Oh no…shit is going down. Sorry it has been so long, but couldn't post this until after the original story was posted, didn't want to ruin anything…. But luckily with that new chapter I can do a double post ! As always, let me know what you think, I am still very new to writing and feedback would be lovely.

Disclaimer: ff7 belongs entirely to square enix

When Mary finally caught her breath, she realized that she was now sitting on the ground leaning on Zack. She had collapsed when she heard Ryu scream, and apparently Zack had caught her. Mary scrambled to her feet, Zack a second behind her. They gave each other a panicked look, neither one of them knowing what to do.

"Guys, let's go. I can hear the others, I'm sure they are going to find them." Piper said, as she motioned down a tunnel. Mary and Zack took off after Piper, not paying attention to where they were going, both frantically trying to calm themselves down.

When they finally made it to the tunnel where Ryu and Angeal were, Zack and Mary both saw Angeal on the ground. Zack ran to Angeal's side, while Mary stopped in her place. She also saw Ryu, who appeared to be being healed by Genesis. When she heard that she was alright, she let out a held breath. She forced herself to take a deep breath in and then went to kneel by Angeal's side, next to Zack. She put her hand on Angeal's arm, and looked at him with worried eyes. She noticed the horrified look on his face, and that made her worry even more. She squeezed him arm lightly, trying to reassure him that it was okay, but it didn't seem to help him at all. Mary barely heard the orders being given, and was surprised when Cloud and Zack lifted Angeal to carry him back to the transporter. She looked over to the others, and was glad to hear Tseng order them to the transporter as well.

Once they made it to the transporter, Cloud and Zack set Angeal down on one of the seats. Mary moved to sit next to him, to try and comfort him, but he pushed her away. He moved himself to a corner, and buried his face in his hands. When Zack tried to move to talk to him, he was also pushed away. Zack moved to sit next to Mary, with a worried and dejected puppy look on his face. Mary put her arm around Zack's shoulder and ruffled his hair.

"It'll be okay. He just needs some space." She said, trying to comfort him. She wasn't sure herself, but that was all she could think of saying. She let her arm slide down to his back, and wrapped her other arm around to pull Zack into a hug, pushing her face into his shoulder. She knew how Zack felt, and since she needed a hug, she figured that he would too. They sat that way until Genesis and Sephiroth returned, glancing over to check on Angeal every couple of minutes.

When Tseng and Sephiroth were both back, they ordered for both Angeal and Ryu to be placed on stretchers, and be brought to the infirmary immediately upon arrival at the ShinRa building. Ryu didn't argue, and fell asleep upon being laid down. Angeal fought his friends as they tried to guide him to the stretcher, and Sephiroth had to use a sleep materia on him. Once he was out, he was strapped to the stretcher, everyone sat in shocked silence, as the helicopter lifted off the ground.

Once everyone returned to the transporter, they made the silent trip back to the ShinRa building. Sadness filled the air, and no one was able or willing to say anything about it. Mary sat leaning against Zack, the horrible memory of the incident running through her head. She had never felt such fear from something that was not directly threatening to her, and the memory caused a horrible tingling in her palms. She thought that she had lost him, and she couldn't handle that type of pain. She turned her head into Zack's arm for a few minutes, to hide the tears that were building in her eyes. Zack could tell that Mary was still upset, and rubbed his hand up and down her back to comfort her. Once he saw that Angeal was alright his fear had disappeared, only to be brought back after seeing Angeal's reaction.

When they arrived, Ryu and Angeal were brought to the infirmary, while the others followed to wait for their friends outside the rooms. Once Angeal was awakened from his sleep and cleared, he made his way to his apartment without a word to anyone. He slammed his door and collapsed onto his couch, his face finding its spot in his hands again.

Mary and Zack followed Angeal, and Zack collapsed outside Angeal's door when it was slammed in his face. With a set look on his face, Zack crossed his arms across his chest.

"You staying here, puppy?" Mary asked, as she looked down at him.

