Author's Notes: Read. Enjoy. Review!
Reno's PHS rang an hour or so after their conversation, and he flipped it open, noting the number with a sense of resignation. "Yo."
"I assume you haven't lost Si'ara again?" Rufus's tone was polite, as though his inquiry was based on sincere concern. When Reno didn't respond immediately, he added. "It's rather a relevant question. Would you mind answering?"
"No." Reno saw Si'ara glance over, but she turned back to the window without speaking. "Is there a problem?"
"I need to ask her some questions, in person, so make sure she doesn't disappear. There've been some attacks on the new power plant in North Corel. Accusations are being made that the fuel source is polluting the environment, making people sick or some such. The whole thing sounds appallingly familiar, and I want to see what she knows."
Reno frowned as puzzle pieces fell into place. If she was involved in terrorist activities again, she had every reason to be afraid of being taken to Midgar. And this certainly explained why Rufus had gotten so upset when he'd lost her.
"Not a problem," he reassured his boss. "We should reach Cissnei's around nightfall-that's as secure a location as you could ask for. And you can feel free to send a chopper just as soon as you can get someone to fly one out."
"Just keep in touch." Rufus disconnected without waiting for a response.
Reno flipped the PHS closed and glanced over at Si'ara.
"Cissnei's?" She didn't turn away from the window.
"Cissnei was a Turk. We'll stop there for dinner and stay the night. I'm sure you're determined to run again, but trust me, that isn't the place to do it." He met her gaze as she finally looked back at him. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be, babe," he said softly.
Si'ara looked down at the seat between them, bothered more by Reno's gentle tone than she had been by most of his angry shouting. Unwilling to respond to it directly, she latched on to something he had said. "Cissnei 'was' a Turk? I didn't think you could quit being a Turk."
"Not if you want to keep breathing." Reno turned his attention back to the road. "Cissnei's an exception."
"That all you're willing to share?" Si'ara settled back against the seat, trying to find a comfortable position.
"For now." Reno changed the subject, glancing up into the mirror to include the guards in his next comment. "We'll stop in an hour or two for lunch, then drive for the rest of the day. Anything you need to do, you'd better do when we make our stop."
Night was falling when Reno turned off of the road they'd been following so far, taking the buggy down a twisting path that led into the area surrounding the lake-filled crater over which the Ultimate Weapon had once been found. The terrain here was a combination of forest and mountain, and Si'ara wished it had been lighter-she would have liked to get a better look at the scenery.
"What's back here?" she asked curiously. She guessed that it must be this ex-Turk's home, but they'd been driving in silence for hours, so she figured a rhetorical question was better than nothing.
"Cissnei's house." Reno glanced over at her. "Doin' okay over there?"
"I ache all over, and I'm tired of sitting in a buggy, but other than that, I'm alright." She watched more trees go by in the dark. "Is it okay for me to see where this mysterious ex-Turk lives? Shouldn't you be blindfolding me or something?"
"Didn't know you were into that. I'll see what I can find, if you'd likeā¦" Reno watched as amusement warred with indignation in her expression. Amusement finally won, and she favored him with a self-deprecating grin.
"It's pretty dark out anyway," she said. "I'm not sure I have any idea where we are, other than somewhere near the Crater Lake. It looks like the land here has recovered better than I would have expected. These trees can't be more than a few years old, but they look like they're pretty well settled."
Reno shrugged. "Babe, I have enough trouble telling a tree from a bush or flower. I have no idea what a "settled" plant looks like. You wanna talk nature stuff, talk to Cissnei about it." He returned her grin, though, and the two of them fell into a silence that lacked the tension of the earlier part of their trip.
After 10 minutes or so, Reno turned off of the road completely, and drove into a clearing that held a large house with a wraparound porch, a small barn, and a fenced-in field where several chocobos were "wark"ing quietly. After turning off the buggy's engine and indicating to the guards that they should get out, he turned to Si'ara.
"Listen, babe," he said quietly. "I know you don't want to be here, and I know you don't care for anyone associated with Shinra, but mind your manners while we're here. Don't take this out on Cissnei, alright?"
Si'ara shrugged, unwilling to agree to that before she knew what she was getting into.
"Not good enough." Reno shook his head. "Promise you'll behave. It's just for one night."
Frowning, Si'ara stared out the windshield at the chocobos. It seemed out of character for Reno to care how she treated someone, but it was obvious that the only way to get out of the buggy was to agree to his request. "Fine," she said shortly. "I promise I won't go off on this Cissnei person. Okay?"
"That'll do, yo." Reno opened his door and climbed out, then walked around to her side to open her door. "Let's get inside before it starts raining again."
Si'ara followed him up the steps to the door of the house. As they arrived, it opened to reveal a petite auburn-haired woman, who threw her arms around Reno, welcoming him with a hug before turning to Si'ara. "And you must be Si'ara." She smiled, extending a hand.
Reno watched Si'ara stiffen, then force herself to relax and return the smile as she took Cissnei's hand. The expression didn't reach her eyes, but he was willing to give her credit for the effort. "Si'ara, this is Cissnei. Cissnei, Si'ara." Perfunctory introduction handled, he slipped past them into the house.
