Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 22: Moving Day

Saturday morning… Elena didn’t even want to open her eyes yet, she was so comfortable, though she was sure she’d slept in much later than she normally would have. Tseng’s apartment was so deliciously quiet in the mornings – a trait she was beginning to hope her new place shared. She’d been hunting for almost three weeks now, and finally had found one that suited her, having signed the lease just a few days ago. She’d be moving in this weekend, in fact… though she had very little to move.

Though Reno and Rude had generously donated their time to salvage whatever they could from her destroyed apartment, it wasn’t much. What could be laundered, had been, and most of it was presently in storage at Rude’s. But even the otherwise undamaged furniture from her bedroom either absolutely reeked of smoke or was much too heavy to safely attempt to remove from the badly damaged building. A few smaller pieces had been extracted and allowed to air out… her nightstand might still be usable, at least, and the mirror from her vanity, along with a handful of other things, but the majority of her larger furnishings had been written off as a total loss.

Which ultimately meant that, in addition to moving, she was going to have to go furniture shopping this weekend… and probably several future weekends, as well. The daunting task of replacing almost everything she owned made her even less eager to open her eyes. Instead, she rolled onto her side, snuggling against…

Goddammit.

With an annoyed grunt, she shoved hard against the slender body that was stretched out along the edge of the bed, smiling in satisfaction at the surprised yelp and soft thud that followed as the not-really-that-unexpected intruder tumbled to the floor.

“Mornin’, Reno,” she said, mocking her superior’s usual greeting, eyes still closed.

“Startin’ to rethink my offer to help ya move today…” the redhead grumbled as he picked himself up. Elena finally cracked open an eye and smirked.

“Aren’t you tired of that joke yet? I’ve gotten so used to it that it’s kind of losing its shock value,” she shot back with a yawn, ignoring his comment and rolling away, pulling the covers over her head to block out the morning light.

“Guess I gotta take things up a notch, then. Tell ya what… next time, I’ll strip.”

“Don’t you dare,” she responded threateningly from her little sanctuary, as images of waking up next to a naked Reno flashed unbidden through her mind. She heard him laugh, and a moment later found herself being lifted, still wrapped in the sheets, and slung over his shoulder.

“Well, fine… if you’re not in the mood to cuddle, then it’s time to get up. It’s almost ten… even I’m not that lazy. Usually.”

“R-reno! Put me down!” she protested as she was carried out of the guest room.

“I said you could ‘see if she’s awake yet’,” another voice commented from the next room, its source obscured from Elena’s view by the blankets, though no less recognizable, “Not ‘drag her bodily from her bed’…”

“More fun my way,” Reno retorted, and she was relatively certain he was grinning like an idiot.

“Not from my point of view,” Elena groused, her voice slightly muffled by the blankets. Her captor sniggered and set her down on the couch, releasing her, though she had to fight her way loose from her confines on her own. When she finally managed to poke her head out of the tangled mess, she glared at him.

“Ah, come on, ‘Lena, admit it… only reason you haven’t been up for hours already is ’cause you’re just tryin’ to put off the inevitable shopping hell you know you’re in for,” he needled her. Sometimes, Elena mused to herself, she got the feeling Reno had come to know her just a little too well. But she really couldn’t deny it, either. Staying with Tseng had been so simple… rebuilding her own home seemed far less appealing by comparison.

“If you’re finished tormenting her…” Tseng said, “You might consider letting her eat something before you get started.”

“Eh… I could do that,” Reno replied, snickering, “But let’s face it, boss… your cooking’s worse than mine. And Rude’s already over at her new place stocking the kitchen. Given the choice… it’s not really a choice.”

She had no intention of actually saying so, but Reno wasn’t far off base. Tseng’s cooking was… edible. And that was honestly about the closest she could come to complimenting it. However, another thought quickly pushed that aside.

“Wait a minute… Rude’s in my kitchen? How?”

“Tch… It’s an apartment. Not the Junon weapons depot. By the way, you’re gonna want to replace the locks. The ones they’re usin’ are cheap as hell. Might as well not have been locked at all.”

“… You broke in? To my new apartment?”

Reno shrugged in response. “Well, how else were we ‘sposed to get in without a key?”

“I don’t even have a key yet… I still have to pick it up!”

“You would’ve had that taken care of by now if you’d gotten up earlier,” he replied with a wink. Elena opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by Tseng.

“Don’t bother,” he sighed, “There’s no use arguing with Reno-logic…”

Elena shook her head, knowing he was right. “I give up,” she sighed, pushing aside the remaining bedclothes and heading back to her room.

“Where ya goin’?” Reno asked, “You already spent half the day in bed…” She turned back toward him with a roll of her eyes.

“Well, I’m not showing up at my new place in my pajamas and looking like some psychopath hauled me out of bed while I was still half asleep…” she sniped, “I’d like at least a chance of not immediately terrifying the neighbors.”

“Oh, don’t worry… I’ve already taken care of that,” Reno commented, off-handedly. Elena froze mid-stride, while Tseng chuckled softly.

“You’d better be kidding,” she said, not looking back, before resuming her course toward fresh clothes and a hairbrush.

---

“So… first thing’s first,” Reno said, as they pulled out of the lot, “You need some furniture.”

“First thing’s first… I need some breakfast,” she corrected him, “And I still need to pick up my keys. And get the rest of my stuff from Rude’s apartment. And get Snuffy from your place…”

Reno grinned and floored it as they hit the freeway. “Actually, ya just need to pick up your keys,” he replied, “Me ‘n Tseng hauled your stuff over this morning while you were busy sleepin’, Snuffy’s already moved in, and Rude’ll probably have your breakfast waiting when we get there.”

Elena blinked in surprise. “Y-you did all that already?”

He smirked and zipped past a truck, cutting across three lanes of traffic to get to the off-ramp and ignoring the fact that several other drivers laid on their horns as he did so. Elena instinctively gripped the seat, eyes widening.

“Yep,” he said, glancing over at her, “… What?”

“Who the hell taught you how to drive?” It hadn’t occurred to her until now, but she’d never actually been in a car with Reno behind the wheel before. Helicopters… sure. But never a car.

“Tseng did,” he calmly answered, as he took a right so sharp it would have sent Elena flying into him had she not been strapped in. He laughed. “For some reason, he doesn’t take credit for it, though…”

“Hard to believe…” she squeaked while Reno sailed through an intersection as the light turned red. He snickered loudly as she braced herself for the upcoming left… and slowed the car to a more sane pace, before taking the turn smoothly and switching lanes like a normal human being. The rest of the short drive was conducted in so textbook perfect a fashion, she briefly began to wonder if she’d imagined the first half of it. Reno grinned at her, amusement evident on his face, as they pulled into her new building’s parking lot.

“Next time… I’m driving,” she stated, clambering a bit shakily out of Reno’s convertible. She collected her keys from the building’s office, and moments later the pair were on their way up to the eighth floor. Elena was greeted at the door by Rude, who promptly handed her a plate of pancakes and nudged her toward a makeshift table constructed from overturned cardboard boxes.

“Wow… Thanks…” She smiled gratefully at Rude.

“Where’s mine?” Reno asked as Elena settled herself cross-legged on the floor and began to eat.

“You ate earlier,” the other Turk retorted.

“And your point is?”

Rude snorted softly and chuckled. “Fed you once already. You want a second breakfast, make it yourself. I’m not a short-order cook.”

Reno gave a dramatic sigh and meandered over to the refrigerator, yanking it open. Elena was surprised to see it filled to the brim. Apparently when Reno had said Rude was stocking the kitchen earlier, he hadn’t been kidding.

“You guys even went grocery shopping?”

“Rude did,” Reno clarified, “Which would explain the selection. Seriously, man… didn’t ya get anything that’s already food and not just… stuff to make food with?” He finally grabbed an apple, shutting the door with his foot as he turned back to the small group.

“Thank you for not letting him do it,” Elena deadpanned, just imaging what Reno would have come back with. She’d probably have been living on frozen pizza and toaster pastries for a week. Rude smirked and nodded in acknowledgment.

