The stench of coffee was thick in the air and it was quickly inducing a headache. Elena paused to rub her temples to try and ward off the pounding pain that was quickly spreading across her brain. A soft groan left her lips in response to the throbbing that errupted in the front of her skull.

Several long hours of typing reports at her computer with little to no movement was making her itch for an assignment; she'd take field work over paperwork any day. The monotony of typing and staring at a screen was starting to make her wonder what else she could do to put off paperwork for a while.

A frown pulled at her brow and she shook her head at the very thought. That was procrastination and no work could be accomplished. Besides, time wasting was unprofessional and so very Reno.

Elena lifted her gaze from the computer to rest them for a moment, her eyes happening upon the cocky red head. As she thought, he was leaning back in his chair with his legs kicked up on the desk and playing with a stress ball rather than working. His long fingers crushed it into his palm, the yellow bulging out between his fingers.

As if he could feel her eyes on him, he lifted his powder blue eyes to her and a cocky grin spread across his face.

"Admiring the view, 'Laney?" He drawled out her nickname and grinned when he watched her bristle with irritation. She clenched her hand around her pen, her face hardening into what she hoped was a disaproving scowl.

"You should be working."

"I have been. I'm just taking a little break."

"You've already had a break. You took a half hour break less than two hours ago."

"Aw come on 'Lena, lighten up!"

Elena pursed her lips and turned back to her own paperwork. She saw Reno stand up in her peripheral vision and saunter over to her desk where he began to pick things up and examine it before irritatingly placing it down elsewhere.

After the seventh item he deliberately misplaced, she snatched a compact mirror from him and dropped it in her drawer. A laugh left the Second-In-Command as she slammed it shut and he leant forwards over his desk to peer closer at her face. The proximity caught her off guard; it was the closest she had been to him and she was able to closely study his high cheek bones, the intense blue eyes and his prominent collar bones. His voice jerked her from her mini trance and she mentally kicked herself for drifting off. Why was she even day dreaming about his sharp features?

"'Laney! Well?"

"Uh.. what? Sorry, I didn't catch that." Her mumble elicited a smirk across his face and he leant further over her desk to put his face in hers.

"I said, did you want to come to the bar with Rude and I after work, yo?"

"No."

"Think about it, why don't ya?"

"I can't go out drinking, Reno. I'm in combat training first thing tomorrow."

"Live a little! It's more fun if you're there." His comment threw her and her eyes widened a fraction. His smirk widened back into his usual grin and she could see from his eyes that he knew he had her on the hook. He always did have a knack for talking people round to his way. His hand snaked out to touch her on the cheek but he roughly smacked it away.

"Whatever, Reno."

Checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, Elena smoothed down her hair and snatched her bag from the bathroom counter. Exiting the toilet she wrinkled her nose as the cigarette smoke hit her full in the face. She hated the smell and sighed at the thought of having to go home and shower to get the smell off her.

Reno and Rude sat in the furthest corner from the ladies. As she walked across the bar to return to her seat, she could feel Reno's eyes burning into her. From a distance, it almost looked as though he were checking her out. A light blush formed in her cheeks and flattery blossomed in her chest although she shook her head quickly to banish the feeling. He checked out anyone with a pair of tits, why would she be flattered by such a sleazeball?

She sat beside Rude and reached for her diet cola, sipping it primly with her gaze turned as far of Reno as she could possibly go. He was drunk and, in true form, was being a flirty ass with no sense of boundaries.

"Another drink, 'Laney?"

"My name is Elena. And no. I'm going home after this one."

"Already? But 'Lena, it's early!" She rolled her eyes and scowled at him, the Turk slumped on his chair and waggling his eye brows at her. She could've sworn Rude chuckled beside her but it was hard to hear him. The bald Turk sipped his drink, tactfully keeping out of the mini-argument taking place.

"It's eleven thirty, Reno. We have work tomorrow and staying out this late is just irresponsible. Not to mention unprofessional."

"Oh take that golden rod out of your ass, 'Lena! Life is far to short to be uptight!"

"I am NOT uptight, thank you very much. I simply value my job AND my life. A hangover or going into work still drunk could potentially be a very fatal mistake!"

Reno opened his mouth to argue back, slightly irritated that she seemed to be doing everything she could to ruin the mood but Rude coughed and held his hand up in a passive gesture to silence the two. Elena grumbled under her breath and leant back in her seat, her gaze falling to the drink in her hand to watch the bubbles break from the bottome of the glass and twirl to the surface where they joined the air with a quiet hiss.

For a long while, the three of them fell into a half awkward silence. Elena was fuming in her own indignation that Reno would push her to break the limits she was comfortable with and have the audacity to get irritated with her while Reno was miffed that she was sitting there with a golden pole of self-righetousness wedged up her backside.

The blonde averted her gaze from her glass to the bar around them. Business appeared to be booming and Tifa Lockhart was yo-yoing from one end of the bar to the next to serve the alcohol hungry patrons. The woman had once been an enemy of ShinRa, a terrorist with Avalanche. But there was very little bad blood between them after everything that had transpired and now they were wary aquaintances. Tifa allowed them to drink in her bar; they were paying customers after all. Lately, they had become quite friendly with the barmaid and things had been far less awkward between them.

