Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Hazard Pay ❯ Part 8 ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Reno tilted his head towards Cloud, trying to ease the pressure on his abused scalp while his mind raced. Truth or lie? Which one had the least chance of resulting in a nasty fight? If Reno told the truth, Cloud was going to be insulted and pissed and most likely throw Reno out on his ear. If Reno lied, Cloud was going to find out anyway, be insulted and pissed and then try to kill Reno. What to do? What to do? Self preservation won.

"I'm supposed to be watching your back," Reno admitted. He hissed in pain when Cloud reflexively jerked his hair. "Damn it, let go! There's been rumors that some followers of the Remnants have been stirring up trouble and have you as their primary target 'cause you killed Kadaj."

"Kadaj died because of Sephiroth," Cloud snarled and used his hold on Reno's hair to put them nose to nose. "I had no choice!"

Reno dug his fingers in between the tendons of Cloud's wrist, pulling his hair free and jumping back a few paces. He warily kept an eye on the furious man. There was nothing to be seen of the shy lover of the night before. This Cloud was dangerous and unpredictable. Reno wished fervently that he had his baton in hand. Without a weapon he didn't have much of a chance against Cloud's mako enhanced strength if things were to turn ugly.

"I had no choice," Cloud repeated softly. "Kadaj sealed his own fate when he let Sephiroth use his body."

Reno shifted his weight forward to his toes. "I don't think this group cares about the facts, man. All they know is the two of you fought. You survived. He didn't. They want revenge. We don't even have any names to go by, just some vague descriptions from witnesses who saw them vandalizing Shinra property. It seems they have a beef with Rufus and Shinra Company, too."

"So why is Rufus concerned with my safety? He might be different from his father but he doesn't come across as someone who gives a damn unless there is profit in it."

"You defeated Sephiroth. Protecting you protects his interests as well."

"So he set a Turk on me as watchdog instead of letting me know what's going on," Cloud said and turned his back to Reno. "My friends and family could be at risk as well and that information was kept from me."

"Cloud.."

"Instead of giving me the chance to protect myself and what is mine, Rufus took it upon himself to make decisions that could affect everyone."

"Cloud, wait a minute."

"Shut up, Reno!" Cloud whirled around and stalked Reno until his back was to the wall. "You have been following me and lying to me for weeks! And the seduction scene? Was it your idea or Rufus' that sex with me would make your job easier? I was starting to believe..."

Cloud's angry voice had trailed off into something infinitely sad. Reno swallowed down his own anger at Cloud basically accusing him of being a whore for hire and using sex to get under Cloud's guard. He wanted to tell him that the attraction was real, but he had the feeling that Cloud wouldn't listen to him now. Reno tried to clasp Cloud's shoulder and was rebuffed.

"Don't touch me again," Cloud said. "Go home, Reno. Go and tell Rufus that I don't need any protection and that he would be better off watching his own back."

"Fine, I'll tell my boss that the job is a bust," Reno said. "But there's one thing we need to get straight."

Reno tackled Cloud to the bed and pinned him as best he could. It gave him a small spark of hope that Cloud wasn't putting all his strength into the wrestling. Reno managed to sit up on Cloud's hips with both arms pinned under his knees. He caught Cloud's jaw in one hand and grabbed a handful of blond hair with the other. Not giving Cloud a chance to move, Reno darted forward and smashed their lips together. Using all the skill he had gained over the years, Reno licked and nipped and kissed until Cloud's mouth softened somewhat. When his lips parted Reno took the chance that Cloud wouldn't bite off his tongue and dipped into the inside of the blond's mouth, rubbing their tongues together.

A low, rumbling moan of reluctant desire was sounding from Cloud's throat and he struggled to free his arms. Reno pressed down harder on him and left off his lips to trail a wet path to Cloud's ear. He nipped the lobe then soothed the small bite with swipes of his tongue, causing Cloud to shudder.

