A/n: Here is a ReTi one-shot for The Sacred and Profane! Hope you guys enjoy. Also, if anyone has any requests for me to write, feel free to message me with them and I'll see what I can do!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"Mommy, look at this!" little Elly yelled from her seated position in the flowers by the pond. Tifa looked up from the blanket her and Reno were sharing, and smiled at her daughter. The little girl was holding a flower that looked like the flowers Aerith would tend to. In fact, the whole area by the pond was covered with them! The brunette smiled at the distant memory and nodded.
"I see that, honey, it's pretty!" she called out, Reno turning his head to see what they were talking about. He agreed and got up, walking over to the little redhead, to get a closer look.
"Hmm…it is pretty, but it'd look better like this!" he commented as he placed the flower in his hair and batted his eyes at his daughter. Elly giggled and pulled the flower out, mimicking him as she tucked it behind her ear.
"This is much better, Daddy!" Reno laughed, ruffling her matching crimson hair as he returned to the spot by his wife, pulling her in his arms while Elly continued to play around by the flowers.
"I'm so glad you got off work, sweetie!" Tifa exclaimed as she gave Reno a small peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, Tseng was more than happy to let me take the day off. I wish we could do it more…"
"You know, Elly was saying the same thing the other day while she was helping me wash dishes at the bar…maybe we should do this sort of thing more often, hmm?" she suggested, flicking his nose playfully as they both turned their attention to their daughter.
Elly was petting the flowers, admiring their bright white and yellow color when she took a seat beside them. A smile was apparent on her face when she looked back to see her parents together, happy. It seemed they didn't have the time like they used to, what with the economy in Edge picking up and Reno becoming busy with ShinRa. Elly only wished they could spend more time together. Curling up by the flowers, the girl felt sleep overcome her as she whispered to the flowers.
"I wish we could all have more fun together. Just me, Mommy and Daddy…" she sighed, ignoring the sudden wind that blew through the field of flowers. Elly looked back at the couple as she dozed off, noticing that they were doing the same. The wind picked up, whipping around the blanket Reno and Tifa were sitting on…however, they were too exhausted to care.
"R-Reno…wake up…please tell me I'm dreaming!" Tifa exclaimed in a tired, but cautious tone. Reno cracked an aqua eye open and looked around. Either he was high off the smell of flowers, or Tifa was right, they were dreaming. His first thought was…where is Elly?
"Mommy, Daddy, look!! We all look like cartoon characters! I can wish for a Princess dress and get it!" their daughter came running up to them, just as strange looking as they were. She verbally wished for a dress like 'Cinderella' and a puff of smoke appeared…leaving their redheaded child in the exact outfit she was wishing for!
"Oh sh…uh I mean crap." Reno stated, looking around. What had happened? He shared the same panicked expression as his wife, both looking around.
"Red, what are we going to do? How did we get like this? We look ridiculous!" Tifa asked, touching the ground. Everything felt real…but it looked like something that popped out of the T.V screen!
Just then, a fairy appeared before them, looking like a cartoon version of Aerith. She smiled and pulled Elly up into a hug before turning the couple.
"Tifa, Reno! How nice to see you both! I noticed your child was wishing for something so sweet and grand, I decided to grant her wish!" Tifa's jaw dropped as she looked as Elly. The little girl ran to her father and clung to his pant leg.
"What exactly did you wish for, baby girl?" Reno asked, picking her up in his arms.
"I wanted us to be together and have more fun!" she answered loudly.
"Mhmm, so you three can navigate through three special doors. Only after you've visited each, will you be able to return to your normal state. Have fun!" and with that, fairy Aerith was gone. Tifa glared at the first door, then at her husband and daughter.
"Reno, what are we going to do!? I don't want to stay like this! Our bodies look weird…" Reno laughed at his wife and set Elly down.
"Well, we'll do what Aerith said then, right baby girl? We'll have fun. C'mon Teef, where's your sense of adventure, huh? Don't worry, your butt is still cute." He stated, his trademark smirk forming on his lips.
Tifa sighed in apprehension as she didn't know what to expect. Knowing Aerith's wild imagination…they could be doing anything in this place! She stared back at the first door that appeared. It was a bright gold and the glare almost made the brunette want to shut her eyes.
