Tease - COMPLETE

Warning
A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

Pre-Author's Note
Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Reno drinks too much and Cloud comforts him.

Disclaimer
Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.


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Friday 2: Kiss

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"Come on, Cloud," Joseph said, bouncing around the cot. "John can't come out because he screwed up his knee in practice, and it's my birthday."

"You had a birthday in December." Cloud didn't look up from his book that he was reading.

"Your Sugar-Daddy cancelled on you, so you can go out with me!" Joseph whined.

Cloud looked up from his book in enough time to see John throw a cup at Joseph. "Shut up! You're going with Benot and Cyrus, you aren't going alone."

"But …"

"Don't listen to him, Cloud. He only plans on getting you drunk so that he can try to find out who your Sugar-Daddy is anyway."

"That's not the only reason," Joseph said. "Cloud makes Dean jealous and I need to get him worked up so that he'll move on in."

"You are truly pathetic," John mumbled from his cot, adjusting an ice pack on his swollen leg.

"He won't admit he wants me!"

Cloud rolled his eyes at the two and went back to reading his book. It was true that Zack cancelled on him, but with promises that he was going to make up for it. He said that something extremely important came up, and from the sound of his voice he didn't really have any reason to doubt him, but he couldn't deny that he was a little bummed out.

"Cloud!" He was a bit startled as the book was ripped from his hands. Joseph glared down at him. "Quit ignoring me. I want to go dancing and drinking and you need to come with me to make Dean jealous."

"I have some reading to catch up on. I'm behind in my studies," Cloud said. He was a little behind. He still had a stupid assignment to finish that he only had the title for.

"Like you need to study." Joseph then fell to his knees, took a pleading pose and started to repeat the word 'please'.

Cloud sighed heavily, moved his foot so that it was firmly placed on his shoulder and shoved. "Quit being pathetic." Joseph sprawled on the floor with a laugh.

"Come on, you can join me for a couple of hours. You can't always be at your Sugar-Daddy's beck and call," Joseph said as he made himself comfortable on the floor.

"I am not at his beck and call," Cloud said frowning at the man on the floor.

"Yeah, right. You hold on to that phone as if it's a lifeline," Joseph said as he put his arms behind his head and crossed his legs. "Well, when you're not mad at him."

Cloud looked down at him and wanted to stomp on him again, but he held back.

~am I acting all needy like that?~

"It's just a night out. We can have a few pops and you can help me make sure that Dean gets all jealous and gets drunk enough to make his move," Joseph said.

"Pops?" John said from his cot. "What the hell? Are you forty or something? Get off the floor and get dressed. I don't want to see you flouncing around in your boxers."

Joseph got up and hovered over John, swooping down to give him a quick kiss. John spluttered and swung at Joseph who was pretty quick. "You should quit being in denial about being gay."

John wiped his mouth and let out a colourful array of curses. "If my knee wasn't blown, I would beat you senseless. Jerk!"

Joseph laughed as he went to his cot and pulled out some clothes for a night out. "Come on, Cloud. A couple of hours and a few dances will be all that it will take for Dean to get worked up. He needs a push to make his move. He's so close," Joseph pleaded. "If you wear those brown come-fuck-me pants and that snug black shirt with the blue design on it, you'll totally get Dean all jealous."

~come-fuck-me pants?~

"Oh, don't give me that look," Joseph said, waving the shirt he was holding at him. "You know which pants I'm talking about. They totally scream, 'fuck me', and will totally make Dean get all possessive over me."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You want to use me as a game piece in your ploy to get laid."

"Well, duh," Joseph said as he pulled on his shirt.

John scoffed. "If he gets laid, maybe he'll shut up."

Cloud recovered his book and went back to reading. He didn't pay much attention to Joseph any longer and didn't hear others come in. When the book was torn from his hands again he was prepared to yell at Joseph, but it was Cyrus looming over him. "Why aren't you dressed to go out?"

"I'm not going out," Cloud said and tried to grab his book back.

"Yes, you are," Cyrus said. "You owe me a drink."

"Since when?"

"Since you pushed a rib into my lung, I think you owe me a drink or two," Cyrus said with his arms crossed as if he was protecting his chest.

Cloud thought about arguing but stopped himself. "Yeah. I guess I kinda owe you an apology for that, huh?" Cloud sheepishly smiled at the larger man.

"Darn right," Cyrus said.

Something was thrown at him and he turned around to see that his brown pants were now lying on the bed. Joseph was grinning from ear to ear. "Hurry up and let's go."


