Green eyes… Depthless, unfathomable Makou green eyes tracked every movement inside the Seventh Heaven, as though there were some vital secret to be unlocked from the motions of the staff and patrons. It unnerved Tifa every time she felt that gaze come to rest on her, made ice trickle down the length of her spine.

The change of garb from combat leathers to a t-shirt and beat-up cargo pants didn't do all that much to change her feelings about him, either. To be more honest now he just seemed like a wolf in sheep's clothing. He blended in with the rest of the Edge civilians just fine, but there was nothing to be done about that silvery hair and those piercing green eyes. The meaning they carried for Tifa would never be erased; distinctive marks of evil incarnate.

To avoid the severely uncomfortable feeling that Kadaj's presence in her bar gave her, Tifa spent most of the early evening hassling Reno, who was in a suitably foul enough mood to snap back satisfactorily. She just had to try not to think about how much more unsettling it really was that something had Reno, the most laid back and easy going of the TURKs, snarling over his tequila shots.

Most of the time Reno was a pretty happy drunk, a down right blast once he was plastered, but he still wasn't quite drunk enough, yet, to have forgotten the last couple phone calls he'd received from Tseng and Rufus. Given the state of things it was probably better that Reno keep in condition to stay on top of his game, but at the moment he was of the opinion he'd been putting in FAR too much over time already. It was time to try and unwind.

Thanks to Tifa's finest tequila he was managing that at least a little quicker than his hostess was. He tried to offer her a couple shots both in good spirits and bad, depending on how the repartee was going at the time, but it seemed the fighting woman had absolutely no intentions of letting herself become inebriated when there was this much potential violence in the air.

Reno'd have been grateful for a good brawl that wouldn't lead to mass destruction though. If he could manage to bust a jaw or two with out taking out any of the bar walls that've been alright with him. Didn't look like there'd be much chance of that though, for the most part other patrons were being pretty careful and quiet over their meals and drinks. Not surprising considering the reputations of not only Rude and Reno, but Tifa Lockhart and Cloud Strife as well. Their strength and heroism wasn't well publicized, but there was a certain population which most the regulars were part of, who knew the stories of AVALANCHE and their adventures. Needless to say, there weren't many who wanted to make trouble in the Seventh Heaven, especially not tonight.

Once in a while Reno let his eyes flick to the television screen suspended in the corner, tracking the coverage of the recent havoc rained down on Edge and the ruined city of Midgar. Any moment he was expecting new reports on the attack at Healin Lodge. Hopefully the Shachou had been able to pull strings fast enough to keep that hushed up, but Shin-Ra had a harder time these days, having less weight to throw around. …For the moment, the TURK amended to himself. Still, it should be enough to keep the mention of Yazoo and Loz out of things at least. Right now Kadaj still thought them dead, as far as Reno knew, which was best. If he started thinking he could get his gang back together and start causing trouble again it would only make Reno's job that much more difficult.

Frowning to himself Reno motioned Tifa over, "Oi, Neechan, just leave me the bottle." It earned him a rather parental feeling, disapproving sort of glare. As he poured himself another shot, Reno reflected on Tifa's excellent maternal qualities. She'd been taking care of orphans for the last couple years, had enough patience to baby Cloud and he was worse than an angsting hormonal teen any day, and then there were those breasts… Reno almost felt a twinge of jealousy at whatever squalling babe might one day have the privilege of nursing there…

And for not the first time he had to question what the hell was wrong with one Cloud Strife that he didn't just pounce this woman every chance he got. Seeing the would-be SOLDIER seated in a booth with Kadaj, utterly enamored of the brat for reasons Reno couldn't fathom, he seriously had to question Cloud's credentials as a man… He understood that Cloud's background was deeply tied into the Jenova Project, the same as Kadaj, and they both had this weird connection through that outer-space freak and her mental kid, but… After all they'd been through, personally Reno'd prefer to be pillowing his head on that ample chest than digging up dead conspiracies and painful memories with the enemy. But, to each their own.

Seated across from his niisan, Kadaj pushed the food on his plate around listlessly. Fiercely hungry and lacking appetite both at once, he picked at Tifa's homemade stew and potatoes, the rich savory taste foreign to him. "They never fed us like this… It was always about what was best for our development, not what we liked or not…" He explained finally, when Cloud had asked if there was something wrong with it. "It's good though, I just…"

Cloud nodded softly, dipping a fork full of mashed potato into the gravy of his stew. "You have so much on your mind. I know. It makes it difficult to eat. Take your time, we're not in a hurry right now."

