Author's Note: First CissneixReno fic of mine. Ugh, one of my favorite pairings ever. 3 Two redheads. Sha-weet!

Warnings? Anything?: People might think the setting for this is STILL around the time of Crisis Core, but actually no. Setting is around after AC/ACC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or its franchise, in any way possible. All characters and mentioned names belong to Square Enix.

Chapter One: Let's Start With Coffee

The after-effects of the stigma left Midgar – Edge – still in ruins. At least one-fourth of the city was still in bad shape, but as much as possible, everyone helped out in making everything better again. The Shinra Electric Company's headquarters was rebuilt and employees were able to go back to work; retired employees voluntarily asked if they could remain in the company, to help rebuild the company's reputation. Of course, their president, Rufus Shinra, gladly accepted their offer, and gave the best support he could to them.

… The company's covert operations, the Turks, were busy as always. Everyone was as busy as bees, walking to and fro from one end of their designated floor to another, even crossing to other levels of the building to deliver reports or paperwork. But not one such individual, who was a well-known redhead Casanova but never failed to do the job right. He expertly wore the goggles on his head like it was just a bicycle helmet – and he was leaning back with a cigarette in his mouth, a leg arched on the other, in that manly cross-legged fashion. Shirt buttoned-down halfway and no tie, everyone could easily identify him in a crowd.

His reverie was cut short in the lobby, however.

"...Aren't you supposed to be filing papers for Rufus, Reno? You've been awfully late with your work and you know it."

The redhead, his arms sprawled and lined along the top of the sofa, looked behind his shoulder with a cigarette in his mouth. Reno could see Tseng approach him from behind.

"I get headaches, yo. Don'tcha get headaches with paperwork? I'd be amazed if ya didn't," Reno replied. A puff of smoke escaped his mouth, to which his eyes squinted at. He took the cigarette between his fingers and grinned as Tseng frowned, watching him, and took another quick drag and exhaled. "I'll do the papers later, yo. Gotta relax for a lil' bit." Reno winked at Tseng, trying to hint he was lucky he could get away with trouble yet he was still hardworking.

"Hm." Tseng sat on an armchair next to the sofa Reno was on. He grabbed a newspaper from the rack nearby. "Make sure to submit your reports to me on time… protocol, Reno."

"Yeah, yeah..." Reno waved it off with a frown. "'Dun worry 'bout it, yo."

Just then, the elevators nearby rang open. Employees from the research and materia departments came out, but the one that stood out the most from all of them was a certain redhead, her arms crossed and in a suit. Reno finished his cigarette, hearing the familiar rhythm of her footsteps on the marble floor. "Well!" He dabbed his cigarette off on the ashtray nearby. "Gotta go, Tseng! I have a date, yo."

"I heard that."

Tseng smiled slightly as he saw her, then proceeded to read his newspaper. Reno, on the other hand, grinned to himself. Cissnei, approaching, tried to hide a smile, too afraid to admit that she was amused by Reno, since Reno always had the impression she never really liked him. "I'm only having coffee with you. That's not really considered a date..."

"Well considering how it's just the both of you, I'd say it is," Tseng remarked. He stood up and eyed Cissnei, who only kept quiet.

Reno sensed something in the air between them but didn't really say a word, only slipping his hands in his pockets.

Tseng cleared his throat. "Done with your papers, Cissnei?"

"Mm." Cissnei nodded. "I'll... submit them later—"

Reno grinned at her remark; it was a reflection of what he told Tseng himself. "Well, let's go, yo! Only an hour left for the break." He offered his arm to Cissnei, like a gentleman would. Cissnei only walked past him, to which Tseng chuckled. Reno frowned and followed Cissnei.

... The two exited HQ quietly, neither of them really talking in the process. Cissnei wanted to wait until both of them reached the coffee shop, wherever it was Reno decided to take her to. Reno, on the other hand, was the chatty type, but didn't know exactly where to start. He was trying to read Cissnei first, so as to be careful with whatever it was they were going to talk about. When Cissnei rounded the corner and began to walk down the line of small café's and restaurants, Reno quietly watched her and followed her, staying right behind like a bodyguard.

"Ya alright, Cissy?"

She nodded. "Just... have a lot of things on my mind."

"…Hunh..." Reno caught up and decided to stay beside her. He wasn't really good with situations like this. So instead, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure ya wanna let `em out, yo. Things like what, sweets?"

Cissnei frowned. She wasn't one to share her innermost thoughts, especially with men... especially with Reno. She knew this was one of his gimmicks to catch her attention, to make her his. Cissnei shrugged her shoulders softly, instead, motioning for Reno to take his arm away from her. "...Nothing. Just... things I shouldn't be thinking of."

"...Ohhhhhh..." Reno smirked. "Sounds like my kinda string o' thoughts, yo! Wanna share?" He waggled his brows, but Cissnei nudged his stomach hard, sending him wincing through the pain. "OW. OWW. Hey, that hurt, yo!"

The redhead female pouted. "Well hey, you deserved it." She smiled as she walked into the coffee shop and came up to the counter.

Reno, right outside, winced and massaged his stomach... then he smiled, his head tipped back in that usual, confident style. This was what he liked about Cissnei, and intrigued him so much about her. He'd dated so many girls but she was very different. He knew, from the moment he saw her years ago and she was young when she'd join the Turks, that she was the wrong person to mess with. She was quiet, most days, but she was a soft girl and when she giggled, though not often... man. The chime in her voice made him smile every time. He liked how he'd say something pretty crude and she'd frown or pout, then like earlier, punch him in the guts or pinch his ear or wherever part of his body she could do that. Then he'd make a comeback, and they'd both end up smiling. He liked the whole "let's bully each other, but make up after 2 minutes" sort of thing. Especially with her. Reno liked how she'd make fun of him when he'd do something stupid, even.

