Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 41: Expecting

Reno was having a little trouble processing what he’d just heard. Or perhaps it would be better to say he was having a little trouble processing the thoughts going through his own head after what he’d just heard. In fact, it was quite possible that he had briefly forgotten how to breathe, because for a moment his vision began to darken.

It was the sound of Lira snickering softly that finally brought him out of it.

“Well? Are you going to say something? Or are you just going to sit there looking like you’re about to faint?”

The redhead opened his mouth to reply, and shut it again almost immediately, shaking his head. It was a few seconds before he tried again.

“Y-you’re… you’re… pregnant?” he finally managed.

“Isn’t that was I just said?” She was looking up at him, an amused expression on her face.

“…Uh… How pregnant?” Reno swallowed sharply, torn between being happy for his friend… and vaguely terrified for himself. Not that he’d been with her, or anyone else, since he and Elena got together… but it hadn’t actually been all that long since that had happened.

“I don’t think there are really degrees of pregnancy, Reno,” Lira teased him, “You either are or you aren’t.”

“Lira…” he pleaded. The woman giggled softly.

“Dr. Ward thinks I’m probably around two months… give or take a few weeks, so maybe two and a half.”

Somehow, he managed not groan aloud. That didn’t exactly put him out of the running. He’d only been with Elena a little over two months to begin with. And before that… well, he and Lira had been seeing quite a bit of each other at the time.

“… ‘kay…” he managed, in a somewhat cautious tone.

Lira laughed and squeezed his hand… which he belatedly realized was still resting on her belly. “Oh, quit panickin’… You and I have always been careful about that sort of thing. And it’s not like you’re the only guy that’s got a shot at bein’ the responsible party here, ya know… I’m still as popular as ever at the Honeybee…”

“Yeah, but… I still could be…”

“And if you are, he or she is going to be the most beautiful baby on the planet.”

Reno nervously ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, well… hopefully I’ll get ta see him or her at least once before ‘Lena kills me…”

He took a slightly shuddering breath before leaning back in the chair, still staring at Lira with a somewhat shellshocked expression. He really didn’t know what to do… though one thing he did know was that he couldn’t just leave Lira on her own to raise his child. His own mother had been forced to take on that burden, and look where it got her. If it really was his, he couldn’t just pretend otherwise and go on with his life. Even if he were willing to be that big a jackass to a woman – which, frankly, was an idea that didn’t sit well with him at all – he could never abandon Lira.

And where exactly would that leave him and Elena? Would she even still want to be with him, knowing that he’d fathered a child with another woman? And not just any woman, but one that meant nearly as much to him as she did… albeit in a very different way.

There was always the easy way out… He could always try and talk Lira into ending the pregnancy. It seemed like kind of a dick move to him, though. Lira, obviously, wasn’t upset about this… if anything, she seemed pretty happy about the prospect of being a mother. And he certainly wasn’t complaining about the major side effect of her unexpectedly expecting… She was willing to leave Wall Market. After ten years of doing his damnedest to talk her into it, she was finally willing.

But what was going to be the cost to himself? He felt indescribably guilty even thinking along those lines, but he had something – someone – now that made him feel… complete. And he was still very much in the process of feeling things out with Elena and trying to figure out how their lives fit together. Some days he still felt like he was struggling just to hang onto her… Something like this might very well make that impossible, and even if it didn’t, there was still his responsibility to Lira to consider. And the baby.

“Reno?” Lira prodded, jarring him from his increasingly panicked thoughts. “You still with me?”

He blinked and nodded vaguely, prompting a quiet snigger from the woman.

“You sure? ‘Cause ya look like you’re about a million miles away. I knew you’d be a little shocked, but I didn’t mean to break ya…” she grinned.

“If it’s mine…” he began, only to be cut off.

“If it’s yours… and that’s still a pretty big if… I’m not gonna expect you to drop everything and be a father.”

“Lira…”

“And don’t you dare try ‘n pull any of your self-sacrificing bullshit on me, Reno James Donvan,” she said firmly, and Reno finally cracked a faint smile. It wasn’t often anyone used his full name. In fact, Lira, and once in a blue moon, Tseng, were really the only people who ever did… and both tended to save it for when they were particularly annoyed with him. “I already know what you’re thinkin’… You’re thinkin’ about the possibility of havin’ to give up Elena for me outta some misplaced sense of responsibility that might not even be yours to begin with. You get that damn idea outta your head right now.”

Reno frowned slightly and looked away. He hadn’t even fully realized it yet himself… but that was exactly what he was suddenly considering.

“Oh, Reno, sweety…” Lira purred. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment. But I don’t want you to do somethin’ so stupid. You and Elena are meant to be together. You and me aren’t. And tryin’ to force somethin’ that’s doesn’t feel right just makes everyone unhappy in the end.”

“You’re kinda assumin’ she’s not just gonna walk away herself when she finds out…” he replied, shoulders drooping in defeat.

Lira rolled her eyes. “Finds out what, for fuck’s sake? That you’ve got about a one in a million shot at bein’ the guy that knocked me up?” When the redhead didn’t answer right away, she shook her head, scoffing, “You’re developin’ a real annoying habit of always assumin’ the worst. I already told ya… even on the very, very slim chance it’s yours, I’m lettin’ you off the hook.”

Reno sighed and dropped his gaze. It just wasn’t that simple.

“But, since I know you’re a stubborn pain in the ass who’s not gonna drop this until he knows one way or the other, I’ve already taken care of it,” Lira said, smirking.

He glanced up, curious. “The hell’s that s’posed to mean?”

“I kinda had a feeling this is how you were gonna take the news… so I asked Dr. Ward for a paternity test,” she replied.

“And?” he pressed her.

“Good news is that she said I’m more than far enough along she can do one. Bad news is… you’ll have to wait little awhile, anyway. She doesn’t want to risk anything that’s not strictly necessary until I’m healed up a little bit more,” Lira said, adding, “But she said she’d have the results within forty-eight hours once she has what she needs for the test.”

He hated waiting. Oh, he was more than capable of doing it – and occasionally he didn’t even complain about it too much – but given the choice, Reno almost always went for the option that resulted in instant gratification.

“… How long’s she want to wait?”

“At least ’til the end of the week. Maybe a couple of weeks, depending on how I’m doin’.”

The redhead groaned softly at the prospect of having to spend the next two weeks wondering about this. Lira patted his hand.

“You’ll survive,” she teased, grinning. “Now, I know you have better things to do that hang out in a hospital all night…”

Reno stared at her somewhat incredulously. “Lira… You just got done tellin’ me you’re having a kid, and now you think I’m just gonna leave you here all alone ?”

“That’s exactly what I think… because knowin’ you, you’ve got plans with Elena tonight, and I’m not gonna let you cancel them. Now get the fuck outta here.”

“But…”

“Right now. Go. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not gonna win this, am I?” he sighed.

“Nope.”

Reno shook his head, vaguely amused as he opted to cut his losses. He seldom ever did win an argument with the woman. Lira was remarkably adept at getting her way. His victories were few and far between.

“Fine. But call me if ya need anything, ‘kay?”

“I will. Promise.”

“And don’t worry about wakin’ me up if you have to, either.”

“Would you just leave already?” she snickered.

Reno reluctantly got up and made his way to the door.

“Hey, Reno?” Lira called after him. He paused, turning back to look at her.

“Yeah?”

