Final Fantasy VII By Any Other Name

Disclaimer: Yes. I own Final Fantasy. I also own the moon too….and if you believe that, I have some vertical swamp land in France to sell ya.

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**By Any Other Name**

He had been there for a while and had said little to nothing the whole time besides ordering his drink and making passing comments on her appearance. It was nothing new, really. To Tifa, it didn't really matter what he did or didn't say as long as he paid his tab and didn't try to touch her. It took her by surprise though when the Turk finally did say something of some interest.

Reno snickered, swirling the amber liquid in circles as he tilted his shot glass between his long fingers.

"Ya know, Reno's not my real name,"

"It's not?" Tifa asked, glancing up at him briefly then returned her attention to the spilt drink she was mopping off the bar top. She gave a sigh and tossed the hand towel behind the counter, giving up on the completely saturated cloth.

"Nuh-huh" he responded, eyeing her backside with a grin, as she bent down to retrieve a clean towel from a shelf just under the counter. "Last name. I use it 'cause I don' like my first one."

As if sensing his eyes on her, she stood up and popped him in the face with her fresh towel. He leaned back, out of the cloth's attack range, with a laugh. She rolled her eyes at him and went back to cleaning the counter. Reno too returned to nursing his drink, his lips slipping back to their usual cocky smirk.

"What's wrong with your first name?" Tifa asked offhandedly, buffing the counter with the new cloth.

"Its freak'en crap that's what wrong with it, yo!" He replied sourly before throwing back his head and draining the remaining liquid in his glass.

She tried not to seem it, but Tifa was now a bit intrigued by this news. She couldn't imagine a reason why Reno wouldn't like his name. If it were a "sophisticated" name he would flaunt it. If it were a simple name, he wouldn't care. She though he would probably even find a weird name amusing and worthy of sharing. Finally letting her curiosity get the best of her, she asked the red head without turning around, "Why don't you like your first name?"

Reno didn't answer immediately, so Tifa turned her head to look at him. The Turk was still bent over the bar, his empty glass now held in both hands. His expression was unreadable to Tifa. She couldn't decide if it was anger or amusement that shadowed his face and glistened in his darkened eyes.

"Tch! You wouldn't either, if ya took as much shit 'bout your name as I did growin' up…Ma must'a been sufferin' from mako poisoning or somethin' when she named me."

Tifa turned fully around and stared at Reno, a slight frown gracing her features. So it was a "weird" name then. Something that might have gotten him pushed around when he was younger. She leaned against the counter with one hand, as the other, holding the towel, perched on her hip. The loose end of the cloth swayed in the air as she drummed her knuckles against her side in thought.

Reno glance up at her pensive face and raised one eyebrow, "Whut?" he asked, seemingly amused.

The woman sighed and shook her head, "I just can't think of anything other than flower names for some reason. What is your first name? Is it Daisy? Lilly?"

Reno cracked a humored smile and chuckled again, pouring himself another shot from the bottle sitting next to him. "Hey-hey now, what makes you think I would tell ya somethin' I've never told nobody, eh?"

Tifa give him a disbelieving look, "You've never told anyone your real name?"

"Well, a few maybe…Tseng knows it, 'cause its on my papers. The Boss Man- same reason. Rude because, well, I told him….And I guess the few guys who are still around that knew me when I was a kid, but I can count that list on one hand, ya know. That's about everyone who knows The Reno's first name. I would really have ta think you were somethin' special if I were going to tell it to ya..." He told her with a suggestive wink. "Maybe we could arrange an, 'exchange of information' sometime and I could tell ya then, hmm?"

She rolled her eyes with a huff and turned back to the work at hand.

"No thanks," She grumbled under her breath, greeting a customer who was just sitting down at the bar with a nod. Reno's grin gave a momentarily wolfish flash before shrinking back into his customary smirk.

It wasn't until much later, after Tifa had silently taken the whiskey bottle from the counter while glaring down the much less sober Reno that they actually spoke again.

" Reno, you've had enough. Go home." She told him sternly, placing both the bottle and glass back behind the counter.

He didn't argue with her, just shrugged; the only sign of his inebriation, the dangerous glitter in his eyes. Effortlessly standing up, he picked up his jacket and swung it over his shoulder. Tifa noticed how the man seemed just as dexterous and steady when he was drunk as when sober. Her mind, however, knew this not to be true. He was much sharper when drunk. Much more lethal. Like a freshly whet sword- keen to cut. The daunting thought caused a reverent shiver to go up Tifa's spine. The man _was_ a Turk after all…

"Lae," Reno said to her, as he turned to leave, snapping the woman from her dark thoughts.

"What?" she asked, confused and unsure if she should be offended or not. "Lay? Lay what?"

Reno tilted his head back over his shoulder towards her, his lidded eyes again glittering with some unreadable emotion, "Me. Lae. Lae Reno, yo." He chortled, then continued walking, leaving the bar and disappearing into the darkness outside without another word.

It took Tifa a moment to bring meaning to the red head's words. "Oh," she whispered to herself, finally understanding that he wasn't propositioning her. Thinking what he said over, she picked his glass off the back counter and gazed into its crystal surface, envisioning her own version of Reno's past. "Oh. I guess that is a pretty terrible name…."

* * *

AN:

Yeah, so I edited it and changed some stuff. I like it better now, though. I hope this sounds better than the first one (I took most of Reno's "yo"s out and gave him a relaxed speech pattern instead so to better get the "zotto"-ness across without him sounding so much like a doof. I also made a "better" beginning, though I still tried to go for a suddenness) to all of you who whined at me. I'm kidding. I want feed back and I am glad for those of you who suggested changed! I like getting constructive reviews! –HINT- -HINT-

Kids are mean. I would hate to be a kid with the name "Lae". I can just hear them now…"Lae Reno! Who wants to lay Reno!"

Yeah. That'd get old. Where did I get the name Lae from? My Kingdom Hearts theory/fetish concerning Axel as Reno's nobody. I usually like his name being Ale, however I though Lea would be more interesting/angsty for this story. I think I might actually like it better now…humm…If you don't know what I am talking about, then go play Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2. If **_I_ **eventually got over the fact that Disney was mixed with Final Fantasy, you can too.

REVIEW people! It's really disheartening to see a story have over a whole bunch of hits and only like 5 reviews. I can't tell if that means people are forgetting to review or hate the story or are accidentally clicking on the story and then backing out or something, so don't be lazy and just review! If you like it, tell me. Heck, if you don't like it tell me! I want feed back people! RAWR! )


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Final Fantasy VII