"Are you ready to get up now?"
Tifa lifted her head, looking at Brent.
"Just a little longer, " she pleaded.
She lowered her head again, until it rested on his bare chest. The early afternoon sun filtered through the window, casting a hazy light on them as they lay together in her bed, sheets disheveled from their recent lovemaking. Brent had called her this morning to say he was back in town and wanted to see her. She was both surprised and excited. She hadn't expected him back until tomorrow. She had hastily made arrangements for Delphine to watch Karisa for her so she and Brent could be alone for a while. She knew he would like that, and what he would want when he saw her. He had seemed more passionate than usual today. Not surprising, she supposed, considering they hadn't seen each other in a week. She had responded in kind, or tried to. Sex had always been a mixed blessing for her. She hated to be alone. She thought most people did, but she often wondered if the need for company was stronger in her case. She wished that wasn't so. That need seemed to have brought more pain to her life than happiness. She often wished she could just be like so many others she knew that didn't seem to care one way or the other whether they had company or not, but for good or ill she couldn't change the way she felt. She just wanted to be wanted. It wasn't anything more complicated than that, just a simple basic human need. If she could just lie there wrapped in Brent's arms the rest of her life, she would be content, but the intimacy she craved was a two way street. She had to give if she expected to get, and she realized sex was a necessary part of that package. It was a trade off she was more than willing to make for the feeling she got being in his arms afterward, even if the actual act was... well, less than fulfilling for her.
She snuggled up closer to him. He didn't know of course, and she would never tell him. She would never hurt his pride like that. It wasn't his fault anyway, it was hers. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't give herself completely to someone she knew she didn't love. She didn't know if what she was doing was right or wrong, she didn't even know if right and wrong were involved. All she knew was that this was what she needed, and it was the only way she knew how to get it. It wasn't the perfect situation but she had long ago resigned herself to the fact that this was the best she was ever going to get.
"How long did you say you have?" she asked.
He lifted his arm and looked at his watch.
"I probably have to leave around four or five," he replied.
He had told her he couldn't stay long. He still had a lot of work to do, but it was all paperwork he could do at home, so he had brought it back with him so he could see her sooner. However, he still had to get it done, most of it by tomorrow.
"That's too soon," she protested softly, gripping him more tightly.
"It still leaves us with three or four hours," he said.
"I know, but it's still not enough."
"Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it," he said. "So we'll just have to make the most of our time while we have it. C'mon, let's get up."
He peeled her off of himself and stood up. She groaned and wrapped the sheets around her.
"But I was sooo comfortable," she whined.
He gave her a look.
"I'm hungry. C'mon, I'll take you out to eat. They've just opened a new Wutai restaurant down by the airport that I wanted to check out. It will still leave us time later on, if you want to get 'comfortable' again."
She just sighed. She hadn't meant that kind of comfortable, but she wasn't going to say that to him. Reluctantly she slipped out of the bed and started gathering her clothes together. Most of them were lying on the floor beside the bed. Most, but not all.
"Where did my underwear go?"
He looked at her for a moment.
"You're asking me?"
"Well, if I remember correctly, you're the one that took them off me," she replied.
"Yes, true," he conceded. "I don't know. They have to be here somewhere. Unless you think I stole them so I could hang them on my wall at home."
"Hmm," she replied, looking at him closely. "Exactly how many have you done that with?"
"I don't know," he replied with a grin. "How many are you missing?"
"I was wondering where they were all disappearing to," she muttered with mock seriousness. "And all this time I've been blaming the dryer. Oh, here they are!"
She snatched them up from between the sheets. Brent just shook his head, buttoning his shirt. He was already almost fully dressed.
"I'll have to get those another time then," he said, feigning disappointment.
"Seems I'll have to put a padlock on my..."
She was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" Brent questioned.
"I don't know," Tifa replied. "I'm not expecting anyone."
"Probably just some salesman or something," Brent said. "I'll go see."
Tifa was tempted to say no, that she would do it. She really didn't get solicitors here. The only person who had come by unannounced recently had been Reno, and she knew Brent would draw all the wrong conclusions if the ex-Turk showed up at her door. Unfortunately there wasn't much she could do about it. Brent was already headed out of the room, and she could think of no good excuse to stay him, and considering her current state of undress, she couldn't very well answer the door herself. She hastily started to pull on her clothes. If it was Reno, she was going to kill him!
As it happened, her suspicions were correct. Brent opened the door to find the red headed ex-Turk standing impatiently on the doorstep. For a moment they both just looked at one another. Reno felt a shock of surprise run through him to see this strange man opening Tifa's door, which momentarily upset his usual devil may care demeanor.
"Who the hell are you?" he blurted out.
Brent frowned. That wasn't exactly the kind of question he would expect from a salesman.
"I could ask you the same question," he replied after a moment.
It only took a second for Reno to recover from his initial surprise, and to access the new parameters of the situation. He realized that a little damage control might be in order. It was time to think fast.
