A/N: Oh wow, I did not expect it to take that long to write another chapter! I apologize if you were waiting, a lot continues to happen in my life to keep me away from writing. But I am still committed to this story, this chapter is one I've been really wanting to get to. I have so much more I want to write and ideas to explore. This fic is not dead nor on hiatus, just don't expect constant updates. Treat this as a pleasant surprise in your feed.

One of the cons of being a Turk was that you were always on duty. But when you are always on duty you can be flexible with your lifestyle. This was why Rude was meeting Reno, his partner, at a dive bar in the middle of the day. This wasn't planned, Reno had texted him to meet at one of their local haunts. Sounding pissed off at something, had started drinking and Rude would make sure he didn't break anything. Such was the foundation of their relationship.

The name of their meeting place was "The East Room", a hole-in-the-wall bar at the edge of a shopping district. Its exterior decor was just a plain sign above a brick building with promotional beer stickers covering blacked-out windows. No flashy gimmicks, just a place you went to drink and Rude admired its honesty as he stepped inside. There was a long bar counter on the right and tables and booths on the left, the lighting was dim as an authentic dive bar should be. There wasn't a crowd, just the bartender and owner Wilson, a waitress, and in a booth in the back by himself was Reno.

Wilson was busy stocking the bar for the night's crowd, but not too busy to slide Rude a beer and a motion towards Reno that signaled, "Could you please make sure this isn't a problem." Wilson was a good man, which made him an excellent bartender. A burly middle-aged man, with thinning brown hair and a pointed nose sticking out of a round face. He wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, a bartender for the working man.

Rude admired Wilson and his style of bartending. Many people believed that a bartender should be well-dressed, young, and able to perform flashy drink gimmicks. Wilson was none of that, but he could talk to you like you had been friends for years. He made you feel welcome like the bar was a personal and private place. Wilson's gift at bartending was the reason the Turks had claimed The East Room as their drinking destination.

Rude found Reno surrounded in empty cocktail glasses and multicolored paper umbrellas. Reno only hit the tropical drinks when he was deeply conflicted so Rude prepared himself as he sat opposite his partner.

"So, I get pulled into a meeting this morning." Reno began to vent as he flicked away an umbrella. "With the Science Department."

Reno's words came out like venom and Rude nodded slightly. There was a lot of bad blood between the Turks and the Science Department and for good reason.

"They want us to move up the date for the Target's retrieval, which I said there was no fucking way."

Again, Rude nodded, the Target was an unpopular task. Many years ago the Science Department had tasked the Turks with the finding and retrieval of a young girl in the slums, aka The Target. Obviously, the Turks hadn't taken too keenly to this task. The Turks were an elite operations unit in Shin-ra Corporation, they assassinated dangerous targets and scouted out recruits for SOLIDER, not harass little girls. Even shadow assassins had their limits. Tseng had struck a bargain, the girl would be left alone to have a normal life in exchange for her compliance when she turned 25.

The Science Department had not been happy with this decision and was constantly demanding that the Turks take her sooner. But between Reno and Rude, this would not happen; the word of a Turk was their bond.

"They start complaining that the Target is making too many erratic movements and they are concerned she will try and leave Midgar. So, I reminded them that the Target is being watched and she hasn't deviated in her patterns nor has she gone near the borders. I remind them that we have been over this a thousand times and tell them to get bent."

Reno finally looked up from his glass and stared at his partner. "Then, I get told something I don't know."

Rude leaned forward, his attention focused.

"They have reconnaissance that the Target has a friend. Someone with mako eyes."

Normally this would be the part where Rude gave another one of his stalwart nods. But he was motionless. Mako-colored eyes were the telltale sign of a member of SOILDER whose recruitment and monitoring fell under Turk supervision.

"You checked the files."

