Hi Jane! Thank you so much for reading this very very looooong story! I take it you will be joining us for Tammy's? :D Yay to that!
HugsforEden: I can't handle the compliments! I'm so glad you like the fact that I chose to hand this one over to Reno, our boy deserves some time in the spot light :) After all, Eden isn't the only badass in the story! Eden and Reno time coming right up, Sir!
Chapter 255
We stood in the middle of the mayhem we'd left behind, all of us looking a bit lost. My eyes drifted around the demolished lobby, noting the massive dragon still laying right in the center, the wrecked cars all over the place. Bodies, blood, debris, discarded weapons, gun shells. Broken furniture, burned furniture, lost limbs, charred unidentifiable remains. It was a mess.
Reno glanced at Rude as he approached us with Tseng by his side. "Well," he grinned at his partner. "Just another day at the office, huh?"
"What office?" I added with a shrug, thinking there was nothing left of the place.
Over by the broken stairs, Ollie came stumbling down the steps, taking time to kick Jona's lifeless body in the gut before strolling over to us. Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Cid joined us in a group, and I had never felt more connected to all of them. Even the Turks had become family, and after what we had just been through tonight, I doubted that bond would ever fade. We were no longer enemies. I sensed a bright future in collaboration. Even with Rufus.
By now, Tammy must be well on her way to Edge; that is, if she hadn't killed him along the way. After all, the man was insufferable. Still, he had changed for the best, in his choices and actions, and I appreciated him for that. As long as he kept his greedy hands and lips to himself.
"We should head back," Cloud said after some time.
He looked fatigued; his stance was casual, but there was a slight slump in his shoulders that hadn't been there back at the party. The skin of his face was smeared with sweat and dried up blood, though I doubted that the rest of us looked any better. Tifa's dress was as ruined as mine, and her feet were bloody from stepping in glass. She'd lost her heels sometime during the battle, and I understood her reluctance to dig them up somewhere.
"Yes," Tifa smiled at Cloud, though I could tell how much effort it cost her to do so. She was exhausted, like the rest of us. Perhaps even more so. "The children are waiting for us."
It wasn't simply exhaustion; she was gutted. Her precious bar and orphanage had been destroyed, a place she had worked hard to build. Our last party had been in celebration of her opening it, and now our party marked the end of it. I silently vowed that I would do whatever it took to help her rebuild it, and I knew the others would do the same. Maybe we could even ask Rufus for some compensation, he had promised me a check after all. Not to mention this beef with the underworld had been his problem to begin with, we just got caught up in it.
"Let's haul ass," Barret added, and I knew he had his little girl in mind. Astonishingly enough, he was the only one who didn't look like he had traveled to hell and back tonight, and I wasn't entirely sure whether this meant he'd come off easy on the damage department, or whether it meant he always looked like shit.
"All I want is a goddamn shower," Cid grumbled as he slung his javelin over his shoulder.
A chorus of agreement to that statement rose from the group, and then Cloud casually reached out to Tifa beside him and grasped her hand in his, entwining his fingers with hers. The display of affection was so adorable –especially coming from him– that I wanted to hug him.
"Not a damn word," I hissed at Ollie as I heard his intake of breath, knowing he was about to say something stupid again.
"We will handle this," Tseng said, effectively bringing the conversation to an end. "I suggest we head over to the Turk building and freshen up. We can await orders there."
Reno and Rude nodded in confirmation and started towards the demolished entrance, and it took another glance from Tseng for Ollie to realize that he was actually part of the suggestion. He was a Turk now, something that had apparently not fully sunken in yet. Tseng raised an eyebrow at him, until Ollie finally got the message and spluttered an apology, before hurrying after them.
"You too, Eden." To my surprise, Tseng called for me over his shoulder. "I need your report of what happened up there."
With a confused look at Tifa, who simply winked at me for some reason, I followed suit.
Since the Turk building was close by, it didn't take long for us to get there, and we were once again greeted by Randy, who was chipper as always.
"Tough night, huh?" he asked solemnly, making Reno and Ollie chuckle.