“Just for the record, I really do think you’ll make a terrific father someday… and Elena will be an amazing mother. And your kids are gonna be gorgeous.”

Reno groaned again and rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake Lira… I’m freaked out enough about maybe having one kid on the way, and you’re already plannin’ a whole family for me?”

“Twins first, I think…” the woman joked, ignoring him, “And then at least two or three more after that…”

“Seriously? Ya know, I already offered to stay. You don’t have to put me in the hospital, too, to keep me here…”

Lira laughed and shooed him out. “Oh, fuck off…” she giggled.

---

Elena was growing increasingly worried. That Reno was being unusually quiet tonight was one thing… but he’d hardly touched the plate in front of him. She caught her grandmother casting her a questioning glance and could only shrug. Del, meanwhile, seemed relatively oblivious to the redhead’s out of character behavior.

“So…” she began, hoping to spark a little conversation, “What was so important that you just had to talk to Lira after work?”

Reno visibly jumped, apparently caught off-guard, and dropped the fork in his hand.

“Uh… I just went over to try ‘n talk some sense into her,” he said, quickly recovering. “Even after what happened, I figured she’d only be stayin’ topside ’til she was well enough to head back to Wall Market… I was planning on beggin’ her not to. Again.”

“Wall Market?” Josephine asked, curious. Elena internally groaned… Of course she wouldn’t have heard of it. Josephine had visited Midgar a grand total of maybe ten times in her entire life. The rookie really did not want to explain Wall Market to her grandmother over dinner.

“It’s… um… well…” she stammered, blushing slightly.

Del rolled his eyes at his sister and took a sip of the wine Elena had brought out. “It’s the city’s red light district.” His eyes narrowed at Reno a moment later. “So… You hang out with girls from Wall Market a lot?”

“She’s an old friend,” the redhead guardedly replied.

“How close a friend?”

Elena gave her brother’s leg a sharp kick under the table and glared at him. “Lira and Reno grew up together. In fact, if it weren’t for Lira… well, we probably wouldn’t be dating.”

“She doesn’t want to live here instead?” Josephine asked, before Del could chime in again. Reno sighed.

“Been tryin’ to get her outta the slums since I got outta there. Lira’s the most stubborn person you’re ever gonna meet, though… Every time I’ve tried to get through to her, she’s always wanted to stay, and nothin’ I said has ever changed her mind.”

Well… that explained why he was so quiet tonight, Elena mused to herself. Apparently Lira had decided she was going back after all… in spite of what she’d said the other day. She sought out his hand with her own, squeezing it gently.

“Sounds like someone I wouldn’t mind getting to know,” Josephine commented, which drew curious and incredulous looks from Reno and Del respectively.

“Nana… She’s a… you know… a prostitute,” Del stammered.

“Got a problem with that?” the redhead shot back, defensively, and Elena silently willed her brother to just shut his mouth before he really struck a nerve with the other man.

“Simmer down, the both of you,” Josephine interjected before it could go any farther, and both men sank back in their seats, chastised. “And Delion, you mind your manners.”

“Yes, Nana…” he replied, somewhat meekly.

“And as for you,” she continued, looking pointedly at Reno, “You stop moping and eat. Your friend wouldn’t want you starving on her account, I’m sure, and I’m certainly not going to put up with it, either.” She smiled lightly and added another spoonful of carrots to Reno’s plate.

“Heh… Yes, Nana…” the redhead chuckled softly. Josephine lightly shook her head and glanced over at her granddaughter.

“Elena, dear, I hope to Shiva that you and Reno end up with girls. Boys are a constant headache… no matter how old they get,” she said with a wink.

Both Reno and Del immediately choked on the bites they’d just taken, as the rookie turned an impressive shade of red.

---

“I’m so sorry about last night…” Elena began as she slipped into the passenger seat of Reno’s car the following morning. She’d decided to ride with the redhead so that Del and Nana could use her car while they were here. It would let them get out of the apartment while she was at work.

Del’s antagonistic behavior towards Reno had subsided during the rest of dinner, but he’d been back at it a few times later in the evening. It annoyed her to no end that, now that she and Reno were romantically involved, her brother had decided to take it upon himself to evaluate the redhead’s ‘worthiness’ of dating her. And she was sure Reno was taking the nitpicking a lot harder than he was letting on, too.

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” he replied, as they left the parking lot.

“Of course I’m going to worry about it… He was being a judgmental, overprotective jerk. And you’ve had a bad enough week to begin with. Especially with Lira turning you down again on top of everything else…”

Reno shook his head and seemed to brace himself for something.

“‘Lena… Lira didn’t turn me down last night,” he said, sounding somewhat nervous. The rookie blinked in surprise.

“She… didn’t? But you said…”

“I said she’s always turned me down before.” He sighed softly, and turned onto the freeway. “Sorry… I was gonna explain shit last night, but Del wasn’t lettin’ up on me, and I didn’t want to give him more ammo than he already had… so I figured I’d wait ’til I could getcha alone.”

“What’s going on?” Elena asked, suddenly intrigued.

“Lira’s not goin’ back to Wall Market.”

The rookie snorted softly in amusement, “Well, I gathered that when you said she didn’t turn you down again.”

“… She’s not goin’ back ’cause… she’s pregnant.”

Elena’s jaw dropped slightly. That was unexpected. “I… Wow. Um… is she… I don’t know… okay with it?” she asked awkwardly. She wasn’t sure if congratulations would be in order or not. She didn’t really know Lira all that well… and she certainly didn’t know what the woman thought of having a baby.

Reno laughed softly. “Oh, she’s thrilled… Which kinda caught me a little by surprise since she’s never even talked about wantin’ a kid, but…” He shrugged, trailing off. He sobered quickly and looked over at the rookie. “Thing is though…” he began, only to pause mid-thought with a decidedly worried expression on his face.

“What?” Elena asked.

“Ah, fuck it… no sense in drawin’ this out,” he muttered. “Uh… accordin’ to Ward, Lira’s somewhere around two and a half months along.”

The rookie frowned in confusion. “Why would that matter?”

“‘Lena… How long have we been seein’ each other?” he asked.

“Two months, twos weeks and four days…”

Reno’s gaze quickly went straight to Elena, taking his eyes away from the road. “You know down to the day?”

“Reno!”

He hurriedly jerked the wheel, sending the car swerving back into his lane.

Elena was gripping the sides of her seat painfully tight. “Please try not to kill us.”

“Sorry…”

“Anyway, what’s that got to do with Lira?” she asked, relaxing slightly.

“Lira probably got pregnant right around the same time as your friend’s wedding. Which means… I mighta still been sleepin’ with her…”

“W-what?”

The redhead swallowed and took a breath. “There’s at least a chance that it could be mine.”

She didn’t know what to say. Elena was well aware of Reno’s habits before she’d come along and claimed him for herself. And she certainly wasn’t naïve enough to not have realized that there was the possibility of something like this… She’d thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. But it was somehow different when it was really happening. For some reason she felt incredibly betrayed… which made no sense at all because she hadn’t even considered the possibility of being with Reno before Chai’s wedding. It wasn’t as if she had any say in his sex life before she was even a part of it.

“Please say somethin’, ‘Lena…”

“… What do you want me to say?” she managed at last. She really was at a loss… it was a lot to take in, and she couldn’t quite put a label on what she was feeling right now.

