Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Guardian ❯ Chapter 7

“Guardian”

Chapter 7

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*Disclaimer: The world that this story is set in and all characters therein belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can't get enough of this world and the characters.*

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Reno struggled through the fog that seemed to weigh him down. He heard people talking and he felt the needle pierce his skin for the second time. He had no way of knowing how much time had passed since the last injection or how long he'd been aware of his surroundings. Time was a vague concept to him. He wasn't even sure of who he was or where he was, for that matter. The only certainty he had was that he needed to wake up. He needed to open his eyes and say something, so that they wouldn't think he was dead. Hell, he didn't even know who they were. Images flashed through his mind and he couldn't place names with the faces.

 

There was a dark-skinned bald man with handsome, rugged features and a pair of designer sunglasses. There was a Wutaian man with features that were practically beautiful and long, shiny black hair. A blonde woman with soft brown eyes and delicate features flashed in his mind…and then there were two other men that he instinctively knew had the most significant impact on his life. Both were blonde but they were very different from one another. One had sandy-blonde hair and piercing gray eyes. His features were noble, handsome and commanding. The other blonde man's hair was more of a golden color and it was spiked and feathered. He had beautiful blue eyes and youthful, innocent looking features.

 

If only Reno could remember their names, or even their purpose in his life. He knew that if he could piece it all together, he'd be okay. His body tensed as he struggled with determination. He felt his muscles twitching and it made him angry that he couldn't coordinate them. He heard the groan burst from his own mouth and he clenched his jaw and strained harder, refusing to give up.

 

“Reno?” A soft, masculine voice inquired.

 

He vaguely recognized the voice and he wondered who “Reno” was. He clenched his jaw and threw all of his strength into it. The next thing he felt was his body rolling off of the bed and the heavy impact as he hit the floor.

 

“Reno!” The male voice was alarmed and suddenly there were arms around him. He opened his eyes and looked up at to see a fine-boned, Wutaian face peering down at him. The man's raven hair fell free around that face and the ends brushed against Reno's skin and tickled it. The man holding him had the darkest eyes Reno had ever seen and they were soft and worried on him, fringed with thick lashes. A red dot was situated between the straight, black eyebrows and Reno impulsively reached up and poked it.

 

“Hey,” he croaked. “I guess I'm `Reno', right?”

 

The Wutaian man nodded and his eyes filled with tears. He swallowed and caressed the redhead's cheek. “Yes. You're Reno. Welcome back, Kitsune.”

 

~****************************************~

 

He was surrounded by people and he only vaguely remembered any of them. The young, spiky-haired blonde was the most familiar to him and he leaned tiredly into the man's embrace as he helped him to the bathroom. The only name he could place with the golden-haired man was “Blondie”, but he knew it wasn't his real name. The other blonde he'd been seeing flashes of in his mind wasn't around and they told him he was asleep. Evidently the man was his boss and his name was Rufus.

 

“So who are you again?” Reno mumbled as the hot blonde guy half-dragged him down the hallway.

 

“Cloud,” answered the blonde with an endearing, shy little smile. “I know you're confused but it'll get better. Just take it easy and let your memories come back on their own, okay?”

 

“'Cloud', eh?” Reno repeated, tasting the unusual name. “It's weird, yo. I know you but I don't know you.” He scanned the blonde with his eyes, appreciating his compact form. “You'd think I'd remember someone like you.”

 

“Mako poisoning does that,” Cloud answered softly. “It could take months for you to remember everything. You've sort of got a form of amnesia right now.”

 

“Hmph…figures,” Reno muttered. They made it through the bathroom door and he looked into the mirror and gave a start. “Holy fuck…what's wrong with my eyes, man?”

 

“It's the Mako,” answered Cloud gently. “It might go away on it's own eventually, though.”

 

Reno stared at his reflection and blinked. “Cripes…that's fucking creepy, yo! You sure it'll go away?” He looked at Cloud with barely concealed desperation, not fond of the thought of spending the rest of his life with neon glowing eyes.

 

“Maybe,” Cloud reiterated uncomfortably. “I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it might. Calm down, okay? You're awake and you can see…that's a hell of a lot more important than whether your eyes glow or not.”

 

Reno saw what the blonde was trying to hide, then. The relief in those fathomless blue eyes and the tension in the tight body told him that Blondie was on the verge of tears. “Okay, I'll chill out,” Reno murmured, forcing a little smile. “Don't get upset, yo.” Something made him reach out and cup the back of Blondie's head. A light bulb clicked on in his head as he pulled the other man's lips to his for a kiss.