"Mm… I want to get out of here though… I'm not used to having so many people around me all the time. Mostly I was alone, with only a few people near by, at most. Doctors, nurses, instructors. But I spent so much time just on my own, in my room or training. Not to mention, I want to get away from those damned TURKs. Are they really staying here?" The distaste was raw, unmasked.

Cloud sighed as well, nodding again. "They're insisting. Tifa's putting them up, begrudgingly, but she doesn't trust you, and those two are at least some assurance to her, even if Reno's irritating as all hell. Don't hold it against her though, she's just trying to protect what's important to her."

Kadaj flicked his gaze over to the bar hostess once again, watching her wipe down the bar top as one customer left, before another took his place. "I don't… I don't know all of what happened to you before, but if you had to face him… Then after what happened yesterday, I wouldn't trust me either…"

Cloud watched Kadaj's still features. His eyes were still turned in Tifa's direction, but it was plain that he was no longer truly watching her. He'd lost his focus on the flustered hostess and had turned inward, considering things that Cloud could only guess at, things he hoped Kadaj would soon trust him enough to reveal. The former mercenary was particularly interested in Kadaj's perspective of that last battle. Had he been aware of it all? When Sephiroth had possessed and altered his form?

Cloud strongly suspected so. The boy wasn't asking any questions on what had happened, but exactly how Kadaj had experienced it all was a fascinating mystery. Cloud had felt the loss of control over his own actions thanks to Jenova's influence before, but not nearly in such an all-consuming manner. To become Sephiroth…

But he was cautious of prying too quickly. Cloud had a tendency to shut down himself if pressed in such personal matters, and the last thing he wanted was Kadaj going tight-lipped. With patience Kadaj might come to want to talk about it on his own. Cloud merely had to prove himself a confidant worth trusting in.

After a moment Kadaj finally dragged himself back to the moment, looking back to the table and poking at a carrot again. Letting the fork fall he sighed in his frustration and looked up to Cloud pointedly, saying straight out, "I'm going to go mad like this. Is there somewhere we could spar?"

The older man blinked, a little taken off guard, but then it made sense that someone with Kadaj's background was accustomed to daily martial training, and would make use of the practice to alleviate stress. The relative inactivity of the day, in comparison to the high level tension of the last few were taking a toll on him, and his composure had been sufficiently damaged in the battles to make it difficult to find calm.

After a moment, Cloud nodded, finding the idea of sparring with Kadaj actually appealing. It would be a chance to contemplate the nature of the boy through his fighting, without the threat of lethal damage, a luxury not previously afforded by their life-or-death encounters. "We'll go up to the roof. I'll go talk to Reno about your sword."

Kadaj was more than willing to let Cloud deal with that matter now. The TURK was becoming more a nuisance than entertaining when he was annoyed lately anyway. While his niisan went about procuring his weapon for him, Kadaj did his best to try to make at least a little more of a dent in the stew. He knew he needed his strength. It was just so difficult not to feel so worked up.

Once he had Souba back in his hands and could run through a few kata though, he knew he'd feel better. Just meditating on it now was helpful, and he too was looking forward to a chance to analyze his niisan through the use of his blade. Cloud Strife was almost more of a mystery to Kadaj than the silver haired youth was to him. Rufus Shin-Ra had given him a general description and he had certain other understandings of this disowned member of Jenova's "family," but…

"You've got to be mad." Reno leaned against the bar, looking up at the blonde standing over him, wishing he was drunk enough to have just imagined Cloud had just asked for the kid's sword. The look on the would-be SOLDIER's face, though, was serious and sane enough, to Reno's immense chagrin.

"He could level this building with a spell and I'm certain he's sufficiently lethal with just his bare hands," he watched the TURK scowl, but rather than getting irritated with him, he simply gave the redhead a cocky smirk. "Anyway, if he tries anything, I'll protect you."

