Final Fantasy Main Story RP ARC VIII

Tseng frowned as he kept walking, still talking in Wutainese to the child. "That is no way to talk about your parents, boy. It's hardly respectful." Even though he spent most of his life in Midgar he was still strict about family respect and honor.

He walked a while further and sighed, turning to face the boy who was definitely still following him. "Look if I give you 50gil will you leave me alone? I do not need a guide."




Yazoo finally found the kitchen and looked through the cupboards for a glass and a pitcher. Filling the jug up he smiled at the thought of Kadaj returning to him and knew, just knew Mother would accept him back now that he'd paid the price for disobeying her.

Walking back down the hall swiftly he nudged open the door since his hands were full. "Kadaj, I've brought you some water." He said, walking into the room.

Reno muttered very quiet curses under his breath as he looked around and tried to gain his bearings. He sighed quietly and did a neat 180 and began to walk in the direction he had come, an eyebrow raising as he spotted an unnaturally tall (for a Wutain) man with caramel brown hair.

"This place will kill me either way," he grumbled to himself, breaking into a run and skidding in front of him with a grin that did not reach his eyes. "Hey you, what you doing out? Though you said you were jet-lagged, dude. C'mon, lets grab a drink and then you can help me figure out where to get a map because I have no idea where I'm going."

He flung his arm around Seph's shoulders and turned him back towards the house. "Seriously, what the fuck?" he muttered to him. "It's bad enough I have no idea where Tseng is without having to launch a one-man manhunt for you as well."

The teenager blinked when he was told that was not how he was supposed to address his parents.
He raised a brow this man must have been from that generation.
"Alright I get ya." he nodded then he did a double take when Tseng offered him 50gil.
"Ya that would be awesome, but I have ta do something ta pay ya back."



[figured the kid might be handy in case they need a hasty exit >.>]

"Just be lucky I figured jumping on your back frat style was both too young for me and likely to get me on my back faster than I can blink," he snorted with some humour. He patted Seph lightly on the back and gently nudged him forwards, contemplating how to deal with the "Zack" situation.

"Okay, look," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't claim to understand everything you've been through, or anything that you feel - so I can only tell you my own experience."

He led him to a bench under one of the trees and clambered onto it, sitting on the back. "The company killed my family to get to me. I was assigned to Tseng for my training... and I hated him with every fibre of my being for what he represented. I was completely alone, I had no idea what to do with myself now I was surrounded by people who didn't like me - heck, most of them hated me because they thought I had to be 'special' for the company to go out of their way like that to get me."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Tseng was the only one who believed in me, let down his guard and became my friend. I wouldn't have gotten though that first year without him, and even now I don't think I'd be able to do what I do if he wasn't here. It took me a while to realise that my feelings for him had changed, grown into something else... and it threatened to tear us apart because he didn't want to know. And then Wutai..."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Look, long story short it's been ten years of hell pretended that what happened didn't happen, and didn't mean anything... when it meant everything to us both. Pretending I didn't love him, and that he didn't feel the same way, nearly killed us both. Literally."

He shook his head and gave a small smile. "Don't do what we did - don't wait. If you know how he feels for you, and you feel the same way... do something about it. Knowing that someone loves you that much makes you stronger, it gives you a reason to fight. Right now you both need that - you need each other. You just need to talk rationally about it instead of exploding at each other when you can't control the pent up feelings. That's if you're anything like Tseng and I."

He grinned and slipped from the bench turning towards the house. "That man has broken more of my bones than fifteen years of this job... funny how a punch to the face can mean 'I love you..."

"We're in the equivalent of a cease fire - right now is the best time to sort these things. You don't know what's going to happen to you, or him, and if something does and you've pushed him away because you're too scared to face that you actually feel something for someone... then you won't forgive yourself."

Reno gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his forehead. "The whole point of me telling you all that is... You're not the only one to go through crap. Yeah, your crap heap is a bit higher and stinks more than most others but you have to stop wallowing in it and put it behind you. You can't change the past. You can't change who you are - all you can do is hold on to the people who care about you and use your past, and their love, to make you a better person now - because you can't do it alone, and you can't do it while all you can see is your mistakes."

He took a few steps towards the house and then turned back. "I only give a crap about this because Zack is my friend, and I don't want him going through what I did. Not to mention that if you're all broody and in your head then you're no good to the rest of us. As much as I hate to admit it... we need you. So stop sulking and talk to him if you won't talk to anyone else. No one can go through life alone."

"Yes."

The answer was simple to say, though it was not as easy to give. He fell into step besides Seph with a quiet sigh.

"Jenova can twist the mind and use the body, but she cannot take your soul. I pulled him back from her once because there is somewhere inside a person that she cannot touch. If I couldn't bring him back and those were the stakes... I would rather kill her tool than let his soul forever be in torment. In the end we all are born of the planet and return to it... Some sooner than they ought to."

Reno ran his fingers through his hair - this was always the hardest type of conversation, one he'd had with Rude before on one of his rare talking nights after they'd had a few drinks. Would he be able to follow code if Tseng went rogue?

"And before you ask - yes, he would do the same and I would understand."

Reno shook his head at the futility of it all and decided not to press the matter. "Look, will you stay back at the house while I look for Tseng? I know it's not comfortable for the two of you but right now you need to take a deep breath and just put up with it. I shouldn't be gone long but I really don't need a new excuse for Rufus to threaten to shoot me, ok?"

He paused and looked around him. "Everything is so different from last time... I have no idea where he is and considering where we are... that's usually not a good sign."

Reno practically face-palmed. "You two need to sit down and talk like adults instead of blowing up at each other. Explain to each other why you feel the way you do about things between you and bloody well figure out what to do about it instead of... whatever you call this."

He walked out again, muttering about how much of a headache they were, and head in a different direction, mentally crossing his fingers that he would walk into Tseng and that he had merely (for the first time in his life) lost track of time.