Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 42: Settling In

“So… You’re sure about this? We can still go back to the original plan, ya know. I don’t mind sleepin’ on the couch ’til we can move Lira into your guest room.”

The redhead was watching somewhat uncertainly as Elena folded and packed and labeled. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Why shit needed to be labeled when they’d just be unpacking it again shortly, he still didn’t understand. For that matter, he wasn’t quite sure why she was being so ridiculously neat about it, either. He’d just been planning on stuffing things into a box or three and hauling it over to her place. All this packing material seemed a little unnecessary. Sure, he was moving in with her… but this was still going to be his apartment. It wasn’t as if he had to empty the place out and put the stuff he didn’t need in storage or anything.

Elena looked up from her packing. “You’re not having second thoughts already, are you?” she snickered.

Hell yes, he was having second thoughts. And third thoughts. Maybe even fourth thoughts, at this point.

“No… Why? Are you?” he asked, praying that hadn’t sounded quite so much like he was hoping she was as he thought it had.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move in with the rookie. It was just that… what if it turned out that it just didn’t work? It was one thing for him to spend the night on a regular basis… and admittedly, that had become a more and more regular occurrence, of late… but living together was a whole other beast. And he’d been rather unexpectedly roped into it, without any time to actually process the idea. The more he thought about it, the more idiotic it seemed.

He knew damn well he wasn’t exactly the neatest person on the planet. Elena, meanwhile, organized her socks by color and had a fucking system for how food was arranged in her fridge. He liked his music loud and with plenty of bass. She listened Jason Ladue and his ilk at a ‘reasonable’ volume… if any volume besides ‘mute’ could be considered reasonable for that crap. He lived for his video games, and when he played online he had a tendency to trash talk… loudly and with plenty of profanity directed at other the players’ parentage. Elena liked to read quietly for hours.

This was going to be a disaster. He’d be driving her up the wall within a week, he just knew it.

“Of course I am,” the rookie answered him, laughing softly at the surprised expression that crossed his face at the sudden admission. She finished the box she was working on and leaned over, kissing him on the cheek. “It’s a little scary. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it a try…” Her hand slipped around to the back of his neck, massaging gently, and the redhead found himself relaxing almost entirely against his will. Elena giggled. “I swear you’re part cat…”

This time, Reno did roll his eyes. “Yeah, well… don’t expect me to start purrin’. Ya know, we don’t have to do this now… while Nana and Del are here, I mean. Four people stayin’ at your place is gonna get a little cramped, don’tcha think? We could put things off ’til they head home…”

“There’s plenty of room. And Nana will be thrilled having you there.”

“Don’t think Del will be quite so ‘thrilled’…” he muttered. Reno had said nothing to Elena about her brother briefly using him as a punching bag a few days back, and he never planned to. But even though Del had admitted that he’d been in the wrong, the redhead still got the distinct impression that he wasn’t completely on board with him dating his sister. And he doubted moving in with her was going to win him any points on that front…

“Del needs to get over it already,” Elena stated, firmly. “Now… what else needs to be packed?”

“… Um…” He glanced around his bedroom. They’d taken care of just about everything he’d need at this point. Reno picked up El from the bed and tucked the little stuffed bunny into the duffle bag that contained a few things he hadn’t wanted to just toss into a box. “Nothin’ else in here, I don’t think…”

He was really going through with this…

“Okay… living room?”

Reno shook his head. “Already got my games and the movies you don’t already have packed up. No sense taking much of anything else out there. We’ll just end up havin’ two of everything.”

“I guess it’d be the same story in the kitchen, too…” the rookie said, frowning thoughtfully as she went through a mental checklist. Reno smirked.

“Oh, no… we got a ton of shit to pack in the kitchen still.”

Elena blinked, and he could literally see her trying to sort out what the hell he was talking about. He grinned and led her out of the bedroom and into his little kitchenette. To be fair, for the most part, she was right. There wasn’t much of anything in his kitchen that hers wasn’t already equipped with. In fact, most of her cooking supplies were of significantly better quality than his sheerly due to the fact that, unlike himself, she actually cooked more than one or two meals a week.

There was something in the kitchen that he wasn’t willing to abandon, however…

“Oh. My. God.” Elena stared in shock as he opened several of the top cabinets. “Reno… how much liquor do you have?!”

The redhead laughed, and was quickly nearly in tears. “Fuck, ‘Lena… this whole thing was worth it just for that expression,” he managed at last. “You like my little collection?”

“Little?” she breathed. “Where did all this come from?”

It was a little daunting at first glance, he had to admit. Particularly when you saw it all crammed into those cabinets. And it did kind of make him look like a closet alcoholic. He grinned, wiping his eyes.

“Been collectin’ it for years. This isn’t the cheap shit I typically drink. It’s the good stuff. All high-end, a lot of it aged… some of it’s older than me. I mostly just get it out on special occasions,” Reno explained, “Like the Christmas party or someone’s birthday. Or sometimes just when Rude n’ me are really in the mood for somethin’ better quality than what they serve at the Phoenix Nest…”

“I don’t remember there being that much at Christmas…”

“Didn’t have all of it out at Christmas,” he replied, endlessly amused by her look of borderline dismay.

“Reno… you could open a bar with all that. I mean legitimately open a bar.”

“Aw, now you’re just exaggeratin’…” he teased her.

“Not by much.”

The redhead reached up and brought down a couple of bottles, setting them carefully on the counter. “I used to be a bartender, remember?” He shrugged. “I like to stay in practice. It’s a hobby.”

“Where am I going to put it all?” Elena murmured vaguely, more to herself than to Reno.

He decided to take pity on her. “Relax. I wasn’t really gonna bring it all with me right this second. Just some of my favorites… Lira can look after the rest of it for me ’til we figure what to do with it.” A slightly twisted smirk spread over his face. “Unless you want to have one hell of a party tonight…”

---

By mid-afternoon, the pair had transferred most of the boxes over to Elena’s apartment, where they sat – some neatly stacked, others haphazardly shoved more or less out of the way – waiting to be unpacked.

“How much more junk is he bringing over here?”

Elena glared at her brother. “Would you just stop?”

“The guy’s practically taking over your apartment, El!” Del grumbled as he nudged one of the boxes with his foot.

“He’s moving in. What? Did you think he was just going to show up with a suitcase or two?”

“Why’s he moving in all of a sudden anyway? Thought you Turks basically had the run of the town. Can’t he find his… friend… her own place?”

“There’s not a lot available in the neighborhood right now, and she’s supposed to take it easy after she’s released from the hospital. Reno wants to be close enough to be able to help her out if she needs him.” When Del opened his mouth to comment on that, Elena quickly added, “And so do I. Lira’s my friend, too, you know. Seriously, Del… when did you get to be so judgmental?”

“Oh, for Odin’s sake… are you two at it again?” Josephine snapped at the siblings as she poked her head out from the kitchen. “I thought we’d settled all this…”

“I just want to see El treated right, Nana…” Del responded.

“Reno does treat me right… and you’d see that if you’d just give him half a chance.”

“El, he’s just so…”

“That’s quite enough. Delion, you stop it right now. I’ve tried to let you two sort this out between yourselves, but it’s getting ridiculous. Now… that boy practically worships the ground your sister walks on… and if you’re too stubborn to see that, poor Elena’s never going to find anyone who lives up to your idea of ‘good enough for her’, because that sort of man simply doesn’t exist.”

“Please, Del… I know you mean well, but you’re not doing me any favors here,” Elena joined in, “In fact, if you keep at it, you’re going to end up undoing all the hard work I’ve put into convincing him that he doesn’t have to be perfect for me.”

Her brother sighed, scowling slightly. “I just wish you’d… I don’t know… keep your options open, instead of settling.”

