This fic was supposed to be included in an Xmas anthology but procrastination and over-extension are never a good combo for me. So here it is on its own (prompt, of course, is Pine.). Merry Christmas, everyone!
Pine
"Is everyone all right?"
Tseng was quickly unbuckling his harness, looking tersely over his shoulder at the other passengers in the rear section jump seats. Reno, in the pilot seat next to him, was cursing loudly as he unstrapped himself and swung out the small door to his left, roiling anger and potential for violence displayed vividly in his expression.
"I'm fine." Cloud replied as he mentally inventoried his body for any areas of damage. Not finding any, he unbuckled himself from his harness as well, looking around the craft for smoke or sparking wires that might indicate an imminent fire.
"Nice bucket ya got here, Turk." Barrett boomed from his jump seat next to Cloud. He was still strapped in, relaxing back in his seat with his hands clasped behind his neck, cradling his head. "Coulda got it tuned up before you escorted us all the way out to this Gaia forsaken wilderness though."
Tseng, his expression ever neutral, remained silent as he scanned the craft's interior, taking inventory.
Jumping back up onto the side of the craft, Reno angled his body halfway inside the pilot door. Ignoring the two rear passengers, he addressed his superior. "Looks like we took some small arms fire to the right side of the tail boom. Damaged the rotor most likely. Don't think she's gonna fly any time soon."
"Yeah, right. Truth is, this thing's just a heap of bolts strung together, not fit for the sky." Barrett opined loudly.
Reno turned his head to give Barrett a frosty glare that clearly conveyed the darkly murderous thoughts running through his mind with regard to the big oil man. Their instinctive dislike of each other had worn everyone's nerves thin during the covert reconnaissance trip.
But Barrett wasn't easily intimidated and he grinned, laughing loudly. "So, what's next? You gonna trek out singlehandedly and bring us back a new rotor, there, Red?"
Reno snarled and muttering under his breath, pushed himself back out, disappearing from the pilot door once more.
Predictably, Tseng had been thinking precisely about their options for what would come next; he opened a storage cabin behind his seat and began pulling hooded parkas from it. Handing one to Barrett, he murmured a brief apology. "This is the largest available, I hope it will suffice."
Barrett took the jacket without a word, turning to give Cloud a weighty look. Cloud had only a second to acknowledge the silent communication before Tseng was handing him a parka of his own. The military-style jackets were designed to blend in with the terrain; they were lightweight but lined with advanced material that would hold body heat. An older model maybe, but still effective.
Tseng shrugged into his deftly. The cabin was quickly turning frigid reflecting the outside temperature of the mountainous region they had gone down in. "There are gloves in the pockets." Tseng continued, fishing his out. He looked up at the others. "We're going to have to hike out fast, I think it would be best if we paired up."
Barrett started to voice his objections, but Cloud held up a hand, effectively cutting him off and turned to the head Turk. He had considered their options as well and had quickly come up with the same solution. "I agree, Tseng."
They had gone down in hostile territory, and desolate as it was, there was still a measure of danger to walking out on their own. It remained a good possibility that guerilla training camps or sympathetic locals might be located nearby.
"All right. Cloud and I will head north. That's the closest neutral zone." Barrett began.
"No." Tseng interrupted. His reply was directed to Barrett but he looked pointedly at Cloud, willing him to see reason. "Cloud and Reno will stay here."
"What? No!" Barrett shouted, outraged. "Cloud and I don't split up. That's the deal."
"I am the only one familiar with the dialect here." Tseng continued reasonably. "And you blend in much better with the locals than either Cloud or Reno. We will stand a much higher rate of success as a whole- even if we are spotted from a distance."
Frankly, Tseng would have preferred to take Cloud for his fighting skills, but there was no way he could leave Reno with Barrett and expect to find both of them alive when he returned. Besides, it was true that with their pale coloring, both Cloud and Reno would immediately be suspect if discovered.