That managed to earn smiles even from Rude and Tifa, though Reno's partner did his best not to be seen. The mortification on Reno's face was priceless though and Tifa had to put a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggling. Rude excused himself from the bar to go retrieve Kadaj's weapon, Reno's desperate loss for a comeback simply too much to take. He also preferred that the comment didn't get directed toward himself any more than it already did by default of his involvement with Reno.

After another moment of basking in the redhead's glare, Cloud turned himself back around in the direction of the booth, to wait with Kadaj. Reno muttered something nasty under his breath and turned back around to face the bar, downing another shot before folding his arms on the bar top. "What are you simpering about, huh?" he snarled, seeing Tifa still smirking at his expense. "Like it doesn't just get you wet, thinkin' bout him playing hero."

That wiped the smile right off her pretty little mouth and earned Reno a swift slap in the face. The whole bar went still for a moment at the almost echoing sound of skin on skin, and all eyes were on the bar tender and her infamous Shin-Ra corporate customer, his face turned aside and eyes closed, her arm still poised in the air.

There was that electric sense of imminent violence in the air again as Reno slowly opened his vibrant green eyes, smoldering with golden alcohol-soaked wrath… But rather than picking that fight, as he so longed to do, the TURK just grabbed up his shot glass and bottle as he stood and stalked away from the bar to an empty table against the far wall.

Rude came back in just enough time to see his partner throw his lanky body down into the chair and the air of the tavern just begin to break up. He watched everyone cautiously from behind his dark shades as he handed Kadaj's blade off to him, kept a particular eye on Tifa Lockhart as Cloud and the boy made their way through the bar and up the stairs. There was an intense worry spoken in the subtle creasing of her brow, the parting of her soft pink lips as her own gaze lingered on the empty staircase.

Rather than join his partner at the table, Rude strode through the bar with long, clipped strides, disappearing into the side room that Tifa had allocated for his and Reno's use. The light slamming of the door caught the attention of a few of the more jumpy patrons, knocked Tifa from her reverie and left Reno looking mildly contemplative.

But his tequila was starting to catch up with him, making him apathetic and he decided against chasing Rude down. Let him sulk. If he wasn't going to say anything, he could just rot in his silence then. As a number of customers began to gradually trickle out, getting fed up with the tension in the bar tonight, the red head poured himself another drink.

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

It was going to be an early night for the Seventh Heaven. Only just a little before eleven o'clock and the last real customer had just taken his leave, tipping kindly before making his way home. Tifa was left nearly by herself to wash up the glasses and wipe down the tables, save for the TURK, passed out in his seat.

Even while the steaming water crashed against the deep metal sinks and tumblers clinked and clacked against one another the red head slept soundly on his arms, near emptied bottle and lonely shot glass still within reach. He didn't look nearly so vicious, quietly snoring away, and Tifa wasn't inclined to wake him any sooner than she had to, to preserve that illusory peace.

She had to take a little credit for his temper though, and reflected that she might have been more gentle with him, rather than picking fights. It was just difficult to pin down her feelings toward him, he was such an unpredictable guy. It was a little frightening, actually, how sweet and humane he could be in one moment, like taking the trouble to help her and Cloud find those kidnapped kids… but then he could do things like dropping the Sector 7 plate and never show even a smidge of regret for the innocent lives that had cost.

And he didn't seem concerned with that. There was no internal conflict between the hero and the villain. She supposed that was just the nature of a successful scoundrel, but there seemed to be something severely imbalanced to Tifa about that… Made her wonder just how much his good will could be trusted.

Eventually, though, the bar was clean and all that was left was Reno and his tequila. She could just let him sleep it off there on the table, but she wondered if that wouldn't be too spiteful of her? He'd probably wake up with a killer hang over and a crick in his neck that wouldn't make him any more pleasant to deal with in the morning than he had been tonight… So after a moment Tifa poured a large glass of cool water and made her way over to the TURK.

Setting the glass down in place of his shooter she slipped into the seat across from him and reached over to gently shake his shoulder. "Reno…"

The read head roused slowly, awake before he actually opened his mossy green eyes. He regarded Tifa in silence a moment before she pushed the water a little closer to him, and he wrapped his thin fingered hand around it with a sort of wondering expression stealing over his elfin features.

"You've got to be dehydrated after drinking like that, c'mon. Bet you're even more of a shit with a migraine." The tone was gentle though, accompanied by a small smile that Reno returned, silently conceding the point. So as to ward off that very condition he raised his head from the table top slowly and picked up the water, taking several deep swallows before bothering to pause to breathe.

