Summary: When Reno is off duty their is nothing more he like doing better than going out and having fun, but recently he's noticed something strange, someone's watching him, following him, someone who envies him. They don't realise though that Reno isn't exactly as carefree and happy as he appears and in the end it may be that they end up helping him instead of the other way round (confusing I Know but it will make sense eventually.)
Disclaimers: I do not own FFVII or any of the characters in this story.
Warning: This is the first fan fiction I have posted for a long long time and I have no proof reader so I will say sorry now for any mistakes. The characters personalities etc my seem a bit off, I have just based them around how I see them after playing the game and watching the movie etc. I will try to update as much as possible, it just depends on how many university projects I have on the go.
Setting: A couple of years after Advent children
Sorry it took me so long to update, I didn't realise how far behind I was with my university work (whoops) and then my computer went dodgy and then everything went a bit crazy for a week or so.
Thanks to everyone that read the first chapter and thanks to Alana Quinn and Jen for the reviews
Anyway on with the show…..
Tifa was just preparing to open up the bar, she sighed and sat down on one of the high bar stools. It was another hot summers day and that meant the bar would be packed with people wanting to get into the cool shade for a nice refreshing drink.
She couldn't imagine anything nicer at the moment than running away to sunbathe on the beach at the Costa Del Sol. A Tequila sunrise in one hand and a good book in the other, and if she was really lucky she'd have a nicely tanned guy by her side to fan her face and rub sun tan lotion into her back.
Tifa was rather enjoying indulging in her day dream when a heavy knocking on the bar door snapped her back into the really world.
"The bars not open yet" She shouted grumpily "come back later!" The loud knocking, which was more like angry banging continued. She rubbed her temples as her stress levels began to rise. Finally she gave in realising the person on the other side of the door was not just going to give up and leave. She slid of the stool and went to unlock the door.
Reno was getting inpatient, he did not like to be kept waiting. He was just about to start to hammering his fist against the bar door again when it swung open and he was confronted by a dazed pair of brown eyes. "What!"
Tifa glared until she realised who stood at the door. "Why are you here?" Her emotions changed from anger to confusion in a split second as Reno pushed passed her and into the cool, dark bar.
"Is Cloud around?" The red head asked, his green eyes darting around the bar as if her expected the blond to jump up out of floor boards.
"Erm, yes he's up on the roof." Tifa answered still wondering why two Turks had just suddenly turned up on her door step. "What do you want with Cloud?" She moved back into the bar and Rude followed the door slamming shut behind him.
"Just business. " The red head stated flatly not bothering to turn and face her. "How do I get to the roof?"
"Oh just go to the top of the stairs." Tifa was now looking between Reno and Rude curious to know what 'just business' meant. Meanwhile Reno was already at the bottom of staircase when he felt his stomach lurch.
'Damn' His previously forgotten hangover was starting to remerge 'bloody weather' he cursed silently. He paused and turned to back towards the bar. "How about a nice refreshing drink." He flashed a smile at Tifa who just stood there dumbfounded and then carried on his way up the stairs.
Rude was just about to follow the other Turk until he felt a weight on his arm. He halted and turned to look behind him only to see on a huge pair of sparkling brown eyes staring up at him. "Rude, could you stay and help me?" He sighed and let Tifa drag him back over towards the bar.
Cloud leaned heavily on the railings of the roof garden his breathe coming out in short ragged bursts, it was defiantly the hottest day of summer so far and since it was approaching noon now was probably not the best time to be training on top of a building right in the path of the viciously bright sun. He pushed him self of the railings and walked over to one corner of the roof where a small battered metal table sat, reaching under the table he pulled out a bottle of water that had been kept cold in the shade. He opened it and took a sip but then decided much more drastic measures were needed to cool himself off so he proceeded to tip the whole contents of the plastic bottle over his head. He closed his eyes and let out a content sigh, feeling much better he decided to start training again.