At that moment, Reno popped back up into the cockpit, hugging himself and stamping his feet loudly as he came toward them. "Damn, it's cold as fuck."
The three men turned a collective gaze to the volatile Turk and eyed him in silence.
"What'd I interrupt?" Spotting the last parka laying across a seat, Reno picked it up and began to don it. "Let's stop standing around bein' a target and get the fuck outta here. I've got her camouflaged as best I can, but still, she's hard to miss."
"As I was saying," Tseng turned back to the other two. "Cloud has extensive experience managing in the rough. And Reno is familiar with operation of the radio and beacon equipment when help gets close. Barrett and I blend in the best. It's our best shot."
"I agree." Cloud grimaced. "Are there provisions?"
"Wait a minute." Barrett persisted. "Are you sure about this, Spiky?"
"Yes. Tseng's right, it makes the most sense." Cloud frowned slightly at Barrett's use of his nickname in what he considered to be mixed company.
Tseng was already turning to gather the supplies the two groups would need to survive the next few days.
"Wait, dammit." Reno demanded, hands on his hips. "What the fuck did I miss?"
*********************************
Within the hour, Cloud and Reno were moving quickly along the treeline of the hilly forested area, putting distance between them and the downed chopper. The region was rugged and sparsely populated, the hills covered with mature snow-capped firs that rose majestically toward the sky. Across a small valley from them, an old logging road snaked in and out of sight.
Tseng and Barrett were long gone in the opposite direction, striking out toward the closest neutral outpost. It was about a two day walk if they weren't spotted by any guerilla outfits. Even if they were, Tseng had been right: he, with his dark looks and serious countenance and big, tough Barrett would have a good shot at passing as speculators, who were usually a rough and tumble lot.
The dozens of roughneck men drawn to the area as soon as oil was found were certainly an annoyance to the local population, but it was Shinra that was the hated enemy, even incapacitated as it was. Any fledgling partnership Rufus hoped to arrange via anonymous front organizations would be doomed if it were ever discovered that Shinra was in any way involved.
And one thing was for sure: that bird was Shinra.
Cloud contemplated all of this as he trailed slightly behind Reno; they had made their way steadily to higher ground, where the beacon signal would be strongest. The plan was risky: wait two days, and on the morning of the third, establish periodic radio contact and set up the beacon. This would not only allow Shinra to hone in on their whereabouts but hostile local factions would be alerted as well. From then on it would be a race as to who could get to them first.
The going was relatively easy physically; it was Reno's constant surliness that strained the situation. Cloud couldn't claim Reno as a friend exactly, but he had been in the Turk's company enough times to recognize that something was definitely off in his behavior. Normally, Reno was the kind to let misfortune simply roll off his back. He shrugged it off and rolled with it and usually managed to come out on top.
It was so damn annoying.
And yet, there was something about Reno that was…alluring. And that was something that Cloud would never in a million years admit to anyone.
Today though, Cloud was treated to intermittent muttering about the fucking cold, the horrible fucking snow, disgusting fucking nature, and even stupid fucking cheap-ass Shinra helicopters. Cloud raised his eyebrows at that one and kept his eyes on Reno's back, warily.
After a couple hours of hiking at a pace that was just short of running they had still not seen another living soul so they slowed their pace somewhat and around midafternoon, Reno halted.
"Hey, Cloud. Gotta take a piss." The Turk stalked off into the woods silently, hands jammed in his pockets.
Cloud watched the flaming red hair disappear behind the trees and decided that an empty bladder was a good idea. After he relieved himself he took out his canteen, sipping water they had taken from a stream a few miles back and lamented silently –of all the days of the year to get stuck with a PMSing Turk.
As he was replacing the canteen at his waist and reflecting on his bad luck, Cloud was thrown suddenly and roughly to the ground, his breath rushing out of him in a big "whoof." Reno lay immobile sprawled halfway across his body. Before he could angrily protest, Cloud saw that Reno was not paying any attention to him, but was instead peering across the valley to the road in the distance. He craned his head but couldn't see the target of Reno's attention, nor did he dare move.