Reno simply shrugged and made his way to the little cage sitting on the floor near a window, where a small furry creature was standing on it’s hind legs, watching the newcomers intently. He knelt down and opened the door, letting it claw its way up his shirt and onto his shoulder before returning to the ‘table’ and sitting down across from Elena. The ferret immediately leapt for the apple in Reno’s hand, seizing it in his teeth, then made a mad dash for the rookie, chirring softly as he curled up on her lap and began to nibble at his prize.

“Hey! Ya thievin’ little…” the redhead yelled, glaring at the creature, before shaking his head and laughing, “Guess he missed ya.”

“Aww… I missed you, too, Snuffy,” she said, scratching him behind one ear.

“So… ya got me ‘n Rude both for the day,” said Reno, still eying the apple thief, “I’m thinkin’ we do a little shopping and get ya some necessities. Tch… personally, I’da gone for something already furnished. Other than the shit in the kitchen, ya got nothin’.”

“All the furnished apartments that weren’t clear out on the edge of the Plate were huge… and about five times what I’m paying for this place,” Elena explained, “Really, even this is bigger than what I need, but it’s such a nice building…”

“And it’s got a great view…” Reno said, clearly on the verge of laughing at his own apparent joke, “Which reminds me… Borrowed somethin’ for ya from R&D to make it even better.”

Reno stood up and picked up a pair of high-tech binoculars that had been sitting on the kitchen counter and tossed them to her. Elena arched an eyebrow, wondering what he was talking about. At her confused expression, Rude joined in on the merriment.

“Not sure she’ll agree it’s an improvement,” he teased.

“Ah come on, partner… How could she not appreciate it?” the redhead shot back.

“Okay… what am I missing?”

Reno flashed her a smile and stood up, offering her a hand and pulling her to her feet… much to the annoyance of the ferret still munching happily on his stolen treat on her lap. She followed him, curious now, out onto the balcony.

“Tell me if ya need a hint…” he said, grinning madly. Elena rolled her eyes, but decided to humor him, looking out across the wide swath of Midgar she could see from there. Nothing in particular stood out. The Shinra Building, of course, stood prominently in the distance… but you could see that from almost anywhere on the Plate. It was a nice view… she couldn’t argue about that. But she just wasn’t seeing what Reno found so entertaining about it.

“To the left,” Rude suggested helpfully, causing her to jump. She hadn’t realized he’d joined them. Elena turned her gaze in the recommended direction, but nothing caught her eye.

“Oh, this is ridiculous. What am I even looking for?”

Reno sighed, and moved behind her, positioning her so that she was facing another apartment building a few blocks away. It suddenly clicked what he was getting at, and she immediately brought the binoculars up to her eyes, scanning along the fifth floor windows of the building. She groaned aloud when she saw it.

“That’s not…” she started.

“Yep.”

Hanging in one of the windows was a sheet of paper. Written on it in thick black marker – and in Reno’s unmistakably untidy handwriting – were the words “Hey ‘Lena!”. Behind the note, with the aid of the digital zoom on the binoculars, she could see what was very obviously Reno’s bedroom.

“I’ll start leavin’ the curtains open at night, if ya want…” Reno joked. She lowered the binoculars and turned to the two men behind her, both of whom were shaking with silent laughter.

“You two are such children sometimes,” she said, shaking her head.

---

“For the last time… No.”

“But you’d like it if you…”

“Reno, I’m not getting a waterbed. And why do you even care? You’re not going to be sleeping in it… I am.”

“But they’re awesome…” the redhead replied, in a pouting tone.

“Well, then… you buy one.”

“He wouldn’t dare get another one,” Rude interjected. The three of them had, after a short discussion, ventured off to one of Midgar’s smaller shopping districts in the hopes of finding a few things to fill Elena’s apartment with. At Reno’s innuendo-filled insistence, and Rude’s agreement, given that it was actually a very practical place to begin, they’d started by looking for a new bed. They presently found themselves in a small furniture store, testing out the display models.

“… Another one?” Elena queried, wondering what had happened to the first one.

“Heh… yeah. Love ’em, but I kinda decided it’s probably not something I should own…” Reno replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“… Why?” She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know. Rude let a knowing grin spread across his face.

“Let’s just say I don’t always make the best decisions when I’m drunk…” Reno said, somewhat cryptically.

“He almost drowned himself,” Rude claimed, snickering.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake… I did not almost fucking drown myself,” the redhead quickly shot back, rolling his eyes. The bald Turk said nothing in response… just continued to smile. “Fine… ya want the whole story? I came home very, very drunk one night, ended up tossin’ and turnin’ for a couple hours ’cause it was the middle of the damn summer and hot as hell out and I couldn’t get to sleep. Got a little queasy from the motion of the bed, so I… fixed the problem.

“Fixed it how?” Her previous hesitation was gone. Now she was absolutely certain she wanted to know what had happened.

“He shot it,” Rude said simply, “Put six rounds into it.”

Elena burst out laughing, while Reno stood by, scowling at his partner.

“It was only three rounds and, it did solve my problem,” he said with as much dignity as he could muster, “After about ten minutes, it wasn’t movin’ anymore.”

“W-wait…” Elena managed, wiping at her eyes, “You stayed there for ten more minutes after you shot the bed full of holes?”

“Of course not.”

“He stayed there all night,” Rude hurried to clarify, “Woke up the next morning hungover as he’s ever been and laying in about six inches of water.”

“Which… kinda solved my other problem, too. I was nice and cool after that. No trouble fallin’ asleep at all,” Reno finished. He smirked at Elena’s valiant attempt to keep a straight face. “Well… It seemed like a perfectly reasonable course of action at the time!”

The rookie Turk dissolved into laughter a second time, sitting down on the edge of one of the nearby beds as she tried to get ahold of herself. “Well… now I’m definitely not getting a waterbed. I’d be too afraid you’d assassinate it one day…”

“Hmph… be that way, then. You’re missin’ out, though,” Reno glanced around the showroom, his eye catching sight of something new. “Oh, hell yeah…” he murmured, moving off toward the back corner. Reno hopped onto another bed, and hit the button on the display pedestal, moaning in enjoyment as the mattress sprang to life, vibrating vigorously. “How ’bout this one?” His voice shook from the intensity of the vibrations.

“How about… no,” Elena said firmly.

“Fuck it… I tried,” Reno said, grinning as he stretched out to take full advantage of the bed’s main feature, “Your turn, partner. I’m stayin’ here awhile.”

Rude pointedly moved off in the opposite direction, bound for the store’s more normal stock, escorting Elena along with him. The pair left the redhead to his new toy.

“He has got to be the most easily amused person I’ve ever met,” the rookie commented, rolling her eyes, and looking to the man beside her for agreement… though Rude seemed to hesitate.

“… Reno never had much as a kid, even by slum standards. Had even less after his mom died,” he said at last, as Elena was testing out another mattress, “He learned pretty young not to take things for granted and enjoy whatever he could.”

“I… oh. I guess I never realized…”

Rude nodded, glancing back at the redhead… who by then had flipped over onto his stomach and was laying at an angle across the bed. “Most people’d probably have ended up bitter and resentful. Plenty of people down in Sector 2 that do,” he said, “Reno somehow turned out just the opposite.”

Elena giggled as she watched the subject of their conversation roll onto his back again and reposition himself, head and shoulders hanging over the corner of the vibrating bed. “What is he doing?” she asked, laughing openly at the sight. Rude snorted softly and shrugged. “Does he realize he looks like a complete lunatic?”

“Doubt he cares,” he replied, “Just leave him be… We still need to find you a bed.”

Elena bounced slightly on the mattress she was laying on. “Umm… Actually, I think we just did. This is really comfy…”

Rude glanced at his watch and grinned. “Thank Odin… Almost said no when Reno asked me to come along for this.”

“Why?” she asked, a little shocked. Elena had never known Rude to turn his friend down for much of anything.

