Infidelity

Chapter 4 - Bridal Room

By Crystal Snowflakes

She stared at her own figure in the mirror, admiring the way the wine red dress complemented her long dark tresses and equally dark eyes before her eyes landed grudgingly on the large, gaudy diamond ring that might as well have been a metal collar and chain. Her heart had been beating a mile a minute since she had woken up in the morning because she knew it was inevitable that she would see him today. She had done all she could to hide from him, not even attending any AVALANCHE get-togethers by using Wutai duties as excuses and she could feel her lack of attendance was straining her relationships with not only Tifa, but also with the rest of her friends.

It had been four months since they had last seen each other in the confines of her apartment. They had barely slept at all that night as he worshipped her body, touching and tasting every inch of skin before collapsing in a heap of tangled limbs in exhaustion. By the time she woke up, she was alone. She hadn't been able to get rid of the smell of him off her bed for weeks, had spent weeks refusing to wash the sheets, clinging to it like a lovesick teenager. Part of her had hoped, wished, waited for him to show up to her door, but in the weeks that followed, the only person who had rang had been Takahiro and she had hesitantly welcomed him into her sanctuary and into her bed. And while Takahiro was a generous lover, he wasn't him.

Her heart lurched every time she thought of him, but then she would only need to gaze at her engagement ring to remind herself that she would be married in four months. That it didn't matter what she wanted because by then, even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to leave the marriage that would become her prison. She only had three more months to survive in Edge and after that, she would be done; no more WRO missions, no more freedom...no more redheaded men with blazing green eyes.

She was in the small bridal room that the hotel room had provided, but Tifa had never intended to use it, having preferred to ready herself with the bridesmaids. So while Tifa was next door getting ready with Elena and Shera, Yuffie had asked to borrow the bridal room, her excuse being a phone call to her father, when all she needed was a quiet space to settle her own thoughts and hide from all her problems and maybe have a good cry.

She could hear the women's laughter from the room next door and not for the first time, she had felt that her relationship with them had drifted significantly in the last few months. Keeping a secret and staying as far away from them tended to have that effect on friendship, she thought resentfully to herself. She knew that if Tifa was making the choice now, she wouldn't have picked her as a maid of honour, now that they had veered so far apart in the last little while.

Tifa should have never picked her anyways. She slept with her fiancé. What kind of maid of honour did that to the bride?

Before her thoughts could continue, the locked door to her room opened noisily and Reno stepped through, shutting the door behind him before re-locking it.

She cocked an eyebrow brashly. "Sorry Mr. Husband-to-be. Bridal room is actually being used by the Lady of Wutai right now. Your future wife is actually next door with the rest of the bridesmaids." She was glad she sounded a lot more confident than she felt.

"I wasn't lookin' for Teef," he grunted, his hand running through his hair in frustration and she noted how differently he looked without his goggles on top his forehead.

Yuffie had to look away briefly because he was so handsome with his sleek hair and in his freshly-pressed tuxedo. She suddenly had the urge to cry as reality set in that she could never have him no matter what she wanted because he was getting married and she was engaged.

"Reno," she said as she swallowed thickly, cursing herself as she felt her eyes filling up with tears. "You shouldn't be here. It's your wedding day."

"Fuck," he muttered, his eyes roaming over her figure, his mouth opened slightly. "Yuff… You look…" he paused before crossing the room to press his lips against hers roughly and she didn't stop him. Couldn't stop him. Didn't want to stop him. She knew it was the last time she could ever do this and there wasn't even any alcohol around her to take the blame this time. As he threaded his hands through her fingers, he pulled away in surprise and held up her hand wearing the ring. "...Since when?" he asked, his voice indecipherable.

"A month ago," she responded bitterly with a hint of mourning. "I get married in four months."

"Fuck," he repeated as he paced the room.

She allowed him a couple of minutes to himself as she took the time to just study him, drinking in the sight of him, the sound of laughter from the bride and her friends next door chiming in occasionally. "Reno," she reminded him in a chiding tone, "You're getting married today."

"I know," he practically growled, his pacing growing frantic as his eyes glanced over to the thin wall separating him from his future wife. "Fuck me. Fuck this. I'm not ready."

Yuffie couldn't stop the snort of quiet laughter from escaping. "Hear, hear!"