"Thanks," he slowed down on the water, but even just that was helping to relieve the familiar, unpleasant feeling of previously having his dry tongue cleaving to the roof of his mouth. By the time he finished it off, he'd be feeling right as rain. Reno'd been a long time drinker, age of majority never mattering much to him. He was used to putting it away by now, and tequila being his drink of choice he didn't suffer nearly the same ill effects less seasoned alcoholics did. Still, Tifa's concern was very touching to him.

Seeing the strange sort of dopy smile growing on Reno's face, Tifa chuckled softly and tilted her head. "What's that about?"

"Nothin'. You. Just thinkin' what a nice girl you are, even to a rogue like me." He shrugged one narrow shoulder and took another drink of the cold, clean water, watching Tifa blush a bit.

"I really don't get you, Reno. Some times you seem like another person, behind those emerald eyes." She folded her arms on the table top, head still tilted as Reno shook his.

"Nope. Same guy, I promise. Sorry if that disappoints you," and he seemed to have at least a little genuine regret that she might think badly of him, "But I can't be anything other than me. Makes it confusing for other people sometimes, I know, but it makes things a whole lot easier on me. I've watched guys who can't be honest with themselves, can't reconcile their dark streak with everything else inside…

"Poor bastards. They get scared of themselves, feel like they don't deserve friends or loved ones, 'cause they're always afraid they might hurt them… Sephiroth was like that before he went," and Reno suddenly twitched his head and crossed his eyes, then set his face normal again. "But I know what I'm capable of and what it's for. 's why I do what I do. How I know I'll never turn into some other scary person and hurt people I don't mean to. I'm not a good guy, but I'm alright with that, then."

Tifa did find that a little sad, and sighed softly, resting her chin in one hand. She wondered if it felt liberating, not needing anyone's forgiveness, or if it was a lonely way to live. Reno just shrugged again, still unapologetic, and finished off the water in front of him. Tifa picked up the glass along with the tequila bottle and the shooter, taking them behind the bar to wash up.

Upstairs, the roof access door swung open, then closed, the two men who'd sparred on the roof above not even visible from her vantage before they'd disappeared into Cloud's room, and Tifa let the water run as she gazed at the empty staircase, watching the glow that came from beneath Cloud's shut door. Reno watched Tifa angst in silence, sighing softly as a flare of irritation sparked up again. This time his anger was directed at the ex-mercenary though, the sting of his earlier jab still lingering, the frustration with Cloud's thick headedness smoldering.

Now he was back to being the cocky brat? Who'd had to cajole his moping ass back into action, to actually get something done? Who'd had to drag his unconscious carcass back here so he wouldn't be exposed and vulnerable? So maybe Reno couldn't take Kadaj down single handed, but Cloud would have had his ass handed to him seven times over if Reno and the TURKs hadn't been there to back him up. And now the guy was actually siding with that silver haired whelp, and was leaving a fine beauty out in the cold so he could knock swords with a psychopathic child. The coarser implications of that thought were far from lost on Reno.

Watching Tifa finish up the last of the washing, Reno decided it was high time someone took some action and went for this girl. She was in serious need of a distraction anyway, and since no one else seemed inclined to pay any attention to her, maybe she wouldn't mind venting her frustrations a little more constructively with him. A good fuck was just as good as a decent fight, and he knew she'd been wishing all night she could deck some one, too. She hadn't been playing around when she slapped him.

Pushing himself up from the table quietly he made his way around the bar to stand beside her. As she dried her hands off with the kitchen towel, Tifa didn't even seem to take much notice of the TURK's approach, only starting to ask, "Did you want som-" before he'd taken that last step that put him behind her, able to wrap his long arms beneath hers and draw her body up against him.

Tifa gasped softly as Reno embraced her, feeling his lethal hands rest on her ribcage, just beneath the swell of her breasts, his sharp muzzle sliding against the nape of her neck, through her heavy silken hair. It made the tiny hairs at her hair-line raise, her whole body freeze as she listened to him draw a long breath near her ear, taking in her scent like an animal. For a moment, more than a decade of martial training abandoned her and she simply could not react, but then she gathered her wits about her, swallowing once before setting her tone firm and low. "Reno, don't."