"Yes. I don't trust that look he had." Zack replied with a nod. "I'm worried about him." He added.

"Me too." Mary said, as she sat down next to him. She stayed with Zack until it was time for bed, and she heard Angeal move from his couch to his bedroom. She got up slowly, stretching out her sore limbs, as she offered a hand to Zack, who shook his head.

"No. I'm staying here until he comes out." He said stubbornly. Mary shook her head and went to his room, grabbing a pillow and blanket from his bed. She placed them beside him and ran her hand through his hair.

"Okay, but get some sleep please. You will be no help if you are exhausted. Goodnight puppy." She said, as she slowly made her way to her room. She felt guilty for leaving while Zack was still sitting there, but she knew that it would do no good. When she got to her room, she collapsed on her bed and was asleep within a few minutes; the emotional turmoil of the day had been exhausting.

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Mary groaned when her alarm went off the next morning. She rolled over and buried her head in her pillow. She had barely gotten any sleep; she kept waking up due to nightmares of repeating memories from the day before. She rolled off of her bed and went out to check on Zack. Sure enough, he was still outside of Angeal's apartment. She bent down and pulled the blanket up over Zack's shoulders. She decided to forgo her run, and instead went to the kitchen to make breakfast for herself, Zack, and Angeal.

When the food was done, she brought the three plates back to Angeal's door, setting two of them on the floor. She slowly and cautiously opened Angeal's door, and set the plate down on the coffee table in front of his couch. She wasn't sure if he would eat it, but she felt as though she had to try. She hoped that he would take it as a sign that they were there for him, and he would eventually let them in. She slowly backed out of the room and sat down next to Zack, who had started to wake after smelling the food. He sat up slowly, and eyed the plate of food, while his stomach started to grumble.

"You should eat; you never had dinner last night." Mary said, as she handed him the plate. "I put food in his room too." She added; she didn't want Zack to not eat because of what had happened.

"Fine." Zack said, taking the plate and picked up a piece of toast.

Mary stayed with Zack for most of the morning, and tried to talk to Angeal, but each time they were told to leave him alone. When it was time to eat again, Mary got up and made some more food. This time, Zack refused the food, his hope and good mood diminishing. Mary continued the next few days sitting with Zack, and trying to make him eat, while also trying to keep her own sanity. She started running in the mornings, and training on her own in the afternoon, when she was not sitting with Zack.

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Mary stood silently between Alanna and Piper. They were at the SOLDIERs small ceremony for Elena, a way for all in the program to give their respect to the Turk that had saved one of their own commanders. After the sacrifice that Elena had made to save Angeal, Mary was tempted to go to the Turk service to fully pay her respects, but had chosen otherwise because she was not a full Turk. There was also the fear that being around the more emotional Turks would set her off. She was pretty well in control of her own emotions, but seeing others upset was always enough to throw her over the edge.

Mary was a ball of emotions that she didn't know how to handle, and so she had been keeping it all locked in. She was upset, angry, and depressed because Angeal was locked in his room and Zack was playing the sad puppy outside his door. It broke Mary's heart every time she went to sit with Zack and she saw that the sparkle was no longer in his eyes. She was also upset and sad about Elena's death. She owed the Turk a lot, and she felt horrible that just that morning she had been so angry with her.

Every night she had nightmares. Some were of her memories of the incident, some were mental recreations of what happened so that she could see Angeal as the monster exploded, and some were the events that transpired beforehand. Mary scolded herself each time she woke up angry at Elena, having to remind herself of the good she had done. She had been so angry that morning that she had put Elena on her shit list, which was a very dangerous place to be.

It is not your fault. She thought to herself. Just because you wanted to hurt her doesn't mean that you had anything to do with it. She died doing her job. That had almost become a mantra for Mary that day. She had been fine the first few days, but this day made her guilt rise to the surface. After the moment of silence, and a silent Thank You to Elena, Mary quickly left and took the stairs to the training room, where she began her solo workout.

