Way of Living
CloudxReno; occasional other pairings.
AN: hey, everyone was doing a collection of drabbles so I thought... why not? XDXD
xXx
"And it was a matter of time until the guys disappeared, yo."
"Whoa!" Both Marlene and Denzel gaped at the older man in front of them, amazed by his stories. "That's so cool." Denzel said breathlessly.
"I know, yo." Reno grinned, running a hand through his red hair.
"Don't get too cocky jus' cos ya kicked some delinquent's asses, kid!" Cid roared from his stool, alternating between his never-ending cigarette and beer.
Reno rolled his eyes. "Take the spear out of your ass so that ya can shove it into your mouth and shut up, old man." He muttered, resting his chin on the palm of his right hand.
"Reno!" Tifa scolded, placing her hands on her hips after placing the glass she was cleaning on top of the counter with a loud thump. "Watch your language!" She huffed, slapping his mouth.
The redhead rubbed his mouth with the tip of his fingers, giving Tifa his most sad, cute and teary eyes he could manage to put on his angelic but also mischievous handsome face. "Tiffie, yo... That hurt." He muttered, looking down and pretending to be fighting back tears.
Everybody held their breaths as Tifa started to break under Reno's pressure. "Ok, ok... I'm sorry, don't be like that." The woman muttered after a long time, walking around the counter to embrace the redhead. "I'm sorry." She apologized, running her fingers down his hair, feeling surprised at how smooth it was. What does he put on his hair? Air conditioner?
The Seventh Heaven's door flew open, letting a few flocks of snow and a cold breeze hug the AVALANCHE members and Turks inside the bar. "... Ahem!" Cloud Strife cleared his throat, getting rid of his snow-covered heavy coat. "Should I get jealous?"
"They're real, yo!" Reno sighed happily, rubbing his nose on Tifa's blossoms. "Soft..."
"Reno!" Both Cloud and Tifa exclaimed indignantly, the last one pushing the redhead away from her breasts.
"What, yo? Geez, so touchy." Reno grinned, taking a sip of his beer and blinking innocently at his boyfriend. "Were you jealous?" He asked smoothly, plotting an eyebrow towards the blond near the exit.
Cloud's hair got spikier as the seconds passed, electricity making them sharper and deadlier as jealously burned inside him. "Well, of course! I enter the bar and first thing I see is my boyfriend with his nose stuffed on my best-friend's tits!"
Barret let out a piercing laugh that was mixed with the children loud giggles and Tifa's shouts of embarrassment. "Chico-Cloudy has a jealously problem, aw!" Yuffie and Elena mocked, the first being hit by a materia square on her forehead. "Materia, sweet!!"
Cloud huffed, straightening his dark-blue sweatshirt before walking and crashing on a stool beside Reno, bending down to give the children a hello-kiss. "AH!" Reno exclaimed playfully, pointing at Cloud who had just crashed his lips against Marlene's cheek. Both of them looked at him with curious looks. "Now it's my time to get jealous! I just tuck ma nose on Tifa's mountains while you're kissing a gorgeous woman! How dare ya, yo?! Right in front of me!!"
Marlene blushed and bowed her head, biting her lip as a quiet giggle escaped her mouth. "Thank you." She thanked, embarrassed.
"You're welcome, sweet-pie." Reno grinned back, winking at the now very flushed Marlene.
Everybody laughed heartily until the door of the Seventh Heaven was opened again, welcoming a new breeze of cold wind into the bar. "Good afternoon." Tifa greeted warmly. "How can I help you?"
"Good afternoon dear. Could you get me a Martini, please? Oh, and make it triple."
Reno choked on his beer, spitting half of it on the face of his lover. "Right away, Madame." Tifa smiled, sending a funny look towards the gay couple.
"I'm so sorry, yo." Reno apologized truthfully, wiping the beer off his lover.
"It's okay, don't worry." Cloud smiled, cleaning off the beer of his face.
"Oh my, what a mess." The lady that had entered the bar sighed, getting up and walking towards the couple. "Here, let me help you." She said, wiping the beer off Cloud's handsome cheeks. "My, my Reno, I thought I had taught you better."
Reno clenched a fist. "Yeah, I guess." He muttered, avoiding looking at his boyfriend's face.