"How ya doin'?" he said, thrusting out his hand. "Name's Colin. Colin Powell. I live across the street from the little lady here. I've got a small problem that I was wondering if she could help me with. You see, Rascal, that's our pet gator, got out of the bathroom again. I keep telling Billy Joe, that's my youngest, or is that Billy Jack? Dang kids, it's so hard to keep them straight sometimes. They sure keep me goin', I'll tell you that. And with the Mrs. not gettin' outta jail til next month I've sure got my hands full, let me tell you! So anyways, I keep telling Billy Joe to close the bathroom door when he's done playin' but he don't listen for nuthin. So he left the door open and Rascal got down in the basement. Well, he's wedged himself down in the corner underneath the still and we can't budge him for nuthin. It's a lot colder down there than in the bathroom and we're afraid the poor critter might freeze to death, seeing as how lizards ain't too keen on the cold, ya know? I know he's got a soft spot for applesauce so we figured we might be able to lure him out with some, but we're all out. Billy John, that's my eldest, can't keep away from the stuff himself and he plum went and ate it all. So I was wonderin' if maybe the little lady had some that I could borrow."
Reno stopped and smiled at Brent, who now had the appearance of someone who was a bit shell shocked.
"So you need some applesauce," he said slowly.
"Un huh," Reno replied, nodding.
"For your pet alligator."
"Reno, what the hell are you doing here!"
Brent turned around to see a now fully clothed Tifa standing behind him staring angrily at Reno.
Reno hesitated for a moment.
"Like I was tellin' your friend here," he began, "my pet alligator..."
"Oh, I don't even want to know!" she interrupted. "Go away!" Stepping forward she slammed the door closed before he could say anything more.
Brent just stood there looking at her. He didn't say anything at first but she knew he would.
"What the hell was that all about?" he finally questioned.
"Ohh...nothing," she muttered lamely. She didn't think she could possibly explain, but she knew damn well he wouldn't leave it at that.
"Who was that guy?"
"His name is Reno," she said impatiently. "I told you about him, remember? I said I met him before you left."
"He told me his name was Colin, that he lived across the street from you."
"You can't believe anything he says," she told him. "He's a pathological liar."
"So what was he doing here then?"
"How should I know? Ever since we met he keeps bugging me. He won't leave me alone."
"He won't eh? Maybe he and I should have a little talk then."
"No," she said immediately and almost instantly regretted it. He would be bound to take that the wrong way too.
"Why not?" he asked, frowning.
"Just let me take care of it. Please? There's no need for you to get involved. Reno's an ex-Turk. You know what they used to do, don't you? He's a dangerous guy."
"Hey, I'm not afraid of him," Brent said.
Tifa tried very hard not to show her frustration. Frankly, Brent didn't strike her as much of a fighter. She hadn't chosen him for that. Reno knew every dirty trick in the book. Brent would be no match for him. She neither needed nor wanted a protector, but that macho thing always got in the way, now didn't it?
"I'm not saying you are," she replied.
"So then why don't you want me to talk to him?"
She didn't want to see Brent get hurt. She suspected Reno would not be very tolerant of him, but how could she say that to Brent without hurting his stupid male pride?
"I don't want you to make it into more than it is," she tired. "I don't want you to blow it out of proportion. I can handle it."
"Are you sure? If he's that dangerous don't you think you should stay away from him too?"
"I've been trying," she replied.
"How many times have you seen him?" Brent questioned.
She looked at him, feeling her stomach begin to knot up. She had known it was just a matter of time before this turned into an inquisition.
"I don't know," she answered. "Two or three. He came over a couple of times and he's also been to the club."
"He came over a couple of times? To do what? What, did he want to sit and have drinks together or something?"
Tifa opened her mouth, the shut it. She couldn't believe he had asked that. She was such an idiot. Why did she ever let Reno in last night? What the hell had she been thinking? Brent was looking at her impatiently and she knew that every second she delayed answering condemned her more. She had to lie. She had no choice. She knew if she told him the truth he would go ballistic, even though nothing had happened. Why did he have to be so damn jealous?
The problem was though, she was terrible at lying. She was afraid the truth would be written all over her face.
"Nothing happened," she snapped. Which was the truth. Maybe he wouldn't press the subject. "He's just a pest, that's all. I made it clear I wasn't interested. Eventually he'll lose interest and go away."
"Yeah, and when will that happen?"
"I don't know."
"Why doesn't that make me feel any better. Is this why you've been so pissy lately? Why you were such a grouch the day I left? Is there something going on here that I should know about?"
Now it was her turn to frown. She knew right from the start she wouldn't be able to reason with him, that he was going to turn it into a fight no matter what she said or did.
"There's nothing going on," she replied.
"Then why don't you want me to talk to him. Why won't you tell me why he was here?"
"He was here because he's an idiot!" she replied.
"That doesn't explain anything," Brent said.
"Well, what is it you want to know?"
"What he was doing here."
"I told you, I don't know. He seems to think we're friends or something."