 

“Yo, I'm gayer than a fucking rainbow,” Reno muttered against Cloud's mouth. “How do ya like that?”

 

Cloud burst into soft laughter and Reno enjoyed the sound. He smiled at the blonde with genuine pleasure and he reached out again and caressed his smiling, fair face. “You're too cute for your own good, kid. I've been awake for all of ten minutes and I'm already out of the closet, yo. So tell me, do you and I fuck around a lot or what?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Cloud admitted, flushing in an endearing way that made Reno want to do things to him that were better left unsaid. “We…uh…fuck around a lot. Or we did, anyhow. You've actually got your own little harem.”

 

“I've got a harem?” Reno laughed. “Damn, I'm good. So who all's in this harem of mine?”

 

“Well, there's Rufus—”

 

Reno's eyebrows shot up and he interrupted Cloud. “Whoa, did ya just say `Rufus'?? Like, my BOSS? I'm doing my boss?”

 

Cloud chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, you've pretty much been doing him since you started working for him. You're also with your partner Rude…he's the big bald guy with the sunglasses. Then there's Tseng, who was there when you woke up…and there's me.”

 

Reno absorbed all of this and a slow grin spread over his face. “I'm a real lucky bastard, aren't I?” He smirked at Cloud, who was blushing heavily. Something wicked grabbed hold of him and he put his hands on either side of the blonde's head and pinned him against the wall. “So which one of us bottoms, hot stuff?”

 

Cloud's pretty lips worked for a moment before he found his voice. “Usually you do, but the last time…um…”

 

Reno traced the blonde's mouth with a fingertip, enjoying the flustered way he stammered. “You top? Really? You seem kind of shy for a seme, baby.”

 

Cloud's blue eyes flashed in challenge. “What you see isn't always what you get.”

 

Reno's libido flared and he gave the blonde a feral grin. “Ah ha, so that's it? You just need a little incentive to kick it into gear?” He leaned in and caught hold of Cloud's earlobe with his teeth, tugging on it.

 

“Okay, this really isn't the right time for this,” Cloud gasped as the lithe redhead pressed his hips against his.

 

“Mmm, right,” Reno purred. “I'm supposed to be taking a leak, yo. Damn, that's gonna be kind of tough with a stiffy. Wanna help me out, Blondie?”

 

Cloud ogled him, looking comically flustered. “Dude, you've only been out of a coma for fifteen minutes!”

 

Reno shrugged. “Hey, is it my fault you're so hot?” He ground his hips against Cloud's, letting the blonde feel his arousal through the jogging pants he wore. “You said yourself that you're part of my harem, yo.”

 

Cloud bit his lip and forced his flaring arousal back down. “Cut it out, man. This isn't the time for…for…that. We'll have plenty of time later. I just want to help you get cleaned up and changed, right now.”

 

Reno chuckled at him, shaking his head. “You're kind of a prude for a harem boy, Blondie. I expect you to show me why I keep you around, later on.”

 

~**************************************************~

 

Rufus stared at his lover, hardly able to believe that he was awake and standing in front of him. The others had let him sleep instead of waking him up when Reno came out of his coma. He would have preferred to be woken up but his employees and Cloud all seemed to share the doctor's opinion that he was fragile and needed his rest.

 

“Welcome back, Fox,” Rufus managed to say past an unusual lump that formed in his throat.

 

Reno tilted his head, his bright eyes faintly confused on him. “Fox? Is that like a pet name or something?”

 

“It is,” Rufus confirmed, still devouring the redhead with his eyes. Reno was wearing a borrowed t-shirt and a pair of stonewashed jeans. He looked so much like he had when Rufus first met him that it made the blonde nostalgic. “I assume your memories are a bit…fuzzy?”

 

Reno nodded and lowered his eyes. “Yeah. It sucks, man. I know you but…I just…I can't remember.” He shook his head and turned away. “I feel like I should fucking know you. I know Blondie more than I know you but you're…I know you're really important to me.”

 

Rufus swallowed his jealousy at the revelation that Reno was having an easier time remembering Cloud than him. Strife had already explained to him that Mako poisoning attacked the most important memories first. It had taken Cloud a long time to remember Zack, who was one of the most important people in his life.

 

“Give yourself time,” Rufus said as he reached out and laid a hand on Reno's tense shoulder. “I have no intention of going anywhere and perhaps some day, you'll recognize me again.”

