Can Barely Hide

Cloud closed his eyes and breathed Reno in. He knew a day or two couldn't hurt, but how could he relax knowing that man was probably keeping an eye on him no matter where they went? He didn't want Reno worrying. And even though Reno would no matter what, if leaving town helped him relaxed then Cloud would leave.

"Not too far, Reno. Not until this is over. Then we can go some place far away, warm, and uncrowded." He ran his hand up Reno's neck and into his hair. "Let's eat. Then we can pack and go. You can have me safe and alone before sunset." He pulled back slightly. "I'll cook. Something easy and light. You get us packed.”

"Thank you," Reno whispered. He tried to tell himself that his fear was unfounded. He tried to tell himself that a Turk wouldn't have the fear at all. It didn't matter. Underneath the Turk uniform and cocky grin was simply a man, and that man was terrified of losing the one he loved. With a kiss and a last, loving pat to Cloud's backside, Reno slid from the bed. "I'll start packing now. If we take your Fenrir we can have the weapons concealed." And there was no way in hell he was going anywhere without weapons.

He didn't bother with dressing, just a simple robe, and crossed to the closet to rustle through the clothes. Slightly amused, Reno raised his voice to be heard above the noise he was making.

"Hey, babe, is everything you own black?"

Cloud frowned and came up next to Reno. He didn't want to put on those clothes the Doctor had given him again. Selecting his usual he pulled his boxers, pants, and boots on. He gingerly slipped his arms through the shirt, careful not to upset his ribs. "It makes nice camouflage."

He looked at Reno then and walked out of the room. "Next time you're out maybe you can pick me out some silky... underthings you'd like."

He didn't like the idea of Reno dressing him. He could only imagine the skin tight costumes he'd be prancing around in. But silky underthings might be nice, especially when Reno took them off his hips.

In the kitchen Cloud scrambled a few eggs, toasted and buttered some bread, and poured them both plain glasses of water. His stomach was already turning at the thought of such a meal but at the same time his mouth was watering at the smell. It was protein and good old water though, which was what he needed now.

"Camouflage?" Reno mumbled to himself and snickered. He packed a bag for each of them and slid into a pair of black, well worn and comfortable jeans and a loose poet's type shirt. His favorite boots completed the outfit. After brushing and tying back his hair, Reno winked at his reflection. "Sexy. You'll definitely get your man."

The smell of food enticed him to the kitchen where he snaked an arm around Cloud and picked up a toast slice with the other hand. His eyes fluttered closed happily. Hunger truly was the best spice at times. Reno kept his lover within easy reach of just one more touch, one more little caress during his hastily devoured meal. He was pleased enough by Cloud's thoughtfulness that he didn't even grumble about the lack of coffee.

"We'll go to Healin. Rufus always said that any of us Turks could use it anytime we wanted. It'll be perfect since it has surveillance installed." Reno gave Cloud a soft kiss. "I'll just let Tseng know where I'm going to be so he won't think I keeled over."

"Okay," Cloud lingered a moment in Reno's warmth as he drained another glass of water.

He leaned into Reno with a sigh, ducking his head to lay it on his lover's chest. "You do that, I'll go strap our bags to Fenrir and store the weapons."

He knew once they got there he could lean against Reno's sturdy body all he wanted. But it was still hard to push away.

He slung both bags over an elbow, not even daring to lift his arms more than needed, then picked up his sword and headed out the door. Outside, he strapped the bags to the back bumpers and swiftly dismantled and hid the individual swords inside Fenrir.

Reno snapped his phone closed and tucked it in his pocket. Thankfully, Tseng had taken his information without too many questions about why he hadn't said anything before and had approved the trip to Healin. He secured the apartment for an extended absence and hurried outside. He didn't want Cloud out of his sight for too long, but stood back to watch as his lover dealt with his sword. There was something about the sure way Cloud dismantled and racked the pieces that was undeniably sexy.

Reno molded himself to Cloud's back and nosed through his hair while circling his hips with his arms. He ran his palm gently under Cloud's shirt to cover the injured side protectively.

"Let's get the hell outta here."

Cloud brought Fenrir to a roar and a screech as they hit the road. He couldn't go as fast as he usually would because he didn't trust his side to let his reflexes kick in if they needed to. Reno's hand was warm over his ribs and kept the ache down. Reno's breath in his hair tickled.

