Obligatory Disclaimer:

I don't own any characters (or anything else, for that matter) you recognize from Final Fantasy VII, they are all the property of Tetsuya Nomura and/or Square-Enix.

Author's Note: I missed updating this story. Good times all around! I'd feel a bit better if I knew people were reading. Comment/review thingy? Puh-lease? I feel like such a begger. v.v

--

Tifa found herself rather jealous of Alcestis. She listened from behind the bar as Cloud and Alcestis sat in the bedroom talking about Zack. Zack, the amazing fighter. Zack, the compassionate soul. Zack, who had been a brother to both of them. In their eyes, that made them kin, and special to one another…and left Tifa with her only memory of Zack as being the obnoxious, overzealous one who came to check on the reactor. While she knew that Cloud didn't view Alcestis in a romantic light (no, that title still belonged to that bitch, Aeris), she was still jealous of the manner and the speed in which they had bonded. When they emerged from the bedroom, both had tear-stained faces, and gave each other a hug. Alcestis thanked him for his time, and Cloud replied that it was nothing, he was glad they had talked. Cloud had even smiled a little (an exceedingly rare sight) and Alcestis had jovially said goodbye to Tifa, who had nodded kindly in response. Lerina made a point to jump on "Ms. Magic" at least one more time before she left.

--Å--

Alcestis stalked the streets of Midgar, mulling over all the things Cloud had said, and she knew, she knew that the Zack he had known was the one and the same as the one she'd grown up with. Always caring, and a fantastic fighter, and always concentrated on the task at hand. She had appreciated hearing about his various feats, and all the people he had saved. Yes, she had loved Zack…the greatest big brother anyone could ever ask for.

And Jessie…Cloud had known a bit about Jessie, too…her tenacity, her ingenuity, her curiosity, all of which were things she had possessed when she was young…She, in her dying breaths, had asked Cloud to fight on, and Alcestis greatly appreciated that Cloud had done so.

But always, her thoughts returned to Reno. That damn red-head. That damn sweet red-head who had driven himself to exhaustion for her research, who had taken her in, and made her laugh…did so many things just like Zack had done. She was finally beginning to 

realize though that her feelings for Reno were not those shared between siblings…and that was what bothered her the most.

Because Cloud had revealed that the Sector 7 plate brought down by Reno was why Jessie had died. She had forgiven Reno the travesty, the deaths of it she had known previously to be nameless and faceless; but now, she was haunted by her forgiveness for the man who had, more or less, caused the death of her little sister. And had pledged himself to the organization that had been responsible for the death of her older brother.

And even if she could forgive Reno that much, she knew it would only lead to more awful things. Because the feelings she was developing for him would only grow if she forgave him, and she knew that when those feelings grew too much, they would hurt, just like they always had before. And she didn't want that hurt anymore. Never again.

--Å--

Reno patted Zan on the head for the thousandth time. Alcestis had been gone all night. It was over halfway through the day. Reno hadn't gone to work. He had waited for her to come home. But she hadn't. She hadn't called. Reno felt surprisingly empty. It was just a woman.

Or was it?

Reno shook his head, and Zan cocked his head at him.

"No, Zan, she wasn't just a woman. Or just a roommate. She was special, somehow."

--Å--

Alcestis wandered through the city aimlessly.

You should go back to Reno.

Oh, stop it, you make it sound like we were dating or something. She snapped at the annoying voice in her head.

But he was important to you. Your catalyst for change, remember?

No. I was wrong. He was here to tell me what happened to my family, and that's it. He's outlived his usefulness.

You think he didn't consider that you would react this way? But he told you anyway, because it was the right thing to do. He saved Lerina, because it was the right thing to do.

No, I saved Lerina. He did what I told him because I would've killed him.

No, he damn well didn't. The second time? He could've just done whatever the hell he wanted. But he didn't. He threw a fit at his boss, for Lerina, and for you.

Alcestis had often heard that too much magic made parts of a mage's psyche become more pronounced. She suddenly realized what that meant.



It meant she was arguing with herself.

You don't have to love him. But accept him. Tolerate him. He's done a lot for you.

I don't need him.

But you do want him in your life.

