Reflections of Reno Chapter 12
A Free Man
By Christina Bruno
"It came on like a hurricane…
And it moved me like a slow dance…
It pushed me like a tailwind…
And it came in through the back door…
And I don't understand
Still I don't understand.
You're all that I could be
And I'm falling on my knees
Hurricane
You pulled me out of the past
And landed me in today…"
- Hurricane, Natalie Imbruglia
There was no sun to greet them that morning. Rolling clouds of solemn grey
shrouded the barer of that brilliant light. They burst with rain over the lush,
green landscape that led to Rocket Town. The beads of precipitation hit the
window softly, running down to the resting wind shield wipers. It hardly rained
near rocket town, but this was no ordinary day.
Reno lay in the driver's seat, he had pulled it back after driving it out of Mt. Nibel. He felt it was time to rest it had been to long without it, and even though he hated to admit it he had grown weary. Eventually he had fallen asleep in the process of contemplating all the confusion swirling around him. He was in a lax position; his legs spread wide with one hand making a rest for his head, and the other sprawled across his stomach.
Tifa was in the passenger's seat, curled up in a tight ball as she slept to keep herself warm. Her back was to Reno, a small smile was scribbled on her flawless visage. Her knees were curled up against her chest and her arms hung over them loosely. Her head softly stirred on the seat, as she continued to dream on. Reno adjusted his coat when it slid, he had slung it over her to decrease the chill. She snuggled under it and sighed softly.
Reno opened his eyes to see her lying besides him. If he was one to smile he would have as his hand reached out to touch the soft tresses of Tifa's hair. The sable silk slid in-between his fingers, and he noticed how her head of hair was all the same color: a girl who took pride in her natural state unlike others.
He let out a sigh as he felt a mist on his face from the pouring rain outside. The windows were cracked open to prevent their suffocation. He laughed to himself at the strange way someone quick-witted like he thought. He began thinking of the previous night. He couldn't believe how weak he'd appeared before her, but he'd been a lot weaker in front of her during the journey his mind rationalized. He hoped she'd forgotten what he had admitted to her, the last thing he wanted was anyone's pity…especially hers. Pity however didn't seem her style, he suspected she resented it almost as much as he did. They were both proud people, and her reaction to his emotional outburst had surprised him but not half as much as the depth of the impact it had on him.
Her response to him eased a burden that he had been carrying since he was 5 years old. Not even arrogant Reno, could not let that beutiful womans soft words console hims. And it was the truth. For the first time in his life, he truly appreciated a woman as a person. He never truly appreciated his mother, only looked down upon her. But Tifa had comforted him, and although he thought he would have hated it, a part of him enjoyed it...craved it. He wanted to express his gratitude, but it wasn't his style. Why wouldn't he swallow his fucking pride for just one single moment in time? The answer was easy....his goddamn ego.
Reno twisted a russet wisp over his forefinger tip and he pressed his thumb against it in an attempt to captivate its silky-smooth feel. It was as soft as her wet lips. The memory stirred his blood he had enjoyed the embrace they shared, and not just in the physical sense although he had to admit her tough was the most tender and soothing he'd ever experienced. He had responded to the warmth in her eyes and the gentle heat of her touch in the physical sense. He'd kissed her.
It was all he was capable of at the moment. And after, they held each other in silence for a short while....it was comfortable. Tifa retreated to slumber, while the electricity of the sudden burst of affection would not allow him to sleep. And so he drove, he drove out of the dreary and dark Mt. Nibel and stopped a few miles before Rocket Town. It was when the adrenaline rush had subsided, he was able to pull the drivers seat back and retreat to repose.
The former Turk opened the car door, letting silky raindrops spray his face. He recalled Tifa's response to him and almost felt liberated. Reno jumped out of the car hearing the mud splash beneath his feet. He slammed the door shut hard and he lifted his arms in air.
"Fuck you…dad." He whispered laying his head back, letting the water trickle down his face and pour into of his mouth. It saturated his spiky hair and his out-worn clothes.
"…No. Fuck you Vance. You are not my fucking father." He smirked to himself. Now on this rather gloomy morning, he had felt like a changed man thanks to her consolation. His father was the murderer, he was the scapegoat. His father used him to justify his guilt, just as Reno had used coldness and callousness to justify his. But the guilt was not totally gone and it would surely return…sooner than he'd hoped.
"…Reno," spoke the soft voice of she who had risen from her sleep. She stood in the rain as well, she had no care for catching a cold. The water christened her face like past tears she clutched his oversized coat around her shoulders awkwardly. She approached him with an odd sort of smile. She did not feel strange she had remembered everything that had happened the previous evening but she was waiting for his reaction. He was changeable but she hoped he wouldn't be with her. Her body couldn't resist coming up behind the enlightened fellow and wrapping her arms around him from the back. She lay her head on his back gently, she had found her own spot as she curled her body to mold his.
