Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Review Replies

Guest : Oh lovely guest, thank you! I can imagine Reno gets up to all sorts of hijinks when he's bored baha! I'm glad their connection is enjoyable for you to read :)

starrienight : I have also heard that about labels! But I figured the sexually frustrated one would be more to Reno's advantage here xD I agree that tattoos are most definitely better, mine certainly make me feel better about myself ;) Maybe Tifa can convince Reno to get tattoos in future!

Chapter 18 : Party Tricks and Pizza Slices

They sat together on the couch, swapping party tricks and weird facts about each other for what seemed like hours. Tifa taught Reno how to open a bottle with almost any solid object, which she instantly regretted when they ended up with five opened beers in front of them on the table, which Reno insisted was a waste if they didn't drink them. He proceeded to drink four of them before he could convince Tifa that one wouldn't hurt. Tifa showed Reno how make an origami frog that actually hopped, and Reno showed Tifa how to turn a 5 Gil note into a ring. Tifa tried to teach Reno how to whistle loudly, but he insisted his tongue piercing was the reason he couldn't get the hang of it. He did however prove to her that he could roll his tongue, fold it into the shape of a three leaf clover, and touch the tip of his nose with it. Tifa had to look away as she blushed and Reno couldn't help but laugh at her. At one point, he disappeared and came back with a 1 Gil coin and tried to convince her to try rolling it down her face before she reminded him that she had lived with Marlene long enough to know about that prank. That didn't stop Reno from trying to roll it down her face anyway, and she whacked him with a cushion to get him to stop.

"What did I tell you about this pillow fight, Lockhart? You won't win if you start it. And if you do, I'm gonna have to insist we fight like men."

"What does that even mean?"

"Y'know, stripped to the waist. Ow!" Reno faked injury as she whacked him again.

"Nice try, pervert."

"I would get a better look at that tattoo, too."

"What?! When did you...?" She remembered him telling her that he'd had to help her undress. She blushed furiously and was about to whack him again for good measure when her stomach growled loudly. Reno stared at her, blinking in confusion before he hopped up off the couch.

"Oh yeah! Food. You reckon you can stomach anything, Lightweight?"

"Hey! I did alright. And yeah, I'm actually starving." Tifa clutched her stomach, thankful for Reno's short attention span and therefore a change of topic as he looked down at her.

"I don't have much. Didn't plan on company this weekend. Pizza?" He tilted his head slightly as he asked and Tifa could feel herself salivating.

"Yes. Pizza."

"Alright! Two pizzas comin' up!"

"Two?"

"Whataver you don't manage, I'll put away just fine, yo." He assured her as he headed into the kitchen and popped the oven on before rummaging around in the freezer. Tifa had no doubt that he probably ate an absolute ton but never gained a pound. She silently cursed him before noticing that she was getting cold. She grabbed one of the blankets thrown over the back of the couch, tucking it around herself before settling back with her single beer in her lap. She had been nursing it slowly to stop Reno from getting her another one. He was on beer number 6.

"Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"It's, uh..." She heard him shuffling around the kitchen as he looked for his PHS. He flicked it open. "It's 6.30pm."

"What?! No wonder I'm hungry!" Tifa stared over the couch at him in disbelief. Where the hell has the day disappeared to? Tifa couldn't believe how fast time has flown by in Reno's company. The ex-Turk shrugged as he pulled the pizzas out of their boxes and popped them into the oven. He grabbed another two beers on his way back to the couch. Tifa realised he must have restocked the fridge at some point since they had made a pretty resizable dent in the alcohol last night. "Where did you get more beer?"

"The garage. It's attached to the cabin at the back of the spare room. Got water and some food in there too. Emergency stuff."

"Beer is included in your emergency supplies?"

"Like you even have to ask."

"Good point."

They sipped on their drinks as they waited for the pizzas to cook. Reno obviously wasn't good at waiting, and insisted on dragging the lamp over and tilted it over on the table so he could make shadow animal shapes on the wall with his hands. Tifa found herself laughing often as he tried to impress her with truly shoddy shapes until she showed him up with a rather impressive Chocobo shadow. Reno made a quip about he she had obviously studied a certain Chocobo head in great detail, and she resorted to whacking him with the cushion again. He was just about to retaliate when the timer he'd set on the oven when off.

"You got off lucky this time, Lockhart." He chuckled as he pointed at her in a mock threat. Clambering over the back of the couch, he dashed off to the kitchen. Tifa wondered if he ever got off the couch the same way twice in a row. It wasn't long before he came back to stand at the side of the couch with a pizza balanced in each hand. Tifa cleared some of his empty beer bottles off the table and he put the pizzas down, perching on the edge of the couch as he helped himself to two slices. Both were pepperoni, you couldn't argue with the classics. Tifa helped herself to a single slice and settled back against the arm of the chair, draped in the blanket, and gingerly nibbled the end of the hot food. Reno didn't seem to notice the temperature, tearing ridiculously large mouthfuls off either slice in tandem. Tifa watched him in amazement. By the time she'd finished her first slice, Reno had put away four slices and had numbers 5 and 6 in his hands. She reached for another slice slowly.