"Friends? I thought you told me he was your enemy, that he worked for Shinra."
"He did. We're not friends. He just seems to want to be, or something. I don't know what's going on in his head but it doesn't mean anything. Can't you just forget about him?"
"No I can't forget about him," Brent retorted. "I go away for a few days and I find out you've been hanging out with some other guy and you want me to just forget about it? How would you feel if I did that to you?"
"I wasn't hanging out with him!" Tifa said, starting to get angry in spite of trying very hard not to. "I told you, I kept telling him to go away but he won't listen."
"Yeah, maybe. Why are you acting so jumpy about him if there's nothing to it?"
"I'm acting jumpy because I knew you would react this way," she replied.
"Maybe I've got good reason to."
"You don't! Brent, I swear it's nothing. Can't you just believe me?"
"You don't make it that easy with the way you're acting."
"Brent, please, I don't want to have a fight."
"I don't either, I just want to know what's going on."
"Nothing is going on! All we did was talk, okay? Nothing else happened. He didn't try to seduce me. We didn't hop into bed together. Is it such a great offense that I talked to someone while you were gone?"
"Don't you have any women friends you could talk to?"
"Yes, but they're not around all the time. I didn't think it was any big deal."
"Well I do!"
"Well, you're being stupid!" she said. She didn't want to fight but she resented the fact that he just assumed she was guilty of something. "It's no big deal if I had a conversation with someone. I would have been perfectly happy to have talked to you if you had been around."
"You know I couldn't be. I had to do my job."
"Yes, your job," she said, sounding more bitter than she had intended.
He glared at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She looked at him for a moment, then turned away.
"Nothing," she said sullenly.
He wasn't about to accept that.
"Is that what this is all about? My job? You're mad at me for not being around more, so this is how you punish me?"
"I'm not trying to punish you!" she retorted. Why did he have to twist things like that? "All I'm saying is you're not around much and I'd like you to be. Is that so bad?"
"So you go hang out with some other guy while I'm gone?"
"I told you, I wasn't hanging out with him! All we did was talk a bit, and only because he wouldn't leave me alone."
"You know how important my job is," he said forcefully. "Is it so bad that I want to better myself? I'm doing it for you too you know. If I didn't work like this we wouldn't be able to go to nice restaurants. I wouldn't be able to buy you expensive gifts."
"I don't care about that," she exclaimed. "I don't need to go to fancy restaurants. I don't need expensive gifts. I'd be just as happy staying here with you holding me in your arms. All I want is to spend a little time together. Is that too much to ask?"
"Right now it is, yes," he replied. "I don't need this now. I have enough pressure at work and now I have to deal with this? Is it such a bad thing that some of us have a little bit of ambition? Is it wrong for me to want to succeed? Some of us don't want to waste our whole lives living in the slums you know."
Her mouth half opened.
"Is that what you think I'm doing? Wasting my life?"
"Well, that's sure what it looks like to me," he exclaimed. "How many times have I told you to get a decent job?"
"I told you I've been looking! It's not that easy..."
"Yes, yes, I know," he cut her off. "It's not that easy to find something decent. How many times have you told me that before? Are you really even looking? Sometimes I get the impression you like working in a strip club, that you like prancing around half naked..."
"I'm not half naked!" she snapped.
"You could have fooled me!" he retorted. "Tell me, what kind of impression do you think you're leaving on your daughter by working in that dump?"
"You leave my daughter out of this!"
She couldn't believe he had brought up Karisa.
"Oh yeah, make it sound like you're so protective of her, yet you don't seem to be lifting a finger to make sure she doesn't grow up here."
"This has nothing to do with her!" Tifa exclaimed. She couldn't believe how he had turned her talking to Reno into an opportunity to air every grievance he ever had against her. "What's wrong with you? So just by having a simple conversation with some guy, a conversation I didn't even want to have mind you, I'm suddenly a slut and a bad mother?"
He walked over to the closet and opened it, pulling out his coat.
"Yeah, well if the shoe fits..." he muttered.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm leaving, what does it look like?"
She felt her heart sink. She knew it would come to this. She knew he would work himself up and end up leaving. From the moment she saw Reno standing in the doorway it had been inevitable. I spite of that, and the things he had said to her, she still didn't want him to leave.
"Don't go," she said. She knew he wouldn't listen. She knew it would make him feel like he had won, or at least gotten back at her if she pleaded for him to stay, but she said it anyway. "We can work it out. Let's just talk about it some more."
He stepped over to the door.
"Frankly, I'm not really in the mood to talk to you anymore."
"I'm sorry, okay?" she said, not even sure why she was saying it. She might not love him but that didn't mean there wasn't an emotional attachment. She had missed him when he was gone. She had been happy to see him today, to know that she could be with him. She didn't want to be alone.
He didn't reply, just opened the door.
"Brent, please!"
He walked out, and, without even turning to look at her, closed the door behind him.