“Settling?” Elena repeated, darkly. Her eyes narrowed. “Delion Alexander Brewer, you have no right to tell me what to do with my life, and no right to judge someone you barely even know. You don’t know half of what we’ve been through together. You have no idea what he’s put himself through for my sake, or how many times I’ve hurt him, or how incredibly giving he is and how little he asks in return… All you see is a former slum rat who hangs around with prostitutes in his spare time, and I’m sick of you constantly looking down on him!”

By the time she’d finished, Elena had her brother backed up squarely against the wall, staring at her in wide-eyed disbelief… and she could understand why he’d be more than a little shocked. She had never exactly been meek as a child, but she’d never liked confrontation, either… Del had always been the one to stand up for her any time she was slighted or mistreated. He’d filled that role until the day he’d left for Veraheim when he was seventeen. Since then, he simply hadn’t been around to be the same massive part of her life he was when they were little… He hadn’t watched her change and grow into the person she was now.

And much of that growth, she noted snarkily to herself, was courtesy of Reno. He’d made her stronger… more assertive… more willing to demand that she be treated with respect. He’d protected her, much as Del always had, but had shied away from sheltering her from everything as her brother tended to do.

Del slowly raised his hands in surrender.

“Uh… ‘Lena… maybethis really wasn’t such a great idea…” a somewhat hesitant voice interrupted from across the room, and Elena turned to see the redhead framed in the doorway, carrying the last of the boxes from his apartment. She couldn’t quite place the expression on his face at first… until he added, “Look… I already told ya I’d ride out the week on my couch ’til we can move Lira over here instead. If it’s just gonna end up startin’ a fight with your family, I can have all my shit outta here in ten minutes…” She very quickly realized it was regret.

Josephine huffed, and took the box from him. “Now don’t you go lumping me in with Del’s ridiculous attitude,” she said firmly, and marched purposefully off towards Elena’s bedroom. “Let’s go and get you unpacked.” Reno looked uncertainly between the old woman’s retreating figure, and his – decidedly still irate – girlfriend, before finally picking up his bag and hefting a second box, and following her.

“Don’t pay Del any mind,” Josephine said, warmly, as she shut the door behind them. “I think Elena’s finally set him straight. You’ve been good for her. I can’t remember ever having seen her so sure of herself.” She turned back to the box she’d set on the bed and opened it, slowly lifting its contents out. As it happened, the first item in that particular box was the quilt she’d made him for Christmas. She smiled. “Let’s see now… Elena’s already got hers here on the bed. Where to put yours…”

She carefully draped it over a plush chair in the corner… one of Elena’s favorite reading spots… before returning to the task at hand. “I hope you liked it… I could tell the first time I met you that you’d adopted my Elena as your own. I wanted you to know that you were welcome to think of me the same way. One can never have too many grandchildren, after all.”

“It’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever given me…”

“Only one of the nicest?” she asked, teasingly, and Reno relaxed a little.

“‘Lena’s Christmas present was pretty nice, too…”

“Oh, it was, was it?” she asked, with a knowing smirk, “Should I even ask, or would knowing be too much for an old lady’s delicate senses to handle…”

“Heh… Somethin’ tells me you’re not that delicate, Nana…” the redhead replied with a soft chuckle. “We weren’t seein’ each other yet at Christmas, though.”

“Well… Things still tend to happen around the holidays. Someone adds a little extra rum to the eggnog, and before you know it…”

Reno stared at her, speechless. He’d known Josephine could have a slightly raunchy sense of humor at times, but that had caught him a little off guard.

“Oh now, don’t give me that look. I’ll have you know, I’ve been around a time or two. And I have to admit… I had a little bit of a taste for that extra rum myself back in the day. Where do you think Elena’s father came from?”

The redhead finally laughed at that, shaking his head slightly. He loved this woman. “Nana… I have really gotta introduce you to Lira before you leave. I get the feelin’ you n’ her would get along real well…”

“I look forward to it,” Josephine grinned and patted his cheek. “There now… There’s that sweet smile of yours.”

They spent the next few minutes unpacking in silence, before Josephine spoke up again. “Well, now you’ve got me curious. What did my dear granddaughter give you?”

“Uh…” the redhead stammered, a faint heat rising to his face. He should have known she would ask… With a somewhat resigned sigh, he unzipped the duffle bag he’d carried in, and found El. Josephine gently took it from him, turning it over in her hands, her fingers running carefully along the stitches as she examined it.

“What a sweet little bunny…” she said, smiling widely.

“I… used to have another one,” Reno explained, hesitantly, “Had it since I was a kid. It was the last birthday present my mom ever gave me. It… uh… had a little accident… so ‘Lena made me a new one.”

The old woman chuckled and set El on the bed, propped up against the pillows. “Given how much effort obviously went into this, I’d wager my granddaughter had a hand in said accident.”

“Safe bet to make…” he snickered. “I think that’s when I first started to realize just how much she meant to me. I was beyond pissed at first… but after the initial shock wore off, I think I was actually more upset that she was so upset about ruinin’ something so special to me.”

Josephine gently cupped Reno’s chin with one hand, forcing him to look at her. “And that right there is why I don’t doubt for an instant that you and Elena will be happy together. Don’t you pay any attention to that nonsense that grandson of mine keeps spouting. He just hasn’t quite gotten around to realizing that his baby sister is all grown up.”

“I wish you’d been around when I was a kid…” Reno said softly. He wasn’t even sure where it had come from, much less why he’d suddenly felt the need to say it out loud. But he meant it. Growing up with someone like Josephine… someone who would tell him that everything would be alright, and really mean it… would have made such a difference in his life.

“Oh, Reno, sweetie…” she sighed, pulling him into an embrace. Her hands lightly rubbed circles along his back. “So do I.” She held him a moment more before finally pushing him back and holding him at arms length. “Now, you listen to me… As far as I’m concerned, you’re every bit one of my babies as Elena and Delion are. Don’t you ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“Yes, Nana…” he managed to say, though his throat felt oddly thick at the moment. Josephine hugged him tight again, the fingers on one hand tenderly carding his hair.

The door behind him creaked open, and he briefly panicked, feeling much too vulnerable and raw to deal with Del again, whether Elena had succeeded in putting him in his place or not.

“Is everything alright?” Elena asked. She stepped into the room, and set down another box.

“Everything is perfectly fine,” her grandmother replied, at last releasing the redhead. “Reno and I were just having a nice little discussion about what an ass your brother is being.”

“Good. I was having the same discussion with him.”

“… How’d that go?” Reno asked in a cautious tone. Elena grinned.

“I think he finally gets it. But just in case, I told him to go take a nice long walk while we finish unpacking and think about just how big a jerk he is.”

Josephine shook her head. “Well, thank Shiva for small miracles. Why don’t you two finish up in here, and I’ll go get started on lunch?”

She slipped out of the room, leaving the pair on their own.

“Is everything really alright? You look a little upset…” Elena asked, eying the redhead suspiciously.

“Nah, I’m not. Nana just… made me feel wanted,” he said with a small smile, “Never had a grandmother before. I think I kinda like it.”

---

“So he’s really gonna do it, huh?”

Rude dunked a crust of bread into the thick potato soup. Really, it was a little on the warm side tonight for soup, but he’d been in the mood for it for some reason… and Elena certainly wasn’t complaining.

“Technically, he already has,” the rookie replied, “We moved all of his stuff to my place yesterday.”

An eyebrow rose sharply behind dark glasses. “All of it? Even his collection?”

Elena giggled and mirrored his own actions with her bread. “We moved most of his stuff to my place yesterday…” she corrected herself. Rude snorted in laughter.

“I’m surprised you could get him to leave it behind. He’s pretty proud of it.”

“Well… we didn’t leave all of it there,” she admitted. “We still ended up taking more than any sane person would ever be able to drink…”

“Hmph… Word of advice. If you’re ever feeling thirsty, make sure you ask before you help yourself. Some of those have some sentimental value to him.”

