Author's notes: This story is for the ever-wonderful Jess Angel. She requested a ficlet from me involving Reno, Shera, tea and beer, and an in-game encounter in Rocket Town. This is what I came up with.

As another note, the site seems to have changed it's formating once again. I'm using o.o.o to indicate a change of setting or time or point of view. Basically, it's a break in the story.

Broken Mirror

"What a mess," Reno muttered looking at the scene in front of him. AVALANCHE again. It was always fucking AVALANCHE. This time, they'd stolen the Tiny Bronco and had managed to rough up a Shinra exec. Luckily Reno had been charged with guarding the President today. Someone was going to suffer for this but it wasn't going to be him.

Right now, he was standing beside the President, watching a bunch of paramedics try to urge a huge, bloating, bleeding, and moaning Palmer onto a stretcher. Wonder if the fat fuck will make it? He didn't sound like someone near death. Reno could hear the hoarse nasal screams from his position a good twenty feet away. Still, there's a lot of blood, the Turk in him mused.

"Reno." The President snapped. The President never asked for anything. He ordered and Reno was used to taking orders. Reno looked over at the man beside him.

"Yes sir?" he said. 'Lena probably would've saluted or something like that. Reno hid his inward smile. Little 'Laney.

"What's the situation?"

As if he really had to ask.

"AVALANCHE has escaped, taken the Tiny Bronco, seriously fucked up Palmer, and killed a couple of soldiers."

Rufus snorted and flipped his hair behind his right ear.

"Witnesses?"

"One, sir."

The soldiers couldn't handle AVALANCHE for shit but they managed to capture one fucking woman. I bet they all get medals.

"See what she knows."

"Yes sir."

Reno thrust his hands into his pockets and sauntered off towards a group of soldiers and the woman they were holding at gunpoint.

Fucking soldiers. And fucking AVALANCHE.

When the men saw Reno approaching, their squad leader automatically snapped to attention. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Sir!" the soldier said, saluting. "We've captured one of the terrorist's corroborators."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you sir!" the lieutenant chirped, missing Reno's sarcasm entirely.

"What's her name?" he asked, eyeing the woman up and down. She was pretty in a bookish kind of way, with a pair of glasses sliding down on her nose, light green eyes, and auburn hair. Short, with decent hips, but hardly any chest to speak of. Pretty, but not exceptional. He doubted that anyone would ever consider her beautiful.

"Ummm… well, we don't know sir."

Reno rolled his eyes again. Fucking soldiers. Reno looked at the woman.

"This your house?" he asked, gesturing to the building behind her. The woman's eyes widened but then she set her mouth in a determined line. Reno knew that look.

"It's the one we found her in, sir," the soldier supplied.

"Then it's her house. Well, come on then," he said walking towards the small building. The prisoner and her five capturers followed.

Reno eyed the building's kitchen; floral print dishes, yellow drapes, a little wooden table and chair set. Quaint. Gods how he fucking hated quaint.

Reno looked over his shoulder in bemusement at the five armed guards still clustering around the petite woman.

"You can leave now."

The lieutenant's eyes widened.

"Sir?"

"Go." Reno snapped, letting some of his irritation finally show. The soldier saluted hastily and led the rest of his squad out. Reno rolled his eyes once again.

"Gods damned soldiers," he muttered under his breath and leaned against the kitchen counter. He looked over at the woman. She was standing at the other end of the kitchen, keeping the small table between them.

"So, you must be Cid's Shera."

Her eyes widened. Reno snorted.

"Oh, come on. Like you didn't expect me to realize who you were."

Shera refused to answer. Reno snorted.

"Well, have a seat."

She kept standing. Reno's eyes narrowed.

"Shera. Sit down." He smiled warmly. "Please," he added, nodding politely to the little table in front of him. After a moment's hesitation, the smaller woman pulled out a chair and sat down. Reno grinned and pulled out a chair too.

"Thanks. Man, I've been standing all freakin' day and my legs are killing me."

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and a lighter. He plopped a stick into his mouth and gestured with the lighter.

"D'you mind?"

Shera shook her head slightly and Reno muttered around his cigarette.