"No rest for the wicked huh?" A smooth voice from the roof doorway made him spin around. He was questioning himself on how someone had managed to sneak up on him, wondering if he'd maybe spent a few to many hours in the dizzying sun until he saw who it was. "I know how you feel, It seems like I haven't had a day off in ages. I guess that means I'm really wicked."
If there was anyone outside of Avalanche capable of sneaking up on him it was the man that had just interrupted his plan to start training again "What do you want Reno?" Cloud tried to sound as serious and imposing as possible but decided the effect was probably ruined since at this current moment in time he looked like a drowned rat with sun burn.
The red head in question thought it was a good sign that Cloud hadn't charged and try to slice him in two yet and decided it was probably safe to approach him.
The other watched as Reno as he moved towards him, he noticed even when he was just walking that he moved with the grace of a cat. Cloud wasn't aware that he'd been staring at the red head so intensely until he found himself looking directly into a pair of bright green eyes. He quickly averted his gaze to the floor and wondered silently what was wrong with him today, soon coming to the conclusion he needed to catch up on the sleep he'd missed the night before and get out off the sun which seemed to be scrambling his brain.
Reno blinked. He was pretty sure he had just caught Cloud 'savoir of the world' Strife staring at him like a love sick school girl. He laughed silently to himself and decided it was time to have some fun, after all his day had been a bit dull up until now. "We need a delivery making," Reno leaned towards Cloud with a mischievous smirk on his face "and well since your self proclaimed delivery boy of the year we couldn't think of a better person to ask." He placed his hands on the table, trapping Cloud between them.
Cloud swallowed nervously, this was strange behaviour even for Reno. Did he have sun stroke or something? "Why send a 'Turk' to ask me about a delivery job, isn't it a bit to simple and clean to fit into your job description?" Cloud tried to keep his voice as steady as possible while he felt his discomfort grow as the result of the others closeness to him. He was getting more worried by the second that Reno had discovered his little secret.
"Well its not like your all sweet and innocent yourself. Your known to be unpredictable at times so…" Reno stopped and his eyes went wide. "Wait are you blushing? Why the hell are you blushing?" Reno mentally patted himself on back and decided his personal mission for today would be 'make perfect solider as uncomfortable as a teenage boy on his first date'. So far it was a success.
"No-o!" Cloud stuttered. " Its sunburn!" He tried backing away but just ended up scrambling onto the table that stood behind him instead.
"Oh really?" Reno was just about to carry on teasing Cloud when the door leading onto the roof opened.
"Who wants refreshments?" The red head turned towards the sound of the female voice while Cloud quickly jumped off the table and tried to regain his composure as Tifa walked towards them. She was soon followed by Rude who was carrying a tray containing glasses and a pitcher.
"Rude I never knew you were so domesticated." Reno laughed and then turned to look at Tifa again. "Then again I don't blame you for wanting to help such a beautiful young lady." He smiled and winked at Tifa who blushed.
Cloud watched as Reno flirted unashamedly with Tifa who giggled and blushed in response. It made him feel sick that his friend who he respected and believed to be strong and intelligent was being charmed by the cheesy lines the red head was reeling off. He was staring daggers into said red heads back not realising that Rude had noticed his actions and was looking at him bemused.
