Reno sat at the table feeling horribly self-conscious in front of the dark haired man seated across from him. They had ordered and were waiting on their food and so far neither of them had spoken. Gareth just sat and smiled kindly at Reno, apparently reveling in his discomfort and Reno just toyed with his tie and wondered just how long he had left before he could burn it.

Finally Gareth broke the uncanny silence, "So Reno, is this the part where we sit and wait for you to get comfortable with the fact that you're out with me or is this the part where I start making light conversation about topics that neither of us care about?"

Reno laughed nervously, "I say topics neither of us care about."

"Not going to get comfortable then?" Gareth's eyes sparkled in amusement.

"Don't think so." Reno could feel his heart hammering in his chest and he was starting to hate the organ.

"Alrighty then, " Gareth chuckled, "wanna talk about the weather?"

"Sounds good." Reno adjusted his tie, trying to loosen the stranglehold it had on his neck.

"It's rather chilly out lately." Gareth grinned.

"I guess." Reno shrugged.

"Supposed to rain tomorrow. That'll mess up your flight lessons yes?" Gareth sipped at his water, not taking his eyes off Reno.

"Gotta learn to fly in it sometime." Reno toyed with his glass.

"I guess so." Gareth leaned forward, "Why are you so uncomfortable red?"

Reno cleared his throat, "Never been out to dinner with someone who isn't Rude without an agenda."

"I guess." Gareth grinned, "So you've never been on a date before?"

"I've been on dates," Reno blushed, "but there's always been the expectation of payment from one side or the other."

Gareth raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

Reno sighed, "I'm guessing Tseng filled you guys in on some of my past right? The parts he knew?"

"Yeah," Gareth sat back, "He gave us a report on what he thought we needed to know. At the moment all I really know is that you worked for Corneo and lived in the slums with Rude and his mom after Shinra met up with you the first time."

"You got the nice version then." Reno ran a hand through his hair.

"So what parts did he leave out?" Gareth leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands.

"The part where I had to whore myself out to get money, working at the materia shop didn't pay as much as I made Rude and Fay think it did. Everyone pulled their weight but I had to pull a little harder to make sure ends met." Reno didn't meet Gareth's gaze.

"I understand your discomfort then." Gareth cleared his throat.

"Yeah..." Reno trailed off.

The waiter brought their food and broke the tension created by Reno's awkward confession.

"So red, I've delved into your personal life. Your turn to take a dig at mine." Gareth took a bite of his chicken.

Reno knew his question immediately, "Why did you single me out?"

Gareth grinned mischievously, "You're cute, obnoxious, don't take shit from anybody, and you manage to make everyone love you even when they hate you."

Reno shook his head. "That last bit makes no sense."

Gareth sniggered, "It makes plenty of sense when you know just who I'm talking about."

"Who loves me even though they hate me?" Reno asked through a mouthful of food.

Gareth grinned, "Tseng."

"Tseng?" Reno snorted.

"You heard me, Tseng!" Gareth took a bite of food nonchalantly, "I had to mark a lot of territory where you're concerned."

"You're serious?" Reno cocked an eyebrow.

"I am." Gareth's eyes twinkled with mirth.

"What do you mean you had to mark a lot of territory?" Reno asked as he tried to continue eating.

"I mean I had to scare a few people off of ya." Gareth grinned, "Had to slap Jareth in the balls first, he was ready to jump you the second you walked in. Had to make sure Ellie didn't try and make you one of her regular one-nighters either. Hate to say it but she's a major slut most of the time. A good Turk but a total whore." He took a sip of water, "With Tseng I just had to show him which one of us you liked better. Today was the perfect example of who you like more. That and the whole rope issue. You notice that he hasn't even mentioned it yet? He replaced it without saying a word to you. If anyone else did that to equipment, even if it was just a shitty piece of rope, Tseng'd have his foot so far up their ass they'd be choking on it."

Reno shook his head in disbelief, "I think you've got it mixed up yo. Tseng can't like me."

"Yes he can and yes he does." Gareth chuckled, "You're projecting your feelings onto him. You don't like him, so you don't think he can like you. What do you think of him?"

Reno frowned and ate his food without tasting it, "Yo when he's not busy shoving a stick up someone else's ass he's got one rammed up his own."

Gareth chuckled, "Once you get used to him he's not that bad. I kinda liked him for awhile actually." Gareth snorted, "That faded fast."

Reno raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "You liked Tseng?"

"Sure did. Thought he was the greatest thing ever." Gareth laughed and shook his head, "He's not much older than me and he was pretty good for me after Eric died. Kept me from going crazy."

"Eric?" Reno asked.

"That guy I told you about? My best friend who got himself shot?"

"Oh." Reno cleared his throat. "Damn." He laughed nervoulsy, "I could never picture you guys together yo."

"Can you picture us together?" Gareth looked at Reno, fork in his mouth.

Reno blushed, "Yeah."

Gareth grinned, "Good for me." He took the check from the waiter without taking his eyes off Reno.

"Yo how old are you?" Reno cocked his head to the side.

"Twenty. Not much older than you, not much younger than Tseng." Gareth grinned and stood up.

Reno got up too, "How old is Tseng?"

"Twenty-six." Gareth looped his arm around Reno's waist and pulled him out of the restaurant.

"He's twenty-six and he's second in command?" Reno's jaw dropped.

"The bastard works hard." Gareth shrugged.

"Holy hell!" Reno looped the arm Gareth had pinned against him around the older man's waist. "Yo I figured he was thirty or something! How come Matt or Brandon aren't second in command? They're older than Tseng! Nasira is too!"

"I heard that Matt was pissed about it at first but he got over it pretty quick. Now it's just an accepted fact that Tseng is the best Turk we have. He's definitely the guy I want around to tell me what to do when the shit hits the fan. If you haven't noticed he's a lot harder to shake up than everyone else. He doesn't shove his emotions out on his sleeve like Matt, he doesn't get pissed at the drop of a pin like Nasira, he doesn't consider himself superior to every other human being like Brandon, he doesn't whore himself out like Ellie, he doesn't act like an overexcited puppy like Jareth and he has more common sense than either of us. The only other person as calm and collected as Tseng is Rude. I've never seen two people more alike in my life." Gareth laughed, "I wonder if they realize how perfectly matched they are?"

"Nope. Rude hasn't said a word to me about any feelings he has for Tseng." Reno shrugged.

"You haven't gleaned anything from his thoughts either? Gareth pulled Reno closer.

Reno laughed, "Nope. I'm pretty sure they're both oblivious to that fact yo. At least Rude is."

Gareth chuckled, "Oh well, it would've been a match made in heaven though."

"I don't think so yo." Reno sniggered.

"Why not?" Gareth calmly led the way to their apartments.

"I don't think a relationship with two people who are both stubborn as hell would work ya know?" Reno frowned as they reached his apartment. Right when he was starting to get comfortable again.

"So red," Gareth wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Do I get a kiss goodnight?"

Reno's face flushed and before he could respond Gareth had his lips trapped in a hungry kiss. When they broke apart Reno was panting slightly and his face matched his hair. Gareth was in a similar condition, although he wasn't quite as red.

"See you tomorrow Reno." Gareth winked and strolled down the hall to his apartment.

"Y-yeah." Reno stuttered and unlocked his apartment with shaking fingers. He really needed a cigarette before bed.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing! I really appreciate the comments! I'm trying to update this as often as I can so forgive me if a few chapters are short. ^^ If I felt like I had all the time in the world you'd be getting hundred page long chapters.