"Why not…?" His voice was quiet, the lust for her evident and it made Tifa shiver, and that made Reno sigh. She didn't like that, not at all, the subtle excitement he'd shown to her fear, the vast implications of such small triggers and suddenly Tifa wasn't sure the added security was worth the trade-off of having some one like Reno around. Suddenly it wasn't sad that he didn't need anyone's forgiveness, it was scary. She tensed further, turning herself around in his hold so that she had him face to face, and after a moment while each one read the other's intense gaze, Reno cinched it. "It's not like Strife's ever going to."

"Wretch!" He caught her hand this time as she tried to smack him, and used it and the arm now around her waist to turn her, almost as if in a dance, so that he had her pinned against the bar, turned so that he blocked the easiest path of retreat. If she couldn't get around him to where the bar opened into the room, she'd have to go over it. The problem was, Tifa wasn't just dealing with any grabby thug. Reno could actually put up a fight which might mean damage to the bar before she managed to throw him out, the last thing she wanted at the moment.

As they came to a momentary standstill Reno took the opportunity to push it a little further, still keeping his arm wrapped firmly around her, but letting his hand slide over the curve of her rear and down her thigh, playing at the edge of her characteristically short skirt, he quirked a brow suggestively giving a small nod toward the stairs. "C'mon, don't be like that. You've gotta be aching for it by now. Tanoshii koro misete yaru zo, to."

"No way, Reno, let me go." She didn't even wait for him to back off though, just tried to snatch her hand back and push the lanky man away. He responded immediately by tightening his grip though, and pushed himself hard up against her, the sharp bones of his hips digging into her as he kept her pinned. Their eyes met in fierce challenge, Tifa glaring in unmasked contempt. "Vile coward, you wouldn't dare," she hissed quietly.

Reno's hand only slid further up her thigh, sneaking beneath her skirt suggestively, "You so sure I wouldn't, Lockhart Ojousan?" he purred her maiden name, dangerously. "You seem to have a developed a pretty low opinion of me all of a sudden… What makes you think I won't go that far?" The look haunting the man's feral green eyes made Tifa shudder again, very uncomfortably. It wasn't the TURK and it wasn't the cheeky asshole she usually saw, but just as he'd said, it was still Reno and that's what was most disturbing. He wasn't drunk at all now, he was thinking straight, and he was doing things to her with his eyes that she knew he could do just as easily and guiltlessly with his tongue, his cock and his bare dexterous hands.

It made her feel indescribably dirty and only slightly less violated than if he actually had, but she didn't break his probing gaze, just snarled in her boundless fury, "There'd be nothing left to bury in your expensive corporate plot, once Cloud got through with you."

Reno's eyes went wide, he looked damn near close to smacking her and Tifa prepared herself to break his hold and counter the blow. But in the end it never came. Reno just took his hands off her, raising them up as though in surrender and stalked away. He left her standing astounded behind the bar, going straight back for the table where he'd left his cigarettes. Picking the box up off the table he knocked one out, more than a little violently, and shoved the cancer stick between his teeth, mumbling something almost incomprehensible.

"What was that!" Tifa demanded, half catching Reno's muffled diatribe, and with out even looking at her, the TURK raised his voice, keeping it just low enough not to wake the place, but still harsh enough to call it shouting.

"I said you're pathetic! You're so fucking weak I don't know why anyone wastes their time on you! Ch! Cloud," he sneered, spitting the name like profanity, like it left a disgusting flavor cloying in his mouth. "Sure he'd come and kick my ass, but Neechan, we both know you can hold your own, then. We'd have been flinging Materia spells at one another before I coulda really ever had you." It was almost more than Tifa could bear, but Reno wasn't about to shut up.

"Why don't you stop waiting around for him to turn into your knight in shining armor, huh? The damsel in distress act is getting really tired. Strife's a fighter alright; a real Grade A Hero, but he ain't doing it for you, then. Y'know? …Fuck Cloud. It's only thanks to Rude and his stupid grade-school crush that I don't lay a hand on you."

Tifa's face was red with anger, listening to the TURK abuse both her and Cloud. And given the earlier part of their conversation, she was starting to get a pretty clear view of how much she actually meant in Reno's estimation. She'd been ready to lay right into him, bless him right out of her bar, until the last bit. When Reno brought up his partner's crush, her brain missed a beat.