In front of Healin, Cloud parked Fenrir and eased one foot to the ground. "We'll really be alone?" He asked and curled a hand over Reno's.

"Yes," Reno answered. "Just you and me and the forest creatures."

He slid off the bike and shouldered both bags. Reno could feel himself already starting to relax just from the soothing quiet around them. He led the way inside and dumped everything in the large bedroom that Rufus Shinra normally used while in residence. Then he took Cloud's hand to guide him towards a large, squishy leather chair. Reno sat in the chair and gently pulled Cloud into his lap where he could hold his lover and just enjoy the warmth of the man safe in his arms.

"I love you, Cloud," Reno said softly, his face and voice so serious. "I want to treasure you and protect you from anything."

He let his lips roam over Cloud's face and neck as if he could erase any touch but his own.

"That's impossible," Cloud murmured. "You can't be there all the time and you can't protect me from everything." He curled his legs up next to Reno's thigh. "Keep blaming yourself for my error and I'm going to kick your ass."

"But you can treasure me," he kissed Reno and snuggled in. "And I'll treasure you. I love you. So much, Reno." He sighed and pressed his forehead against Reno's.

A chaste kiss, just the gentle press of lips, was Reno's eternally grateful and quietly joyous reply to Cloud's declaration. He pulled away to better see those impossibly bright blue eyes and stroked the back of his hand along Cloud's cheek.

"It might be impossible, but that doesn't mean I can't try. I want to wipe the floor with the bastard that hurt you. How can I make you understand? If I don't try, then I don't deserve you. I probably don't deserve you anyway. A Turk with one of the 'good guys'." Reno bit his bottom lip, but had to ask a question that had been bugging him. "What do your friends think? Rude...well, he never says much ever anyway."

Reno shifted his gaze to look out the window. It felt so good to hold Cloud in his lap. Hopefully there would not be any interruptions to their much needed quiet time.

"It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks," Cloud nuzzled Reno's cheek. "But I think Tifa's happy for me; her voice mails have almost stopped." He chuckled and kissed Reno's cheek.

"I don't care if you don't deserve me," Cloud eased himself up to straddle Reno's lap and run both hands over his chest. "I'm happy with you. So, don't I deserve you?"

"You deserve anything that makes you happy," Reno said and sighed. He lifted one of Cloud's hands to kiss the fingertips. Then he jolted. "Oh, shit! I just remembered. When I was packing I found a potion I keep on hand for emergencies. Will you take it? I mean if it will help?"

The redhead put on his most pleading and ingenuous face. "Please? For me? I don't want you to hurt anymore. Plus, you'll need to be at full strength when we finish this mess."

Cloud sat back on Reno's legs and squeezed his lover's hand. "It can't be helped." Unzipping his shirt he guided Reno's hand and pressed it over his broken ribs with a soft cry.

"The rest of my body is fine, Reno," he breathed past the pain. "So why haven't these mended? Or even started to? Something's wrong, and we both know who to thank."

"I don't like the pain either, but I won't waste a potion you might need later." He cupped Reno's hand between his own. "Why don't we set them and wrap them? It will help the pain, and remind us to be careful." He smiled a little at that.

Reno hissed under his breath and tried to pull his hand away at his lover's pained cry, but Cloud's grip was too strong. Instead, he wrapped his other arm around Cloud and put his own wiry strength to use to heave them out of the chair and carried Cloud to the bedroom. He set the blond on the bed and gave him a quick kiss.

"Lose the shirt. I'm sure there's still bandages here from when Rufus had to stay."

Reno went to the adjoining bath to rummage in the cabinets. Besides the bandages, he also found a leftover tub of salve. He remembered that it also contained a topical anesthetic. It smelled sharp and pungent, but he didn't think it would hurt to try. It might even ease Cloud's pain.

Reno returned to the bedroom to treat his injured lover. He kept his anger and worry buried as deep as possible, but it still simmered. What exactly *had* the psycho done to Cloud that could inhibit his healing ability? Poison? Something worse?

Cloud eased out of his shirt and laid it aside. Skimming his fingers over the ribs he looked at them and then to Reno when his lover returned. "Do you know how to set them?"

