Taking Care of Reno: Meteorfall
Chapter 6: Ahead On Our Way
“You’re not going to wander off and ‘forget’, are you?” Elena asked eying the redhead suspiciously, “Because if you are, I’m –”
Reno silenced her with a kiss, which he held for far longer than he really needed to for the desired effect. When he finally pulled away, he grinned. “Just fuckin’ go to work already. I’m not gonna skip out on my appointment with Ward just ’cause you’re not here holdin’ my leash,” he snickered. “Trust me… I want off these damn crutches enough at this point that I’ll put up with just about anything. Even the Doc, if it’ll get me back in the field.”
Elena giggled softly. “Alright… I’ll see you tonight, then.”
“Heh… Wouldn’t count on it.”
She paused in her bid to leave, turning back with a frown.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, ‘Lena. Rufus is goin’ after Sephiroth. That means you’re goin’ after Sephiroth. You don’t really think he stuck around Midgar after he shishkebobbed the President, do ya? Soon as Rude picks up his trail, you’re gonna be followin’ him. Tseng might not want to leave me behind… but he’s gonna have to. And he’ll need you.”
Her frown deepened. “I… I… You’re right,” she replied as the realization hit her. “Are you going to be okay with that?”
“Guess I’m gonna have to be,” he said, with a shrug. Reno shook his head dismissively. “Worry about yourself, ‘kay? Last thing I want is you gettin’ distracted out there. I’ll manage. Tseng’ll find somethin’ to keep me busy, anyway. Probably paperwork…” He made a disgusted face at the prospect of having to spend the next few days catching up on his unfiled reports, and Elena gave him a small smile.
“Promise you’ll call me if you need to talk?” she prodded. The redhead smirked.
“You plannin’ on tellin’ Sephiroth to hold off on kickin’ your ass mid-fight just so you can play therapist to your boyfriend?”
Elena poked him playfully in the ribs. “If I have to. And what make you think he’ll be kicking my ass, anyway?”
“Don’t get cocky,” he chastised her, “I want you in one piece when Ward finally says I can come help you guys. Be careful, ‘kay, ‘Lena?”
“I will,” she whispered, hugging him tight. She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
“And if ya happen to run into those Avalanche assholes… tell ’em I’m gonna be payin’ ’em back for puttin’ me outta commission in the first place. With interest.”
Elena stepped into the elevator and headed up the the Turks’ main office. Leaving Reno at the hospital had been hard enough before she’d realized that she might not be seeing him again for awhile… It had been next to impossible after he’d enlightened her on that possibility.
He hadn’t slept well again last night… but this time, she’d been able to rouse him before the nightmares could really take hold, so he’d gotten at least some rest. She wanted so badly to make things better… but there really wasn’t much of anything she could do except be there for him. And now, odds were good she couldn’t even do that. A part of her hoped that Sephiroth had decided to disappear back to wherever he’d been hiding for the last five years. Her more rational side told her that was unlikely.
The elevator opened on her floor, and Elena stepped out, and walked towards the office. She could already hear voices from within. She pushed open the door and was greeted by the sight of Tseng and Rude poring over a map that had been spread out on Reno’s desk. Various office supplies were being used as markers of some sort.
“Are you always this late?” a voice from the corner queried, and she jumped in surprise, spinning to face whomever had just addressed her. Elena’s eyes fell on the familiar figure of Rufus Shinra, who stood near the window, calmly sipping a cup of coffee. He looked a little more rough around the edges than he usually did, but had she not seen him passed out drunk the evening before, she wouldn’t have suspected anything was out of the ordinary.
“I had to take Reno to his next mako therapy session, sir…”
“Which you knew perfectly well, given that I already informed you of that very fact not twenty minutes ago, sir…” Tseng added from the other side of the room, without looking up. “Stop playing with my Turks, if you would. It’s far too early and we’re much too busy.”
Rufus scowled slightly and flicked back a lock of hair that was hanging over his eyes. “I was only trying to break the monotony. We’ve done little more than sit around waiting for her all morning.”
“Has there been any news, sir?” Elena asked, turning to the Turk leader.
“Some.” He gestured to the map. “Sephiroth has definitely left the city. He was reportedly sighted in Kalm late last night… He left, on foot, heading south. There’s very little in that direction, so we’ve been attempting to determine a target. The chocobo farm would be the obvious choice. It makes sense that he would be looking to procure transportation and a chocobo could take him into the mountains where he could easily vanish.”
“Of course, he might not be looking to ‘vanish’ at all,” Rufus pointed out. “He didn’t seem too concerned with secrecy when he killed my father.”
Tseng nodded. “No, sir… he didn’t,” he agreed. Elena made her way over to the map, studying the markers. A large eraser sat on Kalm… apparently it was being used to represent a confirmed sighting. Assorted paperclips and rubber bands had been placed over a number of other points. The chocobo farm… Mithryl Mine… Fort Condor… even Junon.
“Reno seems to have… misplaced… our usual map markers,” Tseng explained. “We’ve had to improvise.”
“Rubber bands are possible destinations. Paperclips are likely destinations,” Rude added. The chocobo farm had a paperclip sitting on top of it, as did Junon.
“Why Junon?” she asked, “Wouldn’t he want to avoid Shinra’s most heavily armed military installation like the plague? He must know we’ll be looking for him…”
“Because he’s on foot, obviously… Or at best, chocobo-back,” Rufus replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Junon is the only port of call for miles. If he’s traveling to his so-called ‘Promised Land’, it stands to reason that he’s going to need to acquire transportation with a bit more range… because it’s certainly nowhere on this continent.”
“Rufus will be leaving Midgar the day after tomorrow for Junon… the city is holding a parade in his honor to welcome him as the new President. We’re going on ahead to ensure that his visit will be a safe one, and to look for any signs of which direction our target has gone along the way… which is why we will be traveling the same path he did, starting in Kalm.”
“Er… When are we leaving, sir?”
“Now that you’re here… immediately,” Tseng replied.
Reno moaned in sheer boredom. He’d already been hooked up to this damned machine for nearly an hour… and Ward had promised him a full two hours before she would be cutting him loose. It was torture. He moaned again, louder this time.