"Rude…?"

The red-head regarded her as though she hadn't a thought in her head, shaking his own as he finally got around to lighting his cigarette. "Heh, yes, Rude. He's been pining after you since AVALANCHE first started fucking with us Shin-Ra, got a hold of one of the surveillance tapes with you laying some of our troops to waste, and then after you all kicked my ass, back in the day," he sounded only slightly bitter to be mentioning it, "That was it, smitten.

"But you might have noticed, he doesn't talk much, so I'm not surprised he hasn't said anything to you. Poor guy. Us TURKs are intimidating as a species enough as it is, then he's got that attitude. Kinda hard to cruise chicks that way. While I'd hardly say that it's just show… That's not the whole Rude-dude up front on the surface, then …Still not quite sure what he sees in a wench like you."

Tifa was speechless, couldn't even retort to Reno's insult. Yes, she'd had other guys flirt with her and occasionally crush on her over the years. Being a gorgeous and well-developed young woman, tending bar under the plate there was ample opportunity for things like that… But Tifa had never once considered any of those men to be serious, and had never taken them seriously herself. They'd all been customers after all. It was a job, and flirting just a little meant infinitely better pay. Surely Cloud had only ever been the one to think anything more of her.

But to hear that some one else had been carrying a torch for her for that long, without once saying anything… She'd thought only Cloud could be that attached to her, but to be truly honest these days she wasn't really even sure if that attachment was still there… Or was it ever there at all? She'd all but literally twisted his arm to get him to make that promise all those years ago. Maybe with her and Cloud all it was ever destined to be was friendship, because even after all this waiting, he still hadn't stepped in to fill the void.

"You should have seen it," Reno spoke up again, but he'd completely lost the antagonizing tone. "Well, you couldn't have 'cause you were passed out at the time, but when we found you guys in that old church, Rude didn't even say anything, just walked over, checked your vitals and scooped you up like you were the only one there. Even though he's got better endurance than I do, the punk left me to drag your boyfriend's heavy ass around."

Reno permitted himself a smirk as a bright red bloom spread across Tifa's delicate nose and cheeks. She had her eyes cast down, so he wouldn't get in trouble for it. He watched her in her silent consideration a moment longer, noticed her playing with a large pewter ring that resembled Cloud's general motif. Raising a brow and nodding to the bauble he commented, just a little too casually. "Right hand ring finger, huh…?"

He was rewarded with an angry glare and a fiery blush all across the fighter's face, even to her ears. He was surprised the ring wasn't flying up to leave its imprint in his jaw after a cheap-shot like that, but decided it was best to just take his exit with the last word in than wait around for her reply. Rude would kill Reno if he ever found out his partner had blabbed, but… Nah, who would Tifa ever tell a stupid thing like that?

Tifa watched the red-head go in silent fury, glad he hadn't made her kick him forcibly out of the bar. It irked her to know that it would only be so long until he came back, still on assignment to the silver haired boy, but she hoped he made his walk a good long one. Looking back down at the ring though, she couldn't help the confusion welling in her heart. She'd always been so strong and independent, had trained under one of the best master fighters and even though she could take down grown men three times her size… sometimes she still felt lost and in need of rescuing… Reno'd torn her to shreds for it, but… was it really wrong to feel like that?

But even after the battles with Sephiroth, when Cloud had been at his most heroic, when he'd saved them all, opened the door for the rescue from the Planet… When he'd pulled the two of them from the collapsing rock-face still inside the northern crater, it had been Aerith he was thinking of then, not his old friend, Tifa Lockhart.

Now once again, he was the Planet's greatest, unknown hero, and while she was still his biggest fan, his constant cheerleader in the hardest times, he only had eyes for the struggle, was paying all his attention to their adversary, and had little to no time to even explain things to her. It was getting tiring… She was tired. And she was starting to see why Reno had been so merciless to her.

Looking to the staircase, she could see the light still creeping out beneath Cloud's door, imagined him and the boy discussing endlessly the strange history they shared… Finally tearing her gaze away she glanced to the side, to the darkened door way of what had once been the room shared by Denzel and Marlene. Tifa dropped her hold upon the wolf ring and wandered absently that direction.