"Yes, I checked the files and every member of SOLIDER is accounted for, none are in the slums. I had the rookie run a check on ex-SOLIDERs and all of them have alibis. Whoever this guy is we don't know a thing about him. So, we have a renegade SOLIDER, who we don't know anything about, knocking boots with one of the most important people on the planet. Naturally, Headquarters is pissed, and they want me to clean up this mess"

Rude was already deep in thought, he wasn't a talkative man, but when he did speak, he wanted his words to have a purpose.

"Could be very dangerous. As your partner, I advise you to requisition an attack helicopter, full armament, armor piercing rounds. Stun grenades if you want to bring him alive and explosives if you don't. You'll need to get on the requisition forms fast because there is usually a 2 day wait on attack helicopters. Also, a pressed suit."

Rude then stood up and adjusted his suit placing a few dollars down on the table and paying for his drink. "This blows my whole week away; I'm going to have to reschedule a ton of meetings."

"Why's that?" Quipped Reno. "You're not responsible for this fuck up."

"No but I'm your partner, naturally I'm going to have to come with you. Besides, taking down rogue SOLIDERs are always a two-man job. To do this we are going to have to be careful and armed to the teeth."

The mixture of camaraderie and alcohol was enough to snap Reno out of his stupor. He quickly pulled himself out of the booth, plastic cocktail glasses clattered around him.

"Well, why not, Fuck it, you're right. If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing right."

Reno stumbled towards the bar counter and pulled out a wad of bills and settled his tab. He then stumbled towards the exit with Rude in tow.

"I mean, we'd be fools not to follow this shit job all the way to the end." Reno stumped outside and was momentarily blinded by the light of day.

"Indeed." Replied Rude as he unlocked their ride and climbed into the diver's seat. "But we need to get on the paperwork for that attack helicopter.

"Let's make the rookie do it, she needs to learn the fine art of Shin-ra bureaucracy. You hungry?"

And so, Reno and Rude speed off to find quick food and begin their adventure in corporate bureaucracy.

****Meanwhile Elsewhere**********

"I can leave if I'm bothering you." Aerith teased as she stared down at Gabriel while he labored on his new sword.

"No, you're fine." He responded politely but clearly annoyed at her questions while he sharpened what would become his new sword. He had found another length of steel in the scrapyard that looked promising enough to be sharpened into a blade. His previous makeshift sword had been broken in the fight with the bandits. This steel wasn't as long, but it was steady, Gabriel hoped that meant it would stand up to more pressure if he had to use it again. Sword making wasn't his specialty, nothing he made was tradeable quality, but he could make a weapon that he could use.

"You know, we do have a weapon shop in town. You could just buy yourself a sword instead of trying to make one out of junk."

"They just have short swords, not really my style. I prefer something longer."

"Oh, I see, so it's a guy thing, got to let everyone know yours is bigger."

"No, not bigger, longer. The farther away you can strike your appointment the better."

"Hmmmm, no I think bigger is better."

Aerith situated herself on the hood of a broken-down tractor that was half emerged from the junk pile where Gabriel worked. She ideally kicked her feet in the air as she watched him work. He has finished sharpening the edge and had started working on the hilt with a hammer.

"How is your music coming along?"

"I haven't had as much time to practice as I've wanted, so not so good."

"You'll never join a band at this rate."

"I'm not trying to join a band, I just enjoy playing, it's what I do for fun."

Gabriel put down the handle and inspected his makeshift hilt. It was serviceable, he could hold it in his hand without cutting himself so it would do for now. Gabriel wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the girl who couldn't seem to stop bothering him today.

"Was there something you wanted? I can't imagine you've come all this way just to look at my sword."

Aerith rolled her eyes.

"I've come to invite you to dinner at my home tonight. It's been decided that your recent, surprising display of bravery deserves some recognition. I think a warm home-cooked meal is an adequate reward."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Aerith pouted and crossed her arms. "I wasn't making an offer; I expect you to be there or else."

The flower girl quickly stood up but found that her footing on the junk tractor had faltered. She flailed her arms out wildly in a desperate attempt to regain her balance, but she tumbled headfirst toward the dirt. Aerith cried out and closed her eyes silently cursing herself as she waited for the pain to rack her body.