And at that, Alcestis grimaced. She slinked down onto a bench, just now realizing that she had wandered over by the plant-less park, the fountain trickling cheerfully behind her. She rubbed a hand against her forehead. Yeah, she did want Reno's friendship. She couldn't deny that. He'd even exhausted himself helping her in her research, he'd put her soul to peace regarding her family, and he'd ensured that she would come to no harm upon entering ShinRa. He even granted her more friends – Rude was a perfectly likeable guy, if a bit taciturn. Reno was thoroughly entertaining, and her head scrolled through memories… waking up to find him still there protecting her and Lerina, watching Lerina bounce on his shoulders on the way into Midgar, Lerina braiding his ponytail when he offered to let her stay with him, his anger over Lerina's potential mistreatment, the manner in which he inhaled the food she had made, his jokes during their game of Chocobo Run, the expression on his face when he said that he wanted to see her happy, chasing each other down the hall and around the apartment, dancing in the club, the caring expression in his eyes as he held her and told her the truth while she cried…

Yes. She did want Reno in her life.

She stood, brushed herself off, and began to head for home.

--Å--

Reno stared out the window, hoping to see her figure approaching the building. Nothing. Ten minutes later. Nothing. Twenty minutes. Nothing. An hour. Nothing.

It was getting dark. Was she going to be okay?

Will she even want to stay here if she comes back?

Reno's eyes suddenly lit up. An idea! He had promised her he would…and so he was going to.

Patting Zan on the head one last time, Reno grabbed his jacket and dashed out the door.

--Å--

Alcestis entered Reno's apartment. "Reno, I…" And her voice trailed off into nothing. He wasn't there. All that and he wasn't there.

She sat down on the couch, dejected. She produced a ball of materia seemingly out of nowhere and began to weave it between her fingers. Ultimately, she lay down on the couch, thinking about her favorite red-head, and fell asleep.



--Å--

Reno stumbled into his apartment. It had been awkward getting the door open with the huge pot and a folder of files in his hands, but he had managed it. He closed the door quietly, and walked the plant over to the coffee table in front of the couch. He whisked some of his dirty shirts off the table with one arm, and gently set the plant down, throwing the file across the room to land next to the bed.

He stepped back to admire it. It was a truly exotic plant, the Tree of the Fallen Star, with crimson leaves and bright orange flowers. It was small now, but he knew that it would grow to about 2-4 feet. If a mage took care of it, anyway.

For the first time since entering, he looked at the couch, and nearly jumped in surprise. There was Alcestis, sleeping peacefully, as though she'd never left. Reno felt something strange…he was pretty sure that when described, it was known as having the heart jump to the throat. He'd known her, what, two, three weeks? But there she was, laying on his couch, and Reno thought of her as one of his best friends. Living together'll do that.

He sighed, figuring that the bed was his that night. He stripped off his jacket, and threw it nonchalantly on the floor. His shirt his the ground next. He tossed his pants off at the wall, and collapsed onto the bed without even getting under the covers. She was home. All was good with the world. And Reno fell asleep, imagining what her expression might be when she woke up and saw the plant.

--Å--

A few rays of sunlight had penetrated the apartment through the windows. Alcestis stirred slightly, and yawned. Her eyes fluttered open, and then grew wide. She could not believe what she was seeing.

A Tree of the Fallen Star? No way! How did such a thing ever get into the apartment?

Reno…Reno had said he was going to bring her one. She sat up, and took a moment to take in the sweet fragrance of the flowers. It was sweet like honey, yet smelled a bit like citrus. It was great.

And if it was here…then that must mean that Reno had been there!

She stood, turned, and saw Reno sleeping on the bed in only his boxers. He was surprisingly attractive, she would have to admit to herself later, but that was at the back of her mind. She couldn't stop herself from scrambling over the couch. Or from running and jumping onto Reno zealously.



She bounced the bed over and over, hugging Reno for all she was worth. Reno woke up sputtering. "What the hell?!" Realizing that Alcestis was sitting on top of him with her arms wrapped tightly around him, he patted her on the back lightly. "Good morning, yo."

"I'm so sorry, Reno. Thank you so much." She muttered into his shoulder.

Reno took the time to think that it was a bit ironic that the first time she was on top of him while he was naked was an emotional moment, and then sat up. He hugged her lightly. "It's all right. It's okay. You had every right to be upset. I am the scum of the Planet, yo."

"No you're not." She muttered into his shoulder. "You're the best friend that I've got."

"I'm a hitman, Kess. I am at least a tiny bit responsible for the death of your family, yo."

"No, you're not. You had no idea who they were, or even who I was." She muttered.