“Oh, will yeh stop with the dramatics…” Dr. Ward said, rolling her eyes at him. “Yeh act as though yeh’ve been imprisoned for years…”
“Why the fuck’re we doin’ this shit all at once anyway?” he muttered, “Ya couldn’t’ve scheduled a break halfway through or somethin’?”
Ward chuckled softly… which only served to annoy him further. It was decidedly condescending.
“Yeh watch that mouth of yers and just lay back and relax, yeh little troublemaker. I’m planning on watching yeh walk out of here on yer own two feet today. The sooner yer physically sound, the better, I think,” she said with a smirk, “And just so yeh know… I’m tired of listening to yer constant moaning. Yer much more pleasant ta deal with when yer better half is with yeh.”
The redhead sighed and sank down against the pillows. He’d been trying not to think about that. Elena had been gone less than an hour… and he already missed her. Worse, he was sure she wouldn’t be coming home tonight. It wouldn’t take Rude long to find some sort of clue as to where Sephiroth had gone… and Tseng would want to act on it before the trail went cold. Knowing that he’d be on his own for awhile left him feeling uncomfortably vulnerable.
He vaguely wondered if maybe he was relying too much on Elena right now. Had it been someone else being propped up by the young woman, he was fairly certain he would have known when to say enough was enough and force them to work through things on their own. But when it was his own issues he was dealing with, it was harder. He didn’t want to become dependent on Elena for his mental well-being… but he didn’t feel ready to start backing away from her support quite yet. And he wasn’t sure if that was because he was still much too raw and wounded… or simply because she made him feel so safe and he liked feeling safe.
Either way… she wasn’t going to be there tonight, so he was going to find out just how much progress he’d made, one way or the other.
Reno suddenly became aware of the fact that Dr. Ward was still standing over him, her fingers gently carding his hair. He looked up in mild surprise at the attention. Much like Tseng, Ward didn’t tend to cross that particular boundary very often.
“Yeh looked a little lost there for a second,” she explained with a warm smile, giving him one final pet before drawing her hand back and glancing at her watch. “I have good news for yeh, by the way.”
“I get an extra sucker for the extra hour of torment?” he quipped.
“No.”
He eyed her, suspicion growing. “This isn’t like a ‘Hey, Reno… Good news! You’re due for a flu shot!’ kinda thing, is it…? ‘Cause if so… your definition of good news and my definition of good news are way outta sync here…”
Dr. Ward scoffed and shook her head. “For Shiva’s sake… I’m beginning ta think that yeh really are convinced I get some sort of twisted pleasure out of watching yeh suffer through yer fear of injections,” the woman chided him.
“Not totally convinced ya don’t, Doc…” he replied, laughing softly.
“Well… For the record, I don’t like torturing my favorite patient. Even if it is necessary on occasion,” she said, “But no… I haven’t got any shots for yeh today.”
“Thank Ifrit…” Reno sighed.
“But like I said, I do have some good news for yeh. And it should be here right about…”
“Hey, Reno!” a familiar voice interrupted from the doorway, and the redhead automatically turned towards the sound.
“… Now,” Ward finished, chuckling.
“Lira?” The woman was being wheeled into the room by an orderly, and grinning from ear to ear.
“Yer friend is here for her next treatment as well. So yeh’ll have someone besides me ta keep yeh company for a bit.” She motioned to the man pushing the wheelchair to bring her over the the second bed in the room.
“Doctor Ward said that you behave better when you have a babysitter,” Lira teased as she was helped first to her feet, and then onto the bed. “So I offered to help keep you in line since I’m here anyway. And she said that if you didn’t behave… I could have your treat.”
The redhead glared at the doctor. “Very funny…” His expression quickly softened however, at the prospect of having Lira to talk to for awhile. The monotony was starting to get to him. The doctor chuckled and gently ruffled his hair before moving off to see to her other patient.
“Anything?” Tseng asked as they reconvened in the town center.
“Two men at the flour mill said they saw a man in black walking south around eleven. They tried to warn him about traveling the plains at night… but he ignored them and just kept going,” Elena replied. The Wutaiian Turk shifted his gaze to Rude, who leaned back against a sign post.
“Nothing about Sephiroth. But Avalanche is here.”
Tseng looked up in surprise. That he hadn’t expected. He have thought they’d have gone to ground somewhere in the slums. “Where?” he asked.
“The inn. Whole group’s sequestered upstairs in one of the rooms. They brought along that cat creature from Hojo’s lab, too…” Rude replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “… and Aerith’s with them.”
The Turk leader’s eyes narrowed. “What could they want with her?” he wondered aloud, though he had his suspicions. Aerith was the last living Ancient. And given that Sephiroth had taken Jenova’s body, it stood to reason that an Ancient was in some way required to reach the Promised Land.
“Seems to be with them of her own free will, if that’s what you’re asking. They’re not holding her captive. And they’ve been asking around some about Sephiroth. Looks like they’re following him, too.”
“Shouldn’t we do something about them, sir?” Elena inquired, but Tseng only shook his head.
“Our priority is Sephiroth. We can’t afford to lose his trail wasting time dealing with a handful of terrorists on the run. Leave them for now. We’ll use them if we can, and eliminate them if and when they actually get in our way. Right now, we need to start south.”
Reno stared, slightly awed, at the woman across the table from him. The pair had gone out for an early lunch once Ward had finished with them. Lira had polished off her first order even before he managed it… and when she’d started filching bites from his plate, he’d quickly insisted she order more.
“Fuck, Lira… Since when do you eat like… me?” he laughed. Lira glanced up from the steak and baked potato in front of her and grinned.
“Just the past week or so. Guess my body’s finally decided I need to start eatin’ for two. It’s crazy how hungry I am all the time lately…”
“Heh… Welcome to my world.”
Lira snickered and reached for the pepper shaker. “So… does that mean that you’ve just been pregnant all this time?”
The redhead snorted in amusement. “If I have, it’s the longest pregnancy in history. Goin’ on twenty seven years now…”
“Ward said it’s perfectly normal, though,” Lira continued, giggling, “She said it’s a good sign. Means the baby’s healthy and wants to be fed. And she thinks I’ll probably start showin’ in a few more weeks.”
