Loz dodged the punch that Rude through with a little more effort than he needed five minutes ago. Without the time materia and his Dual Hound Rude was a very good sparing partner, not as good as Yazoo but at this point Loz would take what he could get. There were more almost landed blows and kicks until Loz finally got a strike to the neck in. He pulled the hit before it could do actual damage though.

Rude backed off and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. He adjusted his sunglasses and took a seat off to the side of the pavement. "Yazoo feeling better?"

Loz nodded and took a seat as well. "Well enough I guess. He was coherent, which is more than I can say for yesterday."

Rude snorted, his version of a small laugh. He had walked in to their apartment yesterday after Cloud left to see how he was feeling. In an attempt to take a seat on the couch he hadn't realized that the pile of blankets and pillows was more than it appeared. This was made clear to him when the pile moaned and ordered him to stop moving or making any noise in a very familiar voice.

Rude had lifted up the corner of a blanket to catch a glimpse of a silver and pale skin. Loz walked in, having returned from going to get ice from the kitchen for his brother. The bag of ice was cautiously offered to the blanket and pillow pile, Loz keeping his voice as soft as possible. A delicate, pale hand had reached out and took the bag and disappeared back inside.

Loz laughed a little at the memory. Yazoo could be almost as dramatic as Kadaj at times. The door behind them banged open and Reno came striding out. He was out of uniform and had his hair loose. It made him look a lot younger than he was and Rude found himself wondering how old the redhead was anyway. Rude had told him that they had both been in the Turks for around the same amount of time and that they had both known Sephiroth, but that didn't really tell him much.

"You guys know where Yazoo is? Tried the apartment and he wasn't there." Loz frowned, he had left Yazoo back at the apartment and if he wasn't with Reno he wasn't sure where else he could be. Loz shook his head at Reno's question as an idea hit him. He had sensed Yazoo before, it would be a useful thing to be able to do all the time, maybe if he just concentrated…

Loz let the world around him kind of fall out of his attention. He kind of reached out mentally for something that felt familiar. He wasn't entirely sure how he did it but it seemed to work, he found Yazoo. But where was he? Yazoo's attention shifted to him and Loz could sense what his brother felt about his surroundings… new/familiar…. home… warm …Loz …and then something that was like the ultimate physical comfort. Loz knew that feeling, Yazoo radiated it when he was curled up in bed. Loz laughed to himself. It was interesting to see a glimpse of how Yazoo saw things around him.

Bringing himself back to the present he looked up at Reno who, along with Rude, had been watching him expectantly.

"He is in the apartment, in bed."

Reno quirked an eyebrow. " I was just there, you sure?"

Loz smiled to himself, his brother could be so…..young…at times. "Try looking in my bed."

Reno raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything, just turned and went back inside. Rude was looking at Loz in what he could only guess could be called contemplative, what with the shades in the way.

"How do you do that?"

Loz shrugged, it was too hard to explain and he hated feeling like he was different from others all the time. He was saved from having to come up with a real explanation by Rude's PHS beeping. The Turk stood and straightened his suit.

"Guard duty?" Loz asked even though there wasn't much else it could be. Rude nodded.

"Enjoy not having these shifts yourself, from what I hear you and Yazoo will be given guard duty as well next week" Rude informed before walking back.

Loz sighed, he hadn't envied the Turks their guard shifts, somehow standing around looking formal and watching Rufus sign papers and make phone calls didn't sound like the most exciting thing in the world to do.

Yazoo really didn't want to get up. He was feeling better, even if he was a bit groggy. He had crawled into Loz's bed when he had woken up to an empty apartment, maybe it was his brothers scent on the sheets or the fact that his window faced away from the rising sun but it was easier to fall back asleep here.

Vaguely he had felt Loz's mind brush his, there had been no sense of urgency, just the odd feeling that his brother was amused by him, so Yazoo had let it go and fallen into a half awake, half asleep state. It wasn't much later when he heard Reno calling his name.

The door to Loz's room squeaked open and he could hear the Turks sure footsteps enter. Yazoo didn't open his eyes, it was so comfortable here, he really didn't want to move, he wouldn't mind if Reno joined him however….

"You still asleep?"

Reno sat on the side of the bed heavily. Yazoo didn't move. Reno gave a small laugh. "I see how it is. Well, if you don't want to get up I guess I cant make you…"

Reno stood again and turned towards the door, a slight knowing smirk on his face. Before he could take a step pale arms reached out and wrapped themselves around him waist, pulling him back onto the bed and underneath the blankets. Yazoo curled next to him, his head pillowed on his chest. Reno put an arm around his shoulders.

"Never knew you were one for cuddling" Reno trailed his fingers in the silver hair fanned across him and the bed.

