Disclaimer: STILL don't own the Turks, Reno, Tifa…or anything, really. I do own the two-week-old pizza and Remona, so no stealing!
Author's Note:
Yay! New chappie and it's up sooner then the others! Woot! Anyway. Hope ya'll enjoy this…it's a short chapter, sure, but I wanted to put something online fast, cause I'll be traveling this week and I don't know when the next one will be up. Thanks go out to all who read and review! MAJOR THANKS goes to my wonderfully wonderful beta, xxXDancerinthedDarkXxx! Reno loves ya too, cause he told me. Anyway, enjoy and review!
Chapter Three: Finding Food and Other Dangers
So, I'm a grown Turk, trained to kill and do generally bad things…with a blonde in the bathtub. Unfortunately, the blonde is about 15 to 20 years too young for that statement to be nearly as exciting as it sounds.
Nah, I've got an ankle biter in the bath that's undernourished and most definitely in need of food, and fast! Too bad I generally don't keep food on hand or go to the supermarket. I mean, isn't that why God created take-out? 'Cause being a housewife isn't in my job description. Yet I had to find something to feed the kid.
But upon closer inspection, I found my fridge was empty of everything expect a cartoon of expired milk, 2 week old pizza, and something that COULD have been cheese, but now it looked more like a green, moldy experiment worthy of Hojo's radiation laboratory.
"Hmm. I'm guessing kids don't eat any of this." I mused, rubbing my chin in thought as I went over what to do next. The kitchen held no food and the take-out places were probably closed due to huge monsters appearing out of the sky earlier. Yeah, they were probably celebrating "we've survived another massive disaster by sitting on our butts and letting someone else do all the work". Jerks.
So, no take out places, no kitchen, which left…a blank mind that held no answer.
"What to do?" I wondered, sitting on the edge of the counter. Running through my mental list of things and places to eat, I realized there was only one place that would be open and serving food. And it was…
"Oh, hell no." Seventh Heaven, Greeaaaat! There's nothing like entering the territory of Tifa and Spikes-for-Brains for the sake of a six-year-old. Yep, I definitely couldn't let the guys from work see this, that's for sure.
"Aww, might as well get this over with!" I grumbled, and leapt off the counter, grabbing a jacket on the way out. I had to get there and back before Remona got done with her bubble bath. Fortunately, I'm cursed with bad enough luck to be a mere two blocks from Seventh Heaven, a fact which had made me think twice about renting out that flea infested apartment.
Now, to be honest: I've been to Seventh Heaven before; a couple of times, actually. Tifa, surprisingly, is one of the few members of AVALANCHE that doesn't want to bite my head off or break out the pitchforks at the mere sight of me, Mr. Big Bad Turk. So, I head down to her bar for drinks after work, sometimes. Therefore, I know for certain she makes a mean club sandwich.
Five minutes later and I was standing outside the bar, slight smirk in place. Yep, this is where I go from weird and new "kid friendly" Reno to the smooth, sexy, sarcastic, and natural Reno. Trust me, folks: It's a beautiful thing. Sure, most people say I'm a jerk, but they love it, I know.
"Here goes!" Walking to the door, I made sure to put as much swagger in my step and smirk on my face as possible. Pulling open the door, I strolled into the dingy bar, keeping my hands poised in my pockets. Yep! Calm, cool, and collected, that's me, Reno the Turk.
There it was. Seventh Heaven in all its grunge, yet somehow, charming beauty filled my senses, and I breathed deeply the scent of liquor on the air. And behind the bar, absentmindedly cleaning out a glass, was Tifa, the proprietor of the humble tavern.
Dang…now that's a woman! If you've never seen her, then you've never seen a real woman. Black hair perpetually straight and silky, a leather shirt too tight, and eyes the color of wine, she was hot with a capitol "H". If she wasn't an old member of AVALANCHE and already in love with Mr. Raincloud, then I might make a pass for her myself.
But I make do with making inappropriate comments and staring at her chest. Yep, that's how I roll.
"Tifa!" I called pleasantly. "How's my favorite former enemy and beautiful bar hostess tonight?" Tifa shook her head and turned around, smiling that charming little smile at me, as I took my usual seat at the bar.