“Heh… what’s with you and wantin’ to get fat, anyway?” he teased.
The woman rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to get fat. I want to actually look pregnant. It’s so weird… knowin’ he’s in there but not bein’ able to tell just by lookin’.” Lira let one hand rest on her belly, smiling. “I can’t wait until I can actually see him growin’ and feel him movin’ around…”
“Personally, I think I’d freak the hell out if I had a person growin’ inside of me…”
Lira laughed so loud several other tables looked over at the pair of them. “Reno…” she manged a few moments later, wiping her eyes, “If you had a person growin’ inside you, I think everyone would freak the hell out. Right before they came along and hauled your ass off to the one of those labs at Shinra to figure out how the hell somethin’ like that happened.”
“Point taken,” he chuckled. “Hey… How do ya know it’s a him? Could just as easily be a girl, ya know…”
“Well… I don’t, really,” Lira admitted, shrugging. “Fifty fifty shot either way, though. I just don’t like callin’ him ‘it’… and… ‘kay, so maybe I’m kinda hopin’ it’s a him, too…”
Reno’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Yeah? I woulda figured you’d be hopin’ for a girl. Just… ya know… you ‘n guys haven’t always had the best history and all…”
“All the more reason to want a boy… so I can make sure at least one more man on this planet turns out like you,” she grinned.
“Tch… like the planet needs another womanizing bastard who handles all of Shinra Company’s shady shit for a living.” He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his plate. The world didn’t need another guy like him. Someone who, when told to murder innocents, didn’t hesitate… no matter how great the death toll was.
“You’re absolutely right,” Lira quickly agreed, “But the world does need more men who are sweet and kind and generous, and who would do anything for the woman they love.” She smirked. “Even give up bein’ a womanizing bastard.”
Reno wanted so badly to tell her he didn’t deserve her admiration. He cringed just thinking about how wrong she was about him. Lira had always had a blind spot when it came to overlooking all the shit he got into as a Turk. She’d made it a point to know as little about that side of him as she possibly could… even when she was helping him with something on a professional level. She almost never asked… and he tried not to burden her with it.
It would have been impossible to argue without telling her what he’d done, however. Even if it weren’t classified, he wasn’t sure he was capable of owning up to it. Not to Lira, at any rate. He was afraid that even her blind spot would never extend far enough to look past something like that.
Still… it bothered him. He could honestly say that he’d never lied to Lira. Well… not about anything important, anyway. But then… it wasn’t really a lie, was it? Not if he just didn’t say anything to her about Sector 7…
A voice in the back of his head – one that sounded irritatingly like Tseng, come to think of it – informed him that a lie of omission was still a lie.
“Reno?” Lira prodded him. He looked up sharply, suddenly realizing that he’d gotten stuck in his own thoughts again. That was something he desperately needed to break himself of before it became a habit.
“Yeah?” he replied, as offhandedly as he could manage.
“You got a little quiet there for a second… Somethin’ wrong?”
He quickly forced a grin. “Nah… just thinkin’ about what a great mom you’re gonna be.”
Elena stood near the gate of the chocobo corral, watching the massive avians as they wandered around the pen in the fading sunlight. Every once in awhile, one of them would take off running, and several more would follow… almost like a game of tag. When one of them wandered over towards her, she stepped up onto the lower rail of the fence, leaning over to tickle it under the chin. The lithe, white bird warked happily at the attention.
There had been no sign of Sephiroth at the chocobo farm, save the old owner mentioning having seen a figure far in the distance heading towards the marshes when he’d been out feeding the chocobos that morning. Certainly no one matching his description had stopped in. Nor were any of their animals mysteriously missing. The rogue Soldier had passed this place by… which was probably lucky for the old man and his two grandchildren.
Her PHS chirped at her, alerting her to a new text message, and she hopped down from the fence to fish it out of her pocket. She smiled, seeing it was from Reno, and hurriedly thumbed it open.
‘Check it out… no more crutches!’ it read, and was accompanied by a photo of the redhead standing in their apartment. Snuffy was perched on his shoulder, eating what looked like half a slice of pizza. She snickered as she spotted the box it had obviously come from… sitting on the living room coffee table. She hadn’t even been gone a full day, and he was already breaking the rules.
‘You’d better not be eating in the living room, or you’re going to need them again just as soon as I get home,’ she teasingly texted back. The phone chimed again with his reply.
‘Lira made me!’ popped up on her screen, along with a new photo… this one of Lira looking like she was in the middle of denying his claim. It made her laugh.
“Interesting conversation?” Tseng’s voice interrupted, and Elena looked up from her phone.
“I guess Dr. Ward has Reno back on his feet,” she replied, showing him the photo. The Turk leader nodded.
“Good. I’ll speak to her in the morning and find out when she’s going to clear him for field duty. In the mean time… our next destination is Mythril Mine.”
Elena glanced upward, at the horizon. The sun was dangerously close to setting… and she knew firsthand what crossing the marshes was like. It wasn’t something she wanted to attempt in the dark.
“First thing in the morning,” Tseng quickly added. “We’ll stay here tonight. I’m eager to catch up to our quarry… but not so much that I’d want to risk ending up a zolom’s dinner. The owner has agreed to put us up in the barn for the night.” He chuckled slightly. “Not the most elegant of accommodations, but I think we can manage.”
“Yes, sir,” she snickered. “If nothing else it would have to be better than camping out in the mine…”
“I suspect you’re right.” He turned and started back towards the aforementioned barn. “Say goodnight to Reno for me,” he called back over his shoulder. Elena grinned and turned back to the corral, snapping a photo of her new friend, sending it to the redhead.
‘Guess where we’re staying tonight…’
‘A living hell filled with feathered evil?’ came the snarky reply. She rolled her eyes, and giggled. One of these days, she was going to have to start working on getting that man over his dislike of chocobos.
‘You’re hopeless. Tseng says goodnight.’
‘Tell him I’m way past ready to get back to work. Fuck whatever Ward says. Unless she says I’m all good. Then he should totally listen to her.’