"What?" He hissed, feeling the planet's chill beginning to seep through his jacket.
"There's a couple of people over there in a cart. Locals, looks like." Reno was observing intently. "They were moving down the road, but then they stopped. I think they might've seen you."
Cloud said nothing, but took advantage of the situation to stare up at Reno's face. He had always thought Reno attractive on some subconscious level, but he was surprised to discover the Turk was sexy without his ever-present smirk. His bone structure was fine and the curve of his cheekbone was sensual, setting off the startling clarity of his intelligent blue-green eyes. Cloud's gaze trailed down and he watched, with fascination, Reno's carotid pulse throbbing alongside the taut muscle of his throat. The skin there was pale, flawless. He had a sudden urge to bite at it, hard, and was trying to imagine what it might taste like when Reno broke his reverie.
"Can you reach those bins without moving?"
Cloud carefully reached toward his hip and tried to unclasp them but the binoculars were trapped by his thigh pressed snugly against one of Reno's. Looking down, he canted his hip up with as little movement as possible, not wanting to attract the strangers' attention further.
With the thick gloves on, Cloud found it difficult to unclasp the glasses from their strap and bit his lip in concentration. Finally securing them, he looked up to find Reno staring down at him with glittering, languid eyes.
Cloud flushed, but met Reno's gaze and handed the bins over wordlessly. The Turk took them and with a slight smirk, turned his attention back to the locals.
"They're looking this way. They're talking." He said after a moment, peering into the lenses. "Ok they're getting out of the cart…yeah, they're locals…ah, looks like they're starting to fix a fenceline, it must be a grazing area…or something. I think we're ok."
After a few more minutes of observation, he handed the glasses back to Cloud and they carefully crept into the forested area to resume their journey, keeping well inside the trees this time. It was slower going navigating the thick brush while simultaneously keeping sight of the valley on the other side.
But the previous tension in the air was definitely broken, replaced with something else entirely.
Finally, they came across a small clearing amidst the tall pine trees that would nicely hide the small fire they would need to build. Cloud looked up at the firs, standing like silent sentinels, their branches covered in thick clusters of needles, frosted with mounds of snow. It was pristine, untouched by man.
"This looks good as anywhere. It's about to start getting dark anyway. You manage the tent?" Reno, apparently oblivious to the beauty of their surroundings, gestured toward the pack Cloud carried on his back. Cloud nodded as he looked around, quietly enthralled with the utter sense of solitude and peace that enveloped them. Finally, he set himself to putting up the small two man tent they took from the chopper, while Reno went off to gather wood for their fire.
When he returned, carrying an armload of gnarled branches, Cloud noticed the scowl that had twisted Reno's expressive face for most of the day had been replaced with a thoughtful subdued look. Cloud wasn't sure which was worse: Reno's angry diatribes or this strange, hollow shadow of himself.
Reno dumped the wood on the ground a few feet from the tent site and stooped to assemble the small branches for a fire. Cloud finished setting up the tent in silence.
They had bland military food packets for dinner. Cloud was used to them and he supposed Reno was too, judging from the way he methodically chewed and swallowed it down. After they had eaten, they remained there at the fire, enjoying its welcome heat.
The night was crisp and clear. Cloud always felt that the air had a certain smell in the deep of winter, kind of a cleanness to it, and he took slow, deep lungfuls of it. Closing his eyes, he listened to the noises of the forest, dying down at this time of night and the crackling of the logs on the fire. He tipped his head back to absorb the heat on his skin and smell the heady scent of fresh pine all around them.
He opened his eyes to find Reno regarding him intently, his lidded gaze filled with undisguised interest and he did not look away when Cloud returned the stare. A pang of heat flared low in Cloud's belly–he felt himself flush again and still Reno did not look away.