Tseng didn't speak another word as we followed him down the hallway towards the offices they had here, but apparently there was no need to. When we passed the stairs, Reno nudged Ollie in the shoulder and inclined his head up.
"C'mon, I'll assign ya a room. Foxy, take Elena's room if ya want and have a shower. You remember the one, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me knowingly.
There had been no need for him to remind me of that night –which he always felt the need to do anyway– as I seemed to recall it each and every time I set foot in this place, but I decided I didn't grant him the pleasure of knowing that.
We followed Rude and Reno up the stairs while Tseng continued down the hall.
Ollie got assigned a room on the second floor, and I already knew it wouldn't be long until he was knocked out. Maybe even before he hit the bunk. Rude was peeling his jacket off his shoulders before we had even reached his door, clearly in dire need of a shower. I knew I was. We all were.
"Here ya go, babe," Reno said when we reached the room he had offered to me all those years ago. He opened the door for me and hooked his arm around the post to turn on the light, just as he had then.
For a second, I felt a little awkward, not really sure what to say or do next. If he felt it too, he didn't act on it, for once deciding that he was too worn out to tease me. Instead he reached up and wrapped his fingers around the back of my head, pulling me closer before pressing a gentle kiss to my crown.
"You'll probably find some clean clothes in there," he said. "I'll see you downstairs when you're done." He let me go and made his way further up the stairs, to where I reckoned his own room here was.
What had I expected would happen? That we would talk? Make out? Right now, there were clearly other things on his mind, not to mention we were both exhausted. We needed to freshen up and clear our heads first. Still, he could have said something, right? Telling myself I was simply tired and overthinking things, or maybe just not thinking, I turned on the shower and hopped in.
The water was bright red for at least two minutes before it finally began to clear.
I ended up in the shower a little longer than I had planned, but the water simply felt too good on my skin. My exhausted bones warmed up again, and the ache in my muscles began to recede.
Once I had worked up the discipline to turn off the water, I padded over to the small wardrobe barefooted and took a peek inside. Reno had been right, there were some clothes stacked in the small space, though not a lot. There was one dress and a spare Turk uniform, which I refused to wear. I had vowed never to wear the damn thing, and I would stick by that vow.
I sighed and picked the black dress.
When I arrived downstairs I could hear Tseng talking from the end of the hallway. I made my way over to the room in question, finding a rather large board room with leather black sofas and a large steel table with leather seats around it. None of the seats were currently occupied; Tseng and Reno were standing by one of the leather sofas by the wall. Both of them were in fresh clothes, though Reno wasn't wearing his custom jacket. Instead, he was once again improperly wearing the same black tie over the now clean white shirt. I smiled at him when he noticed me standing in the doorway.
Tseng looked at me over his shoulder before addressing Reno. "Go get some rest."
"No can't do," Reno objected right away. "It's my job to –"
"Forget about your job for a minute." Tseng threw a weary glance in my direction. "Have you seen yourself? I'll call for you when you're needed. Get some rest. That's an order."
Reno dragged a hand down his face and sighed. "Fine. Copy that."
It was easy to see that he was tired. He'd been fighting almost the entire night and his body was only human. My own body was sore all over, my muscles still aching and screaming for some time off. If I felt like this, even after a shower, how bad was he feeling?
As soon as Tseng had left, Reno sank back down onto the black leather sofa, propping one foot up on the seat. He rested his head back and took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes. "What a goddamn night…" he muttered.
I sat down next to him, watching him as he stared at the ceiling with a faraway look on his face. My body leaned to the side on its own accord, finally giving in to fatigue, and I fell against the cushions with a yawn. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, all I wanted to do was sleep and forget about this horrible night. The sofa was comfortable enough, but then again, I could've even slept on the floor if I had to.
Reno was slouching more and more, seemingly as unable to keep himself upright as I was now that the rush was finally over. Seeing how exhausted he was, I settled back into the soft cushions to get comfortable, throwing my legs across his lap. He didn't resist when I gently guided him to lie down, and he slowly fell into my embrace, resting his head on my stomach. I let my head fall back and I closed my eyes, brushing my fingers through his still damp hair to soothe him. It felt like a very Tifa thing to do, but I didn't care. He'd had a shitty night and it was my job to make him feel better.
