A/N: Rated M for language and sexual content.

Chapter 16:

Tuesday

Reno woke up against his will. His whole body ached – from sitting in a desk all day, fighting monsters all afternoon, and then dancing and drinking and fucking a strange woman in a small storage closet while avoiding a mop bucket and boxes.

He looked over at his clock, which seemed to scream at him in bright green numbers: "10:53." He slowly closed his eyes and opened them again, too lazy to even properly roll his eyes. His arm was extended toward the electronic device, but no alarm had been set for him to stop. He should have set an alarm. He was already late for work. Oh well, at this point.

He rolled his head to look the other direction, his face brushing against the bed as he did so. Light was streaming in through his blinds and he felt the need to scrunch his eyes. The heat was already getting to him. With a prolonged groan he rolled over onto his back and stared up at his ceiling.

Two days until he could return to Seventh Heaven.

He considered calling out of work. He didn't think he could take another day like yesterday, and it seemed like every day was now like yesterday. He'd go into the office, pretend to read through Hojo's chocobo scratch, think about Tifa, go on patrol with Rude, fight a crap ton of monsters, and then go to Seventh Heaven. The schedule had changed slightly, since he was no longer going to Seventh Heaven. He needed to go to a different bar tonight. Elixir was too…dirty. Not in the physical sense, it was more like the people there were just… gross. The more he thought about his encounter the night before – he wouldn't even call it a conquest – the more he found the woman revolting. She couldn't hold a candle to Tifa Lockhart, and though he had gotten off, the satisfaction was fleeting.

If he were to fuck a different woman each night before Thursday, he shouldn't try to find one that looked like the girl he really wanted. He considered not sleeping with any women until he could get Tifa, but he felt it would keep him from thinking clearly around her. He couldn't just jump her, he needed to be…nice. After their night together in her bar, he just didn't think he could look at her and keep his hands to himself if he didn't get that out of his system in the meantime.

He figured at this point that he should get the day over with. He sighed heavily and sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He placed his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers through his hair and clasped his neck.

This day was just starting. Sixty hours until Tifa time.

His whole body lagged as he stood up and stretched his arms over his head, intertwining his fingers in the air and then leaning to each side to deepen the stretch. He was stalling. He dragged his feet into his slate-tiled bathroom and discarded his boxer briefs. His lean, naked frame stepped into the shower and let the cold water wake him up before it warmed. He let his mind wander back to that night at Seventh Heaven before knocking his fist against his head to clear the thought. He couldn't spend the next two days thinking about her – he'd never make it. Only hopeless romantics thought about someone this much and Reno was no hopeless romantic. He had never spent more than a few hours thinking about any particular woman. He hated this hold she had on him. Hopefully the next two days would bring him back to his usual self. She was a trophy and nothing else, or so he told himself.

He took his time scrubbing his skin and washing his hair. He was already late, might as well skip the desk aspect all together. He let the water run over his face as he closed his eyes and opened his mouth. He could be in a shampoo commercial, he thought, as he enjoyed the warmth. Reno shut off the water and grabbed a towel, drying his face and then rubbing it against his scalp. He stepped out of the shower onto the cool stone floor and wrapped the towel around his slim hips, below his Adonis Belt. He walked over to the sink and placed a hand on either side, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked like hell, but he usually woke up like that. People didn't realize how much life his hair provided to his look and persona. When it was damp it just looked awkward. Of course, with Tifa… Dammit! There she was in his head again. With her, even the lack of volume in his locks didn't keep him from being himself. Strangely, she didn't tease him about his hair, even though she had plenty of material to work with.

He slapped his cheeks a couple of times on each side to try to get her out of his head again.

He was pathetic.

He finished getting ready for work by the time his hair regained its usual shape. He grabbed a cup of coffee and headed downstairs. His car was still at the Shinra building, so he'd have to walk.

He started to perk up to his usual cockiness as he strolled down the street with caffeine in his system and a cigarette between his lips. He finished the cigarette and flicked it into the street before he entered the building, arriving at his office a few minutes later. Elena and Rude looked up when he entered the room – he carried himself as if he were perfectly on time – but quickly returned to their work. Reno had just sat down when a voice bellowed from the adjoining office.