"Okay, well, let's get going you two!" she said, trying to sound optimistic. Reno and Elly cheered together and they approached the door. Reno twisted the knob, letting the girls go first.
They opened the door and a bright light blinded the three as they closed their eyes. After stepping though, Reno opened his eyes slowly. Looking down, he noticed that he was closer to the ground that before. His pony tail was gone and his suit had been replaced with a pair of khaki shorts and a red t-shirt. The Turk looked over at Tifa, who was a bit shorter than him, wearing a little blue dress. She looked like a kid, about Elly's age.
"Tifa, what happened to you!" he said, smacking his hand over his mouth as soon as the words left his lips. Tifa laughed in an equally squeaky voice as she pointed at her husband.
"Reno! We're kids, again!" she exclaimed as she tackled the small redhead. Just then a scream was heard and both younger versions of the couple turned to see who it was. Elly. Except Elly wasn't little like Reno and Tifa. She had grown up!
"Mom…Dad…what's wrong with us?" Elly asked in a much older tone as she looked down at her jeans and tank top. She was the spitting image of her mother, save for Reno's red hair, that tumbled down her back.
"We musta switched places! You're our age, and we're yours!" Tifa explained as she shrugged. Reno rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He hated being a little kid, watching his daughter strut around at his old height.
"Well, you heard what Aerith said, you two. Let's spend time together!" Elly informed them both as she picked up one in each arm. Tifa giggled at the strange occurrence and clung to her now grown daughter, and Reno continued to sulk.
"This sucks!"
"Daddy…watch your language…you're little remember?" Elly teased.
"Sorry…"
They continued down the road that they had landed on and soon found a park. What they found in the park was far more mysterious than the park itself. Playing in the playground, were children versions of Barret, Cloud, Cid, Elena, and Rufus, all staring at little Tifa and Reno.
"Look at Elly!" Elena shouted in a more squeakier tone than anyone. Reno clapped his hands over his ears in annoyance as Elly laughed.
"Hey everyone! This is such a funny switch up!" the girl replied, setting her parents down.
"Good, more workers! Tifa, Reno, get to work. I want to build a fort to take over this playground." A snarky voice from a blonde child retorted at the two. Tifa placed her hands on her hips and Reno smirked. Rufus was just the same as a kid, as he was as an adult.
"Guys, don't listen to this weirdo! He's a sissy boy!" little Cid pointed out, a weed sticking out of his mouth. Barret had already decided he wasn't going to listen to Rufus as he started ambushing the blonde with a giant stick. Tifa looked over at little Cloud, who was sitting on a hill nearby, staring off at the field in front of him. She couldn't help but laugh at how typical all the kids we're being.
"Now, everyone, behave!" another voice rang out and a brunette young woman, with a pair of slacks, sweater and a trench coat, followed. Marlene! It had to be! In this world, all children were adults, and all adults were children!
"Hey Marlene!" Tifa called out, meanwhile grabbing Reno's shoulder to keep him from joining in with Cid and Barret, who were burying Rufus in the sand.
"Hello, Tifa, how are you?" she said in an adult tone, surprising the brunette more. Tifa gave her a thumbs up and pulled Reno along the playground, to the swings.
"Elly, push us, push us!" Reno called out, taking his seat on the swing.
"Yeah! PLEASE?"
"Okay, okay…" Elly agreed as she pushed her parents in their swings. They continued squealing in delight with each push, when a crash of thunder boomed in the distance. Tifa screamed, Reno followed suit and Elly jumped.
"Get me offa this thing! I don't want to get struck by lightning!" Reno complained. Elly quickly stopped both children and pulled them off.
"You scared of storms, Daddy?" she asked, amused. Tifa clung to her daughters leg as Reno nodded with a pout.
"Yes! Now how do we get outta here! There's nowhere to go!" he continued his complaining, aqua hues searching frantically for an escape from the brewing storm.
"Calm down, Reno! Remember when we were bigger? And we danced in the rain?" Tifa remind him, her finger pointing to the rain above that started to pour. Elly looked at them and smiled. The two children started to dance in the rain, their taller daughter soon joining them. The other kids watched in awe under a tree at the trio dancing, soaked to the bone, but still smiling all the while.
"I didn't know you could dance like this, Dad!" Elly beamed at her shorter father who just shrugged and laughed. Then, Tifa stopped all of a sudden and pointed up ahead.