‘I’ll give him the message,’ she responded, not entirely sure whether he was just joking around or Ward really wasn’t ready to greenlight him yet. ‘Sweet dreams, Reno.’
He didn’t answer her right away… and for a few minutes, she wondered if he’d gotten distracted by something else. At last, her PHS chirped again.
‘I’ll try. I love you.’
Reno woke the next morning feeling ragged. It had been a long night… Even so, it still felt much too early to be awake. He couldn’t tell with the curtains closed as tightly as they were, but he had a feeling the sun wasn’t even up yet. He yawned widely and rolled over… promptly landing hard on the floor beside the couch.
“Ow…”
Someone loudly snickered above him. “Mornin’,” Lira said, brightly in spite of the early hour.
Reno sat up somewhat stiffly and finally opened his eyes. “Mornin’…” he mumbled back. He couldn’t even remember falling asleep… though he certainly remembered being asleep.
“So… are you gonna tell me what’s goin’ on? Or do you want me to make you breakfast first?”
He shook himself from his daze and clambered to his feet, switching on the lamp on the table. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
Lira sighed and folded the the blanket she’d draped over them both, laying it gently over the back of the couch where she’d found it, and straightened the throw pillows. She groped along the floor for her crutches, and started to get up. “Don’t you give me that ‘I don’t know what you mean’ look… You know perfectly well what I’m talkin’ about. You were restless all night, and I know you well enough to recognize when you’re havin’ not so nice dreams… I woke you up twice, in case you don’t remember. Plus, it’s barely dawn and you’re wide awake. So spill.”
“… It’s nothin’. Sit your pregnant ass back down on that couch. I’ll make breakfast,” he replied, with another yawn, and made his way into the kitchen. “Ya coulda just taken the spare bedroom, ya know… Woulda been a hell of a lot more comfortable,” he called back as he rummaged through the fridge. There was plenty of food… but his culinary skills limited the menu at bit. He grabbed the bacon and a carton of eggs. As he turned to move to the counter, he very nearly dropped them.
“Bullshit, it’s nothin’…” Lira stated. She’d somehow managed to appear directly behind him without him noticing. Quite a feat even under the best of circumstances, let alone with her hobbling along on crutches. “You were havin’ nightmares the last time I stopped by, too. It’s not like you. Reno… What is goin’ on?”
Reno shook his head and slipped by her, setting the food down on the counter and hunting for a pan to cook it in. It was his own damn fault for letting himself fall asleep while she was still there. He’d just been so relieved not to be alone… and now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.
“Well?” she prodded.
“I… can’t. Lira, I really can’t.” He finally found the pan and set it on the stove, turning the gas on under it. Bacon first… eggs never tasted good cold. He tore open the package and dropped in several slices, letting them sizzle. Lira’s arms snaked around his waist.
“Sure ya can.”
He turned in her grip, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. “No… I can’t. It’s classified, and… I can’t talk about it, okay?” He managed a half-hearted smile. “Go sit down, will ya? I’m bad enough in the kitchen without havin’ someone wrapped around me. ‘Lena’ll kill me if I burn the place down while she’s gone.”
Lira frowned, but obliged, taking a seat at the little table in the corner. The apartment came equipped with a separate dining room, but he and Elena never seemed to use it when it was just the two of them. Most of the time, the table in there was half-buried under work-related items anyway; boxes of ammunition, whichever gun Elena was presently disassembling and cleaning, half-written reports that had yet to make it back to the office for filing… The last was usually his, exclusively.
Present crisis averted – for the moment, at least – the redhead set his attention back on breakfast, poking at the bacon with a fork until it obediently flipped over. When it was done, he set it on a plate and drained off the grease from the pan into the sink.
“You’re not s’posed to do that, ya know…” Lira pointed out.
“Tch… once won’t hurt anything.” As long as Elena didn’t find out, that is… He smiled slightly to himself at the thought. She’d have completely freaked out if she’d seen him do that. And as much as he hated to admit it… he sort of liked it when she did. Living with her had taken some adjustment – still was taking some, in fact – but he wouldn’t have given it up for anything. Even if it did mean that he was no longer allowed to set the washing machine to cold and shove everything he owned into the same load of laundry regardless of care instructions, or leave pizza sitting out on the coffee table overnight for breakfast the next morning, or answer the door naked…
Of course, he’d made his share of demands as well. They’d decided that they would find room for his liquor collection… eventually. Most of it was still at his old apartment under Lira’s care. Elena had also agreed not to nag him about his late night gaming sessions, as long as he kept it down after she went to bed. On the whole, it seemed to be working fairly well.
He cracked several eggs into the pan, scrambling them as they cooked. It was really the only thing he could do with eggs and not completely fuck it up. Everything else was more trouble than it was worth, anyway, in his opinion. Elena liked hers poached… but honestly. Boiling an entire fucking pot of water just so you could cook one… maybe two… eggs at a time, and make a complete fucking mess if you accidentally broke the yolk open? No thanks. An egg was an egg, and scrambled was greater quantity with less effort.
Reno scooped the eggs onto a pair of plates, added the bacon, and carried it over to the table, sitting down across from Lira. She snickered softly.
“Aren’t you ever going to learn to make something else?” she teased.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Anything! I bet Elena would appreciate it…”
Reno shook his head and smirked. “I think ‘Lena’d rather I stayed the fuck outta the kitchen entirely. Kinda made the mistake of mentioning to her that I accidentally set Rude’s on fire once. I don’t think she quite trusts me around the stove now.”
“… Ya know what? I’m not even gonna ask.” She speared a bite of egg and started in on her plate. “So… if you can’t talk about whatever’s botherin’ you… is there anything else I can do to help?”
“Just keepin’ me company actually helps a lot. Thanks for stayin’ last night.”
She grinned and nibbled on a slice of bacon. “You know somethin’? Elena’s gotta be the most understanding girlfriend in the world…”
“Tch… For puttin’ up with my my sorry ass, ya mean?”
“No… for lettin’ you spend the night with a former brothel girl… who’s also a former lover… and not even kinda worryin’ about anything happenin’…”
“Who says I told her you were stayin’?” he quipped. Lira rolled her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure she figured it out when you sent her my picture last night and tried to get me in trouble for the whole pizza in the living room thing…” she replied with a laugh. The redhead chuckled and finished off his eggs.
