It was a quarter to eight by the time Reno sauntered, whistling, into the makeshift briefing room. They'd commandeered the far corner of the room he and Rude had used the afternoon before, only today there were significantly more former Avalanche members present.

Barret and Cid were huddled around a table on the opposite side of the room. Reno grinned brightly at them as he walked past. Cid just scowled at him, and the look he received from Barret suggested he was one misguided comment away from the insides of his head being splattered on the wall.

Reno wasn't one to pass up an opportunity.

"Morning sunshines," he called, saluting lazily. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Keep walking, Turk," Cid drawled.

Yuffie was cross-legged on the floor, drawing pictures with Marlene. She didn't even look up at him when he walked past, although Marlene stared at him with wide eyes.

He waved at her. She waved back uncertainly.

"Seven-thirty," said Elena pointedly as he sprawled into the chair next to her.

He glanced at his watch, feigning surprise. "I'm late?"

She rolled her eyes. To her left, he could see the corners of Rude's mouth twitching into a smile.

"Where's the Director?" Reno stretched, yawning widely.

"Still with the nurses."

"What? Why?"

"He's okay," Elena assured him. "Valentine's not."

"What happened?"

"Tseng knows more about it." She eyed him suspiciously. "What's going on with your hair?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, running his fingers through it. "Must've slept funny."

"Right." She didn't sound convinced.

"I don't see you complaining about Rude's hair."

Rude ran a large hand over his bald head, eyebrows raised behind his shades.

"Smooth as always," Reno promised him, grinning broadly.

"You're lucky Tseng isn't here yet," Elena cut in. Her tone was sharp.

Reno noticed the dark shadows under her eyes. "Did you get out the wrong side of the bed?"

"I didn't have a bed to get out off," she snapped. "I had to sleep in the chopper."

"That's one thing I will say for Healen Lodge…" He propped his feet up on the empty chair next to him and made himself comfortable. "Great beds."

"The best," Rude added.

"I hate you both," she replied grumpily.

Reno settled back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was feeling particularly proud of himself this morning, a direct symptom of his own interrupted evening. Not that he was complaining; he'd definitely lost sleep for far less satisfactory reasons.

Tifa Lockhart was a beautiful woman. Tifa Lockhart naked, wrapped around him and breathlessly sighing his name was on another level entirely. The opportunity for a repeat performance was far too tempting to give up on, and Reno was a firm believer that you made your own opportunities in life.

Strife didn't know what he was missing.

Admittedly there had been a brief moment of doubt. He'd woken early and considered removing himself from her cabin to avoid the inevitable awkwardness, but the lithe body next to him had proved far too attractive a prospect to leave. His hesitation had been well rewarded; his morning so far had consisted of little sleep and a lot of very vigorous exercise.

He grinned to himself. There were definitely worse ways to start the day.

A rough shove to his shoulder distracted him from thoughts of soft skin and wandering hands.

"Are you even listening to me?"

He stared at Elena, blinking slowly. "No."

She shoved him again, a little harder than was really necessary. "You're a joke."

"Think they're going to be trouble?" Rude was staring over at Cid and Barret, who were whispering angrily between themselves.

"Nothing we haven't dealt with before," Reno replied. "Where's Strife?"

"Haven't seen him since he stormed out yesterday." Rude frowned behind his shades. "Any idea what that was about?"

"Nope."

Elena sat up a little straighter. Shaking his head at her, Reno kicked the chair he'd been resting his feet on out from the table and dropped his boots to the floor with a thud.

"I see you made it to the briefing," said Tseng dryly, taking the now vacant chair.

"Just about."

"What's the situation?"

"Well, sir… Elena's cranky because she's tired." A well-placed elbow caught Reno in the ribs and he grunted. "And Avalanche aren't particularly happy to be here either."

"I'd noticed that," Tseng replied, looking at the other occupants of the room. He shrugged elegantly. "They'll learn to cooperate… Although it's best if we don't provoke them."

Reno didn't miss the way the Director aimed his last remark directly at him.

"We wouldn't dream of it," he replied innocently.

"Any more intel on the attack yesterday?" Tseng asked.

"Bomb was on a timer. We got lucky." Reno shrugged. "We've got patrols searching but they've found nothing so far."

"And Erin?"

"Apart from that creepy fucking shrine she had? Nothing. She'll be back though." That much he was certain of. "We just need to make sure we're ready for her."

"What about North Corel?" Rude straightened his injured arm gingerly; the nurses had done a pretty good job of patching him up.

"We lost Garrison. Avalanche required assistance," Tseng replied. "Valentine was wounded."

Reno knew first-hand how difficult Vincent Valentine was to take down. He had the scars to prove it. The fact somebody had managed to do so and leave him in a state that required medical treatment was concerning.