"Look you guys...Aerith sent us a new door!" she yelled. Elly looked back at Reno and then at Tifa, agreeing that they should move along.
"Alright, c'mon you guys!" she said excitedly, grabbing each of their hands and running towards the door. It was oddly shaped in a circle and had a crown as the door knob. Ignoring the strange look of the door, Elly remembered that Aerith had said. This must be their second place!
The female redhead turned the door knob and pushed her parents through before jumping in herself, slamming it behind her. Tifa whimpered at the shove and opened her eyes. She was back to normal! Well…sort of. She was wearing the same clothing…but she knew they weren't back at the field just yet.
A familiar voice called Reno to his senses as he looked down at his daughter. She was back to her regular height once more, looking up at him. Looking down at himself, Reno noticed that his hair had fallen out of its ponytail, spikes of crimson pointing in every direction. He was also wearing some strange black jacket, zipped all the way down to his ankles and booted feet. His hands were adorned with gloves.
"Sweetie…your tattoos are different…"Tifa pointed out, circling around her husband. Reno's eyes widened and he rushed for the nearest mirror. She was right. His once red tattoos, were now black teardrops underneath each eye.
"Where are we…? What am I?" he asked her. Tifa simply shrugged and swallowed loudly looking around. The room was colored a blinding white, with a large crystal ball in the middle. She noticed a sign of life, however, a blonde girl, drawing in the distance. She seemed oblivious to the three that had arrived.
"Reno…go talk to that girl and figure out what's going on." She whispered, pointing to the girl. Reno scowled, but complied as Tifa pushed her husband.
"E-excuse me, kid? Where are we right now?" he asked, scratching his head. The girl looked up and immediately cowered at his stare.
"A-Axel! How long have you been here?" she asked, dropping her sketchbook on the floor. Reno's brows furrowed and he bent down to pick up the sketchbook for her.
"Who's Axel? My name is Reno, and you are?"
"Namine…and no you're not! You're Axel!" she said once more. This was beginning to frustrate the redhead.
"Namine…this is my Daddy, Reno! He's not Axel, whoever that is!" Elly corrected, walking up to the girl cheerfully. The blonde girl shook her head and then stared wide-eyed at Elly.
"Axel has a child!?"
"What? Daddy, what does she mean?" Elly asked, confused. By this point, Tifa joined her family and smiled down at the little blonde girl.
"Listen sweetie, I don't think you get it. This is Reno, my husband, Elly, my daughter, and I'm Tifa! We're just visting. We don't live here." the brunette explained.
"No, no, I know a Tifa. She's Sora's friend…but you…you're Axel! I know its you!"
"This girl is a dumbass!" Reno hissed in Tifa's direction, being sure to not let Elly hear. Tifa rolled her eyes and nodded. Elly was just about to correct the girl again when a black mist appeared behind them both.
"Axel, what have I told you about bringing hostages back?" Reno growled and turned around, annoyed beyond repair at this point.
"I am NOT Axel. If you call me that one more time...I swear I'll…." the red head stopped as he got a glimpse of a rosy haired man, wearing the same get up as Reno was. The Turk burst into a fit of laughter, causing Tifa to kick him abruptly.
"Reno, stop it! Just play along! This guy looks dangerous!" the brunette whispered, Elly coming at her side to hold on to her mother.
"This guy? Dangerous? Please, Tifa. Don't make me laugh. He looks like he could join the nearest knitting league!" Reno replied, continuing his laughing spells. The man flicked his wrist and a scythe formed, pointing at Reno. The Turk gulped and stopped laughing.
"Daddy!" Elly yelled, Tifa holding her back.
"Reno, let's just go…c'mon…" his wife urged.
"Axel, take those two down to the dungeon and then come back up here…immediately. We need to talk." The man said in a lethal tone. Reno finally played along and nodded turning to his family. He gave Elly to Tifa and grabbed Tifa's hand, taking them through the nearest door. Once they were out in the hall, Reno sighed in relief.
"What a nightmare! How do we get out of this place? I don't like it one bit." Tifa stated, looking around. Everything was still white! Didn't these people bother to paint the walls? The three looked around for any sign of a way out, when a map appeared. Reno took it, unraveling the scroll as he squinted at the small text.
"It's a map of this place. It's called Castle Oblivion. What a horrible name."