“Yeah… well… I promised ‘Lena when we first got together that I’m hers from now on. Just hers. And she knows I’m not breakin’ that promise for anything… ’cause it’d kill me to lose her.”
“Which begs another question…” Lira declared, her grin widening. “When the fuck are you gonna bite the bullet and ask that girl to marry you?”
The redhead groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fuck, Lira… you ‘n Rude. Neither one of you is gonna be satisfied ’til ‘Lena’s got a ring on her finger, are ya?”
Lira’s eyebrows rose. “Rude’s tryin’ to get you to propose, too?” she asked, far too interested in the fact for Reno’s taste.
“Oh, no. Don’t you even think about it. Last thing I need is you two tag teamin’ me on this…”
“I’m just sayin’… You’re in love with her. You know you want to spend the rest of your life with her. You know she feels exactly the same way. So what’s the hold-up? Just do it already!”
Reno sighed and polished off what was left on his plate. “I’m never gonna win, am I?”
Lira only laughed in reply.
“Elena?”
The youngest of the Turks mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over, cuddling a large bag of greens that lay slumped nearby. Rude chuckled softly and gave her a gentle shake.
“Mmm… not right now, Reno… I’m still tired,” she murmured, clutching the bag like a pillow. Or possibly the absent redhead. Rude couldn’t help it. He laughed… which subsequently startled the woman from her half-asleep state. She sat up, blinking in confusion, cheeks reddening as she suddenly realized that she wasn’t where she’d thought she was. Her fellow-Turk shook his head.
“Guess I don’t have to ask what you’ve been dreaming about…” he deadpanned.
“I-I… just…” she stammered, her entire face growing warm, “Oh, just shut up!”
The door behind him swung inward, flooding the space with pale, early morning light. The sun was barely up yet… but apparently the same couldn’t be said of her compatriots. Tseng strode inside, tucking his phone back into his jacket.
“Sleep well?” he asked, causing Rude to start sniggering unabashedly again. He raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss something?”
“Elena thought I was trying to do a little more than just wake her up…” the bald Turk replied, looking entirely too amused. She glared at him as she got to her feet.
“I know I’m going to regret it if I ask…” said Tseng, “… so I think I’ll just inform you both that breakfast is ready.”
Rude cast her one final grin before slipping out of the barn and making his way towards the little farm house. Elena followed, Tseng falling into step beside her.
“If it’s any consolation, you’re probably the only woman he’d willingly tease like that,” he commented. “There aren’t many people Rude is truly comfortable around.”
Elena blushed again. “Er… Y-you overheard?”
He smirked and plucked a piece of errant straw from her hair. “I didn’t have to. There are few things that turn you that particular shade of red these days… particularly since you’ve become involved with Reno. Speaking of whom, I’ve just had a conversation with Justinia. Reno is officially cleared for duty as of this morning. I’m going to have him bring Rufus to Junon tomorrow instead of the military pilot who was supposed to do it.”
“He’s coming with us after that… isn’t he, sir?” she asked. Tseng nodded.
“Yes… He’ll be joining us. You only have to make it another twenty four hours or so without him…” he replied, smiling slightly at her barely restrained enthusiasm. Now… Go and get something to eat. I still have to wake Reno up and tell him he’s back on the job.”
“So… I’m thinkin’ red and white.”
The redhead looked up from washing their breakfast dishes. “Red ‘n white what, exactly?”
“Flowers, you idiot. Maybe a little pink, too. Does Elena like roses?”
“She likes carnations better… Flowers for what?” he asked, growing more and more confused by the conversation.
“Ugh…” Lira groaned, “For the wedding, of course. So, carnations, huh? I can work with that…”
“Lira… stop plannin’ my wedding. ‘Lena won’t have anything to plan herself if ya do it all for her,” he sighed, shaking his head in defeat. He laughed softly. “‘Sides… I haven’t even proposed yet…”
“Yet? You said yet!” she suddenly cried, “I knew it… I just knew it. You have been thinking about it, haven’t you? What are you doin’ today… No, nevermind. Whatever you’re doin’, just forget it. We’re goin’ to look at rings. End of discussion.”
Reno mentally facepalmed. He already had a ring. He was just waiting for the right time to ask. But if Lira found out, the ‘right time’ would likely be about thirty seconds after he told her that.
“Lira…” he began, only to be interrupted by a familiar ringtone from the other room. He sighed in relief. Saved by the PHS. “Hold that thought…” he said, hurrying to answer it. As he was reaching for the device, he couldn’t help but wonder why Tseng would be calling him now. The sun was only just coming up. Plus, he was still sidelined until Ward said otherwise… unless… it was an emergency. Or bad news.
All the joking around with Lira had almost made him forget about the disturbing images that had haunted his sleep. Almost. Now, they returned, unbidden, as he accepted the call. He swallowed sharply before answering.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, bracing himself for the worst. He suddenly couldn’t help it… the idea that something terrible had happened had lodged itself firmly in his mind.
“Nothing,” Tseng’s voice replied, and the redhead slowly released the breath he’d been holding. “I’m sorry if so early a call worried you.”
“Nah… I’m good.” It was a less than truthful reply… and he suspected the Turk leader could see right through it. “What’s goin’ on? You got somethin’ for me, or just checkin’ in?”
“A bit of both, actually. You’re officially cleared for duty, per my phone call with Ward five minutes ago. That being the case, I have a couple of assignments for you.”
Reno grinned and shifted the phone to his other hand as he took a seat on the couch. Finally… something to do that didn’t involve him being alone with his own thoughts, or watching Lira embark on a new career as a wedding planner. “Whatever ya need, boss.”
“For starters… We happened upon Avalanche in Kalm yesterday. It seems that they, too, are pursuing Sephiroth… though we haven’t yet established why. They may, however, prove useful to us later.. Provided they have the right… incentive… to work with us.”
“You’re seriously considering workin’ with those asshats?” he asked incredulously. Though… to be fair, he could see Tseng’s point. Why risk their own necks, if Avalanche was coming along for the ride anyway and might be persuaded to do some of the dirty work for them?