"How bad?"

"He'll live."

"We'd have caught Garrison if we hadn't had to rescue those idiots," Elena pointed out. "At least they seem to be taking things a bit more seriously now."

"He mentioned the Sector Five reactor. It means something to her." Tseng flexed his fingers, deep in thought. "Could be useful. We'll know more when we can speak to Valentine."

"I'll see what I can dig up," Elena offered. "Are we hooked up to HQ yet?"

"Yeah, through Shinra Cabin," Reno replied. "Anyone else thinking this feels a bit…"

"Extreme?" Rude offered.

"Absolutely fucking mental," Elena corrected him.

"She's certainly going to a lot of trouble to get our attention," said Tseng flatly.

"That's what I'm thinking," Reno replied. "It doesn't add up. There's got to be more to it than Sector Five."

The Director appeared to be as exhausted as Elena. His suit looked as though he'd at least attempted to sleep in it, and his dark eyes were hollow. Reno suspected that Tseng had taken Elena to North Corel purposefully so that he could keep an eye on her, and maybe hadn't gotten as much rest as he might have if he'd taken somebody else. He didn't blame the Director for not wanting to let her out of his sight; the fire had left Reno on edge himself.

"There's Garrison too," Elena pointed out. "What's the deal with him?"

"The Turks."

Reno turned around. The light had been eclipsed by the enormous figure of Barret Wallace, who was cradling his gun-arm like some kind of hideous metal infant. He was still scowling.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He went after Vincent because of you bastards," Barret growled. "Said he hates the Turks more than he hates Shinra. And that's saying something 'cause he fucking hates Shinra."

"Great," Reno replied sarcastically. "Somebody with a vendetta against the Turks. I'll just consult the long list of people I've pissed off recently and then I'll get back to you."

"Did we find anything on him?" Tseng was looking at Elena.

"No, nothing," she replied. "Reno's got a point though."

Tseng tilted his head in agreement.

"Those bastards took out Vincent. And Garrison said his boss is a real piece of work," Barret said agitatedly. "They're dangerous."

"You've finally caught up on the situation." Rude removed his shades and polished them on his tie, scrutinising the lenses before he slipped them back on. "Good."

"One psychopath that hates us and another one that hates you." Reno grinned at Barret. "What're the odds?"

"This ain't the time for joking around," Barret growled.

"Oh, I'm being deadly fucking serious."

"Did you actually want something?" Elena was glaring at him, her tone unfriendly. "Or are you just coming over here to be all big and menacing?"

The big man's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he put together a response. Tseng pressed a knuckle against his temple, mouth drawn into a thin line. Reno suspected the three of them were overdue a dressing down the second he had them on their own. He started preparing his counter-argument.

"If you wanna know more about Garrison, speak to Reeve," Barret grumbled. "He worked for the WRO."

Elena frowned. "And you only thought to mention this now?"

"Thought you already knew," Barret replied. "Thought you Turks were supposed to know everything."

There was something about the way he said the words you Turks that made it sound like a threat. It might have had something to do with the way he flexed his thick arms while he was waving that ridiculous gun-arm around. Reno narrowed his eyes.

Elena beat him to it. "You might want to remember who rescued you from the reactor."

"I don't owe you punks anything," Barret snarled.

"That's debatable," said Rude.

"Who invited you over here anyway?" She waved her hand at him. "This is a private meeting. Go away."

"It's a free country." Barret crossed his arms, looking down his nose at Elena. "And I don't take orders from little punk bitches like you."

The atmosphere changed.

Reno's chair skittered backwards when he stood up; opposite him, he saw Rude do the same, fingers clenched into fists.

"Say that again," Rude grumbled.

"I said," Barret repeated slowly. "I don't take orders from little punk bitches."

Tseng slipped his PHS out of his pocket, giving the screen a cursory glance. Elena kicked him under the table. Reno could only just make out their whispered conversation.

"Oh, you'd like me to get involved in this one?" Tseng asked; voice low.

The tips of her ears were pink.

"If you can manage it without killing anybody," she hissed.

"That remains to be seen." Tseng smiled thinly.

"Tseng!"

"Reno, Rude," he snapped irritably. "Stand down."

"Better do what you're told," Barret said smugly.

Reno dropped unceremoniously back into his chair. Rude cracked his knuckles.

"Partner… You heard the Director."

"We're supposed to be cooperating," said Tseng, voice cold. His next comment was directed straight at Barret. "And I suggest you consider your audience. Your daughter appears to be watching you."

Reno glanced at the far corner of the room. Cid and Yuffie were both now standing, poised to join in the potential fight. Marlene was staring at Barret.

