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The Aethereality of You	By : RandiLynne Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female Views: 943 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
Precisely when she thought sleep
might take her and relieve her of the awful tugging at her mind, a clattering
came outside the window. Lids sprang open, burgundy peering into the darkness
of her room. A quick glance toward the window provided no comfort, and so she
moved from the bed and peeked just over the sill into the streets bathed in
moonlight. Not a soul occupied the space which she could see, but she was not
content to assume that no one had been responsible for the noise that so rudely
stole her one chance at sleep. It seemed her decision would have to be made,
after all.
Tifa shivered in the coolness of
the room, surprised at the change in temperature from the time she�d climbed in
bed to the present. She reached across the dresser for a sweater strewn across
the wooden surface and pulled the garment toward her, while the note card
fluttered to the floor disturbed by the movement. All but glaring at the frail
piece of paper, she pulled the plush sweater on and bent down to pluck the card
from the floor. Again, she observed the writing that slanted across the face.
The idea of meeting Reno
in the middle of the night seemed rather alluring, and she hated herself for
thinking so. A true battle of morals would be necessary in the morning, but for
now, whether by lack of sleep or abundance of curiosity, she wanted to go to
him.
Rather than wake the house by
finding the cordless from the office, Tifa used her wireless phone to dial the
number on the card. At the sound of the first ring, she considered hanging up.
The second ring caused her to bite her lip in anticipation. On the third, she
nearly found herself begging Gaia to make him pick up. The fourth began, but
was interrupted.
�Hello?� The soft sound of his confident voice choked her up, as if
she had suddenly forgotten how to speak.
Daggers pierced her larynx, but
she managed a muffled �Reno?�
�You got it. And I don�t suppose this is Tifa?� he said, and she
could hear his grin.
�I� where, exactly, did you want
me to meet you?� she asked, glancing at the note where only the number and a
simple, �If you haven�t forgotten�
stared back at her.
�The memorial,� he inserted. It all made sense now. How easily he
played with words! A double meaning sat in the text of his note. If you haven�t
forgotten pointed clearly to what happened between them, but also pointed to
the memorial. She thought he might have hidden his intentions incase someone
happened to find the note. The affair seemed forbidden and exhilarating, as it
had so long ago in the darkened alley.
�Just wanted to be sure,� she
laughed nervously, covering her lapse of intelligence.
�Ya never know when it comes to me,� he joked, though she could hear
the tones of half-hearted seriousness. Unpredictable was a gross understatement
when it came to Reno.
�Well, should I leave now?� she
asked, feeling the butterflies agitate in her stomach.
�You should,� he replied, the grin more evident in his speech.
Tifa nearly called it off, but
instead said, �See you in a few.�
The phone disengaged when he hung
up on the other end, and she set it on the dresser. The lamp at the edge
provided little light, but she was too nervous to switch on the ceiling light.
Rather than take the time to redress in her usual attire, Tifa pulled a pair of
black velour pants on and tied them at the waist. The legs were far too large
for her slender limbs, but the comfort was unrivaled by anything else in her
closet. Besides, she wasn�t going to make it look as if she�d spent hours
getting ready to see him. The charcoal v-neck sweater matched well enough, and
so she left it on over the white tank she�d worn to bed. A glance in the mirror
endorsed her suspicions that her hair was disheveled, but she only felt the
need to tuck it hastily behind her ears before clicking off the lamp.
Sneaking past Cloud�s door made
her nerves flare until she thought she might freeze in her steps. Of course,
she had fully prepared herself an excuse as to why she was loitering in the
halls at such an hour. But if Cloud knew what she suspected he knew� such an excuse
would only bring more suspicion. The idea that she would go to one of his
former enemies for what he could not provide her would surely drive him insane,
and she almost found pleasure in that thought. Almost.
Carefully guided steps took her
down the stairs with little but a squeak from a loose board. She let out a
breath she�d been holding for some time upon reaching the landing. For a
moment, she imagined a light clicking on from the living room and Cloud sitting
in the recliner with a distasteful look upon his face, like a father watching
his daughter sneak out. What was she thinking?
Everyone must have decided to
sleep in the living room or upstairs, as she found no sleeping bodies strewn
around the main room of the bar. A fact she was grateful for. Once outside the
doors of Seventh Heaven, she was glad she�d chosen to wear the sweater. The
chilled night air nipped at her skin, while the silence tore apart her resolve.