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"Hey, look," Joseph said as he grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. "I thought your Sugar-Daddy was busy tonight?"

Cloud looked over, instinctively looking for Zack, but only saw Reno. He swatted at Joseph and pushed him off.

Reno looked a little … off. He was dressed quite nicely, as if he were going to the bar, with some slightly baggy jeans and snug shirt. He was even wearing his hair down, which was unusual for him.

"You should ask him to join us," Joseph said and pushed him forward.

Cloud shook his head but walked towards Reno. "Hey," he called. Reno's head shot up and Cloud saw that he had a pack of smokes. He was bringing one of the smokes to his lips. "I thought you quit."

"Need this, yo," Reno said as he put the smoke to his lips. Cloud could see the strain on his face.

~something bad must have happened~

"My flask is empty and I need another drink, yo." Reno's voice sounded strained and Cloud could see it on his face.

"What happened?" Cloud's first thought was that it had to do with Legend. He remembered Reno saying something about his mentor being in the infirmary. He hoped that it didn't get worse for him.

Reno shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He started to walk away. Cloud grabbed his arm and he thought that he was going to lose it for a moment. Reno turned quickly. Cloud had a look as if he thought that he was going to hit him. "Sorry, Cloud."

"Why don't you come out with us?" Cloud nodded towards his friends. "It'll take your mind off whatever is bothering you and I will buy you a drink." Cloud smiled brightly and added, "Even though you still owe me." He was hoping to cheer up the man. Cloud was a little worried about Reno; he was usually so quick to smile and joke. He had never seen Reno look so down in his life.

"I do owe ya still, don't I?" Reno said and it looked like he attempted to smile, but failed.

"You sure do," Cloud said, wrapping his arm around Reno's shoulder and started to steer him to his group of friends. Reno seemed tense. "We can go for a couple of hours and then you can tell me what's going on."

"I dunno," Reno said and looked behind him.

"What? Are you going to sulk in your room on your own?" Cloud said. "You talk about me brooding. You helped me out, so I owe you, too."

Reno made a small grunt. "Do I have to deal with the Blue Flame over there?" Cloud looked over to Joseph who was clinging to an annoyed Cyrus' arm.

"We just got to pawn him off on Dean as soon as possible," Cloud said. "Come on, Reno. What are you going to do if you go back to your place?"

"I dunno. Drink myself to sleep?" Reno mumbled.

Cloud didn't want to leave him alone and looking so sad, even though he was thinking that going to the bar may not be the best for him.

Reno pulled himself straight and put on a large smile, which was a little scary. "Why the hell not!" He put his arm around Cloud's shoulders. "What do I have to lose anyway?"


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Cloud's worry increased as the night went on. The first thing Reno did when they entered the bar was ordered two shots of rye and handed one to him.

"Rye?" Cloud asked. "Since when do you drink that?"

"Starting today. Kinda lost my taste for vodka yo," Reno said as he downed the shot and Cloud downed his. He ordered a mixed drink with the same rye and Cloud brought him a beer. The group walked over to a table and Reno just put himself in a corner, ordering another drink as the waitress walked by.

He could see that Reno was trying to force a smile and his conversation with the others. He was normally so laid back that he didn't mind talking with his friends, even if Joseph annoyed the hell out of him. He kept on lapsing into silences and frowning.

"Dean's looking," Joseph said and wrapped himself around his waist. "Dance with me so he can cut in." Cloud wanted to tell Joseph no, and force Reno to tell him what was wrong. A man had slid beside Reno and they had seemed to be having a civil conversation, so he thought he was going to be okay for a little while, so he let Joseph drag him onto the dance floor.

It only took one song …

~didn't help that Joseph was grinding against me~

… before Dean came over and tried not to be possessive. Cloud was glad to get off the dance floor and away from a drunken Dean who was dragging Joseph over to the other side of the bar. Joseph had a large grin on his face as he waved at him.

Before he could return to the table, he was grabbed by Cyrus who wanted his drink, so he went to the bar and bought the drink and apologized for hitting him so hard in the training session. Cyrus laughed at him. "You should be like that all the time. You would be higher on your physical marks if you were like that."

He got a pat on the back and then Benot handed him a drink. "You better watch your Sugar-Daddy over there. He's going to get picked up by that other guy."

He looked around for Zack, when he realized that they were talking about Reno.

