Haunted, a Cloud/Reno story

By Kigichi and Bekas Strife

Contains extremely OOC!Reno, a bit of Cloud, MPreg, angst and much more.

Disclaimer: These characters and the world where they live in aren’t ours. Only the storyline is.

AN: Kigichi mostly writes Reno and Bekas Cloud.

Enjoy!!

--

At first, Marluxia blinked and stared but pressing a little bit here and there, he quickly gapped as he felt what it felt to be a... "B... baby?” He asked faintly, quickly looking at the redhead from head to toe to make sure he was a guy. “How…?” The pink haired man asked, swaying a bit on the spot.

Squeaking in surprise, Reno reached out to steady the other man. "Please don’t faint, yo!" Leading Marluxia over to the bed, he helped him sit before lying down next to him and sighing. "It has to do with the Mako and Jenova cells that Cloud has…" He explained awkwardly.

Marluxia frowned, caressing Reno’s stomach: he still couldn’t believe it... "Why does Cloud have Mako and Jenova cells in him?" He asked softly. Sure, he had noticed the Mako: the other man's eyes had the Oh, so famous Mako glow, but he wasn't expecting the Jenova cells. "I never found a record of surviving carriers of Jenova cells..."

"Cloud... he's special...” Reno bit his lips and turned on his side, resting his head in the palm of his hand and tracing random designs on the blanket below him. "Years ago he and his friend Zack, another SOLDIER, were responsible for the first downfall of Sephiroth. But as an outcome they were both captured by a twisted man named Hojo. They were experimented on and tortured for five years, yo." Reno bit harder, a distressed look coming to his eyes. He never liked to think about his lover’s tortured past. "They escaped but Zack was killed in the process."

Marluxia frowned sadly and slid to the floor, folding his arms on top of the bed and resting his head on top of them right in front of Reno’s nose. "See the positive side of it: at least you two are going to have a baby... how many gay couples wouldn’t give up an arm or a leg to have a child of their own?"

Smiling faintly, Reno nodded and leaned forward a bit to nuzzle his nose against the other man’s. "Thank you, Marley... I know it's a good thing but... what had to happen first... he still dreams of it and there is nothing I can do to help. I feel so useless."

"You're always there... you love him, you probably hold him when he has those nightmares... It already helps and a lot. It would be much worse if he had to go through all of it alone." Marluxia said, brushing some strands of red hair away from Reno’s face.

Closing his eyes with a hum, Reno leaned closer to the touch and sighed. "I just hope that’s enough. I've already hurt him so much... I'm not going to do anything to hurt him ever again." He couldn’t bear to see another scar on his lover’s skin. Not knowing that he was the cause of it. “Never...”

Marluxia mouthed an ‘oh’ of understanding. "So that’s why you were so determined to buy something for Cloud and not for yourself downstairs?" He asked grinning at Reno’s surprised face. "I’m not dumb, nor is Vexen. You're only trying to help but Cloud doesn’t appreciate it much as well... for what I could understand, Cloud thinks of both of you as equals: he doesn’t want you crawling around him to make him feel special."

"But... he IS special! I love him more than anyone in the entire world... Aren’t you supposed to spoil and pamper the one you love the most?" Reno was confused. He did this all the time: buying Cloud little trinkets, doing what he was asked without complaint. It made their relationship work. "He more than deserves it."

"Yes, you can do that but it isn’t totally essential for a relationship." Marluxia shook his head. "In a relationship you laugh together, you cry together, you go through everything together. You cuddle, you kiss, you say sweet things on each other's ears but if there is a no-no in a relationship of any sort, is a lover crawling around the other, making everything perfect, immaculate for that person. I did that in the beginning of my and Vexen's relationship. He felt useless; like all I was doing was pretending to love him just to make him feel okay... nobody needs that. You just have to be yourself and keep going without being always worried about your actions."

"But... I'm not pretending." Biting his lip, Reno ducked his head down a bit and curled into a ball. "I feel useless if I DON'T do stuff like that, yo. If I don't treat him special... if I don't make sure he's happy... what reason will he have to stay with me?" Why would Cloud stick around any longer? "He wouldn't have any reason to stay with someone like me." A thief, a liar, a murderer... Not someone that deserved someone nearly as good as Cloud. "I want to keep him for as long as I can."

"You'll only loose him faster." Marluxia said, knowing that he sounded quite rash but he had to say had to be said. "There will be a point in which he'll explode because of all of your sudden devotion and desire to make everything perfect. A romantic relationship involves risks and that’s what makes it good, addicting. You're ruining all the fun a relationship can have." Marluxia finished, taking Reno’s hand on his own and rubbing it tenderly. "Cloud loves you, more than anything. I could see it without having him saying it, Red. Just... talk to him. Tell him how you feel: what you told me just now. You'll see: you'll talk, sort everything out and heaven will look closer than ever, hunny!"

Biting his lip, Reno shivered a bit and nodded. "... Okay...” He whispered with his voice sounding a bit hoarse. "I'll tell him but... what if he doesn’t like what I have to say? What if he doesn’t want me to change? What... what if he denies me?" He could never handle that.