He didn't say anything, but his arm wrapped around me in response. I shifted underneath him a little until I was almost fully laying down, cradling him against me.
Before long I was sure he'd fallen asleep; his breathing had changed, and I felt his chest rise and fall against my side. I wanted to savor this moment, to watch him sleep so peacefully while holding him close, but my mind and body had other plans. I had no recollection of any other thoughts until I was woken up by Ollie, who quietly whispered my name.
"Eden."
I opened my eyes to look at him, asking myself what year it was and which planet I was on. He was crouching beside me, his eye bright and warm as always. It seemed besides taking a nap, he'd taken the time to get changed, meaning he was now wearing a clean and rather badass looking Turk uniform. The sentiment almost made me cry. He looked so handsome with his black suit and white shirt, the latter of which he had left partially unbuttoned just like Reno always did. Couldn't argue with style.
"Eden," Ollie said again, making sure to keep his voice down. When I'd properly focused my eyes I knew why. Reno was still fast asleep with his head on my belly, and Ollie hadn't wanted to disturb him just yet. "Rufus wants to see you guys. Reno's due for a briefing. We're heading back to Edge."
"Yeah," I whispered back, my voice hoarse from sleeping. "How's Eva?"
"She's going to be fine. So is Charly. There's no need to worry. Wake your Turd up, I'll wait for you on the roof." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, lingering longer than he usually would.
Had he been that shaken up by the events of this night? Was it even still night?
"Okay," I replied quietly, and he left the room.
Part of me didn't want to wake Reno up. He deserved his rest and he deserved some relaxation. But I also knew that he wanted me to wake him, because his job was important and he there was nothing he was looking forward to more than getting his hands on Milla. So we could end this feud once and for all. And probably because he hated the bitch.
I slipped my fingers into his hair again, letting the soft strands slide through the digits. "Reno," I tried softly, but there was no response.
He was in a deep sleep indeed. I shook him a little more firmly, until he finally stirred and groggily lifted his head.
"...Huh?" His confusion was followed by a loud groan, and he let his head fall down again. "Ugh…everything hurts…" I couldn't agree with him more. He tried again and squinted up at me. "What's up?"
"Rufus wants to see us in Edge."
"What time is it?"
"No idea, just woke up myself."
He chuckled softly. "This ain't really how I imaged our first time sleeping together."
"That makes two of us. You're the one that fell asleep. So disappointing."
"Oh really?" he teased as he held me a little tighter and scooted a little closer. "Then it's disappointing ya didn't come up with a creative way to wake me up."
"I thought about it, but your snores were kind of a turn-off."
"Uhuh…" he replied absentmindedly, his gaze drifting downwards towards my still smirking lips. Then he groaned and scrambled to his feet, stretching leisurely. "Right, let's hit the road. Or, ya know, the sky. Whatever, let's go." He held out his hand and pulled me off the sofa, my jointspopping in the process.
Reno didn't let go of my hand until we'd reached the rooftop, where Rude was already waiting in the pilot seat of the chopper. The sun had already risen, and I felt like there was a day of my life missing somehow. Tseng was seated beside Ollie, and I once again had to acknowledge that my best friend was a stunner. Eva would swoon when she saw him like this for the first time. And Ollie would probably have a very entertaining night. I almost grinned at that, though I felt a bit like a pervert for having such thoughts. I was beginning to act like Tammy, bless her.
As soon as Reno took his seat beside Rude, and they had finished arguing about who would fly, we took off. Needless to say, Rude won the argument.
Back at Edge HQ, Tammy was impatiently waiting outside Rufus's office. She was casually leaning against the wall beside the door with her arms crossed, though when we got closer I noticed there was nothing casual about it. In fact, there was a frustrated scowl on her brow, and she appeared to be close to tears.