The rookie glanced up, intrigued. “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“Hmm… Well, for one, Rufus gave him a bottle of whiskey years ago that as far as I know he still hasn’t opened. Said he’s saving it for a special occasion… not sure what exactly. And there’s a few others.” Rude said, nodding.

“Rufus gave him a bottle of whiskey?” Elena asked, somewhat incredulously, “Are you sure it’s not poisoned?”

The other Turk laughed. “He really does kind of like Reno, you know. To a point, anyway… though I’m still not convinced Reno won’t push him too far one of these days.”

“But why whiskey?”

Rude shrugged. “He knew he’d like it. Just like he knew I’d like the watch he gave me and Tseng would like the car and you’d like the book.”

“How’d you know about that?” she asked, surprised. Rude simply looked at her, and she immediately rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. “Reno told you. Of course…”

“He was too proud of you to keep it to himself for long. Little bit of a right of passage. Rufus is hard to impress. You actually managed it a lot faster than Reno did. Or me, for that matter.” He smirked slightly. “But don’t let it go to your head. Anyway… How’d you manage to talk him into moving in? A week ago, he was half-convinced you were either going to dump him or murder him over Lira.”

Elena sipped at her wine before answering. “It was Lira’s idea, really.” She snickered softly at the memory. “Well… to be honest, she kind of just told him he was doing it. And when I didn’t object, Reno just… went along with it.”

“Kinda surprised. You’ve only officially been an item for a couple of months. Never took you for someone who liked to move so fast.”

“I’m not… but Reno’s different. I mean, I know it was a little sudden, and the timing’s weird with my family staying right now, and there’s still so much we’re going to have to figure out about living together without driving each other nuts… but it’s strange. I’m not really worried about any of that. I’m just glad he said yes.”

“What’s your family think?”

“Nana’s ecstatic… But then, she’s been absolutely in love with him from the moment she first laid eyes on him. Del’s… still warming up to the idea.”

At least he’d stopped being so openly hostile toward the redhead after their little talk yesterday. He’d even grudgingly agreed to join Reno for a few rounds of Tides of War as she was on her way out for her Shadow & Sword date with Rude… hopefully any violence between the two men would remain in the digital world.

“Which reminds me… You’re invited to dinner Wednesday night. Nana says she didn’t have nearly enough time to get to know you and Tseng the last time she was here… and that she still has a thing or two to teach you about place settings?” Elena relayed, not entirely certain what her grandmother had been referring to with that last bit… Rude however, chuckled.

“Want me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself. Trust me… Nana will have plenty of food.”

---

Reno groaned at the sound of the alarm and rolled over, effectively pinning the rookie underneath his body as he swatted ineffectively at the clock that sat, just inches out of his reach, blaring painfully in his ear. Elena playfully poked him in the side.

“I keep it so far away for a reason, you know. It’s so I have to actually get up to shut it off.”

“Masochist.”

He dragged himself off of her, feet eventually finding the floor as he untangled himself from the sheets. One hand rubbed at bleary eyes while the other hit the snooze button… with significantly more force than was strictly necessary. Reno yawned and turned back to the bed, fully intending to crawl back into it’s invitingly warm depths for a few more minutes.

“Oh, no you don’t…” Elena, who was already following him out of bed, chided. “Now that you’re up, you’re staying up.”

“‘Lena…” the redhead whined, “Gimme a break… it’s five thirty AM. We got an hour and a half before we gotta be anywhere.”

“I know! I really should have set it earlier!” she replied, her tone far too chipper for his present state of wakefulness. Reno glared at her, and she laughed quietly. “I know, I know… you’re not a morning person. But Nana and Del are only going to be in town another week, and I want us to spend as much time as we can with them.”

He stretched, hoping that encouraging a little blood flow might help shake the desire to go back to sleep. “You wakin’ them up at this ungodly hour, too, then?” he asked, sharply tilting his head until his neck gave a satisfying crack. Elena snickered.

“Oh, please… Nana’s probably already making breakfast. Now put some clothes on. As much as I enjoy the view, I don’t think you’re going to make a good impression on Del looking like that.”

He raised an eyebrow and teasingly glanced down at himself before meeting her eyes again. “You sayin’ I’m not that impressive?”

Elena rolled her eyes and threw a pair of sweatpants at him. Reno smirked and slid into them before slipping behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, capturing her. He pulled her, possessively, against his body and nuzzled her shoulder. “Ya know… you really oughta give sleepin’ nude a chance yourself, ‘Lena. Only time I ever get to wake up to the vision of beauty that is your naked body is when you’re too tired to get dressed after you’ve finished havin’ your way with me…” he teased, “Doesn’t seem quite fair…”

Truthfully, while he certainly would have enjoyed it, it was probably for the best that she didn’t share his penchant for freedom under the covers at the moment. The presence of her houseguests had effectively put a moratorium on anything more intimate than cuddling, and there was only so much temptation he was capable of resisting.

She spun in his embrace to face him, letting her hands caress his shoulders. “So now I’m a vision of beauty, huh?” she giggled.

“Eh… Only when you’re naked,” he grinned back.

“Pervert.” She kissed him and pulled away, heading for the living room. With a sigh, Reno followed. So much for sleeping in… but, he mused as she opened the door and the scent of something sweet hit him, at least there was breakfast.

Nana’s cooking almost made up for having to be awake this early.

---

“Good morning, sir! Good morning, Rude!” a voice greeted the pair of Turks as the door swung inward.

Tseng looked up and chuckled softly at the sight of the rookie all but bouncing into the office, her redheaded mentor sluggishly dragging himself in behind her.

“Good morning, Elena… Reno? No coffee yet?” the Turk leader observed. The younger man grunted and collapsed onto the couch by the window.

“I’m already on my third cup. Little Miss Sunshine here decided sleep is for losers and got me up at the asscrack of dawn for family time.”

“Well, I hope you’re planning on drinking a bit more soon. You’re going to need it,” Tseng replied with a knowing smile. He calmly took a sip of his own tea before continuing. “I’d like to begin materia training with Elena this week. If you have no objections, that is…”

“Tch… Why would I object?” the redhead said, at last managing a grin. “Means I finally get some time off from training…”

Tseng’s smile spread. He’d suspected that his protege would assume that… after all, Reno wasn’t overly competent when it came to using materia. Oh, he could defend against it well enough, and his EMR actually ran on a materia-based power source… but he’d never been especially adept at using materia itself offensively.

Which made him a truly terrible instructor when it came to introducing others to the techniques. Reno was usually among the best they had when it came to teaching the finer points of the Turks’ repertoire of skills… but materia-assisted combat had always been the exception.

“Oh, no… I’m still going to need you,” the Wutaiian replied. Very few who had come under his command during his tenure as head of the Turks had ever favored materia. There had been a handful individuals who had been skilled in such fighting styles before that… one senior Turk, years ago when he’d still been a rookie himself, had used it almost exclusively, in fact, and Veld had been fairly adept with healing spells… but by and large, those qualifying for their ranks overwhelmingly tended to prefer the more traditional firearms, blades, or melee weapons. Or, as in Rude’s case, pure brute force. Materia was largely the domain of Soldier… their mako-enhanced abilities having the side effect of giving them better control and more casting stamina.

“W-what? What do ya need me for?”

Rude snickered loudly behind him, before he could answer. “She’s gonna need a target.”

Reno groaned and let his head thump against the wall behind the couch. “Ah, come on, boss. You promised…”

“I only promised that I would stop using you for target practice,” Tseng pointed out. Not that he much cared for materia, either, but he did like to be well-rounded. One of Reno’s least favorite duties as a rookie had been to assist him during materia practice. He’d finally released him from that bit of servitude when the redhead had been promoted to senior status, with the promise that he wouldn’t force it on him any longer. “And besides… this is for Elena, after all.”

