.
"I mean what I mean, Reno," I said with a little more venom in my voice than I should have used. "Don't expect me to spill my entire life to you when we barely know each other. There are some things that you don't need to know about my life and that was definitely one of them."
Reno didn't speak for a while, instead he came and stood directly behind me. He put his mouth right next to my ear. "What if I want to get to know you?"
His warm breath made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I quickly moved away and turned to face him. I was getting ready to say something when a knock came to the door. I stared hard into Reno's eyes once more before going to open it.
"Hey, Tifa!" Cid said, adjusting the goggles on the top of his head. "How ya been?" He walked past me and fell silent when he saw Reno standing in my bedroom doorway. "What's he doin' here?" He said, never taking his eyes off the red headed former Turk.
I stepped around in front of Cid so he could only look at me. "He needs a ride to Rocket Town. Is it alright that you take him there after you drop me off?"
He looked at me for a few seconds before staring at Reno and giving him an overly critical look. He shrugged. "Yeah, it's fine with me."
"Thanks, Cid," I said, getting up on my tiptoes and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
He shrugged again and scratched his head. "Don't worry about it."
Logan looked up from his place on the floor and looked up at Cid. "Hi, Unca Cid!" Logan said, waddling over to him.
"Hey, kiddo!" Cid said, picking Logan up. "How have you been?"
"Good," he said, grabbing Cid's goggles off of his head and putting them on. "We're going to see Unca Nanki."
I smiled at Cid before walking past Reno and grabbing my bags. I set them down next to the door then walked into Logan's room and grabbed his small bag, placing it next to mine. Cid was still standing in the same place, giving Reno yet another death glare. Reno didn't seem phased by it, though. He just stood there with his hands in his pockets, a cocky smirk plastered on his face.
I walked over to Cid and relieved Logan from him. "Cid?" I said, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder.
"What?" He asked, still looking at Reno.
"Look at me," I said.
He reluctantly turned his head so he was staring me in the face. "Tifa-"
I shook my head. "Cid, it's okay. Reno hasn't done anything….yet. He just needs a ride to Rocket."
"What about on the way back?" He asked, diverting his gaze from my eyes for only a second to look at Reno.
"Yes, he'll need a ride back too."
"Fine," Cid said, turning and walking out of the condo. "Come on."
I placed Logan on the floor and handed him his bag. He carried it, along with his plush chocobo and blanket, haphazardly in his tiny hands. I grabbed both my bags, slinging the larger suitcase over my shoulder and carrying the other one at my side. Reno walked over to the couch and picked up a black bag very similar to Logan's and walked past me.
"I see Cid's still the same," he mumbled as he walked out the door.
I locked the doorknob then closed the door and slid the deadbolt into place before turning and following Cid and Reno out of town. Cid had managed to get the Highwind low enough so all we had to do was climb up a ramp to get onto the deck instead of having to climb that stupid rope ladder.
I set my bags down in Operations then made my way to the bridge. Cid was showing Logan around the bridge and Reno was sitting against a wall, looking bored.
I walked over to Cid, figuring Reno didn't want to be bothered at the moment. "Mommy, look!" Logan said, running over to me and pulling on the hem of my shirt. "This is the lever that fires the missiles."
I looked at where he was standing then studied the lever Logan was pointing to closely. When I realized what it was I gave Cid an unamused look, which made him chuckle a small amount.
Cid looked up and peered out the front window spying a cargo ship that was pulling into the bay. "Pull that lever and see if you can hit the cargo ship," Cid said, winking at me.
I smiled and watched as Logan pulled down on the lever and jumped back as the engines roared to life. He ran up to the window and looked out, seeing the cargo ship still in one piece. "Hey, where'd the missiles go?"
Cid leaned over. "Like I'd really tell him where the missile launcher is located."
I chuckled slightly as I walked toward Logan. I kneeled down and put my arm around him. "Maybe they're not working today."
"Aww," he said, disappointed, as he walked away.
An idea sparked as I looked over at Cid. "Hey, Cid, do you have Nelly with you?"
He looked over at me and smiled. "Hell, yeah. I always have Nelly in the Highwind."
"Thanks, Cid." I walked over to Logan who was sitting on the floor next to the doorway, pouting. "Hey, come here. I wanna show you something."
He perked up and followed me out of the bridge. I lead him over to where Cid kept his black chocobo, Nelly. Before I pushed the door open I turned back to Logan. "Now close your eyes."
He smiled; realizing that he was going to like this and quickly complied by closing his eyes and clamping his hands down over them.
I walked around behind him and gently pushed him through the door. Nelly looked at Logan, blinking her brilliant blue eyes at him before walking toward him.
"Can I open them now?" He asked, giggling.
I nodded. "Yes, you can open them."
He pulled his hands away and squealed at the sight of a real live chocobo. This startled Nelly for she jumped back and flapped her short wings. Logan didn't realize that he scared the poor bird so he ran toward her and wrapped his arms around one of her legs.
Nelly realized that Logan didn't mean her any harm so she lay down on the ground, prompting Logan to climb onto her back. He smiled and sat on her back, tightly wrapping his arms around her neck. She stayed still for a few more seconds, making sure he was on her back before getting up.
"Look, Mommy!" Logan said as Nelly walked around the small room. "I'm riding a chocobo!"
"Yes, you are!" I said, leaning against the wall, watching as Nelly walked around.
I stood and observed until Nelly stopped and looked back at Logan. She warked at him, being rewarded with a tight hug around her skinny neck before kneeling back down on the ground so Logan could safely climb off.
He gave Nelly one last hug before running over to me. "Mommy, that was fun!" He said, latching onto my legs. "I wanna do it again!"
I leaned down and picked him up, kissing him lightly on the forehead. "Maybe later."
Logan looked over my shoulder and waved 'bye' to Nelly. She cocked her head at him, not understanding the gesture.
I walked onto the bridge and went to stand in my usual spot in front of the window and gazed out. Logan pointed. "I can see Cosmo Canyon!"
I smiled and smoothed out his messy hair before setting him down on the floor. "Go get your bag, okay?"
He nodded and ran off the bridge. I walked over to Cid.
"Where'd you go?" He asked, lowering the altitude of the Highwind. "You left me alone with Turk boy over here."
I rolled my eyes. "I let Logan ride Nelly."
He frowned. "What do ya mean?" He asked, not sure what I was saying.
"I let him sit on her back while she walked around." I paused and looked back out the window. Cid set the Highwind down a ways away from the entrance to the canyon. I turned to him and gave him a hug. "Thanks again, Cid."
"No problem," he said, patting me on the back. "So, I'll see ya Tuesday morning?"
"Yep," I said, looking over to where Reno was still sitting in the same place he had been the last time I saw him. "Reno's going to be coming to Cosmo Canyon so you won't have to worry about tracking him down."
He nodded and adjusted the goggles that were holding his messy blonde hair in place. "Alright, just be careful around him. He was a Turk, a good one too. I don't care how many years Shinra has been out of commission. He could still be dangerous."
I looked down at the floor and bit my bottom lip. Could he still be dangerous? Can people like Reno really change? I don't know what to think right now.
I looked back up at Cid and smiled, giving him one last hug. "Thanks again for the ride. I'll see you in a few days."
I said bye to Reno before walking out of the bridge and grabbing my two bags. Logan was standing by the ramp leading down to the ground. Once I reached where he was standing he raced down the ramp and over to the large staircase that led up to the canyon.
Once I was safely on the ground, one of Cid's crewmen drug the ramp up onto the deck and ran inside. I stood there and watched as the Highwind lifted off of the ground and flew off, disappearing into the distance.
