Healin Lodge, 3 years later

Although it was humiliating being tricked by a prepubescent-looking boy, Reno didn't begrudge Cloud. After all, he had saved the Planet, so the redhead mashed down his pride, but that didn't keep him from opening his mouth. In retrospect, he felt a bit bad that he'd driven Cloud away, especially considering how badly they needed him. He glanced over at Rude from his sprawled position on the couch. The big man was looking out the window, his hands in his pockets.

"Now we just gotta find Elena and the director," Reno told his partner, linking his hands behind his head. "The other employees give you any leads?"

"No," Rude said. "Nothing yet."

"A lot of Shinra's employees actually returned to work after Meteor," Reno mused, half to himself. "Now that's dedication."

"Well, those left alive have a lot to atone for," Rude answered, immediately regretting the words as they left his mouth. He somehow felt Reno stiffen, even though he was across the room.

"Two years already," the redhead murmured, ignoring his partner's poor choice of words. "Seems a lot longer than that. What a nightmare, huh?" He shifted a bit on the couch. "The world was nearly obliterated, and we were the obliterators." He sat up a bit, throwing an arm over the back of the couch. "Seriously, though. How are we ever supposed to atone for something like that?"

Rude was silent for a beat, hearing the I instead of the we in Reno's words. His scalp prickled uncomfortably. This was the closest they had ever come to talking about the strange bond that had formed between them that night so long ago. Even if they didn't discuss it directly, Rude knew they were both thinking it. Before he could come up with any sort of answer, Reno spoke again.

"Too bad the director's not around, you know?" he said softly, staring at a point on the floor. Rude finally turned from the window and went over to the couch, sitting on the other end a couple feet away. Once again, he remembered that night with a twist of pain in his stomach. Reno's face was smooth now, still pale, but not the unhealthy paleness of three years ago, and his eyes were more sad than desperate, but Rude felt the emotion fairly rolling off of him in the way that only ever happened around him. Reno would never have let anyone else see him even halfway vulnerable.

"Elena too," Rude added, leaning his arms on his knees.

"Hope they're alive," was all Reno said, his voice soft, still staring at nothing.

"They are," Rude rumbled. "Tseng's just like the president. They're kinda like cats. Nine lives, ya know?" He liked to think he was getting better with this comforting thing as he aged, and indeed, Reno flashed him a grin, moving to lie down on the couch again.

"You got that right!" He propped his feet up on Rude's thigh, earning a grumble from the bigger man. The soles of his heavy boots were caked with dried mud, and when Rude shoved his feet off onto the ground, they left a streak of dirt on his dark trousers.

"Jackass," Rude muttered. "Three years ago you drooled on me, now you do this?"

Reno's head shot up, expression guarded, and once again Rude bit his tongue. For someone so quiet you have a damn big mouth, asshole, he thought to himself. He sighed.

"I didn't mean—" He broke off as Reno's spidery fingers locked around his wrist. For a few minutes they stared at each other. There was a question in Reno's eyes, but Rude couldn't tell exactly what it was. Reno was shifting closer to him, his eyebrows pulled together, and the bigger man felt sweat starting to drip down the back of his neck. He shook Reno's hand off of his wrist and jumped to his feet.

"Wha—" Reno's exclamation was cut short as they both caught sight of the black smoke pouring into the room from the cracks around the door, rolling towards them with a sinister twist. A voice slipped through, deep and sensual.

"Found ya."

Briefly, Rude was grateful for being interrupted, because he had no idea how to wrap his head around what had happened—or not happened. But when the silver-haired man felled both him and his partner with a few well-placed blows, he thought that maybe Reno's light touch on his arm had affected them both more than it should have. They were lying there paralyzed, for Shiva's sake, all because Kadaj had hit a few pressure points that they'd foolishly left open. Painful tingling was spreading through Rude's arms and legs, but they wouldn't obey him. He gritted his teeth, hearing Reno groaning and Kadaj speaking with Rufus—the president, Gaia-be-damned, who they were supposed to be protecting. Rude felt an unexpected rush of irrational anger at Reno for throwing them both off like that.