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As the days passed, Mary became worried as Angeal still would not leave his room, and Zack would not leave his spot outside of his door. Zack stopped eating, and was starting to look frail, and it broke Mary's heart. She was sitting beside Zack when she got a call from Tseng.

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Mary felt tired as she sat on Angeal's bed, combing her hands through his hair. It hadn't taken long for him to fall asleep. Mary figured that with the drinking he probably hadn't been sleeping well, and she knew for a fact that he hadn't eaten in multiple days. She looked down and evaluated how awful he looked. He hadn't shaved for a week, he was still smelly after his shower, and he looked like he had lost weight from not eating. Mary sighed at the sight of her mentor. –No, he's more than that now-She thought to herself.

She smiled to herself when she remembered the kiss. She hadn't been expecting to do that, it was just the only thing that she could think to do in the situation. She was happy with how it had worked out. Though she was worried that Angeal was still feeling his guilt, she would at least be able to get him out of the room in the morning. Mary yawned as her exhaustion started to hit her. She slowly pulled herself out from underneath Angeal as she set his head on the pillow, and slowly moved to his side on the bed. She pulled the blanket over them both as she snuggled into his arm, before gently falling asleep.

Mary slept well that night, curled up next to Angeal. She had never experienced such warmth and comfort. Being that she was so warm and comfortable, she didn't get up when her PHS went off to wake her up, she just silenced it and rolled back over, enjoying the large warm bed that she was in.

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Mary lay in her own bed the next night, willing herself to fall asleep. Her mind was swirling with different thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Mary rolled over for the tenth time, trying to find a way to shut off her mind and force her body to go to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, she could not fall asleep, and so she gave in and returned to the balcony to look over Midgar.

As Mary sat on the balcony, she let her thoughts run wild through her mind. She thought of how happy she had been that morning, she felt like she had finally gotten what she wanted. At the time, Angeal was hers, and she had never felt as much happiness at one time. Then she remembered how horrible it felt when he closed the door on her. She felt horrible, rejected, and devastated. Like everything she had ever wanted was given to her and then taken away. Tears started to stream from her eyes again, as she rocked gently back and forth. It was an hour before she returned to her room, finally able to tire herself enough to fall asleep.

When the alarm went off, Mary groaned and rolled over. After silencing the alarm, she slowly crawled her way out of bed, and was able to force herself down to the track for her morning run. As she ran, she tried to think critically about the situation, and reassure herself that things would be alright. –He just needed some time. We can talk today and straighten things out. He's still guilty about Elena's death, after all. - She thought to herself. When she finished her run, she set off for the elevator to return to the apartment.

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Mary didn't know why she said it. She hadn't called Angeal 'sir' for months, not since her birthday. She figured it must have been to distance herself from him, to disconnect from her emotions. She was unsure whether it was to protect herself, or to hurt him, or both. As she showered she tried to calm herself down. Instead of mixed emotions of happiness and sadness, she was now feeling angry. She was ultimately frustrated, and didn't know how to handle it.

-He's avoiding you. You pushed him too far, and now he'll never want to talk to you again. – She thought, as she stood still, allowing the water to run down her back. –But how could he do that? Isn't he supposed to be all honorable? How is a one night stand more honorable than a relationship? – She thought, her anger growing.

She grew more and more upset as she ran through the events, trying to figure out exactly where it went wrong. Going through it in her head, she realized that Angeal had lied to her. He said he would never reject her, but he did. He said he wouldn't forget what she said, but apparently he did. Mary never would have thought that Angeal would lie to her like that. She angrily put on her uniform, and made her way to the training room. She was glad to find that Cloud had not gotten there yet, and she was able to start warming up on her own.

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"Are you alright Mary?" Cloud asked, as Mary threw another hard blow his way. He knew that he was supposed to take it easy on the 2nd classes, but if she continued to hit him so hard, he would have to start using all of his strength against her.

"Nope." Was all she said, as she continued blocking Cloud's hits and landing her own blows. Cloud sighed and shook his head.