She stood there for a long time, an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt like crying but she held back the tears. Instead she tried to get angry, angry with him for saying such things, for being such a jerk. It was all his fault!
Hadn't it been? He was right about one thing at least, she would have been upset if she found out he had been hanging out with another woman in her absence, even though she wouldn't have flown off the handle like that. Instead of being mad at him she found she was more mad at herself, mad for inviting Reno in in the first place, and for practically begging Brent to stay, for sounding so desperate. He had insulted her and she was the one who had apologized. Why was she always doing that?
She walked slowly into the kitchen. The curtains were pulled back, giving her an unfettered if uninspiring view of the bowling alley across the street. She glanced out at the road with little interest. The window didn't look out the front of her apartment. She couldn't see if Brent's car was still there.
Not that she needed to see to know it wasn't.
She didn't care. She didn't want to think about him anymore.
The pool of sunlight coming through the window that she stood in felt warm on her bare arms. It actually wasn't as cold today as it had been.
She opened the cabinet above her refrigerator and took down a bottle of liquor. Mechanically she made herself a drink. She took a sip and wrinkled her nose at the taste. She had made it too strong, deliberately, but the burning sensation as it went down her throat made all desire for more quickly fade.
She put the drink down on the counter. She wasn't in the mood to get drunk. Drinking wasn't going to solve any of her problems. Abandoning the glass she walked over to the closet and took out her own coat. She might as well go get Karisa. She needed company. The three year old might not be all that great a conversationalist but at least Tifa knew her daughter loved her. If only it were that simple with men, she thought bitterly.
She stepped outside, locking the door behind her. She blinked in the bright sunlight. It was even warmer now than it had been this morning when she had brought Karisa to Delphine's place. It had been freezing just yesterday and now she thought she might be too warm in her coat. It would probably be freezing again tomorrow. She wished the damn stupid weather would make up its mind.
She shaded her eyes for a moment until they adjusted. Then she frowned when she saw Reno sitting on the hood of someone's car parked along the street a few doors down from her. He hopped off and started walking toward her.
"Get away from me!" she snarled.
He hesitated for just a moment, then came up beside her.
"Who was he?" he questioned.
"His name is Brent, he's my boyfriend, or at least, he was," she said coldly. "Now I'll probably never see him again. Thanks to you!"
"Sheesh. All I did was knock on the door," Reno said innocently. "You had a fight over that?"
"Yes," she replied. "He's very jealous. He was away and he was upset because I was 'hanging out' with another man while he was gone."
"Well, nothing happened," Reno said.
"I know that! But I couldn't convince him of it. What the hell did you want? Why did you come here? Are you deliberately trying to make my life miserable? What is this, your way of getting me back for what we did to Shinra?"
"Hey, I tried to cover for you," he retorted. "I was doing fine until you came out and snapped at me! It's your own fault. Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"
"My fault! So this is my fault too? Is everything my fault? What's next, you going to blame the cold weather on me? And the inflation rate? What is this, the curse of Tifa Lockheart?"
"The inflation rate?" Reno questioned.
"Well why not? Everything else is my fault. That might as well be too!"
"Would you calm down."
"I don't want to calm down! My life was messed up enough before you came along and then you show up and manage to make it worse! You have a rare talent, you know that?"
"Oh cut it out. The guys a jerk anyway. You're better off without him."
"You don't even know him!"
"I don't have to," Reno replied. "You just said you had a fight because I knocked on your door. That's a pretty good indicator of his personality, don't you think?"
"No I don't. You just caught him at a bad time. He's under a lot of pressure at work."
"The guy walks out on you and you're defending him?"
"It's just a stupid little quarrel," she said angrily. "We'll get past it."
"You never learn do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"First you go chasing after Cloud who barely acknowledged your existence, and now you're going out with this loser. You sure know how to pick 'em, don't you? Sometimes I almost think you've got a masochistic streak in you."
"Sometimes I think so too, but I only get that feeling when I'm with you! What do you want me to do? It's not like men have little labels pasted on their forehead that say 'nice guy' or 'jerk'."
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious where this Brent guy stands," Reno said.
"Oh shut up Reno."
She was walking down the street as she spoke, Reno right beside her.
"Would you lighten up? I'm sorry, okay?" he said. "There, does that make you feel better? I told you I tried to cover for you."
"Yeah, what the hell were you telling him? I heard you babbling something about an alligator?"
"Yes, my pet alligator that likes applesauce," Reno replied, rather proud of himself.
Tifa looked at him for a moment, then shook her head.
"You are some piece of work, you know that?"
"So where are we going?" he asked.
"I'm going to get my daughter," Tifa replied acidly. "I have no idea where you're going."
Reno just sighed.
"Where is she?"
"My friend Delphine is watching her. Why don't you do me a favor and hang out with her? She told me she thinks you're cute."
"Well, naturally," Reno replied.
She gave him a look of disapproval.
"Oh get over yourself."
"Hey, I can't help it if women dig me."
"If only they dug you as much as you dig yourself, eh?"
