Tifa opened the shutters to let the light flood the tavern and allow her to see all the sticky patches and stains from the night before. The early morning rays revealed every dirty patch and she began her morning's work to prepare for another busy night. She was bone tired every evening when she flopped down in bed– though now that she shared it with her best friend she guessed that was probably for the best since she fell asleep before anything awkward might happen.

Taking care of Reno had filled the little free time she had left. The only benefit to things was that she and Cloud were in no way hurting for cash. Not to say they were rich, but by working as hard as they did and only hiring one or two others when Cloud was away, they had been able to save most of their profits. The city was hurting– everyone was after the fall of sector seven– but after she'd helped Cloud get his life back he'd vowed to do the same for her and half built this place himself out of the wreckage of some other building. And even in desperate times, people were always able to set aside a few coins for a drink– and maybe even a tip for the beautiful barmaid.

Tifa scrubbed away at a particularly stubborn spot on one of the long bench tables. She heard the bell and glanced over to see Cloud come in. He obediently wiped his muddy boots off on the matt, the habit ingrained after several scoldings.

"Cloud, where have you been? You left before dawn."

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"That's not my point."

He sighed and went up to the bar to grab another cloth and begin washing off table tops as well.

"I was out gathering some information."

"More medical texts?"

"No, more about the Turks."

"Oh."

"They're looking for Reno."

"Well, that's to be expected."

"No, I mean, really looking. They've been scouring the lower sectors."

"Are they causing trouble?"

Cloud shook his head. "They're trying to be discreet and not look panicked, wouldn't do any good for their image as Turks if they got all frantic over one man. But if you ask enough people, it's pretty easy to get the picture. They've just been asking a few questions, passing off a few bribes to get eyes down here– not that many will take it after what they did. But people are desperate, and as it seems, so are they."

"Well, what do you think?"

"That's what I was going to ask you. They are obviously concerned about him."

"Are they?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. Tifa understood people a lot better than him. There was no mistaking he'd lost touch with humanity a long time ago.

"Reno told me he was only sixteen when he joined them. I know you and Zack were young too, but think about it. You spend nearly ten years training and honing and owning someone, you don't just want to let them slip away. Reno's pretty high up in Turk chain of command, isn't he? I'm not saying they don't care, but I think its equally possible that he's just an investment they don't want to lose."

"But he is one of them."

"Cloud, you brought him here for a reason. You felt something for him that day you beat him up."

Cloud set his cloth down and sat on the bench of the table he'd just been cleaning. Tifa watched him but waited, knowing that sometimes holding the silence was the only way to get him to talk.

"Yeah, I felt guilty. I'd played that fight over and over again in my mind so many times that when the time came I ignored reality to play out a fantasy and I ended up nearly killing someone who wasn't even fighting back."

Now Tifa dropped her cloth and came over to sit opposite Cloud. She slid her hands across the uneven wood surface to grip his wrists.

"Don't do that to yourself, Cloud."

"Sometimes I just feel blind. I wish I could see things more clearly on my own. But you can. I need you in order to see properly."

She smiled, almost blushing, knowing he wasn't trying to sound romantic or cheesy but genuinely feeling lost.

"Cloud, you're vision is fine. You don't see things wrong, you see them differently. You saw Reno and you helped him, that's what matters.

"But now what? Now I'm more confused than ever. I just wanted to hate him. But he isn't who I fought before. He isn't who I had imagined I would someday face again. He's a lost child. He's sick. And now the Turks are searching for him and I don't know what to do."

"He left there, Cloud. He might love them, but because of the Turks he had to do the worst thing imaginable. It broke him and he ran. I don't think he blames them though, at least, not on the surface. But if we take him back there, we might be taking away his one chance to regain his humanity."

Cloud sighed and nodded, lowering his head. Tifa withdrew her hands.

"You know, they saved us once. Zack and I. I was always confused about them because sometimes they were on our side and sometimes they were the ones chasing us. And sometimes they were chasing us but they were the only ones not trying to kill us. But I always had Zack to tell me what to do. He knew better than me, so I just did what he said."

"And Reno's always had Tseng to tell him what to do."

Cloud's head whipped up at once and Tifa immediately saw she should not have made the comparison. Zack was a painful subject that Cloud rarely brought up, and she should have known better than to push him. But Cloud's hostility faded quickly as he looked into her dark eyes. He knew she was only trying to give him the perspective he lacked.