“Because he talked me into coming with him after he murdered the waterbed. Took hours… he had to try everything. Twice. In three different stores,” he groaned, “It was torture.”

“… Seriously?” she asked, incredulously, “But… Reno’ll sleep anywhere. And in just about any position. He’s even slept on my old couch, and that thing actually deserved to die in a fire, it was so lumpy.”

“Just because he can doesn’t mean he wants to,” Rude said with a shrug, as he headed back to their distracted friend, “He finds someplace really comfortable, you can barely get him out of it without physical force. You find a salesman. I’ll… go see if I can pry Reno away from that thing…”

---

Rude reached out and pressed the button to shut off the bed.

“Hey!” Reno said, indignantly, as he struggled to right himself, “What’s the big idea?”

“Elena found one she likes.”

“… Already?” the redhead queried, genuinely surprised… and a little disappointed. He was getting to like this model. It reminded him of the ones at the Silver Swan in Sector 4… the ones he always ended up funneling far too much spare change into. They seemed to shake the tension right out of him. Had he thought his landlord would let him get away with driving the neighbors out of their minds, he’d have gotten one of his own… but living on the fifth floor meant having to tread somewhat lightly, or the people downstairs started to get a little irritated with him. He could just imagine their reaction to to something like this bed… and while that thought made him grin internally, he didn’t really want to get himself kicked out.

“Yep,” Rude stated. Reno sighed and hauled himself to his feet.

“I ‘spose you expect me to help load,” he said, grinning.

“Could always make Elena do it herself,” the bald Turk smirked, knowing exactly the response that would get from his friend.

“Tch… and that’s why you leave the bar alone on Friday nights,” the redhead teased, “Not an ounce of chivalry.”

Rude chuckled lightly. It was an old joke between them. Reno had always had a somewhat odd dichotomy when it came to his attitude toward women. On one hand, he would be intentionally suggestive, and often downright lewd in his comments, and invade personal space shamelessly. But Shiva help anyone else who might dare to do the same. In fact, Rude had known him to step in personally and put a stop to it when he deemed that things had gone too far… which frequently seemed to win him a great deal of favor from the woman he happened to be rescuing, though Rude had never truly believed that was his motivation for doing so.

He was pulled away from his musings by Elena’s swift return.

“They said we can take it now, or they’ll deliver it tomorrow morning,” she replied, smiling.

“Heh… and that’s why we brought Rude along. And his truck,” Reno smirked, heading off, “Come on, partner… guess we got some heavy lifting to do.”

---

“Ya couldn’t get a place on… shit, I dunno… the first floor, maybe?” Reno bemoaned her, lifting awkwardly at one end of the mattress. Elena sniggered as it tilted wildy, nearly throwing him off-balance, and he was forced to, rather gracelessly, maneuver himself back into a more stable position. “You make one remark about that little move, and I’m lettin’ this thing go,” he warned.

They’d discovered the hard way that the elevator was too narrow to fit her new bed. Thank you, Shinra Urban Development Department. After several attempts – at several different angles – they’d finally admitted defeat and opted for the stairs… eight un-air-conditioned flights of them. Even with the cooler weather that had been gradually settling in over the last few weeks, it was uncomfortably warm in the stairwell at the moment.

“You let it go, don’t expect me to hold it ’til you’re clear,” Rude grunted from above them.

“There has gotta be an easier way to do this…” Reno hoisted as best he could as they reached the sixth floor landing and were forced to round the corner onto the next flight of stairs. It was an extremely tight squeeze, and Elena ended up giggling when the redhead suddenly found himself pinned tight against the wall until Rude could find his footing and ease the mattress up a few feet. “No comments from the peanut gallery,” he muttered at her.

“I didn’t say anything…”

“No laughter from the peanut gallery, either” he amended, “Shit, man, set it down a second… I’m losin’ my grip…”

“On the mattress, or your will to live?” Rude joked, as he let the corner rest on the edge of a stair.

“Both,” he replied, panting softly. He let his end drop as well, wedging it in place with his hip, and wiping his hands on his sides.

“Maybe you should’ve been on top,” Elena commented. Rude was, after all, the stronger of the two. It would’ve made far more sense to give him the heavier end instead of the lanky redhead.

“Heh… There’s a joke in there somewhere, but I’m too out of breath to make it,” he responded, drawing a snort of laughter from the other man. “Alright… let’s just get this over with.”

They pushed through the last two flights of stairs, and at last made their way into Elena’s apartment, setting the mattress in the living room. Reno moaned in relief and flopped down on top of it, face down.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Rude admonished, “We’ve still gotta get the boxspring.”

“… That’s it. Kill me,” Reno said, voice muffled by the mattress, “I mean it, Rude. Just shoot me right in the head.”

“Not on the new mattress. I’m not hauling up a second one,” the bald Turk cut in, jokingly, “You want to die, go die out on the balcony.”

Elena took pity on him, and walked over to the fridge, pulling it open and quickly spotting what she was looking for. She’d kind of had a feeling Rude wouldn’t have skipped that particular purchase on his trip to the grocery store that morning. She offered him one as well, before crossing the room to the man lying prone on her new bed.

The redhead shivered as something smooth and icy cold was pressed against the back of his neck. His head shot up, eyes locking onto what was in Elena’s hand.

“Nevermind… I wanna live,” he grinned, seizing hold of the bottle and sitting up, cracking open the beer without further comment.

---

“You’re doin’ it wrong.”

“…”

“I’m pretty sure that’s backwards…”

“…”

“I’m tellin’ ya, it goes the other way…”

“… Fine. You do it,” Rude said at last. Reno smirked at him, and sat down next to the pile of parts, confident that he’d succeed where the other Turk had failed.

When Elena poked her head into the bedroom ten minutes later, he was swearing loudly while Rude watched, smugly leaning against the wall. She rolled her eyes. It was a bed frame, for Ifrit’s sake… not a mako reactor. The fact that between the two of them they couldn’t seem to figure it out was a little pathetic.

“Um… Maybe you should take a break and bring the boxspring up instead,” she suggested, “It might help to step away from it for a few minutes.”

“Hate to admit it,” Reno said with a sigh, “But she may be right. You’re takin’ the bottom this time.”

Rude shrugged in agreement, and the two men disappeared into the hallway, leaving Elena alone with the disassembled pieces of the frame. Her eyes fell on a sealed plastic bag that had been tossed carelessly into the corner of the room, and she picked it up.

“Oh, for the love of Shiva…” she muttered, shaking her head, “… Typical men.”

She tore open the bag, and unfolded the assembly instructions before sitting down and getting to work. She finished well before they returned. By the time they did, Elena had also dragged the mattress into the room. Their arrival was announced by yet another string of profanity… though for once, it wasn’t coming from Reno.

“I said I was sorry,” the redhead grunted, as they maneuvered their load into the apartment and set it down.

“…”

“Ah, don’t be like that…”

“…”

Elena peeked out into the other room to see what was going on, unexpectedly meeting a pair of soft, brown eyes. She blinked in surprise. Seeing Rude without his trademark accessory was a little off-putting.

“Don’t ask,” Reno smoothly interjected, before Elena could voice her question. Rude cast him a glare.

“He knocked them over the rail,” he said, visibly annoyed. His compatriot sighed wearily.

“And now I’ll never hear the end of it… Ya know, they might have survived,” Reno offered, “We were only… what… four stories up?”

Rude gave a derisive snort, but turned and strode out, in search of his lost sunglasses.

“Well, I’m in deep shit,” Reno said with a self-deprecating laugh, “Last time I broke a pair, he… well, you saw what he did to me.”

Elena’s eyebrow rose ever so slightly. “I did?” She didn’t recall ever hearing about that, much less seeing the outcome.

“Sure… You remember when Mr. Foo-Foo went missing…”

“… That’s what that was about?” she replied. Reno laughed again and nodded as the rookie shook her head in disbelief. “Oh my god… You two are seriously deranged.”