“Should an appropriate opportunity present itself, I’m not above it. But we’ll need some leverage. That’s why I need you to go down to Sector 5 and retrieve the girl Elena left with Aerith’s mother.”
“… And do what with her, exactly?” Reno was hesitant on that. He may have been, among other things, a paid killer, but hurting children was where he drew the line… though it was very hard not to think of the ones that had been unfortunate enough to live in Sector 7.
“Remove her. Nothing more. Take her to a safehouse… preferably somewhere out of the city. Somewhere they’ll never think to look. Should Avalanche prove uncooperative in the future, her safe return will be our bargaining chip.”
The redhead relaxed. “Not a problem, boss. I got just the place. Anything else?”
“Rufus is scheduled to arrive in Junon at eleven tomorrow morning. You’re his escort. And then you’ll join the rest of us in tracking Sephiroth.”
“Heh… ’bout damn time. I’ll get right on it,” he said. “Hey… How’s ‘Lena?”
“She misses you and is ecstatically looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
“You guys just fuckin’ left…” he said, jokingly, “She can’t miss me that much already…”
He heard Tseng scoff over the line. “I think you’re rather drastically underestimating her attachment to you.”
“Tell her I’ll see her soon,” he replied before ending the call. He stood and turned just in time to see Lira making her way into the living room, her curiosity having gotten the better of her.
“Sorry, Lira… No shoppin’ today. I gotta work.”
“Hmph… Try not to look so happy about that,” she teased.
The white chocobo warked happily as they crossed the wide plains towards the southern marsh. Elena
couldn’t help but feel exhilarated with the wind in her hair, and the warm sun shining down on her. The barn had been more comfortable than she would have expected. She’d slept like a rock… and hoped that Reno’d had an easy night as well. She hadn’t gotten the chance to ask, as Tseng had insisted on setting out again as soon as they’d eaten.
Tseng urged his own mount forward, coming even with her.
“The swamp will be coming up shortly. We’ll stop at the edge and take stock of conditions before we cross.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied. The mountains loomed ahead of them, and the sky to the west was darkening. A storm seemed to be brewing. As they swept closer to the marshlands, Elena felt the first drops of rain hit her. She frowned and reigned in her bird as they reached the edge. The wide expanse of murky, shallow water was still, save for the gentle ripples set off by the occasional rain drops, but the gray sky gave the whole area a foreboding atmosphere. She shuddered slightly as she thought about what was lurking in that water.
Her last encounter with a zolom had left a lasting impression on her. It wasn’t an experience she really wanted to repeat. Tseng came to a halt to one side of her, and Rude fell in line on the other.
“Seems quiet.”
“It seemed quiet the last time I had to do this, too…” Elena commented. Tseng chuckled.
“Yes… I remember you mentioning the crossing in your mission report. It’s really quite amazing what such shallow water can hide…”
“Don’t remind me…”
Tseng glanced upwards. The clouds were rapidly growing more threatening by the minute. If they didn’t hurry, they were going to get caught in a downpour.
“We going?” Rude asked.
“The rain would give us cover…” the Turk leader responded, eyes still on the sky. “Zoloms track the vibrations of their prey. If we wait, we’ll almost certainly be more than a little damp by the time we reach the other side, but far less likely to encounter one.”
Thunder suddenly clapped, and Elena’s chocobo reared back in fear. It took her a minute to get it back under control. When she finally did, she noticed that the other two birds didn’t look any less upset.
“… On the other hand… perhaps we should get ourselves across before the weather deteriorates any further…” Tseng said, grimly. “Being thrown mid-crossing is a prospect I don’t find very appealing.”
“Me neither,” Elena agreed. Rude, too, was nodding. They circled back a short ways, so the animals could get a running start before hitting the marshy ground, but then they were off.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though they’d make it to the other side without incident. The opposite shore was in sight… it would take them maybe another thirty seconds. Unfortunately, just as the thought entered her mind, several things happened at once.
First, came a loud splashing from behind them, and Elena tensed as she recognized the sound of a zolom in pursuit of a meal. She dared a look back and saw the tell-tale wake forming in the water, an ominous shadow out in front of it. Just as she did, there was another crash of thunder, much louder than the first. To her right, a chocobo squawked, frightened, and she heard Rude’s sudden shout as it stumbled, sending him into the water.
Tseng wheeled around on his own mount just as the zolom was rising out of the swamp to strike.
“Rude!” Elena called out, turning her chocobo back as well. The zolom attacked, it’s mouth closing around loose bird and lifting it from the ground. The animal shrieked, terrified as the massive serpent swallowed it whole.
“Elena! Help Rude… I’ll keep it busy!” The Wutaiian Turk took off, away from the pair of them, giving the zolom a new target. Elena spurred her chocobo forward, quickly closing the distance between herself and her downed teammate. She lost sight of Tseng as she skidded to a halt beside Rude. He wasted no time in swinging himself up behind her.
“Go!” he ordered, and she didn’t hesitate, urging her mount to its top speed in a straight line to the far bank. She didn’t stop until they were safely on solid ground. Rude slid from the bird’s back, and she, somewhat shakily, followed.
“Where’s Tseng?” she asked worriedly, scanning the swamp. The zolom had disappeared… but so, too, had the other Turk.
“…” Rude joined her in her search, looking concerned as he saw no movement, either.
“That was thoroughly unpleasant.” A moment after the words were spoken, lightning lit up the sky and thunder echoed through the mountains, causing both Turks to jump, frightened.
“Sir!” Elena gasped, half-terrified, and half-relieved as she spotted their missing member making his way towards them on foot.
“Hmph… always knew you must have some sort of materia that transports you directly behind us,” Rude commented, relief evident in his voice.
“Hardly…” he replied, with a faint smile, “Though I’m certain my chocobo wishes I did. Unfortunately I had to abandon it to the zolom and make a run for it farther down the bank. I was just lucky I was close to dry land when it caught up to me. Is everyone alright?”
“We’re fine,” said Rude, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket and withdrawing a pair of sunglasses. It was only then that Elena realized the ones he’d been wearing when they’d set out had disappeared. He slipped the new ones on.