"Thank the Gods you're here," she exclaimed as soon as she saw me coming. She pushed away from the wall and hurried over to me. "I was about to slit my own throat. Do you know he made me get tea for him? Tea! Like I'm a maid! And not to mention he has no manners at all. I think I preferred being a different kind of escort."
"Apologies for the inconvenience, Tamisa," Tseng said to her. "But we are grateful." Then he offered her a subdued smile before adding, "Even if he has a poor way of showing it."
Had I heard that right? Did Tseng just bad-mouth Rufus? What was the world coming to?
"He has no way of showing it, actually," Tammy corrected Tseng, but it seemed her need to cry was fading now that she wasn't alone anymore.
Tseng knocked on the door once and opened it for us as soon as Rufus replied for us to enter. We filed into the office one by one and Tseng closed the door behind us.
"What have you got to say for yourselves to make this right?" Rufus addressed the room, not even bothering with greetings. He was standing behind his rather expensive looking desk with a disdained scowl on his face. I wondered whether he woke up in the morning wearing that expression. His hair and clothes were once again neat and immaculate as always, but the dark circles under his eyes gave away his fatigue. He'd had a rough night; not at all what he was used to with his life of luxury. Pampered brat, that's what he was. Tammy got shot, and she was looking fresh as a daisy. "This was a complete disaster." Then Rufus shifted his attention to me. "Including the abysmal attempt at locating me."
At some point in time, his words would have affronted me, now all I could do was scoff. It wasn't even my job to look after him in the first place. I wasn't a Turk, a fact that he had personally made sure of. Not that I minded. I worked for Charly, and Rufus could take his abysmal attempt and shove it up his ass. On top of that, he was being completely unfair towards his team, his family, because he'd bruised his pride.
"You know," I offered him a cynical smile. "I had almost forgotten how badly I want to stab you in the face."
Clearly, his subordinates were used to it by now, because none of them even bothered to address me about it anymore. I did however notice how Ollie tried to suppress a grin. No need to mention he failed.
"Given the circumstances," Tseng began as Rufus narrowed his eyes at me dangerously. "We've managed to keep the casualties to a minimum. We are mostly dealing with material damage, which can be fixed. I have already begun preparations for restorations. What we need to focus on right now, is locating Milla before she can set up another assault. She may not have many men left, but we can't risk leaving her alive. One bullet is all it takes. That goes for her as well as for you. Sir, you can't be protected around the clock, we need to act now."
Rufus assessed Tseng for a moment, and then he sighed and leaned his hands on the desk, slightly hanging his head as he did so. It was the first show of weariness I had seen in him so far. He suddenly looked older than his years, like a man who had seen it all and carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Maybe he did and he never let it show, or maybe he was simply that tired. Whichever it was, I suddenly pitied him. It made me believe I was wrong before; it wasn't his pride that was bruised. He was angry because he felt hopeless. He was human after all.
"Very well," he then said in a firm voice. He looked up and finally met Tseng's eyes. "I want reports on everything that transpired last night. And I mean everything. I want every name of every dead man. I want the names of anyone who made it out of there. And I want her found. This organization has been getting under my skin for long enough."
"Yes, Sir," Tseng bowed his head, though beside me Reno groaned loudly as his shoulders sagged.
"Seriously, man…?" he complained, looking absolutely distraught.
"Good!" Tammy said happily as she threw a wicked grin in Rufus's direction. "Finally something useful to do. Get your own tea from now on." She laughed and stalked out of the office with her head held high.
By the time we were done with our reports, it was late afternoon, and Ollie was ready to quit his newly acquired job. We'd claimed a room down in the archives for ourselves, combining writing the reports with searching for information. It turned out Rude was very adept at using the computer, but he had proven as much back when he'd spent some time at my house in Whiterun. He'd also been burdened with it because Reno had been too lazy to get any work done.
Right now said red-head was sighing and groaning while Tseng kept a tight leash on him. Tammy, meanwhile, was sprawled out on one of the sofas as she recited our adventure to him, with a lot of colorful details, including flying brains and organs. She also made a point of telling him how rudely Rufus had tossed her aside after she had saved his life like a super hero.
