Summary: After a stressful week, Reno needs to get away from it all, and decides to take a trip to Wutai. Much to his surprise, he sees a familiar face while there, and finds some of his past coming back to haunt him. May do one more chapter, but I'm not sure just yet.

Disclaimer: The usual, I do not own Final Fantasy, Square Enix does. Lyrics quoted within attributed to the artist.

Rated M for language, and Reno.

Take away my pain
Leave the cold outside
Please don't let it rain
Don't stumble on my pride
Take away my pain
I'm not frightened any more
Just stay with me tonight
I'm tired of this fight
Soon I'll be knocking at your door

"Take Away My Pain", Dream Theater

Reno threw his head back as he swilled the rest of whiskey in his glass, then slammed the glass down on the bar. "Another, please," he muttered, signaling the bartender. He was in Wutai, of all places, at Turtle's Paradise, and attempting to drown his sorrows in a glass of single malt whiskey. It had been a hellish week, both work-wise, and otherwise, and Reno wanted to drink whiskey until he forgot it all. Which was one reason he decided to borrow a helicopter and take a trip as far away from Edge as possible. Normally, Reno hung out at Seventh Heaven after hours, but seeing as all the other Turks did too, that was the last place he wanted to be.

Elena...he thought briefly, picturing the diminutive, yet tough, blond Turk. What the hell was I thinking? Reno fretted. Well, obviously I wasn't. Both Turks had gotten pretty well obliterated on alcohol just one week prior, at some company shindig thrown by Rufus Shinra. Reno being Reno, had challenged Elena to a drinking contest, assuming the lightweight woman wouldn't be able to hold her liquor next to him. Much to Reno's surprise, Elena kept up with his own pace pretty well. They did, of course, both end up shithammered. And then, much to Elena's unadulterated horror the next morning - naked. In the President's office. On his couch, to be precise.

"This was a mistake," were the first words out of Elena's mouth that morning. Reno had no recollection of what they'd actually done, although the condom wrappers littering the floor were a pretty good indication of what did transpire the night before. The redheaded Turk felt appropriately sore, and as he washed his face in the bathroom adjoining Rufus's office, surveyed himself in the mirror. "Scratch marks?" he muttered to himself, incredulously, as he squinted, turning about so he could see the rest of his back in the mirror.

Oh shit. He was very much inclined to agree with Elena's assessment that this had all been a horrible mistake.

"Laney," he'd said sheepishly, upon emerging from the bathroom. "I'm so sorry. You're...right, this never should have happened. I don't know how we ended up here, even -"

Elena shrugged her shoulders and sighed, as she'd gotten dressed. "We were drunk, Reno!" she exclaimed. "And...stupid, apparently. I'm sorry, too. If it's any consolation...you were really good." Reno's face reddened, but he said nothing; now would not be a good time to admit he didn't remember a single thing. I don't even remember putting the condom on! Elena smiled, and kissed Reno on the cheek, standing on her tiptoes to do so. "I'll see you in the office. We are not telling anyone about this, I hope?" she asked worriedly.

"No, no way," Reno stammered. "I like you, Laney, I really, do," he told Elena - and he meant it. "Still friends, right?"

"Right," Elena replied, turning to leave, giving Reno a wave. "Still friends!"

And that evening was never spoken of again, by either of them. Reno was floored by how cool Elena seemed at the office - back to business as usual, with no hint of awkwardness. For Reno, though, he felt entirely too self-conscious and awkward around Elena, that he could barely function. Everyone noticed it - but nobody knew the reason why, save for Elena.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Elena had hissed at him, after one of Tseng's weekly staff meetings had broken up.

"I'm trying!" Reno hissed back. "I don't know how you're so calm about this, when the other night we fu-"

"Shh!" Elena had quickly shushed him, noticing Tseng was lurking nearby. "You need to forget about this," because I already have." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and just like that - was gone.

