Tengoko: Alright, I didn't know Reno's last name. I asked around, but it seemed nobody knew. So, I remember a long time ago, reading a story with him and they mentioned a last name. I'm going to assume the person knew what they were talking about and if any of you actually do know, feel free to correct me. R&R
BTW: This chapter has a lemon, but it's not detailed at all. I didn't mark it off, because it really is that soft.
Disclaimer: It's here, what more do they want.
Rated M for language and Romance.
Chapter 2: Sun After the Storm
"And in other news today, Head of Urban Development, Reno Storm, has officially announced that he will be running against president Rufus Shinra in the upcoming election. Earlier, Rufus Shinra said that they had discussed the possibility of him joining the race, and despite rumors of the contrary, the two continue to be close friends. What do you think of that, Clark?"
The other news reporter chuckled good humouredly before looking directly into the camera. "I suppose Rufus Shinra hasn't heard then, that the first polls are in. It seems that Reno Storm is leading the race by thirty-six percent. Now, is that all that shocking?"
"I would think not," the other news reporter laughed. "Considering what Reno Storm has done for not only Midgar, but other cities as well, it is nosurprise that he has the popular vote."
"Turn that off, babe," Reno said, as he walked into the living room. "I'm sick of hearing about it."
Tifa laughed and grabbed the remote. "Then you shouldn't have decided to run," she suggested. "Because now you'll never hear the end of it." She moved over on the couch so he could sit next to her. Reno happily collapsed onto the soft cushions and stretched his body, resting his head on her lap. "Are you okay?" she asked, running her hands through his soft, red hair.
"I'm just tired," he said, closing his eyes. "Work's been wearing me out, I guess I'm not used to working with papers, monitoring other people, and being in all other ways, a suit."
"But, it is a comfort to me knowing that you aren't being shot at anymore."
"How do you know I'm not being shot at?" he asked jokingly. Tifa yanked at his ponytail and his eyes flashed open, looking straight into her warm, wine-colored orbs. She looked stern and worried, and immediately he regretted his ill-humored joke. "I'm not serious, babe," he said, putting his hand to her cheek.
"You know not to joke around about things like that?" she said, her own eyes looking away. "I worry about you, Re. Everyday, when you go to work 'til the moment you walk in through the door."
"You shouldn't," he said calmly.
"I can't help it!" she exclaimed, making Reno groan and sit up. "Can you blame me? You being what you were."
"Tifa," he said quietly. "I don't want to get into this with you."
"Of course you don't, Reno," she snapped. "You never do. So why don't you go upstairs and hide like you always do when things get to damned real around here?"
He turned to face her with an unreadable expression. "I resent that," he muttered. "Besides, what's the point of getting uptight? You do that well enough for the both of us." She raised her hand to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist and held it tight. "Stop!" he ordered. "I'm not putting up with this today, not today."
Tifa pulled her hand away from him so she could wipe away a tear. Suddenly, before she knew it, she had flung herself into his arms and was crying uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, Reno. It's just…have you ever wondered what life would be like if it had never happened?" He didn't answer. "He'd be turning eight years old this year."
"I know," Reno said softly. He rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes. It was harder for him to think about it than she realized. He never really stopped blaming himself for it, and he wasn't sure that he ever would.
It happened seven years ago. He was still a Turk then, they all were. It was before Rude and Elena had their baby, before Tseng married, and just when he and Rufus had proposed the plan to rebuild Sector Seven. The Turks got wind of a small militaristic group that had been using the ruins as their base, and Rufus publicly announced that they would be dealt with accordingly. Unfortunately, it wasn't Rufus that had to pay for his words.
He had been off duty with Tifa, Wesley, then six years old, and Hayden, who had just turned one. They had gone to sector one, but looking back, Reno couldn't remember why. It was unimportant now anyway. All he remembered was that Hayden was being fussy that day, and Wesley kept complaining about walking. He, at that point, had been carrying Hayden, but had given him to Tifa so he could pick Wesley up. In the next instant, there was a gunshot, and Tifa was on the ground.
The next few days were hell. The doctors assured Reno that Tifa would survive the injury, the bullet had missed her lung. Hayden hadn't been so lucky, and he spent exactly five days in the intensive care unit.
The day he died, Cid and Vincent were there, and Tifa had just been released. Reno was standing by his wife who was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. Cid sat next to her, and Vincent stood behind her. Rude had left to go get Reno and Cid some coffee, and the other Turks were searching for the perpetrators.
When Rude came back, he told Reno that Elena and Tseng had found them, and they were all in custody. He remembered Tifa's sigh and then her tears. For the first time in five days, she smiled, happy that the man who injured her son would be punished accordingly. But, that happiness was short lived.
Reno didn't care to remember much after that. He remembered the doctor coming up to them, but he couldn't recall what he looked or sounded like. He remembered how is heart tightened painfully in his chest and his mind became numb, but he didn't remember the words that had triggered this reaction. He remembered holding Tifa as she sobbed and cried, but couldn't remember if he cried himself.
"Reno," she said, snapping him back to the present. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about him," he admitted. "Just wondering what he would look like now, what he'd be like. Would he have been like you or like me? Or would he have been like his older brother? I think that's the part that I hate the most. Not being able to watch him grow up, become a man."