Reno's hard work was probably more due to her humor than his Chief's stern glances, but he did what was asked of him. He was probably shocked that he actually had to work for a change.
I'd settled down with Ollie on the other side of the room to help him go through files, trying to find and identify anyone we'd encountered at HQ, or even before that. We came across the ones that were known to all of us; Ivar, Wolf, Jona, but there were also others.
When Tseng called it a day – to which Reno actually praised the Gods – he impressed on us that we had to go home to get some rest and be ready whenever.
Which could be an hour from now for all I knew – though something told me that we wouldn't locate her that fast – but for now it was best to go home and get some actual sleep.
My bike was still parked at the entrance to Reno's building, but fortunately it was only a short walk. Neither of us said much as we stepped outside into the dying sunlight; we were both too subdued, which in his case was saying something.
Soon it turned out there was no need for us to try and have a conversation, because when we turned the final corner, a boy with a blue baseball cap began waving at us from across the street.
"Reno! Reno!" Billy called happily as he jumped up and down.
He'd been waiting at the entrance to Reno's building, and judging by the ball he was carrying under his arm, he was ready to get started on our promise to him.
"Oh, crap," Reno mumbled as we watched Billy run across the street –of course minding the traffic like a good boy. "I'm gonna break this kid's heart."
I felt a bit ashamed that I had forgotten all about our conversation with Billy the other night. The boy looked up to Reno like he was his personal hero, even though Reno felt quite differently about himself. And breaking his promise would only make him feel worse about that.
"No, you won't," I assured him right before Billy came to a halt at our feet.
"You came!" he said happily. "I brought my ball!"
"Uh… Billy," Reno started as he brought his hand to the back of his head. "Now ain't really the time."
"But, Reno, you promised!" Billy pleaded, eyes wide and innocent.
Reno sighed and glanced at me with a slightly tormented look on his face. It was obvious he felt torn between keeping his promise to the kid, and getting me home and taken care of. This little boy couldn't help what had happened to us, and he seemed to adore Reno. I couldn't let that kind of thing be ruined because Reno worried over my current state.
I leaned down and smiled at the boy. "We'll play with you, Billy," I said, seeing his face light up with a bright smile. "Go on, lead the way."
Billy nodded and started hopping away from us happily, waving for us to follow him. Beside me, I heard Reno sigh again, and I hoped I'd done the right thing. We hadn't discussed my decision, but I could have sworn this was what he wanted. It seemed though, that there was no need for me to worry.
"Thanks for that..." he mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed.
There was no need for him to get all emotional about it, but it still made me feel happy. With a grin, I pushed him aside.
"Race ya!" I yelled before I bolted after Billy, who had just disappeared around the corner.
I heard Reno's fast footfalls behind me, and I laughed with joy, knowing I couldn't outrun him in these heels. Soon, he'd caught up with me and with a joyful squeal, I got swept off my feet and thrown over his shoulder. Last time he did that, I had pounded him on the back, demanding he set me down, but this time I did nothing but laugh. I heard him laugh too as he jogged along, following after Billy.
After a while, he halted and started letting me down. I straightened, but he only let me slip about halfway down, hooking his wrists under my behind. He looked up at me, his features as serious as ever. In fact, the intense look on his face almost made me blush.
"What?" I laughed hesitantly as I held onto his shoulders for support, suppressing the urge to squirm under his gaze. I felt like he was looking straight through me, into my soul.
He shook his head. "I just –"
"You guys!" Billy reappeared from around the corner, waving wildly at us. "What's taking you so long? Hurry up!"
Reno gently released me, letting me slide down his body until my feet touched the pavement. He hadn't unhooked his wrists, and they were still wrapped around my lower back. I looked him over while standing in his arms, noting the strange emotion in his eyes.
"You just what?" I tried in vain to fix his tie a bit, but in truth I simply needed an excuse to stay this close to him a little longer.
"I just think you're amazing," he finally said, unabashedly and full of confidence. "I know we've had some shitty times, but… That's behind us now, ain't it?"