"As long as the supporting cartilage is still holding them roughly in place and none are in danger of piercing anything the best thing we can do is wrap you up tightly to keep them in place. You'll have to rewrapped every time the bandages loosen and anytime you want to bathe." Reno smiled at his lover and gave him a wink. "I won't mind playing doctor. It'll just give me one more excuse to get my hands on your body."

The Turk ran surprisingly knowledgeable hands over the ugly colored bruising and breathed a small sigh of relief to find no jagged edges that could be felt through the skin.

"Put your arms over my shoulders. I'm going to put this anesthetic goop on and wrap you up tight now."

Cloud turned his lower body to fully face Reno and edged in close. Putting his arms on Reno's shoulders he found himself taken aback by Reno's features. He saw this face everyday, so why was it now that his sharp face suddenly struck a chord inside Cloud?

"So I guess I won't be too limber for a while," Cloud teased.

Reno frowned at his lover, not in the mood for the teasing. He spread a thick layer of the goopy, aromatic salve over the puffy, discolored skin and hoped the tremble in his hands wasn't noticeable. Next, the bandaging was wrapped snugly but not so tightly as to impede breathing. Reno blinked. He had dressed hundreds of injuries, most of them his own, but having an injured lover was not something he was used to dealing with. It scared him that Cloud wasn't healing. Even more scary was the fact that potions wouldn't work.

Reno caught Cloud's face with his hands and tilted his chin to eye level. A possessive kiss was brushed over the man's lips.

"We're going to make sure this doesn't happen again. You're going to heal, and you'll be just fine," Reno said in way that dared Cloud to object. He skimmed his fingers through soft, blond hair. "Is there anything else I can do to make you feel better?"

Cloud wasn't sure if this was better or worse. Now he felt every breath he took as it expanded his ribs against the snug wrapping. But he also felt secure in that he wouldn't forget and make a bad move to make it worse.

"You already do so much," Cloud said after a few breaths to make sure his voice wouldn't be strained. "And I think asking you to stop worrying would be like asking the sky to not be blue." He lowered his arms to wrap them around Reno and lay his head on Reno's shoulder.

Reno tilted his head to rest his cheek against Cloud's hair and rubbed his back.

"No, you can't ask me not to worry. I'd have an easier time pulling down a star for you or something, but if it makes you feel better, I'll try to worry less loudly." Reno turned until he could sit on the bed with Cloud in his lap. "I do feel more relaxed being away from the city. At least here we have a better chance of seeing anyone coming."

Reno pressed more kisses to his lover's forehead, cheeks and lips.

"Tell me you love me, and that you'll never run off to face anything alone again."

"I love you," Cloud nuzzled Reno's neck and inhaled his scent with a soft sigh. He pulled back to look into Reno's eyes. "I promise, no more secrets. We're in this together now."

He had always been so self reliant. Having a partner was changing him, and he was learning to like those changes. Having someone to count on was different... and trust... Trust didn't come easy but Reno had gone above and beyond for him. He trusted Reno more than he trusted himself at the moment.

"Now," he smiled, trying to lighten Reno's mood. "I think you need to feed me again."

"I guess that's only fair, since you fixed breakfast this morning." Reno stood and carried Cloud to the kitchen instead of setting him down. He looked down at his lover with a teasing smile on his lips. "Is this a 'honeymoon' for us?"

Cloud chuckled and clung tightly to Reno. "You haven't given me a ring, yet. Do we need rings for a honeymoon?"

He bit his lower lip and smiled coyly. "Do we want to do this right when this is all over?"

Reno stared at Cloud with his jaw dropped until his thoughts reassembled themselves into some sort of coherence. Was Cloud suggesting...? Did he really mean...? Would he...for life? He set Cloud's feet on the floor and carefully hugged him close before drawing back to frame his face and look into those beautiful eyes. He leaned down to kiss soft lips then skim them over his lover's cheek and jaw to where he could whisper into his ear.

"Is that what you want? Do you want to commit yourself that much?" Reno tugged at Cloud's pierced earlobe with his teeth. "Would you wear a ring that would show everyone you belong to only me?"

Cloud wrapped his arms around Reno and shivered at the feel of teeth on his ear. He took a moment to think and make sure he wasn't making any stupid decisions with his penis.

Then he hugged Reno tighter, not as tight as he wanted as the pressure against his ribs reminded him he was injured. "Are... are you asking?"