"So we hide him?" He asked finally.

"Let's just not...advertise his presence here. When he's feeling better, he can decide."

"What if they come here?"

"They'll take one look at you and run is what." She laughed but he wasn't so sure. Still, there was no point worrying about it. He stood up and continued washing the table and after a moment, Tifa did too.

It was a week before the Turks made their appearance in the tavern. It was a woman, Tifa didn't know her. She was small and blond and pretty and got lots of looks from the men but most recognized her to be from the upper plate by her dress and just a few recognized her as a Turk. She wasn't dressed in their uniform exactly, but she still looked far to clean and professional to be from down here. Tifa wouldn't have said the woman was trying to go undercover, but no doubt when she spotted the tavern, she'd decided the best way to play it would not be in full Turk garb.

Cloud was in the back, restocking, and Tifa took a second to run back and inform him to stay where he was. Tifa may not recognize this Turk, but any Turk was sure to recognize Cloud. She would just hoped that she herself did not have a profile.

Nothing much came of the Turk's presence. Like Cloud had said, she just waded through the crowd and asked questions, even flashed a few smiles and passed on her number to a couple of male patrons who didn't know they were being played. Tifa learned the woman's name was Elena, but nothing more.

Eventually, she left, the evening went undisturbed and Cloud and Tifa guessed that they were in the clear.

"Elena was here?" Reno asked, getting dressed in a plain white t-shirt Cloud had scrounged for him and a pair of black pants. He was eyeing himself over in the mirror, checking on the last of his bruises while Cloud leaned in the doorway of his room, explaining what had happened the night before. He tried not to feel guilty staring at the frail form before him. Reno had lost a significant amount of weight while he was sick and recovering. His ribs poked through where visible but were still tightly wrapped with white bandages. Tifa had been undecided whether some had been cracked or broken but Reno was so frail at the moment that she'd decided not to take the chance. But when Reno pulled down his shirt and faced Cloud, his cheeks several shades of yellow from fading bruises, one would never have known how weak Reno was or how unstable his mind had been of late. He was more lively than he had been in two weeks and it was the longest he'd been on his feet in that whole time. He faced Cloud to hear the rest of his story, but there wasn't much to tell. Cloud explained Elena's brief visit and departure.

"That was it really, not much to tell." He concluded.

"Oh. Well, they won't be back here then."

"No?"

"They're canvassing." Reno explained. "When we have a target that could be anywhere in a large geographical and highly populated area, we have to canvas: check as many places as possible in a short period of time in an attempt to catch them before they move on. They'll have a big list and now this place will be scratched off, no one wants to waste time double checking. Not unless they finish the canvas and still have nothing, then they'll either move on to another location or start over only going in more depth on the second round, starting with the most likely locations identified in the initial canvas."

"I see, so they will be back, then."

"I doubt it. I'm sure Rufus will only indulge them for so long before he orders them back to Shinra business. That's why Tseng is probably pushing them to move so fast– because he knows how short Rufus's patience is."

"So...you aren't going to contact them."

Reno sighed. "I don't know what to do. I guess I'm happy they care enough to look for me."

Cloud couldn't help remembering both Reno's declaration that the Turks were his family and Tifa's warning that they may only see him as an asset. But of course, he remained silent.

"But I really want to sort this out before I go back to them." Reno added.

"Do you really think you can get over it just like that?"

"I don't know, Tifa said maybe I just need a break and I hope she's right. But she also keeps asking me if I could do what Turks do again. In any case, I want to be healthy before I talk to any of them again."

"Then you'll be sticking around here, I take it."

"If it's alright."

"Tifa said it was fine so it's alright with me."

"Good, then I have one condition."

"A condition?" Cloud eyed him.

"Yeah. Let me help out around here, earn my keep."

"Oh, well, Tifa has been working really hard, but I don't know if you should be downstairs where people can see you."

"I'll do the day stuff while the place is closed, like cleaning and all that."

Cloud shrugged, "Talk to Tifa, she's the boss."