The quiet times were worst. If there happened to be noise, she would focus on
that noise and find things to occupy her mind. Without such a distraction, she
found only thoughts of what waited for her at the memorial.
The duration of her walk went
unabated by any nonsense. Though the streets were scarcely lit by the moon, she
found a certain ease in the pale beauty of the ruins. Only when she spotted the
orange glow near the memorial did she realize she�d arrived. The orange grew
brighter, and then sank low just feet from the ground. Tifa bit her lip, unsure
of the source. Suddenly, the glow fell to the ground and lessened until she
could barely see the faint outline. Only the night could be guilty of such
trickery.
She swallowed a knot in her throat
and picked up her steps until she neared the memorial. There was no sight of
her late night caller, but she searched the premises anyhow. Just when she was
about to settle in and wait, she caught sight of the glow that had distracted
her earlier. She knelt and found the butt of a cigarette, while her stomach
cart wheeled. Her assessment was clearly flawed. He was here, but why had he
left?
Tifa stood full height, peering
into the night sky for a moment. The same grey clouds covered the expanse,
veiling the stars in mystery. Edge was always gloomy, but in a way, she liked
that. Amid her distraction, she hadn�t noticed the proximity at which Reno was able to
approach. For the second time that evening, she nearly fled her skin when his
arms encircled her from behind. Before she could react, he spun her until the
breadth of a needle separated their lips. A startled gasp betrayed her, and he
only smirked while she sunk into his embrace.
�You�re crazy,� she said.
�On a good day,� he pompously
stated.
As if teasing her, he suddenly
withdrew and circled her form. She watched him, fascinated by the way he moved
with such strange grace. Grace was perhaps the incorrect word, but she was too
concerned with him to reason with vocabulary.
�What�s this all about, Reno?� she asked, curious
once more.
�You and I,� he said rather
plainly.
�And what about us?� she carried
on, watching while he paused to stare lewdly at her.
�Unfinished business�� he trailed
off, lazily sauntering to his original position.
Tifa could feel the fall of each
breath he exhaled, the taint of vodka still present. The discomfort she had felt
earlier morphed into an atypical form of desire and fear. Such a cocktail of
emotions, so complex she could not create a word to describe what she felt.
Perhaps he evoked such odd feelings because he was the epitome of odd.
�What unfinished business might
that be?� she asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.
Reno did not answer the question with words,
but merely brought soft lips to rest against hers. The sensation was familiar
and warm, not unlike what Tifa remembered of the night in the alley. Though
every ounce of his outward appearance signaled masculinity, he was surprisingly
gentle in his current affections. The ferocity that attacked her the night in
the alley must have been dormant beneath this kiss of his, waiting for her
reaction to gauge the next step.
Beneath the reality of the
situation, she couldn�t help but return his kiss with avidity. To say they had
little chemistry would be to say the ocean had little water. As much as she
disliked the passion he ignited within her, she couldn�t help but succumb to it
until she realized his hand resting much too low on her physique.
She broke the connection of their
lips; �If you think I�m that easy��
she began to say.
�Who said that?� he replied,
staring into her eyes without a lick of guilt.
�Your hand�� she allowed irises to
drop, glancing down in the direction his hand was before rising to meet his
eyes.
�I wasn�t aware it could speak.�
Though the sentence was mildly comical, his face remained void of expression,
save for the ever present smirk.
She had to resist the urge to
laugh at the ridiculousness of his comment. He had to have known what she was
referring to, but apparently he was better suited for playing games. Despite
her verbal disinclination, his hand still rested firmly upon the curve of her
derri�re and she voiced her
thought, �You�re impossible.�
�Crazy and impossible� what a
combination,� he boasted, nearly lifting her from her feet when he increased
the pressure at which he groped her rear.
A feminine squeak escaped her, �Reno!� she cried.
Reno looked absolutely guiltless when he
moved away from her and seated himself half-sideways on the memorial. A gurgled
rumble of thunder called in the distance, and she felt a slight inkling of d�j�
vu. Each of their interactions took place beneath a storm ridden sky and for a
moment, she pondered the significance of this fact. She brought herself to sit
beside him, gazing at him with glossy eyes.
�I still don�t understand why
you�ve called me here,� she said, her voice low and discreet.
�To give you these,� he said
nonchalantly, producing two small blooms tied by a light orange ribbon. The
offering was held in her direction, and she examined the flowers before
accepting them.
�I wouldn�t have thought of you as
the type to give flowers,� she said blithely. The thought was amusing, to say
the least. Reno and flowers?