 

Reno closed his eyes. The sandy-blonde's touch was so familiar and welcome to him, just as Rude's quiet smile and Tseng's velvet eyes had been. The familiarity didn't jog his memory, though. He knew Rufus's touch but he couldn't recall any memories of it. When the president embraced him from behind, Reno leaned into his arms and willed himself to remember.

 

“I know I fucking love you,” Reno murmured past and aching throat. “I just wish I could remember when I started to, yo.”

 

Rufus nuzzled his neck. “That's actually the first time you've ever told me that, without a threat of death hanging over our heads.” His mouth was smiling against Reno's skin. “If you can remember how you feel about me, it's enough for now.”

 

~************************************************~

 

“Firebrick red,” Reno announced a few days later, whilst eating cereal with Marlene and Denzel.

 

“Huh?” Denzel asked, his spoon halfway to his mouth.

 

“That's the color I used to die my hair, man,” Reno answered with a pleased smile. “I just remembered.”

 

“Oh,” Denzel replied. “So are you going to do it again or are you going to leave it natural?”

 

Reno glanced sidelong at Rude, who was putting the milk away and had frozen to the spot. “I think I should start getting back into old habits, yo. It might help jolt my memories if I get back into the swing of things.”

 

“Sounds smart,” Marlene agreed. Rude nodded as well but stayed silent.

 

“You don't talk a whole lot, do ya partner?” Reno asked the bald man.

 

Rude gave the redhead a sudden, unexpected smile as he shook his head. “That's one of the first things you ever said to me.”

 

Reno grinned in response and a flash of memory came back to him. “Holy shit…I remember that! It was our first day working together and Tseng put us up against a bunch of other guys in the gym, right?”

 

Rude nodded. “That's right. We had some drink afterward and you said I don't talk much.”

 

Reno felt a twinge of relief. Finally, he had a memory to go with the familiar feelings. “Don't ever change, yo.”

 

~***********************************~

 

Reno wasn't the most cooperative patient in the world. The doctor came to examine him and determine when it would be safe for him to start returning to his normal routine and he was impatient.

 

“Come on, Doc…I feel fine.” Reno had taken up the habit of wearing his shades, which Rude had brought to him a few days after he woke up. His eyes weren't sensitive to light but he somehow knew that he was seeing more vividly than before, and the shades toned it down. Not only that, but people gave him startled looks when they saw his eyes and he didn't appreciate feeling like a freak show. He had dyed his hair back to its usual bright shade and he was wearing it in his customary ponytail. He'd also begun wearing his Turk uniform again and with the exception of the sunglasses, he looked like his old self again. Appearances were deceiving, however.

 

Dr. Keller frowned as he drew some blood and found it to be brighter than normal. He was familiar enough with the SOLDIER program to understand that it was the Mako in Reno's body causing the discoloration of his blood. “You may think you feel fine now, but I'm not taking any chances. Until I'm satisfied that the contamination isn't causing lasting harm, I want you taking it easy.”

 

Reno pressed his lips together with irritation and looked at Rufus, who stood silently and watched over the examination. “Boss, I'm ready to come back to work, yo.”

 

“No, you aren't,” Rufus answered firmly. “Until the doctor gives the nod, you're staying put and if I catch you doing otherwise, you'll regret it.”

 

Reno's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Cloud, who was standing by the window and had laughed softly at Rufus's comment. “What am I, a kid? What is he gonna do, put me over his damned knee?”

 

“Probably,” Cloud said with a shrug and a little grin at Rufus. “I've seen him do worse, and not just to you.”

 

Reno looked up at Rufus uncertainly and the president's gray eyes held his. He frowned as he recovered another lost memory and he nearly jumped in shock as it vividly replayed in his mind. The doctor paused in his task of checking his pulse and Rufus also noticed the startled expression.

 

“What is it, Reno?” The president's eyes were intrigued and intense on him.

 

Cloud turned around as Reno pulled his sunglasses up to rest on his head and stared up at his boss. “I'm getting a memory,” the redhead whispered. “I…I remember you,” he pointed at Rufus, “holding a gun. There was this guy and he was…” He trailed off and went pale. “You stopped him.”

 

Rufus's expression turned grim and he crossed the room to put a hand on Reno's shoulder. “Of all the memories you're retrieving, I'd have preferred for that one to stay lost.”

 

Dr. Keller wisely kept his mouth shut and left the room, claiming he needed to get some medication from his bag. Cloud looked between Reno's pale face and Rufus's grim one, a horrible realization coming to him. “Someone tried to rape him?”