"You're overexaggerating," he responded.
It took about fifteen minutes to walk to Dephine's place. She had a little apartment near the road that led down to the old Underwater Mako reactor. When they reached the block Tifa stopped and turned to Reno.
"Wait here."
He gave her a puzzled look.
"What for?"
"Just do it, okay?" she said impatiently. "Delphine thinks I'm with Brent. If she sees me with you she's going to want to know what's going on and I don't feel like explaining it right now."
Reno just looked at her for a moment.
"Gee, you make it sound like you're ashamed to be seen with me."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" she replied sarcastically, then started down the street again.
It only took her a few minutes to collect Karisa. Delphine had been surprised to see her. She had told her friend she probably wouldn't be by to pick up her daughter until after dinner, but Tifa just said something unexpected had come up and Brent had had to leave. Taking Karisa by the hand she walked back into the street. She hesitated a moment, tempted to walk in the opposite direction from where she had left Reno.
Deciding perhaps that he would track her down regardless she returned to the spot where she had left him. He was still there, again sitting on the hood of someone else's car. She was kind of surprised he had listened to her and stayed there. She had fully expected him to show up behind her while she was at Dephine's.
"Gee, I think that's the first time you've ever listened to anything I've ever told you," she said when she reached him.
"Hey, just trying to remain unpredictable, you know?" he replied as he hopped off the car. "So where to now?"
She gave him a dark look, but then surprised him by not giving him her usual sarcastic response.
"I was thinking of taking Karisa down to the beach for a little while," she said.
"The beach? Don't you think it's a bit cold for that?"
"Not really. They've got a nice boardwalk there now. I'm sick and tired of being cooped up in my apartment. The water is nice to look at, and Karisa likes to play in the sand."
"Whatever," he replied.
They made their way down to the shore. It was a little colder here, the wind blowing in off the ocean, but it still wasn't nearly as cold as it had been the last couple of days. Tifa pulled off her shoes and walked barefoot in the sand down to the edge of the water. She didn't go in though, it was much too cold for that, as Karisa found out after she stuck her toe in. They walked slowly down the beach, Reno walking beside Tifa while Karisa ran toward the water as it retreated, then reversed course and ran back toward her mother, laughing, with each new wave that rolled ashore.
Reno lit up a cigarette. Tifa gave him a look but said nothing, figuring it wouldn't do any good if she did. At least he had had the sense not to smoke in her apartment. Not yet, anyway.
As they continued walking she noticed Reno staring down at the sand.
"What are you looking for?" she asked.
"Sharks teeth," he replied.
"Sharks teeth?"
"Uh huh. A lot of times you'll find them on the beach around here. They're pretty common."
She looked down, but all she saw was sand mixed with a few small shells, or pieces of them. She had no idea there might be shark's teeth around. She had no idea what shark's teeth even looked like."
"Is this another one of your stories?" she said suspiciously.
"No, no, it's on the level," he replied.
She wasn't sure she believed him, but after a few more minutes he suddenly stooped down and picked something up out of the sand.
"There you go," he said, holding a small triangular object up for her to see.
It did look like a tooth.
"How did you know you could find them here?" she asked.
"I used to look for them all the time when I was a kid," Reno replied.
Tifa just looked at him for a moment.
"You were a kid?"
"Very funny."
"I didn't know you grew up here in Junon."
"Well, I didn't really. I was born here but my parents didn't hang around that long. My mom took me to Midgar when I was six or seven."
Tifa didn't say anything for a bit. This was the first time Reno had ever mentioned anything about his family.
"What about your father?"
"What about him?"
"He didn't go with you?"
"No. He didn't know where we went, and we were better off that way."
Tifa pushed a wayward windblown strand of hair from her eyes and gave Reno a sympathetic yet curious look.
"I take it he wasn't the best father in the world?"
"To put it mildly," Reno agreed.
Tifa didn't reply. She wanted to know more but she didn't want to pry. If he wanted to tell her more about his father he would do it on his own.
He remained silent.
"So you were raised by your mother?" Tifa asked finally.
"Yeah, well, until she died."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tifa said.
"What do you have to be sorry for? You had nothing to do with it," Reno said bluntly.
"I didn't mean I did," Tifa replied. "It was just an expression of sympathy."
"I don't need no damn sympathy," Reno retorted.
Tifa resisted the urge to frown. That response just seemed so typical of Reno. She was surprised he had even told her that much.
"Sorry," she said.
"And stop apologizing," Reno said irritably. "I told you you didn't do anything. Why are you always apologizing for everything?"
Now she really did frown, half because she didn't think she deserved to have him jump down her throat and half because she thought he was right.
"What's with you all of a sudden?" she demanded.
He stopped and just looked at her for a moment, then turned away.
"Nuthin'" he replied. "Forget about it. Here."
He held out the shark's tooth.
She looked at him for a moment.
"You want me to have it?" she asked.