~I got to stop equating 'Sugar-Daddy' to Zack~

Reno looked like he was getting pretty cozy with the guy and there were way too many drinks in front of him for that to be a good thing. Reno was looking quite drunk and still quite sad - not a good combination.

Cloud returned to the table to see that the man was leaning heavily into him and had his arm securely around Reno's waist; a hand lifted up his shirt and rubbed his bare side. Reno didn't seem to care but Cloud arrived in time to see the man reach up to touch the tattoos on Reno's face. He watched as Reno tensed, and he grit his teeth as the man's fingers ran over the markings. He heard the words the man said and grew angry, "So, how much do you cost?"

Cloud could see the tension in Reno's body coil and anger rising to the surface.

Cloud decided it was time that this man went packing. He pushed himself against the other side of Reno, forcefully removing the man's arm from around Reno's slender waist and placing his there. The way he positioned himself it forced Reno to lean against him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cloud said and glared at the man, who still wasn't backing away. "Get away from us."

The stranger sneered and finally stood up from his chair. "Whatever. Looks like you would be too cheap anyway if a runt like that can afford you." The man turned and walked away. Cloud held onto Reno, squeezing his sides to make sure that he didn't jump the man. He could see the anger in his aqua eyes. "It's not worth it, Reno. Calm down."

Reno eventually slumped. "Yeah, I know." Reno's eyes turned to stare at the empty glass on the table. "I need more of this stuff, yo."

Cloud kept his arm around his waist and leaned close. "I'll get you another drink, if you tell me what happened."

Reno held the empty cup and swirled the remaining ice as if he was contemplating what he should say next. He nodded his head. "Spiced rum and cola, please."

Cloud waved down a waitress and ordered himself one too. He kept his arm wrapped around Reno's waist and noticed that he was trembling slightly.

~what happened to Reno to upset him so much?~

"What happened?" Cloud rubbed his back. He could feel Reno shiver at his touch. He really wanted to know what had upset him so badly.

"I'm apparently cheap," Reno whispered. He ran his hand down his face and he looked so tired. He seemed to slump further.

"Hey. You aren't going to take what that guy said to heart. He's a jerk and a nobody," Cloud said. He looked in the direction of where the guy had walked and saw him checking out a woman in the far corner.

"It's not just him sayin' it, yo."

The waitress approached and Reno pointed to his glass. Cloud shook his head as he had hardly touched his.

"Who else is saying it?" Cloud asked.

Reno swirled the ice in his cup. "I need a smoke, yo." He shakily stood up.

~avoiding again~

Cloud sipped his drink and Benot slipped in beside him. "What the hell is with him?"

Cloud could only shrug.

Reno came back from his smoke but didn't tell him about what was bothering him, even though he seemed to be slipping deeper and deeper into a depression. Cloud was of mind to take Reno home over how drunk he had become. Cloud doubted that he could drink much more either as his plan to loosen Reno's tongue with booze was affecting him as well.

~not my best plan~

Cloud was leaning against the wall as he was a little unsteady on his feet, when Reno suddenly smashed his fist against the table, causing everyone nearby to look at him.

"It's Reno. Reno!" He exclaimed and grabbed Cloud's arm. He was a little alarmed by the grip. "Re," he drew his first syllable out and then his last one as well, "no. Reno. What's so fuckin' hard about that, yo?" The question was not directed at anyone. It seemed to be directed at the drink sitting in front of him.

Everyone looked at Reno with a confused look and a few people started to walk away. Cloud moved to lean against the table in front of Reno.

"It's not a hard name, right?" Reno said as his slightly glazed eyes turned to Cloud's. "Reno. Reno, Reno, Reno." Each time he took the time to enunciate his name.

"It's not a hard name," Cloud responded, only to see Reno frown.

"That's what I fuckin' thought, yo," Reno blurted in a loud drunken voice. "I mean, what the fuck!" He then downed the rest of the drink that was sitting in front of him and wiped his mouth on his bare arm.

Cloud put a hand on his shoulder. "Your name is fine, Reno."

Reno placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder and pulled him closer and in a very loud drunken whisper asked, "It sounds nothin' like Generr-Genill-Genesis, right?"

~Genesis? What the hell?~

"No," Cloud said immediately. "What happened?"

"Ya know. I didn't expect him to be all, like, lovey-dovey an' all that. I mean, the man ain't all rainbows an' unicorns, yo," Reno said, his grip increasing on his shoulder so that he was pulled closer. Cloud just observed the strange drunken Turk and tried to understand who he was really talking about.