 

Rufus nodded slowly. “He failed, and he died too quickly.”

 

Reno put a hand to his mouth and for a moment, Cloud thought he was going to be sick. “Fuck, that's one I could have lived without,” the redhead muttered. He looked up at Rufus with an expression akin to hero worship. “The only good thing about that memory was that look on your face, boss. You were like a fucking avenging angel and I'm glad I can remember that.”

 

Rufus shook his head and lowered his eyes, but not before Cloud caught the flash of emotion on his face. Hide it though he might, Rufus Shinra loved Reno…probably more than he loved anything else in the world—including his own life.

 

Cloud could hardly believe the words that came out of his mouth next. “Maybe it's time for you to take him home. I mean, if Dr. Keller agrees to it. I think he'd do better in more familiar surroundings than he'd do here.”

 

Rufus and Reno both looked at him with surprise and he swallowed, hoping they couldn't see the emotions lurking beneath the surface.

 

“Getting tired of me, Blondie?” Reno asked teasingly, but his bright, tourmaline eyes held a spark of disappointment.

 

“No,” Cloud said with a smile. “I just want what's best for you and I'm trying not to be selfish. You'll be your old pain-in-the-ass self again sooner if you get back into your old routine.”

 

Reno chuckled. “If the doc would let me go back to work I'd be back on my feet even faster, man.”

 

“That's pushing it,” Cloud said, exchanging a look with Rufus. “The doctor's being smart about that and the last thing you need is to push yourself too hard and get hurt. You can't go right back to work but you can at least go back to living in a more familiar setting.”

 

Reno sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I guess you're right but I'm gonna miss the sight of that tight little ass of yours. You'll come visit me, right? I mean, you're one of my harem guys anyhow.”

 

Rufus shot a confused look at the redhead. “Harem?”

 

Cloud shrugged. “Well yeah…he's got four of us. What the hell else should I call it?” To Reno, he said: “I'll come visit whenever you want.”

 

“Why don't you and the boss man stay overnight when you take me back home?” Reno suggested with a leer. “I might feel more at home with a pair of hot blondes in my bed.”

 

Cloud and Rufus shared a look of dread that made Reno burst into laughter. “You two don't get along, do ya?”

 

“Not really,” answered Rufus.

 

“No,” answered Cloud abruptly.

 

“I can see I'm gonna have to work on that, yo.” Reno didn't seem the least bit concerned.

 

~**************************************************~

 

Three days later, Dr. Keller allowed Rufus to take Reno back home to Junon. The redhead hadn't been joking when he'd suggested that Rufus and Cloud stay with him his first night at his apartment and he didn't let up until Cloud agreed to fly back with them. Both blonde men were nervous as they buckled themselves into the helicopter and Reno took the pilot seat.

 

“Are you sure you remember how to fly?” Cloud asked in a carefully controlled tone.

 

Reno turned in his seat and smirked at him. “It's like breathing, man. Some things you never forget, yo. Kick back and relax, babe.”

 

Cloud grimaced and tried to do as he was advised, but as soon as the rotaries started up and the chopper lurched off the ground, he was clutching his seat with white-knuckled hands. Rufus didn't fair much better but he was more adept at hiding his terror than Cloud was.

 

“Whoa, that's a little rough,” Reno announced with a wince. He pulled back on the stick and the vehicle continued to rise at a smoother pace. “Hey, it's been over a year. Ya can't expect perfection right away.”

 

“I thought it was as easy as breathing,” Rufus answered in a tight voice. He was already regretting his choice to let Tseng go home two days ago, instead of keeping him there to fly the chopper. The Wutaian wasn't as skilled a pilot as Reno had once been but it was clear that the redhead was badly out of practice.

 

Reno shrugged and tossed a mischievous grin at the president. “Okay, so it's complicated breathing…like lamas or something. I can still do it, though. I'm not gonna crash when I've got such hot cargo to take care of, yo.” He reached out and squeezed Rufus on the knee, winking at him.

 

“Just concentrate on flying, please,” the president said through stiff lips as the chopper began to spin in circles.

 

“Yeah, what he said,” Cloud muttered, his sapphire eyes huge in his face.

 

Reno sighed and righted the chopper, chuckling at the pallor of his two passengers. He checked his heading and set his course, falling back into the familiar routine with relative ease. Both of the other men relaxed a little when he had them on a straight, smooth course.

 

~************************************~

 

“So this is my apartment?” Reno looked around at the modern furniture and the impressive view of the city out the big window in the living room. “Yo, I've got damned good taste.”