"It's not your fault," Tifa told him. It was no secret to her that he took responsibility for the death of their son. In the following weeks after Hayden's death, Reno isolated himself, refusing to talk about it, acknowledge that it had even happened. He was even the same at the funeral, vacant and distant.
It wasn't until the trial, when Reno saw for the first time the face of the man who had killed his son that he lost it. It was a good thing that Rude had been there, had stopped him from doing something stupid, and had taken him from the court room. Tifa had gone with him, and in that time, Reno was muttering things like 'deserves to die,' 'shouldn't have happened,' and 'I'm to blame for all this.'
"He wouldn't have blamed you either," she assured him. Tifa sat up straighter and put her hands on his cheeks tenderly.
"How can you be so sure?" Reno asked, his voice quivering uncharacteristically.
"Reno, you can't keep doing this to yourself. Look around you. You have a wife who loves you sitting right here, telling you that everything's okay. You have two beautiful children who love you with everything that they are. Wesley looks up to you and Lena Mae just loves being around you. I mean, it's okay to think about Hayden, I think about him all the time. And it's okay to miss him, but it's not okay to keep blaming yourself."
Out of nowhere, Reno smiled. "How did this conversation suddenly turn around on me?"
"It's a talent," Tifa said, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his.
He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, a single tear falling down his cheek. Tifa felt it on her hand and gently wiped it away, but the thought of her husband crying, Reno who was so strong and so resilient, made her start crying as well.
"Baby," he breathed, getting to his feet, and standing up. He picked her up into his loving embrace and held her close, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry. Please, don't cry. It kills me to see you cry."
"I'm sorry," she said, remembernearly fourteen yearsyears ago when he had told her that a woman's tears were pathetic. How things have changed. How he had changed. "Reno…" she began hesitantly. "You know, Wesley and Lena are asleep. I think, we should lock our door tonight."
He chuckled. "I couldn't agree more." With that, he lifted her up into his arms, and carried her up the stairs. Quietly, but quickly, he walked down the hallway and into their bedroom, closing the door behind him with his foot.
Tifa was already starting to unbutton his shirt by the time he set her down on the bed. She slid his shirt off of his shoulders and then lifted her own over her head. Then she lost her senses; he was kissing her in that spot, that special spot between her neck and her shoulder that drove her to delirium.
Laying back, she felt him get on top of her, felt his hands undoing her pants, felt him sliding them down, and then nothing; he got off of her, presumably so he could take off the rest of his clothing. Yes, that was it, because when he came back, there was nothing that separated them.
"I love you," she said, as her hands began drawing lines on her abs. She was amazed that he was still so cut. It began to make her feel self conscious. After having three children, her body wasn't what it used to be. She felt that her hips were to wide, her stomach was too pudgy, and everything else very plain.
"I love you too," he smiled, before kissing her neck again. But, there something was different this time. Tifa kept moving around, putting her hands around her stomach and whenever his hands began brushing over her legs or her stomach, she'd grab them and pull them back to his shoulders.
"Tifa," he began. "Stop this. You are beautiful."
"How did I get so lucky?" she said, running her hands through his hair.
"What do you mean?" he asked, kissing her again.
"To have a man like you, I must have done something right."
Reno laughed. "You are amazing, Tifa. I'll never get tired of you, I'll never stop loving you."
"Then…show me." She wrapped her legs around his waist and sighed when they came together. Reno never stopped kissing her, but his hands did have a mind of their own. They seemingly caressed every inch of her body, even after their spectacular release.
They spent the next few hours kissing, holding each other, and looking longingly into each other's eyes. It was around four in the morning when they heard a door open and footsteps on the hardwood.
"Get into your robe, babe," Tifa said, hurrying to her drawer and pulling out one of Reno's long shirts. As soon as they got them on, their door opened and their four year old daughter, Lena Mae, stood holding the door knob and clutching her Mog doll. "What's the matter, Lena?" Tifa asked, walking over to her.
The girl had tears in her blue eyes as she reached her arms up for her mother. She never spoke much, never more than necessary, and always communicated with gestures. Tifa picked her up and Lena's head came to rest on her shoulder. Reno walked over to them and put his hand on his daughter's head, running his hand down the bright red braid.
"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked. She nodded. Taking her into his own arms, he kissed her on the top of her head and carried her to the bed. "Oh, sweetie, you can sleep with us tonight."
The moment he laid her down on their bed, her eyes closed and she was asleep instantly. Reno smiled and brushed his hand over her soft, rosy cheek. Tifa smiled as she looked at her husband adore his daughter. She couldn't describe the bond between the two. The moment she was born, Reno was a sucker for her. He would turn the world over for her, and more.
"She's looks so much like you," Tifa said, getting into bed.
"She's beautiful though…like you." He kissed Lena on the head again and then settle into his pillow to go to sleep. "…I love you, Tifa," he said, his voice barely audible as the comfort of the bed began working their magical effects.
"I love you too, Reno," she whispered, putting her hand on his and closing her eyes. At times, it still seemed to good to be true. She was a mother and a wife. Fourteen years ago, she'd never have pictured her life this perfectly. Sure, it's had it's sadness, but what life hasn't? At least it also had the happy times, her times with Reno, with Wes, Lena…and in about eight months…yet another baby. She closed her eyes and squeezed Reno's hand. She hadn't told him yet, and she smiled when she imagined how is reaction would be. Oh yes, life was perfectly good now.