“Anything. Tell me you forgive me. Or swear at me for bein’ such a fuckin’ manwhore. Hell, give me a minute to pull over and you can swear at me while you beat the shit outta me. Just… don’t stop talkin’ to me. Please?”

Elena stared out at the road. She didn’t want to yell at him, or hit him, or even just be angry at him. But she wasn’t sure she was quite ready to move past the whole thing, either. She just… didn’t know what to say.

So for the time being, she said nothing.

---

Rude rolled his eyes behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses as he watched the rookie slip out the door on her way to the archives. Reno didn’t even look up. He’d been quiet all day.

“What the hell’d you do now?” he finally asked once Elena had disappeared into the hallway.

“Fucked up,” the redhead said, miserably.

“Hmph. Figured that much… but what’d you do?”

Reno shoved himself back from his desk, and scrubbed his face with both hands. “It more about who I did…”

The bald Turk blinked in shock. “You cheated on her?” he asked, in disbelief.

The redhead suddenly looked up up him. “What?! No! Fuck, no… I’d never do that to ‘Lena.”

Rude shook his head. “Alright… back up and let’s try this again. What the hell’d you do now?”

“Lira’s pregnant. Couple months.”

“… And it’s yours?” he asked, following the train of thought to its logical conclusion.

“Don’t know yet. Could be.”

“I take it Elena’s not exactly pleased…”

Reno groaned and let his head hit his desktop. “I can’t even tell, man. I don’t know if she’s pissed at me, or disappointed, or just bidin’ her time ’til she can get me alone and strangle me. She’s hardly said a word to me since I told her. Thing is, she doesn’t actually seem like she’s mad or anything… I just get kind of a blank look from her. Like she hasn’t decided how she feels yet.”

“Maybe she hasn’t.”

“Yeah. Maybe… Or maybe she’s just tryin’ to figure out the least painful way to tell me this isn’t what she signed up for,” he mused. “Either way… I feel like I fucked up royally, even though I technically didn’t do anything wrong.” He sank down, resting his chin on one hand and staring blankly at the computer monitor on this desk.

“Might not be yours…”

“Yeah,” he vaguely acknowledged.

“Might be getting yourself worked up over nothing.”

“Yeah.”

Rude rolled his eyes again. “Might have to drag you down to Ward and see if she’s got something to perk you up.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not even listening anymore, are you?”

“Yeah.”

“Tseng said you’re on Scarlet’s personal detail for the rest of the week.”

“Yeah – Wait… What?!”

Rude smirked slightly. “Had to say something to snap you out of it…”

“Not funny.”

“… You gonna be alright?”

“You mean if she dumps my sorry ass?”

“In general,” Rude replied. He already knew his friend wouldn’t be alright if he lost Elena. That was a given. But the last thing the redhead needed was to get himself completely preoccupied with something that may simply turn out to be nothing at all. Distraction wasn’t exactly conducive to staying alive in their line of work.

“I’ll manage,” he muttered, “Hey… You doin’ anything tonight? I was plannin’ on goin’ over to ‘Lena’s place again, but… I’m not so sure she wants me around right now. And her brother’s already half-convinced I’m scum, so I don’t think I should be pushin’ my luck.”

“… I… kind of have a date,” he admitted. Reno looked up, suddenly more interested in conversation than he’d seemed all day.

“Oh, yeah?”

Rude hadn’t been planning on telling anyone… not even Reno. But desperate times…

“It’s kind of a blind date.”

“Who set ya up?” the redhead asked, eying him suspiciously, and the bald Turk had a feeling that he was going to regret the fact that he’d – somewhat drunkenly – mentioned that he’d signed up on a dating website for foodies during their last visit to the Phoenix Nest.

“…”

“… You didn’t,” Reno moaned. “Thought you said you only made that account for a laugh…”

“… She seemed nice in her profile,” he shrugged. “I can always break it if you need some company.”

Reno shook his head. “Nah… Don’t do that. Wouldn’t wanna ruin what may be your one shot at true love,” the redhead replied with a sarcastic smirk, “I’ll find somethin’ to keep me busy.”

“You sure?”

“Tch… yeah. I can entertain myself. Or I guess I could always see what Tseng’s up to. ‘Cause ya know he doesn’t have a date tonight…”

“Which reminds me,” Rude cut in, “Tseng checked in while you were over in Sector 8 this morning. He’ll be in Junon for another day or two.”

“The fuck’s Rufus got the boss doin’?” Reno asked, brow furrowing in thought.

Rude shrugged. “Didn’t say.”

“Looks like I’m on my own, then.” He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. Rude sighed but before he could repeat his offer to skip out on meeting up with Diana36 that evening, his partner cut him off. “I already told ya to go ahead and go on your date. ‘Least tonight won’t suck for one of us…”

---

It had been a long, awkward ride home. Elena had still been a little consumed by her own thoughts, and Reno hadn’t made much of an effort to break in on them… though by the time they’d reached her apartment, she was starting to wish he had. She wanted to talk to him. She just didn’t know where to start, and that seemed to be making it impossible to start at all.

It wasn’t until she was already out of the car that she realized that he didn’t intend to accompany her up to her apartment.

With a resigned sigh, she trudged to the elevator and rode it up to the eighth floor. She’d call him later, after Del and Nana went to bed. She might still not have known was she was going to say, but she’d already learned her lesson about letting things, as Tseng had put it, fester too long. She wasn’t going to make that mistake a second time.

“Sweet pea, you look like you’ve had the longest day anyone’s ever seen,” Josephine commented as soon she walked through the door. The old woman trundled over to her, and wrapped an arm around her, hustling her over to the couch. “Why don’t you come tell Nana all about it?” Elena smiled, and sat down beside her snuggling against her grandmother’s side.

“Now then,” she continued, “Where’s that pretty little redhead of yours? I’m making him something special tonight to make up for the way Delion was treating him last night.”

“We had a… not a fight, exactly, but… something. He’s not coming tonight…”

“Oh, Elena, honey… What happened?”

“When he went to see Lira last night, she told him something…” the rookie began, “And it might affect me and Reno.”

“What in the wide world did she say to him, dear?” Josephine prodded.

“That she’s… She’s pregnant. And Reno might be the father.”

“I see…” her grandmother replied. “And he decided to turn himself in and come clean, rather than hope it’s not his and risk you finding out about his little indiscretion nine months from now.”

Elena shook her head in denial. “No! It’s not like that, Nana. Reno… Reno wouldn’t do that. He and Lira were together before there was anything going on between us. She was pregnant before we started seeing each other… she just didn’t know it until the other day.”

“Well… that does make things a bit complicated, now, doesn’t it? Especially if the mother expects him to takeresponsibility. Does she?”

“I… I didn’t ask…” Elena said, realization that she’d been focused on only one part of problem hitting her out of nowhere. She’d been worried about her own feelings. She’d hardly taken any time to consider Reno’s, and Lira’s really hadn’t entered into the equation at all.

“Is he planning to stay with her if the baby does turn out to be his?”

“I didn’t ask that either…” Though she doubted it. Not unless Lira demanded it, anyway… and even then, she wasn’t sure Reno would so easily leave her for his former lover. But she knew Reno well enough to know that he’d feel obligated to do everything he could for Lira and the baby.

Josephine smiled indulgently. “Then whatever were you two fighting about?”

“We weren’t really fighting…” the rookie admitted, “We just… I just… didn’t know what he expected me to think. I’m still not sure what I think.”

“Elena, sweetheart… Do you want to know what I think is really bothering you?”