"Well, I don't care what it's called. The people here obviously don't like strangers. Let's find a way out." Tifa suggested.
"Look, its Organization XIII!" someone called out. They turned to see a boy running at them with a giant key. Reno resisted the urge to laugh as he ignored the kid and looked back at the map. Just then something hard whacked him upside the head. Tifa gasped and Elly cried out.
"That kid did NOT just hit me with a giant house key!" Reno hissed as he clutched his head. He turned to see the boy, his brunette spikes everywhere. A smirk was on his face, as if in victory.
"Listen here, punk, you better wipe that look off your face before I beat you to the ground! I'm lost and now I have a headache!" he yelled in a menacing tone at the kid.
"Wait…why didn't you fade? C'mon, fight me back!" the boy said, holding his weapon as if he were about to strike. Elly jumped from her position in Tifa's arms, running and stopping in front of Reno.
"Stop it! Don't hurt my Daddy! He didn't do anything to you! We're lost and I'm scared!" she wailed, Reno clutching her shoulder to get ready to push her back in case the boy attacked again. Instead, he lowered his weapon and smiled.
"Ohhh…you're the ones Aerith was talking about, right!? The family?"
"Yes! Yes we are!" Tifa chimed in.
"Well…I don't know why he looks like my enemy…but…I'm supposed to do this for you guys." He explained, as he held the key out in front of him, creating a door down the hall. Tifa turned to it and then turned back to Reno.
"That's our way out, sweetie!" Reno nodded and picked up Elly. Looking down at the boy, he smirked, just before backhanding him on the back of his head.
"That's for earlier…but thanks, kiddo. We owe ya one. Oh…and go help that dumb blonde chick down the hall." He informed, turning back around with Tifa who held the door open for them. The last thing they heard was the boy, who Reno assumed was Sora, scream "Namine!" Then…all went black.
"Daddy…why am I on your back?" Elly asked as she opened her eyes. Reno looked behind him to see not Elly, but a cat on his back. Wait…was Elly a cat now? He licked his lips, noticing that his tongue was longer than usual. Was he a cat too?
"Reno…I have tail!" Tifa screamed out, looking frantically behind her. Tifa, once human, was now a black cat, staring at him and Elly. Reno looked behind him, noticing his own crimson tail, as well as the crimson kitten on his back.
"Aww, we're kitties now!" Elly exclaimed, jumping off her father's back and running around in circles. Tifa laughed as she purred and approached her husband, rubbing her head into his cheek as she licked him.
"Babe! You don't even do that when we're human!" the red cat said, surprised by her gesture. Tifa laughed and quickly shushed him.
"Not in front of Elly, Reno…besides…cats have more fun!" she whispered, licking him once more. Elly then called out for them. Both turned to look at her.
"Look at all these buttons!" Around them was some sort of control room. What kind of cats stayed in a control room? Then again, they weren't in a real world. Tifa shrugged the best as she could as a cat and stalked over to her daughter, Reno sauntering after her.
"Why don't we push one and see what it does?" Tifa insisted. Elly agreed and tapped one of the buttons with her paw. Nothing happened.
"Why don't we not touch buttons…because if I can recall…wait…what's that sound?" Reno asked, perking his ears up and looking around. A whistling sound could be heard, just like in cartoon's Elly would watch on Saturday mornings…except the whistling mean either you were falling or…BAM.
"Oh no, Reno!" Tifa screamed, rushing to his side. Elly placed a paw over her mouth as she mewed sadly. The Turk cat was squished by a giant anvil, his claws out of his paws, digging into the ground and his tongue lolling out of his mouth. The male cat pushed the anvil off with his back and shook his whole body, returning to normal before flashing a smirk.
"Ta da!"
"Reno, I thought it killed you!" Tifa replied, scratching his arm playfully, but relieved.
"Babe, it's a cartoon world…remember?" Reno reminded her, almost being knocked down by a flash of red fur… or Elly.
"Daddy, don't do that again!"
"This is why we don't push buttons…see? Watch this." He stated, walking over to another button and pressing it gently.
"Stand clear…something'll probably fall." Reno warned as they watched and waited. Nothing happened for a few moments.
"Daddy, I don't see anything!' Elly whispered. Reno held a paw up.
"What's that sound?" Something could be heard in the distance.