"Didn't think so. Cid smokes like a fucking chimney anyways."

Reno pulled an ash tray that had been left on the table, probably by Cid, close to him and gestured with his cigarette to the woman sitting across from him.

"Did you ever hear about the reactor bombings in Midgar?" Reno asked candidly. Shera's eyes widened again.

"…pardon?"

"Heh, so you can talk. I thought so. I said, did you ever hear 'bout the bombings in Midgar. AVALANCHE terroristsand all that?"

"I… yes, of course. Everyone did."

Reno leaned back in his chair.

"So, what I'm wonderin' is why a sweet girl like you's gone off to aid and abet known terrorists."

Shera blanched.

"I… what?"

"Terrorists. AVALANCHE. Shit woman, who the Hell do you think just took of with that plane of yours?"

"It's not mine. It's the Captain's."

"Heh, well, actually, it's the Shinra's but I'll let that one slide." Reno snuffed his cigarette and smirked at Shera from across the table. "You know you're in a shit load of trouble, right babe?"

Shera's eyes narrow at his words.

Reno's smirk grew.

"Now, normally I'd be all for goin' easy on a kid like you but seein' as how I have a fuckin' exec member bleeding to death in your fucking back yard and I have a pissy ass teenager breathing down myneck 24-7, I'm in a bit of a shitty mood right now so let's just skip the pleasantries, k?" Reno smiled benignly. "What did AVALANCHE want with the plane?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Reno's face darkened.

"Don't play with me babe. You wouldn't want to piss me off."

Shera's eyes narrowed again.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Reno pushed his chair back from the table and stood up.

"That's really upsetting Shera, you know that? Here I am trying to be a nice guy and all and you gotta go and tell me a lie like that."

Reno slowly walked around the table and stood behind where Shera was sitting. She tensed at his closeness.

"You're really such a sweet looking girl," he said, trailing a hand up her bare arm. "Be such a shame for this to get… nasty." His hand trailed up and caressed the left side of her neck with a feather light touch. "One last time now. What did AVALANCHE want with the plane?"

"I told you. I don't know."

Reno smiled slightly.

"Sorry babe."

He snapped his arm out and across her neck, slapping her head back and capturing her neck in a choke hold. He pressed his bicep into her windpipe, cutting off her airway. Shera's eyes widened and her hands flung up to his arm, trying to dislodge his hold but Reno only pressed his arm into her windpipe harder.

"Ever watched a girl suffocate before Shera? It's something to fucking see."

With his free hand Reno snapped out a switchblade and waved the knife in front of Shera's eyes before pressing it against her jugular.

"Course, it takes approximately 57 seconds for a girl like you to pass out from hypoxia. It takes 7.9 seconds for someone to bleed to death from a severed artery." He moved his mouth to the base of her neck, whispering in the terrified woman's ear.

"I'll let you pick, if you want, when this is all done. Now, was there something you wanted to tell me?"

He loosened his arm enough to let the woman breathe but dug the knife into the skin of her neck.

"Oops," he said sweetly.

Shera shivered against the feel of the knife against her skin.

"Quickly now babe."

Shera was panting slightly, her eyes wide.

"I… I didn't know who they were."

Reno tsked slightly.

"They… they wanted to talk to the Captain. They said they needed the plane to find someone."

Reno pressed the knife a little bit deeper and Shera let out a small cry.

"Who?"

"Sephiroth! They said they were looking for Sephiroth."

"And which way did they go?"

Shera didn't reply.

"Shera?" Reno asked, pressing the knife a little bit deeper.

She still didn't answer. Reno drew the knife along the base of her neck, scratching her flesh away.

"Three seconds 'till you die Shera."

No reply.

"One."

Nothing.

"Two."

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Reno paused, waiting. Still nothing.

"Good night, Shera," he said affectionately.

"East." She choked.

"What?" he asked, pressing the knife against her skin. Her blood was flowing freely from the wound now, trickling down the knife's blade.

"They went east," she sobbed. Tears were making tracks down her face. "The Captain, and AVALANCHE, they flew off to the east."