"Pine trees smell good." Cloud ventured softly, giving in at last and returning his gaze to the fire. "Reminds me of home."
The corner of Reno's mouth turned up slightly. "Don't remember home. Damn sure didn't have no pine trees around."
"Huh. Never thought Christmas eve would turn out like this" Cloud continued meditatively. "Did you have plans for tonight?"
In response, Reno abruptly turned away, his expression suddenly pinched and sullen. He poked a little at the fire. "I don't do Christmas."
Cloud stared, his mouth slightly agape at Reno's sudden transformation. He had known people before that didn't go all out to celebrate Christmas. That was one thing. Reno, on the other hand, seemed to have an outright aversion to it and he wondered what had happened to the Turk in the past to make him react that way.
"It's getting late." The Turk threw his stick into the fire and quickly stood and stretched, signaling an end to the evening. "You mind taking first watch? I'm beat."
"Yeah, ok." Cloud watched from the corner of his eye as Reno disappeared into the tiny tent. He sat there awhile longer, looking into the fire, thinking about Reno's dislike of Christmas, about the sultry look of invitation on Reno's face when he had gazed at Cloud across the fire and about that strong, steady, rhythmic pulse at his throat. A flare of desire swept over him as he imagined how good Reno would feel plunged deep inside him and he shivered at the phantom pleasure.
Alarmed by the sudden veering of his thoughts into dark and dangerous territory, Cloud coughed and shook his head to chase the lurid images away. Somewhat chastened, he looked up at the smattering of stars in the clear sky above the clearing and again breathed in the earthy pine.
It reminded him of the big decorated tree waiting at Tifa's and the presents underneath, the good meal with friends. The warm feeling of belonging to something good. He frowned, knowing the kids would be disappointed that he wasn't there. He hoped some of Christmas would still be awaiting him when he got back and wished Reno had something like that waiting for him back home too.
Sighing, Cloud left the dwindling fire and found a good position to keep watch.
**************************
Christmas morning was another clear, bright day and they moved out after another uninspiring meal of packaged rations. They were both tired from keeping watch in turns throughout the night but fortunately nothing untoward had occurred.
Making good time, the two men reached the apex of the hill they were climbing around midafternoon. Scouting around, they found a sheltered area to set camp. The spot Reno would place the beacon in the morning was a half kilometer away. Cloud set out to get firewood and came back a couple of hours later carrying small game for dinner.
"Holy shit, Cloud." Reno sat up straighter from his perch on a fallen log, impressed. "You know how to cook that?"
Cloud just smiled, pulled a Bowie knife from his pack and got to work on their holiday meal.
Three hours later, both men had full bellies. The game had been tasty, but Cloud still regretted missing Christmas dinner at Tifa's. He had been careful not to mention anything Christmas related all day and as a result, Reno had been in better spirits for the most part. After eating their fill, Reno produced a canteen from his pack that Reno had not seen before. Reno took a long pull, then passed it to Cloud, who took it and looked at the Turk dubiously.
Reno laughed. "Go ahead, it's whiskey, just about the last of Rufus' best stuff we managed to salvage. It's 20 years old, you can taste the oak."
Cloud tipped the canteen and took a drink. The liquor indeed went down nice and easy, smooth as silk and he took another drink before looking over at Reno in surprise. "Wow."
Reno's smirk was self-satisfied.
The evening wore on and they sat balanced on the dead log padded with pine needle clusters, talking about the plans for the oil fields, about the possible fate of Tseng and Barrett, about the protocol for the morning's escape mission as they passed the canteen back and forth. Eventually, the whiskey eased away the last of their reservations toward each other and they began to share more personal stories about their friends, their lives, and themselves.
"…so that's what happened when Elena first met Rufus." Reno laughed aloud at the memory, his face alight with humor. He turned to Cloud who was giggling so hard he had tears in the corner of his eyes.