Gabriel grabbed her out of the air, springing into action the moment she had cried out. His body moved on instinct and his brain hadn't released what he had done until the flower girl was safely in his arms. They said nothing for a moment, both surprised as they each caught their own breaths.

Aerith, cradled in his arms, felt safe and that scared her. She squirmed her legs out of his grip and landed beside Gabriel, then took a few steps back to maintain their personal space.

"Listen" Aerith sighed. "You live outside of the slums by yourself playing your stupid guitar. But you're a part of this community, you've helped people, you've saved lives. So, stop acting like an edgy teenager and come have dinner with me. Please."

Gabriel paused as he searched for the right words. "I wasn't trying to be mysterious, when should I be there?"

"Seven, that should give you time to clean up." Aerith quickly turned around dismissively and walked home with her head held high.

She held that pose until she was far away from Gabriel and allowed herself to scowl at herself and how she felt. She couldn't be developing feelings for him, that wasn't part of the deal, and it wasn't safe for him. Aerith reminded herself that she was on borrowed time and that she was going to use that time to help others. This dinner was supposed to push Gabriel out of his shell, get him to socialize, and maybe stop wanting to live in squalor. This wasn't an attempt to get closer to him, so she told herself, but she knew that was a lie. Deep down she didn't want to be alone, she wanted companionship, to love and be loved.

So, Aerith allowed herself to indulge in the fantasy, she silently admitted she had feelings for him and hoped those feelings were mutual. She imagined the bliss of having someone close again, the warmth of a lover's skin and stolen kisses. Once, that was her reality and it had been stolen from her and all that remained were dreams of better days. The blissful daydreaming lasted until she returned to the slums, the reality of her situation made it difficult to keep dreaming. The slums were the bottom, the place for those who had given up trying.

Most of the people of Aerith's age still had dreams and enough determination to leave and try for a better life somewhere else. She couldn't leave, it was out of her control so she would focus on what she could control, helping the people of this slum.

With those thoughts, Aerith arrived at the lush green front yard of her home. Her home supported a rich habitat of vegetation. She took some time to pick out the greens she would help her mother cook for dinner that evening. Her mother, Elmyra, had reservations about inviting the aloof young man over for dinner. But she knew that when Aerith put her mind to something she wouldn't stop, and it was often easier to indulge her.

Half an hour before seven Aerith went upstairs to freshen herself up before their guest arrived. Elmyra began setting the table for three as the massive lamps under the plate began to shut off, plunging the slums into darkness. A sinking feeling crept into Emlyra's stomach as she finished setting the table and turned off the stove. She felt that her daughter was going to be disappointed when her guest didn't show up for dinner. This wasn't surprising, she didn't trust those who lived outside of the slum and Gabriel wasn't an exception. She considered his sudden arrival and recovery a bad omen and had hoped the young man would move away.

The Gainsborough house clock chimed that it was seven o'clock and Aerith hadn't returned downstairs. Elmyra felt sorry for her daughter, she knew Aerith's believed in the best of people and it was painful to see her corrected. Perhaps it was for the best, the sooner Aerith saw that man for what he was the better, she could get on with her life.

Elmyra began to prepare a plate for her daughter when she was startled by a hard knock on her front door. She froze in fear, instinctively fearing the worst as she felt her heart racing inside of her chest. Aerith came bounding down the stairs wearing a white dress with a soft-colored floral pattern and opened the door before Elmira could object.

"Your late." Cried Areth in a teasing but joyful tone and pulled the visitor into their house.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet Gabriel, our town's own hero."

Elmyra froze as she felt a lump in her stomach, she recognized the young white-haired man standing in her hallway. She couldn't forget those Mako eyes, the general, the SOLDIER, the killer.

A/n: Wilson is based on my father, who was hospitalized not long after I started writing and has passed away. This was a way to help me work through some of my feelings for him so I thank you for the indulgence.