37

She awoke with a start, at first unsure if she was still dreaming, growing confused at the darkness that greeted her. A warm body pressed against her back, and her initial thought went to Rufus: he had held her like this on so many nights, which seemed so long ago. Shaking the thought out of her head, she sat up, grimacing at the sharp pain that danced down her side.

"Shit." She said the curse almost tentatively, as if trying it on: it seemed so unlike her. She had to smile at the way it sounded coming from her lips.

"Never thought I'd hear you cuss like that." His voice was cracked and strained but she could still hear the playfulness that she was so used to.

"How does it sound?" She sat up, her hand cupping her throbbing side.

"Human…and dirty." He shot out a sharp hiss as he swung his legs onto the floor, his scuffed shoes leaving slight prints on the dusty ground.

Aeris furrowed her brows as she glanced at the various wounds that adorned the redhead's tattered clothing. A particularly nasty looking mess of red around his stomach worried her; he was struggling to stay seated. Placing a small hand on his arm, Aeris ignored the stinging down her side, turning towards him.

"Here, lay down, Reno." She waved off the protest that was about to come out of his mouth, firmly pushing him onto the wooden pew. Dirty lithe fingers started undoing the buttons of his shirt, trembling slightly from concentration. Reno was mesmerized by them. Slowly she parted the clothing, her hands brushing up along his ribs: he shuddered at the contact against his bare skin, sending goosebumps up his arms. She examined the nickel-sized hole in his abdomen, biting her lip as she gently prodded around the wound.

"It came out the other end." He was propped up on his elbows, examining the bullet hole himself. "I don't think it hit anything. Hurts like a bitch though."

"I'm surprised you're still conscious." She eyed his blood-soaked shirt.

"Trust me, it's not the first time I've been shot."

"I can tell." She traced a small scar on his chest.

He jolted again at the contact of her warm fingers, eliciting a startled look from the girl. She noticed her hand resting gently on his chest and blushed a deep pink, mumbling a soft sorry before removing it. Somehow his lack of a snide or mischievous comment seemed to make her cheeks turn darker. She had felt it too…that undeniable tension that had started to reside over them in the past few days. It had begun as just a small tug, but had evolved into this jolting electricity that could almost be tasted. What was it? What hung so thickly between them? In the days they had spent alone together, he seemed to have lost a piece of his fun, playful side and also part of his cold Turk side. What was revealed was a little bit of the real Reno…the one that wasn't obligated to put up these facades. As Aeris checked his body for the other wounds, she let her mind turn over this new sort of revelation, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Absentmindedly she bared Reno's broad shoulders and fussed over the two neatly placed holes in his upper arm, next checking on the sodden wound in his thigh.

"Heh, didn't know you were that kind of girl." His face displayed something Aeris hadn't seen before…nervousness.

She almost smiled at this. "It's a lot of blood…you may have to take them off." She pointedly looked at his pants.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Aeris was confused and slightly amused at his sudden bashfulness, although she wasn't sure why…Reno hadn't struck her as the type to be bashful, especially at a time like this. She decided to push this out of her mind and go about tending to his other wounds. What she didn't know was that Reno didn't like the prospect of him having to undress in front of her: it was bad enough he was shirtless and being tended by a woman he had an undeniable attraction for, if anything else had to come off…well, he wasn't sure he wanted to show her that much, at least not yet, especially not like this. What a predicament. A gorgeous woman is trying to take your pants off and all you're trying to do is stop her. It was official: he had lost his mind.

"I haven't done this in a long time…" She firmly placed her hands over his abdomen, educing a sharp grunt from Reno. Closing her eyes, she welled up her energy, concentrating it into a little ball and letting it flow through her fingers.

Reno looked on in amazement as the bloody bullet hole started to shrivel, soon becoming nothing more than a small scar on his stomach. "You're a natural healer." His voice could not hide his awe.

She opened her bottle green eyes and smiled warily. "Yes, it's a gift from the Planet, although I haven't used it in a while." She motioned to his arm. "Do you want me to take care of that too?"

"Nah, I'll live." He sat up, greatly relieved that the throbbing pain was gone and he could once again sit up comfortably. As for his arms and legs, as long as he could shoot his gun and run, he would manage. Plus, if need be, adrenaline did wonders for the body. "Thank you." He started to button up his shirt but stopped when he saw the look on her face.

She hadn't meant for it to show, really, she hadn't. She also hadn't meant to stare at his bare chest in that way, but she was, after all, a woman. It was the fatigue…it had to be. Usually she didn't goad her mind with such childish thoughts, but right now, with his hair in disarray and his wiry body exposed, she couldn't seem to beat the thought out, let alone ignore it. So she had let it accidentally slip…her admiration…her human desire, if only for a second, but she knew Reno was much too cunning to not notice something so blatant. Immediately she turned a deep shade of crimson, abruptly standing up and mumbling about needing some fresh air.

What just happened? Had he really caught that look in her eye…from Aeris? This was something so unexpected. Modest, innocent Aeris had been looking at him as if he were a slab of meat. Talk about role reversal. Somehow that thought turned him on immensely. Buttoning up the rest of his shirt, he walked out the abandoned building, searching for Aeris.

She was standing on top of the first stair of the entrance, leaning against a pillar with her lean arms held tight against her body. She didn't respond when he slightly cleared his throat, but he could still see the remnants of a blush on her pale cheeks. Reno studied her intently in the dark, at how the wild curls of her hair ran down her narrow back, at how the street lights danced in her large emerald eyes, at how simply small and frail she was, at how much someone needed to look out for her and take care of her. He couldn't kid himself, he wasn't someone who could provide that for her…he was a Turk, well, an ex-Turk but a cold-hearted killer nonetheless.

"They'll find us soon, won't they?" The question ruined Reno's train of thoughts, taking him off guard.

"Yea, we should start heading out."

"To where?" Her voice dripped with hopelessness. "We can't keep running forever, Reno."

He wished he could tell her about the art of survival and how deeply ingrained in him it was. That even though he was so tired of running, he wouldn't stop; not until they killed him or he killed himself. This was Midgar, the city with no heart, and the people who ran it were just as heartless.

Sighing, he stood next to her. "How is your side feeling?"

"Better. It stopped bleeding. Hurts like a bitch though." She gave him a strained smile and he couldn't help but return it. "Lets get going."