Reno's raucous laughter died down and he watched Cloud for a moment before affecting a subtle teasing tone. "So, Cloud, I noticed you get all flustered when I look at you."
"I do not!" Cloud protested, looking out at Reno from the corner of his eye, still feeling jovial.
"You do guys?" Reno persisted.
"What?" Cloud almost choked at the unexpected change in topic. He was just drunk enough to be able to stare unselfconsciously at Reno's mouth. Reno was nonplussed, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Yeah." He finally replied, shrugging. He watched Reno taking a swig from the canteen and forced himself to drag his eyes to a safer target after a moment. "So?"
"So, nothing. I do too." Reno grinned mischievously. "But you're not my type Spiky, so you'll just have to get over your little crush on me."
".Ha. Funny." Cloud rolled his eyes and reached out to cuff Reno on the arm companionably.
"Did you miss out on a good Christmas?" Reno suddenly asked.
"Uh, well, you know." Cloud stuttered, reaching for the canteen. "Usual, I guess. Nothing special, just presents with the kids, stuff like that."
"Hell, sounds special to me." Reno stretched his legs, looking into the fire. "I always thought that shit was corny, but you... Well, if you got people around you like that, it makes more sense, maybe."
"Yeah." Cloud passed the canteen that by now only contained dregs and launched into a somewhat rambling recollection of the sumptuous dinner they would have. How excited the kids would get when they opened their gifts. How they would get even more excited when loved ones opened the presents made by their small hands. He smiled at the memory and breathed deep the smell of cold clean air and fir, just to lock it in.
He glanced sideways at Reno, who had his head tipped back swallowing the last of the whiskey. Cloud stared a moment just watching, then thought it would be rude if he didn't ask back.
"So, what about you? You don't do Christmas?"
"Not for a long time. Too many shit memories." Reno's grin held a flash of bitterness, but it disappeared as soon as it came. "But you know, life goes on."
Cloud watched as Reno mimicked him and took a deep breath of the icy, pine-scented air. "Maybe it's not as bad as I thought though, right?"
They talked awhile longer before it became obvious the night was winding down.
"I'll take the first watch." Cloud yawned.
"Naw, fuck that. Ain't nobody gonna come. Let's just go to sleep." Reno grinned, not quite sober.
"Not gonna fit," laughed Cloud, looking over at the tent.
"Well, it'll be snug, that's for sure." Reno rose and offered a hand to Cloud, who took it and stood, a little unsteadily. He looked around again at the forest, at the snow on the trees gleaming in the moonlight. The stars, flickering.
"This was not a bad Christmas at all." he sighed, almost to himself. Looking over at Reno, he saw the Turk was looking around at their surroundings as well, taking stock.
"No, it wasn't." The Turk murmured in reply.
They agreed to conjoin their sleeping bags in order to take better advantage of body heat but squeezing into the tent next to Reno, who had gone in first, and finding a comfortable spot proved to be a challenge.
"Ow, shit!" Reno exclaimed as Cloud elbowed him in the gut.
"Sorry…" Cloud squirmed toward his left side.
"Fuck!" Cloud grunted when Reno , reaching up, clocked him in the temple.
"Oh, sorry, yo…" Reno apologized as he attempted to layer their jackets over them.
Finally they settled alongside each other, grumbling and panting with the effort, spooned up close for warmth, yet not quite touching. As each silent moment ticked by, Cloud lay still, agonizingly aware of Reno's presence: the heat coming off the leanly muscled body, the rise and fall of his chest, his breath warm on the back of Cloud's neck.
Cloud was helplessly and utterly aroused. He forced himself to keep his body motionless and wondered if he could somehow jack off after Reno fell asleep.
But sex, as it turned out, was an inevitable thing all along. When Reno laid his hand tentatively on Cloud's thigh, sliding it slowly and lightly up his hip, it was enough to unleash the torrent of desire Cloud had been holding back.
