Chapter One

Now

Elena was getting ready for bed when the knock at her door came. It was only nine o'clock, but she'd been up late the previous night, and anyway, she hadn't slept much recently. For once she was tired, and she wanted to take full advantage of that.

She was tempted to ignore whoever it was, to just head upstairs, pretend there was no-one there. But politeness, as much as curiosity, made her walk through the kitchen, aware that she was dressed just in a thin nightshirt and robe, to see who it was. She couldn't think of anyone she knew here in Junon that would come to her door, unannounced. There were a number of men that she had been seeing casually, but none of them knew where she lived. Her relationships were anonymous, played out in sleazy bars and quickly booked hotel rooms. There was no-one personal in her life, no-one that would seek her out. She was a bit nervous as she unlocked the door.

She was unprepared for who was actually there. She swallowed hard, taking a step back involuntarily from the tall red haired man who stood before her, hands shoved into the pockets of his expensive black suit, not the same one as he'd worn back then, but equally messy. Shirttails untucked, buttons undone. Despite the fact the clothing was designer, and had obviously cost a lot of money, it still didn't fit him right, hanging from him awkwardly. He'd always looked strange in a suit. Uncomfortable, and slightly exposed. Though he was smiling, she got the impression that he felt that way, still.

'Reno,' she said, softly. 'What are you doing here?'

'Hello to you too,' he said, rolling his eyes, still smiling.

She frowned. 'How did you find me?'

'You think Shinra doesn't keep tabs on its former employees?' he said, grinning.

'Why have you come now?'

He bit his lip, nervously. 'I would've come before, but... I didn't think you'd want to see me.'

'I wanted to see you,' she said pointedly. 'It's been two years though.'

He couldn't meet her eyes. 'I'm sorry.'

They stood in silence, Reno staring at the ground, Elena staring right at Reno. Eventually, he spoke.

'Can I come in?'

'I don't think so,' she said.

He sighed. 'Elena, please. I want to talk to you.'

'You've had two years to come here!' she snapped, incredulously.

He looked away. 'I know. You know, Elena, you knew where I was, too.'

She shook her head. 'I never want to step foot in Edge again. I thought you'd have realised that.'

He shrugged, helplessly. 'Elena, please.'

Something in his tone got to her. A sort of desperation. The memories that had been in the forefront of her mind every moment for the last two years flooded back to her. Reno, the man who had made her into a Turk, with his gentle teasing and boundless patience. The man she'd both admired and pitied, so cool and professional one moment, and then childish and needy the next. He'd craved friendship, and she'd given him that. He'd never known, she guessed, that she was completely in love with him. But then, she'd never known that he was in love with her. When she left Edge, she'd waited for the calls, the visits, the contact that had never come. Her heart had broken a bit more each day that she hadn't heard from him. Today, her heart was dead.

'I'm sorry, Reno,' she said, closing the door in his face.

xoxoxox

The following morning she got out of bed at five am, having not slept, once again. Apprehensively, she approached the door. When she'd looked out her window, several times, during the night, he'd been there, sitting on the door step, his head against the wall, not sleeping, just staring miserably at the ground. When she opened the door, she was unsurprised to find him still there, long legs drawn to his chest, face resting on his knees. She crouched beside him, gently shaking his arm.

'Reno,' she said softly. As she waited for him to stir, she saw that his hair was shorter, the long ponytail he'd always had gone. She wondered why he'd decided to cut it. It did look kind of nice now though.

He looked a bit confused as he woke, then he saw her. 'Hey,' he mumbled.

'Come in,' she said.

He sat on her sofa as she made them coffee, then she came and sat beside him. For a moment they sat in silence.

'I'm sorry,' he said, quietly.

She shrugged, awkwardly. 'I just... I thought you'd understand about Edge.'

'I thought I did,' he said, rubbing his neck nervously. Elena fought the urge to smile. She'd always found that little tic of his very endearing. Then she thought of the last time she'd seen him, and the urge faded. She felt herself growing cold again.

'How are the others?' she asked, tonelessly.

'Rude is fine. Tseng too.' He smiled slightly. 'Reeve's wife had a baby.'

Elena arched an eyebrow. 'Reeve got married?'

He nodded. 'To his secretary, of all the clichés. Hina. She's nice. Their kid is sweet. A little girl.'

'Does Rude see Tifa much?'

Reno shrugged. 'Here and there. Cloud's around a lot now, and she's pretty busy, with the kids and the bar...' He looked at her. 'What do you do these days?'

'You mean the Shinra haven't found that out?' she asked, mockingly.

Reno flinched at her tone, and she felt guilty for a moment. It wasn't Reno's fault, everything that had happened...

'I work at the hospital. Nursing.'

He looked surprised. 'You're a nurse?'

She nodded, smiling faintly. 'I took a medical course as a subsidiary in my Turks training, and they're so short staffed they accepted that. I'm doing formal training as well, on the side.'

'Do you enjoy it?' he asked.

