Reno—Edge
Unfulfilling dreams. I opened my eyes, refocusing on reality. Body—check. Brain—working on it. Hey, now. Someone's been sleeping in my bed…
I looked down and saw her curled up on my pale chest in the morning light. I smiled without thinking about it, lifting an arm to shove behind my head. She stirred, inhaling, and her breath sighed out across my skin. I shivered. She looked up at me and as soon as she saw me she beamed. Her green eyes sparkled.
"Lyrant!" she said. "What a pleasant surprise." She meant it, too.
"Can't get rid of me," I said, grinning at her. "I'm like a bad penny."
"Hmm." She propped herself up on her elbow, chin resting in her palm, and left her other hand right where it was, square in the middle of my breastbone.
"Sleep well?" I said. "No nightmares?"
She shook her head. "None. How are you?" Her hand moved, sliding over me, but didn't lift away. The absent caress distracted me.
"I'm good," I said.
She laughed softly. "I know you're good—how are you feeling?"
I smirked. "Better. I'm pretty beat, though. Taking the day off."
"You've earned it."
"Damn right! The director's back, so I don't have to deal with all that shit anymore." I tilted my head toward her. "What about you? Are there still people out there with Geostigma? Or did that crap go with Sephiroth?"
She shook her head and sighed, letting her head sink back to my shoulder. "It's still out there. I really should get up." She slid her hand all the way across me and curled it around my ribcage. "I don't want to."
"Then don't," I suggested. "Take a day off. You've earned it, too." I lifted my free arm to settle around the curve her shoulders, marveling that she let me, that she was holding onto me deliberately, and not for heat.
I let my eyes drift across the ceiling of the bedroom of Seventh Heaven, where Cloud and Tifa insisted we bring her, where I had stayed. I'd been so tired I couldn't think what else to do.
I remembered Cloud frowning at me as I sat down on the edge of the bed and took off my shoes and socks, then my jacket, and started unbuttoning my shirt with a pointed look at him. He strolled off in no particular hurry and shut the door behind him.
I closed my eyes and let yesterday fade some more. "Today I'm just gonna lie here and do nothing."
I felt her lift her head and shift her weight, as if maybe she was getting up. I prepared for some more serious snooze time.
Lips pressed to mine. My eyes popped open. Hers were shut, so close I couldn't focus on her face, as she kissed me.
I felt flabbergasted. Thought and reason failed. Her mouth was so soft. Mine opened a little, an automatic response. My eyes slid closed at last just before she pulled back. My head lifted off the pillow to follow. I grabbed her head and pushed her back down for a proper kiss that I was prepared to involve myself in.
Damn, she was a good kisser, too. The second one was even better. Our mouths opened. Her tongue played over my lips and teeth. I slipped mine in her mouth. I wanted her so bad. I'm pretty proud of my restraint that I managed to keep my cool enough to just let my tongue go on an expedition to her tonsils. Panting, I let my head drop back to the pillow and opened my eyes.
Her hand touched my jaw, fingers sliding up to my left-side tattoo. Her eyes were tender. I drew breath, didn't know what to say and let it out. Her smile faded and she leaned down to kiss me again. And that was the end of my self-restraint.
Her kisses grew urgent. So did mine. I tugged at her clothes. I had a head start on her and a profound need to see some serious skin. She lifted her arms to let me pull off her shirt, then reached behind herself to take off her own bra. Thank god—I don't know that I could have managed it in my overwhelmed impatient state.
She was bloody gorgeous underneath all those clothes. I resolved to drag her back to the Costa del Sol beach and get her in a bikini. It was unfair that she'd been so cold for the entire four months I'd known her that I never got even a glimpse of the toned lithe form underneath. I'd had to guess what it looked like from the feel of it when we fought. My imagination had failed me, too.
I was so excited by her curves and shapes I decided I wanted maximum possible viewing time of them from then on. I vowed to do everything in my power to make sure she was warm enough to stay nearly naked for me.