“Rude… Just how many pairs of those do you own?”
“You’ve seen Reno’s liquor collection, right?” he asked with a smirk. Elena blinked and finally just shook her head.
“Forget I asked…” She couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.
The rain, which up until then had been little more than the occasional sprinkle, started falling in earnest, and Tseng motioned them toward the trail to the mine.
“Let’s continue this somewhere a little drier, shall we?”
Elena grasped her chocobo’s reins and lend him along as they started the climb. As they rounded a bend, all three of them stopped short, staring at the sight before them.
“Sir…”
It was a zolom. A very dead zolom. It’s massive body was impaled on an old, dry tree, eyes staring lifelessly toward the marshes.
“… Sephiroth?” Rude queried, eying it with trepidation.
“His strength is rather legendary… even among other members of Soldier,” Tseng replied. “I can think of few others who could even come close to being capable of something like this… assuming it was, in fact, a human being and not some larger creature.”
“What’s ‘larger’ than a zolom?” Elena breathed, awed by the sight.
“Very little.”
They left the zolom behind and continued upwards along the trail, finally coming to the mine entrance. By the time they were safely inside, all three of them were drenched. Elena stripped out of her wet jacket, ringing some of the water from it, and shivered. The storm had dropped the temperature noticeably… and the mine entrance was fairly cool to begin with.
“I had planned on making our way through the mine as quickly as possible,” Tseng noted, “But it may be more prudent to warm up and dry out a little first.”
“Was hoping you’d say that.” Rude was already kneeling next to the remains of a campfire, working on coaxing a flame from the charred wood. It took Elena a moment to realize that it was the one she’d built the last time she was here… the same one she’d sat beside, waiting for help as Reno lay injured and comatose next to her. She shook the memory aside, and scanned the rest of the tunnel, quickly spotting something else familiar. It had been blown or carried a little deeper in, but when she picked up the sleeping bag, it seemed to be in decent shape still. It’s twin had been wrapped around the redhead for their return flight to Midgar, but this one had been abandoned in her haste to leave. The pack they had left behind, however, was nowhere to be found… probably scavenged by animals or treasure hunters for the food it contained. She shrugged and carried the bag back over to the campfire.
“I’m aware that you’re one for planning ahead, Elena… but that level of foresight is rather impressive” the Turk leader said, lightly poking fun at her as he realized where her prize must have come from. The younger Turk grinned as she wrapped herself in the insulated material.
“Thank you, sir.”
The meager flame Rude had been tending smothered, and he shook his head. “Never was very good at this.”
“Oh! Here, let me… I’ve been practicing…” Elena said, suddenly remembering that she really had planned ahead in this particular instance. She pushed her sleeve back revealing the armlet Reno had gifted her not long ago, checking that the materia was slotted correctly before focusing on one of the spheres. It’s green glow intensified briefly and a split-second later, the little pile of wood flared brightly, flames dancing along the logs.
“Hmph… Cheater,” Rude said, with a quiet laugh as he stood and clapped her lightly on the back.
“You only say that because you didn’t think of it first,” Tseng stated. “I thought you weren’t overly fond of fire materia, Elena…”
The woman shrugged and settled herself in front of the fire. “Well… no. I don’t really like it much for fighting. But then I realized that it has other uses that might be just as important.”
“Hmph… You realize she’s just completely shown us both up…” Rude said to Tseng. “She gets a fire and a warm blanket. We get to freeze until we dry out.”
Sector 5 seemed far more subdued than usual. It didn’t take him long to figure out why. Makeshift shelters and cooking fires had popped up sporadically all over the sector… refugees from Sector 7. Probably the ones who’d initially fled to Wall Market and then run out of gil. The red light district wasn’t known for its generosity… plus, with Corneo having taken off to Ifrit-only-knew-where, there was probably quite of bit of turmoil over there at the moment.
Reno drifted past the small groups, who largely ignored him, more focused on their own misfortune. He saw several families huddled together. He also saw a number of individuals who looked beaten down and lost. One woman, not much older than himself, stared blankly as he passed by, a small, pink blanket clutched protectively to her chest. He didn’t want to think too hard about who it might have belonged to…
It was much the same as he made his way towards the church, where a haphazard line had formed. The displaced denizens of the slums seemed endless standing there, waiting. As he drew closer, he realized that someone had put together a soup kitchen of sorts, operating out of the church. His pace quickened.
This was all his fault. He did this. It had been bad, thinking about it from the safety of his comfortable home on the Plate. Seeing the aftermath in person was crushingly painful. It made him feel physically ill. Everywhere he looked, was more evidence of the damage he’d done.
He stopped short at the sight of a little boy looking up at him pleadingly. Before he could do much more than stare right back, however, a woman rushed out from one of the shelters, and wordlessly snatched him away, carting him off to safety. Reno shook his head… They didn’t even know who he was, but he looked out of place enough down here to make them afraid. If they had known… if they had even a suspicion that he’d been the one who ruined their lives… he probably wouldn’t make it out of the slums alive. Reno hurried past the church, and down familiar streets, reaching Aerith’s home before anything tipped them off to the truth.
The cottage where Aerith lived had always struck him as an aberration. It was an oasis in the desolation of the slums… though to be fair, Sector 5 was far nicer than just about anyplace else under the Plate. But the weathered little house had always seemed bizarrely peaceful. He knocked sharply on the door.
It opened a crack, and the redhead was met with a glare from inside.
“What do you want?” Elmyra Gainsborough asked, opening the door fully. She placed her hands on her hips and stared him down.
“I’m here for the kid,” he stated. Elmyra had never liked him… Probably because the first time they’d met had been his first week on the job. He’d been an ass… the power of his new position and authority had briefly gone to straight to his head, and he’d forgotten his place, treating the woman with undeserved contempt until Tseng had physically shoved him out the door and told him in no uncertain terms to shut up and wait for him.
Aerith, on the other hand, was a bit more forgiving. In fact, at some point, she’d slipped away from the two adults and come to find him as he was kicking himself for his own stupidity in the garden behind the house. She was several years younger than him… and he’d been only sixteen at the time to begin with… but far more mature. She’d told him that she thought he was a lot nicer than he acted and that he shouldn’t behave like such a big jerk. He’d made it a point to be more himself on the rare occasions he was sent down to keep tabs on her after that, but her adoptive mother had never really warmed to him.