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"You wanna talk about it?" Cloud asked, hoping that talking would help calm her down. They had been training for three hours, and Mary didn't seem to be tiring. Cloud wasn't tired so much as hungry.

"Not really." Mary replied, though she took the hint and lowered her sword.

"How about we get lunch, then." Cloud offered. Mary nodded her head and returned the buster jr. to the wall. She silently followed Cloud to the elevator, and back to the apartment. "Does this have to do with Angeal?" He finally asked when they were finished with lunch.

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Mary said through clenched teeth. "But yes, it does." Mary gave in, after seeing the worried look on Cloud's face.

"Do you want to practice Materia now?" He asked her, hoping she would take him up on his offer, not wanting to go against her sword again. Mary nodded her head as she got up from the table, collecting the dishes and putting them in the sink.

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The next day, Mary found herself calming down after her training sessions with Cloud. She was still angry and upset, but she felt more in control of her emotions. She was sitting on the couch with Piper when Angeal and Zack returned to the apartment. As she looked up, she saw Angeal as he looked to the floor and quickly walked out of the room.

-He can't even manage to look at you.- She thought to herself. Almost instantly, she felt her anger return. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to look down at her crocheting. Zack promptly plopped himself on the couch next to Mary.

"Hey Mary, how's it going?" He asked, as he threw his arm over her shoulder. Mary just turned and glared at him. She could not think of the words to describe how she felt and how things were going for her, in a way that wouldn't upset Zack. "Are you mad at me or something?" He asked, shying away from her a little bit.

"No puppy, I'm not mad at you." Mary answered, realizing that she had misplaced her anger.

"Are you sure? I didn't mean to steal Angeal from you." He said.

"I'm sure. It's not your fault that he is ignoring me. And you didn't steal him; he is your mentor too. There is nothing wrong with you enjoying training with him." Mary replied, sighing as she put her crocheting down. She pulled Zack into a hug, as he rubbed her back with his hand. He didn't know what had happened, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Angeal had come out of his room, and he had been training with him, which made him very happy. But at the same time, he could tell that something was going on between Mary and Angeal, and he could tell that Mary was very upset about it. He wished he knew what to do, but he was well aware that both of them were very stubborn.

"Mary. I'm hungry, can I go get food." Zack said, as he tried to pull away from Mary. She let go of his waist, and nodded her head. "Thanks. You want anything." He added.

"No, I'm all set. Thanks." She replied, as she picked up her crocheting.

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That night, Angeal ate dinner in his room, with Genesis and Sephiroth. They said that they had things that they needed to talk about. Mary wasn't fooled, she knew that Angeal was still avoiding her, and it only frustrated her more. Anytime they were in the same room, he would either bolt, or avoid looking at her.

At first, Mary was upset that Angeal was avoiding her. But as the days went on, she became glad that he was not trying to talk to her. She was still very upset, and anytime they were in the same room, she could feel her emotions springing up. She feared that if they were to look at each other, or if he would actually talk to her, she would break down in tears.

After dinner, Mary went to her room, and changed back into her workout clothes. Training with Cloud was beneficial, but he didn't put her through some of the body shaping workouts that Angeal would, and so Mary had to do them on her own. She was okay with it though, it helped to keep her mind off of her emotions. When she was finished, she felt as though her head was clearer, and she decided to try and get Angeal to talk to her again. She pulled out her PHS, and typed a text.

-Can we talk, please?- Was all she sent him. She had figured that it may be easier to get through to him through the PHS.

-Not tonight, I am busy. I will be busy all day tomorrow as well.- Was his reply. Mary had thought a rejection through the phone would be easier on her nerves, but somehow it wasn't. She started pacing her room. She was sick of being rejected and ignored.

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Mary wasn't sure what she was doing, but she grabbed her key card, PHS, and music player, and left the apartment. She was glad that it was late enough that no one was in the living room to question her. Within minutes she had run down the stairs and left the building, and started running the roads of Midgar. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she needed to get away. She ran for two hours before she began to tire and stopped to figure out where she was. She took a deep breath when she turned and saw the building she had stopped at.