"I told you he loves you: of course that he'll hear you out and understand what you have to say. He won’t reject you... you need to have a bit more of confidence in yourself." Marluxia said with a tender smile, kissing Reno’s temple. Grinning, the pink-haired man caressed the redhead's stomach. "Have you already arranged a nursery for your baby? And little clothes? If not, you should sweetie!! We got a big boy in here: how far along are you?" He asked excitedly: anything to take Reno’s mind away from the previous subject.

Grinning, Reno sat up in bed and rubbed his stomach. "Yeah, we have one! Rufus built a HUGE one for us upstairs, complete with clothes and everything else we would need!" Placing his hand on top of the other man’s, he smiled gently as he rubbed the bulge. "I'm not even three months along so we, Cloud and I that is, think there is more than one in there."

Marluxia blinked and then stared at Reno’s stomach. "Well baby, that IS for SURE. There's no way you're so big in just three months... and even for twins... I don’t know."

Wincing, Reno traced his stomach once more. "Thanks for calling me huge!" Shaking his head with a smile, he flopped back down with a sigh. "So what do you think? Two REALLY big kids... or do I need to buy a few more cradles?"

Marluxia laughed softly. "You're not huge... and I won’t lie, you will be. Don’t worry; you'll look great." He soothed, placing his hands on top of Reno’s stomach. "So, three months you said?" He muttered, pressing here and there. "... Twins I’m sure that you have but... I still think you're too big for just three months. Have your sickness already stopped?"

"Meh... I don't want to be fat!" Pouting, Reno rubbed his stomach once more, a tender look coming to his face. "I wish I had that pregnant glowing thing women did... and we don't know if it has stopped yet. I haven't really had the time to eat."

"I already told you that you won’t be fat, hunny." Marluxia sighed, rubbing Reno’s stomach tenderly. "But I advise you to buy another cradle... just in case, you know?" He chuckled, getting up. "Are you going to show me that nursery or not?!"

Grinning, Reno hopped up and took Marluxia’s hand, tugging him towards the stairs. "Yep…! You’re gonna love it!" Leading the other up to the large room, Reno pushed the door open with a big smile. "Here it is!" Walking into the sunny nursery, he immediately went to the stuffed animals and sat on the floor, legs tucked beneath him, and began to arrange them. "Rufus did a good job."

"He did." Marluxia said in awe. "I believe you'll be a great mother." He said honestly. "Just... when you say Rufus... and I see all of this, and we both know that this involves loads of money... is it Rufus Shinra? And he's your boss?"

Wincing a bit, Reno nodded. "Yeah, that’s him... I'm one of his Turks. Reno Sinclair..." Marluxia deserved the truth: that he works for the man that almost destroyed the world and that he himself was responsible for most, if not all, Midgar’s orphans. "He's not that bad of a guy, really."

Marluxia narrowed his eyes, having suddenly recognized the redhead in front of him. He wasn’t sure as the man in his memory had a cocky smirk and cold, murderous eyes while the Reno in front of him blinked up at him almost adorably. "... Sector 7 in Midgar… Was it you?" The pink haired man asked carefully.

Reno flinched and bit his lip, looking away uncomfortably. "...Yeah... it was...”

Marluxia blinked in surprise and disbelief for a few moments before sighing sadly. "Don’t let Vexen know about it." He said.

"What... Vexen, why…?" Why not tell Vexen? Reno's eyes widened when he realized. "I killed someone close to him, didn't I?" A wave of shame ran through him. "Oh no..." It was bad enough when he didn't know any of the people he had killed but to know he murdered a person someone he knew cared for... he felt lower then dirt.

"His family moved to the sector 7 plate when he was 15." Marluxia explained, hugging Reno from behind. "I... I believe that you didn’t do it because you wanted to. You were probably menaced..." The redhead he knew couldn’t have done what he did because he wanted to.

Jerking away from the other’s embrace, Reno brought his legs up his chest, burying his face into them. "God... I'm so sorry... It was either pushing the button or getting shot and someone else did it." Curling up further, Reno's shoulders began to shake with repressed sobs. "I should have died instead. Died trying to stop them."

Marluxia shook his head and cupped Reno’s face with his hands gently, lifting it so that they could look at each other in the eyes. "Don’t say that. Don’t even think about it. I know that I know little of you but you're an awesome person. For what you've told me, Cloud was a really depressed person and for what I’ve seen today, I say that you've done him wonders. If you had died, someone else would have done the job, Cloud would still be depressed and those, AT LEAST, two children wouldn’t be there.” Marluxia smiled, placing a hand on Reno’s stomach. “You're great Reno, don’t ever forget that."

Sniffing slightly, Reno nodded. "Okay... I’m sorry!" Perking up, he sent the other a wide smile before standing up. "I'm being WAY too depressed! It's happy time! Happy! Happy!!" Grinning, the redhead bounced across the room to fiddle with the small knick knacks on the dresser. "I love this room. It's so sunny!"