Tifa was practically beaming to see Reno working. Not because it meant she could finally take a break, but because this moment was the product of all her hard work. She'd been taking care of Reno and running the tavern and now he was back on his feet and she had a new employee. Reno had already refused to take wages, but instead work for his keep. It was fair. She had instructed him on her morning routine so that she could avoid getting up at the crack of dawn after spending every night serving customers until well into the early hours. A full night's sleep was something she hadn't experienced in a very long time.

It took Reno about twice as long as it would her or Cloud to do the chores, but he was still pretty weak. Still, it got done and he felt better for helping out, if not exhausted.

Quickly, a new, healthier routine began in the new "Seventh Heaven." Tifa and Cloud ran the afternoon and evenings, Reno dealt with the mess in the morning while they– or at least Tifa got some actual rest. Cloud still rose early to disappear, and did so even more now that Reno was on his feet. Tifa explained that it was just his nature. He was restless. She didn't even know for sure what he was doing all the time. He had started to do a few deliveries for some people, was even considering making a business out of it soon, but mostly she guessed he was checking out what was going on, keeping tabs on friends and enemies alike. Most of Avalanche had managed to settle down into their own lives, but the warrior in Cloud never let him feel that comfort or ease. He was always awaiting the next sign of trouble.

But even Cloud seemed a bit relaxed by the new system. They stopped thinking about the Turks and the future and just let each day come as it would. Reno seemed to operate best this way and didn't show any further signs of breakdown for the time being. Tifa guessed it was because he was busy and had a schedule and normalcy. No violence. No threats. Just a comfortable routine.

And Tifa found things much less lonely. She loved Cloud, he was her oldest, closest friend, but he was often silent when he was around, or busy, or gone. But Reno was constant, and, when he was feeling well, funny.

He told her stories of life before the Turks, or pranks he'd pulled on Rude, and she told him a select few stories about Cloud as a child that never ceased to both amaze him and make him fall down laughing trying to reconcile childish stories with the stoic warrior.

When Tifa was sure it wouldn't push him into some kind of state, she asked him a question that had been nagging her for quite some time.

"So, why did you join the Turks?"

Reno immediately began to laugh.

Tifa was put off. "What?"

"Well, it's not exactly a why, more of a how. How did a little slum kid get in with them when I barely even knew what or who they were."

"And?"

"I nearly got killed by them. I wasn't all that informed on what was going on, you know, and I saw this stuck up blond kid taking a tour down in the slums. There was no doubt he was from the plate, you know the type, the ones who just want to see what it's like down here so they can go back to their friends and act all cool for being so brave to come down below. Tch. Anyway, he was about my age, I didn't see his body guards. I just wanted to give him a little scare. I didn't know it was Rufus Shinra out touring his empire with a squad of Turks fanning the whole area but giving him enough space to feel like he was on his own and being a big man. He had a big ass watch on, practically waving it around in our faces. All I was going to do was nab it and teach him a lesson."

"I bet that went over really well." Tifa smiled.

"Oh yeah, excellent. I got it from him alright, but he was trained to fight. I'd never been trained– but you know how it is, just got to watch your back down here, everyone can defend themselves. He actually tried to fight me on his own. I managed to break his nose before the Turks got to me. I'd never been attacked by so many people at once, and so trained, and I knew I had to get out of there. It was kind of a blur but I do remember landing a good punch on Tseng's face." He laughed. "I did manage to slip away, problem was, Turks don't just let you get away. But I didn't know that at the time. I still had the watch too. I made it a couple miles before a bolas wrapped around my legs and I face planted."

"So, what, they arrested you and then gave you a job?"

"Not quite. I didn't have time to untie my legs so I guess they were a little surprised when I still fought back. I managed to take down the guy who threw the bolas and another one before I got EMRed. Broke my arm in three places and then shocked me."Reno held up his left arm, showing three fine scars, no doubt from surgery to reset the bones.

"Not much fun." He continued. "I don't know if they were going to kill me or arrest me, but then Tseng arrived with Rufus and intervened. He untied me and took the watch back and I expected them to just leave me lying there but they took me back and fixed my arm. I don't know if Rufus told them to or if it was Tseng. I think it was the director, but I never did ask. Anyway, I didn't know what was going on, I saw the sun for the first time and the inside of the Shinra Mansion all in one day. Then Tseng said that though I was clearly untrained, he thought I had potential. He asked me if I had a family or any ties and I told him no. So he made me an offer. I couldn't believe it. I'd nearly been killed and then given the opportunity of a life time by the same people in the same day. So I took the job."