"Well, I wouldn't be handing it to you otherwise, now would I?" he responded. "You keep it. I don't need the damn thing. Consider it a souvenir, or give it to your daughter if you don't want it."
Tifa took the tooth and looked at it for a moment, then called Karisa over.
"Look what Reno found for you," she said, holding out the tooth. "It's a shark's tooth."
Karisa took the item and inspected it carefully. Then she looked up at Reno.
"Thanks Unca Reno!" she said cheerfully.
"No problem kid," Reno replied.
Tifa just stood there with a peculiar expression on her face.
"What?" Reno questioned.
She just shook her head. Hearing Karisa call the ex-Turk Uncle Reno had surprised her. It had been just too... weird. Even though it was a natural thing for Karisa to say, she wasn't sure she approved.
A boardwalk extended along the shoreward side of the beach, running west from the stairway leading here. Reno could see a group of buildings, with what looked like a small amusement park beyond it.
"When did they put that here?" he asked.
"It's been here about, oh I don't know, two years? It's part of the greater Junon reclamation project, or something like that. They're trying to make the place more appealing."
"They've got a long way to go," Reno observed wryly.
Tifa couldn't argue with that. They reached the boardwalk. Even though it was only two years old the wooden planks had already turned a weathered gray. Reno and Karisa walked ahead while Tifa stopped, sitting down on the boardwalk to put her shoes back on. Even though she liked the feeling of the sand between her toes it was really too cold to leave her feet unshod for long.
She stood up again and went to join the others, who were now standing in front of an ice cream stand. As she came up to them Reno was handing Karisa a very large ice cream cone.
He looked at Tifa.
"You want?"
She just shook her head, looking from one to the other. Karisa seemed perfectly at ease with Reno now, and this too was also something she wasn't sure she wanted. Like all children, her daughter was terribly trusting. She knew what Reno was like, and unlike Karisa, she hadn't forgotten the boogy man thing. She wasn't sure she wanted Karisa to trust or like him.
Yet, she had to admit the way he was treating Karisa was a surprise. She hadn't really thought of him as much of a 'kid' person. She had thought he wouldn't want her daughter around, or would ignore her at best, but it wasn't like that at all. He actually seemed to be getting along very well with her and she didn't know what to make of that. Was this the real Reno, or was this just another one of his ploys?
"You seem to be hitting it off rather well with my daughter," she said to him as they continued on their way.
Reno shrugged.
"Well, she is a cute little moppet."
Tifa smiled, looking the young girl. The ice cream was already dripping down onto her hands. Her long black hair bobbed along behind her as she walked. She thought Reno's description quite apt.
"She must have gotten her good looks from you," Reno went on. "She couldn't have gotten them from Cloud."
He looked at her closely to gauge her reaction, but she didn't rise to the bait, in spite of the back handed compliment.
"Why Reno, we've been together what, almost two hours now and that's the first time you've brought that subject up. You're slipping."
"Hey, I'm a patient guy," he responded with a grin.
They walked farther down the boardwalk, until they reached the amusement park. It wasn't much, just a half dozen rides, the largest of which was an old fashioned wooden roller coaster. Karisa wanted to go on the carousel. Reno insisted on paying. Karisa picked out a large white horse to ride on and Tifa hoisted her up, strapping her in securely. She stood back beside Reno and watched her daughter as the ride commenced.
She glanced over at Reno.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Why are you being so nice?"
"I'm not allowed to be nice?"
"It's not like you."
"You don't even know me."
"So tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me something about yourself," Tifa responded. "Tell me about the real Reno."
"What do you want to know?"
"I don't know," she said slowly. Perhaps now was a good time to press for some details. "Tell me about your family."
"I don't want to talk about my family," he told her.
"Just like I don't want to talk about Cloud?"
He just looked at her for a moment.
"Maybe," he grudgingly conceded.
"I'll tell you what," Tifa went on. "I'll make a pact with you. I won't ask you about your family if you don't ask me about Cloud."
He thought that over for a moment.
"No deal," he said finally.
"Why not?"
"Because I know you, you'll crack before I do."
She shook her head.
"Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think either."
They stood there in silence until the carousel slowed to a stop. The wind had picked up, blowing from the north now, and the temperature was perceptively dropping. Tifa looked up and saw gray clouds blanketing the sky to the north. It seemed the warmth of the day was passing already.
"I think it's time we headed back," she said simply.
She removed Karisa from the harness. The young girl protested, saying she wanted to go round again, but Tifa, mindful of the change in weather, would have none of it. The last thing she wanted was to get caught out in the rain. Her daughter eventually relented without too much of a fuss.
They made their way back to Tifa's apartment, not saying much. By the time they reached her door the weather had turned dreary, which Tifa found depressing. Even nice days here in Junon couldn't last for twenty four hours.
Tifa stopped and looked at Reno.
"What?" Reno said.
She hesitated a moment before replying.
"You were actually tolerable today."
"Why thank you," he replied. "So if I need to get a new job, I can depend on you for a letter of recommendation?"