"Did one of your Sugar-Daddies hurt you?" Cloud finally got out.

Reno nodded and pressed both his hands to his face for a moment and gave out a drunken scream against them before he dropped them to the table. "I'm not fuckin' dealin' with those two ever again!" He slapped his fist against the table. "I'm Reno! R. E. N. O. Reno, yo."

Cloud grabbed a chair and sat beside him as being pulled and tugged back and forth was a little dizzying. "I know that," Cloud said. "One of them called you Genesis?"

"At the worst time, yo," Reno said. "I need another drink."

"I think we've had enough." He hadn't planned on drinking that much to begin with, but trying to get information out of Reno kept him asking for more drinks from the bar.

"But I don' wanna remember today," Reno said with a whine that almost sounded like it was coming from a little child. "I wanna get so fuckin' drunk that I forget the las' week."

Cloud reached out to him and tried to comfort him. "It won't change anything." Reno rocked at the touch and his face seemed to fall.

"Man. My life sucks, yo," Reno said.

"Why would someone call you Genesis?" Cloud pondered. He didn't know the man other than from the pictures and the clones they fought, and he didn't see any similarity between the two. He looked at Reno and tried to see any. "You don't even have the same shade of hair."

"Thank you," Reno said and then sat up straight. "Yo, babes." He held up his glass. "Hit me and my bud up with another one!" Before Cloud could tell the waitress that they didn't need another one, she already walked off.

"I'm not Gessss … that guy. I'm Reno," Reno said proudly. He slapped Cloud on the back which caused him to sway.

~I really don't need another drink~

"Uh-huh," Cloud said. "So, whatcha gonna do?" His own mind was feeling a bit muddled right now.

"I'm quittin' men!" Reno said, slapping the table.

Cloud blinked. "You goin' straight?"

Reno laughed. "Nah. Don't like boobs," he said and slapped his shoulder again. Cloud rubbed it. It was going to be sore in the morning if Reno kept slapping him like that. "Jus' not gonna deal with anyone anymore, yo. Off the market forever and ever and everyone else can go stuff themselves."

"But that's no fun," Cloud said with a frown. "Just because your Sugar-Daddies were jerks doesn't mean you have to suffer."

Reno seemed to be thinking about it as new drinks were placed in front of them and Reno handed over the money. Cloud just looked at his. He didn't even know what it was but it was glowing under the blacklights.

~that can't be good~

"You're lucky," Reno blurted after he downed half of the glowing liquid in front of him. Reno slapped his shoulder again. This time, it nearly knocked him over. "Your Sugar-Daddy doesn't call you by another man's name."

Cloud shook his head. "But he's got a hero complex." He scoffed.

~which is why he's out on a mission on his day off~

"Better that than a gesss … whatever complex," Reno said. "What the hell would it be, yo?" Reno chuckled. "I think my brain is broken."

Cloud snorted and held his drink. "Your brain has always been broken." Cloud slapped his shoulder and Reno nearly fell over. Reno started to laugh and Cloud started to giggle.

He knew he had too much to drink when he started to giggle. He hated when he couldn't control the laughter.

He heard - he swore it was Cyrus - but couldn't be sure, "Cloud's cut off. He's giggling like a schoolgirl again." The glowing drink was placed in front of him with a large glass of water. He was grateful. He didn't want to end up puking his guts out.

Someone yelled something about pushing the two lushes together and he felt himself being moved beside Reno. Reno's laughing died down and his followed suit.

"You're are rrreally lucky, yo," Reno said and leaned against him. "Ya got chourself a great guy with a great butt."

That caused Cloud to start giggling again.

"He does," Reno said, sounding offended.

Cloud tried to stifle his giggling. "I know. He does," he said through giggles. "You were staring at it too." He remembered the night of the bet and how they had both started laughing as they were admiring the SOLDIER's butt. The memory made him smile and he looked to Reno who was frowning.

"I shouldn't have made that stilly bet, yo." His voice was low.

~stilly?~

Cloud leaned against him. "Why?" Cloud asked. The bet brought him and Zack together. It was a silly way to say that he gained a boyfriend, but it is what happened.

"You two are hot together," Reno said. Cloud felt his face start to burn. "You both are! Kissing like that in front of me, was, whoa." Reno swayed.

"Like, whoa." Cloud started to giggle again. He grabbed the glass of water in front of him and took a big drink, trying to stop the giggles.