I rolled that cute little bod under me and took a good long feel of it. I gave up trying to think and just felt the hell out of what I was feeling. Right up until I frantically had to figure out where I'd thrown my pants in irritation to pluck out a silver-wrapped condom.
It wasn't long before we were joined. Unfortunately she was tight as a vice, I was eager as a teenager, and her moans only served to incite me to heights of excitement that blew my mind. And my load. I couldn't help it any more than the scream that erupted from me, nor my defeated collapse on top of her. I gasped in breath. My eyes flew open wide.
What have I done? My lust had overwhelmed me, just like any one of a number of assholes we'd beaten up along her way. I hadn't thought. I hadn't pleased her. I feared that in my enthusiasm I'd raped her. I buried my head in the pillow, wishing I could undo all this.
"I… I'm sorry…" I whispered to her, horrified. I rolled off her, unable to meet her eyes, and curled up on my side in the agony of shame.
"Shh." She kissed between my shoulderblades. Her hands grasped and tugged my arm, forcing me onto my back. I looked up at her in fear. She startled me with a smile. My lips parted. She leaned in and kissed them. She trailed her lush lips across my face to my neck. I shuddered.
"Shh, Lyrant. I'll take care of everything," she said, and nibbled my earlobe. She slid on top of me, her hands low.
I frowned in confusion. "What are… OH!" I hissed. "Fuuuuck! Unhhh…"
She kissed me and crawled all over me. She used her hands and mouth in innovative ways in unexpected places on my body, pressing fingers into sensitive spots, pinching, sucking, biting, licking spots unexplored by other more single-minded women.
"What are you doing to me?" I said, arching almost completely off the bed.
"It turns you on when we fight," she murmured, her voice buzzing against my skin. "I can tell. In the right context, pleasure and pain aren't so unconnected, are they, Reno?"
I whimpered. In just a few tightly-packed moments she'd brought me back to full arousal. She sat up on me, grinning, obviously pleased with herself.
"Where the fuck did you learn to do that?" I said in amazement.
She smiled enigmatically. "Lie back and relax."
I slid my hands behind my head and got comfortable, grinning up at her. I waggled my eyebrows at her, wondering what she had in mind, and if it was anywhere near as mind-blowing as the foreplay.
Wrong.
It was much better. And this time, gloriosky, she screamed right along with me.
Schala—Edge
"You awake, Bami?" Reno said softly, spooning me.
"Mm-hmm," I said.
He slid his thumbs along my arms, quiet for a moment. "Where do you live?"
"Nowhere," I sighed. "I'm broke and don't have a job, remember?" I enjoyed the feel of the sun on my face and the man on my back. He was so ungodly hot in both the literal and colloquial sense.
I reveled in the moment, avoiding thoughts of what came next, when post-coital cuddling lost its charm for him and he walked out of my life again. As apprehensive as I felt about the end of this, I still couldn't regret doing it. I'd enjoyed it more than anything I'd physically felt in quite a long time.
I felt human again, and real and female in ways I'd forgotten. My darkest hedonistic self-destructive years had left me unexpected benefits of skills I needed to seduce and screw the hell out of Reno, and really enjoy myself in the process, for once.
"Well, I have a giant bed at my flat in Healen," he said, his nervousness too intense for him to fully mask with his too-casual tone. "Stupid not to have you there, don'tcha think? Unless I'm just too much man for you, of course."
"Just the right amount of man, I think," I said, casually, so as not to give away how my heart soared and my head spun, suffused with overwhelming excitement and nervousness. I felt excited as a teenager again.
"Mm." He didn't even laugh, just squeezed me in his arms. "Then you'd be the first woman enough to take all of me."
"Yay me."
He kissed the back of my neck. "Thanks."
My eyes flitted, not really seeing. He went quiet again.
"Lyrant?" I said.
"Hmm?" He sounded drowsy.