"Reno, would you please come in here?" Tseng said in a tone that was somehow both pleasant and stern at the same time.

Reno lifted himself up and took a last sip of his coffee before carelessly tossing it into a nearby trashcan and strolling into Tseng's office.

"What's up, boss?" Reno asked, placing his hands in his pockets and approaching Tseng's desk.

Tseng looked up at him, his face showing no hint of what he was about to say. He laced his fingers in front of his chin and rested his elbows on his desk.

"What's with you lately?" Tseng asked.

"Whatcha mean, boss?" Reno's tone didn't change.

"You've gone soft," Tseng accused.

That bitch, now she was interfering with his work. Reno shook off Tseng's comment.

"Nah, I'm just bored," he said. "Reading Hojo's doodles isn't my idea of 'Turk stuff.'"

"I know," Tseng said, sighing. "I hate it, too."

Reno was not expecting that. Even with Tseng's lack of expression he assumed he was about to get reamed.

Tseng stood up and walked around his desk to Reno, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"It shouldn't be too much longer. We're almost finished going through everything, and that should tell us how to stop the monster attacks," Tseng said.

Tseng was like Rude, he didn't usually say too much. He only said what was necessary, nothing more.

"I hope so," Reno said.

"Me too," Tseng said. "Just try to hang in there a little longer and I'll see if I can get Rufus to approve some real 'Turk stuff.'"

Tseng's words – however hollow they may have been – gave Reno a little motivation. He forced himself to concentrate on reading Hojo's documents, but still couldn't find anything useful. Focusing on the papers helped keep his mind off that woman, and he soon found himself bouncing monster theories off Rude and Elena. He and Rude started drinking at lunch, and soon they were joking around as if they were back in the old days. Elena, of course, was annoyed at their banter as it was distracting her from making her notebook look like a colorful syllabus.

The dynamic duo was good and relaxed when it was time to take to the streets on patrol again. Elena was told to go with them this time due to the difficulties they had the previous day. Today was no different, At least with Elena they had access to some materia, which made things much easier, though neither Rude nor Reno would admit it. She healed them between herds of elfadunks and kalm fangs and more hedgehog pies and another one of those Goddamned houses. Even with the healing, the three were exhausted by the time they stood in front of Seventh Heaven.

Reno made a similar excuse as he had done the night before, prompting a hard look from Elena. She may have known Reno's feelings for Tifa, but that didn't mean she understood men and their courtship ways. She entered the bar with Rude, knowing she was in for a long silent night until hopefully Tseng arrived. He had been tense ever since the team was relegated to reading duty, and needed to drink more than ever.

Reno, meanwhile, found a dive bar near his house, made eye contact with the first decent-looking woman there (she was on par with the woman the night before, but with blonde hair and implants) and convinced her to go with him into one of the single restrooms for a romp. It went about as well as the night before, though he had to convince the woman to get on her knees. She tried to complain when he finished and had refused to kiss her or take her phone number, but he was already buckled up and heading out the door. He could hear her following him out of the bar shouting obscenities at him, but he tuned her out and returned home. He again flopped onto his bed and instantly passed out. Less than 48 hours until he could see his buxom barmaid again.

Wednesday

"Same shit, different day," Reno thought as he reached out a weary arm, fumbling to find his alarm clock and the button on top that would shut off that incessant beeping. 36 hours left. He gave up trying to reach the alarm button – he wasn't about to actually move to get to it – and settled on knocking it off the end table. His shove was too weak, however, and the clock instead dangled from the table by its cord, which was still plugged into the wall.

Reno let out his usual morning wail and pulled himself to the edge of the bed so he could reach the clock and pull it from the wall.

That shut it up. Smug little gadget.

He dragged himself into the bathroom and into the shower, again lingering as the water travelled down his body in streams. He considered taking care of himself and forgoing a bar tonight, but it just wasn't his style. He didn't need to do that since he could always find a woman, even if no woman he picked up was particularly alluring at the moment. He did spend a little extra time cleaning his manhood; he was only male, after all.