�You once said I was
unpredictable,� he replied. She recalled that battle vaguely, where she missed
him with a series of punches and bitterly told him he was unpredictable in many
words.
�So I did,� she paused, looking
over the flowers once again. One she recognized as an apricot blossom, the
other she guessed to be a tuberose. An odd combination, perhaps signifying the
odd combination he himself was. She never was any good at remembering the
meaning of flowers, but she noted that looking these two up might prove worth
while. If he brought her here to give them up, they might carry some hidden
meaning. She gazed up at him, �Thank you.� A smile formed, but beneath the
kindness she couldn�t help but feel a pang of regret. Here she was being swept
away in all his charm and egotism, while her heart was supposed to lay
elsewhere. She should have been angry with him over the past, but was digging
up the past really that great of an idea?
�What�?� he asked, obviously keen
to the fact that she was zoning out.
�It�s nothing, I just�� she began,
but paused to take a deep breath. �I�m really just a bit confused� for lack of
a better word,� she said exasperatedly, holding out her thumb and index finger
to signify the word �bit.� Her eyes were on him, studying his passive
expression.
�About what,
babe?� he grinned, leaning backward and countering with his legs. This
conversation was going places he�d rather not go, but he was in pursuit of
something specific, and enduring such nonsense might prove necessary.
�A lot of things, actually.
Starting with why you didn�t kill me all those years ago. You had orders to at
least apprehend me, that much I know. Yet you kissed
me and ran off� Not to mention the damage you�re responsible for� you�� she
choked on a lump forming in her throat. She simply could not avoid what had
been lying beneath her conscious for so long. She had wanted answers for some
time now, even if it meant scaring him off for good. She bit her lip and shied
away, gazing at the flowers.
Reno felt the involuntary urge to roll his
eyes, disapproving of the drama. However, he made no outward gesture of his
discomfort, and simply opted for honesty. Perhaps it would persuade her to let
the past be the past. �I had orders� but I didn�t feel your death was
necessary. And look how everything turned out, I was right,� he said with a
grand gesture.
�Oh, so you decide who lives and
who dies?� she questioned bitterly.
�Don�t read into it, Lockhart. I
didn�t want to kill you, so I kissed you instead. No one, aside from Cid, knows
anything of it. And he doesn�t know the specifics. Fuck, Tifa�� he began, but
was interrupted quickly.
�Why did you kiss me?� she asked,
losing the fiery attitude that had fueled her moments ago.
�Because I
couldn�t not kiss you,� he answered vaguely.
�Why?� she proceeded.
He stole the flowers from her
hand, bringing the petals to brush daintily against her cheek. So the reasoning does lie in the meaning of
the flowers! Tifa thought as the petals swept across her lips and tickled
her nose. A shiver caressed her spine, the seduction of the flowers working
over her vulnerable mind. How did she allow herself to become so vulnerable in
his presence?
Quite flustered with the pleasure
he provoked via simple flowers, Tifa grabbed at his wrist to end the torment.
�Stop�� she pleaded.
�Let go�� he shot back. She wasn�t
sure if he was referring to her wrist, or to the walls she�d built around her
emotions. She let his wrist free, bringing her hand to caress his cheek.
The touch had obviously
intoxicated him, since his eyes slipped shut until she moved her hand away. She
found herself lost in aquamarine when he finally did look at her again. She
wondered why his eyes had to be so perfectly alluring. This whole affair was
getting out of hand. She had figured, after calming her curiosity, she would
simply get him off her mind. How hard could it possibly be to forget about the
person who destroyed your home and killed your friends?
Apparently, quite
difficult when that person happened to be Reno.
Besides, logic would prove his case. Many people did things in order to ensure
their survival. She herself was guilty of hurting others to keep life moving.
Everyone had skeletons, and his were arguably no worse than anyone else�s. If
Cloud could hear this string of reason, he�d surely tell her she was too
forgiving.
Lost in her reverie, she barely
noticed when he began to kiss her again. The affection hit her in a delayed
fashion, but when she took notice, she stiffened beneath his touch. The flowers
were again tormenting her, brushing against her neck where her hair had
abandoned her skin. They must train in
seduction over at Shin-Ra, she mused. Although she was quite hesitant to
kiss him, he coaxed her slowly into an impassioned kiss.
