Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Trapped in Paradise(With Someone You Hate) ❯ Part IV: Rare Contentment ( Chapter 4 )

Part IV: Rare Contentment

 

Shortly after waking up, Cloud found Reno on the living room's couch. He was wearing his usual clothes aside from the jacket. Strangely, Cloud wasn't bothered by it. Reno was facing slightly away from him and seemingly deep in thought as he drank from a bottle of plum wine. For awhile, Cloud could only stare at him and wonder how someone so aggravating could be so appealing to him.

 

“Should we talk about last night?” Cloud spoke after a time.

 

“Hm?” Reno turned his face to look at him. “Do you want to?”

 

“I…I don't know,” Cloud replied softly. He was really sick of saying that.

 

Reno smirked slightly, “C'mere for a minute.”

 

Cloud sighed, unresisting as he went to sit down next to Reno. The Turk hooked one long leg over Cloud's thigh and gave him a frank expression as he set aside the wine.

 

“Let's start this out with a few simple questions,” Reno drawled slyly. “How long has it been for you?”

 

Cloud exhaled slowly, “Um…at least two years, I think.” It wasn't precisely from lack of trying. Things were just so complicated. Coping with Aeris's death as well as dealing with Tifa's feelings hadn't made him very receptive to relationships or desire. He felt guilty because he was still sort of in mourning and he felt guiltier because Tifa wanted him and he just couldn't figure out if he felt the same way.

 

Reno shook his head, “How is that even fucking possible? You're gorgeous, ya know that, right?”

 

Cloud could only shrug, “I guess so.”

 

One of Reno's arms slid along the back of Cloud's shoulders. “Trust me on this.”

 

Cloud frowned slightly, “Reno, can I ask you something?”

 

“Sure. Go ahead.”

 

“Do you…like me? As a person, I mean, or is this just a game to you?” Cloud met his eyes boldly, “You should know…I won't be just another conquest, Reno.”

 

Reno's eyebrows raised and his eyes went wide, but he didn't look one bit upset. If anything, he looked quite pleased. “Gimmie some credit, Cloud,” he chuckled, “I've never thought of you as some cheap piece of ass. I ain't that stupid, and to answer your question: I think I'm gettin' to like you a lot more than I'd ever imagined. What about you?”

 

“What do you mean?” He blinked.

 

“Do you feel the same way?” Reno grinned almost teasingly. He was beginning to lightly stroke the back of Cloud's neck with a slow, gentle touch.

 

“Well…” Cloud smiled slightly with the admission, “You're not as big of an asshole as I originally thought.”

 

Reno chuckled and chewed his lower lip. His eyes were bright with desire. “Heh, well I think we understand each other.”

 

“I guess….”

 

In one surprisingly quick and smooth motion Reno moved to straddle Cloud's thighs. “No more guessing games, Strife,” Reno purred as he leaned close to him. “I can go slow, but I ain't gonna hold your hand through this.”

 

Cloud felt full of mixed emotions. He couldn't help but enjoy Reno's closeness, but the bloody demons of his insecurities made him hesitate and held him back from acting on his desires. “What do you want me to do?”

 

Reno smirked as he tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Cloud stared at his body, noticing how pale and smooth his skin was. There was no hair on his chest or belly, just a beautiful expanse of silky skin stretched over taunt, supple muscles.

 

“I want you to touch me,” Reno told him quietly, his tone lightly teasing yet oddly tender.

 

Cloud paused only for a moment, silently admiring, and then ran a hand up Reno's chest. His fingers ghosted over sensitive nipples and moved up along the curve of his throat. Reno arched into his hand and his eyes drifted closed as he sighed softly. Cloud licked his lips, loving the way Reno looked. He was so expressive and open with all things including pleasure.

 

Cloud stroked the nape of his neck and reached for the elastic hair tie that bound up Reno's hair. Cloud moaned softly as he drew him into a long, deep kiss. He could taste the sugary plum wine on Reno's lips and tongue as well as the faint bitterness of tobacco. The Turk's fingers fumbled for the zipper of Cloud's shirt as Cloud's hands reached around to caress Reno's bare back.