Elena sighed softly and nodded.

“I think that what’s really got you upset is the idea that your Reno might suddenly have a connection with someone else. A very strong and important connection… and one that you’re just not ready for yet yourself, no matter how in love you two are,” Josephine said sagely.

The rookie didn’t answer right away. Her grandmother, as was her habit, seemed to have put into words exactly what she hadn’t been able to grasp herself.

“You know, Elena… Poor Reno’s probably half-terrified right now. Not just because of the baby, which is enough to reduce any man to a quivering mass, believe me… but he’s likely worried about you, too. Especially if you took the news so badly…”

“… I know. I was planning on calling him later.”

“I have a better idea,” Josephine said, smiling warmly. “Why don’t you go and get him? We’ll have a nice dinner… and I will make damned sure that your brother leaves him be this time.”

Elena returned the smile and sat up. “I think he’d like that.” She glanced around her apartment, realizing for the first time since she’d walked in that she and her grandmother were alone. “Nana? Where is Del, anyway?”

“I sent him out to pick up a few things for my special shortcake for dessert,” she replied, and paused thoughtfully, “Though I really thought he’d have been back by now…”

---

Del stepped out of the elevator, walking swiftly towards his sister’s apartment. Why Nana felt that creep deserved to be treated to shortcake tonight still eluded him. It was bad enough he’d have to sit through another dinner with him.

He sighed and reminded himself that he was supposed to be giving Reno a chance. And, he supposed, the redhead really wasn’t such a bad guy, overall… He’d been willing to sacrifice himself for Nana not so long ago. He’d looked after El when their brother had died. And perhaps most importantly, he seemed to make his sister happy. Still… something about the idea of the man being more than friendly toward her just rubbed him the wrong way.

He pushed open the door to Elena’s apartment, a little surprised to hear voices from within, and internally groaned as he realized that it must have meant the pair were already back.

“We had a… not a fight, exactly, but… something. He’s not coming tonight…”

Del paused in the doorway, silenced by his own shock.

“Oh, Elena, honey… What happened?” their grandmother asked.

“When he went to see Lira last night, she told him something… And it might affect me and Reno.”

“What in the wide world did she say to him, dear?”

Del was wondering that, too. Whatever it was, it must have been big if Elena was suddenly having second thoughts about her precious, perfect redhead.

“That she’s… She’s pregnant. And Reno might be the father.”

“I see…” Nana replied. “And he decided to turn himself in and come clean, rather than hope it’s not his and risk you finding out about his little indiscretion nine months from now.”

Whatever else might have been said, Del didn’t hear. He was already on his way back out the door, fists clenched tightly in anger. He knew he’d been right about that slum rat.

---

Reno growled, annoyed, and chucked the controller across the couch in a huff. It bounced off a throw pillow and landed on the carpet with a soft thunk. He just wasn’t in the mood for games tonight, and the fact that his avatar had just been reduced to a pile of ashes for the sixth time only served to drive that point home.

More than anything, he wanted to talk to Elena… but he was afraid that might just make things worse if she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. He stood up and meandered towards the kitchen. He hadn’t had dinner yet… though to be honest, his appetite was about as dead as his level 78 thief/assassin currently was. He really hadn’t been hungry all day, and had skipped out on lunch entirely, not even making the attempt… On top of that, he’d done little more than pick at his dinner the night before, no matter how much Josephine had insisted he eat. The lack of food was starting to make him dizzy at this point, and he knew he should eat something before it got any worse.

The redhead sighed and opened the fridge, grimacing at just how unappealing everything looked right now. Finally, he gave up and decided to order a pizza. Before he closed the door, though, he grabbed a beer. Reno briefly considered making himself something a little stronger, but just as quickly decided against it. Resilient as he was, hard liquor on an empty stomach tended to override his usual level of tolerance fairly quickly… and hard liquor on an empty stomach that had been empty for the better part of twenty four hours would likely just result in the mother of all hangovers in the morning, even if he did finally get some food into him.

He cracked open the bottle and took a swig, before dialing his favorite place.

Reno was a little surprised when, hardly twenty minutes later, someone knocked on his door. They were always fast, but that had to be a new record, he mused as he answered it.

Unfortunately for him, his visitor wasn’t his usual delivery girl. And between being distracted by his problems with Elena and being at less than his best physically at the moment, unexpectedly having a fist slam into his head almost as soon he opened the door sent him to the floor. Hard.

“You bastard!” a voice growled at him as he was trying to right himself. The redhead suddenly found himself seized by the front of his shirt, and slammed against the ground a second time. He yelped loudly at the sharp pain the impact sent through his skull, and blinked, slightly dazed, up at his attacker as he tried to shield himself from the next blow. His eyes widened slightly as he realized who it was, and he only just managed to stop himself from reaching for his backup weapon, even as Del’s fist nailed him in the stomach. Elena might eventually be willing to overlook the situation with Lira, but he didn’t think she’d be especially forgiving if he put a bullet or two in her brother.

Though if he didn’t do something soon, her brother looked more than angry enough to put a bullet or two in him. Given that, at the moment, Del definitely had the upper hand, Reno kind of hoped he wasn’t armed…

“You stay the hell away from my sister!” the other man shouted, fist raised, and there was little the redhead could do to stop it from connecting with his face.

The next thing he knew was blackness.

---

Elena paused as she stepped off the elevator. She felt guilty. She’d been acting almost like Reno didn’t even exist all day, and all because she was too self-involved to just sit down and talk to him. She supposed she had a good reason… the redhead had caught her by complete surprise with the news. Somehow, a part of her had just shut down. But that was no excuse for her treating him the way she had.

With a sigh, she started towards his apartment. The worst part was that he was probably afraid that this would end things between them. That she’d decided that he really wasn’t good enough for her. She was beginning to think he had things backwards. Just days ago, he’d called her ‘perfect’.

Elena didn’t feel especially perfect right now.

She stopped in front of his door and reached out to knock… surprised when it slowly swung open a crack at her touch.

“Reno?” she called out, cautiously. This didn’t feel right, and her fingers instinctively curled around her gun as she pushed it open the rest of the way. The sight that greeted her left her chilled.

The redhead was flat on his back on the floor just inside the apartment. His nose was bleeding and so was his lower lip, and a deep blackish purple bruise encircled one eye, stretching down across his cheek.

“Reno?!” the rookie gasped. She hurried to check on him and, finding a pulse at least, turned her attention to the rest of the apartment. The rookie checked every room, making sure whoever had attacked him wasn’t still lurking, before returning to his side. Reno moaned softly as she touched him, checking for injuries beyond what was immediately visible. There didn’t seem to be anything life-threatening.

Her first instinct was to hunt down whoever had done this… though she successfully managed to repress that for the moment. Her second instinct was to call Dr. Ward. Before she could pull up the physician’s number on her PHS, however, the redhead’s eyes fluttered open.

“I’m noticin’ a definite pattern here,” Reno groaned upon seeing her, slowly pushing himself off the floor. One hand tentatively prodded his injured nose, causing him to wince. He pulled his hand away, looking at the sheen of blood on his fingertips. “Every time we fight about somethin’, I end up gettin’ my ass kicked by some psycho…”

“A-are you alright? What happened?” she asked, and helped him to his feet. Elena guided him over to a chair and sat him down, and then went to retrieve a wet cloth to clean up the blood. He flinched as she gently wiped his split lip. “Sorry…”

“Answered the door and got sucker-punched.”

