jaded_grin | Episode 19

I apologize to you all for not being cognizant of my f-list! Today I start clearing Fort Hood and getting the fuck out of the Army, so I'm both majorly stoked and a little distracted right now--it's nothing personal. You know I love you all! Oh, and I've been working my booty off to make my Soap in Sims 2, so I got some prototype models to show you all. I filched Yazoo's from someone, can't remember who, and I like him, but Reno needs some work!

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19

“Hey? Weren’t you the girl who pulled a strip tease out on 5^th street last weekend?”

Yuffie spun around, wobbling drunkenly, one hand on Reeve’s shoulder to steady her.

“Who wants to know?” she demanded, and Genesis kept dancing, ignoring the whole thing.

“Just saw you and thought you was pretty cute,” the man said, clearly not the brightest bulb.

Yuffie glowered at him and Reeve tugged on her shirt, saying over the music, “Just ignore him, Yuffie, please? Okay?”

She pulled away and stood toe to toe with the much larger man, her face set in a stubborn pout as she said, “Oh yeah? Who do you think you are, talking to someone like me? Huh? You some kind of hotshot? You some drop-dead gorgeous man?”

Reeve flushed, for some reason taking her drunken “must” list personally. Not that he’d ever hoped…well, he’d hoped, but Yuffie had been studiously unresponsive. Maybe now he knew why—he was certainly no hotshot, and he was anything but drop-dead gorgeous, he was actually jus—

Yuffie suddenly stumbled back into him and Reeve caught her, aghast because that man had actually hit her!

Hit her!

“Now, that was just uncalled for!” Genesis cried, hands on hips. “Come here, dearest! Let’s leave this nasty place! The music is awful anyway.”

Yuffie bounced back and got in the man’s face, snarling, “That’s right, asshole! People like you can’t touch people like me unless it’s to hit them! So you just enjoy that, fucknut! You can jerk off to it when you get home!”

She flounced around in a huff, her gait dangerously unsteady, completely unknowing that the man’s face pulled into a fierce scowl and he lunged for her.

Reeve didn’t really think about what he was getting himself into, he just leapt in his path and swung his fist, gaping at it in stark shock when the man grunted and dropped to the ground, moaning. He’d never hit another person in his life! He couldn’t believe he’d done that!

“Hey! You can’t beat up on Edgar! Let’s get that fucker!”

Reeve quailed to see the entire left side of the bar get up, coming towards him with obvious menace.

“My hero!” Yuffie giggled, and slumped against Genesis, who hefted her bridal-style and said, “We’d best get out of here.”

Reeve swallowed hard and backed up a step, whispering, “That’s the best idea you’ve had all day long.”

Yazoo stared at the passing scenery with contented happiness. He’d never in his life ridden in the front seat of a vehicle, and it was heady to see so much of the city open up before him. He didn’t even pay attention to where Reno was driving them, he was too absorbed in watching the bustling metropolis pass him by.

“You like Wutai?” Reno asked, distracting him.

Yazoo glanced over, vaguely envious of the easy, relaxed way he handled the car and how confident he was with all of its mysterious indicators.

“As in food?”

“As in the place,” Reno said, and chuckled.

Yazoo shrugged a little and said, “I suppose so. I’ve never been. I don’t see why I wouldn’t.”

“Perfect,” Reno said, and pulled into a parking garage, leaving a pass in the windshield and fetching another ballcap from the backseat. He exchanged his sunglasses for it and grinned at Yazoo, asking, “Ready to go?”

Yazoo nodded, smiling and excited. Even just this much was fantastic! He’d never gone out without some sort of muscle watching over him, out to just stroll the streets and enjoy the fresh air. Even Rude, as beloved and as unobtrusive as he was, still was a reminder that Yazoo was always Mrs. ShinRa—never just Yazoo.

“Did you have something specific in mind?” Yazoo asked, nearly bubbling over with excitement. He couldn’t even put his finger on why he felt so happy, he just…did. Maybe it was the freedom he felt being away from Midgar, or maybe just the chance to see things as a normal person—either way, he felt almost ridiculously unfettered, and there was a bounce in his step as he walked alongside Reno, his delicate hand resting on the tiny purse slung diagonally across his body.