That bitch! Reno thought, furious. Just forget about it? And she said I was good, too! Reno knew Elena was right, though - he had to get over it, and quickly. The thing was - Reno wasn't even sure if he'd had any feelings for Elena, other than friendship. So why was her rejection bothering him so much?

That's just it, Reno realized. That's why this thing with Elena is bothering me so much. Because...she fucking rejected me outright. Nobody's ever done that to me before! It was definitely a blow to Reno's pride, to have been tossed aside like that - even when he knew it was for the best. Other women he'd bedded before, never had that callous disregard for him that Elena seemed to have. I guess that's what makes her a good Turk, Reno thought, sighing.

Reno asked Tseng for a few days off, and to use of one of the older Shinra helicopters. Tseng shrugged, and agreed with little argument. His Second rarely asked for time off, so Tseng was only too happy to oblige. He'd noticed that something had been bothering Reno lately, though he'd had no idea what it was; Tseng hoped that whatever was troubling Reno, he'd work it out during his time off.

Happy hour had just begun at Turtle's Paradise, and the free appetizers, along with the copious amounts of alcohol Reno was consuming, were putting him in a much more jovial mood. This is just what I needed, he thought, as he heaped his small plate with mini egg rolls, potstickers, and beef teriyaki. Booze, free food, and just to get away for a while.

Wutai, Reno decided, really was a great place to get away from the confines of Edge and the greater Midgar area. I haven't run into a single person I know here... Reno's thought went unfinished as the door to Turtle's Paradise opened; he had an eggroll halfway to his mouth when in walked none other than Cloud Strife. Who was looking much like Reno did, when he first arrived in Wutai - completely miserable.

Holy shit, Reno pondered, chewing his egg roll. What in the hell is Strife doing all the way out here? He can't be delivering a package all the way to fucking Wutai, could he? He hadn't even realized he was staring at Cloud, until those brilliant blue eyes met Reno's aquamarine ones. Reno broke into a smile when he caught Cloud's gaze, and gave him a friendly wave. The Turk could have sworn he saw the corners of Cloud's mouth turn up in a slight smile. Maybe.

The Turk was far from drunk, but feeling a pleasant buzz after his second whiskey, and he waved to Cloud again, inviting him over to join him. Shrugging his shoulders, the swordsman ambled over to the barstool next to Reno, and took a seat.

"Didn't think I'd run into anyone I knew here," Cloud commented to Reno, as the bartender came over to take his drink order. "Bourbon, please," Cloud told her. "And keep them coming."

"Damn, Strife," Reno remarked, sitting up on his barstool as he regarded Cloud. "And I thought I had a rough week. What's buggin' ya?"

Cloud sighed as he leaned his elbows on the bar. "I just needed a break," he said. "Work's been crazy - which is good, but I decided I needed a few days off to unwind. And, there's a swordmaker out here who's really good. I figured I'd take a road trip, maybe get myself a new sword or two."

"Oh, cool!" Reno perked up at the mention of weapons. "Where is this guy? Maybe I'll see what he's got. I could always use a new dagger."

"I can show you later, if you want," Cloud offered. The bartender returned, setting his drink in front of him. "Thanks."

"That'll be five gil, please," the bartender told Cloud. "And, you're just in time for happy hour - free appetizers are in the hot food station over there, just help yourself."

"Thank you," Cloud replied, as he pulled out his wallet to pay for his drink. Reno put a hand on his arm and shook his head. "I'll get this round, Cloud," he said, throwing a twenty-gil note down on the bar to pay for their drinks. "You can buy the next one."

Cloud smiled gratefully at Reno. "Thanks." He sipped on his bourbon, savoring it. "This is good," he commented, studying the amber liquid as he swirled it around in his glass. "It's been a while since I just hung out at a bar."

Reno snorted a laugh. "Dude, don't you live in a bar?" he asked, snickering. "Well, above it, anyway."