The woman rested her hands on her hips, forcing a smile on her thin but well defined lips that reminded Cloud of the one's he loved to nibble and kiss at every minute of the day. "Is that how you're going to greet your mother?"
Cloud looked at the beer Tifa had gave him once he had laid his butt on the stool, mouthing a oh of comprehension. "No..." Reno said lowly, extending his neck and kissing almost shyly the woman's cheek before turning his back at his mother and looking by the corner of his eye at Rude, a sparkle of nervous glittering on the mirror of his soul.
The woman sighed loudly and rolled her bluish-green eyes, sitting beside her son and taking the drink from the bartender's hands gently. "Thank you dear." She thanked with a sweet smile.
"You're welcome." Tifa smiled back, looking from Reno to his mother and vice versa. "Sorry if I'm asking something I shouldn't but... Are you really his mother?" She asked embarrassedly, watching as Reno bit the bottle of the beer that was on his lips.
The woman grinned and Tifa could see the similarities between the redhead and her. "Yep, I am. You can call me Pamela." She introduced herself, titling her blond head to the side. "I saw by the window that you two seem very... close to each other." Pamela said slowly as Tifa blushed, for moments having forgotten the boob incident. "Are you his girlfriend?"
The martial-arts fighter blushed madly as Cloud coughed and the beer on his mouth seemed to go up to his nose, making his eyes water slightly by the pain. "Err..." She looked over at the gay couple and saw the blond give her a little nod. "No, I'm not. Actually... The man you helped with the beer moments ago, he's your son's boyfriend." Tifa said ending her speech with a low voice as the older woman's eyes seemed to darken.
Pamela looked over at her son, narrowing her eyes slightly but still with that motherly sweet smile on her lips. "A man, Reno?" She asked, dragging the word man.
Cloud swallowed nervously, afraid that he had put his boyfriend in a tight situation by giving Tifa permission to tell the other woman the truth. He rubbed his knuckles for a moment, reaching carefully to touch Reno's hip. The redhead pretended to lower his hand just to scratch his back and touched Cloud's hand in a reassuring ay before letting it go and place a hand on the other man's waist, pushing slightly just to give Cloud an idea of what he wanted him and the others to do. "It's better if we leave you alone." The blond muttered, getting up and signalling for everybody to follow him to the very end of the bar.
"A man, Reno?" Pamela repeated a little louder, ignoring Cloud's retreat.
"Yeah, so what yo?" Reno asked, walking around the counter to put his now empty bottle of beer on the garbage can.
"So what? You're dating a guy!"
"Mom." The redhead snapped quietly, turning on his wheels behind the counter to lean forward and stare at the woman who put him in the world. "I'm a big boy, yo. If I wanna fuck or get fucked by a guy, it's my choice. Never yours."
Pamela watched as her son walked again around the counter, sitting back on his stool. "You're a freak of nature." She hissed. "Just like your father was."
Reno shuddered involuntary, memories suddenly flooding into his mind. "Don't bring Dad into this." He said lowly, scratching the counter with his pinkie finger as the image of a red-haired man with sweet green eyes became solid on his mind.
"Hey Red! Come here, I want you to meet someone."
"Oh, but I'm going to do it." Pamela smiled that sweet smile of hers, looking at her glass again. "You're turning to be just like your father, no doubts about it. You're flour from the same sack."
"Who is he, daddy?" A small Reno asked looking up at the man his father wanted him to meet.
Axel squeezed his son's hand reassuringly before bending down and placing his other hand on the boy's shoulder. "Reno, say hi to Roxas."
"Hey." A man with light blond hair smiled gently, knelling beside the small boy. "Your Dad told me a lot about you. So much that I feel like I know you already." Roxas grinned, shaking small Reno's hand.
The boy grinned from ear to ear.
"Stop it." Reno asked quietly, folding his hands in front of his mouth and nose and looking to the pictures in the walls but only paying attention to the reflexes of his friends at the very end of the bar, examining their interaction.
Pamela paid no attention, taking a sip of her drink. "No. I thought I had taught you better than this." She repeated her earlier words but with new venom added to them. "I guess my lesson didn't teach you anything after all."