...But would she ever reciprocate the feelings he had for her? Reno rubbed his nape, knowing it wasn't going to happen.

He followed in, pushing the glass door open. Reno received a few stares and glances here and there - he even saw a table of two women sitting across each other, and they both grinned and whispered to each other as he came in. Reno grinned back, and even winked, to which he liked seeing the girls get so enticed about, but it was nothing personal. Cissnei was watching, even if she had her back turned to him. And he didn't want to disappoint. Sure, they weren't on an official date, but still. He really wanted to take the time out today to get to know each other.

Cissnei motioned for the both of them to sit at a coffee table with two loveseats facing each other, just by the wide glass panel window. Reno sat across her as they waited for the coffee. "This is good," he noted with a smile, "ya led me to where ya want. I like that. I like a girl who knows how to make decisions, yo."

…The female redhead put a gentle hand to her mouth, and chuckled.

Reno blinked. "What'sa matter, yo? I say somethin', Ciss?"

"No... no, it's not that," she replied. Cissnei chuckled. "Just... well… I always come to this place. Alone, usually. You always go to the beerhouses and strip clubs; you never come to coffee shops. So I decided to swerve you here. After all, the last time you entered a coffee shop, I think, was…" She pondered, and caught herself when she realized what she was thinking of. "Mm," she started again, and shook her head. "Well… you know what happened then."

"Wha? Hey, I go to coffee shops, yo! Ya just never see me." Reno winked. "I like coffee too, ya know. Just don't drink it much unlike the rest o' the Turks." He shrugged. "Dunno. Coffee jus' was never my type, ya see."

"Hm... coffee is... calming." Cissnei nodded, looking around the area. "I'm not a coffee lover myself, but I do love the drink. It's soothing. The warmth of it is very different from what you get with alcohol."

"Ahhh. Heh... yeah, I agree. Not the same, yo, I know that…" Reno frowned and looked around, trying to hide it. He didn't want to elaborate on the alcohol; everyone in HQ knew how reckless he was with it – heck, even Rufus did too. If Cissnei knew more than just the fact that he was quite the alcoholic... he wouldn't be surprised if she walked away from his life - tomorrow, in an hour, or a second from now. "I like the warmth, but coffee's jus'... for the sophisticated types I think, ya know?"

"So I'm sophisticated, then?" Cissnei chuckled. "Not quite… actually." She shook her head. "Reno, even the quietest of persons have their own demons to defeat..."

Reno felt this "innate" sort of twitch in him when he heard that from her.

"…which, we wouldn't want to talk about anyway."

Cissnei quietly cleared her throat. Her eyes darted to and fro, as she watched people converse and some sort of relaxing afternoon music played in the venue. Reno raised a brow even as he looked the other way, his elbow on the armrest and knuckles covering his mouth. The female Turk took a deep breath, exhaling very quietly, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. She took out her phone, checking through her messages quite nervously, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Of course, that plan failed. Reno was very meticulous when it came to women. He knew how women were already, knew what to say to make them blush, knew how to tease them, knew how to make them feel submissive. He just had a way with them.

Reno smirked. "… Yer blushin', yo."

"Huh?... Pfft."

When Cissnei looked away, Reno held that smirk in place. "…What's on yer mind, yo?"

"Nothing—"

Reno tried not to smile wide. "Alright, alright…" he said, trying to sound convinced, "…no it is, then. If ya say so, babe."

… Despite the fact that she had that barrier up and she was probably thinking about how successful she was in fending off the redhead mischief, Reno knew she failed. Because he saw right through her, and he liked it when she was vulnerable. He liked it when she was able to break past the barrier she set up about setting her emotions aside, because he envied how she acted whenever a mission came up about that SOLDIER cadet anyway. But where was he now? Ever since his passing he'd noticed a void about her. He felt a face in himself frown at the thought – why was the world so unfair? Why is it that when you like someone, that person oftentimes never really gives back what you try to show – or give away to him or her – and they choose someone else to show it. Then that 'someone else' reciprocates the same amount of feeling the person you like exerts, and it makes you wonder…

… Did the cadet ever like her back? It made Reno wonder like a nail driven through wood.

In any case, after he noted the classic "if you say so" line, Cissnei didn't say anything after that. This time she was serious about checking her phone. No missions, no follow-ups, no orders… nothing. Tseng usually sent her these at a certain hour of the day – and it was that certain hour of the day but nothing came. The Turk figured Tseng wanted to give her and Reno some time together…

What the hell. Tseng knows better than that.

…which, was ridiculous, admittedly. Cissnei frowned at the thought. Every Turk knew that any soft emotion – love included – wasn't in the handbook. Tseng could have told her to just pay attention to her paperwork and scold Reno, but… he didn't. In fact earlier, when he noted about her and Reno being together for the day, he sounded like he was even urging her to go on and spend the day with him.

In reality, she had heard stuff among colleagues about what Reno thought about her but she never really confronted the idea within herself. She thought it was just… well… unlikely to happen, though not entirely impossible. The fact that Reno was unstable with such issues regarding himself – like alcohol – was something she couldn't tolerate. Not to mention, he was quite the well-known – if 'notorious' wasn't the perfect word – ladies man. He was a bit of an aggressive chump when he did his job, but he did it so well he got away with it.

Quite the opposite, for her. Reno could slack off and he could get away with almost anything. Every other Turk, however, had to be watched to be able to perform their job well. Unfair, to say the least, if not called "favoritism".

But Cissnei set that aside for the meantime. What mattered was the here and now – they were spending time together… which, they had not done so in a long time. The last time they spent time together at a coffee shop, after all, was after Zack had died.