"And Tseng became like a mentor to you."

"Ha! I'm pretty sure he hated me! I think I drove him crazy but he couldn't argue with results so he kept me around. I guess that much hasn't changed."

"What about Rude?"

"He had been part of the Turks before me, but he hadn't worked in Tseng's personal team until they got me. I guess Tseng got tired of supervising me himself so he 'partnered' us up. He must have rubbed off on me some because I got promoted only a couple years later but he's always been my partner no matter what."

"Yeah, Cloud said you were the second in command of the Turks."

"Cause I get things done." Reno said bluntly, as if quoting a line he'd heard someone else say many times before. She didn't push.

"Do you miss them?"

"Yeah. Rude most, I guess. I tease him a lot but he's always got my back. Chain of command doesn't mean anything between us, he's always just been my partner. I wish I could talk to him, but he's a Turk too, and I don't want to make him chose between my secrets and his loyalty to them."

"Hmm. What about the girl that came in here a few weeks ago, Elena? Is she part of your team?"

"Yeah, she joined a few years ago, she was pretty young too, but she doesn't talk about her past. The Turks are her family too, all she focusses on. Not much of a sense of humour, that one, but she's efficient, Tseng liked her right away. The two of them work well together, they're actually kind of alike. Man, now that I think about it, with out me, they must be pretty bored."

He tried to smile, picturing the three serious members of his team but it just turned into a quiet frown.

"They sound like good people." Tifa offered finally. Reno nodded thankfully, knowing she had every reason to hate them. But he had learned this woman had an open heart, and because of it, Cloud had learned to have one too. It was getting on in the afternoon, Reno usually headed upstairs around now to avoid being seen but it had been a while, and like he'd suspected, the Turks had backed off after their initial canvass had turned up zilch. He looked at the stairs, not wanting to return to his solitude just yet and lay to listen to the many voices down below.

"Hey Tifa, do you think I could help out in the bar tonight?"

"Huh, you aren't worried about being seen?"

Reno shrugged, he didn't want to say out loud that his friends had given up on him or that he was just lonely. But Cloud had strolled in unannounced and spoke up.

"Its been a month, he can't stay hidden up there for ever. It's up to you if you want to take the risk, Reno. There is no reason for anyone down here to recognize you as the missing Turk."

Or the Turk that dropped a plate on their friends or families. Reno thought to himself and suddenly felt very guilty, imagining himself mingling with them and pretending to be one of them. His stomach churned and both Cloud and Tifa could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Actually, maybe I shouldn't." he said hastily and headed for the stairs.

"Wait Reno, what's wrong?" Tifa called, but he was already halfway up the stairs and either didn't hear or pretended not to. "I should go up after him."

"I can." Cloud said. "I need to change before the customers come anyway."

He went up the stairs to his room. It was his again now. They had emptied a storage room they'd had upstairs and moved a in couch from the bar lounge. Tifa had been relieved to get rid of it since she struggled to clean the beer stains out of it after every night. Reno was perfectly happy with his pint sized room, it made him feel like less of an intruder in their lives by having a space to call his own.

Cloud quickly changed from his dusty biking clothes to fresh ones for the evening before weaving his way through the boxes that had been in storage and now lined the hallway down to Reno's room. The former Turk was flopped on his couch staring at the ceiling.

"What was that all about?" Cloud asked. It took a long time for Reno's eyes' to trail their way down from the height of the ceiling to Cloud's face– a bad sign as Cloud knew this meant he was lost deep in memories.

"Huh?"

"I asked you what happened downstairs just now?"

"Oh, I don't know, I guess I'm just tired."

"Reno, don't lie."

"Sorry, Cloud."

"Why don't you come down for a bit?"

"I don't want to."

"You would rather lay here and stare at the ceiling?"

"Yes."

"You don't want to face them."

Reno eyed him, then shut his eyes. "Yes."

"You'll have to some day."

"Well, not today."

"Fine." Cloud left and shut the door behind him.

I didn't realize how much this story focusses on thoughts and feelings until I started editing it, lol. Hope this wasn't too boring. There is more 'touchy feely' coming but also more drama and action! Hope you like, please review,

Riza.