Mary pulled out her id card and slid it through the keypad. Though she didn't live in the Turk apartments, she was still a Turk, and had access to the building. She knew her way around, because she had been the one to replace the security cameras when they got newer ones; it had been the test of her skills in setting up surveillance. Mary sighed to herself when she remembered that day. She had done a pretty good job, but had almost got ten shot by Elena. Mary stopped halfway up the stairs. The memory of Elena brought back everything that had happened in the past two weeks, and Mary had to fight back a tear. When she was able to get herself back together, she continued up the stairs and found her way to Reno's apartment. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, part of her hoping that he was home, and the other hoping that he wasn't.

Mary stood outside the door, and could hear someone making their way to the door. When it opened, she saw bright red, and lost any self control she had left. Without hesitation, Mary launched herself forward and pulled Reno into a kiss, pushing him backwards into his living room and closing the door with her foot. When she pulled away, she stared into Reno's eyes.

"Well hello to you too." He said, as his mind caught up with what was happening. Reno hadn't expected it to be Mary outside his door, not at one in the morning. He also did not expect for her to kiss him, or to be so aggressive about it. He raised an eyebrow and a smirk grew across his face. He leaned forward for another kiss, and slowly started moving Mary back to his bedroom, more out of reflex than anything else. When they reached his room, he broke the kiss. "Not that I'm complainin', but are you sure about this?" He asked her.

Mary paused and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Reno's chest. "Damn it. I'm sorry." Was all she managed to say.

"It's okay. I didn't really want to die anyway." Reno said, as he rubbed his hand over her back. "Are you okay?" He asked, as he pulled her away from him to look at her face.

"No." She answered.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked, rubbing his hands up and down her upper arms. She shook her head in reply. "Okay. You wanna tell me why you are here then?"

"I… I was tired of being rejected. I knew you wouldn't turn me away, I guess." She said as she sat on the bed and looked down at her hands. "I didn't really plan it; I just went for a run and ended up here." She added.

"Wait, what? Did Angeal reject you?" Reno asked, as he sat on the bed next to Mary.

"Sort of. He… well we… ugh." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to say what I want to say. It's complicated." Reno scooted up his bed to lean on his headboard. He figured it was going to be a long night, and he had already had a long day.

"It's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, yo." He said, stifling a yawn. Mary looked up from her hands and saw that Reno was leaning on the headboard, and he looked exhausted.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up. I can go if you want me to." Mary said, as she pushed herself off of the bed.

"Don't worry about it. You can stay. Ryu will kill me if I let you leave while you are upset; if she doesn't kill me for that kiss first." Reno said, as he patted the bed next to him. Mary giggled lightly as she made her way around the bed to sit next to Reno.

"Thanks. Hopefully Ryu just doesn't find out, or else we will both get lectured." She said as she sat down. "Wait, where are your goggles?" Mary asked.

"In the bathroom. Why?"

"Good. I don't want CAGS tattling on us." Mary replied, as Reno nodded his head in understanding. They both sat for a few minutes without speaking.

"So… that kiss, you were pretty aggressive, yo. A little too aggressive for a virgin." Reno said finally.

"That's because I'm not a virgin anymore." Mary said flatly.

"Is that why you're upset? I'm just going to assume it was Angeal." Reno asked, not at all surprised at her statement. Mary nodded her head in reply. "How was it?"

"Everything I had been waiting for. I couldn't have been happier. But it was probably a mistake; I think I pushed Angeal too far." She admitted.

"So, the not wanting to be rejected thing…?"

"He won't talk to me, he won't look at me, and he isn't training me. I thought that once everything was out in the open, we could just be together. But apparently that's not what he wants." She said, her sadness apparent in her voice.

"Come on, I doubt that he doesn't want you. In my opinion, the big guy is an idiot, and doesn't know what to do. He probably feels guilty for what happened, being all about his 'honor' and all, yo." Reno replied, trying to comfort Mary.