He stepped out of the shower, drying his face and hair before wrapping the towel around his waist and stepping to the mirror. He had a pack of cigarettes waiting for him on the edge of the sink – a little gift from Tuesday Reno – and lit one up, holding the rolled tobacco in his mouth with one hand while the other brought the lighter up to the tip. He watched the flame of the light dance for a moment before flipping the top closed.

He dressed and grabbed a cup of coffee before again making the trek to work.

The words on Hojo's research documents blurred together as he tried to read them. His mind wasn't wandering too much, he was just so bored. Fuck it. He put his head down on his desk and was about to nod off back to sleep when he heard a sharp voice from the other room.

"Reno!" Tseng yelled, as if he knew the fire-haired Turk was shirking work.

"I'm up!" Reno said instinctively, and again tried to read the documents.

They took Elena on patrol again. The whole episode just passed Reno by as if he were standing still the entire time with the rest of the world moving on double or triple speed. Some vices tried to rob them but were put in their place. Some sahagins crawled up from the sewer, leaving their stench behind even after they were killed and the Turks were several blocks away. A stampede of levrikons gave them the most trouble, as their size, speed, and numbers managed to separate the Turks and knock them to the ground. Rude was trampled by at least two of the beasts before Elena was able to burn it to death. Reno darted between the birds to get to his friend, stabbing any that came close with his mag rod. He helped Rude to his feet and moved him to the side of the road, under the awning of building where the levrikons weren't running. Reno then leapt back into the fray, emptying his pistol and stabbing wildly with his EMR as if he were taking personal revenge for Rude's injury. Elena kept casting various magic spells to take out more of the birds as they continued their run into the city. Were these the same birds that Tifa and Vincent had fought?

Rude finally recovered enough – with the help of a cure spell – to return to the battle. He kicked one levrikon in the neck, killing it instantly, then twisted to kick another in the wing, which merely caused it to stumble. Reno, needing a thrill, jumped onto the back of one of the birds and held on for dear life to find out where the creatures were going. With two handfuls of scruff and feathers, Reno felt a smile escape his lips. Within seconds he was cheering himself on. He could be a chocobo jockey with these skills. He was hundreds of feet away from Rude and Elena now, and coming up on the Meteor statue in the center of Edge. The bird showed no sign of dodging the statue, but Reno saw the herd moving swiftly around it up ahead and tightened his grip.

The levrikons were soon approaching the wall outside Old Midgar, as it was now called, and began running down various side streets with seemingly no plan. The bird Reno was on followed a few others down a narrow alley that had several fire escapes on the sides of the buildings. He dodged the first one but had to jump off his mount to avoid the second one. He landed unceremoniously in a pile of garbage bags. He stood up, now smelling of garbage and the sewer (stupid sahagins) only to notice that the birds were gone. He walked back to the main road (sidling along the wall just in case more ran down the alley) and looked around. He saw just one more levrikon, running down the alley on the opposite street. It was limping and had singe marks on its side.

"Well, it's the cops' problem now," Reno said, reaching his hands behind his head and sauntering back toward Rude and Elena. At least he managed to have some fun at work again, even if he did now stink. He stopped, realizing he was close enough to his apartment that he could go and clean up before meeting up with them.

Rude and Elena were waiting for him outside Seventh Heaven, still looking disheveled. He relished the scowls on their faces as he realized he had not only kept them waiting and abandoned the fight, but he was now the only clean one of the bunch.

"Hiya guys!" He said with a jaunty little step in his gait.

"Where were you?" Elena glowered, her hands on her hips.

"The birds ran all the way to Midgar. I jumped off in an alley and they were gone, so I went home and showered," Reno said as if it were no big deal.

"We were waiting for you," Elena snarled. Reno just shrugged. "Fine! I'm going home to clean up too, I am not sitting around that bar all filthy."

"Maybe you should try it," Reno teased. "Might get Tseng's attention."

Elena stomped her foot and sulked in the opposite direction, back toward her home. Rude had let out a little smirk at Reno's comment and Elena's subsequent pout.

"Will you be joining us tonight?" Rude asked, crossing his arms. Reno put his hands in his pockets and slouched.

"Nah, still seeking talent elsewhere," he responded.