"And it'll be great to the children!" Marluxia agreed, cuddling one of the stuffed animals. "... How did Cloud react to the news of you being pregnant?"

"Oddly well, actually!" Grinning, Reno began to open the drawers and look at all of the clothes. "Wow... these are really nice!" They were so well made and in good colors. Not too girly or manly so either sex could wear them. "Cloud actually shook with happiness."

Marluxia giggled. "What? No 'Omg, how did you do that?!?!?" or 'WTF, are you serious?!' kind of reactions?" He asked, amused. Cloud couldn’t have taken it THAT well... after all, men weren't supposed to get pregnant.

Laughing, Reno shook his head and pulled out a pale green jumper, cooing over it. "It's so cute! And no: he fainted for about ten minutes but then bounced right back up, happy as I've ever seen him. It was a surprise. I was expecting him to be mad at me or something."

Marluxia had to snort at that one. "Mad at you? What; you thought he would think you had done those babies alone? If anyone should feel guilty, that person is Cloud, not you, baby.” The man shook his head before letting a few moments pass before snickering. “Did he really faint? I thought that only happened in movies!"

Shaking his head with a slight laugh, Reno put the outfit back where it belonged and walked over to plop onto the floor next to Marluxia. "Well... I could have accidentally killed the child, or children, as well, yo. He would have been mad about that. And yes he did faint. It was funny too."

Marluxia chuckled, patting Reno's head. "I don't it was funny to him, seeing as his forehead has this big-ass bump." He snorted, tucking a strand of red hair behind Reno's ear. "I have a feeling that you two will be great parents, I dunno why." He mused, smiling softly. "... and just one more thing... do I know Cloud from somewhere? I felt like I saw him somewhere before..." The pink-haired man asked, narrowing his eyes. He did felt like he had met - or seen - the man before. Who was he? A celebrity…? A superstar…? A model…? ... Maybe just an ordinary patient…? Nah, Cloud would have recognized him...

"Umm... I don't know. He WAS the one who finally killed Sephiroth... umm... I don't really remember you... but he IS a delivery boy! Maybe you met him on his travels?" Cloud did meet a lot of different people during his deliveries and such. Perhaps they had seen him shopping or something. “His last name is Strife.”

"Strife Delivery Service…?" Marluxia asked suddenly and seeing Reno's nod, grinned. "Then I remember. I remember receiving something for him at the hospital but I was in a rush so I didn’t remember him up until now. And you said he killed that momma-boy that summoned meteor, years ago?" He asked, stunned. "Whoa, quite a nice guy ya got there, sweetheart. Care to share?" He joked, chuckling.

"Ha, ha, ha... No." Cloud was HIS, dang it! "What’s the matter? Is Vexen not enough of a maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan for you?" Grinning, Reno gave the pink haired man's cheek a pat before standing up and brushing himself off. "You can try and take Cloud if you want to but it won’t be that easy." Laughing again, he started to leave the room. "The only thing he MIGHT do is try and beat the crap out of you if you get too… umm... cuddly with me!" He shook his head with a fond grin. "He gets so possessive and overprotective... I love it."

Marluxia pouted, crossing his arms before following. "Vexen satisfies me, thank you very much. I do admit that Cloud is quite a nice piece of meat BUT, I wouldn’t want anything with him. You can have him." He said smugly. "And he LOVES you. Of course he's overprotective and possessive."

Scoffing, Reno shook his head and practically bounced down the stairs. "Yea but sometimes it's a bit much yo! ...Does that mean he loves me a lot?" Reaching the second floor, Reno paused at the second flight of stairs, a bit wary this time. He had almost fallen once; he didn't want to risk it a second time.

Marluxia nodded. "Yep. It means he loves you loads, sweet honey!" He chirped, picking Reno up like a bride. "Got anything else to show me?"

Squeaking a bit in surprise, Reno latched his arms around the other’s neck and giggled a bit. "No, not much more. We got the upstairs and all that’s really left would be the kitchen where Cloud reigns!"

"What, is he one of those who freak out if you dirty the counter?" Marluxia snorted, going down the stairs and putting Reno down when they reached the living room.

"Are you kidding? I scuttle across that thing like I'm a crab trying to escape the boiling pot! He just likes to cook and I... tend to burn things and make a mess!" Walking into the kitchen, Reno hopped up onto the counter and crawled over to Cloud silently, giving him a kiss. "Hi there…!"

Cloud jumped as red hair suddenly appeared in front of him and soft lips pressed against his before laughing softly and petting Reno’s hair. "Hey you..." He greeted, turning to look at Marluxia. "Survived the trip?"

Shaking his head a bit at the redhead’s actions, Marluxia nodded and walked over to his own partner, kissing him on the cheek. "Yea! The rooms are really nice!" He wouldn’t mention anything about the baby. Not now.

Giving Cloud one more kiss, Reno leaned back, only to snag a piece of fried chicken from the basket by his lover’s side. "Yum…!"