 

They engaged in this manner for quite some time, exploring each other's bodies and kissing languidly. Reno's fingers toying with Cloud's nipples aroused nearly forgotten sensations. It stirred his cock and quickened his blood.

 

When Cloud began to hungrily kiss and nip at Reno's throat, the Turk began to squirm and arch his back. Cloud was starting to find their position slightly awkward, especially considering Reno's constant, frenetic movement. He tried to bend Reno backward while still kissing him. Cloud had intended to lower him to the floor and follow him down in one smooth, graceful motion. They ended up tumbling to the floor in a clumsy, passionate tangle of limbs instead.

 

“Thought you had superhuman reflexes, Cloud,” Reno teased as he sucked on his earlobe.

 

“Not when I can't feel my legs,” Cloud panted softly.

 

“Yeah?” Reno's eyes were insanely blue and his grin positively devious, “You want to make things interesting? Cos I'm gonna be honest with you: This whole slow and tender routine really isn't my thing. I think we both know that I'm not seducing you against your will.”

 

“No,” Cloud smiled slightly, “and I understand what you mean….” With Reno spread so wanton and willing beneath him, Cloud felt more confident. He no longer felt the anxiety that came with following someone's lead.

 

Cloud slowly ran a hand down Reno's belly and cupped the hard shape beneath the fabric of his pants. He gently squeezed Reno's erection and watched with no small joy when he threw his head back against the plush carpet as he groaned throatily. Cloud massaged him slowly and allowed Reno's soft sounds of pleasure to encourage him. When he could tell that Reno had been teased enough, Cloud unbuttoned and unzipped his fly.

 

“Cloud please…” Reno gasped.

 

“Please what?” Cloud asked, feeling somewhat playful as he gently pulled Reno's cock from his trousers and gave it a light stroke.

 

“Hmm,” Reno's eyes narrowed slightly and gleamed with a mingling of lust and amusement, “You want me to beg, Strife? You're seriously starting to intrigue me, yo.”

 

Cloud blushed deeply. He felt suddenly flustered, “I, um…well….” He'd really just been playing along. None of his other lovers had ever been so bloody vocal. Cloud hadn't meant for it to come off as a challenge and certainly hadn't expected the control to shift so quickly out of his hands.

 

Reno sighed softly and slid his hands over Cloud's shoulders in a comforting gesture. “I was teasing you, babe,” he assured Cloud gently. “Damn, it really has been awhile for you, huh?”

 

“No,” Cloud closed his eyes against a surge of self-deprecation and loathing, “I mean yes…It's just, you're so…different from my past lovers.”

 

Reno chuckled wickedly, “Yeah? Well that's cos I'm so goddamned sexy.”

 

Cloud smirked slightly at that, “No, you're just shameless.”

 

Reno smirked right back at him as he lightly kissed Cloud's mouth. It caused Cloud to relax significantly. Kissing felt wonderful. He had almost forgotten how good it was to be touched, caressed, and kissed in such an ardent manner.

 

Reno's fingers slipped through Cloud's hair as the kiss deepened. Cloud moaned softly as he lowered himself fully on top of Reno. A little thrill went up his spine when they embraced. Reno's skin felt so unbelievably soft. For a single indulgent moment, he imagined that he could stay like this for hours. Though they were both half-naked and Reno's pants were loose and sliding down his hips, there didn't seem to be any pressure for anything more than foreplay.

 

“Thought you didn't want to go slow,” he murmured against Reno's mouth.

 

“Yeah well…” The Turk drawled out slowly, “You didn't seem comfortable. This is nice too, isn't it?”

 

“So…” Cloud asked quietly as he nuzzled at the delicate hollow behind Reno's earlobe. The Turk moaned a little bit and Cloud felt an odd sense of pride to make him sound like that, so wanton and needy. “If I wanted to stay like this all afternoon, you wouldn't object?”