He didn't warn her before he kissed her again as he picked her up and threw her on the couch, lifting up her dress and pulling her black lace underwear off one leg. She was too tired to fight him as she watched him take off his pants through her long false eyelashes and throw it onto the other couch before he hoisted both her legs above his shoulders and drove into her. She moaned inaudibly and her eyes fluttered closed at the sudden intrusion and she had to remind herself to stay quiet because they were right next door.

It was a constant reminder that they should not be doing this.

Nonetheless, as she weaved her fingers into his silky hair, she became saddened at the thought that this would be the last time she would get to touch his hair, taste his lips and breathe in the scent of his smoke on him.

She heard his unsteady breathing in her ear as his cheeks scraped against hers repeatedly and she closed her eyes, trying to memorize the feel of him, the smell of him, the sound of him. And as suddenly as he entered, it changed, his thrusts growing agonizingly slower, deeper and she clung to him, arching into him. All she could hear was the sound of their loud, uneven panting in the still room. And then he sped up, his rhythm frantic, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to leave bruises until he lost control and she spun out of control with him.

His forehead rested against hers tenderly as he looked at her and it was only when he wiped her tears away that she realized she had been crying. "Just say the word, Yuff," he said, his voice hoarse and soft at the same time and she knew this was a side of Reno she had never seen before. Her knees were still hooked over his shoulders, her underwear dangling loosely from one of her ankles.

She blinked tiredly at him, wishing they could stay like this forever. "What word?" she asked, her tongue feeling heavy in her mouth.

He grazed his lips against hers. "Tell me you'll give up Wutai and I'll come with you. Anywhere. I'll make us disappear."

Her breath caught in her throat. "W-what?" She tried to sit up and only then did Reno pull out and away from her, "What about Tifa, Reno? You can't just leave her on her wedding day."

He stood up from the couch and pulled up his boxers and pants and made sure to tuck in his shirt before he looked at her with a clenched jaw. "Fuck, Yuffie. You know just as well as I do that it's a mistake. I shouldn't be fuckin' anyone else on my wedding day, but here I am."

The sudden image of him and her together on their wedding night caused her heart to stutter—she pushed the thought away quickly. Instead, she sat up and fixed her underwear with a grimace before looking up at him. "She loves you."

"I don't love her," he gritted out, "Fuck." He paced again, almost like a caged animal. "I just…"

"Reno," Yuffie sighed, her hand reaching out to touch his. "You can't possibly want to be with me instead of her. She's Tifa. She's perfect. And I'm a shitload of a messed up baggage." She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him again and again before his forehead rested against hers and words she had never thought in a million years she would ever want to say to him wanted to escape her lips.

I love you.

"Yuff…"

She remembered the first time he had called her that without meaning it as an insult and how much it had unravelled something in her.

She knew now that she would have given up Wutai for him in a heartbeat if he wasn't about to marry her best friend in less than an hour. But she also knew that it was too late for him, for her, for either of them. She couldn't hurt Tifa that way because she had already done the unthinkable to her. And she had her obligations to Wutai and she couldn't leave Takahiro, no matter how much she had wanted to.

"Just watch," she grinned forcedly at him, "You've just got cold feet." The words sounded empty and hollow even to her own ears as she tried to convince him. "You'll be fine once it's all done and over with."

His green eyes gleamed at her with an unusually serious look on his face and she felt her heart flutter and her breath catch. "Come with me, Yuff."

She shook her head, more tempted by this offer than she had been by all the materia she had ever come across. But even so, she knew it was a rash and impulsive proposal from him, one that manifested mainly from his own fears.

"I can't, Reno. You can't. It's—"

He didn't even look back as he slammed the door shut on the way out and all she could hear was the sound of her heart breaking.

Mutely, she fixed her hair, makeup and dress before walking out to join the bride and bridesmaids next door.

She had a smile on her face the rest of the night as she watched them get married, making sure not to look at him for too long. They looked happy and she knew he was just as good an actor as she was.

She took guilty pleasure in knowing that his tuxedo jacket was rumpled because of her.

As the night wore on, her hyperactive ninja mask cracked bit by bit and she knew that it was time to go. She gave the newly wedded couple one last glance, a smile on her face, unexpectedly catching the groom's gaze and she shot him an impish grin while he returned a snarky smirk.

And then she went home, stripped herself down and cried herself to sleep.

Author's Notes: As usual, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!

Completed: July 18, 2020
Revised: September 6, 2020