Cloud gasped and then smacked the back of Reno’s head gently, pouting. "That’s for dinner." He said, although let Reno know with a wink that it was okay: after all, his lover hadn’t eaten for a while and he was pregnant. He needed to feed himself. "So... up to the challenge of learning something?" He asked smoothly, turning to Marluxia. "Reno can go show the house to Vexen now."

"Sure I'll give it a shot!" Ignoring his lover’s mocking snicker, Marluxia shoved Vexen out of the way and took his place. "I can bake just fine. It's cooking that is hard. I just can’t remember all of those recipes."

Whimpering slightly, Reno rubbed the back of his head. "Owie…!" Winking back at Cloud, he snagged another piece of chicken before hopping off the counter and grabbing Vexen's arm. "C'mon Mr. Freeze! We got a house to explore!"

Vexen blinked and smirked, allowing to be pulled after Reno. In moments, they were gone. "So, what do you know to bake, in the first place?" Cloud asked, turning to look at Marluxia before turning his attention back to the stove, continuing to fry the rest of the chicken.

Marluxia shrugged and leaned over Cloud's shoulder, trying to figure out what he was doing so he could help him. "My mom was a baker and flower arranger so I decided to try and help her out. Turns out I had a talent for both! So I started to practice more and more until I became good enough to open a shop."

Cloud hummed in appreciation, turning to face the other but quickly turning his face to the other side as Marluxia was almost in front of his nose. He did not want to provoke an awkward situation already. "Well, I was thinking about making a chocolate cake as dessert... maybe you could start baking it and then I would teach you how to make something?" He suggested. "What would you like to learn, in the first place?”

"Sounds great…!" Rushing off to hunt down the ingredients he would need, Marluxia shrugged at Cloud's second question. "No sure. I fail at RAMEN man. We should probably start by something easy."

Cloud lifted an eyebrow. "... This is going to be difficult." He murmured, ignoring Marluxia's pout. "Well... it could be worse... you could fail at CEREAL..."

"Umm..." Marluxia blinked and sweatdropped, suddenly remembering the one time he had tried to pour Vexen a bowl of Frosted Flakes and they somehow burst into flame. "... No comment." Running back over to the counter, he dropped the materials he had gathered and immediately began to pour some flower and baking soda into a large bowl, not even measuring it first. Adding a bit of salt and a couple of eggs, the pink haired man began to stir the substance in the bowl.

Cloud raised his eyebrows, nodding to himself. "... So you do fail at cereal." He chuckled, turning to put the rest of the fried chicken in the same pot where was the rest before turning and walking to the large table, putting it on top of it and covering it carefully. Smiling, the blond went to the balcony and looked up, seeing Reno talking animatedly with Vexen on one of the rooms and felt the smile widen. This surprise visit had made them good.

Dribbling some vanilla and nutmeg into the bowl, the pink haired chef piped up. "What are they up to? Your little midget drove my ice baby insane yet?" Chuckling, Marluxia poured the mixture into three round pans and placed them into the oven, getting to work on the frosting. "He sure is a bundle full of energy... and he seems to glow a bit...” There was nothing like a little hint to begin an awkward conversation.

Cloud didn’t seem to get it though as he grinned. "Yah, he has too much energy. I love him for it... he has what I don’t have." He said, sighing. "He's one of the strongest persons I ever met."

Marluxia grinned and placed his bowl down to wrap his arms around Cloud’s waist and give him a friendly squeeze. "Funny... Reno said the same about you!" Releasing the other, he walked back to his bowl and cast a sidelong glance at the blond. "Reno seems a little big... is he sick?"

Cloud chuckled at Marluxia's antics. "I believe he did." He murmured. His lover always liked to praise him and he felt loved with it. Although it was getting a bit too much: Reno shouldn’t have to be always filling him with praises. Only 30 seconds later, Marluxia's words seemed to register in the blonde's mind and that made Cloud panic like he had never panicked before.

Did he know about the babies? Was he going to tell? No, no, no...

"Err... I don’t think so. He... just drank a whole pack of soda yesterday: that’s why he's big today." Cloud said, licking his suddenly dry lips before going inside to finish the rice.

"Hmmm..." Finishing off the frosting, Marluxia leaned against the counter and idly licked the spoon. “You’re such a liar!" He said suddenly before walking over to Cloud and placing his hands on his hips. "Don't lie to me Mr.! I AM a doctor!"

Cloud swallowed hard, cutting some onion. Oh god, this was such a bad idea. Marluxia must have noticed the way he had brushed Reno’s stomach, the way Reno wasn't fat but just a little round. "I have no idea of what you’re talking about." He whispered faintly.

Smirking, Marluxia shrugged and turned back to his dessert. It should be out of the oven soon. "Okay then...” He paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should let the cat out of the bag. Meh... might as well. "You think the kids will be blond or red heads?"

Cloud suddenly turned and threw a knife at Marluxia, nearly cutting some of his hair before it got stuck on the wall. "... How do you know about that?" He said lowly, shifting nervously as he practically glared holes through the other man.