 

“Fuck no,” Reno chuckled, “There are a hell of a lot worse ways to spend an afternoon and anyway this is more than I ever could have hoped for with you.”

 

Their mouths sealed in another deep kiss that seemed to last for days. Cloud decided that kissing Reno should be outlawed due to how addicted to it he was becoming. He loved the smooth, soft curves of his lips and the slick, sensuous glide of Reno's tongue in his mouth.

 

Distantly Cloud could hear his cell phone ringing but he really couldn't be bothered with it. He was too wrapped up in emotions and sensations to care about anything else.

 

It wasn't until Reno slid his mouth from Cloud's lips and whispered in his ear that he was dragged back to reality. “You gonna answer that? It might be important.”

 

“Oh…” Cloud uttered stupidly as he began to lift himself off Reno's body. As he fumbled for the phone, he was aware of Reno's eyes on him and it made his fingers tremble. Finally he managed to get the phone out of his pants pocket and answered it.

 

“Cloud?” Tifa sounded concerned over the sound of his voice, which he knew was somewhat breathless. He couldn't help it but was glad that Tifa couldn't see that he was trembling…among other things. “Are you okay?”

 

“Fine,” Cloud lied, “I was just sparring with Reno.” Even after two years of trying to be honest with himself and his friends, Cloud still found it disturbingly easy to bend the truth to his favour.

 

“Just sparring, eh?” Tifa sounded suspicious and for a heart-stopping moment, he was sure that Tifa somehow knew. He was disheveled and his lips were bee-stung from kissing too much. Reno was sliding his arms around his waist and lightly kissing the nape of his neck.

 

“Are you sure you weren't really fighting?” Tifa lightly teased, “Because I know how you get when you're around Reno.”

 

Cloud chuckled nervously despite himself, “No we're getting along well enough. I mean, we haven't killed each other yet.”

 

Reno nibbled on the ear not covered by the cell phone and whispered very softly, “Yeah…we're far from killing each other, aren't we, babe?”

 

Cloud bit his lip in order to suppress a shudder of pleasure.

 

“I'm glad to hear that, Cloud,” Tifa continued warmly, “Really I am. I think that maybe…Shinra really is trying to turn his company's reputation around.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Cloud arched his eyebrows, “What gives you that idea? Did you get word from Rufus?”

 

There was a long pause from Tifa's end that Cloud barely noticed due to the fact that Reno had begun to play with his nipples again. Cloud squirmed and shot him a glare over his shoulder, but Reno just grinned and licked his lips suggestively.

 

“Well no…” Tifa admitted, “But…I guess I'd just rather not think about you alone with Reno if he's a potential danger.”

 

Cloud curbed the impulse to tell Tifa that the only thing that Reno was endangering was his self-imposed chastity and swallowed hard. The Turk had taken to tracing delicate whorls along the side of his neck with the very tip of his tongue. Cloud struggled to hide how laboured his breath was becoming.

 

“Reno's harmless,” Cloud assured her and earned a hard pinch on one nipple from his feisty new lover. It forced Cloud to bite down hard on his lower lip to keep from crying out in surprise.

 

Reno chuckled breathily right next to his ear, “Get off the phone or I'll show you just how harmless I am.”

 

He couldn't help but imagine what Reno might do in order to get his revenge. His mind was filled with erotic thoughts, things that he hadn't dared to think of in ages. Cloud dearly hoped that it was an empty threat. He didn't think that he could keep from reacting if Reno—

 

“Cloud? Are you still there?” Tifa's voice was nearly a shout and startled him out of his fantasies.

 

“I, um, yeah….” His throat felt dry and tight with desire.

 

Reno made an annoyed sound as he shifted around to straddle Cloud's lap. He snatched the phone from Cloud's hand with surprising ease. Cloud gave him wide eyes and silently mouthed, `Don't you dare….'

 

“Hey Tifa?” Reno drawled, “Yeah this is Reno. Don't you worry about Cloud. I'm taking real good care of him.”