Axel kept smiling that protective smile of his, sitting on the living room's couch beside Roxas and holding Reno close to his chest. "There's a reason why I presented you to Roxas." He said softly to the six-year-old boy in his arms.
"What reason?" Reno asked, grinning at Roxas from time to time as he kept playing with his father's long red hair. He loved his father's hair; so bright, so warm and long and shinny... He hoped his hair wasn't so silky by the time he was a grown-up, he wanted to have hair like daddies!
Axel ran a hand down his child's hair, smiling against his small head. "Roxas is my partner... partner in life. You know what that means?"
Reno let his father's hair go, straightening on his lap and rubbing his chin in deep thought, sticking his lower lip out and narrowing his eyes in a cute way that made both older men chuckle warmly. "No idea." The boy said finally, still rubbing his chin.
The chakram wielder laughed softly, ruffling his son's spikes. "So much thought for nothing? You're a knucklehead." He joked, watching as Reno's pout increased but in annoyance. "When I say that we're partners in life, I mean that Roxas is my boyfriend." He said as softly as he could, waiting for a reaction.
"Really?" Reno asked, titling his head to the side. "Like you and Mom were before the bad fight?" He mumbled.
Axel smiled sadly, remembering that he and his wife started fighting because of his request to divorce and never noticed that Reno was in the room until a chair thrown by Pamela, his wife had hit him by mistake and he cried out in pain, startling his parents. Since then the boy had always talked, when he talked, about that fight as the bad fight. "Yeah, like we were before that fight."
"But you're not going to fight, are you?"
Roxas smiled and shook his head. "No, we are not going to fight." He tranquilized the boy, shaking his head. "...as long as your Dad doesn't flirt with cute girls and boys." The blond smacked his lover playfully, snatching a small laugh from Reno.
"You're so mean to me..." Axel pouted, rubbing his injured head with a childish look on his still young features.
Reno grinned, resting against his father's chest. "I got myself a new mommy!" He giggled as Axel burst into loud laughs as Roxas' right eye started to twitch.
"Stay with your mommy while I'm going to see who's knocking at the door." The older redhead chuckled, sitting the boy on the couch and walking calmly out of the living room.
"It's probably Mom coming to pick me up." Reno pouted, falling on Roxas lap with a big sigh.
Roxas look uncertain at the small boy on top of him. Could he have accepted him so quickly? "You don't mind that I date your father?" He asked lowly, placing a hand on the small boy's forehead.
Reno shook his head, giggling. "Red, your Mom's here to pick you up." Axel said, entering the living room again as the small boy whined that he didn't want to go. "You have to, kid. You know that I would love to have you here with me but our weekend ended." He said softly, knelling beside the couch where his son was brooding.
The boy hugged his knees close. "But Mom doesn't like me." He whined loudly enough for Roxas and Axel to hear him.
The older redhead shook his head, taking Reno's hands on his large ones. "Pamela's your mother. She naturally loves you and she will never stop loving you." He said gently, rubbing the back of Reno's hands with his thumbs. "It's only a week, Reno. And next week, Friday is national holiday so we get to spend a bigger weekend than this one."
"And guess where we're going to take you." Roxas smiled at the boy, showing his white pearls.
Reno shook his head, not knowing where his father and new mother would take him. "Gold--!" Axel started.
"SAUCER!" The small redhead finished, his face glowing with excitement as he flew and hugged his father's neck. "I love you two!" He chirped, bouncing and wishing it was Friday again.
Axel and Roxas grinned widely at the boy. "Could you hurry up?" Pamela asked, appearing at the doorway exactly when Axel had grabbed Roxas' hand and gave it a loving squeeze.
The older redhead looked back, getting up and leaving Roxas' hand. "We're set. And I told you to wait at the entrance, got it memorized?" He huffed, picking up his son's bag that was near the lightened fireplace.
Pamela's eyes flashed evilly as Axel walked to her and she saw Reno giving the other blond a kiss on his cheek before running back to his father. A hand on Axel's chest made him stop before he could leave the living room. "It was for that that you left me?" She asked, pushing the man back into the living room and looking over at Roxas.
Axel's eyes also flashed but instead of evilly, they flashed with silent anger. "He's a person, not a thing. And what if I left because of Roxas? What are you going to do?" He asked, daring the woman to do something.