“Believe me, ‘Lena… you have no idea,” he said, grinning proudly, “Now… back to the frame.”

“Oh, I finished that.”

“I… you… what? What do you mean ya finished it?”

“I finished it. It’s ready to go.”

“… How?!” Reno managed.

“I… read the instructions?” Elena replied, a little offended that he seemed to think her incapable of such a thing.

“Oh… so ya cheated.”

“Following the instructions isn’t cheating,” she scoffed, suddenly wondering if all men had that mindset. Both of her brothers certainly did. “If they weren’t meant to be used, it wouldn’t have come with them.”

“Poor, misguided rookie,” he sighed, hanging his head, “That takes all the challenge out of it. Well, too late to go back now. Grab the other end of this thing.” He patted the boxspring with one hand. Elena joined him on the opposite end and they carried it into the bedroom, setting it down on the frame. The mattress joined it, seconds later.

“I may not have challenged myself, but at least I don’t have to sleep on the floor tonight,” she said, “Where’d you put all my stuff?”

“Closet,” Reno answered, nodding to the door, “Assuming that thing’s actually ‘sposed to be a closet and not a tiny bedroom. Your clothes aren’t gonna know what to do with all the extra room.”

Elena smirked, and crossed the room. The walk-in was a little bit of an overkill… the closet in her old apartment had been cramped – very cramped – but everything fit. She’d had much the same reaction as Reno when she’d first seen the size of this one. The whole place, in fact, was far more space than she could imagine needing just for herself. On top of the massive closet, she also had a spare bedroom and a separate dining room… compared to her old one-bedroom apartment, with it’s tiny kitchen and dining nook, her new home was practically palatial. It was going to take some getting used to.

She found the box with her linens and began pulling out a set of sheets and her favorite quilt. With Reno’s help, the bed was soon made up. The redhead laid down on top of it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Elena asked, poking him in the side. He squirmed away and grinned.

“Testin’ it out?”

The rookie whipped the pillow out from under his head and smacked him in the face with it.

“Get up,” she giggled, “I’ve still got an entire apartment to furnish and you promised me your services for the whole day.” Reno opened his mouth to say something, but Elena quickly stopped him. “Not those services, you pervert.”

“Ah, come on ‘Lena. Give me a break here. You’re ruinin’ all my jokes today…”

“You need some new ones,” she advised him.

“Laying down on the job?”

Elena turned sharply at the sound of the voice. Tseng stood leaning casually against the doorframe, eying the prone redhead with undisguised amusement.

“Volunteer work doesn’t count as on the clock, boss,” Reno responded without bothering to look up at Tseng. He had long ago grown accustomed to the man appearing out of nowhere whenever he felt like it. It hardly phased him anymore. Most of the time. The rookie, though, still seemed to be getting used to it.

“Hmm… I see,” Tseng repiled, “Oh… I’m also to inform you that you are, and I quote, ‘going to pay dearly’.”

“… Broke ’em, huh?”

“Quite thoroughly.”

Reno snatched the pillow back from Elena, and pressed it over his face.

“If you’re trying to smother yourself, I very seriously doubt that method will work.” The Turk leader strode over to the bed, lifting the pillow away, with a barely concealed smirk. “In any case, is this really all you’ve managed to accomplish? The way you were bragging this morning, I expected to show up to a fully furnished apartment by noon.”

“Bragging, sir?” Elena queried. Tseng smiled.

“Indeed… Reno was convinced he’d have you comfortably settled in here in a matter of hours. I believe his exact words were ‘Nothin’ to it’.”

The redhead finally sat up on the bed, glaring at his superior. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t expectin’ to be killin’ myself lugging shit up eight flights of stairs.”

Tseng shook his head. “I’m surprised you bothered. You never seem to have any problem ignoring regulations on the use of company aircraft in other matters.”

Reno blinked, and then groaned as understanding dawned. He flopped onto his back again and grabbed the pillow, shoving it into his face with renewed determination. “I’m a fucking idiot…” he said. Or at least that’s what Elena thought he said. It was hard to tell, muffled as his voice was.

“Come along, Elena… Let’s leave Reno here to asphyxiate himself at his leisure and go and see if we can’t find a few more items for your new home,” Tseng said, offering her his arm.

Elena had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing as Reno remained motionless on the bed, and Tseng escorted her out.

“You’re really going to let us use one of the helicopters to airlift furniture up to my apartment?”

The two Turks made their way to the elevator, passing a handful of residents on the way.

“I believe I merely stated that I was surprised Reno hadn’t thought of it…” he replied, raising an eyebrow. Elena grinned.

“Yes, sir… You would never tell him to break regulations, of course…”

“Of course not. That would be incredibly irresponsible of me. Though I can hardly be expected to predict what Reno might do when left to his own devices.”

“Oh, please don’t say that, sir,” Elena moaned, as they rode the elevator back down to the first floor, “We just left him alone in my new apartment…”

Tseng was still laughing softly when they met Rude in the parking lot.

---

She was well and truly torn. It had become an impossible decision.

“I just don’t know… maybe we should try one more store?”

It took everything in him not to audibly groan. Things had been going so well until she’d started trying to pick out a couch… which was, beside her bed, the piece of furniture Elena apparently spent the most time on. She’d gone into great detail over how much she’d come to hate her old one, but replacing it had always seemed like such a hassle.

Rude had known he should have been the one to make the trip back with their other purchases instead of handing his keys over to Tseng when he’d offered. Every instinct he possessed had been telling him that things had been going far too smoothly. It couldn’t possibly last. And now, they were on their fourth store, looking at more or less the same collection of couches. It was the post-waterbed-death shopping trip all over again.

“… You don’t like any of them?”

“Ugh… that’s the problem,” Elena sighed in frustration, “I like almost all of them.”

He bit his tongue, cutting off the caustic remark that threatened to escape. It wasn’t really Elena’s fault he was in a lousy mood, after all, and she certainly didn’t deserve his ire. Technically speaking, that was entirely Reno’s doing. Thanks to the redhead, his favorite sunglasses were in currently in several shard-like pieces in his truck’s glove compartment. He didn’t even have his spares with him…

He felt so very naked without them.

Rude let his head fall against the back of the couch he’d taken up residency on fifteen minutes ago. He wasn’t really angry with his friend… just irritated by the loss. The truth was he wore them because, in the past, he’d been a bit on the shy side. He’d discovered it was easier to talk to others when they couldn’t see his eyes. It was something he’d long since left behind, but the accessory had become such an ingrained part of him after so many years, he loathed being without them.

It had, in fact, been Reno who’d given him his first pair. They’d actually belonged to the younger man initially. It had started as something of a joke… Reno had simply been trying to break the ice when they’d first met. It had ended with him telling Rude, with the most casual of shrugs, to keep them and that they looked better on him anyway. Even from the start, Reno had been able to read him better than most and had noted the subtle difference they had made.

By now, Elena was stretching out, for the fourth or fifth time, on what Rude hoped, at least, was one of her top choices. The Turk was pulled from his thoughts as his PHS rang.

“Rude, here,” he answered succinctly.

“Hey, partner… Tseng’s headin’ back your way with an empty truck. You two done yet?”

The bald man smirked, and glanced over at the rookie again, making sure she was still more or less ignoring him.

“Think she may be worse at this than you are…”

“Tch… she can pick a bed in under five seconds, but spends hours looking at everything else. Figures… Well, tell her I got pizza comin’ in something like twenty minutes. If she doesn’t hurry up, me ‘n Snuffy are eatin’ hers for her.”

Rude rolled his eyes. An entire kitchen full of food, and the man ordered pizza. Though on the other hand… that meant Reno wasn’t cooking. That was always a good thing.

“And you’d better not be rollin’ your eyes at me… Nothin’ wrong with pizza.”

“I’ll let her know,” he said, ignoring the comment.

“This one!” The sudden cry caught him by surprise as he ended the call, and he looked up, startled. Elena looked almost giddy as she sat down next to him. “This one is perfect.”

Rude felt a wave of relief wash over him. It was over… finally.