"Never mind." I snuggled down in his arms.
"No, what?" His voice cleared.
"Well, I was… sort of disappointed," I said. "When you said 'woman enough to take all of me' I thought we were gonna have sex again."
"You want to?"
"Yeah, but you sound tired…"
He slammed me onto my back and climbed on top of me, grinning like a fox. "Have you forgotten who you're dealing with?"
"A lazy Turk who's slacking off?" I said mildly, sticking my hands behind my head to mock him with a sly grin.
"You bitch!" He grabbed my nipples and gave them a vicious twist.
I winced and gasped. "Come on, show me your moves," I panted, taunting him further. And then I punched him. He reeled. His eyes glittered and he lunged at me.
Much later, lying on my back, I slid under the bed. "Do you know anything about carpentry?" I said.
"Fuck that, I'll just pay for it," he mumbled indistinctly. "Will you get your ass back up here? I'm not finished with you yet."
Thrilled, I complied.
I crept downstairs, starving. Seventh Heaven was closed at this hour of the morning, but amiable voices and laughter filled the barroom. I spotted Cloud, Tifa, Cid Highwind, Nanaki, the petite Wuteng girl who'd healed me after my botched confrontation with Sephiroth, the large black man with a metal fist I'd also seen there, and a cartoonish-looking cat. They all clustered around a pair of tables pushed together, lounging.
Cid spotted me and grinned. "Mornin', sunshine!" Everyone turned to look at me as I reached the bottom stair. I flushed at their stares, though they looked friendly. The confidence I'd felt upstairs with Reno evaporated.
The Wuteng girl giggled.
"Did you…" Tifa began, and hesitated, "…sleep… okay?"
"Or at all?" said the Wuteng girl.
"I did," I said.
"Can I get you anything?" said Tifa, rising.
"I'm… kind of hungry," I admitted sheepishly.
"Have a seat, I'll get you some breakfast," she said.
"Join us, we won't bite," said Cid.
"Thank you." To Tifa I said, "…Um, could I have some food for Lyrant, too? He's sleeping, but…"
"Who?" said Tifa.
"L… oh." I took a seat awkwardly. "Reno. Lyrant's… a nickname."
"Oh, barf!" said the Wuteng girl. Everyone glanced at her. "Lyrant's the Wutain word for fox."
Cloud abruptly buried his head in his hands. His friends frowned at him with concerned expressions. His shoulders shook. Sudden, helpless laughter leaked out despite his obvious efforts to muffle it. The silent audience stared. His hands dropped from his face as he gave up and cackled, his grin unfamiliar and unexpected.
"I don't believe I'm seein' this," said Cid.
The Wuteng girl whipped out her phone and aimed the camera eye at Cloud, grinning. Everyone looked wholly amused and startled by Cloud's mirth. A kettle whistled behind the bar, unfreezing Tifa. As last Cloud composed himself and looked up, eyes sparkling as his smile remained.
The Wuteng girl lowered but didn't close her phone, dialing at the keys. "See what you miss when you leave early, Vinnie? And… send!"
"Copy me on that video, Yuffie, wouldya?" said Cid.
"And me!" piped up the cat.
"Jes' send us all a copy," said the black man.
"You got it!" said Yuffie.
Tifa came over with a tray balanced with two plates and a pot of tea. Cloud pushed his chair back and rose as she set my plate in front of me and poured me a cup of tea.
"I'll take that," said Cloud, reaching for the tray. "I need a word in private with 'Lyrant.'"
I watched him go upstairs and out of sight.
Reno—Edge
A knock on the door woke me from a sound sleep. My irritation at the loss of a really hot dream and the lack of really hot girl beside me vanished in shock at Cloud's voice on the other side of the door: "Reno."
"Just a minute," I said, hurriedly scrambling around for my clothes. They were still filthy and stained with Schala's blood, but they were all I had. I made a face at them as I pulled on pants and buttoned up my not-even-close-to-white-anymore shirt. "Yeah, come in," I called.