“What?!” Elena breathed.

“Thought it was the pizza girl. It wasn’t. First punch laid me out flat, next one sent me to dreamland. What are you doin’ here, anyway? I figured you’d be hangin’ out with Nana and your brother.”

“I came over to get you. Nana’s making her famous shortcake for dessert tonight… just for you,” She bit down lightly on her lower lip, for a moment as she finished cleaning him up. “I’m so sorry, Reno. The way I’ve been acting all day… that was just cruel. I just… I think I was kind of in shock.”

“Yeah… I know the feeling.” The redhead pinched his nostrils shut and leaned forward in an effort to stem the nosebleed.

“Hang on. I’ll get you some ice…”

“Grab me some aspirin, too, will ya, ‘Lena?”

The rookie hurried off to fetch the requested painkillers and the ice, returning moments later. Reno sighed as the cold pack was pressed against his bruised cheek. Once that was taken care of, Elena returned her attention to her phone.

“Who the fuck are you callin’?” he asked, vaguely confused.

“Dr. Ward… and then Rude, since Tseng is still in Junon,” she stated matter-of-factly. Reno nimbly plucked the device out of her hand before she could dial.

“Tch… Don’t waste their time.”

“Reno! You were attacked… and you’re hurt.”

“Doubt he’s comin’ back to finish the job… and this isn’t anywhere near serious enough to justify botherin’ the Doc at home.”

“How do you know he won’t come back?”

The redhead hesitated a moment before answering. “Look… just trust me on this one, and drop it, ‘kay? I had it comin’.”

“Reno…” She looked at him oddly, wondering what he could have done that would have made him feel that a surprise beating was justified.

“More importantly… Are we okay?” he asked, looking up at her, beseechingly. Elena leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.

The rookie pulled back a little and kissed him, carefully avoiding the cut on his lip. “Reno… you’re mine, and I’m not giving you up. Anything else, we’ll figure out.” She felt him relax slightly in her arms.

“I ever tell ya how much I love it when you get all possessive like that?” the redhead asked with a soft laugh.

Elena blushed, and awkwardly stammered, “I… I didn’t mean it like… like I think of you as something I own…”

Reno grinned and nuzzled her. “You can think of me however you want, ‘Lena… I’m yours for as long as you’re willing to keep me…”

“What if I want to keep you forever?” she asked, smiling.

“I hope you do. Nothing could make me happier.”

The rookie snuck in one more teasing kiss, and stood up. “You’re starting to sound like a romance novel again…”

“Yeah, well… fortunately, Rude thinks I’ll eventually quit doin’ that, so I’m not gonna worry about it for now,” he smirked, “Unless it starts gettin’ worse. And then I might have to take drastic measures, before I lose what little dignity I have left.”

She laughed, and tugged him to his feet. “Are you up for dinner at my place, or not? Nana would love to feed you… especially once she finds out about this… but she’ll understand if you’d rather just take it easy tonight.”

Reno shook his head. “I’m starved… kinda literally… but to be honest, I just want to lay down and wait for my face to stop throbbing.”

“How about I head home and bring something back for the two of us? Nana and Del won’t miss me for one night…”

“You don’t have to… You barely get to see ’em. Don’t worry about me. ‘Sides… pizza oughta be here any minute, anyway.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “For Shiva’s sake, Reno… Pizza? Again?”

“I like pizza,” he shrugged. He grimaced slightly as a wave of lightheadedness hit him without warning.

“Reno?” The concern in the rookie’s voice didn’t go unnoticed.

“Relax… I’m fine. Just haven’t eaten all day is all.” He settled himself on the couch he’d vacated not so long ago and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the cushions, before peeking one eye open again. “Don’t give me that look…”

Elena crossed her arms stubbornly, and frowned. “That’s it. You stay right there, and don’t move. I’m going home, bringing back dinner, and force-feeding you for the next two hours.”

Reno’s eyebrows rose in amusement. “Believe me, ‘Lena… you put food in front of me right now, you’re not gonna have to force anything…”

---

“Oh! Good… You’re back. The roast is very nearly ready, and the cake is in the oven,” Josephine said, amiably, as she bustled between the kitchen and Elena’s dining room. As she saw the expression her granddaughter wore, however, she stopped. “Elena? Whatever’s wrong? And where’s Reno?”

“Someone… attacked him. A few minutes before I got there,” the rookie began. Her grandmother gasped softly, and she hurried to add, “He’s okay… just not really feeling up to a family dinner right now…”

“Well, of course he’s not…” Josephine huffed, as Del walked into the room to see what was going on. “Who would hurt that sweet boy?”

Elena shook her head. “I’m pretty sure he knows who it was, but all he’d say was that he had it coming. Nana? Could you pack a few things up for him? He hasn’t eaten all day… I think because he’s been so worried about me being upset.”

“Just give me ten more minutes on that roast…” she replied, hurrying back into the kitchen.

“So… he didn’t say anything about the guy that beat him up?” Del asked.

“No… but when I find out who it was, I’m going to do twice the damage to them,” she said, angrily, as she brushed past him and into her bedroom. She returned a few minutes later with a freshly loaded clip, which she slid neatly into her weapon, and a spare. “He doesn’t think they’ll come back… but I’m not taking any chances,” she explained at her brother’s questioning gaze.

“El…”

“It’s bad enough I’ve been awful to him all day when he didn’t even do anything to deserve it. He was supposed to have been here tonight. If he had been, he’d have been fine,” Elena continued, ignoring her brother and forcing down a quiet sob, “He thought I wouldn’t want him here…”

“Uhh…”

“Oh… that’s right, I forgot. You were running an errand for Nana when I got home earlier, weren’t you?” she said, shaking her head. “I must sound like a complete lunatic right now…”

And Del was, indeed, looking at her, somewhat confused. She really couldn’t blame him. Before Lira’s kidnapping, she and Reno had been all but attached at the hip. Now she was going on about what a terrible person she was for treating him so badly.

“It’s a long story,” she sighed, “But the short version is that Lira’s pregnant… and she and Reno… well, it was before there was ever anything between us… and they haven’t… I mean, not since Reno and I have been together… but it’s just, the timing. It could still be his. And I freaked out a little when he told me.” Her shoulders sagged slightly with guilt. “That’s why he didn’t come home with me tonight…”

“… El… There’s something I should…”

“Elena?” Josephine interrupted, holding out what looked to be a small banquet packaged and ready to travel, “Here… Now you take that straight over to him and make sure he eats every bite.” The rookie grunted softly as she hefted it, and wondered if the woman had somehow managed to fit the entire dinner for four into that little bundle. “I’m afraid the cake won’t be quite ready for a bit.”

She smiled and waved her off. “That’s alright, Nana… Reno won’t mind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous… Del and I will bring some over to the two of you just as soon as it’s done,” Josephine responded, dismissively, “Now you go on and feed my little redhead for me.”

Elena suddenly found herself being shooed out of her own apartment. She cast Del a quick wave, and for a moment thought she spotted an odd expression on his face, but before she could give it too much thought, she was hustled out into the hallway by her grandmother.

---

“Mmph…”

“Come on…”

“Mmph.”

“Pleeeease? Just one more?”

