Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one other than Cortie. As much as I'd like to live in FFVII, I don't do that either... :(

A pale moon light creeped in through the window, casting a blue glow over the room. Slow, rhythmic breaths broke the silence regularly as the inhabitants slept. The red head was curled around the smaller figure allowing one arm to be used as a pillow while the other one held her securely to his body. The chilly air made her small frame shiver. Simply out of reflex he hugged her closer to him and pulled the cover up, only waking long enough to complete the task and notice how her hair and skin both took on a pale blue hue in the moon light. He lay his head back down on the pillow and breathed in her scent before slipping back into a dreamless sleep. A small smile still traced his lips.

They were surrounded by very light lilac walls. Grey and black antique furniture was arranged around the king size bed. A small table, a book shelf and a chest were placed strategically in the room, giving them as much room to move about as possible. The window sill was larger than normal and had been made into a small sitting area which had helped them avoid the bulk of extra seating.

The shrill ring cut through the silence, bringing a curse from the drowsy redhead who reluctantly rolled on to his back and searched for the irritating device known as a PHS, hoping it did not wake the strawberry blonde before he could answer or silence it, which ever seemed appropriate.

"Hello," he asked quietly, keenly aware of the hour. "What else would I be doing at this hour," he asked with annoyance evident in his voice. "Yeah, before her maybe. What's this about anyway?" He waited impatiently for an answer. "Got it. Why me?" Another long pause, she was starting to stir. "Ya don't haveta yell, yo," he grimaced and held the PHS away from his ear as the voice came through even louder.

"Hm," she groaned, turning towards the missing warmth.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered, brushing the pale pinkish blond hair back from her face with his free hand.

"Reno, why are you on the phone at three in the morning," she mumbled after checking the time on her own PHS.

"Called in," he replied, ignoring the indignant shouts coming from the normally calm and level-headed leader of the Turks, Tseng.

"Is everything ok," she asked, her ice blue eyes were wide open as she sat up watching him carefully.

"I dunno. I haven't gotten much but this," he held the phone out in her direction.

"That doesn't sound good..." She winced at the sound of the clearly agitated voice.

"Alright already," he groaned into the device. "I'll there soon but you'll owe me," he relented before turning the PHS off and setting back down on the table more forcefully than need.

His pale green eyes took her in. She had curled up into a sitting fetal position with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees. The fear and sadness more evident in her than it had been in since the defeat of the Remnants a year ago. No matter how angry he was, this was not the moment to show it. This he knew that all too well.

He offered her a small smile, knowing his usual arrogant banter would only make things worse at least in this situation. Most of the time it would cheer her up but this was not one of those times. Situations so serious and her already dismal mood would not allow for his joking banter. "Everything will be ok," his words sounded more confident than he actually felt. From what he gathered, they were in more danger than they had been when the remnants came to claim Sephiroth's legacy as their own by terrorizing Edge, kidnapping large numbers of children, raising Bahamut, and eventually trying to resurrect Sephiroth himself. He wondered briefly if the planet would ever be allowed a time of peace before returning his thoughts to her.

"I will be back as soon as possible," he promised, as he moved her tangled hair away from her neck, kissing it gently several times.

"Maybe I could... help," she whispered, turning her eyes to him. She had been one of them not too long ago. He disliked the idea of her being in danger but he knew well how it could be just as dangerous standing on the sidelines as it was on the front.

"Is that what you want," he asked softly, the question was harder than he expected.

"I wanna be where you are. If that means returning to the Turks then so be it," she answered looking past him, out the window.

He nodded in response. There was little he could say. Though he feared the worst when she was one of them he hated the idea of being away from her and loathed the thought that he might not be there to protect her when she needed him because he was off fighting someone else's battles. "Get ready then, you know how Tseng is about waitin'. Sometimes I think he was born with a fire under his ass," he said as he stood and turned the light on. "Don't bother with the Turk duds. I don't think he'll care since you're in retirement."

Her eyes narrowed. "Quit saying that. It makes me sound ancient," she groaned as she rose from the comfort and warmth of their bed. She moved to the bathroom as he worked through the closet, wondering what she might wear. His options were limited by the fact that he still belonged to the Turks and would as long as he was physically able to do the job. Aside from having to leave for days, sometimes weeks at a time, he loved the job. It gave him something to do to expend all the extra energy he was told would dissipate by his age and he got paid to run and fight that energy out. It was nice to come home with plenty of energy to do whatever Cortie wanted but not go stir crazy. If it was not his job, it was his energy that had ruined his previous relationships but she was different. She had easily accepted him for who he was energy, ego, mouth, job, and all the other things that drove most of the other women, and men if was being totally honest, away.

"It's all yours," she said as she returned to the room, in his robe, taking a seat at the vanity to fix her hair and apply her make-up. He smiled and disappeared into the room he was sure he would soon miss if this was as serious as Tseng seemed to think it was.