Cloud chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. But...I suppose it's because I live there, I never think about just hanging out there to have a drink."

"It's probably a good thing that *I* don't live there, yo," Reno quipped, draining his drink. "Tifa would throw me out when she noticed all the whiskey gone missing."

Cloud laughed as he gazed at Reno. The Turk was certainly helping him to feel relaxed; never in a million years, could Cloud have predicted he'd have such a friendly rapport with a Turk. Particularly, one who had tried to kill him multiple times.

"This is weird," Cloud blurted suddenly. "You know, us just sitting here, having a drink together in a bar."

"What's so weird about it?" Reno asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Want some food? I'll get you a plate, I'm going to get some more," the Turk offered.

"Sure. Thanks, Reno," Cloud replied. He wondered, a bit suspiciously, why the Turk was being so damned nice to him. Maybe he just wants someone to talk to, Cloud told himself. No reason to be suspicious of that...Reno's always been pretty sociable, anyway. He kept staring at Reno as the Turk returned to the bar, bearing two appetizer plates. He had an eggroll hanging out of his mouth, as if it was a cigar. "These eggrolls are fucking good, Cloud," he said. "You need to try one."

"I guess I will, since you got me six of them," Cloud replied, smirking. "Reno, you took enough food for a small family here."

"Dude, I'm hungry," Reno explained, as he scarfed the rest of his egg roll. "And, it's free. Trust me, they won't mind. Plus, I'm a big tipper."

"So I noticed," Cloud replied, grinning. "I'm getting the next round, remember," he said as he flagged down the bartender to order another round of drinks.

After several plates of free appetizers had been consumed, and several rounds of drinks ordered and drunk down, Cloud and Reno were sated and pleasantly buzzed, though not falling-down drunk. The sun was setting over Wutai, and Cloud started as he suddenly seemed to realize the time.

"Shit," he said to Reno. "I nearly forgot, I have to get to the swordmaker before he closes his shop," Cloud groaned. "I hope he's still open!"

"Damn, Cloud, I'm sorry. Kinda my fault, I guess," Reno replied, feeling a bit remorseful. "Hey, if we hurry over now, maybe we'll make it?"

"Okay, Reno," Cloud said. "You know...I actually had fun tonight. It's been a while since I actually relaxed like this."

"Well, good," Reno said, smiling. He clapped Cloud on the back, as they both got up from their barstools, and the Turk settled their tab.

They both made for the doorway leading from the bar toward the foyer simultaneously, Reno swaying a bit drunkenly, and they ended up crashing into each other. Reno and Cloud found themselves both sideways in the doorway, pressed against each other, chest to chest.

"Uhh… oops," Reno muttered, chuckling. He felt a red flush creep over his face and he wasn't entirely sure why, until he noticed that his pulse rate was going up...and, that Cloud's face was just inches from his own, chin tilted up as he stared at the redheaded Turk. Reno turned even redder when he recognized the unmistakable look of unbridled lust in Cloud's eyes; that, definitely caught him off guard.

Seriously? Reno thought, bewildered. For one thing, I'm not into dudes, he argued with himself. Well, not much. I mean, I like to look at them, and, let's face it, I have always liked to look at Cloud...I mean, the guy is...

Is what, exactly? Hot? Muscular? Fucking ripped?The finest specimen of manhood on Gaia?

Stop it! Reno told himself. I'm not gay!

Then why do you suddenly have a hard-on? Reno asked himself.

"Oh shit," Reno muttered, licking his lips as he gazed down at Cloud. "Um..."

"Reno?" Cloud said quietly, the hint of a smile showing on his face. "You're standing on my foot."

"Shit! Sorry," Reno apologized awkwardly, removing his foot from Cloud's, then he fell into him gracelessly. Reno had placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders to keep himself from falling; he smiled nervously as he felt Cloud's arms move about his waist, tightening as they surrounded him. "We should go, Cloud," Reno murmured, wondering why Cloud wasn't letting go.