Reno rolled his eyes. Apparently vaguely negative-sounding grunts weren’t going to cut it. He glared half-heartedly at Elena. The woman was gently prodding his firmly sealed lips with a forkful of meat. Not that it didn’t smell delicious… and, he already knew, tasted even better than it smelled… but he’d already managed to down most of an extra large sausage and mushroom pizza, along with nearly everything Josephine had sent over. If he kept going, he was fairly certain he was going to find out whether or not it was possible for a person to eat themselves to death…

“For fuck’s sake, ‘Lena, I ca– Mmph!”

He’d underestimated her determination. The second Elena had seen an opening, the food had gone in. She grinned in triumph.

“Okay… Seriously, ‘Lena… No more. I admit defeat. Nana fucking wins. I can’t take any more…” he pleaded around his newly acquired mouthful of food. His girlfriend giggled, clearly amused. The redhead, meanwhile, gave a soft groan and leaned back against the pillow that was propping him up as he lay on the couch.

“You should have known better than to start in on that pizza when you knew I was coming back with all this,” she laughed.

Reno groaned again and shook his head. “Not that I don’t appreciate good cooking, but could you please explain to her that I just don’t gain weight?”

“It won’t matter.”

“How the fuck are you not four hundred pounds by now?”

“I only see Nana once or twice a year,” Elena responded, snickering and packing up the few leftovers.

“… ‘kay… Now explain your brother,” the redhead said, dryly. She leaned in and kissed him.

“I’m not even going to try…” she replied, smirking. “How’s your head?”

“Headache’s mostly gone… nose still hurts like a bitch, though,” he grumbled softly, “Think it might be broken… which I s’pose means you’re gonna make me go see Ward first thing tomorrow…”

Elena frowned, lightly stroking his hair back from his face. The bruising around his eye had darkened considerably in the last hour or so, though the ice pack seemed to have at least kept most of the swelling at bay. “Are you going to tell me who did this?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because. I don’t want you doin’ something you’re gonna regret just on my account,” he said, smirking slightly, “Oh, sure, you’re bein’ extra nice to me… but do you really think I can’t tell exactly how pissed off you are right now?”

The rookie stubbornly folded her arms across her chest. “So what makes you so sure I won’t be pissed off at you for not telling me so I can go pay them back…”

“Heh… I’ll take the risk. Rather have ya mad about that than mad at me about Lira…”

Elena sighed and settled herself on the floor beside the couch, leaning her head against Reno’s side. “I was never mad about that… I was just…” She blushed slightly and shook her head.

“Just what?” Reno asked, propping himself up slightly on his elbows.

“In a weird way, I think I’m kind of jealous,” the rookie said, chuckling a little. “I mean… I don’t know if kids are in our future or not. And even if they are, it won’t be for years still. It’s weird thinking that you might be having one now… without me. I-I never even asked… What’s Lira going to do if it is yours?”

Reno shrugged, and laid back down. “Not really sure. I don’t think she’ll decide to get rid of it, if that’s what you’re askin’…”

“No. No… That’s not… I just meant, what does she expect from you if it turns out to be yours?”

“Nothin’.”

“What do you mean ‘nothing’?” Elena asked, with a confused expression.

“Exactly that… She told me point blank I’m off the hook, even if it’s mine. Can’t really say I’d be okay with actually doin’ nothing, though. I mean… My kid, my responsibility. And besides… it’s Lira. I can’t just ignore shit with her. I owe her better than that… But Lira’s not expectin’ me to start a family with her.” He suddenly laughed. “Far as that goes, I don’t think she’d let me… she’s put too much effort into gettin’ me and you together to fuck it up now.”

Reno’s fingers wrapped around her hand, coaxing her to join him on the couch. The rookie grinned and obeyed, stretching out on top of him and nestling her head against his chest as his arms encircled her.

“Think I’m finally startin’ to believe you’re not goin’ anywhere…” he murmured against her hair.

“Good,” Elena giggled, “Because constantly having to tell you that is a real pain in the ass.”

Before he could come up with an even remotely witty retort, there was a knock at the door.

“Oh… that’ll be Nana. She was going to bring over the rest of dinner when it was ready…”

Reno moaned in exaggerated misery. “Oh, dear Ifrit… no more food…” he whimpered.

“It’s cake…” Elena said, teasingly. The redhead immediately perked up.

“Cake?” he echoed, “… I could maybe do cake…”

The rookie laughed and got to her feet, heading for the door. As expected, Josephine was outside, a pan of shortcake balanced on one hand, and a bowl of fresh berries cradled in the other. Del stood, somewhat awkwardly, beside her with a second bowl, this one filled with whipped cream.

“Well? Where is he?” Josephine asked, as Elena relieved her of her burden. She didn’t have time to answer… Her grandmother almost immediately zeroed in on the couch’s sole occupant. “Oh… you poor thing… Just look at you.”

Elena snickered, watching as Reno, with a slightly panicked expression on his face, was poked and prodded and examined until Josephine was satisfied that he was still in one piece, before finally being cuddled into submission.

“This might be too much attention even for Reno,” she said, as she ushered Del inside.

“El… I need to tell you –” her brother began, only to be interrupted once again by his grandmother.

“Delion… You come over here and sit with Reno while your sister and I see to that cake.”

He sighed and passed his bowl over to Elena. “Fine…”

As the pair of women headed for the kitchenette, he awkwardly took a seat near the redhead.

“I… might have over-reacted a little…” Del said after a few moments of tense silence between the two of them, keeping his voice low.

“Ya think?” Reno responded, just as quietly.

“I’m… sorry, okay? I only got part of the story. I was just so ticked off at the thought of someone doing that to El that I…”

“Save it. I’da done the same thing.”

“So… are you going to tell her or should I?”

Reno shook his head. “Keep your mouth shut. I’m not tellin’ her and neither are you.”

“What? Why not?” Del asked, looking up at him in shock.

“‘Cause she’s way beyond pissed at the person who came after me. Right now, she thinks it was just some random lowlife with a grudge. But for the record… I’m only givin’ you a pass on this ’cause knowin’ it was you would cut her pretty deep, and I don’t want that. Fuck with me again, I’m not gonna be quite so forgiving.”

“Got it,” Del replied. He gave a short, somewhat mirthless laugh, “I’m big enough to admit that I screwed up. Pretty epically, this time. I was just trying to protect her, you know…”

“Yeah, I do know. That’s why you’re not in worse shape than I am right now. Anyone else would’ve become intimately acquainted with my backup weapon,” the redhead said, smirking.

“Who wants cake?” Josephine suddenly called from the kitchenette, and the conversation ceased as both men’s attention was redirected to Elena and her grandmother, who were carrying out plates of shortcake heaped with berries and whipped cream.

---

“… Seriously?”

Reno shrugged as he meandered into the office, taking a seat and propping his feet up on his desk. Rude glanced over at Elena… who had beaten Reno into the office by fifteen minutes. And, he mused, judging by his partner’s face, it was quite possible she had simply beaten him, as well… though the rookie didn’t seem especially upset this morning. He wondered if Reno’s lateness was just the redhead’s usual laziness or if Elena had insisted on him paying a visit to the medical suite. The band across the bridge of his nose seemed to back up the latter theory.

“What’d you do now?” he sighed. It was becoming an increasingly common inquiry. The redhead shot him a glare.

“Would ya quit automatically assumin’ that it’s always something I’ve done? Can’t a guy just get his ass kicked for no particular reason once in awhile?”

“What’d he do now?” Rude asked, turning to Elena instead. Reno casually flipped him off from across the room, and the bald Turk smirked.