"MEEP…!" Lunging to the side, Marluxia looked over at Cloud, eyes almost comically wide and shaking. "Dear LORD man! You ARE protective of him, YES!" Grasping the knife, he yanked it out of the wall before placing it next to him. No way in hell was he giving it back to the homicidal blond. "I found out for myself and made Reno tell me. Don't be mad at him."

Cloud relaxed a bit, if it was ONLY for a bit. Reno had told Marluxia... so he must have trusted him enough. Reno was a Turk after all: he knew what to do, who to trust."..." the blond looked away, chewing his lower lip. “Sorry about that." he whispered, turning back to the stove. He just hoped Vexen hadn’t noticed as well.

"Umm... no problem…?" Walking back over to Cloud, the pink haired handed him back the knife. "In Reno's defense I kind of bullied him into it. But I was concerned."

Cloud hummed, accepting the knife with slightly shaky hands. "... You're a doctor, you said it yourself. Vexen is one as well." He stated. "Will you tell on us? It’s not every day that a man gets pregnant..." He whispered, swallowing hard. He felt dizzy, he just wanted to take a hold of his lover and run to somewhere else.

Marluxia shook his head, coming over to embrace the shaken man. "No... Me and Vexen understand, at least I know he will understand. It's basically every gay man’s dream to have a child of their own flesh and blood. We won’t tell."

Cloud let out a relieved breath and relaxed into the embrace, rubbing his forehead. "Thank you..."He thanked honestly. “And... Sorry about the knife thing, seriously... I just got scared." He said, looking away. He was an experiment once: he did not want his lover and child to go through it as well.

"Meh..." Marluxia shrugged, placing a kiss on the shorter man’s temple. "Not the first time a knife has been thrown at me...Vexen can be rather violent when he wants to be." Hearing a ding coming from behind him, Marly squealed and lunged towards the oven. "Cake is done!" Cloud just smiled and turned his attention to the stove. "Oww, ow, ow, ow..." Flipping the three cakes out of the pans to let them cool, Marluxia looked back in back of seeing the return of his lover and Reno. "Hey baby!" Running over to Vexen, Marluxia placed a kiss on his cheek and hugged him. "Did you have fun?"

Giggling happily, a very wet Reno ran over to embrace his cooking lover. "I tried to push Vexen into the pool... and failed...”

Cloud chuckled and embraced his lover, taking on his scent. "Go change your clothes, it gets cold at night." He said, kissing his lover's lips.

"I'll dry… but if you say so then okay!" Giving his lover one last kiss, Reno ran upstairs and came down a moment later dressed in a pair of black hip hugging pants with chains on the side and a skin tight black t-shirt with a bloody rose on the front and a blood red sleeves. Padding barefoot over to his lover, he hugged him once again, loose hair falling over his shoulders. "What’s cookin’, good lookin’?"

"I've decided to cook something simple: fried chicken with rice." Cloud replied, looking over his shoulder and kissing his lover's nose. "Vexen and Marluxia went to the balcony to see the view."

Smiling happily at the kiss, Reno leaned over to gently nip at Cloud's own. "Sounds yummy…!" Licking the bridge of his lover’s nose, he smirked and nodded. "Definitely yummy…! ...oh... and the food sounds good too!"

"You just licked my NOSE and said it was yummy. Lovely." Cloud chuckled. "... I know that Marluxia knows." He said hesitantly. "And I think you did well if you really trust him... he seems trustworthy. I just dunno about Vexen..."

Pausing, Reno pulled back from his lover’s embrace and looked down at the floor, twiddling his entwined hands. "… I'm sorry… I know I wasn’t supposed to tell."

Cloud circled his arms around Reno's waist, pulling him against his body. "It’s okay baby. I guess they can know." he said, kissing Reno's forehead. "What did Marluxia said when he knew about the baby?"

Shrugging, Reno wrapped his arms around Cloud. "He was surprised, happy and wanted to know how you reacted to it." He was afraid that Marluxia would reject him and blab the story out. "I'm sorry. I put our child in jeopardy for the sake of having a friend. I shouldn’t have been so selfish."

"You trusted him from the beginning so it’s okay... I trust in your instincts." Cloud said, brushing the too-big-for-one baby lump tenderly.

Smiling gently, Reno placed his hand on top of Cloud’s and rubbed his stomach. "Marluxia said there was more than one yo. We’re gonna need another cradle."

Cloud blinked and then beamed happily, hugging his lover gently. "That’s great!" He said, kissing the redhead's neck and shoulder.

Squeaking in surprise, Reno laughed and tilted his head to the side, sighing softly in pleasure.

“Happy, aren’t we?"

Cloud smiled lovingly and nodded. "I’m going to have two children with the man I love. I feel almost giddy." He chuckled, kissing Reno’s cheek.

Smiling happily, Reno kissed back. “Okay, we gotta eat!” Walking over to the cabinet, Reno grabbed the necessary plates and bowls, carefully stacking then, he had made the mistake of not doing so once before – boy, was Cloud mad! - And set up four places at the table. "I'm gonna go get the others!" Walking out onto the balcony, his eyes widened at the sight that met him there. Marluxia and Vexen were entwined together in a passionate embrace, Vexen gently holding his slightly shorter lover around the waist and cupping his face in his palm. The pink haired man was sighing happily, arms around his lover’s neck. It was so sweet, so kind, so LOVING. So Reno acted in the only way he could have. "EWWWWW!! VEXEN IS TRYING TO EAT MARLY'S FACE!!"