"Wait just a minute," Cloud whispered, then - standing up on his toes slightly - brushed his lips against Reno's in a gentle, tentative kiss that the Turk felt down to his toes...and, other parts of his body.

"Holy shit," Reno said breathlessly, panting, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Sorry," Cloud murmured apologetically, suddenly second-guessing himself. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that? I just thought...it seemed as if...well, you were into me. I'm sorry if I misread you-"

"Shut it, Strife," Reno growled, pulling the shorter man into his chest; this time he initiated the kiss, and it was far less gentle this time around. Reno gasped for breath as they broke the kiss, as they suddenly needed to move out of the doorway, when some customers were trying to get by and leave the bar.

"Guess I didn't," Cloud commented wryly, chuckling. "Misread you, that is."

"No," Reno replied, panting, his eyes not moving from Cloud's face. "You didn't." I have no idea what the fuck is going on here, but I do not want it to end.

"Let's…go see your sword dude, Cloud," Reno said quietly, glancing back at Cloud as he smiled at him.

The Wutai silversmith was not only a master sword maker, but made jewelry as well, as a sort of side venture. When Reno and Cloud arrived at his shop, they were relieved to see that the store was open for yet another hour. And, the shop appeared to be quite dead, as the sword maker himself was beginning to doze off, seated behind the counter. As Reno and Cloud entered, the noise of the door opening jolted the man awake.

"Ahh!" he exclaimed, as he started and opened his eyes. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied, as he scanned the racks displaying swords in varying sizes. "I'm looking to get a new sword…or two," he commented absently, as he ran his finger along the hilt of a large broadsword. The blade appeared to be hand-hammered steel, honed to razor-sharpness along its edge; the handle crafted of pure silver in a filigree design, inlaid with accents done in gold.

"This one…is nice," Cloud said admiringly. "Sir? Do you have a practice dummy around, so I can try this out?" he asked the shop owner.

"Certainly," the man replied. He got up from his stool, and came around the counter, and led Cloud over to an adjoining, open room, where customers could try out swords with the practice dummy. Meanwhile, Reno had wandered over to a rack in the main showroom, where more slender swords were kept - katanas, rapiers, flamberges - and began looking through the selection. A slender rapier caught the redhead's eye - he carefully removed the sword from its holding place, and grabbed it by the handle, feeling its heft in his hand.

"Hmm," Reno murmured thoughtfully, as he turned the weapon over in his hand. The Turk preferred his EMR over anything else for his primary weapon; in the field, he would also carry a handgun, and a small dagger tucked into his boot. This, however...this was a nice, elegant weapon, and Reno thought for a moment, that he might actually consider purchasing it. Not to use for work, necessarily, but something for fun.

He took the rapier in hand, and wandered over to the practice room, where Cloud - now shirtless, as he'd removed his shirt before beginning his practice session - was parrying and thrusting the sword at the practice dummy. Reno couldn't help but feel frozen in place as he stared at Cloud; he'd never seen the man shirtless before, and he was mesmerized as he watched Cloud wielding the broadsword as if it were a butter knife. A drop of sweat had collected in the hollow of Cloud's throat; Reno had a momentary fantasy about licking it.

As Reno stood there, slackmouthed and staring, the rapier fell from his hand, and hit the floor with a loud clatter. "Shit!" he exclaimed, jumping down to retrieve the fallen sword. The shop owner and Cloud stood there regarding Reno, who was muttering curses under his breath. "Sorry about that, yo," Reno told the shop owner. "I don't think I scratched it-"

"No worries," the shop owner said kindly, waving off Reno's concerns. Cloud grinned at Reno bemusedly. "I didn't know you used a sword, Reno. Want to spar? If it's okay with you, sir?" Cloud added, addressing the shop owner.