Though her heart beat rapidly, crashing
in her ears, and she truly felt that she could get used to feeling him this
way, she reluctantly broke the kiss. If he had wanted her to stick around for
any period of time, he shouldn�t have inflamed her curiosity with these damned
flowers. She was dying to know what they meant, but decidedly to shy to ask
him. And what if he didn�t have any clue what they meant?
Reno was looking at her rather curiously when
she pulled from her thoughts. An excuse had to be thought up quickly, �Reno� I need to get
back.�
�Damn�� he managed, feeling rather
disappointed while he watched her gingerly take the blooms from his hand.
�I need to figure things out,� she
said. Not so much an excuse as it was the truth.
Women. They frustrated him to the
point where he sometimes thought of becoming chaste. Then again� �And you have to do
that right this second?� he asked. Tifa would be far more difficult than he had
previously assumed. Based on the night in the alley, he thought she might
simply fall into his affections. However, she was strong in mind and nature. He
had known that, but had hoped to overcome it.
�Well� yes.� Because if I don�t, I�ll do something I regret.
�Then how about this,� he paused,
glancing her over. �Let me take you out on Friday night��
She was undecided for a time,
narrowing her eyes and watching his expression. But what could it hurt to allow
him to take her out, even if it was the busiest night for her bar. �Friday night, hm? Maybe�� she
went for the game he had played on her.
He recognized this little front,
but he wouldn�t be cooking for this date. �Maybe? I
can�t say that I�ll cook, but damn� I�ll make it worth while,� he persuaded.
�You know where to find me,� she
mimicked, standing to walk away.
Just as she turned, he deftly wove
his fingers through hers and pressed his form against hers from behind. He
sampled the faint scent of roses and amber on her neck, before placing
delectable kisses against the soft flesh. She exhaled a timid sigh, turning to
avoid his pleading and bringing her eyes to his.
�You could say good-bye,� he
mumbled, bringing his lips close to hers.
She had avoided the good-bye
purposefully, but he clearly was not about to release her until she satisfied
him. She swallowed her fears and channeled mock boldness by pressing a fierce
kiss against his lips. The action sent waves down her body, radiating at one
core spot as she assumed he would feel the same. The desperation in their
actions over the course of what seemed only minutes brought her second thoughts
about leaving, but this was precisely what she was avoiding. Being with him
only drew her further down a path she wasn�t sure she was willing to take.
This time, he broke the kiss and
gave her a signature smile before turning and fading into the darkness. It was
like watching him leave the alley all over again. He always managed the leave
her breathless every time she�d encountered him. She vowed to turn the tables
the next time around.
The journey home proved uneventful,
the flowers twirling in her fingers all the while. Making it through the door
unheard was simple, but once inside her home, she felt the urge to simply crash
on the couch where she could explain she found a spider in her bed and couldn�t
sleep after that. Cloud would buy that�
she thought. However, the flowers would not be well hidden downstairs unless she risked ruining them.
She snuck across the wooden floor,
peeking up the stairway before actually stepping onto the first step.
Carefully, she ascended the stairs and was sure to avoid the loose board she�d
found on her way out. The stairs were cooperative, and she found the landing
without a hitch.
Suddenly, she heard a noise from
the direction of Cloud�s room. This concerned her beyond reason, and her heart
again crashed in her ears while her stomach knotted. Her ears rang as she
silently dashed for her room. The door was within reach when a light clicked on
somewhere in the hall. With her best effort to remain stealth, she opened her
door, rushed inside and quietly closed the door. Her weight rested back against
the door and she stilled her breathing to listen for noise in the hall. The
distinct sound of a door closing echoed down the hall, followed by the lid of the
toilet plunking against the porcelain of the tank. She had scraped by
unnoticed, and the realization elated her.
In the morning, she would go to the florist in town and find out the subtext behind this little gift of his. Or perhaps she would look through books at the library? Either way, she was going to get to the bottom of this little game.
Just what is Reno
trying to tell me?
--------------------
There we have chapter five of The Aethereality
of You. If you�re curious, you can always look up the flower meanings. But
if you aren�t sure what they happen to mean, you could wait and see in chapter six :D The interpretation will be a little different from
the web explanation. I do hope you have enjoyed this piece. Please remember to
review, as I highly appreciate that!
Also, if you haven�t noticed, I�m
trying a different take on Reno
and Tifa. Reno
is slightly more charming and smart than he appeared in AC. I think it�s rather
fitting. Tifa is curious and confused, perhaps resentful of the fact that she
is so pulled to Reno.
She is also quite worried about what everyone might think.
- 3
- 4
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The Aethereality of You