Reno glared at him. “… No fuckin’ fire spells.”

“Er… sir?” Elena interjected, curiously, “Why can’t Reno just teach me himself?”

The Turk leader chuckled. “Because…”

“Because I suck at it, that’s why. Always have, and no amount of training has ever changed that,” his lieutenant groused, cutting him off. He quickly turned his gaze on his partner. “And don’t you say a goddamn word. You’re not exactly an expert, yourself.”

“Hmph… Never had any desire to be. But at least I’ve never managed to cast Lighting on myself,” Rude said, with a noticeable smirk, “Remind me… Howmany times have you done that?”

“… Shut it, Rude…” he muttered in reply, crossing his arms over his chest, and the rookie giggled. “Fine. When’s my mandated pain and suffering start?”

“Right after my meeting with Heidegger,” Tseng replied, glancing up at the clock, “Which begins in five minutes. Go and get your coffee, and then take Elena to the Soldier training arena. I’ve reserved it for the morning… I don’t think our usual practice space will stand up well to a first time materia user. Get her equipped, and run through the basics with her, and I’ll meet you when I’m done.”

Reno heaved a sigh and stood up. “Come on, ‘Lena. Let’s go get ready to torture me…”

Tseng laughed silently to himself as he watched the pair of them go. Over-dramatic as he could be, he was pretty sure the redhead was actually quite looking forward to seeing what his rookie could do once she got her hands on some materia. While those skills may have been a rare failure for him, he cared a great deal about seeing his protege succeed… even when she thoroughly showed him up, as she tended to do quite frequently on the firing range. He shook his head and leaned back against Elena’s desk, taking his time in finishing off his tea.

“You know… I was a little surprised to see them coming in together this morning. I was under the impression that Reno preferred to stay away from Elena on Sunday nights,” he casually noted, “Something about her returning from your little weekly viewing party more obsessed with that show of yours than usual…”

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Rude asked, just as casually, carefully repressing the grin that was slowly creeping over his face.

“Mmm? Heard what?”

The bald Turk waited a brief moment as the Wutaiian Turk took another sip.

“He moved in with her over the weekend.”

Tseng choked violently on the steaming liquid, spending the next several seconds sputtering and coughing in surprise. When he finally recovered, he shot Rude a look of contempt.

“Was that really necessary?” he asked.

“No… but it was too perfect a setup to resist.”

“It was not amusing.”

“Was from where I’m sitting.”

---

Elena’s eyes roamed the practice space. It was huge, encompassing nearly half of the entire floor. And, she noted, it was heavily reinforced… Built to take a beating.

“This is nothin’,” Reno said, breaking in on her thoughts as he strolled, unhurriedly, towards her, returning from wherever he’d disappeared to several minutes ago. A small chest was tucked under one arm, which explained his absence. Apparently he’d gone to retrieve a few things for her lesson. He set it down on the floor. “You should see the rooms for Soldier’s advanced training sims. Immersive VR… feels totally real. We have pretty limited access to ’em, though. Tseng’s gotta request time months in advance. Mostly just cause the current director’s an asshole and doesn’t really like us much. The previous one was a lot more accommodating.”

“What’s he got against the Turks?”

“She… and… uh… Yeah. That’s kinda my fault, actually.”

Elena groaned. “Don’t tell me. You slept with her.”

“Tch… no,” the redhead replied defensively, as he fastened an armlet around her left wrist. “I didn’t fuckin’ sleep with her. Always had a rule against goin’ to bed with people above my pay grade. That was a headache I just didn’t need.”

The rookie ran a finger along the smooth metal, and around one of the open slots that was clearly made to hold a materia sphere. It was tight, and a little uncomfortable. She glanced back up at Reno, waiting for him to continue.

“… I slept with her daughter,” he finally admitted. “But in my defense, I didn’t know they were related at the time.”

“Guess she’s a little overprotective…”

“Uh… not really, no. But it was the night before her daughter was s’posed to be gettin’ married. Last fling kinda deal. Only she forgot to mention that to me. Little bit of a shock when her fiance walked in on us. Bigger shock when he pulled a gun and started takin’ shots at me… Lucky for me, he had shit aim.”

“You’re kidding… right?”

Reno grinned. “Heh… In this case, I kinda wish I were. I’m not exactly proud of the fact that I ended up bein’ the reason the wedding got called off. Wouldn’t’ve gone home with her if I’d known. And bein’ arrested wasn’t exactly a picnic, either…”

The rookie laughed. “He tried to shoot you and then he called the police?”

“Ya think I stuck around after the shooting started?” he asked, incredulous, “Hell, no! I was out the window and climbin’ down from third floor of the building before the fucker had time to reload.”

“So… wait. Why’d you get arrested, then?”

“‘Cause I don’t generally fuck with my clothes on, and I didn’t stop to grab ’em on the way out. Got picked up about four blocks away and hauled off to a jail cell for public indecency. That was an interesting phone call… I think Rude was actually a little impressed by the sheer level of stupidity I managed to attain,” he replied, snickering. “So… ya know the basic idea behind materia, right?”

She had a general grasp of the concept. Materia was essentially just highly concentrated mako energy, but in a very stable, crystalline form… not like what the reactors collected. Which was the reason that, as far as she was aware, no one had ever gotten mako poisoning from materia. Using it was supposedly just a simple matter of concentration.

But at the moment, she really wasn’t very interested in all that.

“Don’t try and change the subject on me,” she laughed, prodding him in the chest. “How’d her mother find out it was you?”

“Easy… Left my wallet and my employee ID in my pants. Guess her daughter called her up cryin’ over bein’ dumped and told her the whole sordid tale. The director brought all my shit in the next morning and dropped it all right on Veld’s desk. Told him point blank that the Turks were on her shit list from there on out,” the redhead shrugged, “Fuck, ‘Lena… I swear… when she walked in holdin’ my clothes, I was dead certain one of us wasn’t gonna be leavin’ the office alive. And I didn’t much like my odds of bein’ the last man standing. Hell, I wasn’t real sure of ’em even after she left. Veld looked like he was gonna break me in half, and Tseng didn’t look any happier. And Rude, of course, was laughin’ his goddamn ass off out in the hallway the whole time, the bastard.” Reno sighed and shook his head. “Do me a favor and don’t ever tell that story to your brother, huh?”

Elena snorted in laughter. “No… definitely not,” she agreed. Reno took hold of her wrist, gently adjusting the armlet, before letting his fingers twine with hers.

“Ya know… I’m glad shit like that makes ya laugh,” he said, smiling faintly. “A lot of women would just be kinda disgusted with me.” He kissed the back of her hand before straightening up and turning to the little chest at their feet. “Anyway… Before Tseng shows up and I accidentally remind him of that particular incident…”

He drew two iridescent spheres out. They glowed a soft, pale green.

“What kind of materia are they?” she asked, somewhat fascinated by the lazily swirling lights inside the spheres.

“You tell me.” The redhead held one of them out to her, and she took it, cupping it in her hand. It was tiny compared to the few she’d seen before… the size of a large marble. She’d never realized that materia spheres could be so compact. “These are extremely low level materia we use for training…” Reno added, apparently noting her confusion, “That’s why they’re so small. As they’re used, they gradually get bigger until they’re about the size of your palm. Hone ’em enough and a new sphere’ll eventually split off and you can start the whole process over again. Takes a hell of a lot of work, though. So? What is it?”

Elena frowned and stared at it. The surface was perfectly smooth, with no identification, and no particularly distinguishing features that might give away its type. The color told her that it was magic-class… but there were dozens of different types that fell into that category. It could be anything from healing materia to something far more destructive.

“Don’t just look at it. Concentrate on it.”

She tried to do so… but the more she concentrated, the less sure she was.