"I'm learning from the best. And besides, I wont tell if you wont." Yazoo yawned and curled closer to Reno who was laughing again.

"Fair enough"

Elena had thought that it couldn't really get much worse. She hadn't really expected Rufus to find out about what she had done on the last assignment but apparently he did know. He had been especially cold to her today and made it very clear in his oh so polite and cultured manner that she was in disfavor. She had never been so happy to be off guard duty when Rude showed up.

She headed to the stairwell hoping to catch a few moments alone outside of the apartment she had isolated herself in when she didn't have to be on duty. She had been sitting on the concrete steps lost in her own depressing thoughts. As a result she didn't hear Loz coming up the stairs until she saw him.

He stopped when he saw her and gave her a reassuring smile. He climbed the rest of the stairs and sat down, one step below her and on the other side of the well. Loz had seen the look on her face before she had known he was there. She looked miserable.

"You know, neither of us blame you."

Elena didn't move or acknowledge that he had spoken. Loz sighed and decided to push her a little more.

"Look, neither of us expected for you to just forget about what we did to you or Tseng. If the positions had been reversed we would have felt the same. And you aren't the first person to distrust us because of how we were raised." Loz quieted a little on the last part. It brought up some bad memories.

Elena was looking at him now, her face unreadable. "Why did your brother step in? Why didn't he just let me alone and get you and the others out?"

Loz smiled. "Its just something about Yazoo. He's loyal to a fault, at least until he's betrayed. When he told Rufus he would work for him he meant that he would give it his all. You can trust him on a job like you would Tseng."

Elena's expression broke slightly and she looked away. "Tseng told me that it wasn't you I was afraid of, it was me. You and your brother make me see how similar we are."

Loz's eyes stared off at something in the thin air, a kind of thoughtful look on his face. "Are you still scared?"

Elena didn't know why she had told the clone this. Maybe because she was desperate for someone to not be angry with her, or maybe it was what he had said. Either way she had to admit to herself that she felt better.

"Not really. I knew what I would have to do when I joined the Turks. I wanted that feeling of fighting for something, going to any level no matter what, no matter the price. I have come to terms with that I guess." This time when she looked at him she was smiling a little, just the smallest upturn of her lips. Loz smiled back.

Someone was knocking on the door. Reno and Yazoo had abandoned Loz's bed for Yazoo's awhile back but were now lounging in the kitchen with Yazoo preparing dinner. The clone went to answer it giving Reno a look that told him not to touch anything.

The last person he ever expected to want to see him watched him calmly as he opened the door.

"Elena?"

The blonde just stood there looking uncomfortable, Yazoo's brain began functioning again and he motioned for her to come in. She shook her head. "I wanted to ask if I could borrow you from Reno for a few minutes."

Said redhead had come up behind Yazoo and was looking at Elena at first in surprise, then dawning understanding. "Sure you can. don't worry I wont let the soup burn I promise." With that Yazoo found himself in the hallway with the female Turk and the box of data disks in her hands that he hadn't noticed before.

"Come with me? Please?" Elena walked off down the hallway and Yazoo followed. She led the way to the basement and the incinerator. Briefly Yazoo wondered where Loz was.

"I was ordered to destroy these the day you found them and I didn't. I watched a lot of it."

Yazoo looked at the floor and shifted uncomfortably. The admission didn't exactly make him happy. Their childhoods had been brutal at best and someone knowing the details made him feel vulnerable.

"I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. And for taking things out on you that had nothing to do with you." Elena was turning the heat in the incinerator up.

"You don't have to apologize." Yazoo was slightly confused. What did she want from all of this?

"No but I want to. And I thought that you might want to know for sure that they're destroyed." Elena shoved the box into the flames. Yazoo wondered for a moment if maybe he didn't want them. Kadaj was alive on those tapes. But no, those weren't the memories he wanted of his brother.

Elena turned back to him. "It wont happen again."

Yazoo nodded, understanding that she wanted to start over in a way. He had no problem with that, it took strength of character to admit something like this. Hearing a noise behind him he turned to see Loz at the door, leaning against the frame and smiling.

Elena went over to him and they left down the hall together. Yazoo watched the disks burn for a few moments before heading back to the hopefully not burnt soup.

Rufus watched Elena's little escapade on the security cameras. So all his Turks and the clones had decided to get along. That was good, the last thing he needed was squabbling children under his command. He let his eyes linger on the slim silver figure watching the flames. He already had Tseng add the clones to the guard shifts. It was time to get closer to that enigma.

Rufus had been curious about the middle child since he had met the trio. Now would be the time to satisfy his questions. Yazoo turned to go with cat like grace and the swirl of mercury hair. Yes, his questions and maybe some other…interests.