Tifa laughed.
"Well, maybe not quite yet."
She pulled out her keys and opened the door. She walked in, followed closely by Karisa. Reno hesitated a moment, then followed. She hadn't invited him in, but her body language suggested to him that she would not protest.
She didn't. She wasn't exactly sure why. She figured he would just find a way to invite himself in anyway, and she wasn't in the mood to argue with him about it. Besides, as she had said to him, he had been decent company, and she didn't really want to be alone.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. This was exactly what Brent had complained about, what she had been berating herself for doing just a few hours ago. She hadn't been punishing Brent by inviting Reno in then, was she doing it now?
She didn't know. She didn't want to think about it.
She started to pull off her coat as Karisa scooted in ahead of her, making a beeline for her toys, but Tifa suddenly stopped short. She reached out, grabbing hold of here daughter to halt her while her gaze went from the hallway leading to the bedrooms to Reno.
"Did you hear that?" she hissed.
Reno nodded. It had sounded like someone moving in one of the other rooms.
"Sounds like there's someone in there," he cautioned.
Tifa lifted Karisa up into her arms, stepping back, feeling a sort of panic. Was there an intruder in her apartment?
She opened her mouth, but Reno held up his hand.
"I'll go take a look," he said.
He started forward. Tifa just stood there, unsure of what to do. She put Karisa down, thinking she couldn't fight while holding her daughter, pushing the child back until she was behind her mother. Tifa resisted the urge to flee outside. She wanted to protect her daughter, but she didn't want to abandon Reno either.
"Be careful," she said.
He didn't reply, just kept walking forward. He was at the entrance to the hallway now, peering down it. Karisa tried to say something but Tifa hushed her. She stood there, listening. She heard nothing more from the room, only the soft click as Reno turned on the Mag rod that had suddenly appeared in his hand.
He had disappeared down the hallway before she heard anything more, then there was the sudden but unmistakable sound of one of the windows being opened.
"The window..." she called out.
Reno didn't need her call, he had heard it himself. The sound had come from Tifa's bedroom. He ran forward. The door to the room was ajar. As he came to the threshold, he caught a glimpse of someone slipping out the window.
Reno ran up to the window. He lunged through it himself, then took off down the street, chasing after the man. His quarry glanced back just long enough to see that he was being pursued, then sped up, racing down the block. Reno followed, running past startled pedestrians. By the time they reached the end of the block, Reno could see that he was catching up. The man turned again, and must have come to the same conclusion, for he turned back once more and put on another burst of speed.
He reached the end of the block. The street they were coming to was a major thoroughfare, a four lane road that ran the length of Junon. Even on Sunday traffic along it was heavy, and the light was against them. Reno expected the man to turn either right or left. Instead the man ignored the light and heedlessly ran right out into the middle of traffic.
Reno heard the sound of car horns blaring and the screech of tires. He thought sure they'd be scraping what was left of the guy up off the street, but somehow the man managed to make it through. Reno ran up to the corner, for a moment tempted to follow, but then he pulled himself up short at the curb, looking at the line of traffic in front of him. Even he wasn't crazy enough to run out into the middle of that.
By the time the light changed the man was long gone. Reno stood there for a moment, then turned around.
It didn't matter anyway, he thought, starting back toward Tifa's. He didn't need to follow. He already had enough information. When the man had turned to look back the last time Reno had recognized him as the death warmed over looking guy who had been staring at Tifa at the Halo and Horns the night before.
When he got back to the apartment he found Tifa sitting on the couch holding Karisa in her arms. She looked at him expectantly as he entered.
"He got away," he told her without preamble.
Tifa nodded, her face pale. She didn't say anything. She was upset, naturally enough.This was her home, her sanctuary, the only place she considered herself safe. To think it wasn't as inviolate as she thought was a blow to her. She wasn't afraid to fight, she had stood up to plenty of enemies in her time, but the thought of someone being in her apartment, that he could get in somehow, that he might have come when Priscilla was here watching Karisa, that freaked her out.
"Is anything missing?" Reno asked.
Tifa put Karisa down and stood up. She hadn't really looked. She hadn't really thought about that. She hadn't wanted to wander around the apartment, but now that Reno was here she somehow felt a bit better about it.
"I don't know," she said slowly.
She walked down the hallway into her bedroom. She gave the room a cursory examination but nothing seemed to be missing, nothing even seemed to be out of place for that matter. She wandered through the rest of the apartment, but again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She returned to the living room, then looked at Reno and shrugged.
"I don't see anything out of place," she said.
Reno looked thoughtful.
"Maybe we caught him before he had a chance to take anythi..."
He stopped when he saw the look on her face. She was staring at the end table beside the couch.
"What?"
"Where did the picture go?" she said slowly. She walked over and looked at the small table, and the floor behind it.
"What picture?" Reno asked.
"There was a picture of me and Karisa on here," she said. "It's gone."
Reno frowned.
"So he stole a picture? Was it in an expensive frame?"