He couldn’t honestly say he and Aerith were ever friends… but they’d come to a mutual understanding of sorts that he didn’t mean her any harm and was only there to watch unless Tseng said otherwise.
“Why?” Elmyra demanded, and Reno sighed softly. He’d come expecting her to fight him on this, and that was exactly what it looked like she was going to do.
“I’m not gonna hurt her. But I gotta take her with me. Boss’ orders.”
“Hmph… just like you didn’t hurt my Aerith?”
“Never laid a finger on her. She came on her own in exchange for us makin’ sure the kid was safe. And for the record… Aerith is fine. Last I heard, she was in Kalm with those new friends of hers.”
“S-she is?” the older woman asked, clearly caught off-guard by the new information.
“Yep. Look… If it makes any difference to ya, we’re not after her. We got bigger problems to deal with. I’m just here for the kid.”
“No,” she said, stubbornly. Reno spotted movement behind the woman. A little figure darted behind a chair.
“Come on… I don’t like scarin’ little kids. We’ve never tried to hurt Aerith, and we’re not gonna hurt the girl, either. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. It’s not a fight you’re gonna win, and I don’t much wanna hurt you, either.”
She glowered at him, angrily, and Reno could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Shinra bastards… You think you have the right to just take whatever you want…” she swore, but stepped aside and let him into the house. The girl peered out from behind the chair, eyes wide as she watched him.
“Marlene… come on out,” Elmyra called to her. She didn’t move immediately, instead just watched the Turk for a few moments. Finally, she stepped into the open.
“I don’t want to go with him!”
“I know, sweetheart…” Aerith’s mother said softly. “But we don’t have any choice.” She crossed the room and took the girl by the hand, leading her over the the redhead. Reno knelt down closer to her level… though even kneeling, he towered over her. She was kind of a shrimpy little thing. He grinned at her.
“Hey… I’m not so bad. ‘Sides… ya won’t have to stay with me for long. I got a friend who’s gonna take good care of you. She’s got a little girl for you to play with, too.”
Marlene hesitated, but after a glance up at Elmyra, she released the woman’s hand and took a tentative step toward the Turk.
“Where are you going to take her?” Elmyra demanded. Reno looked up at her.
“Can’t tell ya that,” he replied, getting to his feet, and taking hold of the girl’s hand himself. “Somewhere a lot safer than the slums, though.”
She hadn’t said a word to him the entire trip to the Plate. She’d been virtually silent when he’d taken her for something to eat. And then she’d all but hidden behind him when they’d entered the Shinra Building and taken the elevator to the roof. In fact, it wasn’t until they were in the air looking down on the city that he heard a soft “Wow…” over his headset.
Reno glanced over at his passenger. Marlene was gazing out of the plexiglass windshield, watching the buildings zip by in awe. He grinned slightly. He’d had pretty much the same reaction the first time Tseng had taken him up in a helicopter.
“Pretty cool, huh?” he asked, and the little girl jumped, startled by the sudden voice in her own ill-fitting headset. It slipped down, and she caught it before it could fall. She didn’t answer him
He sighed. Kids really weren’t his thing… not that he’d ever had the opportunity to learn a whole hell of a lot about them. Really, Kel was the only one of his close friends who even had one, and apart from babysitting her a handful of times – all of which had ended in one minor disaster or another – he hadn’t spent much time around mini-people. Hell, he was still sort of trying to wrap his head around the idea of Lira having one soon.
The helicopter swung east. Thankfully, there was at least one person he knew who did know a thing or two about the pint-sized terrors. And she kind of owed the Turks a favor. Heading to Kalm was a little bit of a risk, given that the very people he was meant to be hiding Marlene from had been spotted there just yesterday… but he was banking on them being as eager to follow Sephiroth’s trail as Tseng was. If that was the case, they’d have left by this morning, if not sooner. It was now well into the afternoon.
“Heh… You don’t talk much, do ya?” he teased. The girl narrowed her eyes at him.
“You’re from Shinra. And my papa says Shinra is a bunch of ‘goddamn plant-killin’ bastards’,” she replied, folding her arms over her chest defiantly. He coughed trying to cover a laugh. The kid had a mouth on her. Though, he reasoned, she was probably just parroting something she’d overheard. Still… he didn’t think even he used that kind of language at her age.
“We are, huh?” he snickered. “All of us?”
She seemed to think on that for a second or two, before shaking her head. “Maybe not the nice lady who took me to the flower girl’s house…” Marlene conceded.
Reno smiled. He hadn’t realized that Elena had made such an impression. Kalm was in sight now, and the he set about looking for a place to land where he wouldn’t draw too much attention.
“She said not everyone at Shinra is bad… but Shinra makes them do bad things sometimes,” the little girl added, catching the redhead by surprise. He didn’t quite know what to say to that. Apparently she wasn’t expecting him to comment, however, because she quickly moved on to her next question. “Have you ever done bad things?”
He finally spotted a decent landing place and angled towards it.
“Yeah… I’ve done bad things,” he said, not looking over at her. That was a hell of a way to put it. The skids touched the ground, and he shut down the engine. It whined to a stop a few seconds later, and he plucked the headset from his passenger’s ears. He set his own aside as well.
“Did you want to?” Marlene asked.
He blinked in surprise, not expecting a question like that.
“… No. I didn’t want to. I had to.” He pulled the release on his harness, freeing himself from the safety restraint, and did the same for Marlene. “Come on, kid… Let’s go meet my friend.”
He’d spoken to Talia already, and she’d readily agreed to take the girl in for awhile… had even seemed eager to do him the favor. He just hoped she wouldn’t try to make him hold her kid again when they got there. He’d had quite enough of that sort of thing the last time he and Elena had paid her a visit.
Reno pushed the sliding door open and hopped out, lifting Marlene from inside and setting her down on the ground beside him.
“I don’t think you’re one of the bad Shinra people,” she said as he led her off.
~fin~
Comments