Chapter 1 - Lockdown

By Crystal Snowflakes

Author's Notes: Because I've been 'stuck at home' for almost four months now… This was supposed to be full of plotless fluff & humour, but now it's grown to be a little more? I have no idea where this is going, but it'll be a short multi-chaptered fic.

Warning: References to COVID-19. This is meant as a light-hearted fic and not meant to be taken seriously. I realize that many people have lost families and friends due to COVID and their livelihoods are also at risk. I hope a viable vaccine gets created so that we can go back to 'normal'. I am currently in Canada, so many of the lockdown procedures are based in Canada where I am. Please forgive any medical inaccuracies!

On the mornings that they wake up together, they have an unspoken agreement. Yuffie's not allowed to open her mouth before Reno gets his first sip of coffee, because he just might fry her ass for being so cheerfully loud at the crack of dawn. She breaks the rule periodically anyways because she's not a rule follower and he can't find it in himself to kill her just yet because while he would never admit it, he enjoys the ninja's company a little too much.

On this particularly chilly morning, Yuffie woke up and threw on the closest article of clothing, which happened to be his dress shirt, walked to the kitchen, forgoing her undergarments. She took a brief glance at the clock and tried to rub the sleep away from her eyes before digging through the fridge and throwing two cut bagels into the toaster oven. Eyes flickering over to the coffee machine, she debated on whether she should start a pot, but ultimately decided against it because it was his job.

His disgruntled yawn made her aware of his presence and she glimpsed at his face fleetingly, making a split-second decision that today was not a good day to push his buttons. Not yet anyways. She grinned cheekily at him instead.

His body leaned against the floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinet as he leered at her creamy legs, his gaze resting on his unbuttoned shirt on her which barely left anything to the imagination. She reciprocated by tip-toeing and grazing his chiseled jaw with her lips, giggling briefly when she felt his calloused hands palming her rear brazenly. She twisted her body expertly out of his arms and skipped over to the washroom, knowing he would join her soon.

As she turned on the shower and undressed, she heard the beginnings of the coffee brewing and two empty mugs being placed on the kitchen counter.

Like clockwork.

She jumped into the shower, relishing the way water rolled down her body and closed her eyes, soaking her hair. And then she felt his warm hands on her sides, his mouth on the back of her neck and she bit back a moan. She felt a flutter of excitement when she felt his hardness against her back as one of his hands roamed upwards, cupping and teasing, his other hand trailing lower.

"You perv," she breathed out in anticipation.

"You want it," he grunted out, turning off the shower, because the last time they had attempted to do it while the shower was going, they had nearly slipped and bashed their heads against the tub.

"Maybe," she admitted, not really bothering to deny it.

She pulled the bagels from the toaster oven, smearing a generous amount of garlic cream cheese on two halves, strawberry jam on the others. He dumped two spoonfuls of sugar and a liberal amount of cream in one mug, just a splash of cream in the other, and poured coffee in both until it reached the rim.

He took a big gulp from his cup before carrying both over to the coffee table, "When am I seeing you next?"

Yuffie looked thoughtful as she carried the plates, setting them down beside their respectful mugs, "Iunno. Reeve mentioned a mission in Junon planned for tomorrow, but with the possibility of a lockdown, I don't know if I'm being sent still."

Her face must have betrayed something, because he quirked up his eyebrow and asked, "What is it, brat?"

She bit her lip before holding onto her mug tightly, grimacing as she answered, "Teef set me up for a blind date for tonight… Will you be home after?"

His face darkened slightly before he spun his face away from hers, turning on the television before taking a bite of his cream cheese bagel, "Maybe."

She wanted to let him know that she would be happy to cancel, but he was the one to refuse to label whatever they had going on as anything, choosing instead to hide their relationship in the confines of the apartment. And she didn't disagree with it because, well, she knew damn well why, although she wouldn't admit it to herself either. So she gulped down the guilt, knowing that she wasn't really at fault. She was not going to be sorry for not putting her life on hold because he was too much of a turkey to admit that he was jealous when she went out on dates. If he would only say the word, she would gladly tell Tifa to stop setting her up on dates.