"Son of a bitch…" Barret growled.

The door behind Marlene opened and Tifa walked in. Her dark eyes locked straight onto Reno's. She looked away quickly, nervously tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Tifa!"

Marlene launched herself at her, throwing her arms around Tifa's legs and clinging on for dear life. Tifa dropped to the ground carefully, balancing on her heels, and wrapped her arms around the little girl.

It was a sweet reunion; Tifa looked so genuinely happy, smiling as she pressed kisses into Marlene's hair. The scene tugged on something deep inside Reno's psyche that he wasn't certain he wanted to acknowledge. It was nice to see her happy though. Her face lit up when she smiled.

Barret wasn't smiling; Reno noticed his guilty expression as he watched the pair. He was practically squirming.

"Hey, Marlene." Tifa's voice was bright and warm. "Long time no see."

"I missed you," the little girl whimpered, nose now buried in Tifa's neck.

"I missed you too."

She caught Reno's eye again. Her pretty smile brightened.

"She's a sweetheart," said Elena quietly, watching them with a far less hostile expression than she'd previously sported. "How she can be related to that idiot is beyond me."

"She's adopted," Reno muttered.

"We made friends on the chopper. Kids ask a lot of questions, don't they?"

He shrugged. Kids weren't his speciality.

Tifa picked up the picture that Marlene had been drawing and frowned at it, puzzled. She folded it neatly and slipped it into the waistband of her skirt. There was a definite sheen of sweat on Barret's forehead when she took the little girl by the hand and headed over to them.

"Is something wrong?" she asked pointedly, still holding on to Marlene's hand. Her eyes were fixed on Barret.

"No." Rude sank back into his seat.

"Barret?"

He glanced at Marlene. "We was just talking."

"That's definitely what it looked like." Tifa was still smiling, but there was an edge to her voice. "Because we don't pick fights in front of Marlene, do we?"

Barret rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah... No. No, we don't."

To Reno's surprise, Tifa turned her attention to Tseng. "Director… Can I talk to you? If this is going to work we need some ground rules."

"Of course." Tseng stood up. "Rude, arrange accommodation for our guests."

"Yes, sir."

"And Elena… Get some sleep. It's been a long night."

"Sure has," she muttered darkly, standing up. She ruffled Marlene's hair when she walked past.

Tifa kneeled in front of the little girl. "Hey Marlene, I need to speak to the Director. You wait with your daddy and then we'll go get some breakfast?"

"Okay." The little girl nodded, smiling warmly.

"Barret I'll come and find you later. We need to talk."

Based on the tone in Tifa's voice, Barret Wallace had a whole load of trouble waiting for him on the horizon. Reno didn't feel too bad about it; the bastard had it coming as far as he was concerned.

"Now wait a damn minute!" Barret tried to argue. "I'm coming too."

"No," she replied sharply. "You're staying here."

"Tifa…. You can't tr—"

She held up her hand in warning. "Don't start."

Barret crossed his arms, expression sullen.

"Reno," Tseng stood up, gesturing for him to join them. "I imagine this conversation will apply to you."

"If you say so."

Reno followed Tseng and Tifa out of the room.

The Director held his PHS up. "This needs my attention. Give me five minutes."

"HQ?" Reno hazarded a guess; Tseng nodded. The President then, which either meant something had happened, or they were required back at Shinra Tower. "We'll head out front. Wait for you there."

He and Tifa continued down the corridor. Reno waited until they were out of earshot before he spoke.

"She was happy to see you."

Tifa sighed. "I've missed her so much."

"At least there are two members of Avalanche that don't hate me," he joked, smiling weakly. "Your friends don't seem too happy with the situation."

"It's a lot to process," she replied dryly. "Things were a lot different the last time they saw you."

He shrugged. "That's one way of putting it."

Reno held the door open for her and they headed outside. The rain from the previous evening was holding off at least, although there was still a breeze blowing. The fresh air was a pleasant change after the atmosphere indoors. He noticed her inhale deeply as she stepped through the doorway.

"You like it out here," he observed. "Healen, I mean."

"You don't get a lot of fresh air in Edge." She smiled sadly. "I don't get to travel much anymore."

Reno filed that away for later. He could picture it quite clearly; annual leave spent lounging around on the beaches of the Costa del Sol, too many cocktails and a bikini-clad Tifa stretched out beside him. The scenario definitely had its merits.

"I hope there's not going to be too much trouble," Tifa continued, worry in her voice. "Barret's not a bad guy, honestly. He's just angry still."

"I imagine so," he replied evasively.

"He thinks things are simple," she said. "He needs to see that you guys aren't a threat anymore."

"That little argument back there… We didn't start it," Reno protested. "He did."