"Fine by me," the man said agreeably. "So long as you both know what you're doing. You obviously know your way around a sword," he said to Cloud. "How about you? What's your skill level?" the man asked Reno.

"Uh," Reno muttered, hesitating. "Average. Not quite up to Cloud's level, probably. "I usually fight with my stick," he explained, "and sometimes nunchucks."

"Well, you should have no problems, then," the man told Reno. "I'll get out of your way, and you two can have the floor for a few minutes, try those weapons out in some hand to hand exercises."

"You might want to take your shirt off," Cloud told Reno, who raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "Easier that way."

"Oh?" Reno replied, smirking. He leaned the rapier against the wall, and began unbuttoning his shirt. Briefly, he thought about the many scars that lined his back and torso, that would now be on display, once he removed his shirt; he shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to worry about it too much. Besides, he reasoned, Cloud has his fair share of battle scars too. He'd noticed an array of small scars - knife wounds and sword jabs, most likely - criss-crossing Cloud's back, shoulders, and torso.

Reno knew, though, that his scars looked far worse than Cloud's. It had just been a while since he'd thought about them; he wasn't really that self-conscious about them. Until now.

The Turk heard Cloud let out a low whistle as he removed his shirt, throwing it to the ground. "Gods, Reno," Cloud murmured, moving toward Reno. He extended a finger, and ran it along a long, silvery-looking scar that ran from Reno's collarbone on his left side, slicing across his chest, down across his ribcage. "That looks like it was a nasty wound," he said, studying the scar. "Where'd you get that one?"

Wish he hadn't asked me that. "That one's from you," Reno said quietly, staring at Cloud. "From that time...in Sector 7..." The day I blew up the pillar...the worst day of my life...

"Oh," Cloud said softly, withdrawing his hand. The light went out of his eyes, and he grabbed his shirt from where it lay on the floor and turned to leave. He regarded Reno sadly. "I'm not doing this. I'm not going to hurt you again."

It surprised Reno to hear the sadness in Cloud's voice; hell, he'd deserved it, hadn't he? It was Reno's biggest, and perhaps his only regret of his entire career as a Turk - when he dropped the plate on Sector 7. Suddenly, Reno got mad. Why was Cloud just walking away? It was just a friendly duel, after all.

"Don't walk away from me, Cloud," Reno said steadily. "Come on. Let's do this. It's just a friendly duel, yo." The Turk looked up at the doorway, to notice, gratefully, that the shop owner had moved back into the main showroom to wait on another customer.

"Reno," Cloud began, moving back toward him. "I...I was just doing what I had to, back then. But gods, I hadn't realized how badly I'd injured you. I mean, I knew it was bad, I just didn't remember...the cut being that big, for one thing."

"It's okay," Reno said nonchalantly. "I healed up just fine, Tseng patched me up." A lie...I nearly died, and was out of commission for two months. "Besides, don't you think I fucking deserved it, for dropping the plate?" he snapped testily. He sighed, and decided to study the handle of the rapier that he was still holding.

"We both did some stupid shit back then," Cloud retorted. "I blew up two reactors when I was with AVALANCHE, you know. Don't think people didn't die as a result of that."

"I know, Cloud," Reno said patiently. "Look, there comes a point where you've gotta put that shit behind you. Now...I'm not saying to just forget about it. Because you can't, man. You can't ever forget. But you gotta keep going, no matter what. One foot in front of the other, yo."

Cloud laughed softly. "Yeah, I know. I keep trying. But gods, Reno. What I did to you...I remember that day. I remember, I thought I had killed you. And I was happy about that! And now...we're friends. How is it that we're friends, anyway? After all the shit we've done to each other?" Cloud wracked his brain, trying to remember just when they had moved from enemies to friends.

"How is it that I still work for Rufus Shinra, when he ordered me to do the most horrific thing I ever did in my entire life?" Reno asked rhetorically, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know the answer to that, either. So I've decided to just live my life, and not dwell on it."