“Man, Cateyes, I always thought you were taller,” Reno teased, striding out into the strong sunlight and leading Yazoo down the sidewalk.

“It’s the heels,” Yazoo said, smiling at him. He always liked when Reno was playful instead of cutting, and hoped that things would not spiral down and end with the man making a sharp, snide remark to him. It had been known to happen.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Reno said, his grin widening.

They turned a corner onto a clogged street, people shouting and shoving and darting everywhere, busy as ants.

Startled, Yazoo scooted closer to Reno and didn’t resist when the man took his hand and held it with strong, warm fingers. There were people everywhere, and they all appeared to be Wutain.

“Welcome to Little Wutai,” Reno said, laughing at Yazoo’s shock. “Just relax, Cateyes, you’ll be okay. They got all kinds of shops and stuff around here, I thought you’d like to see a little something other than boring old Midgar.”

Delighted, Yazoo gazed around at the foreign architecture of the buildings, at the lovely people milling around everywhere—even in the streets themselves! The signs were all in Wutain, the shop doors were flung wide, there were even street vendors somehow able to do business in this anthill of activity.

Together, the two of them made their way down one side of the street, stopping to look in a few of the shops where Yazoo instantly fell in love with all of the gorgeous, exotic little statues and beautiful clothes. After a few hours he wasn’t even bothered by the impersonal press of bodies around him, and he dared to try his hand at haggling when Reno offered to translate for him.

As they were heading up the road for more browsing, they were caught in the middle of a street performance of a Dragon Dance. Yazoo was “kissed” by one of the accompanying Fu Lions, mostly because he and Reno had been on the curb at the time and were damned-near right in the middle the entire production. Yazoo was delighted to be singled out by the dog-like “lion” with its shaggy, wild red mane that looked a little like Reno’s hair. In fact, the lion loomed into Reno’s face and shook its head comically, much to the loud amusement of the bystanders. Reno shook his head back, grinning, and the lion danced off, twisting and leaping as the two acrobats within the costume flaunted their amazing skill.

“You having fun?” Reno asked, shouting over the loud crash of cymbals and the riotous music.

“The time of my life!” Yazoo called, and truly, truly meant it. He’d never had such an experience before, and he would always be grateful to Reno for giving him such a day to remember.

Through some interference on serendipity’s part, they managed to get out of the bar and out of the vicinity without any casualties…mainly due to Reeve tossing some cash down on the floor as a distraction. He thought that crap only happened in the movies, but he hadn’t hesitated when it had actually worked, and the two of them (plus one passed-out Princess) had made like little rabbits, scurrying for the safety of Anywhere Else.

Halfway down the road, Genesis gave out on him, half-dropping Yuffie and slumping against a conveniently placed light-pole to dramatically declare, “I can’t go on! I just can’t! Leave me here, save yourself! And my little Rose…”

Bewildered, Reeve glanced around but saw no imminent danger to them.

“Uhm, I think we all can make it,” he encouraged, and picked Yuffie up, slinging her onto his hip like a kid because, frankly, bridal-style sucked and was hell on his back. He pulled Genesis’s arm over his shoulder and put the man’s hand on Yuffie’s head, saying, “Let’s go, come on. I’ve got money enough for a cab.”

“You’re so kind,” Genesis wept, tearing up prettily, leaning on Reeve to steady himself. “What would we have done without you, Reeve?”

“Er…played checkers?” he offered, alluding to one of his more tame daydreams of life with Yuffie. He’d never imagined her to be such a party animal.

He wasn’t sure he liked that side of her.

“I beg your pardon?” Genesis asked, aghast. “Checkers? Oh, you silly man! You’re so adorable!”

Reeve glowered when Genesis ruffled his hair, but it wasn’t like it could get any messier, so he didn’t bother with it.

“I’m so tired!” Genesis declared, and Yuffie let out a soft snore, putting her two cents in.

Reeve frantically hailed a taxi, ready to call it a day and get some rest despite the fact that it was barely after one. This afternoon had been like a nightmare.

And he was pretty sure it wasn’t over yet.

