Final Fantasy Fanfiction

VII • Reno

Cid's face drops and he begins to stammer.
"Sorry Reno, I didn't realise you guys were... I didn't- Never mind. I'll see you around (Name)." He waves halfheartedly and walks away. (Name) glares up at Reno, shocking him. He'd never seen such an emotion on her face and it unsettled him.

"What are you doing?" She snaps, shrugging him off.
"Nothing, I just didn't want that guy bothering you." Reno shrugs.
"He wasn't bothering me he was just being friendly." She counters, she looks upset and Reno hates it, she's too precious to be upset.

Silence falls between them momentarily, until she speaks up again.
"I know who you are Reno Sinclair. You flirt with every girl, and they fall at your feet. You're not going to do that to me." Her expression is serious, full of determination.

"Okay, so I'm a little flirtatious, sue me." Reno raises his hands in surrender. "But that's not the case with you. You're different, special." He says softly. (Name)'s features relax, her eyes widening, before reassuming her hard mask.
"I'm sure you say that to all of them." She mutters, moving to leave.

Reno grabs her by the wrist, holding her in place.
"Please, (Name). I swear to you it's not like that." She lets out a little sigh, clearly not convinced. "I'll show you, let me take you to a party this Friday. As my date."
"I'm sorry Reno, but no." And with, she pulls away from him and leaves him standing in the hallway, alone.

×××

As always, Reno can't leave it at that. When he wants something, he will stop at nothing to get it. During Friday's study period, he goes to find (Name). As always, she's in the corner with her book. He slumps down next to her and she doesn't even look up.

"I'm sorry for yesterday (Name)." Reno whispers. "I was being a dick. I just like you a lot and I don't know how to express it properly." And finally, (Name) looks up from her read, eyeing Reno suspiciously. "Don't look at me like that." He nudges her playfully. Her lips quirk up in the way Reno has come to adore.

"Reno... It's not that I don't wanna go to the party with you, it's that I'm just not comfortable around so many people that I don't know." She explains, her feet shuffling on the floor. Reno reaches experimentally for her hand and squeezes it.
"I understand. But you know I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I just want to introduce you to some friends, nothing wild."

She appears to consider this for a moment, staring off between the bookshelves.
"A-alright." She relents finally and Reno grins at her.
"You won't regret this."

×××

That evening, (Name) closes the front door to her house behind she and Reno and he walks her to his car, opening the passenger door for her and getting in after.
"You still feeling okay about this?" He asks, glancing over at her. She looks gorgeous, a little more dressed up than usual and her hair done differently.

She nods stiffly.
"Once you get there you'll realise it's not so bad." He assures her, resting a hand on her knee as they pull away from the sidewalk. He puts some music on and hums quietly as he drives, (Name) smiles at this. She enjoys being with Reno, he doesn't force her to talk or to behave a certain way, but accepts her as she is.

Although she'd been extremely anxious about the party, the idea that Reno would be there by her side the entire time had been the reason she eventually decided to go. She hasn't known him for long, but she trusts him. She's never met anyone like him. Intelligent, charismatic and so full of confidence. She's envious of how comfortably he sits within society, but somehow is above it.

The journey is relatively short; they soon pull up in front of a large house. She can see lights flashing through the curtains and can her music pumping faintly when she gets out of Reno's car. He takes her hand and leads her to the front door, which is opened by a visibly drunk boy she recognises from their English class.

"Cochise!" Reno greets him, fist bumping him.
"Hey Reno! C'mon in. Who's this?" The guy wiggles his eyebrows at (Name) and she smiles awkwardly at him.
"This is (Name). A good friend of mine." He tells him, shooting a playful wink at her.
"I see I see, great catch." The boy gives him a thumbs up and ushers them inside.

The party honestly isn't what she expected, and is exactly what she feared it would be. Bodies everywhere, dancing, kissing, drinking. She felts her throat constrict and her heart begin to race. There's so many people, too many of them not in full control of themselves.

She doesn't even realise it, but her grip on Reno's hand has become vice tight and he's looking at her, concerned. The further they walk into the house, the new scents only add to her anxiety. Weed, cigarette smoke, spilt alcohol.

She can feel herself beginning to gasp, her hand flies to her throat.
"(Name)? What's wrong?" Reno asks, she can hear the worry in his voice and she wants to cry with embarrassment. She must look so weird to him, a freak. She tries to shake her head and smile, reassure him that she's fine, but she can't. Tears begin to well in her eyes.

The next thing she knows, she's being dragged back the way they came, out of the party and out of the house. Back in the chilly night air, (Name) already feels a weight lifted from her chest. Reno sits her down and pushes her knees to her chest. He grips her hands tightly.

"Breathe, (Name). In, out. In, out." She does what he says, slowly feeling herself come down from the panic attack that was threatening to rear its ugly head. When she begins to breathe on her own and her muscles are no longer painfully tensed, Reno pulls her into a tight hug.

"I'm so fucking sorry." He whispers. "I shouldn't have brought you here."
"It's fine." (Name) manages to say. "It's my fault, I know my limits."
"No, (Name). Don't you dare blame yourself." Reno scolds her. "I should have known this would be too much." He sighs and sits back on his haunches.

"Besides, what kind of first date is this?" He smiles uneasily. She can tell from his eyes he feels awful. The beautiful blue is tainted with guilt.
"I didn't realise this was a date." She murmurs, her cheeks warm.
"Exactly, you deserve better." He helps her up from the ground. "Let's go, we can go get some pizza or something. Whatever you want."
She can't believe this. It's too good to be true. He brought her down from a panic attack like a professional and wasn't even mad.
"How did you know?" She questions him quietly.
"What? That you like pizza? Doesn't everyone?" He laughs as they get back in the car.

"No... How to stop the panic attack." His expression turns serious at this, his hold on the steering wheel is tight.
"I had them myself for a long time. Still do every now and then." He admits, staring intently at the road ahead.

"I'm sorry." (Name) frowns. Her hand ventures to his hand, taking it in her own against her conscience. He holds it appreciatively, smiling at her worried expression.
"It's okay. Besides, you know better than most that all we can do is help each other through it."

"With... Pizza?" She makes an attempt at a joke. To her delight, Josh bursts out laughing.
"Yeah, (Name).. With pizza."