The blond woman gritted her teeth, shoving the man completely into the living room and locking the door behind her. "You're a freak. What a shame, what a shame... Traded by a man. I rather have been traded for a whore." She snarled, watching Reno hide behind his father fearfully and Axel growing suspicious. Pamela grabbed one of two swords that were placed on the wall of the living room, walking dangerously towards the men who had both placed themselves in front of Reno.
"Put that down." Reno heard Axel say in a low voice before two screams, one of pure rage and other of worry pierced his small ears, scaring the shit out of him.
"Dad!" He screamed, seeing his father falling to the ground, clutching his arm.
"Reno, hide!" Roxas exclaimed, grabbing the boy and hiding him behind the main couch.
Reno squeaked in terror, hugging his knees close as both men's voices continued to pierce his ears as badly as his mother's shrieks of hate. "You should have never left me for this piece of shit!" He heard her scream.
"Axel!" Reno heard Roxas scream of angst before something big collided with the couch and made it fall back. The redhead boy only had time to put his hands over his head as the couch fell on top of him and everything went black.
"You're despicable, yo." Reno breathed, pressing his cold and sweaty fingers against his eyes. "My Dad was a great man. He was my father AND my mother at the same time because you were never there." The man said, surprisingly managing to stay calm.
"Your father was a monster." Pamela snarled angrily, bringing another of her fake sweet smiles to her lips. "He, he left me for some blond faggot! He threw my name on the dirt. I gave him what he deserved." The woman turned on her stool, leaning forward slightly to be able to nearly whisper on her son's ear. "They deserved that punishment I gave them because they were freaks. Freaks just like you."
Reno came back to his senses completely lost in time as he blinked at the darkness under the couch. "Daddy?" he called weakly, his voice trembling with fear as he pressed his small hands against his eyes. "Daddy, help me." He whimpered, sniffling in panic as no answer came and the only sounds that could be heard were his breathing, his heart on his ears and the sound of wood burning on the fireplace. "Mr. Roxas?" He called too, starting to drag himself from under the couch on top of him with as much strength as he had.
The couch was lifted a little and Reno could easily crawl from under it. He wished he didn't. "You okay?" Roxas asked weakly, one of his arms only hanging by a little bit of bone and skin and his black shirt completely torn by multiple slashes that drenched his white coat with blood.
Reno wanted to scream at the sight, crawl back to under the couch and somehow manage to hit his head again so that he could wake up again but to his father's worried voice. "Mr. R-Roxas..." He whimpered lowly, placing his small hands over his mouth to fight back a sob.
Roxas smiled a bloody smile, eyes starting to turn dull and empty. "Don't worry about me." He whispered so lowly that Reno had to lean forward to hear him. "Answer me, are you okay?"
The redhead child nodded, pretending to be strong until he saw a strand of redhead coming from under Roxas' neck. "Where's daddy?" He asked suspiciously.
The blond opened his mouth to answer, instead coughing as the blade of a thin sword pierced his neck without mercy. Reno screamed in horror as blood started pooling by his feet and a strong hand grabbed him from behind."Stop screaming."
Reno looked up from Roxas lifeless corpse to his mother, glaring at her as angry tears rolled down his flushed cheeks. "Why did you do that?!" He screamed, struggling to break free from his mother's grip.
"Because they were monsters!" Pamela screamed, sending her son to the floor and succeeding in making him cry out in pain."That Roxas guy was a monster, your father was a monster!" She snarled, the light produced by the fireplace giving her face almost diabolic traces. The woman walked towards the couch and grabbed her sword, taking it off Roxas' neck and sending it to the other side of the room. "Who's laughing now, huh?" She snarled kicking Roxas' body and making it roll off Axel's.
"Stop it!" Reno screamed, getting up and running towards his mother, biting her leg hard and good before she could kick his father's corpse.
"You stupid runt!!" Pamela cried, kicking her son away. "I'll teach you how not to mess with me." She snarled, running to the boy and grabbing his collar, keeping him against the floor as he wept in panic. This wasn't the mother he had known.