“… You know this is the first one you looked at… right?”

“Is it?” she asked, standing up and looking more closely at the piece of furniture. For a moment, Rude was terrified that he’d just changed her mind. “Huh. You know I really did like it a lot when we first walked in. Guess I should’ve just gone with my first instinct…”

Rude had to bite his tongue for the second time in less than ten minutes, as Elena looked over at him. She paused when she saw his expression and laughed.

“You’re never going shopping with me again, are you?”

“… Not any time soon.”

---

Reno was waiting for them in the parking lot. As she climbed out of Rude’s truck, Elena chuckled at the sight that greeted her. The Turk was leaning calmly against the side of a Shinra company helicopter – one that was parked squarely between the lines of a parking space near the center of the lot, directly between her own car and Tseng’s.

“Hmph… Show-off,” Rude, commented as he joined her. Tseng didn’t look quite as amused.

“If I find so much as a scratch, Reno…”

The redhead grinned, and held up his hands. “Aw, relax, boss… You know I can set this thing down on a dime…”

“One scratch,” Tseng reiterated, the note of warning in his voice unmistakable.

“Yeah, yeah… I scratch it, you’ll have me beaten to within an inch of my life…” Reno waved him off, unconcerned.

“Far worse. I’ll assign you to Scarlet’s next security detail, and ensure that you’ll be sharing accommodations with her for the duration, per her usual request. As I recall, she’ll be making a three day trip to Kalm in the near future.”

Tseng watched coolly as his lieutenant’s eyes suddenly went wide, turning to make quick, not-so-subtle inspection of the side of the black sports car, and sighing in relief once he’d assured himself its shiny black paintjob was undamaged.

“Shit, Tseng… I know you love this car, but fuck, man… That’s cold.”

“Perhaps. But I trust I’ve made my point?”

Reno visibly shuddered, and Tseng finally cracked a smile.

“I am, of course, being entirely facetious. I have no desire to see you traumatized.”

“Too late,” Reno dryly replied, “Just the thought’s gonna give me nightmares.”

“Sir… Scarlet requests Reno for her details?” Elena asked. The Turk leader nodded, glancing at the redhead.

“Oh, yes… And I have always stringently ignored those requests, much to her perpetual annoyance. Scarlet has something of a history of… shall we say, inappropriate behavior toward Reno. Leviathan only knows what condition he’d be returned to us in. Mentally as well asphysically.”

The redhead groaned. “Okay, enough… We all know Scarlet’s got a thing for me. Now can we please stop discussin’ what she might do to me if she ever got those claws of hers on me… before I really do wake up screamin’ in terror later tonight?”

Reno shuddered again, more violently this time, and Rude nudged the rookie with his elbow, flashing her a teasing grin. “Reno has very vivid dreams…” The other man glared.

“Yes,” he stated, “As it happens, I do… and I would very much like to keep Scarlet out of them, thanks.”

The Turk leader at last chose to take pity on his friend, and nodded. “I think we’ve wasted quite enough time. We do still have furniture to unload…”

“Heh… which reminds me…” Reno turned to Rude and tossed him something. “Swung by your place on the way to get the copter.”

Rude smoothly caught the projectile, and smiled faintly. He put sunglasses on and looked up at his friend. “Still gonna get you back for breaking the first pair,” he said, smirking, “Eventually.”

Reno snorted and turned toward the apartment building.

“Hey, where are you going?” Elena called after him, “We still have a couch to move!”

“Pizza’ll be here any minute… Helps to have someone at the address ya sent ’em to. Tseng said ya haven’t crashed into anything in a week or two now… I’m sure you can handle it.”

Elena’s jaw dropped as she glanced back at the helicopter, snug between the two cars. Just as she was wondering if Reno was really expecting her to manage the precision required to airlift a couch up to an eight foot wide balcony without causing massive property damage, she became aware of her other fellow Turks’ amused laughter.

“I’m fairly certain he wasn’t serious about that,” Tseng said calmly.

Rude was already making his way over to the aircraft. “I got it.”

“Elena, head upstairs with Reno and help guide it in.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, glad, for once, that she wasn’t being given the opportunity to practice her piloting skills, and hurried into the building. She slipped into the elevator just as the doors were closing, and was immediately hit with with delicious aroma of melted cheese and tomato sauce. A teenage girl stood, balancing a large stack of boxes on one arm, double-checking the address.

“Oh, god… don’t tell me that’s all for 817…” she gasped. The girl looked up at her.

“Yeah, how’d ya know?”

The rookie sighed, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Lucky guess…” Apparently, Reno’d ordered them each their own full-sized pizza… and an extra just in case they were somehow not in agony after finishing it all. The elevator arrived, doors opening with a soft chime, and the two stepped out, Elena taking the lead.

“Hey! Your quarter-ton of pizza is here,” she called out as she pushed open the door to her apartment.

“Only a quarter-ton? I was sure I ordered at least a half…” Reno answered, feigning disappointment. He grinned when he saw the delivery girl. “Hey, Shelly. How much?”

“Oh! Reno! Hi!” The girl beamed at him, recognizing him immediately, and, Elena was pretty sure, blushing just a little bit. “Um… 70 gil, even. New place?”

“Nah… Just helpin’ her move in,” he said, nodding toward Elena as he pulled a hundred gil note out of his wallet, “Give the kid a hand, will ya, ‘Lena?” The rookie took the boxes and carried them over to the kitchen counter. Reno, meanwhile, handed the girl the cash. “Nah, you can keep it,” he said with a shrug, when she went for change.

The girl’s face lit up. “Really? Thanks!” she said, smiling widely, “Have a great night!”

He shut the door and turned to find Elena staring at him. “What?”

“A 30 gil tip?” she asked, “For pizza?”

“Hey, ya keep the people who bring you food happy, you get all kinds of perks,” he said, thinking about that for a moment and smirking, “And I did not mean that the way it sounded… She’s like… sixteen or somethin’. Get your mind outta the gutter, ‘Lena.”

“How are you not broke?” She ignored the rest of his comment, refusing to let him bait her.

Reno snickered. “Ah, I don’t do that all the time. Shelly’s kind of my regular delivery girl, though. I like to do somethin’ nice for her once in awhile. Her family owns the place, and they have fucking amazing food. Actually, I think she might have a little bit of a crush on me. Hey… by the way, I think your couch is tryin’ to get in…”

Elena jumped, and turned toward the balcony. She’d completely forgotten the whole reason she’d come up in the first place. The large piece of furniture was hovering just beyond the railing. She hurried to open the sliding glass doors, Reno trailing behind her to assist.

“Watch it…” he cautioned her as she stepped outside, “Might not look like it’s movin’ much, but it hits ya wrong, it’ll knock ya over.” He motioned for Rude to bring it forward into their range. Elena caught hold of the end, surprised when it shoved her backwards and then dragged her several steps forward as the newly added momentum set the couch rocking gently on the line that held it. Reno snickered loudly.

“Told ya so.” He grabbed on as well, stabilizing the load a bit and hauling it farther forward through the doors. Rude slowly lowered the couch once it was clear of the railing. “Alright… unhook it, and help me get it in here.”

Elena unclipped the tether from the straps that encircled the couch, and pushed it clear of the balcony. Moments later, the helicopter’s winch hauled it up, and she turned back to the task at hand.

“This… is a lot… heavier than it looked… in the store…” Elena ground out as she struggled to lift her end. Reno didn’t answer right away… he was too busy trying not to drop his own end. The two Turks, awkwardly wrestled the couch into the living room.

“Swing it left… ‘Lena, I said left… Fuck. My left, not yours…” They set it down once they made it through the doors. “Well… This seems like a good spot.”

“Sure… if I want a nice up-close view of the wall and never plan on using the balcony…” Elena said, shaking her head in amusement.

He laughed and vaulted over the back of the couch, landing on the cushions with a soft bounce.. “It weighs a fucking ton. This thing’s stayin’ right where it is ’til we’ve got some more muscle up here.”

