Heya! Welcome to the second last chapter^^ I´d like to thank my wonderful beta PfenixB again for the ever so awesome betaing!
Without further ado,
enjoy!
17
"Are you done for today?"
Cid jumped at the sudden, deep voice crawling up from behind and almost bumped his head at the tool shelf, cursing, "Gawddamn, Vince! Ya always have ta be so damn sneaky?!"
He turned around, seething at the tall man who only deigned to shrug, and affirmed grouchily "Ya, damn, almost done." His gaze went to the open garage door, where it was already dark, but the heavy strings of rain splashing onto the pavement could still be seen in the gloomy street lights. "Ain´t da weather for target practicing in the yard, uh."
Vincent nodded, and replied with a look outside "Yes. But we can have a theory lesson instead."
"Theory…" Cid cringed, blissfully oblivious to the fact that he gave Yazoo his fair share of manuals himself, but then his pale blue eyes darted over to Vincent again. "Ya know, ya can have ya lessons with us, was busy taday an´we ain´t got time for a decent lunch. I cook dinner and ya can have ya theory in da livin´room."
Vincent quirked an eyebrow. "You cook?"
"Yah, anythin´wrong with dat?" the other replied a bit testily, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
"Not at all." Vincent shook his head and wondered in how far Cid´s offer was motivated by restrained jealousy; it seemed to him that the man was rather eager to keep an eye on his not-love-interest- or so Cid had claimed.
Before the other man could reply, the youth in question emerged from the shop, gracefully walking up to them in his tight shorts. "Can I have the key please? I want to close up."
With well hidden interest Vincent observed how the mechanic quickly averted his eyes from Yazoo´s long legs and fumbled the keys out of his jeans pocket. "Here ya go. And dun forget ta lock da backdoor twice!" he called after him, before turning his attention back to his neighbour. "What?!" he snapped irritably at the man´s slight smile, but Vincent just shook his head and wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
*
Yazoo went from the front to the back door, shivering a bit at the cold wind that blew through the corridor. It had been so close and hot during the day. Unfortunately their new air conditioning system would only be installed next week, so he had to settle with light clothing, as little movement as possible and an old newspaper for a fan. But then, in the late afternoon when it almost had become unbearable the sky had darkened with thick, black clouds and a summer storm had broken loose, thundering over the city and bringing much needed relief. The cool breeze was delicious to his skin, summoning light goose bumps and Yazoo remained at the open door for another moment, enjoying the monotone sound of the rain splashing on concrete.
"Yo."
His eyes instantly snapped open again, and his wary gaze wandered into the dark alley. "Reno?"
A stroke of lightening briefly lit the surroundings, revealing the familiar silouette of his (former?) boyfriend.
"Yo, it´s me babe." The alley went dark again, but now that Yazoo knew where he had to look at he could see the figure was slowly approaching him.
"What do you want," the silver haired youth asked dismissively, surprising himself a bit. It had been three weeks since they had last talked, and actually he´d have expected to be a bit more enthused by his showing up. But coming to think of it now he had barely spared Reno a thought during these weeks. Maybe because he´d been rather busy and had constantly been learning new things that kept his mind occupied. Still, if anything he felt slightly wary now and it gave his heart a stab. He forced his rigid stance to relax and look a bit more friendly, but his outwards behaviour unfortunately didn´t reach his inner attitude. The usual delight he had formerly felt when he had laid eyes on the redhead was still missing.
"Whoa, that sounds lovely," was the caustic retort. Reno had been waiting for Yazoo to call him for three friggin weeks, not even going out in case he could miss it, and he´d been worried sick! After what had happened he´d even worked up some understanding that Yazoo needed time to think things over and he had given it his fair share of thoughts as well. He saw that he had done wrong and that he had endangered their relationship, but he was more than willing to make up for it. He hadn´t touched one drop of alcohol since then, and he had written some applications to get a proper job. To his immense surprise he had gotten a positive reply and was overflowing with joy, but there was no one there to share it with him. His pals weren´t calling anymore, since he´d broken off contact with them, thinking that their rather gruff manners and constant proddings to join some shady jobs and get plastered was a bit counterproductive to his attempt at a new life. It had been hard, but he had restrained himself from opposing on Yazoo and call him, thinking that his lover would tell him when he was ready. But then he couldn't bear it any longer and now seeing that he still wasn´t welcome… It made him feel so lonely and… helpless… "Ya didn´t call."
