In My Darkest Hour, You Were There - Reno (Final Fantasy VII) x Turk Reader

Chapter 1

"Hey, Aerith, been looking all over for you," you say as you see her approaching, closely followed by a serious-looking guy with spiky blond hair, "And who's this?"

"This is Cloud. He's my bodyguard, if you really want to know," she replies, with a somewhat defiant tone that makes you have to resist the urge to sigh.

"Bodyguard, huh?" you say, raising an eyebrow, "I don't remember you ever having one of those, Aerith. At least, other than us Turks of course. Besides...," you say, stepping closer to Cloud as you do so, "I've heard about you. Aren't you the supposed ex-SOLDIER who beat up my partners?"

"So what if I am?" Cloud says, speaking up for the first time with a hardened expression, "You gonna try to get some revenge like the other guy?"

"Hm, not quite," you say calmly, holding your hands up to get him to step back. You've heard from Reno and Rude just how strong this guy is, and although you back yourself against him, you're not quite so reckless as to launch yourself into a fight with him unnecessarily. Not yet, at least.

"Huh?" Cloud says, his frown giving way to a confused expression, although you note that he doesn't quite let his guard down entirely just yet.

"Surprised?" you ask, raising an eyebrow at him, "Look, I'm here to do a job, but I must say I'm curious. Why are you so intent on getting into fights with Turks as soon as you see one?"

"I know the likes of you," he scowls, "You're all the same."

"Oh really? Just like all SOLDIERS are the same? Please, don't give me that crap," you reply with an eye roll, "Just stand down will you, and let's actually have a little chat. All three of us. Back near Aerith's house so nobody else can nosy in on our conversation."

"The flowers might!" Aerith protests, "Might not be so private then, huh?"

"Whatever," you say, "Just come with me. And if you try to pull any crap, I won't back down from a fight," you warn Cloud with a glare that he readily returns. Thankfully, though, they both follow you, although you make sure to never turn your back to the SOLDIER boy, just in case he decides to pull a fast one on you.

"Where's the best place for us to chat, Aerith?" you ask as you walk into the garden of flowers surrounding her house.

"If you really wanna know, then I'd say near the flowers up top," she says, before adding, "Although you better not start anything, either of you. No fighting near the flowers. I had a close enough call with you and Reno earlier, Cloud."

You have to stifle a laugh at the exasperated huff that escapes Cloud's lips at this. Knowing Aerith, she's probably been talking his ear off all day, and it's strangely amusing to see her accompanying such a stoic figure, as pissed off as you still are that he beat up your fellow Turks - Reno especially, as Rude got called away before any real damage was done there. To be fair, you were furious when you saw how hurt Reno was after his fight with Cloud; at the end of the day you're all just trying to do your jobs and although he chats a lot of shit, he didn't deserve to be that badly hurt. He even said Aerith had to stop the guy from landing the 'finishing blow', so to speak, something that makes your blood run cold as you really can't imagine losing Reno; he means far too much to you. You quickly snap yourself out of your thoughts,

"The flowers sound good," you nod, "Can't make any promises on the no-fighting front if your little friend starts anything, though."

"I won't," Cloud snaps, "In fact, I'm interested to hear what you have to say."

"Oh, suddenly wanting to engage with me now, are we, SOLDIER-boy?" you taunt, laughing as anger passes across his features. It's amusing how easy it is to get under his skin, despite his seemingly composed demeanour, and you have to resist the urge to press him further as you know full-well what that will result in from Reno's accounts of their encounter in the church.