"Reno, you will get the same amount of alcohol as everyone else and at the same price, no matter how many compliments you dish out." I pouted a little at this, my green eyes sparkling. Her smile widened. "You want your usual, I suppose?"
"Nah, not tonight, yo," I said regretfully. Man, I could use a drink, "I need two plates of food to go. I've got company over." I said casually, as I leaned forward onto the bar, not mentioning my company was an orphaned girl I found on the streets. Yeah, that wouldn't be the best thing to say, especially since she wouldn't believe me.
Tifa glanced up sharply, a sudden frown in place. "Oh, Reno. After all that happened today? Who is it tonight?" She sighed, immediately thinking I had another of my dates over. Hey! It's not like I've had a lot…just one or two…a week, or so. Well, I'm lonely, ya know?
I smirked. "No one you know, just a pretty little blonde. Why, jealous?" I flung a reckless grin in her direction, green eyes mischievous. Tifa glared.
"Thought not." Stifling a chuckle, I glanced up at the menu, half knowing what I wanted already. "I'll take a club sandwich and for my lovely date…an order of…fish sticks." Yikes, where did that come from? First off, what bar has fish sticks on the menu, and second, why did I just order them?
Then again, I suppose that's what ankle biters eat…I hope.
Of course, the way Tifa was now staring at me, eyebrows shooting up to join her hairline, it kinda told me she thought I was crazy. Well, crazier then she thought I was five minutes ago.
"Fish sticks?" She repeated, not moving from her spot staring at me with that curious smile. Mentally scrambling for an answer, I nodded.
"Yep. She's on a diet, Teef. Not all girls remain as stick thin and busty as you do, babe." Allowing my eyes to swiftly travel down the front of her outfit, I added a mean grin to complete it, and BAM! Tifa is now glaring Buster Swords at me, but at least she ain't thinking 'bout fish sticks anymore.
Uh huh, I know I'm smooth.
"Eyes up, Turk, or I swear I won't hesitate to repeat the smack down we gave you in Midgar!" Teef said hotly and turned around, grabbing a plate and slamming it down with much more force than needed. I winced like mad, realizing she was now going to be in a very bad mood for the rest of my present visit…and probably the rest of the week.
Ah, no matter! I suppose Remona is worth it. And maybe, after the kid's gone, I'll tell Tifa the dazzling story of how I took in an orphan off the streets and fed her off my own plate. Chicks dig that kinda thing, right? I might think about it.
"Here's your food, can I get you anything else?" Tifa dropped the two plates in front of me, but by the way she was glaring, I really doubted the sincerity of her offer. Besides, I wanted to get out of there before Spike got home…we were "friends" as far as "not killing each other on sight" goes, but if I'm hitting on Tifa, then he might rethink those warm, fuzzy feelings.
"Nah, I'm good." I grabbed the plates and grinned at her. "It's nice to see ya again, Teef, and great job at pretending to save the world again." With that, I turned around and beat a hasty retreat, the force of her glare penetrating my back every step of the way. As soon as I was outside, I breathed a sigh of relief, my shoulders slumping forward. Dang!
Going to Seventh Heaven used to be fun. Tifa, despite the fact she's AVALANCHE and I'm Turk, wasn't bad for conversation…and eye candy. Plus she's one of those weird "nice" people who doesn't seem to mind the fact I'm a Turk. She kept saying I was now reformed or something. Tsk, as if!
But by the look on her face, I'd say she'd be ticked at me for the next, oh, week or so. That is if I'm lucky. That's okay, though! I'd gotten the food for me and Remona, so now I could feed her, get her in bed, get in bed myself, and then figure out what to do in the morning.
I mean, I already knew what I was going to do. Drop her little butt in a nice orphanage, after making absolutely certain she'd get adopted into a nice, well-off family. See? I'm such a nice guy. I could've just left her on the street or planned to dump her into a rat-infested orphanage. Instead, I'm doing the humane, nice guy thing! Heh, no wonder girls everywhere love me.
"Ah, that's enough thinkin'," I mumbled, and pushed away from the wall, running an agitated hand through my long red hair, "I've got a dinner date."
Author's Note:
PLEASE REVIEW FOR RENO!