 

“I'm afraid there's nothing in your refrigerator,” Rufus explained as he removed his jacket and hung it on the wall. “I just had your utilities turned back on a couple of days ago. We can order takeout tonight and do some grocery shopping tomorrow.”

 

Reno looked at him, then at Cloud. He grinned, wondering if they were as horny as he was. It was weird…he knew they were his lovers but they were being so reserved—like they were afraid they'd be taking advantage if they made any moves on him. He also knew they weren't comfortable around each other, though he couldn't quite remember why. He thought their clashing personalities complimented each other and he imagined that if he had both of them in bed at the same time, people would probably hear his orgasmic screams three blocks away.

 

“So do you two ever fuck?” Reno asked as he lifted his shades to peer at them with interest.

 

Cloud's jaw dropped and Rufus cleared his throat. “Not for some time,” the president answered uncomfortably.

 

“Why not? I'll bet you'd be hot together.”

 

“Because someone doesn't know how to take what he likes to dish out,” Cloud said with an angry look at Rufus.

 

“And how would you know that, Strife?” the president shot back arrogantly. “I don't recall you ever having tried before.”

 

“Is that a challenge?” Cloud growled.

 

Reno looked at the two of them with a combination of excitement and concern. Cloud was showing a side he hadn't seen since waking up and now it seemed more likely that the fighter could take on a seme role. He was very…wolf-like now. Rufus reminded Reno of a sleek, deadly cougar. His gray eyes were narrowed and fixed on Strife.

 

“So wait a minute,” Reno said, stepping between the two other men hastily. “Are you telling me you guys bone me but you never bump uglies with each other? Ya can't tell me you're not a little hot for each other, yo.”

 

“I'm not hot for him,” Cloud snapped in an insulted tone. “Maybe you get off on getting kidnapped, cuffed and molested but I don't.”

 

“That's not what you said the last time,” Rufus countered with a smug grin.

 

Reno's eyes shot to the framed, broken handcuffs on his living room wall and he got a flash of recollection. He'd wondered about them when he first walked into the house, thinking it was a strange choice of decoration, but now they took on a new meaning. His bright eyes flashed to Cloud, who was looking flustered and angry. The memory of cuffing the blonde to a sleek black motorcycle and fucking his brains out suddenly came back to Reno with vivid clarity and his eyes widened.

 

“Yo, I just got a fan-fucking-tastic memory back,” Reno said with a sharp grin at Cloud. “Ya do so get off on being cuffed and molested, Blondie. I've got the souvenir to prove it, too.” He pointed at the framed handcuffs gleefully and he shifted a little as his body reacted to the hot memory.

 

Cloud blushed brightly as Rufus smirked at him and Reno looked positively predatory. “I never…you didn't…if you think that's the sort of thing…” Cloud stammered and waved his arms in exasperation. “You make it sound like I asked for it!”

 

“Well even if ya didn't, I know you loved every minute of it,” Reno said with a confident smile. “Why else would you still come back for more, huh?”

 

“I'm not TALKING about you,” Cloud snarled, his eyes going to Rufus.

 

Reno looked at his boss questioningly, unable to believe that a man who had shot his attempted rapist would ever force himself on anyone. “What's he talking about, boss? Any truth to that?”

 

“A grain of it, yes,” Rufus admitted with a sigh. “Initially, he wasn't a willing participant of our encounter, though he did change his mind by the time we got down to business.”

 

“So you fucking raped him?” Reno said. He wasn't prepared for the protective feeling that overcame him at the thought of someone doing that to the blue-eyed blonde.

 

“No, he didn't rape me,” Cloud said softly before Rufus could even begin to defend himself. “I could have gotten out of it if I really wanted to and you both knew that. I just…didn't want to admit it.”

 

Rufus was looking at Cloud with an expression the fighter had never, ever seen on his face or expected to see. He actually did a double-take, convinced that he was imagining the regretful look. It vanished after a moment but it was real.

 

“So you seduced him, then?” Reno persisted. “You didn't actually force him, yo?”

 

“It was poor judgment on my part,” Rufus said. “In my efforts to keep you, I mistreated Strife. I can at least admit that he deserved better than that.”

 

“You did all that to keep Reno?” Cloud said with a frown. “What the hell did you think I was going to do, stuff him in my motorcycle and take him away?”

 

“I thought that you might cause a shift in his priorities,” Rufus answered with a shrug. “I thought that if I could convince you to work for me, there would be no conflict of interests and he'd never consider leaving the Turks.”