Si'ara felt out of place as she followed Reno into the house at Cissnei's indication that she should do so. He and the guards seemed to know where they were going-she could hear the guards in one room, and followed Reno to another, noticing that he seemed to be at home in this house.
He opened the door, commented with satisfaction on the fact that the guards had already carried in his bags, and turned to Si'ara. "This is where we'll be sleeping." He moved aside enough for her to see into the bedroom. "First, though-"
Cissnei cut him off, stepping up beside them. "That's where Reno will be sleeping," she corrected calmly, "Your room is over here." She led Si'ara to a door on the other side of the hall, which opened into a smaller room than the one Reno had shown her, with no windows, but homey and nicely furnished. "There's a bathroom just down the hall. Dinner won't be ready for a bit-why don't you freshen up and take a look around. I'm sure you'd like to stretch out for a while after spending most of the day in the buggy."
Si'ara nodded, carefully avoiding Reno's gaze. "Thank you," she said politely, and she hurried down the hall to the bathroom before Reno could stop her.
Reno scowled at Cissnei. "Si'ara can sleep in my room. I don't want her slipping off in the middle of the night."
"Her room doesn't have any windows to sneak out of, and you're right across the hall. I'm sure you'll hear her if she tries to sneak out through the house." Cissnei's expression was calm, but Reno recognized the stubborn look in her eyes.
"Fine," he said ungraciously, "but only if she promises to stay in it until morning. If she leaves the room, I'll handcuff her to my bedpost."
"Nice." Cissnei grinned up at him. "You have such a way with women, Reno."
Reno ruffled her hair and walked down the hallway past her. "Ya got me pegged, doll," he agreed, unrepentant.
Si'ara washed up in the bathroom, checking the bruises on her side and wishing she had a longer skirt and long-sleeved shirt to cover them better. She wondered whether Cissnei might have anything she could borrow, but wasn't sure it would be okay to ask. Besides, the woman might be an ex-Turk, but she was wearing a blue Turk suit. Si'ara was starting to think that must be all that any Turk owned.
Once she was done, she wandered down the hallway, taking Cissnei's advice and looking around the house. The first few doors she found were open and led into bedrooms, but the one at the end of the hall opened into a cozy den. A large stone fireplace dominated one outside wall, and the other was mostly glass-two tall windows and a set of sliding glass doors. They faced out onto the field with the chocobos, and a loveseat and recliner had been positioned to face them. Next to those, a long couch faced the fireplace, and a huge white fur rug covered most of the floor between them. A lamp stood in one corner, and another hung from the ceiling, both made of amber glass and casting a warm glow over the room.
Si'ara decide she was done exploring-this room filled her with a sense of contentment, and she had no desire to leave it. She settled into the recliner and watched the chocobos, uneasy in the face of the approaching storm, as they fluffed up and settled together beneath a tree. She noted with delight that among the flock were several young chocobos, less than half-grown, still considered babies by the adults, who spread their wings over them and kept them to the center of the group protectively. It was impossible not to smile, watching them interact, and she found herself relaxing and enjoying the view.
However, when she heard the guards pass in the hall, chatting amongst themselves and mentioning dinner, she got up and slipped out of the room. She wasn't sure how upset Reno was about Cissnei having given them separate rooms, and she didn't want to make him come and find her.
She followed the sound of the guards' voices down another hallway, but she wasn't sure which door they'd gone through. Pushing open the first one she came to, she found the kitchen, where Cissnei and Reno were laughing as Reno tried to ladle stew into a bowl with one hand while pouring juice into a glass with the other. "I told you it isn't easy," Cissnei teased, taking the juice bottle before he spilled it all over the counter. "It takes practice, silly." She turned to where Si'ara was standing frozen in the doorway, feeling like an intruder. "Come on in. We could use a hand here."
There was nothing Si'ara wanted to do less than go into the kitchen and pretend she belonged there in some way. Reno and Cissnei were obviously old friends-good friends-and she had no place there with them. However, a surreptitious glance at Reno was enough for her to see that he would feel she was being rude if she refused, so she managed a smile and walked in.
"I wasn't sure if it was time to eat yet, and I didn't know where to go." She took the bottle of juice Cissnei offered her and began filling the glasses the woman indicated. Reno went back to ladling stew into bowls, and Cissnei took two long loaves of bread out of an oven and began slicing them. "You have a very nice house."
The ex-Turk smiled at her, the expression warm and genuine. "Thank you. I wanted something big enough to house any guests that might stop by, but I still wanted it to feel cozy and homey."
"It does." This time, the hesitant smile Si'ara flashed Cissnei was sincere, and Reno rewarded her with a light touch, sliding his fingertips down her back as he passed her on the way to the sink. "I watched the chocobos outside. They're all snuggled under a tree." Her gaze followed Reno briefly, then returned to the task at hand.
Cissnei laughed. "I can watch them play for hours. If the weather stays decent, we can go sit on the porch after dinner, and maybe the young ones will get up and play for a while. They like having an audience." She dumped all of the bread slices into a basket. "Well, this is everything. Can you two help carry it into the dining room?"