“Try closin’ your eyes,” Reno advised. Elena cast him a skeptical glance, but did as he said. For the first few moments, nothing happened. But the more she focused, the more she realized something. Her fingers were getting cold. Not just cold… freezing. Like…

“Ice…” she said at last, opening her eyes again, and looking up at the redhead. Her gaze flickered back to the sphere. As soon as she’d stopped thinking about it, her hand felt perfectly normal again.

“Weird, huh?” Reno snickered. He took the materia sphere from her and replaced it with the second one. “What’s this?”

She hardly even had to think about it this time. A tiny, but unmistakeable, jolt of electricity shot through her fingertips moments after she touched it.

“Lightning?”

“Heh… Probably shouldn’t be surprised that you’d pick up on this shit quick. Yep, that’s lightning materia. Only kind I ever had any success with, actually. Not much success, mind you, but at least I can get it to do something. Usually just shocks the everliving fuck outta me, though, so it’s not exactly what you might call useful… Better than nothin’ I guess.”

“You really can’t use materia?” Elena asked, and Reno shook his head.

“Nope. Don’t seem to have an affinity for it. Apparently, some people just don’t. No one really knows why,” he said, shrugging indifferently, “I mean… I can tell ya what type it is. Usually. Sometimes I can manage a really weak as fuck spell that might make an opponent laugh themselves into submission… but I’ve never been able to do much more than that. ‘Cept when it comes to lightning spells for some reason. But I can’t fuckin’ control ’em for shit, so I usually just end up half-electrocuting myself.”

“And that’s why Tseng’s teaching me this…”

“And why I’m the fuckin’ target,” Reno said, groaning audibly. The rookie frowned. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of using her boyfriend as a target. Especially given that she really had absolutely no idea what she was doing. “Relax… You’re not gonna be aimin’ at me just yet,” he chuckled, “We’ll start you off with stationary targets… Once ya can hit those, we’ll try moving targets. And then, if you still haven’t burned the place down or anything, I’ll consider lettin’ ya try your luck with me.”

“But… what if I actually do hit you?” she asked nervously. There was a reason the Turks held off materia training until a rookie had some experience under their belt. It could be dangerous if misused. Hell, it could be dangerous even if used properly. The redhead smirked.

“Yeah, well… that’s why Rude’s lendin’ me this for awhile.” He pushed his sleeve back slightly to reveal an armlet of his own. It wasn’t like the plain, unadorned one he’d given her… this one was a coil, starting out silver before gradually changing to gold and finally a deep coppery shade. The entire length was patterned in overlapping scales. Also unlike hers, it had no slots to insert a materia sphere.

“What is it?”

“Zeidrich.”

“Excuse me?” she said, not sure she’d understood him.

“Heh… Family heirloom. Apparently someone named it somewhere along the line. Rude doesn’t know what the fuck it means, either… but it’s damned effective at nullifying elemental spells and a few other things. Whatever you do… don’t mention it around anyone in R&D. Scarlet loves shit like this, and things have a habit of goin’ missing, if ya catch my drift. And Rude… well, he’s not usually the sentimental type, but he’d be pretty upset if it wound up in one of her labs bein’ reverse engineered.”

Reno rolled his sleeve back down, covering the armlet again. He took the lightning materia from her and tucked it back into the chest. The ice materia he slipped into one of her armlet’s slots, snapping it into place.

“Um… So, how do I… ?”

“Trust me, ‘Lena… I’m not the person to ask,” he laughed, before glancing over his shoulder. “Fortunately, I’m not who you’re gonna have to rely on here…”

Elena followed his gaze, and spotted Tseng heading towards them.

“You’ve picked something to start with?” he asked as he approached.

“Startin’ her out on ice.” Tseng cocked an eyebrow questioningly, and Reno rolled his eyes. “What? I don’t especially enjoy bein’ shocked, and fuck if I’m gonna let you turn a beginner loose on me with fire… even with Rude’s armlet protectin’ me. Worst case scenario with ice materia is I end up with a little frostbite.”

Tseng chuckled and waved him off dismissively. “Point taken. Well, then… Let’s begin, shall we?”

---

By the end of the day, Elena could hardly keep her eyes open. She’d been exhausted after training all morning. At lunch, Reno very nearly had to feed her… though she had to admit, getting some food in her had helped. At least enough to get her through the afternoon. Now, though, she felt dead on her feet.

“Is this normal?” she asked, shaking her head to try and clear it.

“What? Feelin’ like you’re gonna drop at any second?” the redhead asked. He took a seat on the corner of her desk.

“Yeah… that.”

“Yep,” he said, simply.

“It can take some time to acclimate to materia use,” Tseng added, “And also… we may have gotten a little carried away this morning.”

“Tch… Figures she’d be so much of a fuckin’ natural she wouldn’t want to stop…”

Elena bit back a yawn. It had come pretty easily to her, once she understood what it was she was doing. So much so that she shot down Reno’s requests to take a break. He had had ultimately ordered an end to practice over both her objections and Tseng’s, and then hustled her off to the cafeteria for lunch. In the end, she was glad he’d done so… by the time they got there, she was starting to feel shaky and tired. Tseng had even tried to send her home at one point, but once she’d eaten, she had managed to convince him that she could make it through the rest of the day.

Tseng smiled slightly. “Indeed. I’m curious to see how her stamina improves. We haven’t had a materia specialist in the Turks in quite some time.”

Reno… or maybe it was Rude… said something in response, but the rookie didn’t quite catch it. The backs of her eyelids seemed far more interesting at the moment. A hand suddenly shook her lightly, forcing her back to reality.

“Hey, boss? Think ‘Lena’s about had it. Ya mind if we knock off a little early so I can take her home?”

“Go ahead,” the Turk leader nodded.

“Heh… Come on, ‘Lena,” the redhead said, gently prodding her to her feet, “Time for bed.”

The rookie managed a half-wave to the rest of the team and let Reno escort her out of the office. The last thing she was aware of was stepping into the elevator.

---

Reno pulled the seatbelt across Elena’s body and shut the passenger side door as quietly as he could. She hadn’t even made it to the parking deck. They were barely in the elevator before she’d gone limp in his grasp, out cold. He’d carried her the rest of the way.

He couldn’t help but be a little annoyed with Tseng… He’d let the woman keep going long after they should have quit for the day. It was only her first lesson for fuck’s sake… no matter how easily she seemed to be picking up the technique, materia use was draining at her skill level. A person needed to build up to lengthy training sessions, not go for it all at once. Even he knew that, and he didn’t even use the stuff. Tseng had been just a little too impressed with her natural ability. Reno had finally been forced to intervene himself and demand a break…

The Turk leader hadn’t seemed especially pleased when he’d done so… though once they’d hit the cafeteria, and it became clear just how exhausted the rookie really was, he was far more contrite.

Reno circled around to the driver’s side of his car, and moved to climb in… only to be interrupted by his PHS. He answered it on the second ring.

“Reno, here.”

“It’s Dr. Ward. I have some news for yeh, if yer interested.”

He blinked in surprise… He’d damn near forgotten. Which, given how anxious he’d been just a few days ago was a little hard to believe.

“Good news or bad news?” he asked, a vague sense of dread creeping up on him.

“Well, I suppose that depends on how yeh look at it, now doesn’t it?”

“Doc… Do not fuck with me right now,” he shot back, irritated.

“Language,” Ward cautioned.

“Ah, for fuck’s sake, Doc… quit bitchin’ about my swearin’ for once and just tell me already! You’re killin’ me, here…”

“Alright, alright… calm down, yeh silly thing,” the doctor chided, and he could hear the laughter in her voice. “Yeh can relax. Yer not going ta be a father quite yet.”

Reno sagged against the side of his car in relief. Granted, Elena seemed to have come to terms with the possibility, so he supposed it wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world… but it still would have been damned awkward. He was glad that weight was off his shoulders… Now he could focus on more important things.

“Oh, thank fuck…” he breathed. “How’s Lira?”