"I was busy," Yazoo replied slightly dismissively. The cold now made him shiver a bit (or was it the weather?) as he carefully watched Reno closing up on him. Was it just him, or did the redhead waver while walking? He narrowed his eyes, even more wary now. "So, what do you want?"
Reno stopped a mere inches before the door. "What ya think I want?!" He sighed, shaking his head at his own snappy remark and added more softly, reaching out for Yazoo´s face. "I missed you, yo."
The wind carried a breeze reeking of alcohol to Yazoo´s face and stonily the youth turned away. Reno stopped mid-way, seeing the repellant expression and stiff posture of his boyfriend. He let his hand sink down in frustration, running it through his hair. Not only had Yazoo not returned his desire to be reunited, but outright refused him! "What the hell´s going on here?! You don´t want me anymore or what?!"
"I don´t know. Definitely not right now, no." At the lack of a reply, Yazoo averted his eyes from the wet figure of his boyfriend and reached for the door, saying, "I´m sorry, you better go home now. Maybe we can talk another time."
"Oh yeah? And when will that be? I´m damn tired of waiting, yo!" The desperate edge that had crept into the youth´s voice was overlaced by frustration that made it sound harsh and menacing.
Yazoo just tiredly shook his head, expression hard and unflinching as he turned around to close up. It was no use talking to Reno now. Or at any time maybe. He hadn´t changed at all, he was still drinking and aggressive and Yazoo had enough of it.
"Hey! Wait, I´m sor-" the redhead had reached out to him, but some rubble lying on the slippery street made him stumble and he roughly grabbed the other youth on the shoulder, searching for a halt.
Eyes going wide at the sudden, forceful contact, the youth jerked around and suddenly Reno found himself making contact with the pavement. His back connected with the hard surface, knocking all air out of his lungs, and a heavy weight was sitting on his chest, making it even more difficult to breath.
"What-" he groaned, looking up in horror. The rain was falling in Reno´s eyes, blurring his vision a bit, but he could still see the frighteningly furious face of his ex-lover and the fist that came down on his face the next moment. A crunching noise was heard, followed by a pained scream.
Yazoo stared coldly down at the other, straddling his chest and lifting his fist for another punch. His anger was only given away by his blazing, narrowed eyes and his tight expression, but Reno knew him long enough to know that something was very wrong. Never ever had Yazoo fought back, or even attacked him, so to say that he was shocked was an epic understatement.
The fist met with his face again, driven forward by years of restrained frustration and the relief for some payback, and Reno didn´t have time to dwell on his surprise. Another agonized grunt echoed through the rainy night, and he could feel warm blood spill out of his nose. He tried to struggle and get away or defend himself, but Yazoo was surprisingly strong and held him down, shocking Reno even more. Just where had he learned that stuff?! As far as he knew the youth hadn´t even gotten in a fight even once!
The fist was about to come crush down on him again, but before it could hit the redhead it was suddenly yanked back and a harsh voice breathed,
"What da hell´s goin´on here?!"
Cid frantically looked from one boy to the other while he still held Yazoo back and finally managed to get him off Reno. The redhead whimpered and instantly held his bloody nose, getting to his knees and rocking back and forth in the rain. The pain was excruciating, but more so was the fact that Yazoo had been the one to cause it, along with the definitely and undeniably hateful look he´d spared him as he beat him.
"He´s drunk, he attacked me!" Yazoo pressed through gritted teeth. Cid looked crestfallen and glanced at Vincent who had knelt down beside Reno, but the raven haired man just shook his head, denying Yazoo´s statement with somehow sad eyes. The redhead was clearly confused and in pain, but he was not drunk.
"Vince, get him, I´ll take care of this one," Cid ordered harshly and dragged the silver haired young man, who had gotten quite lifeless again, into the house.
The mechanic brought him to the apartment and sat him down on the couch, moving a hand through his hair in a helpless manner. Then he did the only thing that came to mind and got a full bottle of scotch and two glasses. The alcohol spilled a bit on the table as he filled them and downed his instantly, pushing the other into Yazoo´s direction.
"Drink."
Yazoo reached out hesitantly at first, but then downed the burning liquid with a placid expression, sitting hunched and quivering on the couch. Cid sighed, refilled their glasses and sat down beside him, running a hand over his face.
"Care ta tell me what happened?"
Yazoo was still clinging to his refilled glass, staring at the table, but finished it again before he spoke up with a raspy voice.