The door opened. I grinned at the inexplicable sight on the other side.
"Breakfast in bed? Aw, honey, you shouldn't have!" I smirked.
Cloud set the tray aside and sat down on the bed beside me, watching me.
"Where's Bami?" I said, unable to keep an edge from my voice.
He didn't answer. I flushed as I realized what I'd said.
"I meant Schala," I said, wondering what he thought of me, if he thought I'd called her by another woman's name by mistake. I mentally slapped myself. What do I care what he thinks?
"Downstairs," he said. "What are your intentions where she is concerned?"
"What?" I said.
Those Mako-blue no-nonsense eyes stared me down.
I ran a hand through my hair to mask my nervous irritation. "Gee, Strife, I don't see what business it is of yours what I do."
"Schala is my friend." He leaned in and I wished I could lean further away, but the wall was in my way. The room was suddenly not big enough for both of us. Whatever rapport we'd experienced fighting that last silver-haired freak together vanished like a dream. "If you hurt her, I will find you. Got it?"
"Loud and clear," I said tightly. "I've been her friend longer than she even knew who you were, okay? She ain't Aerith."
He stood up sharply and I couldn't help cringing. I wondered if I'd gone too far and was about to find out how hard the man could punch.
"I know," he said. "She still matters. She's still a person. So are you."
I nodded, breaking that dreadful eye contact. "I'm never more aware of that than when I'm with her," I muttered.
"I'll remember you said that," he said, turning to go. "Rude came by and asked about you," he added over his shoulder as he opened the door. "I said I hadn't seen you, but he'd have to have been deaf not to hear you." He shut the door behind him. I stared at it.
What the hell was that? I shook my head. …On second thought, I'd rather not know.
Breakfast was awesome, but pretty damn lonely. I wondered if Schala'd gone back to healing. I wondered with some irritation and worry whether she'd bothered to eat.
Gotta keep your strength up, Bami, I thought, and grinned to myself. You've gotta keep up with me.
Schala—Edge
"What do you see in that guy, anyway?" Yuffie said to me as soon as Cloud had gone. "Reno, I mean." She made a face.
I sipped my tea, smiling to myself. "Oh… lots."
"That smug bastard's pretty full of himself," said Cid. "You sure you're not fixin' to get hurt, darlin'?"
"Man did destroy Sector Seven," said the black guy, shaking his head with an intense scowl. "Never gonna forgive that prick for what he did to Wedge, Biggs, Jessie and the rest. Blamin' it on us, too." He glared at me.
Tifa put a hand on his flesh arm. "We've all done things we're not proud of, Barret."
I spoke up. "Reno and Rude are trying to atone for their part in what Shinra did. That's part of what I see in him, both of them really. Admitting one was wrong, taking personal responsibility for the consequences of what one has done, and trying to make up for it—especially when it's in an order of that magnitude—isn't something most people can do. Seeing them persevering at seeking redemption inspires me."
"Do ya work for Shinra?" said the cat sharply, in a bizarre accent.
I shook my head. "They gave me rides around the world so I could reach everyone with Geostigma, but I didn't want payment for it. I was already planning to do it for free, it was just going to take forever broke and on foot as I was."
"Wouldya consider working for the WRO?" said the cat.
"Don't know what that is," I said.
"The World Regenesis Organization," said the cat. "I run it. That's why I canna there in person and had t'send this mechanical cat."
"That and fightin' rumples your suits," muttered Barret.
"The name's Reeve Tuesti," said the cat. "You're welcome to call my office anytime. We'd be happy to have you, lass."
"Thank you," I said. "I would like to get a job so I'm not just leeching off Reno, but I'll probably want to get one in Healen if I can."
"Well, our door's always open to ya if you change your mind," said Reeve.
Cloud clomped back downstairs, taking the steps two at a time.