Rufus beckoned to his Turks as Kadaj swept out of the lodge. In his other hand he clutched the bloodied ID cards of Tseng and Elena, his knuckles white. Rude and Reno staggered to their feet.

"Go find Strife," Rufus ordered.

"You sure that's a good idea, boss man?" Reno asked. "He sped outta here pretty damn quick."

"That was mostly your fault," Rufus snapped, then collected himself. "Just…try again. We need him."

"Sure thing," Reno said, rolling his shoulders with a popping sound. "Damn, that bastard was fast. You gonna be okay on your own, boss?"

Rufus gave a cold smile. "If Kadaj wanted me dead then he would have killed me long before now. I have no doubt he'll be back, but I will be safe for now. Go."

They left, making their way to the AVALANCHE girl's bar where Strife supposedly lived. They turned onto the street where 7th Heaven was and paused at the small crowd gathered. Reno put an unnecessary finger to his lips and they moved closer to the throng.

"Did you see how many they had?" a man was saying, his voice anxious and strained. "Some were from the streets I'm sure, but how do we know ours weren't taken too?"

Rude frowned, but he and Reno were here on orders, so they started walking towards the bar again.

"You gonna be happy to see Lockheart again, Rude?" Reno asked, shooting him a sly smile. Rude groaned.

"I can't believe you won't let that go. You're like a dog with a bone, Reno. It was a tiny crush, and it was years ago. That's it." His voice was flat.

"Sure, sure," Reno teased. "But I noticed you haven't tried to fuck me yet, and so you gotta be hung up on something."

Rude felt irritation gather into a headache at his temples. "Maybe I'm just not into men," he bit out. Reno gave another one of his dangerous smiles, and caught Rude by the shoulder, leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"I'll tell you a secret, partner," he breathed. "You talk a little more when you're shitfaced. So I happen to know you swing every which way." He pulled back and smirked smugly, and the gesture angered Rude enough to reach out and shove his partner into the alley wall. "Hey," Reno laughed, rubbing his shoulder.

"We're here for a reason," Rude said shortly. "Come on." I'm never drinking around him again. They stepped into the cool quiet of Tifa's bar, looking around. It was eerily quiet.

"Kids are never this quiet," Reno murmured. "There were kids here, right?"

Rude nodded, and they drew their weapons just in case. He signaled silently to Reno and they split ways, checking each room for inhabitants.

"Clear!" came Reno's voice from the upstairs, and Rude echoed the word, lowering his weapon as Reno thumped down to the first floor. "You think they're just out?" the redhead asked, scratching his head.

"Not Strife," Rude said. "Rufus said he'd been distant, lately. Let's check the church. Intel we have says he's been staying there."

"Then why didn't we go there first?" Reno asked, annoyed. Rude shook his head.

"I thought maybe he'd wised up by now and stopped being a dick about things."

"Strife? No way. It'll be a cold day in hell before he loosens up."


They took a cab to the church, unwilling to waste more time, and sure enough, telltale blond spikes shone in the sunlight in the middle of the flowers that blanketed the ground.

"Something's wrong," Reno said, breaking into a jog. Rude followed, and they looked down at the couple curled in the flowers. "Oh, never mind. They just came here to—"

"No, wait," Rude interrupted. He touched the leaves of some of the plants, rubbing his fingers together. A viscous black fluid came off on the leather of his gloves. "Stigma."

"She's been tossed around, too," Reno said from where he was kneeling next to Tifa's prone form. "Look at her face." He stood, circling the two unconscious bodies and leaning down to hoist Cloud over one of his shoulders with a grunt. "You get her," he told Rude, nodding to the girl.

Rude glared behind his shades, knowing Reno was still poking fun at him for his previous crush, but he obeyed, lifting Tifa easily.

They had to walk back, since no cab driver in his right mind would give a ride to someone whose arm was dripping the slimy telltale liquid that came with Geostigma. Reno was careful not to let it touch his skin, even though he was nearly positive it couldn't be transmitted that way. After all, he'd spent all that time around Rufus and hadn't gotten ill yet.

Back at the bar they toted their burdens to one of the bedrooms. Rude laid Tifa down gently on one of the beds, and Reno dumped Cloud unceremoniously onto the other one, then turned towards the door. The blond man groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. He caught sight of Tifa on the bed opposite him and stood, looking down at her.