"But, Kess-"

"I already forgave you, Reno. You were doing your job, she was doing hers, you came into conflict. But you don't do that anymore."

"No, I'm not in the habit of killing random people. My work is-"

"Getting a sandwich for the boss."

He hugged her back, his eyes closed for a moment.

"Thank you so much for the gift."

Reno laughed a little. "It was totally worth it. Rufus is going to come in this morning and freak, yo."

Alcestis snapped back and looked at him. "You stole the main specimen?"

Reno grinned shamelessly and nodded.

"Reno! I can't believe you!" She said, laughing. Reno leaned back against the wall, and Alcestis went with him, laughing hysterically with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his middle. He kept his arm around her, smirking, and realized that her laughter was giving him goosebumps everywhere, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Reno, I can't believe you actually stole one of ShinRa's specimens. I'm so proud of you," she said, giggling. Reno shrugged. "All in a day's work, yo."

He leaned off the side of the bed and produced something else.

"Thought you might find this interesting, yo."

Alcestis flipped the file open with interest, and a look of relieved surprise came across her face. "Reno, this is…"



"Everything ShinRa knows about the bandits. Rude saw me searching them, copied the files and left the extras in my mailbox. Great guy, yo."

Alcestis' eyes ravaged the pages, but she was slightly disappointed. "The only thing it doesn't tell me is the thing I want to know the most."

Reno frowned. "Which is what, yo?"

"What is their motivation for suddenly wanting world domination?" Alcestis asked. "This was a group of petty thieves when I crossed paths with them. They wanted money, but they weren't interested in power. They just wanted to make everyone passing through 'their land' pay them a fee. It doesn't make sense that they'd suddenly want control of the entire world."

"The summon materia probably has something to do with it, right?"

"I guess, but I mean, there are all kinds of summon materia. But there has to be a reason that they're fixating on it. I mean, Cloud probably has the most powerful of the Summon materia, tetra flare and all that, but the hounds haven't gone after him, they must want something else…" Her eyes lit up. "Reno, I need to return to Gongaga."

"You're crazy." He said plainly.

"No, Reno, you don't understand. Near Gongaga, there is a forest. The Ancient Forest. It was the first place I went before I began my search for my brother and sister. There is an old Gongagan myth that within that forest there is a cave-library of sorts where a great deal of magical knowledge is hidden. No one has ever been able to find it, plenty of expeditions have disappeared in search of it, but the myth states something specific about summon materia…that whoever has the Potestas Summon has the world at their fingertips. So…that would explain the fixation on Summon Materia. The myth also states that there was a man who sought the Potestas summon his entire life. He loved a woman who would not have him. She was a selfish woman, and said that she would only love him if he could give her anything she wanted, so he became obsessed with finding the Potestas Summon, so that he could give her the world…and that in his quest for it, he ultimately became absorbed in finding it and forgot all about her, and obtained so much power that it is believed he was not entirely absorbed into the lifestream. The last part said that he would come to punish you if you were a misbehaved child, but I suppose the adults just threw that part in."

Reno's eyebrows knit together. "So, in shorthand…this guy who wanted to control the world to make some woman love him, forgot all about her, and ended up being so powerful that he didn't entirely die."

"Right."



"So he probably somehow took control of this group of bandits."

"Right."

"And now he's after the Potestas Summon." He let out a long breath, and drew another in. "But why is the Order he's established coming after Midgar? If ShinRa had the summon, they surely would've used it by now, yo."

Alcestis shook her head. "The resources. ShinRa has got the resources to search for this item. Manpower, helicopters, everything."

"So the Scouts weren't after Materia. They were looking to see how far ShinRa's influence went."

"Right. Does ShinRa own that club we were in?"

"Probably, yo."

Alcestis nodded, and then sighed. There was a moment of silence before she spoke. "Reno, I've got to find that cave. If it's there, if it exists, and we can find it, well then…perhaps we can find a way to put this to rest. Permanently. It's supposed to be full of magical knowledge…how mages were able to utilize magic before there was craploads of Materia around. I'm talking older than the Cetra, Reno. This is big. Very big."

"Alcestis, if you're off gallivanting in the countryside, who do you expect to protect Midgar?"

"ShinRa and Cloud." Alcestis said plainly.

And just then, there was a sound. A very loud, sound. Something like…well, like an explosion. Alcestis dashed to the window, leaving Reno to roll out of bed.

"Reno…get your clothes on. Now."