“Aww… too heavy for the big strong Turk?” she teased, watching the redhead stretch himself out over the length of the couch.

“‘Lena… when the fuck have I ever claimed to be either big or strong?” He grinned at her and folded his arms behind his head, “Not sure if you noticed, but I’m built for speed, not power. That’s Rude’s thing. Like the couch, though… I’d stay here awhile if I weren’t almost fainting from hunger…”

With that, he scrambled to his feet, heading for the kitchen and the stack of pizzas therein. Elena wasn’t far behind… she was getting awfully hungry too. She’d skipped lunch in favor of hitting up more furniture stores. Just as he was lifting the lid on the first box, Tseng and Rude arrived at the door.

“Interesting place for it,” Tseng noted, nodding to the couch, and Elena saw her chance.

“Reno said he was too weak and puny to move it any farther…”

The aforementioned Turk had, by then, crammed most of a slice of pepperoni and mushroom into his mouth, rendering him incapable of speech… so instead, he narrowed his eyes at her and flipped her off, drawing a laugh from the rookie.

“I see…” Tseng suddenly caught sight of dinner, and gave a soft chuckle. “Are we planning on feeding the entirety of Shinra Company tonight?”

Rude, who had wandered unnoticed deeper into the kitchen to raid the cabinets for tableware, paused in front of the redhead. “At least use a plate,” he sighed, shoving one into his hands. Tseng, meanwhile collected the stack of pizza boxes, carrying them toward the dining room. Reno harshly swallowed his mouthful of pizza.

“Hey… where the hell are you goin’ with that?”

“Elena’s new table… some of us prefer to eat like human beings rather than pigs at the trough.”

---

They’d made a valiant effort. Between the five of them, they’d put a significant dent in small pizza buffet Reno’d graced them with… but ultimately, there was enough left over for Elena to still be eating it for most of next week. And that was after she’d talked both Tseng and Rude into taking some of it home with them once they’d shifted the couch to a more desirable location.

But all in all, extra food was hardly something she could complain about. On top of that, she now had a bed, a dining room table and chairs, shelves, a couch, and a plethora of other furnishings that would eventually decorate the mostly empty space of her new home, as well.

She still had a decidedly overwhelming task ahead of her, but it didn’t seem quite as daunting as it had when she’d been so unexpectedly woken that morning.

“Ya know… we shoulda gotcha a TV…” Reno commented from his current reclined position on the couch, “Don’t know about you, but I’d be bored outta my mind with nothin’ to do the rest of the weekend.”

Snuffy, who was perched on his chest, nibbling a piece of pizza crust, chirred in apparent agreement, before returning to his snack.

“I’m pretty sure I can find something to do… Most of the stuff I bought still needs to be assembled…”

“Tch… That’ll kill what? Twenty minutes… ‘specially since ya cheat.”

“Oh, not this again…” She smiled and prodded him in the side until he sat up and made room for her. The ferret barked in annoyance at having been so rudely displaced, but took his crust and climbed onto Reno’s shoulder. “And if you’re so very bored, you could always go home and watch your own TV…”

“Sick of me already, huh?” he said, grinning as she joined him on the couch, “Hey, ya want me to fuck off and leave ya in peace, just say so…”

“I… I didn’t mean that…”

She really wasn’t in any rush to get him out the door. Aside from the fact that she was eternally grateful for all the help – not just today, but during the few weeks she’d been essentially homeless – she wasn’t really looking forward to being left on her own just yet. Elena had never enjoyed spending the first night in a new place. The sounds… the shadows… they were so unfamiliar. Every single time she’d moved in the past it always took her ages to get to sleep the first few nights. And when she finally did, she always seemed to sleep so restlessly she woke up exhausted.

“Ah, don’t worry. I don’t take shit like that personally.”

“Reno, I was just kidding. I really didn’t mean to imply that I wanted you to leave,” she said hurriedly. It suddenly occurred to her that this wasn’t the first time the man seemed concerned about overstaying his welcome. “You can stay… I mean, unless you don’t want to.”

The redhead shrugged. “Nah, it’s not that. I just like bein’ around people, and sometimes I stick around a little too long,” he said smirking, “Someone once told me I’m only tolerable in small doses.”

“What? Who told you that?” Though she supposed she could see it. Reno took some getting used to. He wasn’t overbearing, exactly… he just tended to have far more energy than she’d ever imagined possible for one person. But saying something like that to someone like Reno… well, it just seemed a bit heartless.

He suddenly laughed. “‘Lena, you look I like just told you someone kicked my puppy…”

“Well… it is kind of a mean thing to say…”

“Yeeeeah… I’ll admit, I was actually a little hurt at the time. ‘Til I realized he kinda had a point. He was bein’ a dick about it, but he had a point.”

“Who?” she asked again.

“Huh? Oh… Veld. It was a few months after I was promoted. Tseng was on some assignment outside of Midgar, and I guess I was gettin’ on his nerves more than usual that day. I told ya before, I was a real pain in the ass when I was startin’ out.”

“But, still…”

Reno’s eyebrow arched curiously. “You feelin’ sorry for me, ‘Lena?” When she didn’t answer right away, he grinned. “Don’t… Rude overheard him and ratted him out to Tseng for me when he got back. Tseng was… not happy. And you’ve seen Tseng ‘not happy’.”

“So why take it to heart, then?”

“‘Cause like I said… he was bein’ a dick about it, but he wasn’t totally wrong. And… frankly, I don’t wanna run off the people I like hangin’ out with.”

Elena smiled. “If I promise to tell you when I get so sick of having you around that I’m ready to strangle you, will you stop worrying about it?”

“Heh… Deal,” he said. Elena did her best to hold back a yawn, but failed miserably. Reno snickered. “But I think that might be my cue to get outta here so you can get some sleep…”

Elena fished her PHS from her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was nearly eleven. “No wonder I’m tired… I didn’t realize it was getting that late.” Tired as she was, though, she wasn’t looking forward to a night of tossing and turning. Reno was right… she should have picked up a television. At least then she could’ve immersed herself in the mind-numbing mediocrity of late-night infomercials if she couldn’t get to sleep.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Reno cocked his head to one side, studying her.

“No… I just always feel a little weird at first in a new place, that’s all.”

He smirked and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Want me to check for monsters under the bed for ya? Make sure there’s nothin’ hiding in the closet? I can tuck ya in, if ya want…” he teased. Elena rolled her eyes, but it seemed he wasn’t quite finished yet. “I’d offer to sing ya a lullaby, but I think that might do more harm than good…”

“Go home, Reno,” she said, giggling as she plucked Snuffy from his shoulder. The little ferret gave a sharp, irritated cry at being disturbed again.

“Yeah, alright…” He stood up, heading for the door. “Don’t really have anything planned for tomorrow, so ya need anything, lemme know, ‘kay?”

“Thanks, Reno… I will,” she replied, following him, “Good night.”

“‘Night ‘Lena.” She shut the door behind him, turning back to her now-empty apartment and sighed. It was going to be a long night.

---

Nearly three hours later, Elena found herself staring at the ceiling fan above her bed. She sighed, frustrated. Nothing seemed to be working… as usual. Every time she started to drift off, something would jar her awake again. Half the time she wasn’t even sure if she’d actually heard something or if it was just her imagination working overtime in the unfamiliar room. With a groan, she sat up in bed and swung her feet over the side.

‘Maybe some hot tea will help,’ she mused. Chamomile might quiet the irritating anxiety enough that she could at least get a few hours of sleep in.

Assuming there was any. She hadn’t actually had the opportunity yet to take stock of everything Rude had thought to supply her with… and it wasn’t as if she’d given him a list.

Elena made her way out to the kitchen, yawning widely as she rubbed at tired eyes. She opened the first of several cabinets and laughed.

“Thank you, Rude…” she said out loud, picking up the box of tea bags. Apparently when Rude stocked a kitchen, he stocked it with everything. It took her a minute or two to locate her kettle, but it wasn’t long before the water was boiled and the tea leaves were steeping.