Her expression told him that she didn't believe him for a second.

"You've been winding Cloud up since we got here," she pointed out. "So don't start playing innocent now."

"How else would you like me to play?" He grinned meaningfully; his comment garnered a smile in response at least.

"I'm being serious," she said, gesturing between them. She lowered her voice. "This can't happen if you guys are fighting all the time."

"It wouldn't be all the time," he replied slowly.

"Reno."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "I'll play nice."

"Thank you."

"But you owe me," he added quickly.

A touch of colour had crept into her cheeks. "I'll bear that in mind."

He saw the opportunity that had presented itself and, true to form, snapped his fingers around it.

"How about tonight?"

"I don't know." Her teeth worried her bottom lip; Reno suspected that she knew exactly what the answer was. "Maybe."

There was nobody else around. He caught her wrist and pulled her against him, his mouth so close to hers he could feel her stuttered breath when she gasped. The fingers of his free hand slid along her jaw and her lips parted eagerly.

"Maybe?"

"Reno…" He could hear it in her voice; she was torn. "Somebody could see us."

He brushed his thumb leisurely over her bottom lip. "Tonight?"

"I don't know," she repeated, with slightly less conviction.

"Are you going to make me beg?"

His lips grazed hers when he spoke. When she smiled, he knew he had her.

"Maybe," she whispered.

"I'll take that," he drawled, grinning as he released his grip on her wrist.

Footsteps distracted him. He turned. It was Strife; his step faltered when he saw them, his eyes drawn into a frown.

"Cloud..."

There was uncertainty in Tifa's voice. Reno suspected she'd fought with Cloud earlier the previous evening, but he'd been too distracted by her mouth against his skin to press for more information. Whatever had happened, Reno had certainly reaped the benefits. Somebody had definitely encouraged her to put own needs first for once; and seeing as he was apparently what she needed, Reno was more than happy to oblige.

What he didn't appreciate was the fact that Cloud had clearly upset her. He understood how the merc could be jealous, but he didn't exactly hold the moral high ground when it came to incriminating photographs.

"I was looking for Barret," Cloud said coolly. "Vincent's hurt."

Tifa looked to Reno. "What?"

"He's with the nurses," Reno assured her.

"Were you going to mention this?"

"He's okay, that's all I know," he replied quickly. "Tseng knows more about it."

"It was Garrison," said Cloud. "That's what Barret said."

Reno watched Tifa. She was fidgeting nervously with the hem of her skirt, worried eyes fixed on Cloud's coldly indifferent expression. Reno gritted his teeth, inhaling slowly. The thing he was about to do grated on every single one of his finely-tuned instincts.

"Look Cloud…" He spoke slowly, not entirely sure how to approach the bridge he was attempting to build. Engineering was not his forte. "This shit's starting to look pretty serious."

"Noticed that, have you?" Cloud countered.

"Maybe we should…call a truce?"

Tifa was staring at him, expression wary. He supposed he should be offended that she had so little faith in his motives. To Cloud's credit, he looked as thrown off balance as Reno felt.

"The enemy of my enemy and all that…" He trailed off, waiting for the merc to bite.

"I just want them to be safe," said Cloud pointedly.

Reno took note of the way Cloud's eyes settled on Tifa when he spoke. Them indeed.

"That's all I want too," he replied, a little too quickly. "And that's more likely if we work together."

Cloud stared.

"You've seen the setup. You know it's secure," Reno continued. "We can get Denzel and that mutt of yours sent here. Pool resources."

Cloud nodded curtly. "Fine."

Reno was surprised; he'd been expecting to have a much harder fight on his hands. "Really?"

"You're right. We're secure here." He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "Safety in numbers."

"Yeah," Reno scratched the back of his neck. "Exactly."

"Barret and Cid will want in on the patrols."

Reno shrugged. "I can arrange that."

"And I want to speak to Tseng."

"He's on his way," Reno assured him.

"Alright then. We'll do it your way."

Cloud pushed off the wall and walked past them, heading further up the path. Reno glanced at Tifa, to find her wary expression had softened into a shy smile.

"Don't start," he warned her.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He smirked. "You can thank me later."

She retrieved the folded picture from her skirt and held it out to him. He unfolded it to find two suited stick figures that were undoubtedly supposed to be Tseng and Elena. The third, only halfway finished, had spiky red hair. Not usually one for warm and fuzzy feelings, he had to admit the kid was kind of cute.

"Huh," he remarked, unsure of what to say.

"I think she likes you guys."

"We can be very likeable," he generously agreed.

Tifa's shy smile brightened, calling directly to the part of his psyche he'd earlier tried to ignore.

"I like you guys too," she replied softly.