After lunch they returned to the car and put away Yazoo’s purchases before Reno drove him around the city, pointing out sights that Yazoo had never seen so close—the magnificent bridges, the formidable and stately buildings, the parks and wharfs. There was so much to see that he was nearly overwhelmed by it, and Reno ruefully realized that he should’ve done this much sooner. Even knowing how shut away Yazoo was hadn’t make him understand the extent of his solitude, and seeing him laughing in delight at a horse-drawn carriage or pointing in excitement at a street-side art show made Reno a little pissed off with Rufus. It wasn’t that the man had ever forbidden Yazoo from taking trips or going places, it was that Yazoo had no one to go with and it never occurred to him to go alone. His friends would never have dreamed of imposing by asking him on a day-long trip, so he’d spent the vast majority of nine years in a very small, very exclusive part of Midgar.

Reno would’ve lost his fucking mind.

“Reno,” Yazoo said, and turned from the window to smile at him, a completely unselfconscious smile that lit his face up from within. “Thank you so much for today! I never knew a city could be so fun! Does Midgar have a Little Wutai?”

“Not the size of Kalm’s,” Reno said, switching lanes and heading for the nearby park. “And not nearly as fun, but there is one.”

“Oh,” Yazoo said, and seemed to deflate a little. “That’s too bad, I really liked it there.”

Reno glanced at him and teased, “You act like you’ll never see it again, Cateyes! I’ll take you whenever you want, baby, you just gotta ask.”

“Really?” Yazoo breathed, elated. “Thank you! I’d love to go back!”

“Well, right now, would you love to hit some baseballs?”

Yazoo cocked his head, questions in his big green eyes.

“There’s some batting cages at the park, I thought you might like to try it out,” he explained. “Great stress reliever, I go once a week.”

“Is it fun?” Yazoo asked, dubious.

“Yeah, of course!” Reno laughed, and pulled into the special parking space reserved for him. “Come on, let’s grab a cage!”

They finally made it back to Reeve’s place—the cozy little hotel room he rented by the month. He plopped Yuffie down on the bed and rubbed his head, wincing as a headache came to roaring life right in his temples.

Yuffie woke up then, bleary and giggly, yanking the exhausted Genesis down next to her so that the two of them utterly hogged Reeve’s rather small bed.

“You saved me!” she cried, and giggled again, clinging to Genesis when the man loudly echoed, “You saved me, too! Our hero!”

“Yeah, I guess,” Reeve muttered, wishing he had some aspirin. Clearly he could not expect to sleep in his own bed tonight, and that was the capper of a disappointing day.

“You okay, Reeve?” Yuffie asked, realizing through her drunkenness that he was anything but pleased.

“Fine, I just…my head is hurting,” he said. “I probably just need some water.”

Yuffie looked at Genesis.

Genesis smiled.

Very casually, he said, “I have something that’s good for headaches, Reeve, if you’d like one.”

Cautious, Reeve didn’t accept, just asked, “One what?”

“Just aspirin,” the man said, and smiled at him, all innocence. “It’s fine, I take it all of the time—it does wonders for my head when it hurts.”

Yuffie giggled again.

Sensing that all was not well but too tired out by his day and his headache to care, Reeve nodded a little and said, “Yeah, okay. If you think it will help…”

“Oh, darling,” Genesis purred, and fished out a small, metal pill-box from his flowing coat. He gave Reeve a wink and offered him a tiny, aspirin-looking pill, saying, “I think in your case, this will work miracles.”

Yazoo sat on the warm bench and soaked in the caressing sunlight, enjoying the sight of Reno swinging away at the baseballs shot at him by a tall and intimidating machine. Each one went flying straight back at it with a loud crack like a gunshot, the man’s body twisting gracefully with the force of his swing. He was panting from exertion, but it was too cool outside for him to break a sweat.

“You wanna give it a go?” Reno asked, eyes sparkling.

Feeling adventurous after his amazing day, Yazoo eagerly nodded and slipped into the cage with him while Reno fiddled with some controls to the pitching machine.