My heart fluttered at his honesty. This was what I had wanted to hear him say for a long time. It wasn't a love confession, nor was it a confirmation of his feelings in as many words, but to me it felt like just that. There hadn't been all that many times in the past where he had been this open with me, this honest. Sure, he'd teased me a lot, gotten angry with me, shown me any kind of emotion he was capable of. But he had never told me that he wanted to move on from everything. All he had ever told me was that we couldn't and shouldn't. This…felt different. It felt exactly like I wanted it to feel.
"I'd like it to be," I whispered, my breath caressing his face.
"Foxy, I ain't very good at expressin' myself, I know I ain't –"
I put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "I don't need you to say anything. I only need you here with me. And I need a long bath, that too."
A relieved grin passed over his face. "Oh, good, I can do both. Easily satisfied, are ya?"
Now it was my time to grin, leaning closer teasingly. "Takes a lot more than that to satiate me, actually." I grinned harder at the astounded look on his face, before finally freeing myself from his hold. "Let's play some soccer." I leaned down and tore my heels off my feet. "I can't run for shit in these things. You ready?"
I left him there as I started running again, but I didn't miss the contented smile that appeared on his face before he came after me.
We followed Billy to the soccer field at the edge of the city, where his friends had already gotten started. They laughed and grinned as they ran across the grass, chasing the ball and trying to steal it from each other.
Reno was strolling towards them with his hands shoved into his pockets and a smile on his face that looked suspiciously sentimental.
"Brings back memories?" I teased him.
"I was young once, ya know," he chuckled while he watched the kids have fun. A small frown formed on his brow, and I wondered what he was thinking about.
Had he played with his friends when he was young, before he'd been snatched off the street by Charly to be trained as a Turk? Had he missed being able to just be a kid while they taught him to lie and steal and kill as a young boy? Or maybe things normal kids did hadn't interested him.
"All I know about when you were young, is how you used to sneak out of the Shinra building to score some hussy." The sudden sting of jealousy I had felt when he'd informed me of that fact wasn't here this time. This time, it amused me.
"Hey, c'mon," he whined. "You got me all wrong, babe."
"No, I don't think I do. But that's okay," I pointed out before taking him by the hand to drag him along towards the field.
"I'm going to be on Reno's team!" Billy said happily, though his statement hardly came as a surprise.
He'd brought five friends with him, two of which were equally excited for being on Reno's team, who –to be fair– looked nimble and lean enough to be of use to them. The other three, not so much.
"But she's a girl!" one of them complained loudly while he pointed at me with a thin finger. "And, she's wearing a dress!"
I grinned at their outraged faces. They reminded me of the boys I grew up with. None of them had wanted to play with me because I was a girl, and that prejudice hadn't relented all through the rest of my life. I'd left the need to prove myself behind. It had been quite liberating, actually.
"Yeah, well," I chortled. "I've done stranger things in a dress."
The boys didn't understand what I was talking about, but Reno grinned along, apparently recalling some of those stranger things. Billy was already running towards the shabby goal, shouting for the match to get started.
"I will kick your ass," I told Reno with a confident smirk.
"Heard that before," he shot back before he jogged away from me, looking a little too confident. Damn Turk. He was about to find out how competitive I could really be.
Soon, I forgot all about the mess we had been in mere hours ago. Within ten minutes I was screaming and laughing like a girl, and not one on the higher end of twenty either. I felt free, unabashed, and yes, more than a little competitive. So far, our team had scored three, but Reno's had scored four, and I wasn't having it.
The way Reno ran across the field with the ball only supported my suspicion that he'd played plenty of soccer as a kid, though he made sure not to be too rough. He knew how to make it fun for the kids, but when we met face to face, we were both ruthless. The boys cheered us on as we ran after each other, shoving each other aside. He even tackled me a few times, after which I decided to show him no mercy.
Now his white shirt was streaked with green.
Our team scored twice more after I passed the ball over to the boys, and we tore across the field together with our hands in the air.
"You know I let that slip on purpose, right?" Reno called after our last score.
All I could do was laugh, and then we laughed together some more, the boys cheering and squealing with joy as we continued our match.