Gasping in surprise, the two jerked apart and turned towards the snickering redhead. "Why, you little BRAT…!" Running over, Marluxia picked Reno up and swung him over his shoulder, spinning the two of them in circles.

"Put me down!! I’m gonna be sick!!"

"This is what you get for interrupting us!!" After a few more wails and death threats, Marluxia reluctantly placed Reno down and snickered, watching the red head stumble around. "I TOLD you not to drink!"

Shaking his head fondly, Vexen took his lover by the ear and dragged him inside. "BEHAVE."

"Aww… Vexy... Oww, ow, ow, ow…!"

Giggling, Reno followed them and plopped down in his seat next to his smirking lover. Apparently he had seen everything that had happened. "I'm STARVING, yo!"

"That’s what you get for not eating." Cloud chuckled, squeezing Reno’s hand tenderly under the table as the guests made themselves at home. The dinner went smoothly, with laughs and casual conversation until it turned late and the guests had to leave.

"Feel free to come back when ya want to!" Reno said cheerfully, giving Vexen a hug.

Marluxia grinned and threw his arms around Cloud's chest, spinning them. "Don’t say that or we'll be here early in the morning tomorrow!" He giggled, kissing Cloud's cheek.

Cloud blinked and chuckled, prying Marluxia's arms from him. "Don’t tell about Reno." He whispered on the pink-haired man's ear before turning to bid Vexen goodbye.

Giving their new friends one last goodbye, Reno walked back into the kitchen and began gathering the dirty dishes and such on the table. "I told you they were nice!" It seems that Marluxia and Vexen had won over Cloud. That was good, now they had some people to actually hang out with in the town. Placing the dishes in the sink, Reno turned the water on and began to scrub them. "Dinner was great yo! We'll have to do it again sometime."

Cloud hummed and started helping his lover, drying the dishes. "Marluxia is quite the clinging type, isn’t he?" He chuckled, placing a kiss on Reno’s neck. "What about we go buy the other crib tomorrow after lunch? A date, just the two of us… and then we can see the sunset at the beach...” The blond suggested.

Humming, Reno closed his eyes with a pleased smile. "Sounds great..." It was sweet and romantic, something they hadn’t done in a while. Opening his eyes, he looked over and opened his mouth to ask Cloud a question but his eyes went wide when he noticed his lover’s actions. "Oh!" Taking the cloth from the other, he smiled. "You don't have to do that! You cooked so I'll clean!"

Cloud pouted and retrieved his cloth. "Yes, I have to do this. It’s quicker this way!"

"Bu-but." Reno was at a loss. He couldn’t tell Cloud the real reason why he didn't want him to help but the need to do everything was overwhelming. "It's not really fair then! You shouldn’t have to do everything. You cooked and I didn't help at all! It's only fair that I do all the cleaning! You go relax." He took the cloth from Cloud once more and made a shooing motion. "Go sit and relax."

Cloud just sighed and picked another cloth. "I want to help you out! You know that I’m just like you: I don’t like being sat without something to do. I have to move too or I’ll turn into one of those men walking around with a beer belly so big that they can’t even see their feet." He protested, pouting.

Giggling slightly at the image his love had planted in his head, Reno shook his head once more. "You’re SO not lazy! And you’re never going to get a belly." Taking the cloth from his lover once again, he paused and sighed. "Just..." The grip upon the wet material tightened and he looked down, hiding his eyes from the other, voice a quiet whisper. "… Please let me do it." He had made himself a promise and he never broke his promises unless he absolutely needed to. He couldn’t fall useless to Cloud, he just couldn’t.

Cloud frowned slightly at his lover's change of mood. Dropping the cloth to take a hold of Reno’s hand, Cloud took a step forward and cupped his lover's face with his free hand, forcing to look at him. "Why are you doing this?" He whispered tenderly.

Keeping his eyes lowered, Reno shrugged. "I... just have to...” He wouldn’t understand. Despite everything Marluxia said he knew Cloud would not understand. "Please... let me do it." He had a lot to do after this as well. Laundry, cleaning the bathroom, changing the sheets on the bed... He was running behind and if he didn’t finish, he wouldn’t be able to do something later. Smiling, he closed his eyes and leaned into the other’s hand. "Want me to give you a back massage later?" Maybe he could distract his lover with the prospect of something else.

"That sounds good but first, talk to me..." Cloud almost pleaded. Something was wrong and Reno was hiding it from him. If they wanted a nice, understanding relationship, they had to talk about their problems... "Your problems are mine too, baby... Talk with me; you know you can trust me."

Humming, Reno shook his head and turned around to wash again. The water was getting cold. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just doing what I always do." He did trust his lover, with everything from his biggest fear to his body, but there were just some things he couldn’t tell him. "Cloud... would... you still love me if I was messy and didn't help at all?" That was a safe question, and it didn't give anything away.