"Moving on is a simple thing," Cloud said slowly, touching a hand to Reno's face. "What it leaves behind, is what's hard."

Reno sighed, and walked over to where his shirt lay on the floor, and picked it up. "Dude, I was having a good time with you, but things just got really heavy all of a sudden," Reno commented. "How the hell did that happen?"

"I don't know," Cloud admitted, the corners of his mouth turning up in a slight smile. "Think we can salvage the rest of the evening?"

"Maybe," Reno replied, grinning. So, Cloud still wants to hang out...excellent. "If you can stop being the King of Emo for five minutes," he cracked.

"Hey!" Cloud protested, laughing. "That isn't fair. I'm just...introspective."

"Introspective, emo, whatever," Reno scoffed. "You gettin' that sword?"

"I think so," Cloud replied, nodding. "I'm going to sleep on it though, maybe come back tomorrow morning to buy it." They both moved back into the showroom, and placed the swords back in their respective racks.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning," Cloud told the shop owner. "Pretty sure I'll be getting that sword, but I want to sleep on it. What time do you open?"

"Ten o'clock tomorrow," he replied. "Bit later opening on Saturdays."

"Okay," Cloud said agreeably. "I'll be back then. Good night." With that, Cloud and Reno exited the shop, and walked toward the center of Wutai. They could see Da-chao in the distance, brightly lit by the full moon overhead.

"I think I want to go there tomorrow," Reno commented, pointing. "Wanna come? It's a nice hike."

"Yeah, maybe." Cloud replied, distractedly. He couldn't get the kiss with Reno out of his head, and wondered if the Turk felt the same. He paused, wrinkling his forehead, weighing his words carefully before he spoke. "Ah...Reno? Where you staying tonight?"

"Well, I was just going to get some shuteye in the 'copter," Reno replied, wondering where this line of questioning was going.

"Wait a second," Cloud said, frowning. "You're sleeping in the helicopter? Seriously?"

"Yeah," Reno replied, turning to stare at Cloud. "No big deal, I do that a lot. It's not very comfy, but that's okay."

"Stay with me," Cloud said, stepping back toward Reno, closing the space in between them, until they stood chest to chest. Reno was certain his heart was about to pound out of his chest, as he felt Cloud's warmth envelop him. "I've got a room at the inn. Stay with me, Reno," Cloud repeated.

Reno grinned. "I don't know if that's a good idea. I snore, yo."

Cloud chuckled. "Um, I snore too. Besides...we, um..." His voice trailed off, the sentence left unfinished, as Cloud stood there gazing up expectantly at Reno. Cloud's throat went dry, and he licked his lips; the sexual tension he felt between himself and Reno was unmistakable; Cloud just wondered now, who would be the first to break.

"Yeah," Reno whispered. Somehow, he knew exactly what was going through Cloud's head; probably because Reno was thinking back to their kiss himself. He stood over Cloud now, tilting his chin upward; Reno then grazed his fingers over his cheekbones, leaning slightly down into the blond as he kissed him. Cloud responded by wrapping his arms tightly around Reno's waist, pulling him down as he returned the kiss, working his tongue against Reno's, their breath coming raggedly as the kiss continued for several minutes.

Finally, panting, their mouths parted from each other. "We can help each other, Cloud," Reno whispered, as he tried to catch his breath. "To put the past behind us..."

"Yeah," Cloud said dumbly. His feet suddenly felt as if they were made of lead; he felt rooted to the spot, standing there in the center of Wutai. "I want you, Reno," he growled, nipping on Reno's ear. "I want you so bad."

The Turk grinned, and kissed Cloud one more time. "Okay then. Let's go."

A/N: I'm on a big Dream Theater kick lately, so you can blame them for this fic. You can also blame them for the Vincent/Tseng one I'm plotting next! :D

So...I could leave the story like this, or I could write one more chapter. With a probable lemon. ;) Hmm...what to do, what to do...