She inhaled the warm scent and took a cautious sip. Still a little too hot. Elena carried her mug out onto the balcony, and looked up at the night sky over Midgar. It was a nice night… Chilly, but beautiful. The moon was a mere sliver tonight and the cooler weather had brought with it much clearer skies than the city normally saw. It made for a very pretty view.

She took another sip, and closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing heat from the tea, as she leaned against the railing. She jumped slightly, startled when something brushed against her leg, and looked down. Elena snorted in laughter as she realized what it was. Reno’s binoculars were hanging from one of the corner posts. Finishing her tea, she turned to go back inside and renew her attempts to fall asleep. She barely made it halfway through the door before pausing and glancing back with a soft groan.

“Ugh… I have definitely been spending too much time around him if I’m even considering this…” she muttered, setting the empty mug aside. She was standing on the balcony at two in the morning, bored out of her mind and knowing full well that a little chamomile wasn’t going to knock her out anytime soon, a pair of binoculars dangling entirely too temptingly in front of her. “Dammit, Reno…” she laughed.

What the hell… It was the middle of the night. It wasn’t as if anyone was going to see her spying. For that matter, she probably couldn’t see much of anything in the dark anyway. “Oh…” she murmured, studying the optics, “They have night vision…” So much for that excuse. She hesitated… and then resolutely hung the binoculars back on the post, turning on her heel and walking back inside.

Ten seconds later she walked straight back out and picked them up again, raising them to her eyes.

At first, she only scanned the street below, tracking the occasional car as it drove by, and peeking into the various storefronts down the block. Most were dark, but a handful of lights still shone even at this late hour. From there, she turned her gaze towards the parking lots that dotted the area, eventually coming to rest on a blue convertible parked a few blocks away. Not that she could actually see the color in night vision mode… but she knew perfectly well who it belonged to and what color it was.

The neighborhood was remarkably quiet and still… her old apartment had been near a complex filled with students at Midgar University. Quiet was sometimes a luxury, particularly on the weekends.

She shook her head, and lowered the binoculars, looking out across at Reno’s building. She was not going to let his silly joke gift turn her into a peeping tom just because she was tired, and bored, and feeling a little giddy and reckless from sleep deprivation.

Oh, who was she kidding… ?

Elena raised them again, scanning her way up to the fifth floor, easily finding Reno’s corner apartment. The sign from earlier had been removed from the window, but – and she was a little surprised, given how easily woken he was by the smallest things – the curtains were still open.

She hit the digital zoom on the lenses and zeroed in on the window. One thing about the Shinra labs… they made good tech. Every detail of the room was rendered in sharp, crisp shades of green and black. Reno was curled up under the covers, laying on his side, his back to the window. She giggled a little madly, as she realized what she must look like, and thanked whatever deity that might be listening that it was much too dark for anyone to be able to see her.

That would have been the end of things – she’d had her little thrill, and now it was time to go back to being a normal, not-completely-creepy, human being again – were it not for the sudden movement that drew her slowly shifting gaze immediately back to Reno.

He’d shuddered, and a moment later, she realized it was much more than that. He was breathing in sharp, ragged gasps… which became all the more noticeable when he suddenly rolled onto his back. His face turned toward her and she could see the expression of obvious distress he wore. In spite of that, his eyes remained closed, even as he clawed at the sheets.

Her breath caught in her throat as it became clear that Reno was still very much asleep… and apparently mid-nightmare. Elena bit her lower lip, silently urging him to wake up. It was awful to watch, but she felt even worse when she tried to look away, as if she were somehow abandoning him.

It suddenly occurred to her that she could wake him up herself. His PHS had to be nearby. None of them were ever far from their phones. Of course… then she’d have to explain how she knew he’d needed waking in the first place. She dithered for a moment, half hoping he’d shake himself from the dream on his own while she was still deciding what to do.

“Oh… Fine,” she bit out, hurrying back inside to get her phone. She was dialing before she even returned to the balcony. The PHS pressed to her ear, she lifted the binoculars again. It was awkward with only one hand… they were a little on the heavy side… but she finally managed to find Reno’s window again.

---

Reno bolted upright in bed, heart racing and breathing heavily. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, trying to figure out where the hell he was and what was going on… and more importantly, what had woken him up. The redhead jumped violently at a sudden piercing sound to his left, and then all was silent again for a moment. When it sounded again, he finally pulled himself from his confusion as he recognized his phone’s ringtone.

He was already on edge… and the fact that his PHS was ringing insistently in the middle of the night didn’t exactly calm him down. He rolled to one side, blindly groping for the noisy device, becoming much more focused when he saw who was calling.

“‘Lena?” he gasped out, answering it at last, “What’s wrong? You alright?”

“I… umm… Please don’t be mad at me,” the rookie’s voice said nervously, “I just… I couldn’t just go back to bed and leave you like that. A-are you okay?”

Reno shook his head trying to make sense of what she was saying, as the worst of his panic began to slowly subside. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. What the hell are you talking about?” There simply wasn’t any way she could possibly have known about his less than pleasant dreams tonight. When she didn’t answer, he prodded her again. “‘Lena?”

“… Umm… I was… You… looked really freaked out.”

His brow furrowed in confusion for a moment. Suddenly his eyes widened slightly and he turned toward the open curtains. He smirked in spite of his still much-too-rapid heartbeat. That was certainly the last thing he’d have suspected…

“Been watchin’ me sleep, ‘Lena?”

“…”

He began to snicker softly at her non-response.

“I… I couldn’t sleep, and I was sick of staring at shadows, and your stupid binoculars were just hanging there, and… Y-you’re not mad, are you?”

“Nah… I’m not. Kinda glad you were. I wasn’t exactly enjoying that dream,” he replied in a serious tone. He grinned to himself, unable to resist poking a little fun. “Gotta admit, though… Those were meant as a joke. Never really had ya pegged as the voyeuristic type.” If he hadn’t known it was completely impossible, he would have sworn he could actually hear the woman turning red.

“I… I am NOT a voyeur!” she vehemently denied, “Y-you’re… not going to tell anyone about this, are you?”

The panic in her voice was palpable. He briefly considered stringing her along a bit, but felt it was too cruel. Especially since she’d all but ensured certain humiliation by helping him out.

“Relax, ‘Lena…” he assured her, “I’m not gonna say anything.” He laid back against the pillows, trying to get comfortable again. It was going to take some effort to get back to sleep after that. “You still watchin’ me?”

He heard a soft clatter, and what he was pretty sure was the sound of a sliding door being closed.

“N-no…”

Reno bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to stem the laughter. That may have been the least convincing denial he’d ever heard in his life, but he’d decided that the poor girl had been embarrassed enough for one night.

“So… couldn’t sleep, huh?”

“… Yeah.”

He rolled onto his side propping himself up on an elbow, and turned on the lamp beside his bed. “Heh… Well, thanks to Tseng, I guess I’m in the same boat, now…” While his pulse had finally calmed to a less hammering beat, the effects of the fear-induced adrenaline surge had yet to ebb away. He was going to be awake for awhile.

“Tseng? Why? What’d he do?” she asked.

“Put that damn idea in my head this afternoon,” Reno muttered, “I fucking told the bastard I was gonna have nightmares. Mostly kidding at the time, but I’m still blamin’ him for it.”

“You… you were dreaming about Scarlet?” He heard her giggle, and snorted softly in vague amusement at the absurdity of the idea himself as he rolled over onto his stomach.

“Unfortunately…” It had actually been much worse than that… Much worse.

“You know… I’m suddenly not sure want to know any more about this. No wonder you looked so terrified…”

Reno sighed and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “Believe it or not, that wasn’t the worst part.” It was the part that was currently tempting him to jump into a scalding hot shower, but it wasn’t really what had made the dream so awful.

“Don’t tell me… Heidegger was there, too…”

The redhead groaned loudly. “For Ifrit’s sake, ‘Lena… Haven’t I had a rough enough night without you makin’ suggestions of new shit for me to endure? It’s gonna take me forever to get back to sleep as it is… Now I got that lovely thought floatin’ around in my head…”

“Sorry,” she said, sniggering.