"Reno," Cloud pleaded softly as he arched back into the hard body behind him. He reflexively canted his ass to meet Reno's groin, his mouth watering when he felt the erection there. Reno growled quietly in reply and thrust hard against him, clutching at his hip.
Reno rose up on his elbow and placed a low whisper right next to Cloud's ear, grinding slowly. "I want to fuck you."
"Nnn," Cloud gritted his teeth, hardly able to speak past the lust. "Yesss. Hurry."
Reno complied, the both of them awkwardly discarding pieces of clothing and arranging themselves in a frenzy of movement. He spit on his hand and brought his fingers to Cloud's tight hole, dipping one, then two in.
Cloud floundered, trying to catch his breath through the need.
"No, no. Don't. I just…" Cloud wriggled his ass for emphasis and tried desperately not to moan like a whore this early in the game. "Just fuck me."
"Sure?" Reno was slicking up, positioning and didn't wait for an answer as he pushed in, with short insistent thrusts until his cock was sitting flush. Cloud did moan then, thick with relief and pleasure as Reno filled him up, in and out, nice and slow.
Reno propped himself with one arm and ran his free hand over Cloud's flank and thigh and down lower to stroke the length of his wet cock as he leisurely pistoned his hips.
"Faster, God, Reno…" Cloud choked out.
"Like this?" Reno sped it up, angling hard, clutching Cloud's shoulder to pull him down onto his thick erection as he thrust up.
"Fuck, yeah, just like that," Cloud leveraged himself with his knees, meeting each thrust with a grunt. He could feel his orgasm building, heavy in his balls.
Cloud was more than gratified to discover that Reno knew what the hell he was doing. He took himself in hand and pumped fast. Fuck stamina.
Reno noted it and grinned, his sweat beginning to drip freely now onto Cloud's back. "Gonna come? Fuck, that's hot."
As soon as it was said aloud, the idea of it, the thought of it – coming - made it a reality and sent Cloud over the edge, pleasure exploding over him, through him, making him cry out with the force of it. He collapsed on his stomach, spent, and felt, with satisfaction, Reno's warm come marking the small of his back.
Cloud was never one for pillow talk afterward and by the time Reno was recuperated enough to efficiently clean the both of them up and replace their blanket of jackets, he was hardly aware.
"Merry Christmas, huh, Cloud." Reno murmured, but Cloud was already asleep.
*******************************
Cloud awoke in the earliest of morning, when night makes its turn toward grey. He was on his side, with Reno spooned up against his back, snoring softly. They would have to get up soon and set the beacon.
Groaning, Cloud hunched deeper into the warmth of his lover. It only took a moment before Reno was stirring against him, sliding a thick erection along the cleft of his ass.
"Mmm, sorry. I just wake up this way, usually." He murmured groggily, strands of mussed red hair falling across his face.
"S'okay." And it was, cause it felt very nice. Cloud turned over after a moment and began to pump Reno slowly and then faster as he began to leak.
"Uhh, Cloud, if you keep that up…" Reno began, but Cloud shut him up by biting hard at the pulse over the left side of his throat.
Sex their second time was unrushed. Sliding bodies and sensual motion, all taste and touch. Getting to know you sex, which was no less pleasurable. Afterward, they lay there with Reno's leg thrown across Cloud's quietly going over the beacon coordinates and communication timeline.
Once they were clothed and outside, they ate briefly and struck out for the beacon site. When they reached it, Reno set up the beacon and by 0700, when he initiated radio contact it was the muted pink of predawn.
"Alpha Zeta one-one-two. This is Lost Dog. Do you copy?" Reno waited through one minute of crackled silence.
"Alpha Zeta one-one-two. This is Lost Dog. Do you copy?" Reno looked up at Cloud.
"Lost dog. This is Alpha-Zeta-one-one-two." Rude's familiar deep voice came over the radio and both men breathed a sigh of relief. "Nearest hostile approximately eleven klicks out. Radio silence until oh-seven-one-five. Do you copy?"