"He regrets it. It was the best morning of my life, and he regrets it. It just hurts." Mary said, leaning on Reno's shoulder. "I can't sort anything in my head. I am mad at him for lying to me and ignoring me, happy that it finally happened, and then upset because it was all taken from me. Do you know what that is like, to be given everything you could ever want and then have it taken away?" Reno sat silently, not knowing how to answer her.

"No I don't." He answered her quietly. Mary turned her head and looked into Reno's eyes.

"Thank you, Reno. It was nice to get that out." She said.

"No problem. But, I still don't see why you came to me. Yeah, I wouldn't have rejected you, but I can't give you a relationship either." Reno replied, raising an eyebrow, curious as to what her answer would be.

"I know, but you wouldn't lie to me about it. It would be my choice, and I wouldn't expect anything more, so I wouldn't get my heart broken." Mary yawned, the late hour taking its toll on her. "I should probably go now."

"You can stay here, it's late. Don't worry, I'll behave myself." Reno said, as he pushed his shoes off and pulled the blanket over them both.

"Thanks." Mary said, as she curled up under the covers and into Reno. Reno smiled as he fell asleep, enjoying having someone next to him.

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Mary woke a few hours later, when her PHS alarm went off as usual. She was confused as she sat up, and realized she wasn't in her own room. She turned to the side, and saw that she had been sleeping next to Reno. Her brain slowly caught up, as she looked down and saw that she still had her running clothes on. –Thank the goddess- She thought. Mary got up, and found her way to the bathroom. After splashing water on her face and straightening her hair, she returned to the bedroom and found her running shoes. After slipping them on, she bent over a sleeping Reno and lightly kissed his cheek.

"Thank you. I have to go now." She whispered. Reno shifted slightly, and groggily replied.

"What time is it?"

"Much earlier than you want to be awake." Mary replied.

"Then why are you awake?" He groaned.

"I have to get back to ShinRa, I don't want anyone to find out I left. And I have to get there to start coffee before Seph or Ryu wake up." She said, as she made her way to the door. "I'll see you later."

"Later, yo." Reno replied, as he shoved his head back into his pillow. Mary shook her head as she made her way out of Reno's apartment, and made her way down the stairs. She was almost out of the apartment complex when she heard a familiar voice.

"Need a ride." She heard, as she cringed and slowly turned around. Rude was standing by his car with his arms across his chest.

"I can run. I usually do in the mornings anyway." She answered, though she doubted that it would work. Rude tilted his head and pointed to the car.

"Get in." Mary sighed and did as she was told. They both sat silently in the car for most of the trip back to ShinRa.

"I know you probably won't believe me, but it really isn't what it looks like. Nothing happened." Mary began awkwardly.

"You don't owe me an explanation. You are an adult." Rude cut in.

"Alright, but seriously, my clothes were on the whole time. Please don't tell anyone." She said pleadingly.

"Tell anyone what?" Rude said, as he parked the car. Mary took it as a sign that the conversation was over. Rude seemed a little grouchy, and Mary wasn't sure if it was because it was early in the morning, or if he was upset about what had happened. Mary rode the elevator silently back to her own apartment, where she made her way to the kitchen to start the coffee, and then returned to her room to shower.

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Later that day, Mary was sitting in the living room petting Zack when Ryu and Reno returned from their training session. Reno plopped himself on the empty couch while Ryu made her way to the kitchen. Reno took out his PHS and sent Mary a text.

-Are you feeling better today?- Mary read when she opened her PHS.

-Yeah. Thanks for last night. Oh, Rude brought me back, so he knows I was there. Did Ryu say anything?- She replied.

-Nope. But that explains how Rude seemed to know. I thought he was spying on me or something.- He typed back. Mary laughed when she read his message.

"What's so funny?" Zack asked, upset that Mary had stopped petting him.

"Nothing puppy." Mary said, as she ruffled Zack's hair. Zack shrugged and leaned back against Mary's leg. Ryu returned from the kitchen with a snack for both her and Reno, and sat down beside him.