“Okay, I’m a lefty, but I’ll try to show you the other way,” Reno told him, handing him the bat. The wood was warm to the touch, smooth and polished from thousands of shaping hands.

Gingerly, Yazoo hefted it and took up a position as Reno instructed, nervous. The machine actually pitched them quite quickly, and he didn’t want to get beaten up by flying baseballs.

“Ready? Go for it!”

The ball came flying at him.

Yazoo yipped a little and averted his face, lifting the bat, the force of the baseball knocking it backwards and almost taking him with it. He laughed breathlessly, surprised but pleased that he’d managed to connect with the ball in the first place, even if it was by accident.

“You hit like a girl!” Reno teased. “Here, look, you gotta stand—no, here. Hang on.”

He moved up behind Yazoo and covered his hands on the bat, lifting it so that Yazoo had no choice but to follow.

“Crouch down a little,” Reno said, and Yazoo blushed because he was practically sitting on Reno, his own body flush against the other man’s so that he was acutely aware of his warmth and the ripple of muscle behind him. He’d had no idea that Reno was so fit, and it was quite shocking to be so close to him, especially in such a way.

Nestled one into the other like a pair of spoons, Yazoo realized with a start that he didn’t mind it.

Not at all.

“Would you relax? Come on, just trust me—we’ll sling it back so fast that net won’t know what hit it.”

Yazoo giggled a little and took a deep breath as the machine pitched another baseball.

He felt Reno tense a little behind him, felt his hands tighten just a bit, and suddenly the man moved in a flurry of lithe muscle, twisting with a soft sound of effort and taking Yazoo with him.

That loud, gunshot-crack sounded again and Yazoo laughed aloud to see the ball go smashing into the back net.

“Don’t get too cocky,” Reno teased. “You got five more balls to go.”

Just as he finished, the second ball came at them and Yazoo couldn’t stop laughing because if he did he’d think too much about the warm body at his back, about the strong chest against his shoulder-blades, about the lean, bunching muscle of the belly against his long spine, about the tight thighs supporting his or the strong arms around him.

“Hey, you’re making me do all the work here!” Reno laughed, shaking his arms a bit so that he shook Yazoo’s. “You awake? Swing with me, now—show that pitcher who’s boss.”

Yazoo concentrated and swung at the next with him, delighted when they hit it, though he knew it was Reno’s own coordination that made it possible. Yazoo had never been allowed to play sports for fear he would end up too masculine, so he knew his hand-eye coordination was not what it should be for this.

“You did great, Cateyes,” Reno praised once the last ball had been slammed back into the net. “You got quite an arm.”

He dropped his hands but stayed standing snugly against Yazoo’s back, tugging playfully on his jaunty ponytail.

“Don’t!” Yazoo cried, laughing and half turning, lifting the bat a little in threat.

Only, he was too close.

Far too close.

Yazoo blinked, freezing like a deer in headlights. Unconsciously, his full mouth parted just a little, his heart speeding up in his chest and threatening to deafen him because the man was just a scant inch away, so close that Yazoo could feel the warmth of his breath against his mouth.

In a split second thousands of thoughts tore through Yazoo’s mind—would Reno kiss him? Would he allow it? Was the man just playing with him? Was this just an unintentional situation or was Reno himself hoping for a kiss? Did the man even see him that way? Had he forgotten what Yazoo really was? Did he even care?

Did Yazoo have any of his lunch stuck in his teeth?

He nearly bolted, but Reno’s arm slid around him and he gently took the bat, that too-close mouth murmuring, “Never threaten a notorious mobster, Cateyes.”

“Entrepreneur,” he corrected, his voice weak. He wished and hoped and feared that it was going to happen, Reno was going to kiss him, and it made his knees threaten to buckle, made his pulse go crazy and his eyes grow cloudy.

Reno leaned closer…

…and turned away, slinging the bat up onto his shoulder as he said, “Come on, let’s get you home.”

Yazoo was too surprised and bewildered to move, he just stood rooted to the spot with his eyes huge and his hands trembling a little. A split second later he blushed, embarrassed and unable to hide it.