“Bad enough you were in the last one…” he said, before he had time to consider his words. He hadn’t intended to tell her that. That had actually been the worst part.

“M-me?” Elena sputtered, obviously caught by surprise. Reno had to resist the urge to smack himself… That was going to require an explanation. Preferably before the rookie got the wrong idea.

“No, I was not dreamin’ about gettin’ you in the sack…” He subtly smirked to himself. Had that been the case, he suspected she’d have gotten quite a different sort of show. He didn’t often have truly erotic dreams – which had always struck him as a little ironic, all things considered – but when he did they were quite… tangible.

“Oh… Wait, so what was I doing there, then?”

He hesitated. He didn’t particularly like talking about his dreams, and nightmares in particular bothered him to recount. Especially this nightmare, since it had been so close to becoming a reality.

“Same thing you always seem to be doin’ in my dreams lately,” he said at last, though he wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to admit it, “Gettin’ tortured by that psycho we ran into in Costa del Sol.”

He’d thought he’d gotten over that by now. The nightmare had gradually started to come less and less frequently as time when on. He hadn’t had it, or any other disturbing dreams, in weeks… until tonight, that is. Not even while Elena had been recovering from her recent attack. He couldn’t say for certain what had triggered it again, but it had definitely caught him unprepared. Worse still… the dream had changed to include Scarlet in a prominent roll. He suddenly noticed that Elena hadn’t spoken in some time. “‘Lena? You still there?”

“… Yeah, I’m here. You dream about me being… tortured?”

There was a subtle note of distress in her voice. And Reno really couldn’t blame her… It was a pretty fucked up thing to be dreaming about. “I dream about you bein’ where I was in Costa del Sol. And me not bein’ able to do anything about it.”

“Oh… Reno… That’s awful…”

“Had a way to stop it tonight, though,” he added, “All I had to do was anything Scarlet wanted me to…” He shuddered in spite of himself, and for a moment was convinced he could still feel the awful woman’s hands on him.

“A-and… you did?”

“‘Course I did.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, obviously concerned. Reno smiled.

“‘Lena… it was just a dream. A royally fucked up dream I kinda hope to never have again, but just a dream.” He yawned, and glanced over at the clock beside his bed. Not even two-thirty yet. He might have a chance at a halfway decent night’s sleep after all. Talking to Elena seemed to be calming him to an extent he probably wouldn’t have managed so quickly on his own. He was even beginning to feel drowsy again.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Heh… Like what? You gonna sing to me? Maybe read me a bedtime story?” He chuckled softly, and wondered if either was even likely to help.

“Oh!” she cried, “That’s a great idea! Hold on a minute!” He heard something that sounded like boxes being moved around, and their contents being shifted haphazardly. “I know it’s here somewhere…” She must have set the phone down, because her voice sounded far away now.

“‘Lena?” She didn’t answer, but the rummaging continued.

“Found it!” Reno cringed slightly at the volume. Apparently she’d picked the handset back up.

“Found what?”

“My favorite book of short stories,” she replied, “I knew it survived the fire…”

Reno rolled his eyes. “You’re not serious…”

“Why not?”

“‘Lena… I’m twenty six years old. I don’t need a bedtime story.”

“Oh, come on…” she goaded him, “When’s the last time someone read to you?”

“Fuck if I know…” The fact was, he honestly couldn’t recall if anyone ever had. His mother had always sung for him instead. It was one of his earliest memories, and he was fairly sure she’d done it almost every night from the time he was born, right up until the night he lost her.

“These always put me right out when I was little… I’ll even do the voices, like my dad always did.”

“You do and I’m hangin’ up.” The idea of being read to felt silly enough, as it was.

“Does that mean you’re not hanging up if I just start reading?” Reno stared incredulously at the phone in his hand. She was actually serious.

“… You’re actually serious.”

Elena giggled softly. “The Mouse and the Fly… One sunny summer afternoon, a field mouse was…”

“You’re readin’ me a story about a fuckin’ mouse?” he interrupted.

“And a fly… yes.”

“You ever mention this to Rude, I will make sure no one ever finds your body…”

“Oh, just be quiet and try to relax,” she chided him, “One sunny summer afternoon, a field mouse was sweeping his front step…”

Reno burst out laughing. “What the hell kind of story is this?”

“Well, if you’d let me get past the first sentence, you’d find out…”

“Alright, alright… No more interruptions…” He was still shaking slightly with disbelieving laughter, and he was pretty sure Elena could tell.

Elena sighed in frustration, and started again. “One sunny summer afternoon, a field mouse was sweeping his front step when little fly flew past as fast as he could. ‘Oh dear,’ said the mouse, ‘I wonder where he’s off to in such a hurry.’.”

Reno shook his head, and did his best to quell the urge to comment. He put Elena on speakerphone and adjusted the volume to a more soothing level.

“The mouse hurried to catch up to the fly and finally spotted him zipping over a pond. The mouse paused at the water’s edge, wondering what he should do now. The pond was very deep and the mouse couldn’t swim very well.”

He clicked off the lamp at his bedside, and laid back down, making himself comfortable. Reno curled up under the blankets, nuzzling his cheek against his pillow, and set the PHS beside him on the bed.

“But the mouse was very curious, and he so wanted to find out where the fly was going, that he decided to try.”

‘Not the brightest mouse on the planet,’ the redhead thought to himself, letting his eyes drift shut.

“The mouse waded slowly into the water… First to his ankles. Then to his knees. Soon, he was in up to his neck, and very far from the shore.”

Reno yawned again, and decided that this really wasn’t a terrible way to fall asleep… even if the story left a lot to be desired. The last thing he remembered was something about the mouse, a snake, and a missing egg…

---

“… and the mouse returned home, his good friend the fly at his side. The end,” Elena finished, “So? What did you think?” The only answer she received from her PHS was the gentle sound of calm, even breathing. “Reno?” she said, softly.

There was still no answer. Just the quiet, unhurried rhythm. She clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh.

“Goodnight, Reno…” she whispered, and ended the call. She yawned, and stretched her arms over her head. She was actually feeling pretty sleepy herself. That story always seemed to relax her as a little girl. Apparently, it still did.

Elena turned out the light and climbed back into her bed, wrapping her arms around her pillow. She was asleep herself minutes later.

---

“Well, Snuffy… that’s three down. One more to go.” The ferret pointedly ignored her in favor of his recently refilled food dish. “Yeah… thanks for the encouragement,” she said, dryly. She’d been assembling furniture for the better part of two hours… Right now she was working on a quartet of shelving units that were shortly going to be lining the large, empty wall in her living room. She’d already put together the little table she’d found to use as a stand for Snuffy’s cage, and the ferret seemed quite content with its placement near one of the windows.

A knock at her door pulled her away from the task at hand… something she wasn’t at all bothered by. It was starting to get a little mindlessly repetitive. She hurried to open it, grateful for the break.

“Reno!” She grinned widely upon seeing the redhead.

“Hey, ‘Lena.”

“So… ?” she prodded. Reno raised an eyebrow.

“So what?”

“So how’d you sleep last night?”

He rolled his eyes and smirked. “Pretty good, actually. Seriously, though… you ever tell Rude about that…”

Elena snickered, and pulled him inside. “I’m not going to tell him,” she assured him.

“Yeah, well… you better not.” He looked appraisingly around the room. “Looks like you’re makin’ some progress.”

“Slow progress, but yeah… Care to lend a hand?”

“Heh… I’ll help ya out on one condition,” Reno said.

“What?”

The redhead started to reply, but apparently thought better of it. He turned and shut the door behind him, after making sure no one was in the hall to overhear him.

“I… uh… kinda need to borrow that book from ya,” he said in hushed tones. The rookie giggled. “What? I fell asleep halfway through, and it’s been buggin’ the crap outta me all morning.”

~fin~