“She’s doing just fine. In fact, if yeh’ve got a place for her ta go, I’m more than willing ta discharge her. The poor girl’s nowhere near as bad as you are, but I think she’s getting a little tired of all the attention, and what she really needs is a little peace and quiet so she can rest properly.”

“Uh… yeah. I got a place for her,” he replied, glancing at Elena asleep in the car. He’d take her home first. Nana and Del would be there to look after her while he dealt with getting Lira settled in… which was far more comforting a thought that he’d expected it to be. Elena would be perfectly fine on her own, but that didn’t mean he wanted her left alone. “I gotta take care of one thing first, and then I’ll be there to get her…”

“We’ll be waiting,” Ward said, and the call ended. Reno tucked his phone back into his jacket and climbed into the car.

---

Reno couldn’t help but snicker a little as Elena nestled her head against the side of he neck, murmuring something about ‘Lysander’. He was pretty sure that was one of the characters on Shadow & Sword he’d heard her mention before. He’d known she was obsessed… but he’d never realized she actually dreamt about the show.

He cradled her, leaning against the side of the elevator as it rose. The rookie really was dead to the world right now. She’d hardly stirred the entire ride home… not even when some asshole had cut him off and he’d instinctively laid on the horn without thinking.

The elevator dropped them off on the eighth floor and he headed for Elena’a apartment. His apartment. Their apartment. Damn it, that was going to take some getting used to.

It was a little bizarre… and he hoped that it wouldn’t be too much longer before he stopped feeling so much like a guest that was unapologetically invading the rookie’s space. Part of the problem, he mused, was probably that, aside from the bare necessities, he hadn’t really made an much of an effort to unpack yet. The apartment was still far more Elena than it was him. Every time he thought about it, though, he found himself making one excuse or another to put it off.

Most of those excuses tended to center around her brother. Reno had to admit, Del did seem to be trying to like him… probably more for his sister’s sake than for Reno’s, but he’d take what he could get. But their truce felt tenuous to the redhead, and he was hesitant to do anything to rock the boat too much. Elena had already come to his defense twice now… and he was pretty sure she’d continue to do so. Reno didn’t think he’d be able to forgive himself if he ended up driving a wedge between the two siblings… so he’d defaulted to keeping as low a profile around Del as he could manage. Which, frankly, wasn’t the easiest thing to do when both Elena and Josephine seemed hellbent on including him in damn near everything.

He shifted his grip on his girlfriend and somehow managed to unlock the door without jostling her too much, carrying her inside.

“Reno?” Josephine queried, poking her head out of the bedroom, “Oh, my… Elena…”

Del, too, was on his feet moments after he’d realized they were there, and heading towards them.

“What happened?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

“Don’t worry… She’s fine. Just worn out,” Reno quickly assured them both. “Had a hard day of training…”

“Sweet Shiva… Don’t scare me like that. You’ll give a poor old lady a heart attack.” He repressed the urge to grin. He’d seen Josephine in a tough situation before… the woman didn’t scare that easily. He headed for Elena’s bedroom, and she followed him, hurrying to draw back the covers so he could set his charge down. Reno tugged her jacket off, along with her sidearm and holster, before tucking the covers around her. He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, which drew a sleepy smile from the slumbering rookie.

“She’s probably gonna sleep for awhile, but try ‘n wake her up in an hour or so, and see if you can get her to eat somethin’, will ya? Always seems to help me recover faster.”

“Where are you going?” Del asked, in a noticeably accusatory tone. Reno hadn’t realized he’d followed him as well.

“Midgar General… to get Lira.”

“So your just going to leave El here, and run off to – ”

“Delion, you look after your sister. Reno, I’ll go with you. I’m sure you could use an extra pair of hands getting your friend settled into her new home.”

“Nana! What about El?”

Josephine shushed him and motioned him out of the room, joining him moments later. Reno followed, closing the door softly behind him.

“For Odin’s sake, Delion. Keep your voice down and let the poor girl sleep,” Josephine quietly chastised him.

“But…”

“Now then… Reno and I will be back later. Dinner is in the oven, and the timer is set. All you have to do it take it out.”

“But, Nana…”

Josephine shot him a look that immediately shut him up. “Elena is perfectly alright. What she needs is to be left alone. Now… you do as Reno asked and wake her in a bit. See if you can’t get some of that nice roast into her, and then put her straight back to bed.”

Reno watched the exchange in silence, and could swear he could pinpoint the exact moment Del decided to surrender. He was beginning to see that Josephine was a bit of a force of nature. Arguing with her was almost as pointless as arguing with Lira. In the end, she was going to get her way, and she knew it.

He’d been seconds away from trying to dissuade her from accompanying him… Now he didn’t bother. He been in that sort of argument more than enough times to know there was little use. It was pretty clear that she’d already decided she was coming… which was why he instead chose to simply back off and wait for her by the door.

---

“Well? Tell me a little about this Lira…” Josephine said as they pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. Reno flashed her a small grin.

“She was my first real friend. Heh… She was a couple other firsts, too, actually… but… that’s the important one.”

“It sounds like the two of you have been close for quite a time. Something like that, I’d have put my money on you ending up with her instead of Elena.”

He shook his head. “Wasn’t gonna happen. Me ‘n Lira…” he began, before pausing to collect his thoughts. “It’s complicated. Maybe could’ve ended up together eventually if it weren’t for… ya know… life ‘n shit… but that’s not the hand we got dealt.”

“Oh?”

“Lira understands me a little too well,” Reno tried to explain, “And that means there are things about me that I think she kinda wishes she didn’t know. She understands a lot better than most people what bein’ a Turk involves… and it bothers her. I think that’s really why things never got to be any kind of romantic between us. She didn’t want to find out more than she already knew and I didn’t want to drag her into all that shit, anyway. Fuck, the one time I did, I ended up almost gettin’ her killed…”

He took the exit for Sector 3 and headed for Midgar General.

“What about before you were a Turk?”

Reno shrugged. “I got recruited when I was just a kid, so there really wasn’t much time between when I met Lira and when I became a Turk. ‘Sides… I was more concerned about what I was gonna eat tomorrow than a findin’ a girlfriend back then. And Lira… far as I know, she’s never wanted a serious relationship. With anyone. Think her parents kinda fucked that whole idea up for her… and goin’ to work over in Wall Market probably didn’t exactly help, either. I got to thinkin’ along the same lines for awhile, actually. Didn’t see a need for anything like that. And then ‘Lena came along.”

“From what I hear tell, your Lira had a hand in making sure things started happening between you two,” the old woman chuckled.

“No… Lira made damn sure it happened. You ever been in bed with someone, in the middle of havin’ a very nice evening… and they’re tellin’ you that you need to hurry up and get together with someone else?”

Josephine laughed and shook her head. “No, sweetie, I honestly can’t say I ever have. But that sounds like it must have been quite the experience…”

“That’s the worst part, actually,” Reno replied, smirking, “I wasn’t surprised by it at all. That’s just the way she is, and has been since I first met her. She wants to say somethin’, she’s gonna say it, and you’re gonna listen… or there will be dire consequences…”

“Strong-willed girl…”

“Yeah, well… she’s had to be. Only way to survive in the slums.”

“You’re glad that she’s leaving that life behind, aren’t you? I can tell…”

They turned into the hospital’s parking deck, and Reno set about hunting down a space that wouldn’t leave them hiking back once they retrieved Lira.

“You have no idea,” he replied, “I worry about her, Nana. She really doesn’t have anyone ‘cept me. Think her dad might still be alive over in Sector 2, but… even if he is, she’ll never speak to him again. Not after all the shit he did to her as a kid. I’m the closest thing she’s got to family, and I can’t be down in the slums lookin’ out for her all the time. Knowin’ she’s not going back… That’s a huge relief for me.”

He finally pulled into a space and parked the car.