"Such a stupid question: of course I would." Cloud answered with a smile, not finding the need to think. It was all true, from the bottom of his heart. "My feelings aren’t that superficial... I would love you no matter what." He said, kissing Reno’s neck before stealing the cloth back and continuing his work.

Reno stood there, eyes downcast and defeat causing his body to slump slightly. "... Liar..." There was no way Cloud would love him if he was useless. "Liar… liar... there’s no way... I promised... you would be happy." Shudders took over his frame as he tried to hold back his tears. Lunging forward with a half desperate, half heart breaking wail, the redhead tried to take the cloth from Cloud. "Please! Let me do it!" He had to do it. He promised! He couldn’t become useless.

Cloud blinked, surprised. He put the cloth away and picked up Reno, taking him to the balcony. Ignoring the trashing man on his arms, he sat and held his lover, hugging him gently until he calmed down. "I didn’t lie." He said truthfully. "You should know me better than that Reno. I don’t lie about what I feel. Especially about what I feel for you. Just... what is happening with you? You seem so eager to do something, To, I dunno, to impress me?"

Panting, Reno slumped in his lover’s arms. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, he knew that much. "No... I'm just doing what I need to." Shuddering, he clasped his hand onto the other’s shirt and buried his face in his chest. "You’re my lover. You chose me, loved me and actually WANTED to be with ME of all people. This was the only thing I could think of to do to thank you. And...” He hesitated, losing his grip upon the other, readying himself to be told to leave. "Since this morning I saw how much I hurt you yo. I promised; promised myself that I would never make you sad or angry again. I was going to make sure you lived life the way you always should have. No problems or worries." Sighing, Reno pulled away and tried to slip off the other’s lap and get back to work. "Let me do this, please. I CAN'T be useless... what reason will you have to be with me if I am?"

Cloud shook his head and buried his face on his lover's hair. "This is not how I want to live my life." He said. He had to be honest, to make Reno understand once and for all. "It’s true. I love you, I choose you as my lover... I want to be with you. I didn’t choose a servant, a slave, Reno. I choose you as the person with who I want to spend my life with. I don’t want you to extend a red carpet and kiss my shoes, baby... I want to share everything with you, work included." He said, trying to make Reno understand. "And I already said that it wasn’t your fault what happened this morning..."

"But it was." His voice a mere whisper, Reno leaned into his lover’s embrace, the slightly heartbroken tone in the other’s voice breaking tearing him apart. "I did do it. Sure, I might not have been the cause for it in the beginning but I'm an idiot for not noticing how much you were suffering because of me. What kind of boyfriend am I when I can't even tell when you’re in pain? Instead I run around with Rude, smirk and flirt with everyone I see because it makes them smile but I never noticed how much it hurt you. Shiva, I'm useless." He never wanted to hurt Cloud. Never. He was the most important person in Reno's life.

Cloud shook his head. "I almost made you miscarriage. It was my fault. And I never felt jealous of you flirting with the others. I had you, you're mine... I know the real you. I knew that it was just for the laughs, baby."

Sighing sadly, Reno turned to wrap his arms around Cloud, trying to comfort or consol him in some way. "The miscarriage wasn’t your fault. Who was the one that hurt you in the first place? Me. You just reacted the same way I would if the roles had been reversed. It's my own fault for getting so worked up about it."

Cloud shook his head and dismissed the subject. "The point here is that I don’t want you to do what you’re doing. I want us to share the work, to work as the couple we are. I asked you to marry me a few days ago, not to buy you, you lil' idiot..." He murmured gently, kissing the corner of Reno's mouth.

Reno stiffened in shock, not believing what he had just heard. "You... still want to marry me?" He asked hesitantly, voice border lining on disbelieving. "Even after everything that has been happening?"

Cloud smiled and nodded. "Yes, I do. No matter what, I will always want to marry you." He said gently, kissing Reno's lips tenderly. "Reno Strife..." He tried, enjoying the way it rolled so easily on his tongue. "Sounds good to me..."

Eyes wide in disbelief, Reno smiled and leaned back against the other’s chest, sniffing a bit. "Yea... it sounds great to me as well yo." He couldn’t believe his lover still wanted to marry him after all that had happened. Wiping his eyes a bit to rid them of the growing wetness, he chuckled. "Stupid Hormones..."

Cloud chuckled, kissing the tears away. "And you...?" He asked, biting his lip. "Do you think it’s a good idea to marry me?"

"Of COURSE I do!" Smiling, Reno leaned up to kiss his lover’s lips, trying to convey all his joy and love through the one simple motion. "There is nothing I would like more then to take your name. Just like how I'm thrilled at the fact that I'm having your children."

Cloud beamed and hugged his lover close, taking on his scent. "I love you baby." He whispered, kissing his shoulder. "Promise me you'll stop trying to turn yourself into my slave?"

