A/N: Hello all! Sorry that it's been awhile: I got an extention for this challenge because I simply could not come up with twelve one-shots in three days. (I'm good, but not that good!) So, my updates have slowed a bit. Anyway, I started tearing up at this one because it reminds me of a simliair break-up I went through awhile back, sooo...yeah. I hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII isn't mine. Imagine that!
Entry # 22: Cradle – Lazy Sunday Mornings
Reno is not used to lazy Sunday mornings.
As he lies languidly in her bed, Reno stares at the ceiling fan. He knows he should get up, get showered, and get out. He knows that he should be in the office, filing those reports that Elena has been nagging him about for the past two weeks, and that he should be shaking extra salt into Rufus' coffee just to be annoying.
He knows he should because he promised to be in the office during this particular lazy Sunday morning.
The sound of fizzling pancake batter draws his attention away from the ceiling fan and to the door. The smell of another mediocre breakfast wafts through the narrow hallway into the room and elicits a crooked smirk. She really is quite a terrible cook, but Reno finds himself excited for another bout of lumpy biscuits and runny eggs.
He likes the bad food because he likes lazy Sunday mornings.
He throws the covers aside and wanders to the kitchen, her soft humming greeting him along with the soft glow of early morning light. She is washing the pan and setting it into the dishwater, a small smile on her lips. She nods at him and makes fun of his hair, mused from the nightly romps. He grins and makes fun of her apron in response, pinching her backside. She frowns and yells at him, but he takes her in his arms, cradling her lithe form. He laughs out loud at her childish rants and calls her his little maid, wincing as she whacks his arm with the still-hot spatula.
He laughs because she's like no one else on lazy Sunday mornings.
She tells him that Godo is getting sicker and Reno nods nonchalantly. She mentions that she has to go to a meeting with the counsel that evening and she won't be home until late. It's the fifth time this month that they've called her back to Wutai, but Reno assures her it's alright, telling her that he and Rude had plans that night anyway. She presses a quick kiss to his cheek and heads for the shower, poking her finger into his eggs because she knows it annoys him as she goes.
He stares at his eggs because he knows that they will not have many more lazy Sunday morning left.
So when Yuffie moves out of their apartment and into the palace a year later, Reno is at a loss. He stares at the boxes and her tears and takes a deep drag of the slow-burning cigarette that he twirls between his fingers. She says she is sorry and that he can come visit her, but they both know that he cannot. He drops a light kiss on her forehead and walks out of the apartment, wrinkled coat thrown over his shoulder.
He shouldn't have gotten used to those damn lazy Sunday mornings.
- End -
A/N: As always, please, please review! Feedback is a nice gesture, and I'm sure you're all very nice people.