"So, didn't feel like a run this morning Mary?" She asked her friend, who paused what she was doing and looked up.

"No, I was tired, decided to go back to sleep after making coffee." She replied hesitantly. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. I thought it was because you were with niisan all night." She said in a matter of fact tone. Reno coughed as he nearly choked on his food. Zack turned around to stare at Mary who sported a 'deer in the headlights' look as she stared at Ryu. "CAGS monitors security cameras as well as the headsets." She added.

"She made the move on me. I behaved myself, I swear it, yo." Reno said, before Ryu could even accuse or yell at him.

"Oh I know, but I wish you wouldn't have tried to hide it from me." Ryu said, resting her hand on Reno's shoulder. Reno sighed in relief.

"Mary?" Zack asked, not believing what he had heard. Mary shook herself from her daze and looked at Zack.

"Don't worry puppy, nothing happened. We just talked and then fell asleep." She said reassuringly. "I'm sorry." She said, this time pointing her statement at Ryu, who shook her head.

"Whatever. It's not like I didn't see it coming. At least niisan had some self control, so it didn't get out of hand." She said, giving Mary a hard look. Mary lowered her head and looked at her lap. "And Zack, what you have heard stays between us, got it?" She said, all but glaring at Zack. "We don't want anyone to overreact if they hear about it."

"Got it. My lips are sealed." He said, as he moved his hand from one side of his mouth to the other. "I will not tell Angeal."

"Not tell me what?" Angeal said, as he made his way through the living room.

"Nothing." Zack yelped, as he got up and followed Angeal out of the apartment. When they reached the elevator, Angeal gave Zack a questioning look.

"So, what was it that you won't tell me?" He asked again.

"I can't tell you. And I won't tell you, until you tell me what is going on with you and Mary." Zack said, with a nod to his head.

"I already told you Zack, it is private." Angeal replied sternly.

"Well too bad, guess I can't tell you then."

"Zack…" Angeal threatened. Zack just shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Angeal sighed as he gave up and stood silently until the elevator reached the training floor.

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Mary tried to control her emotions as she followed Angeal down the hallway to his room. She was glad that Angeal was finally going to talk to her, but also afraid that she would break down and cry if she was in the room with him alone. She had been feeling better since her night with Reno, but it was still hard to look at Angeal, it would always bring back the painful memories of him rejecting her. Mary looked down at her hands as she sat on his couch. Angeal sat down on the other end, and turned to face Mary.

He didn't know what he could say. He couldn't deny his feelings for Mary, but there was still something holding him back. He didn't know how to explain it to her. Every time he thought about that morning, he got an incredible feeling of guilt, and he was having a hard time getting over it.

The silence was killing Mary. She tried to take a few deep breaths to control herself but she could feel the tears start to form in her eyes. Mary curled her knees up to her chest and hid her face from Angeal's view. Angeal looked up when he heard Mary move, and was horrified when he saw that she had closed off, and it looked like she was crying. He slid across the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry Mary, I didn't mean to hurt you. Please forgive me?" He said softly.

"Well you did." Mary said, the anger getting to her again.

"I'm sorry. I lost my self control. I never wanted to hurt you." He said again.

"You really don't get it, do you? I'm not upset about what happened, 'Geal." Mary began. "There was nothing wrong with what we did. Pushing me away is what hurt." She said sadly, the tears continuing to stream down her face.

"I didn't know what to do. I'm confused and I don't know how to handle this." He admitted.

"Well ignoring me was definitely not the way." She answered angrily. "You said you'd never reject me, but you did. But it hurt worse than any other rejection ever has. Please don't do it again, I don't know if I can take it." She said honestly.

"I don't want to hurt you, Mary. But I'm afraid that if we do this, I will only hurt you more in the end."

"That's total crap."

"Excuse me?" Angeal asked, confused at the turn the conversation had taken.

"I don't care if I get hurt later on, if I get to be happy until then. Stop denying me that, Angeal." She began. "'It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all', why would you deny me that? I want to know what it is like, please." She pleaded with him. She didn't know how to make him understand how badly she needed to be with him.