"What did you say to him?" I asked.
He glanced at me, then past me. "Yuffie. What does 'Bami' mean?"
I caught my breath and felt cold wash through me. They're not going to understand… he doesn't mean it like it sounds…
"'Little dragon,'" said Yuffie.
My mouth fell open. Cloud strode to the bar, leaned on it and howled with laughter, head bent. The entire room joined in. I flushed and shoved my chair back. I abandoned my breakfast, ran upstairs and flung open the door.
Reno jumped, sitting crosslegged on the bed with the tray balanced on his lap. He had frozen mid-chew, mouth full.
"You ass!" I said, slamming the door. "You told me 'Bami' meant 'bitch'!" I strode forward and grabbed the tray from him, slamming it down on the nighttable.
He swallowed, frowning. "No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did! The first time you called me that I asked you what it meant and you said, 'Wutain for 'bitch'!'"
His eyes roved. "…Oh. So I did." He fixed his panicked gaze on me. He threw up his hands. "It was a joke! Can't you take a joke?"
I straddled his lap, grabbed his wrists and slammed them to the wall over his head. He looked uncertain.
"This entire time I thought you were calling me 'bitch,'" I said. "It sort of hurt, Lyrant."
"I'm sorry," he said contritely. "I'm really sorry. You should have said."
"Yes. I should have," I said. "Why 'little dragon'? My temper?"
"No… 'cause you're miraculous, guarded and need to be kept warm all the time. That's all, Schala. I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear!"
I leaned in and bit his neck. He sucked in a sharp breath. I loved the way his body heaved under mine. I sucked on the skin under my lips and pulled back, still holding him pinned. He yelped in pain before his skin parted from my teeth. When he saw my grin he produced a smug one of his own.
"You're going to make me pay, aren't you?" he said.
"You want me to, don't you?" I countered.
"Yes, please, Bami!" he said.
I surveyed him, unbuttoning his shirt. "God damn, you are so beautiful."
He actually blushed. "Yeah… well… you really think so?"
I boggled at him. "Oh, come on, you know you are!"
"Well, yeah, I just…" He looked away. "I didn't know you thought I was."
I let go of his wrists. "No, you really didn't, did you?"
His hands settled around my hips and gazed up at me. "Bami, I had no fucking clue. Do you know how nuts you made me? How horny you made me? How desperately I controlled myself every night to force myself not to touch you inappropriately while I kept you warm?"
I smiled and reached up to cup his face, stroking those adorable tattoos with my thumbs. "Thank you. Touch away, Lyrant." I leaned in and kissed his mouth. He slid his hands up my back, taking my shirt with them.
He kissed my neck, breathless. "Aren't you supposed to be making me pay for my mistakes, huh?"
"I will, I will," I moaned. "Just fuck me, please, Reno. I can't stand it. I want you inside of me."
"Yes ma'am!" He tossed me on my back and granted my request with considerable vigor.
Reno—Edge
"Stop that," I growled, watching Schala get dressed. She'd washed our clothes while I dozed, apparently.
She glanced over at me where I lay on my stomach, furled in the covers. She looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. There are still sick people who suffer while I'm here with you."
"Well, I suffer when you're not," I snapped. "Doesn't that matter?"
She sat down on the bed to tie her shoes. I snaked an arm around her waist and dragged her down into my clutches. She writhed. I pulled her under me and nuzzled her neck. She made one of those shaky little noises I liked so much.
"I'm happy you feel that way," she said. "Thing is, you'll live, and many others won't. It's just temporary, Lyrant. Two weeks at most, and then you won't be able to get rid of me. …Ohh… god… Reno, no fair…"
I grinned and didn't stop what my hands were doing. "C'mon, please, just one more time."
"That's what you said last time…" she breathed. "Hunhhh… oh, fuck it!" She rolled me under her and took over, which thrilled me.
Afterward, I watched her dressing again, even less happy. I glared at her clothes, chewing my lip.