"Yeah," Reno said. The tone of his voice was so sad, and his shoulders slumped again.

Cloud put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "You'll find someone," Cloud said, knowing that the words would seem hollow. He knew that Reno was hurting. Cloud wished he could help the redhead more than just with his words.

"I shouldn't have drank so much," Reno whispered and swirled his empty cup in front of him.

"You gonna be hung-over tomorrow."

"No. No," Reno said and shook his head violently and seemed to be regretting the action as he brought his hand to his forehead, running his fingers through his red bangs. Cloud just noticed that he wasn't wearing his normal flight goggles. How could he not notice that before? "Not tonight. I need to wink more. Not that night."

Cloud furrowed his brow. "What?" He didn't understand what the drunken Reno was trying to say.

"Other night," Reno said. "I should've taken care of ya." Reno frowned and looked into his glass.

"Huh?" Cloud was still not following what he was saying. He felt a hand on his leg, a hand that gave him a quick pat and squeeze.

His eyes grew wide as he realized that it was Reno's hand on his leg.

"I coulda been the one makin' Zack all jealous instead of the other way around." Reno pushed his glass back and the hand was removed from his leg. Reno then let his head fall to the table in a heavy thump. "I'm such a failure, yo."

Cloud instinctively reached over and rubbed Reno's back but was unable to say anything. He was trying to figure out what to make of Reno's confession.

~he likes me?~

It had to be just the booze talking. Reno was just a flirt. He really didn't mean those things. He was just having a really rough time and feeling neglected. That was all. He kept rubbing the redhead's back in long, easy strokes, having to push his red hair out of the way.

"Reno?"

Reno kept his head on the table but looked up at him. It hurt to see him look so lost. He had something to say, but he lost it.

~what could I say to comfort him?~

"I think we both have had enough to drink and you need to get some sleep," Cloud said instead.

"I think yer right," Reno said and rose up in his chair. He blinked a few times and his eyes seemed watery.

"That guy really hurt you, huh?" Cloud said, still keeping his hand on his back and felt him shudder.

"Might as well ripped my fuckin' heart out, yo," Reno whispered as he tried to reach into one of his jean pockets. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked. That was when he saw it. Whatever he was searching for seemed to be the last straw for Reno. A tear fell from his blue eyes as he looked away quickly, wiping it as if he was ashamed of it.

He reached out and prevented Reno from running away from him. He pulled him into a tight hug. He felt Reno shivering against him. After a moment, he heard Reno mutter, "I think I threw away my key card." Cloud pulled away so that they were face to face.

"How'd you do that?" Cloud asked as he searched his friend's face.

Reno sighed. "Bein' stupid." Reno reached up and touched his face. "Ya know, you're a good friend."

"I try to be. If you tell me the whole story," Cloud said as he was having a hard time piecing all the tidbits of information that Reno had given to him.

"I'm a crappy friend," Reno said.

Cloud was about to tell him that he was not, when Reno started to lean forward.

~wha?~

Reno's lips touched his. It wasn't a deep kiss; Reno only pressed his drink-sweetened lips against his. Cloud could see his eyes were closed and Cloud found that he was frozen. The hand that had been on his cheek was now threaded in the hair in the back of his head. The kiss was brief as Reno stopped, and then pressed his forehead against his. Cloud was too stunned to pull away.

"Reno," he whispered.

"Do you think Zack will kill me for kissing you?" Reno sounded sober.

Cloud blinked a few times. He knew he should be more alarmed by the closeness of Reno. His mind was reeling from the small kiss. He knew that Reno was in distress and needed comfort, but this was not the type of comfort he had in mind.

Cloud was about to say something when a click startled him and he heard a yell from the end of the table. He turned to the sound to see Joseph standing there with his phone held up. "I knew it!" He threw his hands up in there air and let out a victory yell. "I win the pool and I have the evidence!"

Cloud blinked at the roar that ensued around them as everyone clamoured to look at the picture that was on Joseph's phone. Reno covered his face and let out a miserable-sounding moan.

Cloud got his composure back and chose to ignore the noise around them and focused on Reno. "Let's get your drunken ass home. We'll talk about that kiss later." Cloud stood a little shakily and dragged Reno out of his chair. Reno was muttering how sorry he was under his breath. Reno leaned heavily against him. Reno was like a rag doll and Cloud dragged him out of the bar and went to take him home.


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Again… Friday is not over yet.