 

He favoured Cloud with a wide, devious grin and positively evil wink.

 

“Hm-hmm,” Reno nodded at something Tifa had said, “I swear I've been on my best behaviour. Now do you have any information for us or was this just a social call?”

 

Cloud groaned softly and hid his exasperation against Reno's shoulder. He would surely catch hell for this.

 

“You do that,” Reno's tone held a hard edge. He got off the phone and tossed it aside. Cloud frowned at his sudden silence and lifted his face to look into Reno's eyes.

 

“Be straight with me, will ya?” Reno spoke quietly, “Are you or aren't you with Tifa?”

 

“I swear, Reno,” Cloud sighed softly as he lightly ran his fingers through Reno's hair in a comforting manner. It was strange how touching him was becoming such a simple, easy thing when a week ago he couldn't even bear for Reno to invade his space. “We're not together. We sleep in separate rooms for god's sake.”

 

Reno chewed his lower lip anxiously, “Yeah, well listen…I was just wonderin' cos it's cool if ya are…. It's no big issue, really. I ain't the possessive kind.”

 

“I've been entirely truthful with you.”

 

“Then why didja lie to Tifa about what was goin' on?”

 

Cloud sighed and hugged Reno a little tighter against his body. He laid his cheek against Reno's shoulder to have a reason not to look at him. Cloud felt ashamed that he'd resorted to subterfuge when he really had nothing to hide. “I guess that I thought it would be wrong to tell her over the phone. To be honest, I don't know how I'm going to tell her even if we're face-to-face.”

 

“She doesn't need to know anything,” Reno replied and began to lightly trace his fingers up and down Cloud's spine.

 

He rolled his eyes, “She's my best friend, Reno. How can I keep something like this from her?”

 

“It's easy,” Reno shrugged slightly, careful not to dislodge Cloud's head, which was still resting on his shoulder. “It's your fucking life and your own goddamned business. Do you think that I tell Rude about every person I've slept with or dated?”

 

Cloud mulled over that for a little while. He certainly hadn't had any trouble keeping his geostigma from Tifa. This seemed like a far lesser sin by comparison.

 

“Well actually I do,” Reno amended with a husky chuckle, “but that's because it makes him blush and get uncomfortable.”

 

Cloud looked into Reno's face at that remark and began to laugh, trying to picture that stoic man so unnerved. “So are you trying to warn me that the next time I see Rude he probably won't be able to look me in the eye?”

 

Reno snorted, “Like you can ever really tell. I'm tellin' ya I don't know where he finds fucking mirrored shades these days. I think he's been stockpiling them.”

 

Cloud chuckled and closed his eyes as his head sank back to rest against Reno's shoulder. He enjoyed the comfortable closeness of their bodies. It felt so good to not feel the pressure of all the people who looked up to him and expected so goddamned much. Sometimes he felt paranoid, boxed into a role he wasn't sure that he wanted to play.

 

Reno was quiet and though it was kind of strange, Cloud enjoyed it nonetheless. He listened to his breathing and the slow, even rhythm of his heartbeat. He didn't worry about where this would lead him; he didn't even think much on the emotions that Reno stirred in him. It was probably best not to let the difficult shit ruin a rare, wonderful sense of contentment. He'd been letting his guilt and insecurity rule him for far too long now.

 

“You asleep?” Reno asked quietly after a time and Cloud stirred drowsily, realizing that he had been dozing somewhat.

 

“Hm…wha-no….” Cloud mumbled sleepily.

 

Reno chuckled, “Uh-huh…right.” He squirmed out of Cloud's embrace and stood up.

 

Feeling peculiarly forlorn, Cloud gazed up at him with a quizzical look on his face.

 

“C'mon,” Reno offered an outstretched hand, “We'll be more comfortable in bed.”

 

Cloud smiled as he accepted the help up and felt the expression grow all the more pronounced when Reno did not let go as he lead him to the bedroom.

 

 

To be con't….