She thought about it for a moment. 'I guess I do. It's weird hours, and stressful, but... I like that I'm saving people, rather than killing them.'

An awkward silence settled over them once more, as they both remembered their past as Turks. Reno, in particular, held the scars. After all, he had been the one to activate the bomb that had dropped the Plate onto Sector 7, killing god knows how many people. She sometimes wondered how he had lived with himself after that.

'That must be nice,' he said, finally.

She nodded. 'Yeah. It is.' She thought of something. 'How's Rufus?'

Reno smiled. 'As weird as ever. He and Reeve are in constant conflict, but...' he trailed off. 'It's not so bad being around him anymore.'

'Does he suffer any after effects of the accident?' In spite of herself, Elena was interested about her old friends and colleagues. She had thought about them a lot over the last two years.

'None,' said Reno, shaking his head. 'Rufus is young. He recovered easily.'

Elena thought about this. 'We're all young,' she observed softly. 'I don't feel it though. I feel sixty five, rather than twenty five.'

Reno didn't know what to say to this. He felt the same, pretty much- stunned that so much could happen in a lifetime that had thus far only lasted twenty six years. Rude was only thirty one, and Tseng only thirty six, and yet the four of them...

'It's pretty strange,' he conceded, uselessly.

She nodded, and then she couldn't think of anything to say. Hard to believe that four years ago, she never stopped speaking.

Reno was still rubbing his neck, anxiously. She began to wonder why he was here, and asked him this, quite bluntly.

He looked away. 'I miss you,' he said softly. 'We were always such good friends, weren't we Lena?'

She nodded. 'Yeah. We were.'

'I knew you wouldn't wanna see me, but Tseng told me I had to try, that I was being weak not finding you.' He smiled slightly. 'I seem to have quite a reputation for being weak. Sector 7, the Purges...'

'Reno. Don't.'

'Sorry,' he said quietly. He wracked at his brain, for some kind of topic. 'So,' he said, trying to sound cheerful. 'Are you seeing anyone?'

She shrugged. 'A couple of people. Not seriously.' She paused. 'You?' She was trying to sound casual, but all the feelings she'd once had for him were eating at her. As much as she now resented him, she knew that if he said he was with someone, she would be upset.

'Too busy. We work every day practically.'

'You got given time off to come down here?'

'Heh. Kinda. Reeve didn't strictly grant it, but Tseng is covering for me.'

She smiled. 'You never followed the rules when we were Turks, either.'

'We're still Turks, Lena,' he said stubbornly.

She arched an eyebrow. 'Really?'

He nodded. 'Of course we are. We always will be.'

Elena shrugged. 'Maybe.'

The peculiar silence came over them again. Elena watched Reno out of the corner of her eye, as he stared at the ground.

'Why did you really come?' she asked him.

He didn't answer immediately. After a long time, he said 'Did you know Reeve wanted to put you on trial, after you left?'

Elena looked up, startled. 'He did? For what?'

'He said he could prove that you were selling Shinra secrets. Tseng told him we'd all quit if he did, though.'

Elena smiled slightly. 'Turk loyalty,' she said, softly. 'Cute.'

Reno rubbed the back of his wrist anxiously. 'Y,yeah. We'd never sell you out, Lena.'

Elena felt a familiar gnawing in her stomach at the sincerity of his words. Reno was as transparent as glass- everything he felt was etched onto his face, most of the time, anyway. Somehow, he managed to hide his feelings during missions, to go about them as though he had no cares whatsoever. But the second the mission finished, his cool blankness would slip, and those close to him could see instantly how he felt. Usually tired and unhappy.

'So Reeve was really gonna do that?' Elena sighed. 'I don't know why I'm so surprised. I always knew power would change him.'

Reno fidgeted awkwardly. 'He's not so bad,' he said loyally. God. Elena felt sick. She'd forgotten how desperate he always was to follow and protect those of a higher standing than him. It had used to break her heart and annoy her in equal measures. She just shrugged.

'I have to go to work,' she told him.

He nodded. 'Okay. Can I meet you tonight?'

She nearly said no, but something stopped her. Was she crazy? This was Reno, her friend. The person she'd missed most of all from her old life. As much as she wanted to be strong and turn him away, she knew that she couldn't.

'I'll be home at about three,' she said. 'There's probably beer in the fridge. The TV is there. There's a bathroom through that corridor.'

Reno gave her a little smile, understanding. 'Thank you, Elena.'

She shook her head. 'I'll be back at three,' she said again. She left before either of them had the chance to say anymore.

A/N- This fic was spawned by the bit at the end of disc two where you meet the Turks in the tunnel at Midgar, and get the choice of whether to fight them or not. I was playing the other day, and chose not to fight, and saw that Reno says something that –to my crazy relena obsessed mind lol- could be an indication of a future relationship for them. and so i started to write this, which follows game canon, but ignores Advent Children and probably Before Crisis too. Please review! xD