"L-Let me go!" Reno cried, struggling to break free. All he wanted was his dad! All he wanted was to crawl under his arm and stay there, snuggling against his warm chest. Yes, warm because for Reno his dad was immortal, he would always be there for him like he had promised countless times! He refused to believe that he was dead "Mommy!" He cried louder as he watched the woman taking off her kunai from the fireplace and approaching the boy's face.
Pamela kept a emotionless expression as she pressed the hot blade against her son's cheeks, not even flinching as his cries of agony filled the room. "You will learn not piss me off." She snarled making the same with her kunai on Reno's other cheek. "They were monsters. If you turn into a monster, I will kill you too! Do you understand?!" Reno cried loudly, nodding just to make his mother stop hurting him. "Good. Now, say a word about this to anybody and that person dies. Also, you get another of those." She pointed at his marked cheeks.
"You're the monster." Reno thought it out loud, turning to look at his mother.
"I'm not a fag unlike you."
"But you're still a fucking bitch." The redhead said loud enough for everybody in the bar to hear.
It took three whole seconds for Pamela to respond. "Reno!" Cloud exclaimed, abandoning his place on the wall to run to his boyfriend who now laid on the floor; blood, martini and glass all over the place and Reno's face where his own mother had smacked her glass. "You bitch!" He exclaimed, now sharing the same thoughts about the woman with his lover.
Pamela hyperventilated with anger. "Don't talk to me!!" She screamed, completely out of her mind. "You fucking faggot!" The woman yelled. It was Axel and Roxas, Roxas and Axel, the two all over again. "You're the monster in here not me! You're the fucking monster!! Just like your father was!" She yelled, ponting at Reno.
Reno put Cloud's hands away, sitting with his head low like a scolded dog. "I'm sorry." He said, shaking like a leaf in the middle of a storm. "I'm sorry; don't get angry at me, yo." The redhead pleaded, placing his trembling fingers on his scars.
Everybody looked quite taken back by the submissive behaviour of their friend but everybody was quick to react when Pamela raised her hand, ready to slap her son. "Let me go." She snarled at Tifa who grabbed her hand and placed it behind her back.
Tifa shook her head. "You crashed a glass against the face of a friend of mine, you're out of here." She snarled, pushing the woman towards the exit.
Everybody stayed in silence looking at the fallen Turk with interest. "Reno?" Marlene called softly, knelling beside the redhead.
"You okay?" Denzel asked shyly, bending down to try and look through Reno's red bangs.
"Kids, let's go." Barret cleared his throat, motioning with his head towards the upper floor and shooting a glare at the children when they opened their mouth to protest.
"Get better soon." They both whispered before leaving.
"It's better if I start cleaning this mess. I'm closing the bar earlier today." Tifa stated, changing the sign on the window from Open to Closed.
Cloud quickly shook his head, looking over at his lover. "I'll clean it, don't worry." He said nodding. "Just... Give us a minute, will you?" He asked softly and looked over at his friends. Reno showed no notice when everybody left to the upper floor, leaving him alone with the blond. "Reno?" Cloud called softly, crawling so that he was in front of his lover. "Hun, you're okay?" He asked, placing a hand on Reno's shoulder.
Reno quickly shoved it away, hugging his knees close as he leaned against the stools. "Go away, yo."
"Reno let me help you." The hero begged, crawling again and grabbing Reno's wrist gently. "I'm not here to hurt you." He reassured, pulling the redhead to his lap against his will.
"Lemme go." Reno whimpered weakly, struggling within Cloud's strong arms. "Lemme go, you'll end up just like Mr. Roxas so please, lemme go...!"
Cloud tightened his grip and waited until Reno got tired and fell against his chest. "Shh it's okay." He hushed gently, running his fingers down the redhead's hair as a loud sob escaped from his throat. "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere." The blond tranquilized as his lover's hands grabbed his shirt and kept him pressed against his teary face.
"My dad used to say the same to me, yo." Reno cried into Cloud's shirt. "But he ended up killed! By her, yo!"
The blond closed his eyes, resting his chin on top of his lover's head. Oh, he knew all of what he was talking about. He had known Mr. Axel, like he would call him, and he knew all of his and his father's murder. He had been 5 at the time but he could clearly remember his father's smile as Mr. Axel hugged him around the waist and his mother wished them luck with their new life. If only Reno's mother had been like his... Maybe Roxas Strife and Axel Sinclair weren't dead but living in a small house with a white fench somewhere, happy with their lives.