He allowed the water to flow over his tired muscles. Though it was early he was far from tired but his overworked muscles were. Depending on the severity of the threat, he would have to consider a vacation soon. The Turks were trained exhaustively and were in excellent physical shape. The biggest down fall of choosing to be a Turk over being SOLDIER was that they did not receive the mako treatments. They got through battle with their minds more than their strength. Injuries took longer to heal than they would if he were SOLDIER or if he would take time off every one in a while but he refused to stand on the side lines while his team endangered themselves on missions ranging from information gathering to monster disposal.

After a few minutes he began to wash himself quickly. As much as he disliked the idea of disrupting Cortie's sleep to meet Tseng for a early morning meeting, he disliked the idea of having to wake her to go to a meeting which involved an infuriated Tseng. When he finished rinsing his hair for the last time, he dried and quickly worked his hair into its normal spikes before securing his rat tail with the first elastic band he saw. He to the main room with a towel wrapped around his waist. The strawberry blonde made her way over to him, wrapping her arms around him silently. She was worried but would not say it, at least not through words, just yet. Her ear found his heart as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, yo," he whispered kissing the top of her head as he played with the ends of her mid-back length hair. If she was no so upset he would have noticed that she had left her bangs across her face but had allowed the ends of her hair to curl naturally for the first time in months.

"It's not me I'm worried about," she mumbled. 'Of course not,' he thought, 'you never worry about yourself. You've always worried about everyone else.'

"I know. I'm not going to be disposed of easily. You have nothing to worry about." He listened to his own words. Around her he seemed much more mature than he typically did around others, even at work. He wondered what it was about her that brought it out in him but did not give it much thought as she looked up at him with large icy blue eyes. He could feel her heart palpitating as he pressed her against him.

"Promise?" He knew she wanted a yes, even though he was worried. A lie would do as long as it was a yes, so he nodded and kissed her for a long moment before taking a step back. Looking her over, he smiled upon seeing her hair and the hint of rebellion in the black swirls she had painted on her face near her charcoal lined eyes. She wore a black crop top with a high neck that opened with a deep v that revealed more of her breasts than she had ever allowed while still a Turk. The top was held in place by leather straps just above and below her breasts. With that she paired black mini shorts and a pale grey sarong that was held in place by two leather straps. One rested just over her hip and the other wrapped around her hip. Knee high army boots, black fingerless gloves and her dagger, held in a thigh strap, completed the outfit.

"Didn't know ya had a new battle outfit," he kissed her again. "Not sure Tseng'll approve but you look amazing, yo," the wolfish grin she received made her giggle.

"I'm sure he won't but I'm not a Turk anymore. It's not like he can tell a civilian how to dress," she turned her attention away from his face to his phone that screamed again. Reno snatched it up off the bed and looked at the caller id though he did not need to. He knew who would be on the other end of the line as it had taken them a little over a half hour to get as ready as they had.

"Yeah," he answered a little agitated, his arm still around the object of his affection. "Look, I'll be there shortly. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait," he said before hanging up on his boss for the second time that day.

"You probably shouldn't do that," she shook her head and returned to her reflection. "Get dressed."

"Yes ma'am," he grumbled something about Tseng being intolerable before getting into his standard issue Turk outfit, once again failing to wear it according to regulation. As he dressed she grabbed the EMR and handed it to him before equipping her materia. She tended to stick to materia or hand to hand combat when she fought. She was one of the few Turks who relied on magic but she was proficient in the use of most weapons.

"Not taking your sword?" When she had been fighting daily it was not particularly odd for her to forgo a weapon in favor of magic and her fists. It had been at least a year since she had seen battle. That final battle had been with Kadaj, his gang, and the many nightmarish creatures they summoned. Her not reaching for the sword seemed out of character considering the length of time that had passed since that last battle.

"It's heavy," she said simply, dismissing the idea. "I've only used it a few times. If additional weapons are necessary, I'm sure we'll be back to retrieve them." She had a valid point. His EMR was heavier than he would like for a weapon. In battle, though, it was his favorite weapon to use.

Cortie took Reno's hand shyly though she knew he was not bothered by public displays of affection as he often embarrassed her by pulling her into them. She was still nervous that he might not be in the mood for her insecurities that morning. He smiled down at her and grabbed the keys before locking up and leading the way down to the streets below.

The walk to the new Shinra head quaters was a quiet one. He was watching for any early morning surprises and she was drawn into her thoughts about what could be so important that it could not wait for normal business hours. Cortie shivered in the cold night air. Without a so much as a thought, Reno shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped around her shoulders before draping his arm across them. A light blush that tinted her cheeks with such an open display of affection, though they were the only ones on the street at that hour entertained him.

A/N: Walked back through this chapter to work out some kinks. As soon as I finish beautifying the chapters I have already posted, I will get back to posting new chapters. :)

Please review or leave a comment. :)

The Call