Shit… It was obvious that she hadn't forgotten last night. She was completely into him. But in a way, he was glad; he enjoyed his tenderness of her touch. He didn't know how to respond, he patted that hand of hers entwining her fingers with his clumsily. The one that was right on his chest near his heart. He didn't know what to say, it was time for them to part. However, Tifa was hardly thinking of parting, and something inside of him felt the same way.
"Wonder what the old man is going to say when he sees me?" He grinned. He felt his stomache drop as he felt Tifa take her hands away from him rather abruptly. He didn't understand what had happened? Had he angered her? It never seemed to bother her before. Did his cool response get the best of her this time? He didn't want to do anything to deter her.
Reno heard the sound of a gun's safety being snapped back. He felt its cool metal tip up against the back of his head, sliding over his scalp, and parking there.
"I don't think he's going to say anything." said a dark, cryptic and unfamiliar voice.
"What the fuck?!" He grit his teeth unable to move, he felt another gun against the small of his back. The rain continued to streak down over his body. He was enraged by the fact these people had managed to track him down after so long, wherever they were from.
Meanwhile, Tifa was wrestling with her own problems. One of them had grabbed her from behind, rapping his arms over her chest. She would not have it; she promptly flipped the culprit over. She looked down at him, tanned skin and Mako filled eyes, an ex-soldier no doubt. He was a stranger, but she hated him none the less.
"Who are you?" Tifa spoke as she clenched her fists looking down at the man. Her knees were bent, ready to stomp on his balls. He was face up, lying in the mud.
A woman with short, spiked black hair was clad in a suit and held two guys up to Reno: one up to his back, and the other to the back of his head. She grinned lightly to Tifa, the masculine woman was obviously envious of her strong and beautiful combination.
"Make another move and I'll shoot your little boyfriend's head off!" She scoffed looking at a bewildered Tifa.
Her boyfriend? Reno wasn't her boyfriend, was he? Somehow the words of the cocky bitch pleased her as they did Reno.
"Stop smiling and get on your knees!" said the Mako eyed man, as he sprung up. He quickly took a loaded gun from inside his suit jacket. A jacket that would be stained for eternity, Tifa's new trademark: first she shoved the chocolate cake in the hookers face, now she was tossing bounty hunters in the mud.
Reno didn't see Tifa smile, but he knew what she was smiling about. Goddamn it…the brat had him preoccupied even at gunpoint. He was planning on making a move when the callous bitch cried out.
"Make one fucking move, and he won't hesitate to kill her Turk."
The bitch kept the first gun positioned at the back of Reno's head while she reached for her hand cuffs. She took Reno's large hands and placed them in the cuffs tightly. Reno winced feeling the blood circulation cut off in his wrists.
"Damn you wanna loosen that you ugly bitch?!" Reno growled, he couldn't believe what was happening to him. He had been caught, by the Paramount or Dio's bounty hunters. He didn't want to go back to Corel, he was afraid that he would return to his old state. He didn't know what to do with himself. Both of them knew, they could get away by the other would be shot dead. And they didn't know it, but they were each sacrificing their freedoms for the other.
A steel black van pulled up, it looked like hell run over twice. Another bounty hunter was obviously driving the car, and the bitch tossed Reno in. There was one more in the back, it was an empty black space. He tied Reno's feet together and that was the end of that.
The Mako-eyed hunter was still with Tifa. He had hand cuffed her, as the bitch had done to Reno. He slapped her in the ass, hard. Tifa growled, how dare he offend her in such a way? She was no object. But there was nothing she could do, if she spit at him or if she tried to run, they would hurt Reno. And she actually cared.
He flung her into the truck. She didn't land gracefully like Reno, she landed on her face. She could feel the bruise form on her cheek bone. She'd had gotten worse, but she hated the way she had been treated. She would get even soon enough.
The Mako-eyed man and the bitch had hotwired Tifa's vehicle. The two others stood in the front in the van. Reno let out a sigh as the hunter turned the key to the ignition.
"Fucking dammit!" He growled slamming the back of his head against the shallow steal that was the van's perimeter. He couldn't believe this shit. If it wasn't Tifa he would have…
Tifa just watched him. She had been in such a position before, captured by the Shinra in Junon. But this was completely new to Reno, he was someone that hardly ever lost. But it seemed them more he was around her. The more he had become like her. The more they had become like eachother.
"Don't try any crazy shit. He wants you dead or alive."
"Whose he? That fuck Dio? Tell him to go get his bikini waxed!" Reno growled, and then he looked to Tifa. He saw the look on her face, and the bruise on her cheek. Rage began to eat away at him.
"Shh." She whispered, "It's going to be okay." She glanced up at him, she wanted to smile but she couldn't. Instead she scooted herself over with much effort and leaned her head on his shoulder. Perhaps this was the end.
"I said shut up Turk!" The driver growled.
"…That's…" He could bare to say it, but he knew it was the truth. That was what this sentimental had been about both he and Tifa had to face it. He leaned in closer to Tifa for support. And he spoke these words, accepting it:
"Ex-Turk."