“Well, then… let’s go and get her, shall we?”

---

“Took you long enough. For Shiva’s sake, Reno… can’t you ever be on time for anything?” Lira greeted him with a playful grin the moment he peeked around the door. “I was startin’ to think I was gonna be stuck here another night.” She pushed herself upright a little in bed. “Where’s Elena?”

The redhead laughed. “Long day… I sent her off to bed, and recruited someone else to help me break ya outta here.” Reno pushed the door open the rest of the way and strolled in, Josephine close on his heels.

“Oh!” Lira said, surprised, “Um… Hi, there.”

“Hello, yourself, sweet pea. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She smiled warmly and joined Reno at the side of the other woman’s bed.

“Lira, meet Josephine. ‘Lena’s grandmother.”

“And yours, too… whether you like it or not, so you’d best get used to introducing me as such,” she chided him with feigned irritation.

“Yes, Nana,” he replied, somewhat embarrassed. Lira giggled.

“Aw… You made him blush…”

He shot her a half-hearted glare, and quickly changed the subject. “So… What do I gotta do to take ya home with me?”

“Yeh have ta go through me,” a familiar voice responded behind him, and the redhead turned at the sound. Dr. Ward stood, framed by the doorway, a faint smile on her otherwise stern face. Her gaze moved past him and fell squarely on Josephine. “I don’t believe we’ve met… Justinia Ward. Shinra’s resident head of Medical, and that little troublemaker’s personal physician. Mostly because no one else is willing ta put up with him.”

“Geez, Doc… Ya make me sound like fuckin’ nightmare.”

“Yeh are at times, and yeh know it,” she said, fondly, “… and watch yer mouth.”

Josephine chuckled softly. “Josephine Brewer. It’s a pleasure, doctor.”

“Brewer? Yeh must be related ta Elena, then…”

“Oh, yes… She’s my granddaughter. Unfortunately, it seems she’s thoroughly worn herself out today… so I thought I’d come in her place and see if I could be of any help.”

Ward raised an eyebrow at turned to the redhead. “Worn out, eh? And just what have yeh had the girl doing that’s driven her to exhaustion?”

Reno raised his hand in surrender. “Wasn’t me, Doc. Tseng’s fault, all the way. ‘Lena’s startin’ to train with materia, and the boss had her in the practice room most of the mornin’.”

“Hmm…” Ward narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeh tell Tseng I’ll be having a word with him about that first thing tomorrow. In the meantime… let’s see ta getting Miss Versailles here home, shall we?”

Reno had to stop for a moment to remind himself that she was talking about Lira. He couldn’t recall ever having heard anyone address her as such… Lira never used her family name. For anything. In fact, he’d known her almost a year before she’d even bothered telling him what it was… and he didn’t think it had ever come up again. She was always just ‘Lira’ to pretty much everyone. He smirked slightly.

“Heh… Sure, Doc. What do I have to do to getcha to let ‘Miss Versailles‘ outta your clutches?” he asked, winking at the woman in bed. Lira rolled her eyes.

“Oh, shut up. They needed my full name for the medical records.”

The redhead grinned, reaching for the chart at the end of her bed. “Oh, yeah?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare…”

“Who’s gonna stop me?” he teased. He’d always been a little curious. Lira had only ever told him that she hated her full name… with a burning passion. Never what it actually was. He wasn’t sure anyone knew it…

She huffed, annoyed, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. Jerk.”

He knew her well enough to recognize that she was only putting on an act. If she really hadn’t wanted him to look, she would have forbidden it. And probably thrown something at him. Reno’s eyes scanned over the top of the chart, and he clapped a hand over his mouth, in a desperate attempt not to laugh. It didn’t work.

“… Lorelei Liralee Versailles?” he managed, snickering loudly. “Fuck, Lira… no wonder ya never told me…”

A pillow suddenly smacked into his head. “I swear to Ifrit, Reno… you start callin’ me that, the next thing I hit ya with won’t be a pillow,” she said, firmly.

---

“El?”

“Mmph…”

Elena rolled away from the irritating voice that kept disturbing her peace and quiet, burying her face in a pillow. Someone shook her.

“El… Come on. Wake up.”

“Go ‘way…” she muttered, her voice muffled. She heard a sigh, and suddenly someone was pulling her upright. She groaned, forcing her eyes open, at last.

“Del?” she asked, confused as her vision finally focused in on her assailant. She blinked, trying to clear her head. The last thing she remembered was heading for home… with Reno. She must have fallen asleep before they ever got there. Though that didn’t explain why her brother was now interrupting her much needed rest. Or, for that matter, why Reno and Nana would be letting him. “What’s wrong?”

Del shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. But Reno said you should eat something, and dinner’s ready.”

Elena rubbed her eyes, and yawned. She didn’t want to eat… She wanted to go back to sleep for a few more hours… or days. Maybe a week or two. Who knew materia training was so hard on a person?

“Where’s Reno?” she asked in a tired-sounding voice.

“Eat first.” It took her a moment to realize he was holding a forkful of something in front of her face. It took her a moment longer to recognize the scent of Nana’s roast pork. Eating suddenly seemed like a very good idea. Her stomach growled in apparent agreement. She took the proffered utensil from her brother and and bit down, savoring the familiar recipe.

“Mmm… Okay, I have to admit, that’s really good…” she said, swallowing, “But seriously, Del… Where’s Reno? And Nana?”

“Your boyfriend went to pick up… his friend… from the hospital.” She got the distinct impression that he’d intended to say something else, and deliberately censored himself. “Nana went with him.” He plucked the fork out of her grip and speared another bite before handing it back to her.

“Lira’s being released?

Del nodded, and encouraged her to keep eating. “Guess so.”

“Um… did he say anything else about Lira?” she prodded. She was curious about the results of the paternity test. Not that she was completely discounting the other woman’s own assertion that it wasn’t Reno’s… but something a little more concrete than instinct would be nice. Del shook his head.

“No… He was in a hurry. Just made sure you were comfortable and took off again.”

Elena sighed and took a few more bites. Tasty as it was, she just wanted to go back to sleep. She felt like she’d been in a day-long, no-holds-barred battle royale… not a three hour introductory training session. She yawned again and set the fork back on the plate before leaning back against the pillows.

“El… What are you going to do if it’s his?”

“Can we talk about this later… I’m exhausted, Del.” She groped for the blanket and dragged it over her, snuggling into its warmth.

“Yeah… okay. Get some more sleep.” She hear him collect the dishes, and stand, heading for the door.

“… I doesn’t matter. I’m still going to love him…” she murmured at his retreating form.

---

“Yeah… I just don’t see it.”

“Right there!” Lira said, excitedly, pointing.

Reno squinted and flipped the image sideways, hoping that a new angle might shed some light on things. “… Where?” he finally asked, exasperated. It just looked like shades of gray to him.

“First of all,” Dr. Ward broke in, snatching the page from his hand and flipping it over before giving it back to him, “Yeh’ve got it upside down. And it’s right there… in the center.” She tapped her fingertip on a slightly darker section of the picture.

“… That little jellybean-shaped blob?” he asked, somewhat incredulously.

“Well, what were yeh expecting? A color portrait? For Odin’s sake, she’s only a couple of months. The baby’s not much bigger than your thumb.” Reno shook his head and handed the sonogram printout back to Lira.

“I’ll just take your word for it.”

Josephine laughed softly. “Oh, don’t worry… It’ll be much more noticeable in a few more months.”

“Yeah, Reno… Plus, I’m gonna make sure you’re an expert by the time he or she’s ready to come out…”

The redhead blinked. “Why?” he asked, warily.

“So that you’re not completely hopeless when you ‘n Elena start havin’ babies…” she teased, much to the amusement of the other two women. Reno, meanwhile, groaned.