"Fine. I'll call if I decide to drop by then," she muttered, a little annoyed, taking a sip of her sweetened coffee before focusing her attention on the news.

"Lockdown measures are being imposed in the city of Edge and Junon as of noon today due to the new virus that has been spreading throughout Gaia. Residents of Edge and Junon will be required to stay home unless travelling to work, studying, shopping for food or medical appointments. The decision was announced hours ago by Reeve Tuesti, the Commissioner of the WRO. For additional information, please check the WRO website."

Yuffie blinked, a little surprised, not expecting the abrupt announcement. Reeve had mentioned a possible lockdown and what it might entail, but she hadn't expected it so soon. Infection rates must have gotten really bad for them to have jumped onto the boat so soon. "I didn't get a call from Reeve this morning. He must've been swamped with the announcement from this morning. You get a message from Rufus?" she asked.

Reno checked his phone briefly, shaking his head, "They must've both been in meetings till this mornin'."

"Noon, huh? Guess my assignment to Junon and my date tonight are cancelled," she declared, casting a look at the redhead.

He didn't seem to care at all as he continued eating his bagel, picking up bits of information regarding the lockdown from the news channel.

Yuffie huffed a little, taking a big bite of her breakfast as she made an internal list of things she had to do before noon today. Looking at the clock and noticing that she really only had three hours before lockdown technically began, and she had to make it back to her room by then, she shoved the rest of the bagel in her mouth and swigged down her coffee.

"I better run some errands before heading back to the WRO before they start kicking people off the streets," she explained as she dumped the dishes in the dishwasher, "Probably won't be seeing you in a while then, Turkey."

"Aren't you WRO? Won't you technically be exempt or some shit?" Reno scoffed.

Yuffie shrugged a bit, "Probably, but don't wanna abuse it, y'know. Doubt Reeve will be getting me to do much at this time, so I'll probably be staying around the building anyways."

He frowned for a moment and while Yuffie was curious and wanted to ask what was on his mind, Reno tended to shut people out. Deciding that he would speak up if he had something to say, she grabbed her knapsack and headed to the entrance, slipping her feet into those boots she loved but took forever to lace up.

"You wanna stay here for the lockdown?" he finally asked, walking right up to the door.

She looked up in surprise from her boots and she knew it took more effort than he had let on to ask that. She'd stayed overnight numerous times, but it had never been more than short bursts at a time and she had always made sure to leave first thing in the morning.

"...Is that such a good idea?" she asked hesitantly, "I'd probably drive you crazy. Could be weeks."

His eyes narrowed at her, "You'd rather be stuck in your room at the WRO? I doubt you'll be able to wander around the entire compound."

She bit her lips, a little unsure, but tempted at his offer. Her room at the WRO was small and she doubted she'd have as much freedom there than here. On the other hand, while she enjoyed time with Reno, they tended to drive each other up the wall if they spent too much time together. "I don't really have my clothes…" she trailed off.

"The hell do you need clothes for during a lockdown? I've got enough shirts and shorts that'll fit you," he muttered. "But don't stay if you don't wanna."

"Fine, fine," she grinned, "You've convinced me. I'll stay." He would never admit it, but she knew he wanted her to stay. At least, part of her hoped so.

He looked away from her face, hostering his gun and rod before slipping on his own shoes, "Good, otherwise I'd have to call my last date to keep me company."

She stuck out her tongue at him, "Liar. You don't keep anyone's number."

"I keep yours," he shot back.

She felt the flutters in her stomach instantly but tampered it down, reverting back to her confident self, "I am pretty awesome." And before she could change her own mind, she dragged his face down to hers, kissed him forcefully and shot out the apartment.

They spent the better part of the next two hours at a groceries store fighting for canned goods, frozen foods, dried goods and toilet paper because people were being lunatics and hoarding everything they could get their hands on. Reno stocked up on alcohol and smokes, probably enough to last him a year, although Yuffie threatened that she would toss out his boxes of smokes if he ever smoked them in front of her.

