Astraphobia [M] [Closed]

"Rum it is then," he confirmed with a grin. "See you later then."

He left it a beat before hanging up, dragging himself off of the sofa and heading towards his bedroom. He would sleep first, then worry about cleaning up himself and the apartment. Whether they were on the same page with the hope they would end up back at his place he wasn't sure, but he was going to work on that assumption to be safe.

As he undressed and slipped between the cool sheets he gave a happy sigh. Maybe things would get back on track for him now that he knew he could pick up an attractive man if he set his mind to it.

He barely had time to set the alarm before sleep took him, feeling better about his life for the first time in months.

Reno clawed himself out of bed at 3 that afternoon, looking at the mass devastation of his apartment with a groan. He pulled on a pair of tracksuit pants and started from the bedroom and radiated outwards - everything was washed, vacuumed, dusted and put away where it was meant to be (or in the case of Cerys' toys... out of sight for now).

By 5 he was in the shower and at six he was eating a sandwich and cursing the crumbs while he towel dried his hair with the other hand.

Most remarkably he was at the bar by ten to 7, wearing freshly pressed dark jeans and a black shirt (couple of buttons undone as standard) and looking remarkably well-kept. Even his hair which had the potential to be entirely unruly was left down and didn't look half bad - he knew this because he kept checking in the mirror.

He was ridiculously nervous for something that wouldn't even count as a first date. It was drinks after work, the prelude to a night between the sheets with a man he'd known for about 12 hours by this point, and spent a very small amount of that time with.

He sat at the bar - it was the easiest place to be seen - nursing a whiskey with a glass of straight premium rum next to him, awaiting ice when Sephiroth arrived if he wanted it. He'd been through three cigarettes already and was ready to light a fourth when he heard the door open and glanced over to look as usual.

He swivelled on his stool and looked over at Sephiroth with a small smile - there was no mistaking the man, even though now he was slightly less polished and more... natural looking. If he had looked good before, this was perfection.

Reno chuckled softly and looked at the clock as though he hadn't been watching it at all. "Mmm, maybe a little but then you can never tell when the office is going to throw another pile of work on your desk and expect you to work miracles."

He raised his own glass slightly and nodded to Seph's. "I forgot to ask the second important question - which rum and how you like it. I ended up picking whichever I'd drink," he admitted. "I thought it was best to leave the ice out just in case."

He ran a finger around the rim of his glass and looked up to Sephiroth again. "I'm going to come straight out with it - I haven't done this in a very long time and I'm likely going to end up saying something cheesy or ridiculous and make a fool of myself. I figure I ought to warn you before you wonder what you got yourself into agreeing to come for a drink."

"On the rocks, perhaps I should have told you," he had not thought of that, a mistake on his part in the rushed conversation. Fingers moved lightly through his hair as a soft sound escaped. "That makes two of us," Sephiroth said as he turned back to look at Reno for a moment.

"To say I am rather rusty would be an understatement."

Thirteen years... it really had been far too long and he couldn't even really remember if it had really been a date the last time when the triplets were young. His hand rested upon his leg as he turned back towards the other. He was certain they both knew where they wanted this to end but the moments of pretending that it was something more intimate.

"We'll chalk it up to experience - next time remember to get all the drink details," he grinned, silently relieved that they were both as used to doing this as the other. It took some of the pressure off it being a seamless night, and he felt that perhaps he could manage to be more himself without scaring the man off.

"That reminds me - is this a celebration or commiseration drink?" It made sense to continue the excuse he'd used to get Sephiroth to meet him, and it was somewhere to take the conversation. "I have a feeling it's a commiseration - not that you look like, this is to say... Yeah, a very, very long time."

He finished his drink and shook his head. "And we've only just started the evening, that bodes well," he chuckled.

Reno chuckled and shook his head. "You're far from a mess - not as pressed and polished as this morning but there's a charm to the slightly dishevelled look you have going on," he smiled, waving to the bartender and indicating for two more drinks. "Besides, I'm very good at being bluntly honest - if you looked like hell I'd have told you by now."

He flashed the man a grin and nodded to the bartender as another glass was placed in front of him. He took it up and raised it in a toast. "To a bad day turning into a good night," he laughed. "Like you said, it can't possibly get worse even if my mouth runs away with me."

"You mean it's not working already?" He teased lightly, taking a sip from his glass before lightly plucking the cigarette from Seph's lips and leaning in to kiss him softly. "And if that worked even a little bit more then I'm sure I can find a way to make it even better." He gave a cheeky smirk and took a pull on the cigarette before offering it back, sitting back and blowing the smoke to one side.

"I'd say that I've heard daughters are worse, but I think we'd have a disagreement over that," he chuckled, running his fingers through his hair - a nervous habit long before Sephiroth, but something he noticed himself doing this time. "So I'll settle for taking it as forewarning and start getting ready for the days I want to tear my hair out."