Reno dug the knife along her skin.

"Very sure?"

She sobbed and nodded.

"…one-hundred percent?"

"Yes, gods, please."

Reno chuckled slightly and snapped his knife shut. He moved away from Shera and she put a shaky hand to her jugular before turning around to look at him, wide-eyed.

"Thanks babe," he said grinning. " I figure I'm about done here now."

Reno sketched a small, mocking bow before heading around the table towards the door. He paused when he reached the kitchen counter.

"What's this?" he asked with a hint of humour in his voice. He looked at the freshly made pot of tea on the counter. "Tea? Gods, didn't think anyone drank this shit anymore."

Reno backtracked and headed towards the kitchen's refrigerator. He grinned and pulled out a bottle of beer.

"Now this is something worth drinking!" He smiled and waved at the still-traumatized Shera. "Much obliged ma'am."

He sauntered out of the door, leaving Shera staring blankly at the kitchen table, blood seeping out from between her fingers.

o.o.o

Reno gestured to the soldier lieutenant upon leaving the small house. The man scurried over and Reno once again felt the urge to roll his eyes. Fucking soldiers.

"Sir?" the man chirped.

"Make sure she doesn't leave before we do. Other than that, leave her alone."

"Yes, sir."

Reno looked at the bottle in his hand and then at the soldier.

"Here," he said, pushing the bottle towards the lieutenant.

"Ah, thank you sir."

"Heh, don't thank me. Tastes like rat piss anyways. It'll suit you."

Reno walked away to the sound of the other soldiers' laughter.

o.o.o

Reno trudged up a small hill to meet the President. Rufus raised an eyebrow at Reno and he shrugged.

"She hardly knew shit. AVALANCHE took the plane lookin' for Sephiroth. They headed east."

Rufus snorted.

"Like we didn't know that already." He eyed the Turk pointedly.

"Did you kill her?"

Reno's eyes widened slightly.

"No. You didn't ask me too."

Rufus made a dismissive noise.

"Never mind then. Have the house watched."

"Yes sir."

Rufus glared at the small house before turning around to walk away. He paused in mid step though.

"Reno, you have blood on your hands."

Reno's eyes widened and looked down at his fingers. So he did. He whipped them absent-mindedly his pants before falling in line behind the President again.

o.o.o

After a while, Shera eventually managed to snap herself out of her stupor long enough to get up and walk towards the house's small bathroom. From the room's medicine cabinet, she pulled out a first aid kit. With shaking hands, she undid the boxes small safety clasps and searched for some bandages. She pulled out a small patch of gauze and pressed it to her neck.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the room's small mirror. There was blood running all the way down her neck and it had stained the upper part of her shirt red. So much blood, she couldn't help but think numbly. Her… her blood.

Eyes wide and haggard stared back at her from the mirror.

"He… he wasn't human!" she whispered brokenly. The ugly wound wept form beneath her makeshift bandage. Shera tore her eyes away from it. With numb fingers, she searched for more gauze.

o.o.o

Reno glared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was dark in the room but the diffuse light coming from the other room was more than enough for Reno to see by. Mako enhanced green eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.

I don't know why it bothers you so much.

Reno ignored the voice and ran from hot water in the sink.

Your fingers are shaking, the voice observed.

Shut up, Reno hissed at it. He splashed some water onto his face.

Honestly, you hardly even hurt her.

Reno splashed water onto his face again.

Unless.

Reno scrubbed at his face some more.

Heh, you are so pathetic! She reminds you of her doesn't she?

"Shut up," Reno growled under his breath. The voice mimicked a woman's.

"Oh, Reno… you know I l-"

"SHUT UP!" Reno shouted. He punched the mirror in front of him and the glass shattered. The voice dissolved into laughter and faded away.

Reno stared at his broken reflection. He felt Rude standing in the bathroom doorway, watching him. Reno shut off the faucet, flicked his hands twice above the sink to dry them, and headed out of the room. He didn't bother looking at his partner when he walked past him.

Rude frowned slightly at Reno's retreating form and then looked back at the mirror. He shook his head slightly.

"Another broken mirror."