"Cloud gonna look after you while I'm gone?" I said, not as lightly as I'd wanted.
"Yeah, probably." She sat on the floor to put on her shoes this time, out of arm's reach.
"You two got awfully friendly while I was off dealing with Shinra shit," I said.
She frowned up at me. "You've got to be kidding me—you're jealous of Cloud?"
I sat up angrily. "And why not?" I seethed. "Fucker defeated Sephiroth and saved the world twice. Everyone on the planet thinks he's hot shit. Wipe that smug little grin off your face before I do it for you!"
She giggled. "I can't help it, you're angry when you're beautiful." She strode over to the bed and leaned in to kiss me. I didn't play this time, too upset.
"He ain't bad-lookin', either," I said when she let me go.
"Oh, my god! Reno!" She clutched the back of my head and gave me a really searing kiss, swaying into me. I grabbed her and held on for dear life.
She let my lips go and put her forehead against mine, staring into my eyes with what looked like one huge blue one. "You don't get it, do you? It's been seven years since I've even wanted anyone. I didn't think I ever would again, after my husband died."
"You… what?! You're… you were…" My brain spun and hurt.
"Widowed. Yes. I have more cause to worry than you, anyway. Your beauty is beyond reason, and you know it. What's to stop you getting bored waiting for me, huh?"
I shoved her off me and swung out of the other side of bed, too furious to even look at her. I stomped over to the window to give my eyes something else to point at. "If you're gonna go, go!" I snarled. I felt her hand on my shoulder and shrugged it violently off.
"Can you help me understand why you're so scared?" she said.
"I'm not scared!" I whirled to her, my face hot. "You get on my nerves sometimes, you really do! Maybe this isn't such a good idea!"
She backed off, blinking, and turned away from me. I felt my chest seize. I grabbed her arm.
"No… please…" I said pathetically. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."
She didn't pull away, nor did she face me. I came up behind her and looped my arms around her.
"I just… I don't like not being around you, and I hate that," I said. "I used to get along just fine before I met you. Now… I feel all kindsa shit I'm not used to. I don't wanna go back… but I don't wanna be like this, either."
She twitched in my arms. I kissed the back of her sweet little neck. Something dripped on my arm.
"Oh, hell," I sighed and forced her to turn around. Her eyes were shut tight, trying to dam the flow. I cuddled her under my chin. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
She didn't put her arms around me, just stood there and wept. "This… isn't easy for me either," she whispered. "When… when I saw those men beating up you and Rude… I don't know that I've ever been more enraged and scared in my life. I had to watch my husband die of a terrible illness, and there was nothing I could do to save him. I don't ever want to go through that again."
I tightened my arms. "I know what you mean… when you were shish kabob on the Masamune, I lost it." I pulled back and shook her shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking, anyway?! Attacking Sephiroth, unarmed?"
"I didn't know who he was. Even if I had… he was a threat to this world, one that had to be defeated one way or another." She looked up at me, her lashes wet and sticking together.
"Fuck that noise!" I said. "Don't you ever go after a guy with a big sword again! I nearly lost both you and Rude day before yesterday!"
Her eyes widened. "Rude? Is he okay?"
"Yeah, of course he's okay, he's Rude. He got knocked out of the chopper by one of those tools on bikes. Managed to hang on, but that broke me too. In all the time we spent chasing Sephiroth two years ago I don't think either of us ever got that close to death. …What?"
Her mouth and eyes were wide. "You were in the chopper that crashed?!"
I rubbed the back of my neck, sheepish. "Don't remind me. We fell out before the fireball."
She covered her face with her hands and burst into fresh sobs.
I winced. "Hey, hey, come on!" I awkwardly drew her back into my arms. She pounded her fist into my chest. "Ow, hey!"
Then she clutched me, so hard she nearly squeezed the life out of me. "Son of a bitch," she whispered near my ear. "You could have died! Does this happen often in your line of work?"