When they had returned back to the apartment, she had received an email blast to remind all WRO employees to adhere to the guidelines of the WRO for lockdowns and to keep their phones on them at all times and to check their emails frequently. Reno, on the other hand, received a call from Tseng and had walked to the balcony for a smoke.

Packing away the groceries as best as she could, she felt exhausted after and threw herself onto his bed, not for the first time wondering if she had made a mistake in accepting the invitation to stay. The last few times she had spent the nights, he had been moody in the mornings and she couldn't quite figure out what it was that she had done. Sometimes he would wake up and be in a good mood, all joking and almost sweet. Other mornings, he would wake up snarky and irritable, almost like this morning.

Sighing, she sent a quick message to Tifa to make sure she was safe and to remind her to cancel the date, and to also let her know that she was in the area if Tifa ever needed help. Yuffie suspected that Cloud wasn't on the Eastern Continent. He rarely was, preferring to spend his time on Fenrir, fighting monsters and running away from his own demons.

Then she sent a quick message to Reeve and Vincent to let them know that she was still in Edge and that she was available to help with whatever necessary. She didn't bother getting in touch with Godo since she knew Wutai was relatively untouched by the virus because of their tightly controlled borders. She tossed her phone onto her pillow, scowling a bit because she was already bored and they were only three hours into their lockdown.

"'Lena's comin' to drop off a laptop for work. I'm gonna be workin' remotely from home, whatever the fuck that means," Reno said irritably while leaning against the doorframe of the room.

Yuffie looked at him, "When? I'll make sure to steer clear."

There was something unreadable in his eyes, "Fine."

She frowned, "You've been in a shitty mood all morning. What's up with that?"

He gave her a look, turned around, and slammed the door shut.

"Gawd, what a drama queen," Yuffie grumbled to herself.

Yuffie had always questioned her own sanity when she had allowed him to drag her between his bedsheets. They had always flirted with each other, but had never progressed much farther because they worked with each other and it would be so awkward otherwise. But he had kissed her at the bar one night after their joint mission and she could not ever recall any other kiss rendering her so breathless.

And while Yuffie was not a one-night-stand type, she had expected it to be one because Reno was. But then he'd texted her two nights later with an invitation to another bar. And a few nights after that again. And the following week, she'd unlocked his balcony doors and he had welcomed her in with a smirk.

If she were honest with herself, they were great together when they weren't driving each other up the walls because he was witty enough to throw back whatever insults she came up with, and she would never take his put-downs lying down. And the thought that this was the man she'd be bringing back to Wutai with her brought her immeasurable satisfaction because Godo would flip his shit.

...But of course, Reno would never be willing to be brought home. Nobody else even knew about them and sometimes, she felt like she was his dirty little secret.

She sighed, tucking her head under his chin.

His arms tightened around her, "Gil for your thoughts?"

But he was cold and then he was hot and she could never quite know which Reno to expect. He could be so pleasant to be with one moment before he flipped a switch and was a giant asshole. And he wasn't even just an asshole, he knew exactly what cutting remarks to say to make it hurt and not for the first time, Yuffie wondered why she agreed to stay with him during the lockdown.

"Sex with you sucks," she said cheekily into his chest instead.

"That why you keep comin' back for more?" he asked, and she loved hearing his voice vibrating through his chest.

"You keep begging me to come by and I feel bad saying no," she retorted, "Pity sex."

And then he kissed her on the top of her head so tenderly and she felt her heart lurching and all the flutters she pushed away came springing right back. She knew it was an unhealthy relationship, but she would take whatever he gave because she wasn't ready to give up this addiction of hers just yet.

She was never going to admit to herself that she was in love with him anyways.

Author's Notes: Promise more fluff in the upcoming chapters… I hope. I'm not sure how my fluff piece turned out like this. Taking suggestions as to what you've experienced during this quarantine (especially things that drive you crazy)! I'll be talking about weird laptop camera placements for video calls next chapter haha.

As usual, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!