Hugging Cloud back, Reno nodded. "It might take a while but I think I can do that yo." Pulling back with a slight yawn, Reno blinked in surprise at his sudden bout of tiredness. "What the...” Placing his hand on the bump on his stomach, he smiled tenderly. "I blame you guys for my sudden sleepiness." Chuckling he stood up and held his hand out to help the other up. "C'mon, we still have more to do."

Cloud smiled and took Reno's hand before they both went to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Once finished, Cloud picked up his lover and nuzzled his nose against Reno's fiery hair. "I have to train for our honeymoon." He said as the only explanation for his action.

Squeaking in slight surprise, Reno wrapped his arms around Cloud's neck and nuzzled into his chest. "Something tells me you’re going to be picking me up like this long after our honeymoon." Cloud just liked to hold him in his arms. Maybe it was a protective thing; Reno didn't know but he certainly wasn’t complaining.

Cloud chuckled and nodded, gently placing Reno on the bed. "You can bet I will." He said, starting to change into his pajamas.

Shaking his head, Reno chuckled once more before rolling off bed to change into a pair of plain black pants and a white shirt. Flopping back onto the bed, he yawned and twisted a bit until the blankets cocooned around his curled up frame. "Aren’t Marluxia and Vexen nice?"

Cloud nodded and jumped on top of the bed. "Yeah." He grinned, curling on top of the blankets. It was hot on that night. "Vexen's quite decent but Marluxia exhausted me..."

"I’d think you would be able to handle him, considering you spend the majority of your days around ME." Reno and Marluxia got together perfectly, seeming to have the same insane amount of energy. Rolling over a bit, he leaned forward until his head gently rested on the other’s chest. "We need an AC yo... it's friggin HOT."

Cloud laughed. "Do like me. Sleep on top of the blankets instead of under them." He chuckled, rolling to his stomach and scratching his back.

Grinning, Reno rolled over and ran hid nails down the other’s back, scratching it for him. "Feel better?" He knew Cloud loved it when he scratched his back for him, considering Reno had nails and he didn't.

Cloud groaned softly, shivering as Reno scratched his back. "Love you..." He grinned, closing his eyes in delight.

Smiling, Reno leaned over farther and pressed down a bit harder, making sure to get in between Cloud’s shoulders and the middle of his back where he knew the other couldn’t reach. "Love you too." After a few more moments of scratching, Reno pulled away with a grin on his face, "I'm thinking about cutting my nails." He commented, rolling over so the other couldn’t see his grin.

"No..." Cloud whined, crawling around Reno like a cat before slumping in front of the redhead. So what if he could fall down the bed at the slightest push? "Don’t do that... I like your nails..." He purred.

Laughing out loud, Reno turned over to give Cloud more room. "Alright, cat boy… I won't cut them." He wasn’t going to, anyways. He spent a long time cleaning and trimming them: dang it if he was going to lose them now!

Cloud smiled and curled against Reno, mewling softly and mockingly before chuckling. "G'night..." He said, kissing his lover's baby lump before hiding his face on Reno’s side and preparing for a nice night of sleep.

Smiling gently, Reno snuggled back onto the blankets and wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders, humming happily when he felt Cloud place a kiss onto his bump. "Night. Love you." Yawning once more, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Cloud smiled against Reno’s side, his thumb tenderly rubbing the redhead's stomach. It finally seemed that everything had fallen in place, he thought before joining his lover in the land of dreams...

Rolling over in the middle of the night, Reno yawned and opened his eyes, shivering a bit. "Damn cold." Reaching down he pulled the blankets over Cloud and himself, arranging them so the other could still breathe. Settling back down, he found that he could not sleep and just laid there in the darkness. He smiled gently and ran his fingers through Cloud’s feathery soft hair. He was glad that everything seemed to have gone back to normal. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on Cloud’s head before settling back down and not opening his eyes till morning.

--

Early in the morning, Cloud stirred and sighed contently, curling under the blankets. He felt warm, secure... opening his eyes, the blond smiled and kissed his lover's baby lump. "Hello." He whispered, raising his upper body on an elbow and looking down at his lover, peacefully asleep and completely unaware of his surroundings. 'Must have been really tired...' Cloud thought, getting up without much commotion. Thinking of what he should do, Cloud grinned suddenly to himself and went to take a quick, nice shower before going to the kitchen and preparing breakfast. He had to hurry up if he wanted to go to town and come back while his lover was still asleep.

Yawning, Reno curled up and whimpered a bit due to the loss of warmth. "Meh…" Curling up, he wrapped the blankets tighter around himself and closed his eyes, completely content with drifting back into the world of dreams.

Grinning, Cloud went upstairs to pick up his wallet before coming back down, carefully closing the door after him and grabbing Fenrir, walking with it until he was sure that Reno wouldn’t wake up with the noise before driving to town, parking by the hotel and setting on a discovery mission.

He had a wedding ring to buy.

--

Bekas: Fluffy!

Kigichi: Is it just me... or does RENO seem more like the one to act like a cat? XD I mean...maybe it's just me. But he seems WAY more likely to be a kitty...and Cloud an overprotective guard dog... But huzza huzza! Cloud is goin for the ring! I wonder where he will find one...