"Er… sometimes," I said nervously. "But I've survived a lot!"
"That doesn't mean you always will!" She shoved me off her and gave me a fierce glare. "Remember thirty seconds ago, how pissed you were about me taking on Sephiroth by myself? Imagine I feel that way about your life being put in danger—only more so, because I know exactly how life-destroying and sanity-ending it is to watch someone I love die!"
Felt better even than that hot ego-injection of being praised by the president, better than kicking the ass of someone more powerful than me, better even than mind-blowing sex. I swept her up in my arms and spun her around, joy bubbling out of me.
"You love me!" I gasped. "Holy mother of fuck, yesss!" I plonked her back on the ground. I grabbed and kissed her salty face, overflowing with enthusiasm. She kissed back, but not with my speed and intensity.
"You gorgeous little Bami!" I hissed into her neck. I pulled back to look in her eyes. "That means you're gonna come back to me, right? 'Cause you can't stand to be away from me either?"
"Lyrant, I'm wrecked without you. When I thought I wasn't going to see you again I didn't care if I died," she said.
I tightened my grip on her. "No. Don't you do that to me, you told me yourself you know how that hurts. You just fucking come back to me, all right? You promise?"
She beamed at me. "I promise."
"Good. God damn!" I released her and swept my hair out of my eyes, wondering where my shades had got to. "Now go, woman, before I change my mind and try to fuck you again!"
She giggled and leaned in for a kiss. I reared back, even though it pained me to do so.
"Don't make this harder!" I said.
"Gotcha." She snickered again, heading for the door.
"Not funny!" I dropped on the bed with a whump.
"Yes, it is."
"Oh, fuck you."
"You wish." She glanced slyly over her shoulder at me as she opened the door. That did it. That look so like the one after our fight outside Fort Condor. I launched at her. Quick as a flash she was out the door and slammed it in my face. I leaned my forehead against it and howled with frustration. I heard her laughing all the way down the hall, the bitch.
Still I couldn't get rid of my idiotic grin. She loves me! …Of course she does, how could she not?
I jumped in the shower and sang my fuckin' heart out. I put on my clothes and thundered downstairs whistling. I stopped in my tracks, staring at the unexpected sight of my partner and Tifa having tea at the bar.
"Hey, Rude!" I cried, rushing up to give him a hearty whack on the shoulder. "How's it hangin', buddy?"
He gave me an enigmatic half-grin. "Afternoon. Enjoy your day off, partner?"
I smirked. "You know it! What's on the agenda today?"
He slid a small black lacquered box across the counter toward me.
"Dude, you're so thoughtful, but I don't wear jewelry." I popped open the box, already knowing from the size what it was. My brand-new shiny PHS waited inside. My face fell. "Man, not even a newer model…?" I fished out the small card and flipped it over:
Temper, temper.
Nice job.
—Tseng
I grinned and slipped phone and card in my pocket. "Thanks for covering for me, man," I said to Rude.
He shrugged and dropped some gil on the counter. "That's what partners are for. …Good to see you again," he said to Tifa.
I snapped my fingers and dug into my pocket, then passed over a significant chunk of change to Tifa. "Here, buy a new bed. Or fix the old one, I don't care. Thanks for letting her stay." I grinned at her widening eyes.
"Now we just gotta get you a girl," I said to Rude as we strolled out into the streets of Edge. For a city that had been under siege from a particularly nasty form of Bahamut, zombification of children, and silver-haired psychos two days ago, everything seemed run-of-the-mill. These people were used to soldiering on in the wake of disasters.
"Lotta women out there freed up, what with me off the market," I said. "Brokenhearted, in need of consoling, and all that shit. Ripe for the picking, my friend. Ripe for the picking."
"Can't wait," said Rude, dripping sarcasm.
I ignored him. I'm good at this—years of practice. Nothing's gonna get me down today! "Yep. Life is good."