"You might not like Rufus' tactics or how I go about my job, Cloud," Reno whispered into Cloud's ear. "But this has nothing to do with the job. This was for me. I wanted you. I had you. I still want you and your body is telling me that you want me, too."

The smug and assured grin on Reno's face was enough to send Cloud over the edge. Irrational fury hazed his vision and dictated his actions. Without thinking he brought his knee up and caught Reno square between the legs. Reno's eyes grew impossibly round in a shocked and red face. He turned a sickly shade of green and toppled off Cloud and completely off the bed to land in a fetal curl on the floor. He cupped his aching balls as tears of pain leaked from his eyes. Fucking hell! The hero of the planet had just used the dirty tactics of a common street brawler.

"I can't believe you did that," Reno wheezed. He looked so pitiful that Cloud almost felt guilty, but only almost.

Cloud angrily wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and threw the rest of Reno's clothes on top of his hunched form.

"Get out, Reno, and tell Rufus Shinra to shove his protection up his ass. I'll protect what's mine without his help."

Cloud slammed out of the room, only stopping long enough to grab his keys. Through the buzzing in his ears Reno could hear the roar of Fenrir starting up and peeling out of the lot behind the bar. It was another couple of minutes before he could uncurl his body and stand and even then his legs shook. Waves of nausea had him holding both stomach and damaged goods.

"That went well," Reno said aloud to the empty room. "At least he didn't slice'em off."

The mere thought of trying to straddle his bike for the trip back to his apartment was enough to triple the throbbing in his balls. Reno sighed dejectedly and retrieved his phone to call Rude. After calling his partner he made his way back downstairs to snuff the dying embers in the fireplace and tidy up the remains of the impromptu slumber party. Reno wasn't normally tidy by nature, but it kept his mind off the ache in his crotch and the growing ache in his chest. Plus, he didn't want to aggravate Tifa any more than necessary by leaving her place in a mess. She was already going to be plenty pissed enough. Amused crimson eyes watched while Reno played house maid.

"You really made a mess of things, Reno," Vincent's quiet words had Reno jumping and clutching his chest.

"Damn it, Valentine! Do you have to keep doing that to me? Rustle, shuffle, cough, sneeze or just clear your damned throat."

Vincent merely cocked an eyebrow at Reno and walked up until he was only a foot away.

"I have a pretty good idea what happened when I saw Cloud tearing out of here. My only question for you is what are your intentions now?"

"Are you Cloud's guardian now?" Reno sneered to cover his unease.

"I am his friend," Vincent said. "I do not like seeing him upset or hurt. The last few weeks I've seen him relax more around you than he has in years with anyone. I see a lot of things, Reno. Because of this little fuck up of yours he's probably going to close himself off even more."

"Why don't you take him for yourself if you are so concerned?" Reno asked even though the thought sent a stab of burning jealousy through his chest.

"Cloud is not for me," Vincent said and Reno would swear he saw a coy little smile on the man's face. "And my heart belongs to another. I'm not giving you my approval, Reno, but if you want to fix this you better make up your mind fast."

"Who says that I wanted anything more with Cloud than what I just had?" Reno retorted.

Vincent shook his head and raised his golden claw to point at the door. "Your ride's here," he said right before Reno head Rude honking the horn. "I have a pretty good idea where Cloud went and that's where I'm going. Figure things out, Reno, and make it right."

Reno limped out the front door, figuring that Vincent would lock up the bar. He opened the passenger door and nearly collapsed in the seat. Rude looked at his partner over the top of his ever present sunglasses, taking in the limp, the visible love bites on Reno's exposed neck and the utter dejection in his posture. Moody sulkiness was not a look he normally associated with his partner.

"Rough time?" Rude asked in his deep voice.

Reno sighed and raked a hand through his tangled hair.

"Partner, you don't even know the half of it." Reno tried to find a comfortable way to sit. "Let's just say I deserve some hazard pay for this job."