“Lira… will you please just focus on your own family instead of plannin’ mine?” he pleaded, hanging his head in dismay. Children… his own, at least… were the last thing on his mind. He had a feeling, though, that Lira wasn’t going to stop making the suggestion that it ought to be eventually. Thankfully, he was pretty sure Elena wasn’t making any such plans at the moment either.

“I agree…” Ward said, “Yeh need ta be looking out for yerself right now, missy. And besides which… I’m not ready ta have a pack of little Renos running around Midgar. I have enough to do just keeping the big one in relatively decent condition.”

“Very funny, Doc,” the redhead muttered. Great. Now she was getting in on the joke.

“Well, I for one am looking forward to all those precious little Renos,” Josephine chimed in. “I’ve always wanted great-grandchildren…”

Reno looked from one woman to the other and silently stood up, walking towards the door.

“And just where are yeh going now?”

“To track down a wheelchair so we can get the hell outta here. The three of you spend any more time in each other’s company, and I’ll be gettin’ married by the end of the day whether ‘Lena’s conscious or not.”

He did his level best to ignore the laughter that followed him out of the room.

---

When Reno and Josephine finally returned to Elena’s apartment, it was getting late. His newly appointed grandmother had all but insisted on making sure Lira was settled in before they left… which included feeding both her, and himself, until they could hardly move. It was fortunate that Rude had, at some point in the last twenty four hours, made an effort to stock the kitchen in preparation for Lira’s arrival.

The redhead got the impression that his partner was feeling more than a little guilty over what had happened to the woman. After all, Rude had been the one to suggest it to Reno in the first place, and she’d been taken while ostensibly under his protection.

Regardless of who was to blame, Reno was just glad that Lira was safe and comfortable. And he was going to make damn sure she stayed that way.

“Where in Odin’s name have your two been?” Del asked almost as soon as they walked through the door. “You’ve been gone for hours.”

“Woulda been back sooner if Nana hadn’t insisted on makin’ us all a five course dinner…” he replied, and the old woman chuckled softly. “‘Lena still asleep?”

“Yeah. I woke her up awhile ago for dinner. She was out again before I could get her to eat much, though.”

“Which is exactly the same condition all three of us should be in right now,” Josephine interjected. “Off to bed with you both.” She shooed her grandson towards the spare bedroom. “Goodnight, Reno,” she added with a smile before following him.

“‘Night.”

He waited until they’d disappeared before turning and moving quietly towards Elena’s room, poking his head in. She was sleeping soundly, lying on her side in the center of the mattress, with a pillow hugged tight against her chest.

Odds were pretty good that he couldn’t have disturbed her even if he’d tried. Still, though… she’d had a long day and he didn’t want to risk it. He slipped silently into the room and retrieved his quilt from the chair in the corner and was out again before anyone would have noticed.

Reno yawned and stripped out of his clothes, before curling up on the couch. One night wouldn’t kill him… although to be honest, he wasn’t a fan of that particular piece of furniture. Elena seemed to like it, but it was too short and too firm for his taste. He shrugged and laid down. He could sleep just about anywhere, really. He’d manage.

---

Elena woke to soft pre-dawn light peeking through the gap in the curtains and sat up in bed with a yawn. She’d slept like a log. The clock beside the bed read five oh seven. Still a little while before she’d set her alarm, but a perfectly reasonable time to be awake. The rookie stretched for a moment before turning with a grin to pester her bedmate awake as well.

Which was right about the time that she realized she was alone in bed. She blinked in confusion, wondering where Reno was. She had a vague memory of Del waking her… and she thought,at least, that the redhead had been mentioned… but the details of the conversation seemed to be eluding her for the moment. Elena frowned and climbed out of bed, rubbing her eyes and hoping that the two men hadn’t gotten into some kind of disagreement while she’d been recovering from training. If they had, in all likelihood, Reno would have taken off in an effort to keep the peace.

Her eyes narrowed. If her brother had managed to drive Reno out of his own home for the night, she was going to kick his ass.

That thought in mind, she wrenched open the bedroom door with the intent of yelling at Del until he told her why she’d been snuggling against a pillow all night instead of her boyfriend… but as it turned out, she didn’t have to go far for her answer. Elena sighed in relief when she spotted him on the couch, cocooned in a quilt and sleeping peacefully. She knelt down beside him

“Reno?” she said, softly, running her fingers gently along his cheek. His eyes fluttered open immediately, gazing up at her with a sleepy expression.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. What are you doing out here?”

“Wasn’t sure how out of it you still were when I got back. Didn’t wanna take a chance on wakin’ you up,” he replied, yawning. The rookie giggled and joined him on the couch, pinning him beneath her.

“I don’t think that you would’ve…” She leaned in and claimed his lips for a moment before pulling away. The redhead whined softly in frustration at the sudden withdrawal. “Where were you, anyway?”

“Del didn’t tell ya?”

“He might have… I remember talking to him, but to be honest, I think I was still mostly asleep at the time…”

“Heh… the Doc called me just as I was takin’ you home. Said she’d let Lira outta the hospital if I had a place ready for her, so I dropped you off here, and then went to spring her. Me n’ Nana got her settled over at my place while Del looked after you.”

Elena smiled and let her lips trail soft kisses along his throat, drawing a quiet groan from her captive. “When I woke up and you weren’t there, I was worried maybe something happened between you and Del.” She felt him shudder faintly at the sensation of her warm breath against the skin of his neck and grinned.

“Nah… We’ve been gettin’ along. Quit torturin’ me if ya don’t plan on followin’ through, will ya?” he said, playfully returning her grin.

“What if I don’t?” Elena teased.

“Heh… then I won’t tell ya what Ward said about me ‘n Lira’s baby…”

The rookie paused in her very thorough exploration of his collarbone and looked up, suddenly significantly less interested in teasing him. “She has the results of the test?”

Reno only smirked.

“Well… ?” the rookie prodded.

“Not mine,” he said after a few torturous moments. Elena sighed, relieved, and smiled.

“I wouldn’t really have been upset, you know. And we’d have figured out how to live with that if we had to,” she began. She carefully brushed his hair back from his eyes. “… but I’m still kind of… really, really glad.”

“Yeah… same here.”

Elena pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply. “You know,” she whispered breathlessly once they broke apart, “I was thinking… We should go out for lunch today…”

“You in the mood for somethin’ specific? Heard a new Wutaiian place opened over in Sector 5…” the redhead innocently replied. Her hand swatted at his thigh through the quilt.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Yeah? Now who’s the pervert?” Reno snickered.

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me…” she giggled in reply before returning her attention to his lips. She finally gave him just enough freedom to work his arms loose from their confines, and he obligingly wrapped them around her. For several minutes, Elena simply let herself get lost in his embrace. Nothing else seemed to matter.

A quiet shuffling from the kitchen, and the sound of the stove being lit, very quickly brought her back to reality.

Elena pulled away from the redhead, looking up in surprise. “N-Nana?!”

“Now, don’t let me interrupt the two of you, dear. I’m just getting breakfast started.”

“I-I… W-we were… just… um…” the rookie stammered, her entire face on fire.

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea what you were doing…” the old woman chuckled, “Would either of you like bacon this morning?”

“… I would,” Reno piped up when the rookie didn’t seem in any particular hurry to answer her grandmother. Elena glared at him, and he managed a shrug. “What? Who turns down bacon?”

Elena groaned and slid off the couch, beelining for her bedroom. The redhead smirked and followed, his quilt wrapped around him. When he reached the door, he turned back. “Uh… If it’s a pain in the ass, don’t worry about it, but… ya think you could maybe make some of that stuff with all the cinnamon on it, too?”

“My streusel? Of course I can, sweetie…”

Reno grinned and followed the rookie into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He was starting to like this whole living together idea. The prospect of waking up to Elena every morning from now on was amazing in and of itself. Waking up to Elena and breakfast for the rest of the week was going to spoil him…

~fin~