A cough beside her drew the Turk's attention back to Rude who was holding his hand out for her glass and although he didn't speak, Elena understood the gesture as Rude asking her if she wanted another round. She glanced at the red haired Turk who had slumped sideways and was examining the end of his shoelaces with a perplexed expression splashed across his face. She hated giving into him and giving his ego yet another boost, but she figured he was so drunk that he wouldn't remember it in the morning.

"Just one, please. Coke and a small shot of vodka." She kept her voice low lest Reno heard it and started taunting her, and she could've sworn she saw Rude's lips twitch up into a smile before he turned away. Reno straightened up and leant forwards, his elbows braced on the table keeping him upright.

His gaze was cast over at a group of young adults who were kicking up a fair amount of noise, his moment of quiet calm giving Elena enough time to study his face in the dim light of the bar.

His high cheekbones were made even more prominent by the tattoo's under his eyes, making them all the more prominent and striking. His eyes were always intense, but with alcohol in him they seemed to burn with such a fierceness that Elena wondered just what went on in that head of his. He acted the jester and fooled around with his work but she was very aware of just how intelligent he was. While he appeared stupid and slow, he was an impressive fighter and was so quick it was hard to land a hit on him. He was excellent with the chopper's (his specialty) and interrogation. Elena wondered why he kept up such a facade.

His jaw was strong and well defined, his lips looking soft and full with the shadows underneath and his hair was as ruffled and unkepmt as usual. For a split second, Elena couldn't help but notice just how good looking Reno was. She shook her head violently and dragged her gaze to the table, the motion catching Reno's attention for a moment before he looked back to the youths.

Stop it Elena! Good looking, how foolish. She inwardly chasticed herself and sighed gently, checking the clock on the wall for the time. It was twenty five to midnight; she sure would suffer the next morning.

Rude returned and set their drinks in front of them. Elena's drink looked like coke and from the roll of Reno's eyes, she knew he had no idea she'd given in. In her head she fist pumped, mostly out of spite that she had gotten one over on Reno.

The next hour passed in much the same fashion; Reno and Elena bickered, Rude silenced them and they drank. Eventually Elena announced she would be retiring and stood to end her night. To her surprise, Reno stood and informed her that he would be walking her home. The look of sheer determination in his eyes stopped her arguing back; nothing could stop him when he wore that expression.

Instead of arguing, she wrinkled her nose to show her disdain, said her goodbyes to Rude who wanted to hang back and help Tifa close up, and walked out. Reno sauntered after her with his hands thrust in his pockets. He easily kept up with her, even blinding drunk. She figured the night air must've sobered him up.

"I'll never get bored of looking at the stars." A look over at him found him with his head thrown back, eyes fixed on the sky. Glancing up herself, Elena allowed herself to drink in the sight of the starry night sky. Ebony stretched out as far as the eye could see, a black blanket speckled with the twinkling constelations of stars, "It sure beats all that darkness."

"It sure does. The whole world looks different without all that pollution."

Reno flung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. For just a small moment, Elena allowed herself to relish the feel of his arm slung around her and his body pressed to hers before she flung him off again. He simply chuckled and continued to walk beside her as cheerful as ever.

Upon reaching her appartment complex, she stopped awkwardly at the end of the long path that lead to the main door and turned to her colleague. She hoped he'd just wave her off and continue on his way; she didn't know how to politely tell him that there was no way in hell that he was getting through her front door.

His hand suddenly snaked out and settled on her cheek, her skin blazing where his touched her. As her hand raised to smack his away, his lips found hers and his other arm wound behind her to firmly draw her body to his. Shock froze her body, rooting her to the spot and seeing her hand freezing in midair while his hand brush back from her cheek to entangle in her hair and pull her head closer. Her mind whirled and a thousand thoughts and emotions seemed to surge forwards at once.

Why is he kissing me?! Why haven't I hit him yet?! Do I like it?! Does he like it?! Does he even know what he's doing?! Why do I like this?! Do I like him?! Of course not.. shut up Elena, this is Reno! Get him off you girl!

Her hand finally regained it's motor ability and grabbed his wrist, tearing his hand from her face. Her other jabbed towards his gut and punched him hard enough to double over with a groan of agony. Releasing his hand, she curled her own into a fist and swung, punching him in the side of the face.

"What the HELL are you playing at?!" She hissed, anger rippling through her body until she was trembling. She was mostly angry at herself for liking it at all.

"Goddess 'Laney... You have some right hook on you."

"Go home, Reno. You're drunk out of your mind."

Her rage flared up when he winked at her and ruffled her hair, dodging her third punch of the night. For a moment she watched as he walked away, half making sure he didn't dart back to try anything again and half wanting to watch his lanky body saunter down the street while mentally kicking herself for entertaining the idea of fancying the man.

The last thing she heard as she walked through the main doors of her appartment complex was the laugh of Reno, Second-In-Command of the Turks.