"I was closing up, but then he was just suddenly there… I thought he was drunk and then he grabbed me…"
Cid nodded understandingly and filled the glass again, drinking his own scotch in one gulp.
"As well could have been, as far as I know," he said, mild sympathy leaking in his voice. If one asked him the bastard sure as hell deserved a little payback, after all he had done to his apprentice. Heck, if it had been Cid out there there´d been much more broken than just his friggin nose!
"Don´t worry, Vince´ll take care o´ it, ya did nuthin´wrong."
Yazoo just kept staring at the table and Cid sighed, reaching over to his shirt that was draped over the armrest. Carefully he grabbed Yazoo´s hand and started to clean away the blood with gentle movements. He may look gruff, but if he wanted to he could be very kind.
"Hey." He let go off Yazoo´s hand, placing it in his lap and instead reached for the youth´s wet face, carefully cupping his hollow cheek and turning his head around so he would face him. The white skin was still dewy, big droplets hanging in the boy´s long black lashes. Bleary eyes looked up to him, looking somewhat unapproachable.
"It´ll be a´right, ya hear me?"
Yazoo just blinked and then averted his eyes, looking down past the man on the spotted carpet as if he couldn´t look him in the eye.
"What´s wrong?" the mechanic asked, his raspy voice sounding uncharacteristically soft. He really wasn´t good with this kind of stuff, but he felt that the youth needed someone to talk to now. He just couldn´t bury it inside him again! "Ya can tell me, whateva it is."
For a moment silent reigned between them but then Yazoo finished his glass again and said emotionlessly, "It´s… I wanted to hit him. I wanted to hurt him so bad."
Cid could feel the slight trembling of the drenched, svelte body through his grip and sighed, before he suddenly pulled him closer, drawing an arm around the slim form and placing the youth´s head against his broad chest. Yazoo stiffened in surprise, but then he relaxed and let himself be held. While he filled the youth´s glass again and took a long sip from the bottle the blond assured. "It´s okay, he had it comin´." Taking another gulp he looked down at the boy´s face and ask. "Ya feelin betta now at least?"
"No."
Nodding, Cid held the bottle into Yazoo´s direction, not caring that he just had filled his glass, and it was taken.
"Sumtimes ya can´t yest stick ta reasoning, ya know. They tell ya dat revenge ain´t doin´any good, but ya know when ma wife was killed…"
He paused, staring pensively at nothing. Yazoo shifted a bit, lookig up into the man´s face and asked, voice sounding a bit slurred already, "What happen´?"
Cid let his gaze drift back on the youth and he took the bottle again, before explaining. "Was hit by a car. The guy was dead drunk an´ hit Shera with 70 Hp in a pedestrian zone. They instantly called ´n ambulance but she didn´t make it. Was dead two hours after she got out o´ surgery. Accidently met the guy two years later after he got out o´ prison, in a bar. Recognized him instantly, was in a bar not far from here, belongs to a friend of mine, Tifa Lockhart… "
Yazoo nodded, since he had heard of that establishement. Reno had thrown a fit once because the bar maid wouldn´t serve him and his friends any alcohol since they were still underage and he could very well remember the consequences of Reno´s rage that night.
"Anyway, was sittin´there, drinkin´ma beer an´dat guy comes in. Bud I ain´t doin nuthin´,tellin´maself 'Cid, ain´t doin´anyone any good', but gawds know I was tempted! So I sat there, drinkin´another beer an´talkin´to ma pals. Called it a night a few hours later an´am yest about ta leave an get home when I see dat guy stumble out o´the bar, filled up an´walkin to his car. I after ´ím, callin out ta him 'Ey pal, ain´t a good idea ta drive now'. An´what does dat stupid asshole? Snorts inta ma face ´n tells me ta fuck off an´mind ma own business. So, I lost it an´punched him inta a bloody pulp. Tif´later said they had ta get 3 people to drag me off dat guy, can´t remember much." He washed down the bitter words with another large sip of scotch, before he finished.
"But what I wanted ta say is dat I felt yest as miserable aftawards an´not only cuz of da badass hangover. It didn´t make her come back at all, ya see, an´I knew if she´d still been there she´d beaten da shit outta me for what I did. It might make ya feel good for a moment, but it yest ain´t no solution. Ya gotta understand dat, do ya?"
Yazoo nodded against his chest and Cid sighed, drawing his arm closer and stroking over his head.
"Ya a good boy, Yazoo, ya deserve better." It was probably the alcohol taking effect that Cid spoke these words aloud, but Yazoo didn´t seem to mind apparently, as he nuzzled closer and took the flask out of the mechanic´s hand to have another sip himself.