“He won’t tell me, either. Someone decided to pay him a visit last night and leave him looking like that.”

“It’s nothin’ anyone’s gotta worry about. I ticked someone off, got what was comin’ to me, and now it’s over. End of story.”

“The other guy get it worse, at least?”

Reno shrugged again. “Depends on how ya look at it. Anyway… what’s on the agenda for today? Anything interesting?”

“Subtle,” Rude dryly commented at his partner’s attempt to change the subject. “But no, not really. Got an interrogation to deal with later… you want it?”

“Nah… I took the last one. Boss’s turn. Speakin’ of which… you seen him yet?”

Rude shook his head.

“Fuck, man… is Rufus plannin’ on movin’ him to Junon permanently?”

“I’m sure the idea has crossed his mind once or twice, but no. What in Leviathan’s name have you done now, Reno?”

The redhead let out a surprised yelp and tried to sit up, very nearly tilting his chair backwards far enough to spill himself out of it. He only just managed to recover in time, before turning to face his superior with a glare.

“One… Did you get even quieter while you were gone? And two, why is it always somethin’ I’ve done? For all you know maybe ‘Lena accidentally elbowed me during a practice session…”

“Did she?” Tseng asked, a faint smile on his lips.

“… Uh… no,” he sheepishly admitted, “I kinda got punched out by a guy after work. But that’s not the point!”

“Oh?” the Turk leader chuckled, “And just what is the point?”

“Umm…” He was pretty sure he’d had one when this all started. Whatever it had been, it was gone now. Reno huffed and leaned back in his chair again, “Ah, fuck it anyway. You finally gonna tell us what Rufus had you doin’ in Junon, or what?”

Tseng smiled slightly and glanced over at the rookie. “Ah… good. You weren’t able to weasel that information out of Elena, then.”

To be honest, so much had been going on over the last couple of days, Reno had entirely forgotten that she had been the one who’d dropped Tseng off in Junon to begin with. He hadn’t even tried to coax her into telling him… an oversight he was now kicking himself for.

“I suppose you’ll want to see the finished product?” the Wutaiian Turk asked her, teasingly ignoring the others.

“Yes, sir!” Elena replied, grinning widely as he gestured towards the door behind him and escorted her out. Reno scrambled to his feet, as did Rude a moment later.

“H-hey! Wait for us!” the redhead shouted.

The four of them stepped into the elevator and Tseng pressed the button for the parking deck.

“Road trip?” Reno queried, curious. The Turk leader smiled knowingly.

“Not exactly…”

The redhead’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “The fuck are you so happy about?”

Tseng didn’t answer, as the elevator chose that very moment to arrive at their destination. He stepped out, leading them towards the Turks’ reserved spaces.

Rude’s truck was the first thing that caught Reno’s eye. It was hard not to notice that monstrosity… the damned thing was huge. His own blue convertible was parked beside it, and the space on the opposite side was empty, Elena having carpooled with him again this morning. He had fully expected the fourth space to be empty as well…

“Holy shit…”

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Tseng replied.

“Can I drive it?” Reno asked.

“No.”

Rude and Elena broke into quiet snickering at the response, which earned them both a glare from the redhead.

“But I will show you what it can do…” the Turk leader added.

“Shotgun,” Rude cut in before Reno could lay claim to the front seat.

“Fuck that!” The redhead darted towards the sleek black car, but Rude caught him before he could really take off, lifting the smaller man bodily off the ground and setting him down beside Elena before hurrying to acquire his preferred seat. Reno blinked in surprise at having been manhandled out of his prize. It took him a moment to recover. Tseng shook his head, laughing.

“Sometimes I truly wonder if I’m supervising Turks or small children…” he sighed, making his way around to the driver’s side. Elena giggled and tugged Reno towards the back. Once everyone had settled in, Tseng started the engine.

“So how’d you talk Rufus into buildin’ you a new car?” Reno asked as they pulled out of the space.

“I didn’t. Elena did.”

Both Reno and Rude turned to stare at the rookie, looking impressed. Elena blushed slightly.

“I… I didn’t really talk him into anything…” she stammered, “I just sort of… happened to mention what happened to the old one. I wasn’t even trying to imply anything.”

“… Next time ya run into Rufus, maybe offhandedly mention that I could really use a new beach house in Costa del Sol, huh?” Reno joked. He grinned and wrapped an arm around Elena as the car pulled into traffic. “Ya know… We’ve never made out in the back seat of a car before. And this is an awfully nice back seat…”

Tseng suddenly floored it as they hit the freeway, pressing both Turks in the back firmly into their seats for a moment. “Keep your hands to yourself and put your seatbelt on, Reno,” the Turk leader firmly interjected.

---

By Friday, things were largely back to normal. Tseng was happily commuting in his new car – which Reno continued to hint at wanting to test drive, and the Turk leader continued to refuse to let him anywhere near unsupervised – and Elena was, once again, happily commuting with Reno while her house guests used her own car.

Even though the thought hadn’t even occurred to her right off the bat, knowing that Lira wasn’t planning to take Reno from her if he turned out to be the father of her child made Elena feel considerably better about the entire situation. She wouldn’t have gone as far as to say that she was thrilled by any of it… but it seemed slightly less daunting now. Reno, meanwhile, was just happy to be back in the rookie’s good graces… though he seemed to be making a point of not bring up the subject of Lira’s baby if it was at all possible to avoid it.

Tonight, though, he was going to find that difficult, Elena thought to herself, as the pair walked through the doors of Midgar General. Lira wasn’t being released just yet… but Ward had promised it would be soon. Possibly sometime next week… though she would still be expected to rest and take it easy for awhile.

“So… uh… ‘Lena, I’ve been thinkin’…” Reno began, as they waited for the elevator, and Elena couldn’t help but notice that he sounded slightly nervous, “Lira’s gettin’ outta here pretty soon…”

“Right…”

“And she’s gonna need a place to stay… and someone close by to look after her…”

“Well… yeah…”

“So I guess what I’m askin’ is… How weird would it be for you if she maybe… moved into your place for awhile? I mean, just ’til she’s a little more mobile and can handle bein’ on her own full time. I’d let her come stay with me, but I don’t have an extra room, and you do…” he said, somewhat breathlessly, before quickly adding, “And don’t feel like you have to say yes. I haven’t mentioned the idea to Lira or anything. I just wanna get this shit figured out before they let her out of this place…”

Elena had to try very hard not to giggle at his pleading expression. “Nana and Del are still here for another week, you know…” she pointed out, “But once they head home… I guess it would be alright if Lira stayed for awhile.”

Reno sighed in relief, and stepped into the elevator car when it arrived. “You’re really okay with it?”

“I’m okay with it,” Elena replied, “You’re all Lira has up here on the Plate, and I know you’ll drive yourself completely crazy if you’re worried about her all the time. Besides… I like Lira.”

“Have I told you lately how awesome you are?” the redhead asked, grinning.

“No,” she laughed, “You haven’t.”

Reno’s arms wrapped around her and he pulled her tight against him. “You’re awesome, ‘Lena.” He kissed her deeply. Neither of them noticed the elevator doors opening until someone outside loudly cleared their throat. Elena squeaked in surprised and pushed away from her lover, whipping around to find the source of the interruption.

“Have yeh come ta check in on yer friend, or do yeh just have a thing for elevators now?”