"Copy that, oh-seven-one-five. Lost Dog out." Reno clicked the radio off. "Shit, eleven klicks. How long we got, like 20 minutes?"
"Dunno, not too good at math." Cloud had the bins out and was watching the road, scanning the hilly area they'd come from every few minutes in case the enemy came by snow mobile.
The minutes dragged in silence until 0715 when Reno flipped on the radio.
"Alpha-Zeta one-one-two. This is Lost Dog. Do you copy?"
"Loud and clear, Lost Dog. Got company?"
"Negative, Alpha Zeta."
"Ten-four, Dog. Radio silence until oh-seven-thirty."
"There's one. It IS a snowmachine. Wait, two of them." Cloud had the bins pointed at the hill. "Four."
"Got four hostiles on snowmachines coming in from south side of hill. Not gonna make it til oh-seven-thirty, partner." Reno addressed the radio mike.
"Ten-four, Dog. Got a visual on you soon. Get your running shoes on. Over."
"Ten-four, Dog out." Reno threw the mike down and looked up at the sky. "You see 'em, Cloud?"
"Nope, gonna be close." He handed the bins to Reno, who took a look for himself. He watched the snow mobiles' approach glumly.
"Bastards. I was hoping for an easy get away."
Cloud picked up the radio and stuffed it in the pack that he had donned on his back.
"Here, might as well put these in too." Reno handed over the bins. He stood studying Cloud's profile as he shoved the gear in and zipped it back up.
"Hey." He leaned toward Cloud. They could hear the whine of the snow mobiles now. "Have a nice time with the kids when you get back, huh?"
Cloud looked over at Reno, checking for guile and finding none. He said nothing but leaned in and none too gently bit the place on Reno's neck that he had come to think of as his.
"What…" Reno grinned and started to speak, but Cloud cut him off.
"I really like that particular spot on you, for whatever it's worth."
Reno raised his eyebrows, but there was no more time for conversation as the chopper loomed abruptly from behind the northern tree line and the first snowmobiler crested over the top of the hill from the south.
Cloud and Reno popped up and began making their way toward the chopper as fast as they could through the deep snow; it hovered a few feet from the ground a hundred meters away. Reno could see Tseng manning a large caliber machine gun from the side door.
Reno felt bullets whizzing past, shot from the men on the snowmachines behind him, disturbing the air next to him as he ran. The chopper was not quite resting on the ground by the time he reached it. He threw himself in and scrambled to help Cloud, a few feet behind, into the bay. Tseng's gun sounded loudly beside them in the doorway.
In the end, the small arms that the men on the snow mobiles possessed were no match for Tseng's deft ability with the machine gun and soon the enemy were lying haphazardly in the snow, now discolored an obscene scarlet.
"You two all right?" Tseng clicked the safety as Rude pulled the chopper away.
"You're bleeding." Cloud nodded at Reno, sitting in the jump seat across from him. Reno looked down and sure enough, he was trickling blood slowly from his left thigh.
"Huh." He hadn't even noticed it, but now he realized it stung a little. "It's nothin'."
Silence fell for several moments within the chopper as it lifted higher, disturbed only by Rude's low voice as he conversed with the controller and the terse commands Tseng was giving someone over his cell.
"Can get you a cure for that." Cloud's voice revealed no hint of double meaning and he kept his gaze neutral, but Reno understood the invitation in it. He grinned back at Cloud and strapping himself in, shoved his hands in his pockets.
Cloud watched as Reno closed his eyes, relaxed against the seat back, and fingered the small sprig of pine that Cloud had seen him sneak into his left coat pocket. He wouldn't have pegged Reno as the sentimental type but he couldn't deny that in the end there had been budding promise in the accidental Christmas they had shared.
A spark of…something. He was glad to know he wasn't the only one who had felt it.
"Hey, Cloud." Reno replied, his eyes still closed. "Think I'll havta take you up on that."