Had he done something wrong? No, he hadn’t done anything wrong except be born a boy, and he chided himself for his childish daydreams. It was just a crush, as Yuffie put it—he’d get over it. Of course Reno wasn’t interested in him like that, he’d never been more than a friend. The reason he could be so comfortable with Yazoo was because he didn’t think about him as a…a lover.

“You coming?” Reno asked, pausing at the cage door and looking back, his grin wide and easy.

Yazoo nodded a little and hurried after him, scolding himself for his silliness and trying to ignore the deep disappointment he felt.

Reno actually felt a little bad about it.

Yazoo was quiet on the way back to the airfield, and not even the helicopter ride home brought out the same level of awed excitement. He seemed worried about something and even a little sad, and Reno was pretty sure he knew why.

His plan today had been more successful than he’d dared hope, and he’d based it all on one thing he’d noticed about him—Rufus gave him diamonds when all Yazoo wanted was pearls.

It was a weird thing to notice, but it made sense, and Reno’s plan played right off of that. Yazoo had fancy restaurants to go to, attended gala events, was able to rub elbows with the upper crust and laugh with the best of them. But no one had ever taken him to eat Spicy Chocobo and broccoli in Little Wutai, no one had gone with him out on the streets where regular people were too busy doing their business to either know or care that a celebrity was in their midst. He had all the diamonds he wanted back home, so Reno offered him pearls—a day of regular fun, no stress and no worries, something so common that a common person wouldn’t even call it a date, just a day out. But it meant something to Yazoo, and that was what he’d hoped for.

Had he been anybody else, Reno would’ve kissed him at the batting cages, but Yazoo wasn’t just anybody. He wanted to make good memories for him, because when it all fell apart then he would have something to remember and look back on…no matter how much he might hate Reno then.

“You doing okay?” he asked, riding in the back seat of the car on the trip back to Yazoo’s house. They were back on normal terms again, back on their home turf, and Reno could feel the change in Yazoo from carefree to restrained.

“I’m fine,” Yazoo quietly answered, and smiled a little at him. “I’m just…I’m silly sometimes.”

Reno smiled at him and said, “I don’t think you’re silly.”

“You would if you could read my thoughts,” Yazoo said, and tried to make it sound light, but it didn’t. He looked back out of the window and seemed diminished somehow, smaller.

They arrived at the ShinRa residence and the guard riding shotgun got out to collect Yazoo’s many purchases.

Yazoo started to get out but stopped with the door open, saying with a little laugh, “Oh! I almost forgot! Your cap!”

Reno stayed his busy hands and said, “You keep it, Cateyes.”

Yazoo gave him a questioning look, pausing.

Reno chucked him under the chin and laughed, “I know it ain’t diamonds, but I love that cap to pieces, so take care of it for me.”

“I will,” Yazoo said, and blushed, pleased. “I don’t really care for diamonds anyway.”

“Pearls,” Reno said, and smiled when Yazoo started. “Everything in that suite of yours is either pearlescent or draped with pearls, Yazoo.”

“I didn’t think anyone noticed,” he answered, reluctant to get out of the car.

Reno kept his fingers crossed that he was playing his cards right, and gently said, “I notice everything about you, Cateyes, I always have…”

Yazoo bit his lip to keep from smiling, but couldn’t hide it when Reno kissed his hand—a standard gesture somehow changed from what it had been. Reno let his lips linger on Yazoo’s skin, holding his fingers tight and feeling them squeeze back ever so slightly. Lifting his eyes, he said, “Let me take you to dinner tomorrow. We’ll make sure nobody bugs us.”

Unable to reply, Yazoo simply nodded, lingering, a questioning air about him.

“I wanted to, Cateyes,” Reno said, startling him.

Yazoo looked at him in bewilderment, cocking his head so that part of his ponytail brushed over his shoulder.

“Back at the cages,” Reno clarified, and smiled softly when Yazoo blushed.

Nothing more really needed to be said.

Yazoo got out, letting Reno lead him to the door in silence. Once the guard had put his packages inside and retreated back to the car, Yazoo said a quiet goodbye and closed the door.

But from the pink in his cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes, it was just a matter of time.

Reno lit a cigarette and loped back to the car, smugly assured of his own success.

Yazoo