She opened the door as softly as she could manage, the light from the main room creeping in slowly, spilling over the form of the broad-shouldered TURK sleeping scrunched up in the bed. It really wasn't any shorter than a mattress should be, but Rude was just so tall and long-limbed, he didn't really fit… Then all the toys and children's sketches decorating the small room made him look that much more out of place.

She was just about to close the door again, to go to bed herself, when the previously sleeping man shifted, rolling over to get a look at who was peering in on him, and Tifa found herself meeting his sleepy, hazel eyes. Uncertain as to how to explain what she'd thought to be covert spying, the woman shifted uncomfortably, and after a moment said, "Reno… He stepped out suddenly. I'm sorry, I don't know when he'll be back… I didn't mean to wake you, I just…" But Rude just shrugged his shoulders, sighed a closed mouth sort of yawn and tried to adjust himself more comfortably on the mattress.

His brows were still knit softly when he closed his eyes, a man who slept a troubled sleep, and Tifa found herself wondering…

Reno was all surface. He really was the joker and the bad boy and the villain right there for everyone to see, and if what had just happened was any honest indication, there wasn't anything deeper to him. Rude, in his silence and behind his cool, dark shades, seemed to be infinitely more complex. She wondered what it was that attracted him to the life of a Shin-Ra TURK, and what it was that attracted Rude to her…

But Reno was right, he was really so imposing… She wasn't sure if she could have ever brought herself to ask. After a moment, she just stepped back and softly closed the door.

Returning to the bar, she took down the bottle of tequila she'd cracked for Reno earlier that night, poured herself a shot and tossed it back. The liquor burned going down, and despite her occupation, Tifa wasn't such a heavy drinker, but tonight she just wanted to forget.

Fuck it all. At the moment there was no one to save her, and right now it just wasn't worth it.

Author's Remarks: BIIIIIIG LOOOOONG update to make up for the AGES of silence and that short little excuse for a chapter that proceeded this. I've been gearing up for this for a while, had most of the fight between Tifa and Reno written out, as well as everything past it, but I was having a pain in the ass time getting there. Now, it's out. Wee! Special thanks to Daenis for the sledge hammer. I love working with Reno, he is amazingly fun to write for. Getting into the head-space to make him the fun little asshole and still keeping in mind that at-the-same-time he is an evil loathsome bastard is fascinating!

Also, though this doesn't have much to do with the story at present. I'm getting tired of all you Loz-haters out there. Well, not necessarily haters, but all you guys that are so damned apathetic about him. I don't want to hear it any more. I don't give a damn if you love Yazoo more just because he's all pale and skinny and has long hair. I DO like Loz and think he's an interesting character, so he will continue to play a substantial role in this story as long as I have use for him. :P

And no I will not tell you yet whether or not Yazoo is dead. It could even be as many as two more chapters before I get around to that, and you can only blame yourselves for instigating my sadism. (Evil grinning.) On with the translating!

Translations:

"Tanoshii koro misete yaru zo, to" – "I'll show you a good time, then."

A couple notes on this: yes, I know about the direct object particle 'wo/o', Reno's speaking casually and dropped it.

Also, "miseru" means to show and adding the "yaru" to it to form "misete yaru" gives it the connotation that he's doing her a favor, but using "yaru", which is mostly reserved for plants, animals, and very little children, as opposed to more polite words like "ageru" makes it pretty derogatory, especially with the sexual connotations of the word "yaru", much like the off-colour connotations its equivalent in English, "do."

Finally, "zo, to" is the particular turn of speech Reno tends to tack on the end of certain sentences in the Japanese version of both AC and the original game. It doesn't really have a literal meaning, though given the sense of continuation implied by the "to", sort of like the word "and", I have Reno occasionally end his sentences in the word "then." It's something I used to hear some people do around my home town. It's not a necessary addition, some people just do it. So if you've noticed this throughout this fan fiction, now you know why. I'm kind of sad the NA version of FFVII didn't at least do something to show Reno speaks differently.

"Ojousan" – This is a more polite way to address a young woman with whom you are unfamiliar than Oneesan, especially a girl younger than yourself, and pretty much translates as "Miss." Tacked on to the end of Tifa's name, it's like saying Ms. Lockhart. Pretty much I did this one in Japanese just so show there is a direct equivalent. :3 I'm having fun giving you people little lessons, actually.