"You know, you're pretty heavy," Reno said from the doorway. Cloud turned in surprise, and Rude pushed his sunglasses up on his nose.

"Weren't there some kids living with you?" the bald man asked.

"Cause they ain't here," Reno finished. Cloud looked down, his eyes dull.

"You don't care?" Rude asked, shifting a little in anger.

"I just…" Cloud turned to look at Tifa, his expression defeated.

Reno exhaled. "You're a real handful," he told Cloud, turning to leave. He and Rude stepped into the street. "Off the streets," Reno muttered to himself, thinking.

"What?"

"You know, what that guy was saying before. Something about 'some of them were off the streets.' You think he was talking about kids?"

Rude frowned. "Maybe."

"Hey!" Reno called out to a passerby. The man turned, his expression nervous when he caught sight of the Turk uniform.

"Can I…help you?" he asked hesitantly.

Reno flashed his Shinra ID. "You know who I am?" The man gulped and nodded. "Then answer me this: were a bunch of kids taken from around here today?"

"Y—yes, how did you know?" the man gasped. "Two men dressed in black with silver hair rounded up a bunch of the street kids in trucks."

Reno jerked his head to dismiss the man, then turned to Rude. The man was already pulling out his phone.

"I need everything you have on Kadaj's gang," he was telling headquarters. He listened for a moment. "That's all? You're sure? Fine. Send a scout and keep me updated." He hung up. "There's not much intel on them, but it seems they're holing up in the Forgotten City. I'd bet that's where they took the kids."

They spoke to a few more people, but no one had any new information, but after a couple hours Rude's phone beeped with a new message. He read it, then looked at Reno and nodded. "They're at the Forgotten City. Cissnei just saw them."

"Let's go tell Strife, then, and hope he gets his head outta his ass," Reno sighed. Night was falling, but they made their way back to the bar and into the bedroom. Tifa was awake now, curled on the bed with Cloud standing next to her. It looked like they were deep in conversation, but when the Turks walked through the door, the girl's head shot up.

"Did you find them?" Her voice was frantic.

"No," Reno answered. "Only a witness. Kadaj's gang took the kids."

"Where are they?" Cloud asked.

"They're at their base now," Rude told him. "The Forgotten City."

"Go," Cloud told them.

Reno raised a red brow. "Excuse me?" His voice was cold, and Rude winced. Orders given to the redhead by anyone other than Rufus or Tseng were usually ignored, often with an added punch to the face.

"I have to talk to Rufus," Cloud said, almost to himself.

"Stop running!" Tifa cried. "I know. Even if you find the kids, you might not be able to help them. Maybe something will happen that can never unhappen, and that scares you, doesn't it? But you need to think about now, really take it in." She slapped a hand to the bedspread. "Look at you! You think you've got it so damn hard! Well you hate being alone, so let people in. Sure you might not answer the phone, but I don't see you throwing it away either!"

Through the whole exchange Reno was shifting from foot to foot, uncomfortable witnessing what sounded like a private issue. He made to leave, but Rude caught him by the collar. He grumbled, but turned back to the couple arguing on the bed.

"You go. The base is aaaall yours," he drawled. With a little wave over one shoulder, he and Rude left the room. "Where to now, partner?" Reno asked as they stepped out onto the dark street. His thin white hands were cupped around his lighter, trying to get a spark to jump to the cigarette clenched between his teeth.

"Back to Healin, for now," Rude answered, handing Reno his own lighter.

"Thanks, man. Damn thing runs out of fuel faster than an airship."

"Maybe if you didn't smoke so much," Rude muttered. Reno blew a smoke ring in his direction.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't smoke," he teased.

"True."

"Or drink, or keep my shirt untucked, or make sexual innuendos about everything, or refuse to wear a tie, or—"

"Run your mouth all the damn time?"

Reno smiled at him. "You got it, partner." In the dim light from the street lamps, his skin glowed a pearly white, and his white shirt looked almost translucent, the grooves of his chest and stomach muscles showing through mutedly. Rude felt his face grow warm and looked away, thankful it was dim enough to hide his blush.

"Come on," he told Reno, starting to walk. This has got to stop.