“Heh… Hey, Doc. How’s Lira?” Reno asked, nonchalantly, stepping into the hallway. Elena trailed behind him, somewhat red-faced. She was definitely going to have to start encouraging him to be a little more discrete.

“Yeh can ask her yerself,” Ward replied, “She wide awake, and I think a little desperate for visitors after her mako therapy earlier…”

“How’s that going?” Elena piped up. Technically, it wasn’t yet available to the general public, as it was still classified as experimental by the Biologics department, and there was some danger of mako poisoning that went along with it. Being a Shinra employee, though, she’d experienced it once herself, after she’d broken her leg on the Great Glacier, and she was pretty sure Reno was extremely familiar with it. It really hadmade a huge difference in how quickly she’d healed. Ward had pulled some strings as a favor to Reno, and gotten Lira approved as a candidate. They started down the hall towards Lira’s room.

“Amazing technology, that,” Ward replied, “It’s going ta cut her recovery time down significantly… though we’re only doing half the normal intensity because of the baby. Still has a quite a ways ta go, of course, but I think we’ll have her up on crutches… for short periods, at least… in another few days. Poor thing probably would’ve been in traction for weeks otherwise.”

“So… speakin’ of the baby…” Reno hinted.

“Hmph… I already told yeh. No paternity testing until I’m convinced yer friend and her little one can tolerate the procedure,” the doctor said sternly, before cracking a smile, “Fortunately for yeh, it just so happens I am convinced of that. I’ve already drawn what I need from her. I just need a little somethin’ from yeh ta compare it to.” They stopped in front of Lira’s door and Dr. Ward waved Elena inside. “Yeh go and sit with the mother ta be for a bit…” She turned to Reno. “Yeh can come with me and we’ll see if yer going ta be a father or not.” She placed a hand firmly between the redhead’s shoulder blades and guided him down the hall.

“… There aren’t gonna be any… ya know… needles involved… right?” Elena heard him ask, as Ward escorted him away. She didn’t hear the reply.

The rookie pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

“Oh, thank Shiva…” Lira sighed as she entered. “I thought for sure it was another nurse comin’ to poke me some more. I swear to Ifrit, I don’t get this much attention even at the Honeybee… It never ends!”

Elena snickered softly. “Is it really that bad?”

“Ugh… Yes. Can’t get a moment’s peace and quiet around here. There’s always someone wantin’ to check my blood pressure, or make sure I’ve been fed, or give me more medicine… and then there’s the physical therapists and the counselors and the surgical consultations and one that’s lookin’ out just for the baby… and Dr. Ward is in and out all the time, too, of course. No wonder Reno complains about this place so much. Good intentions and all, but these people’ll drive ya nuts!”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before sinking back against the stack of pillows she was propped up against.

“Speakin’ of Reno…”

“Dr. Ward kidnapped him almost as soon as we got here,” Elena said, grinning slightly, “She said she needed a sample for the paternity test.”

Lira giggled. “You know… she didn’t actually tell me what they need from the guy. Wonder if it’s somethin’ he’ll enjoy?”

“I-I don’t think they need that…” Elena stammered, blushing faintly, and Lira laughed shaking her head slightly.

“Ya know… If it weren’t for the fact that I know it would’ve driven him mad no knowin’, I wouldn’t have even bothered.”

“You wouldn’t?” Elena asked, surprised, “You mean… you don’t care?”

Lira shrugged. “Honestly? No… not really. I always knew it’d probably happen eventually, and that I probably wouldn’t have the faintest idea who was responsible. Just the nature of my profession. I mean, I’ve actually been ridiculously lucky about that sorta thing. S’pecially given how long I’ve been workin’ the Market. Some of the girls at the Honeybee… they haven’t been there nearly as long as me and they’ve been knocked up two, three times already. Somehow, this is a first for me.”

“I don’t think I could handle not knowing…”

“Elena, honey… There’s a world of difference between you ‘n me,” she snickered. “You don’t have to be okay with somethin’ like that to get by in life. Just like I… thankfully… don’t have to be okay with killin’ someone in my line of work. Different experiences make you capable of livin’ with different things.”

“But you wouldn’t even wonder?” Elena prodded.

“Sure, I’ll probably wonder a little, but it doesn’t really matter. Except for Reno, no one I’ve been sleepin’ with would want any part of it. And don’t get me wrong… I could definitely do so much worse than Reno, and in a way, I’d really love for it to be his. But the odds of that are so slim… like I said, I wouldn’t have even bothered askin’ for the test if I hadn’t known he’d do the math and figure out he might be the one. It’s more for him than for me. He’s a little like you… He wouldn’t be able to handle not knowin’, either.”

“You sound pretty convinced he’s not the father…” the rookie noted, and Lira smiled.

“He’s just barely in the running… and besides that, I just kinda… know. I don’t know how I know… but I do. This isn’t Reno’s baby,” she replied. She grinned widely and added, “But if he’s interested in maybe bein’ an uncle…”

“You clearly have never seen the results of Reno babysitting…” Elena replied, thinking back to the times she’d briefly met Kel’s little girl while she was under the redhead’s care. One of those incidents had ultimately required a hacksaw…

Lira opened her mouth to question her on the subject, looking extraordinarily interested in hearing all about it… only to have the conversation interrupted as the door opened a second time, the very person they’d been discussing joining them at last.

“Took you long enough. Was it that much fun?” Lira commented, winking at Elena. The rookie groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah… I’m not even gonna ask,” Reno stated, glancing from one woman to the other.

“What did Dr. Ward say?”

Reno shook his head. “Won’t know anything for a couple of days. She said she’d contact me soon as she had the results. You tell her yet?”

“Tell me what?” Lira asked, curious.

“Heh… Guess not. I know you were kinda worried about where you were gonna stay once they kick ya outta here…”

Lira smirked. “No… You were worried about that,” she teased.

“Annnyway… You’re stayin’ with me for a few days ’til ‘Lena’s family heads home, and then we’re movin’ ya into her guest room ’til you can manage on your own.”

“Oh… Elena, that’s so sweet of you,” Lira said, smiling widely. “But you know… I have a much better idea…”

Reno blinked, not having expected her to turn him down. “What idea… ?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Well… The two of you only live a few blocks apart. And Dr. Ward says I’ll be at least semi-mobile by the time I leave the hospital. Enough to get around an apartment on my own, anyway…”

“Right…” the redhead prodded, not quite sure where this was going.

“So I think that I should move into your place… and you should move in with Elena.”

“W-wait… what?” Reno sputtered, and Elena giggled at his somewhat taken aback reaction.

“That’s… actually not a terrible idea. We’d still be nearby if Lira needed anything, and you wouldn’t have to worry about moving her twice… Plus, she’d have a lot more privacy than she would if she were stuck with a roommate…”

“You… want me to move in with you?” he asked, a little disbelievingly.

“Well… It would only have to be for a little while,” Elena said quickly, “You could always go back to your place once Lira’s feeling better, if you don’t want to stay…”

“Heh… or if you can’t stand havin’ me around constantly…”

“It’s settled then,” Lira declared, “I’ll take Reno’s apartment, and you two lovebirds can take the next step in your relationship.”

The redhead narrowed his eyes at her, accusingly. “Exactly how long you been plannin’ this?”

“Plannin’ what?” the woman asked, innocently. Reno sighed and turned to Elena.

“Ya know… if Lira has her way, at this rate, we’re gonna be gettin’ married by the time she’s has that kid…”

~fin~