"You're not gonna try and eat my hand if I try and take a slice are you?" She teased, raising an eyebrow. Reno gave her a mock glare, attempting to spit out a witty comeback that just came out as a series of noises since his mouth was stuffed full. Tifa rolled her eyes with a grin and sat back to eat her second slice. After Reno had finished off a whole pizza to himself in record time, he drained another of his beers before dragging his forearm across his mouth to wipe off any food or booze. A pointless exercise, since he picked up another slice straight after. He could feel Tifa staring at him as he leant forward, mouth open ready to take a bite. He closed his mouth and looked at her.

"What?"

"You are something else, Reno." Tifa couldn't help but laugh as she took a third slice. She had a pretty sizable appetite herself, but she generally took time to enjoy her food. Her stomach wasn't completely recovered form the previous night's hurried emptying either. But Reno was putting away the food so fast she wasn't even sure he knew how it tasted. He just shrugged at her before demolishing the slice in his hand. After yet another slice, Reno finally settled back against the couch, a fresh beer in his hand as he patted his stomach contentedly with a satisfied sigh. Tifa managed a fourth slice and called it quits, still nursing the first beer Reno had forced upon her. They sat in a contented silence for a while, Reno's head tilted back against the headrest and his eyes closed, only moving to take a swig of his beer now and again. Tifa finished hers off and placed it on the table gently. Reno lifted his head and opened his eyes as she did, looking at her and waving his bottle at her in suggestion. Tifa bit her bottom lip.

"Another?"

"I'm not sure."

"S'up to you. I ain't gonna force ya." Reno shrugged, draining his bottle and sliding off the couch to go back to the kitchen, lifting the remnants of pizza and putting it on the kitchen counter. Tifa looked at the pile of bottles that was covering Reno's half of the table and then back at her measly single empty. She hoped she didn't regret it as she called through to him to bring her another. He appeared back on the couch with a grin and two ice cold bottles in his hand. Popping them open with one of the empties, he handed her one.

"How can you have drank that many and not even be slightly staggering?" Tifa questioned, taking a tentative sip. She couldn't believe she was still enjoying the taste despite the night before. Reno looked at his empty pile and shrugged again.

"High tolerance I guess. When I can't sleep, I drink. And that's a lot." He explained. Tifa watched him for a moment before a shudder went through her. She realised the room was actually pretty cold, so she snuggled down under the blanket a bit more. Reno noticed. "Ya cold?"

"A little." She admitted. Reno pulled himself back off the couch and went to the fire, preparing the pile and the kindling before lighting it a lot quicker than she had managed the night before. As the larger logs started to catch, he got to his feet and headed back to sit beside her. As he flopped back, he extended his arm along the back of the couch, tilting his head with a lopsided grin.

"Should heat up soon. I guess I'm gettin' used to the cold here."

"Thanks."

"S'fine. I was gonna offer to warm you up myself but I've had enough cushions-to-the-face in the past 24 hours." His smile widened to a grin. Tifa shot him a mock annoyed look. He took a sip of his drink before he crossed his legs, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. "So. We've eaten, swapped awesome party tricks, and proved that I'm awesome at shadow puppets..." He trailed off. Tifa let out a bark of laughter.

"You mean you've shown that you have no idea what most animals actually look like."

"Hey, I like to add my own spin to things." He defended, sticking his tongue out at her. Tifa rolled her eyes at him. "So. Do I get to catch up on questions?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"The nature of said questions. I'm not drunk this time so less likey to answer whatever your gutter-bound mind comes up with." Tifa reminded him. It was Reno's turn to roll his eyes.

"Fine, I'll try ta keep them clean, and you don't hafta answer them all. I'll ask away and you can tell me to fuck off if it gets too personal. Which it probably will." He pointed at her with the hand that still held his bottle. "First one. When the hell did you loosen up so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been in my presence for over 24 hours now and save for the cushion attacks, one flirty kiddy hit and an actual slap to the face, you haven't tried to kill me or dig your way out with your bare hands. Why?" Tifa's eyes widened halfway through his observation.

"Oh gods, I forgot that I had slapped you."

"Probably deserved it."

"Probably. But still. Sorry."

"See, that. Apologising for hitting me when I was bein' an asshole. Why?"

"Should I not apologise?"

"I don't claim to have known you well before, Lockhart, but I know for a fact you would never have apologised to me before. Not even for this." He tapped his stomach over his t-shirt. He could have sworn Tifa winced slightly.

"I don't know. I guess it's because you helped me out, even when you realised who I was. The fact that you actually invited me into your home too. That's something you would never have done either."

"Ya got a point there."

"Yeah. I just... I dunno. I just wanna try living like a normal girl my age for a while, not the martial artist who was one of the saviours of the Planet." She answered, looking down as she picked at the label of her beer, no hint of smugness in her voice at her own labels. Reno tilted his head back against the couch again, staring at the ceiling.

"Guess we both had a good few crazy years with not much normality. Whatever the fuck that is anyway." Reno mused, taking a long slow drink. "Okay, next question. Yer probably not gonna answer this one..."

AN: Sometimes, I find myself sharing things about myself I would maybe even hesitate telling my best friends about when I'm chatting to people who don't know me well enough to judge or be biased. So I'm gonna say Tifa does too, in this situation. Also, all party tricks mentioned are from my arsenal, except the whistling and the shadow puppets. I do blame my piercing for not being able to whistle properly!

Coming next, the explanation as to why Reno left Edge!

Also, massive thanks to my new followers and my amazing reviewers! Reading that people are enjoying my little rambles is such an amazing feeling! I'm going to try and draw some fan art to go along with this fic if I can get the hang of my tablet again. I may have to go old school pencil and paper!