Red Hot
Chapter 20
Opening: >Red Hot< (by Ellegarden)
"So… everything settled, then?" Reeve asked after they had talked about what they would need to do once they arrived at Midgar.
Reno nodded. If it were just for him, they wouldn't need to talk about that. He just wanted to get there and do his job. Nothing more. He wanted to return and know he had done what he should have done. And he also hoped that others would acknowledge his work. Naomi, for one… and maybe even Tifa.
He shook his head violently. Now, where had this thought come from? As if Tifa would acknowledge anything he did…
As if his thoughts had summoned her, she stepped into the room. Since she ignored him completely, he was able to look at her without risking that she might hit him for that. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that she actually wore his present. Why now? Why not earlier?
She looked really pretty, wearing grey baggy pants and a black v-neck shirt. It was hard for him to suppress a satisfied smile about the fact that he had picked a necklace that suited her perfectly and even fit her earrings.
"Is there something special you want to eat for lunch?" the brunette asked.
Reno's eyes went up to her face. He remembered that he had heard Tifa crying in her room. But there were no traces of tears on her face. Presumably, she'd taken a shower before she came downstairs. But her eyes still looked sad.
"Whatever you make is fine with me," Reeve replied.
The redhead tore his eyes away from Tifa and merely nodded. He didn't know why, but he got a little mad. Partly at himself. How could it be that he had never noticed before that the brunette was suffering? He should have seen when she had been crying after his inappropriate comment he had made in the kitchen a few days ago. Could it really be that he was just some ignorant and arrogant asshole? Was he really that… immature? Somehow, he really felt sorry for her. Maybe, Spikey needed a good lecture about how to treat a woman that loved him.
"Hey, Reno… you okay?" Reeve asked him.
"Huh?" He blinked. It seemed that he had been spacing out without noticing it. "Yeah… sure, I'm okay," he replied.
Thinking that Tifa had retreated to the kitchen, he looked up, just to see her still standing there. She had tilted her head to one side and looked at him. The look in her eyes was a mixture of worry and wonder, but he couldn't be too sure about it. Without saying anything, she smiled faintly at him before she turned around and left the room.
"Well… I'd say we leave right after lunch," Rude stated, looking after the brunette.
Reeve nodded and stood up. "I'll go get changed now. Be back in a bit." With that, he left the room to go upstairs. Rude and Vincent followed him shortly after, without saying anything. But presumably they'd get changed, too.
Now, Reno was sitting there by himself. Since just the four of them – Vincent, Reeve, Rude and himself – would go on this mission, Elena and Naomi were still upstairs. And Tifa was occupying the kitchen to make lunch. Staying there all alone, that would be bad, he thought, he would just get bored and he would muse about things he didn't really want to think about. So, what should he do now? Should he also go and get changed, like the others? He looked at his clothes. He was wearing his usual white shirt and Turk suit. This outfit would be as good as any other, so he decided to leave it.
Without really noticing what he was doing, and not even thinking about it, he stood up and went to the kitchen. He stopped at the door frame and leant against it, crossing his arms.
"Can I help you?"
Reno tilted his head. "Well…" He felt awkward. Maybe he should have stayed put, then he wouldn't have to face her now. But now it was too late. "No, thanks," he replied quietly. "Do you need any help?"
Tifa gave him an amused smile. "I didn't know you could cook."
The redhead raised an eyebrow. "There are many things you don't know about me."
Her smile faded immediately. "I know…" she sighed and turned back to her cooking. "Actually… I would be grateful if you could cut the leek."
Reno just nodded and stepped beside her, grabbing a knife, a dulcimer and the leek. As he started his work, he shot a sideways glance at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.
She tilted her head to one side, then nodded. "Yeah… I am… why does everyone ask me that?"
"Do they?" The redhead stopped his cutting for a moment to look at her. "I'm not sure why other people ask you this question, but I did because I want to know." He waited for a reply, but for some time, Tifa didn't say anything, she just looked at him, wide-eyed. "Well…" He shifted uncomfortably and diverted his eyes. "I heard you crying earlier… I didn't spy on you, it was just a coincidence! But I thought, maybe, you'd need someone to talk to…" Reno sighed. "I know, you don't like me and maybe I'm the wrong person… but… forget it…" Somehow, he felt stupid for saying something like this to her. They'd never got along too good… how could he expect her to spill out everything that was worrying her? And to him, of all people.
Tifa didn't know what to say. She'd never expected Reno of all people to be… nice, and even understanding, or something like that. She didn't know why he said this now. Maybe, he really felt concerned about her. Could it be that he really was different from what she thought about him?
For some time, neither of them spoke. They were both absorbed in their own thoughts, not knowing that those were quite similar.
"Well…" Reno finally said. "If you don't want to talk to me, it's okay…"
"That's not it," Tifa protested quietly. "I just didn't really expect you to be so sensible… I'm sorry."
The redhead furrowed his brows. "Maybe you could give me a chance to show you how sensible I really can be… sometimes." He grinned faintly. He knew he wasn't the first choice for other people if they needed someone to talk to – except Rude, maybe, but this was completely different – because no one thought that he would understand their problems in the least. But if they didn't try, they'd never find out, now, would they?
The brunette sighed. "Don't get me wrong… but I don't feel like talking about it at the moment…"
"That's okay…" Reno replied. "But… you know… if you ever need to…" Damn, this was difficult. He didn't want her to think of him as a mollycoddle or something like that. He was a Turk, after all. But in addition to that, he was still human. Though people who realized that were quite rare.
"Thanks…" was all Tifa said.
Hell… Reno thought. Cloud must have hurt her pretty much. Why else would she just refuse to talk about it? This guy would get his lecture… he didn't know when, or how, but he would get it. Reno would make sure of that.