"Sweetie, is that…barking?" Tifa asked, her eyes becoming wider. Reno nodded slowly and his lip twitched. They were…cats. Dogs were coming in their direction. Shit.
"Uh…we might wanna get out of here…" he insisted, turning to see a rather large dog running in their direction, teeth bared and snarling.
"I second that!" Tifa yelled, picking up Elly by the extra skin on her neck and taking off out of the control room, into some random yard…with fences all around them. Reno followed, cursing their bad luck in all this. Elly on the other hand, was enjoying herself, laughing as well as a cat could.
"Reno, we're blocked in!"
"Uh, babe? We're cats! Climb!"
The couple, with their daughter, raced to the other side of the yard. They were almost breathless as Reno took the initiative, jumping up on the nearest fence and leaning down to catch Elly, who was tossed in the air by Tifa. He caught her and dropped her in a grass patch beside the fence, on the other side. Tifa was clawing her way up, the dogs gaining on her. Reno, wide-eyed, pulled Tifa up and over with Elly, leaving himself to deal with the dog that was now viciously jumping on the fence, getting into Reno's face, inch by inch.
Snarling back at the dogs, the Turk lifted a clawed paw and smacked the dog across it's nose, causing it to whimper and fall back. He laughed loudly, pointing as best as he could at the fallen dog.
"Once a Turk, always a Turk, pup!" he stated victoriously as he climbed down to the grass patch but his wife and daughter. Tifa was still breathing hard as she looked at him.
"That was close…"
"Yeah, you can say that again."
"But it was fun, right Mommy and Daddy?" Elly squealed with excitement, Reno and Tifa exchanging looks before smiling and nodding.
"I don't know about you ladies, but this feline is craving a cat nap! Hmm?" Reno suggested, raising his eyebrow the best he could as a cat. Tifa agreed in an exaggerated fashion and they looked down at their daughter. Elly was fast asleep on the grass, little purrs dripping from her lips. The pair laughed quietly as they curled up with each other and drifted to sleep.
"Tifa, Tifa! Wake up, babe!" the brunette stirred from the voice calling her to awaken. She slapped the hand that was shoving her awake and growled, still expecting to sound like a cat, however, she didn't.
Chocolate hues snapped open as she looked up at Reno staring down at her with a smirk. She saw another pair of eyes beside him, being Elly.
"Hey you two…you're looking very human!" she teased as she sat up. To her excitement, they were human again, not cartoons, or cats, or anything that they had experienced before. For a second, Tifa thought she dreamt the whole thing up…until Elly changed that notion.
"Daddy, that was so cool when you beat that doggie up…and you looked funny as kid my age! Remember that blonde girl that kept calling you Axel, and that scary pink haired man! Wow…that was great. I'm glad I wished for it!" the little redhead was jumping up and down beside Reno, his head followed her movements with a smile.
"Yeah, that was a lot of fun, huh?" Tifa added, calming the little girl down and pulling her into her lap.
"Elly, let me tell you something though. Next time you want to have fun together…just tell us. We'll be glad to take time off and spend time with you. You're our little girl! Nothing would make us happier, right Reno?"
"Yup, thats right, baby girl. You're our number one. Besides…don't you think coming to work would be more fun than running from dogs?" the Turk suggested, kissing the top of Elly's head. She nodded and giggled.
"You guys are the greatest parents, ever!"
Later that night, Tifa and Reno tucked Elly in and closed her bed room door, the nightlight dimly keeping the room from being pitch black. Tifa tucked her arm around Reno and pulled him into their bed room.
"That was some day, huh?"
"Sure was…but, I'll agree with Elly, we did get to spend time with each other…I hadn't realized that work was keeping me away from you guys so much…I'll talk to Tseng about it." He said, becoming serious with his wife.
"You're going to need to…because…well…"Tifa said sheepishly before patting her stomach, much like she had when she announced her first pregnancy. Reno's eye brows raised as he smiled and kissed her softly before kissing her belly.
"Babe, really? Another one! Elly is going to be ecstatic! This is great! I love you Tifa…"
"I love you sweetie. Oh…and…did I ever mention how cute you looked as a cat?"
"Mhmm…want to bring that cat back out?" he hinted suggestively. Tifa laughed at his joke and pulled him down in another kiss.
a/n: I don't know if I did a good job with this! Hope everyone likes it! Let me know what you think!