"No, just one I bought at the local department store," she replied.
Reno chewed on that for a bit. From the way the man had been staring at Tifa, and the fact that only a picture was taken, he now suspected the break in hadn't been motivated by simple greed. Still, he kept his suspicions to himself. He didn't tell Tifa he recognized the man. She seemed too upset, and he was perfectly capable of handling this himself, in his own way.
"How did he get in?" he asked.
Tifa shrugged.
"The window, I suppose," she said doubtfully.
Reno walked into her bedroom and inspected the alleged point of entry. Tifa followed him, standing in the doorway as if she were afraid to enter.
"I don't see any sign of it being forced," he said. "Was it locked?"
"Yes," she said, nodding.
He turned toward her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," she repeated firmly. "I keep them all closed and locked, except sometimes in the summer and only when I'm home. I'd have had no reason to open it this time of year."
He nodded, convinced. He slowly went through the rest of the apartment, Tifa following him as he looked at all the windows, returning in the end to the living room and the front door.
"I don't see how he got in," he said finally. "None of the windows were tampered with, and they were all locked."
"I told you," she said.
"Yes, but then that only leaves the front door," he said.
"It was locked," she told him. "You saw me unlock it when we came in."
"He could have picked it," Reno said. "The deadbolt you have would have confounded most people, but a pro wouldn't have much trouble with it. Even then you might seem some marks of some kind. It looks clean to me, and this guy didn't strike me as much of a pro. Otherwise we would never have caught him unawares like that."
"Well, he must have picked it," she told him. "There's no other explanation."
"Unless he had a key," Reno suggested.
She frowned.
"Where would he get one?" she asked. "I have mine right here," she said, pointing to her key ring on the table in front of the couch. "Delphine has another one in her apartment. She wouldn't give it to anyone, and no one else has one except the landlord."
Reno resisted the urge to ask if she was sure this time.
"Where do you keep your keys?" he asked instead.
"In my pocketbook," she replied. "Or on the table or in the drawer on my nightstand in the bedroom," she said.
"They're in your pocketbook at work?"
"Of course," she replied. "Where else would I keep them?"
"Where do you keep your pocketbook?"
"Under the counter by the bar," she said.
"It's not locked up or anything?" he asked.
"No," she said. "But it's not in the customers sight, only I can see it. Well, me and Caraca, and I trust him."
"Could a customer reach over and take it?" he asked.
"I suppose, but I'd see them," she said.
"Are you looking at your pocketbook the whole time?" he questioned.
"No, but they've have to bend over the bar and reach way down, almost to the floor. Someone would see that."
"Even if another customer did, they might not bother to say anything to you."
Tifa sat down wearily on the couch again.
"I suppose," she conceded.
She didn't like the idea of someone having a key to her apartment. If he had broken in the window she could resecure it, or reinforce it if necessary. If he had a key, he could have come in at anytime, could have been here before and she wouldn't have even suspected. She shuddered at the thought.
"You need to get a new lock right away," he said.
"I'll do it tonight if I can, or first thing in the morning," she said, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Make it tonight if possible," he replied. He looked up at the clock. It was almost five o'clock on a Sunday, he wasn't sure if she'd be able to find someplace open today. Damn, looking at the clock reminded him he had to work soon himself. If he didn't leave now he was going to be late.
He didn't care, but unfortunately, he couldn't afford to get fired, and the boss wasn't very tolerant.
"I'm going to have to get going. I got to be at work soon," he said.
She just looked at him. She didn't want him to go. She didn't care if it was Reno or not, she really didn't want to be alone now.
"Are you sure?" she said.
"Yeah," he said slowly. "I'll stay if you want though. It's no big deal.
"No, no, you go," she said, trying to sound sincere. "I wouldn't want you to miss work. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself, you know that."
He just looked at her for a moment. In spite of her reassurance he could tell she was still upset.
"You going to be all right?"
She looked at him, realizing how upset she felt. It was embarrassing really, to get panicky from a simple break in after all she had been through in her life. She took a deep breath.
"Yes, I'll be fine," she told him, not failing to notice his words. Had that been actual concern in his voice?
Reno nodded, still not really anxious to leave, but what she said was true. He knew better than most that Tifa could handle trouble as well as anyone. Besides, he had a feeling the man wouldn't be back anytime soon.
"All right," he said slowly. He walked back over to the door, opening it up and swinging it back and forth a bit, looking at the lock.
"Make sure you get this thing changed," he reminded her.
"I will," she said.
He stood there for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind and stepped outside.
"Reno," she called out. He turned to look back at her.
"Thanks," she said.
They just looked at one another for a moment.
"Welcome," he said, and closed the door.
Tifa sat back on the couch, lowering her head. Karisa was nearby, playing with her toys, already seeming to have forgotten this recent development. Tifa didn't think it would be so easy for her. She picked up the phone and did eventually find someone to change the lock. Nevertheless, she slept fitfully that night with her daughter snuggled up beside her.