 

Reno looked back and forth between them, just as shocked by the president's revelations as Cloud. “So wait…did you think if I started screwing someone outside the circle I'd just up and leave?”

 

Rufus looked faintly embarrassed. “I never claimed to be perfectly rational at all times, Fox. I do have human flaws and jealousy happens to be one of them…at least when it comes to you. Now that I've properly humiliated myself, shall we discuss what we're having for dinner?”

 

Even more disturbing than the president's unusual humility was the fact that Cloud was starting to feel sorry for the bastard. Obviously Rufus wasn't capable of expressing his emotions in a normal, healthy way.

 

“Well Cloud, what would you prefer?” Rufus said softly. “Pizza? Wutaian takeout? Hamburgers?”

 

It wasn't exactly an apology but Cloud figured that buying him dinner was Rufus's roundabout way of trying to make up for the past. “Pizza sounds fine to me,” he said with a trace of awe in his voice. “Reno, is that cool with you?”

 

“I could go for pizza,” the redhead answered. Inwardly, he began to make plans to help his two lovers settle the score between them. Cloud and Rufus were the only two of his “harem” that didn't get along and he wanted that to change. Besides that, he hadn't had sex in over a year and they were both too hot to resist. Reno figured if he didn't get some action soon he'd start humping furniture. One way or the other, there was going to be some fucking going on tonight.

 

~**************************************~

 

“Where do ya think you're going, Blondie?” Reno said after Cloud kissed him goodnight and started to exit the bedroom.

 

“I'm going out to the couch,” Cloud said with a shrug.

 

“No you're not,” Reno insisted. “You're sleeping in here with us, man.”

 

Rufus paused in the process of taking his shoes off, looking up at Reno with surprise. He and Cloud met one another's eyes momentarily. “Reno, I don't think he wants to sleep with us,” Rufus said softly. He climbed into the bed and reclined, trying to look relaxed but failing.

 

“Who said anything about sleeping?” Reno said as he unbuttoned his shirt and shot a lascivious grin at the president.

 

“Oh no,” Cloud said firmly. “I've already been down that road and I'm not going back.”

 

“Really?” Reno answered. He opened the drawer of his nightstand and looked in, smiling with satisfaction. “Not even if you've got the upper hand?”

 

Cloud and Rufus both wore identical expressions of wary confusion. The president spoke first. “Reno, I don't know what you've got planned but I've learned my lesson when it comes to Strife.”

 

Reno lifted a pair of handcuffs out of the drawer and gave Rufus a conniving smile. “Good. So you've learned your lesson, but I must have forgotten mine, yo.”

 

Rufus eyed the handcuffs with a frown. “What on Gaia do you think you're doing?” He began to edge away from the redhead, toward the other side of the bed.

 

“Just helping you two out, boss,” Reno said as he straddled him smoothly and kissed him. “You had your turn, it's only fair that he gets his, too.”

 

Rufus thought that surely Reno was kidding. He thought his fox would never really carry it through and that he was just playing with him. The redhead's sensual kisses were distracting enough that Rufus didn't consider that this was really no game to Reno after all. By the time he understood that the Turk was serious, Reno had already positioned his wrists above his head.

 

*Click-click!*

 

Rufus's eyes shot open as Reno broke the kiss and grinned down at him. He tugged his arms and realized that his lover had passed the cuffs through the bar of the headboard before locking them in place. He was quite thoroughly cuffed to the bed.

 

“You can't be serious,” Rufus scoffed. “Reno, undo these cuffs immediately!”

 

“Like that'll convince him,” Cloud snorted from across the room. He crossed his arms over his chest and studied the other blonde with interest. “It's kind of unsettling, isn't it? You don't look very comfortable.”

 

“Reno, the cuffs,” Rufus insisted again, keeping his eyes on Strife.

 

“Sorry boss,” the Turk said with a teasing grin, “I don't know where the keys are. I guess Blondie's gonna have to break you out of `em when he's finished with ya.” He looked over his shoulder at Cloud and beckoned to him. “Well, baby? He's all yours. What are you waiting for?”

 

Cloud almost refused, satisfied enough by the alarm on Rufus's handsome features. However, he finally had the chance to act on his unwilling attraction to the man and for once, he wasn't restrained or drugged. Rufus was putting on a good show of being reluctant but Cloud noticed the tent in the crotch of his pants. The president was just as much at the mercy of his hormones as Cloud was. He could hardly believe what he was doing as he approached the bed.

 

~*************************************~

 

-To be continued