"You deserve someone better than me." He said solemnly.

"But you are the one I want. Don't I deserve to have what I want? Don't I deserve to be loved, just once?" She asked him. She didn't believe in any way that he didn't deserve her, but she would let it go for the moment.

"Yes." He replied, as he pulled her closer to him. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Mary decided to speak again.

"So, can we be together now?" She asked him cautiously. Angeal nodded his head. "Say it out loud please."

"Yes, I want to be with you." Angeal said firmly. He wrapped his arms around Mary's waist and pulled her closer to him. He was amazed at how happy he was, and how being with Mary seemed to cause all of his worries to disappear. "Where do we go from here?"He asked her.

"Well, I don't really know. I've never actually been in a relationship before. I'm pretty sure we don't have to follow the traditional timeline though, since we've known each other for almost a year now. I'd say we start with this, and take it at whatever pace feels right." She answered him.

"This is nice." He said, hugging Mary a little tighter. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with the other thing yet, though."

"That's fine. We should probably talk about it if we plan on doing it again, which I do." She said with a smirk. "But I can wait until you are more comfortable with it, as long as I know you're mine. Maybe we should go on a date? Nothing fancy, just hanging out just the two of us. I could cook you dinner for a change, and we could sit and talk on the balcony?" She suggested, turning to Angeal to see his reaction.

"That would be nice." He replied. Mary smiled and gave Angeal a gentle kiss, before turning around again and leaning into his chest. Mary almost fell asleep in Angeal's arms after just a few minutes. She really did enjoy the warmth and the feeling of his arms around her. They made her feel safe and happy. They stayed that way until it was time to go to bed.

"I should go now." Mary said, as she pushed herself up a little and turned towards Angeal. She looked deeply into his blue eyes, and realized it was going to be incredibly hard to leave. Before he could respond, she kissed him again, only this time she lingered. Angeal sat and enjoyed the kiss, letting it go on for a few minutes. He really did enjoy having Mary in this way, and he couldn't imagine being without her again. When he finally regained his control, he gently eased Mary back, ending the kiss.

"It is getting late. I can walk you to your room if you'd like." He offered.

"That's okay; I'll see you in the morning." She said, as she placed a quick kiss on his lips. She reluctantly stood, and slowly made her way out of Angeal's room and to her own. She finally understood why her friends would always take such a long time saying goodbye to their boyfriends in high school.

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The next morning Mary got up and did her run, as usual. She was glad that she had finally gotten a good night's sleep, and was hoping that things were finally going to work out with her and Angeal. After returning and showering, Mary made her way to the kitchen to make herself breakfast. She smiled when she saw Angeal sitting at the table, drinking his coffee.

"Good morning." She said cheerfully. Angeal smiled when he heard her familiar voice. Without hesitation he got up and followed Mary to the counter. He gently turned her around and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He was not going to make the same mistake twice; he did not want to hurt Mary again.

"Good morning." He said softly. Mary smiled brightly, and returned the favor. They broke the kiss when Seph walked into the kitchen and froze.

"Morning Seph." Mary said, turning a bright pink color. She pulled away from Angeal and grabbed the coffee cup from Sephiroth's hand, and filled it with more coffee. She turned and handed it back to him, giving him time to give Angeal a confused look. As Sephiroth sat down, he returned to his role as the General.

"So, you two are together now? I assume I do not have to tell you to be professional." He said calmly.

"Yes, and no, you don't have to tell us. We will behave." Mary answered for them both.

"Good." He replied, as he took a sip from his coffee cup. He smiled to himself. He had been in a good mood for a few days, and seeing his friend happy finally made him feel even better. He watched as Mary and Angeal left the kitchen to begin their training session.

YAY! Finally! So from now on, there is going to be a lot of fluffy and sickly sweet angeal/mary stuff. The next chapter is pretty much all fluffy stuff, and in between the last and next chapters from the main story.