Rude just grunted before heading home to clean up as well. He hadn't been able to talk to Tifa since their date and was fairly sure a woman wouldn't be too enamored with a man that smelled like a sewer lizard.

Reno started walking home, lighting a cigarette before Seventh Heaven was even a block away. He put his hands back in his pockets and held the cigarette between his lips, inhaling and exhaling without ashing. Eventually a long trail of ash, which had been desperately holding on to the paper, fell from the cigarette but missed Reno's leg by a hairs breadth. The red-haired Turk continued walking toward his home.

24 hours.

He just needed to find one last tramp to get him through the night, and he found her at a bar somewhere between Seventh Heaven and his home. Edge may not be the most glamorous city, but it had plenty of places to get plastered, and that suited Reno just fine. Tonight's woman was Wutain and too talkative. Reno held his hand over her mouth during their activity in the manager's back office to keep her from making too much noise. She even appeared to try and talk while her mouth was around his cock. It was distracting. He was rather ferocious with this one, slamming into her in an attempt to get off quicker. He just wanted the release and to wake up tomorrow knowing that he wouldn't have to go through this again.

He finished and removed the condom, throwing it in the trash can, and left the bar before the woman had even finished adjusting her clothes.

Reno practically skipped home this time, but as he approached his apartment, his mind began to drift back to his plan. Just how exactly was he supposed to charm Miss Lockhart with other patrons and the Turks around? He was going to have to be clever. He had managed to get her alone before, he could do it again, he would just have to suck it up and be polite and respectful. It would certainly throw her off, which is exactly what he wanted.

He entered his home and removed his clothes and weapons. He got into bed and actually slept under the sheet for once, a smile forming on his lips as he drifted off.

Meanwhile…

Elena couldn't help herself anymore. This was the second day in a row Reno had declined to join them at Seventh Heaven, and she knew from Rude that he hadn't gone on Monday. It was throwing off her entire theory. She had to know, even though she knew what it might mean to Rude. She was just too damn curious.

"So, what's going on with Reno?" she asked as innocently as she could manage.

"Let it go, Elena," Tseng scolded. He had joined them about an hour ago.

Elena couldn't just "let it go." Something had happened. Either between Rude and Reno or Reno and Tifa. It was eating at her. She couldn't even concentrate on Tseng with this question nagging at her.

"You had a date with her, but you still haven't even told me how it went," she pried further.

"Elena!" Tseng said, more severely.

Elena sat back in her seat and pouted. She watched Rude's face, hoping to get an answer from him, but he offered little in the way of expressions. Still, she thought she detected a hint of confusion on his own face, as if he had his own questions about Reno's absence. She could tell his date hadn't gone that well based on how he and Tifa interacted. It was as if the date never happened. Tifa had been getting more relaxed around the Turks over the past five weeks, but there had been no significant change in the past week after that date. She felt bad for Rude, knowing how much he liked the barmaid. Elena wanted to blame Tifa for the date going poorly (she's probably not over Cloud) but knew that Rude probably just wasn't able to talk around her.

But Reno's absence was fascinating her. Maybe he was protesting for Rude, or jealous that Tifa had gone on the date? Maybe Reno was now tongue-tied around the brunette bartender, though Elena found that implausible. She drifted back to her theory that something had happened between Tifa and Reno, something Rude didn't know about but may now suspect as well. If something had happened between the two, why would Reno be avoiding Seventh Heaven? Maybe whatever happened between them was unsatisfactory? Maybe she had been wrong about Reno's feelings for her all along. Maybe he had slept with her and was now done pursuing her.

Elena didn't buy that either. Tifa was still too in love with Cloud Strife to give it up to a guy like Reno, whether she had a sex dream about him or not. Elena assumed Tifa was a prude. She carried herself like one of those girls. Not that Elena was any better, and perhaps that was part of the reason she disliked Tifa. The barmaid was just like her in that department, but far more successful.

Elena wanted to know the answer, but she was not going to discover it tonight. She instead spent the rest of her evening flirting with Tseng, who seemed to be lost in his own little world. Elena rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. What an awful day.

End notes: This chapter was originally supposed to be a quick summary of Reno's Tuesday and Wednesday and then explain Thursday and how he saw Tifa again. But once I started writing I just kept going. Oops!