Reno barely had time to kiss back before he was released again, an amused smile on his lips. "No, I think between us we have more than enough kids to even think about more," he joked, grabbing his glass and finishing it in one go. "How about we get out of here before I cause a scene? I'd ask if it's your place or mine... but mine is closer and I live alone so we already know the answer to that."

Reno chuckled and peeled off the notes to drop on the bar to pay for the drinks, grabbing his cigarettes and heading after Sephiroth. "Well, I can't take offence seeing as I think I'd rather avoid meeting your sons until I'm given a good reason too."

He smirked and slipped his hands in his pockets, nodding towards the street they'd be heading down. "Don't worry about being rusty - I'm got some oil that should help loosen then joints."

He shook his head at himself and kept walking. "Besides, if you're anything like me you've kept up with those "how to" documentaries you can find online...."

"I'm surprised you get five seconds to yourself - I can't even pee without Cerys needing to tell me something vitally important in that exact second. Thank the gods for locks on the bathroom door..." He chuckled and fished in his pocket for the three keys he'd need to get them to his apartment. "I only have to worry about every other weekend - 24/7 would probably kill me."

He pulled them out triumphantly and swung them around his finger as he took grasp of them. He was trying not to look at Seph all too often, even though it was clear what they were about to do and looking wasn't going to do any harm.

"I have to ask - natural hair colour?"

Reno smirked and pointed to the lush apartment block across the street before Seph walked too far ahead.

"I was going to be polite and let you maybe sit down for a few seconds before I jumped on you." He held his hands up in an act of surrender. "However if you'd prefer I start the second you step over the threshold, who am I to argue?"

He crossed the road and took the first key in hand, inserting it into the code box and turning it. He keyed in 4 digits and then turned it again, keying in another 4 before turning it the rest of the way and removing the key as the door clicked open.

He took hold of the handle and pulled the heavy door open and indicated for Seph to enter. "After you," he smiled. "Head for the elevators - they're just to the left."

There was a moment of silence at the view of the expensive apartment. Even though he made a considerable amount Sephiroth was all too aware of where all of his money went. And it certainly wasn't to himself. Despite the luscious building Sephiroth said nothing but rather walked towards the elevators directed. Expansive buildings were nothing new considering the Shinra building however he certainly did not live in one himself.

He was not poor, he knew that, but the amount spent for his sons meant luxuries for himself were few and far in between. His shoes echoed against the floor as he turned back towards Reno.

If nothing he could look the part that he belonged there. It was how he worked among the elite.

Reno knew the building was nauseatingly expensive, and it was much worse that he'd outright bought the penthouse apartment (something he didn't plan on admitting), and in a way he almost felt embarrassed to take him there because it was like he was trying to prove his own worth with his money.

The truth of the matter was that the weeks he didn't have Cerys for the weekend he worked at least 6 of the 7 days. He pulled 15 hour shifts most of those days, he did as many over-seas jobs as possible because they paid even more than usual... and his ex-wife had paid for a good amount of the place by buying him out of the house they has shared when her grandfather died. That was one of the reasons his father had approved of Jess - stupidly rich grandparents ready to croak.

It was a godsend that he went before they did...

It didn't stop him paying more than he needed in child support, mind - he felt guilty trapping Jess in the marriage, getting her pregnant and then her refusing alimony. He came out of the divorce with a sweet deal, he was completely aware of that... and somehow he still managed to feel guilty about it.


He shook himself of those thoughts and took the second key, stepping into the elevator and turning it in the number pad before pressing the button for the top floor.

"You're allowed to tell me how disgustingly gaudy this place is - because I can't say I disagree," he chuckled quietly with a faint blush.

Reno mirrored his action, looking over Sephiroth unashamedly. He wasn't much older than he was, a year or three at most he figured. Took good care of himself between the cigarettes and drinks - not a heavy smoker by any means seeing as the skin on his fingers was still a healthy not-yellow shade. The hair (and the three kids) led him to figure that he had a wealth of patience, though it wouldn't take too much for it to wear thin from the way he kept sweeping the silver locks out of the way.

"See, I'm the opposite," he smirked eventually. "I get paid to be painfully honest, especially when it benefits the company. Thankfully my being honest always does so I don't get in trouble too often. Though when I do get in trouble I get in a lot of it." He paused. "See, too honest," he chuckled.

He pushed himself from the wall off the elevator as it came to a stop, pulling the key from the panel as he stepped out into the small lobby and took the third key. It wasn't that he needed a lobby - the elevator could have gone straight into his living room and that would have been fine... but when you have a young daughter who enjoys pressing buttons it's always wise to put an extra (locked) door between her and the elevator.

He unlocked the door and flicked on the living room lights, which he'd dimmed so that they could see where they were going, but low enough to enjoy the lights of the city which somehow managed to be quite enchanting.

"Make yourself comfortable," he smiled, tossing his keys into the pot and nudging his shoes off.