"I won't leave you. Ever." Cloud whispered, leaning against the stools with Reno still crying on his chest. "And that's a promise."
Reno punched the blonde's stomach lightly. "I won't forget that, got it memorized?"
Cloud chuckled as Reno used Mr. Axel's famous sentence. 'I won't ever hurt your father, got it memorized?' The blond started cleaning Reno's wound. "I'm sure you won't." He said softly, smiling at the very end of the bar.
In that place, Axel and Roxas smiled at each other under Cloud's smile and started walking away. 'They will be just fine.' The blond smiled softly, waving at his son.
'I'm sure they will.' Axel nodded. 'Now come on, we have some chick's ass to kick.' He grinned deviously, walking towards a very angry and crazy woman that as lurking around the bar, ready to jump at his son's neck once again.
Roxas rolled his eyes.
'The Sinclairs would all be fucked up if it wasn't for us Strifes, that's for sure.'
xXx
Theme: Mother
Word count: 4333
Ok, first thing: I like to imagine that this Pamela is Larxene's somebody XD and yes, those are Axel and Roxas from KH. I'm on an x-over wave, so what?
And I have the pleasure to present ya ma new use: Kigichi!!! –applauds and whistles as she points towards a pretty girl in the very centre of the room- She gave me most of the themes I have now :P and of course, do not forget ma other muse! Launch Shinra!!! –points towards another pretty girl- This drabble's for ya huns!
Here are the themes already done and waiting to be done (I'll be removing the ones already done!)
Valentine's Day / waterfall / treasure hunt - still waiting to be written (SWW)
Beach / Hula - WIP
Snowboard - SWW
Cinema - SWW
Dentist - SWW
Cherry blossoms - SWW
Fight / Break Up - SWW
Reno fight over Cloud -SWW
Long business trip and reunion scene - SWW
Aerith's Birthday - SWW
Snowball fights / snow angels - SWW
A date in space - SWW
Caffeine/Sugar - SWW
Kiss - SWW (AH, ya thought that weren't more uses for lips, mouth and tongue, HUH?!!!!!!!!! Aline, I'll kill you! D8)
Porn Collection - SWW
Videogames - SWW
Disneyland - SWW
Painting Lesson - SWW
Session with a Marriage Counsellor - SWW
Popular Reno / Smart Reno - SWW
Lotion - SWW
Yazoo flirting with Reno - SWW
Mother (scene with Reno's abusive mother) - done
Kidnapped - SWW
Claustrophobia - SWW
Interrogation - SWW
Picnic - SWW
Bride!Reno - SWW
Disguise (Reno disguised as a woman XD) - SWW
Hurt (alternative, sad ending to Disguise) - SWW
Concert - SWW
Rain and Boom (RudexTifa, Reno gets a brother named Axel XD) - SWW
Cloud mistakes Axel for Reno, whose dead - SWW
Vacation - SWW
Reno's twin scars - SWW
Pets - SWW
Song - SWW
Dinner - SWW
Teddy - SWW
Birthday - SWW
Stalker - SWW
Spin the Bottle – SWW
Seduction – SWW
Proposal – SWW
Cutter – SWW
Dead Pet – SWW
Role-playing on the Bedroom – SWW
Purple Nail polish – SWW
Gift – SWW
I'm Fine – SWW
New Year – SWW
Comparison – SWW
Glasses – SWW
Photo Album – SWW
Karma – SWW
Hugs – SWW
Cloud teaches Reno how to cook – SWW
Addition – SWW
Breakfast – SWW
Puzzles – SWW
Turkey – SWW
Cheerleader!Reno – SWW
Reno fooling Kadaj – SWW
Shattered Dreams – SWW
Horror movie – SWW
Reno without hair gel – SWW
Hidden Truth – SWW
Long anticipated answer – SWW
Shopping – SWW
Setting an Example – SWW
Left Alone – SWW
Boredom – SWW
If you're thinking about any other theme, please ask for it on a review, signed or not :D I'm aiming to the 50 or 100 drabbles! (And if I forgot about any theme you already requested, please point it out Dx)