"Hn. A… E… I...," Was the muffled, slurred reply and Cid frowned a bit, taking the bottle out of his hand.
"A´right, ya have enough. Let´s get ya ta bed," he decided, wavering himself as he got up and helped the youth up to get him into the bedroom.
tbc
We´ll see what happened in that bedroom in the next and final chapter, which I will hopefully soon write^^
Valitiel: Yay, you´re almost always the first one to comment! *extra big hug* Haha, since Yazoo is rather mute, I suppose Vincent digs him because of his talent for shooting, and probably because he isn´t babbling all the time XD I think Vincent isn´t much of a talker either^^ Haha, and I rather guess Yazoo was surprised for being cuddled by Cid!
natzilla: Oh, I know, I had almost forgotten about this story too... But since I don´t like leaving things unfinished I decided to shorten it remarkably and kill the original plot so it´ll be finished :) Well... Reno isn´t a total asshole, he just has issues and he really, really tried, but their relationship seems beyond recovery now. Tragic, but so is life *sigh* Hahaha, that´d be a twist if Yaz would go for Vincent XD Or maybe I can surprise everyone and make him saunter in, declaring that his big love is Barret *rofl* We´ll see ;)
luvyuyu: Hey there and thank you for the wb! Okay, your choice was rather clear XD Well, Cid is still a bit in denial, but his actions say more than words ;) His jealousy of Vincent pretty much shows that, though I don´t think he has to worry about that. But well, jealousy is known for being not exactly rational.
Wildfire Sniper: I´m glad you´re enjoying my story! I´m afraid it won´t turn into a Cid/Vincent story though. But that was my escape plan, in case people would rather have seen Yazoo and Reno back together. I wouldn´t have let poor Cid be all alone!
sareyva: Haha, okay, no Cid/Reno then XD I know, I´m being monosyllabic too, especially when I´m tired. But Yazoo is just a natural I guess. And you bet that was the best meal Yazoo had in a while! Cid is full of surprises and he might have been forced by Shera to join a cooking class with her or something, and now it comes in handy XD
Salawati: Dankeschön^^ Naja, eigentlich war der Plot für diese Geschichte viel länger und komplizierter, aber ehrlich gesagt ist bei mir ein bisschen die Luft raus und ich hatte kurzzeitig überrlegt, sie nicht ganz abzubrechen. Aber jetzt da ein Ende in Sicht ist, bin ich wieder motivierter, und ich hoffe, es ist trotzdem plausibel :) Ich häng ja doch ein bisschen dran. Und du hast absolut recht: das Leben ist nun mal kein Ponyhof. Obwohl sich Reno echt aufgerappelt hat und sich sehr bemüht, ist inzwischen doch soviel kaputt gegangen, dass es sich nicht mehr kitten lässt. Aber vielleicht findet er ja jemand anderes *hüstel*
Goddess of Glomps: Yay, I´m glad you reviewed! Well, I 'feared' that Reno being the bad guy may put people off, but it isn´t like he´s actually really evil. I think he really loves Yazoo, but their relationship has become destructive and Reno might have issues that make him act like he does. This is no excuse of course, but an explanation to understand him a bit better. And he realized that he can´t continue with this behaviour and changed, though it might be too late now.
Xyleel: Oha, du bist die Einzige, die für Reno/Yazoo gevoted hat! Ich bin da ziemlich parteilos, aber es sieht so aus, als ob es wirklich schwierig wird, die beiden wieder zusammen zubringen, ich hoffe, du bist nicht zu enttäuscht :( Sie können ja aber Freunde bleiben/wieder werden, und vielleicht findet Reno ja jemand anderes... Den Altersunterschied von Cid und Yazoo werde ich im letzten Kapitel nochmal thematisieren, vielleicht wird es dann etwas plausibler. Und Cid/Yazoo smut kommt auf jeden Fall, den habe ich mir als krönenden Abschluss für´s letzte Kapitel aufgehoben :)
Zexion.6: Yay for love!!! I hope it´ll become more sexy when I finally get to the actual smut in the last chapter, it´s about time after 17 chapters *likes long foreplay* XD Haha, me too, so far I haven´t read a pairing with Yazoo I didn´t like^^
Thanks for the awesome feedback, I really appreciate it *dances happily*
See you next chapter, and as always I´d be delighted to read your opinion on this chapter!