It carried on like this for about 10 minutes until Tifa was called away by Marlene and disappeared back downstairs leaving the three men on the roof. Reno turned to Cloud who in turn backed up slightly in shock. Reno's demeanour had changed within a split second, he was no longer smirking but instead looked deadly serious, "I haven't got anymore time to waste." His now cold eyes focused on Cloud "So lets get down to business. Usually we wouldn't dream of even asking you for help but we're busy at the moment and we've got much more important things to take care off. As you can imagine simple mediocre tasks such as deliveries don't feature in a 'Turks' job description." The last sentence dripped with sarcasm and Reno took a moment to gauge Cloud's reaction before he carried on. " You'll find all the information in here." Reno reached into his jacket pocket and took out a small brown envelope. "There are certain risks involved so try your best not to mess it up. You see if anything does go wrong I'm going to have to be the one that comes to your rescue and I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen." He laughed and threw the envelope over to Cloud who caught it easily. Reno was right Cloud would be seriously embarrassed if anyone had to act as his Knight in shining armour, and if it happened to Reno he'd probably die of humiliation and shame. He stayed silent
"There's a contact number in the envelope, ring us when you've made a decision." Cloud was only half listening, he stared down at the brown envelope in his hands, intrigued what kind of delivery would have forced Rufus to ask for his services. He snapped out of his own little world when Reno spoke again.
"Come on Rude" Reno walked other to his partner who was still holding the tray of drinks. "Lets get back to our really work, we've wasted enough time today" Reno took a glass of the tray and took a sip before he turned back to Cloud. "Well I guess I'll I be seeing you around, maybe even sooner than I expect." He smiled darkly at the blond and then turned to leave. Rude soon followed, the tray still glued to his hands.
Cloud watched them leave 'Oh great, he knows, he has to know.' He panicked silently, all the while the image of Reno smug smile was dancing in front of his eyes. The Blond became lost yet again in his troubled thoughts.
Hes so perfect, so witty, and even though he is a cold blooded murdering Turk everyone seems to fall under his spell.
Cloud wanted that, he wanted to be able to laugh again, to smile just for the hell of it. He didn't want his heart to be constantly weighed down and swamped in darkness.
He did not even know why he still felt like this, he'd defeated Sephiroth again and hopefully for what would be the final time. Everything should have been falling back into place but it wasn't.
He no longer felt as if he had a purpose in life, he spent his days training for fights that would never happen, spent his nights alone. He'd even grown distant from Tifa who had become so involved in bringing up the orphans and running the bar that she never seemed to stop, let alone take time out to sit down with Cloud and reminisce about the good old days.
The good old days, is that how he really saw them. Days and nights spent tracking down Sephiroth, fighting for there life's, losing people he cared for and loved, always living under the shadow that the world as he knew it could be destroyed. Never being able to just stop until the task was done.
It had felt like going to hell and back but he'd seen so many places, met so many people and been a part of a group of companions who he truly cared for and who cared for him in return.
Cloud sighed, he had so many memories from that time. The time they'd chased Yuffie around half of Wutai, all the nights they had to retrieve a drunken Cid from the local bar, nights sat around the camp fire waiting for Vincent to say something truly bizarre, every time when they were rushing to stop some terrible plan and the Turks always happened there to stop them in there tracks. Cloud's train of thought stopped dead and he felt anger bubble up within in him. The Turks, Reno! He was the one that started him thinking about all of this in the first place.
He grabbed his sword and swung it downwards cutting the small metal table in half. "God-damn him!" He yelled and then fell unceremoniously to his knees, his sword clattered down at the side of him. "He's so perfect, so witty. People are drawn to him even though he's a Shinra lapdog." He muttered angrily. "Even Tifa acts like a giddy school girl around him." He sighed and slumped down even further until he was lay on his back squinting at the bright summer sun. "I'm so pathetic, I'm jealous of that red haired weirdo." He continued to mutter to himself until the voice of reason inside his head kicked in.
Jealous, jealous. You've got to be kidding me. Jealous people scowl when peoples backs are turned not stalk them around night clubs! I think a more appropriate term to describe your condition is crazily obsessed.
Cloud sighed yet again and closed his eyes, blaming his strange behaviour on sun stroke he decided the only thing he was safe to do at the moment was sleep.
Wahoo second chapter finally done and posted. I know it's a bit crappy but my brain is scrambled at the moment (oh well at least it is a tiny bit longer than the first.) Chapter 3 will be up in one and two weeks depending on how my work goes. Thanks for reading feel free to review.
Cheers Kitty (Aka Milly)