Chapter Fourteen

Reno leaned against the wall, watching the street, silently. Rude frowned beside him.

'Somethin' the matter, partner?" Reno asked, resisting a yawn.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Rude answered. Reno pushed his hair from his face dismissively.

"Nothin' yo."

"You've been quiet for over fifteen minutes."

"So?"

"So I had to check that you weren't dead."

"I thought I was meant to be the dramatic one." Reno said, slanting a glance at his partner. Rude made a displeased sound, and Reno decided to change the subject. "When's the last time you saw Tifa?"

"The other night."

"You didn't even speak to her."

"I ordered a drink."

"Uh, you're so sad." Reno grinned.

"Really?" Rude replied flatly, "What would be less sad? Screwing some random woman for the sake of it?"

Reno shrugged and looked back to the street. "You could at least make a move."

"No…"

"Rude… if you like the woman, you gotta tell her, yo." He looked at his partner, "She's not a mindreader. Besides, I think Tifa would be into a man who takes a bit of control."

"But not a Turk." Rude muttered. Reno looked at his partner again.

"You think she won't go for you because you work for ShinRa?"

"That's exactly what I think." Rude replied simply. "You know what happened to her father."

"Yeah." He'd read the file on her. "But things have changed. She knows you now. You're not just some guy in a fancy ShinRa suit. She's… friendly… with us now. I think you'd be surprised."

Rude didn't reply, and Reno knew to drop the subject. The big man would do whatever he wanted to do. That didn't mean that Reno couldn't find out how Tifa might feel about his friend, though.

Aura stumbled to her front door, her hair a mess and her eyes barely open. It was far too early for anybody to be bashing on her front door. Checking the way Reno had taught her, she frowned when she saw a young boy standing on her front step. She jumped when he thumped the door again.

"Hello?" She asked, opening the door as she pulled her robe tightly around herself. The boy looked up at her, tears streaking his face.

"You're a healer?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Of sorts…" Aura answered, "Are you hurt?"

"Not me." He replied, "My mum…" he rubbed his face, "She was cooking and she burned herself. She needs help. You have to come!"

"Oh-okay…" Aura nodded, "Let me get some things… and put clothes on…" The boy moved into her living room while Aura rushed back to her bedroom. She quickly yanked a dress from her wardrobe and pulled it on before pulling her brush quickly through her hair. She then hurried back out to the livingroom, grabbing her basket from the table, she ran into the kitchen, throwing open her cupboards. Hurriedly pulling out anything she had that might be useful for burns, Aura called out to the boy. "How long ago was she burned?"

"I don't know…" He answered, "I ran here… Maybe ten minutes…"

"Okay."

Running back into the living room, Aura grabbed her keys. The boy hurried out the door and Aura followed him, pulling her door closed behind herself, running up the street as quickly as she could. The boy was fast and Aura had a hard time keeping up with him. She had been just about to call out to him and ask him how much further it was when he darted into a building. Aura hesitated to follow. It was the pub she and Reno had gone into not long ago. The one where meetings were held to discuss ShinRa. After a moment the boy reappeared in the doorway.

"Here!" he called, "She's in here!"

Aura swallowed and followed him inside. The boy darted across the room and behind the bar, heading back to where she supposed the kitchen was. Aura followed quickly.

"I brought her!" He called, as Aura rounded a corner and found herself in a small room.

"Good boy, Nik." A tall man with brown hair said, ushering Aura forward. He moved aside as she drew closer and Aura was able to see the woman behind him. She looked to be about forty, and was slumped back against a chair, her eyes closed in pain.

Moving forward quickly, Aura knelt by the woman and looked her over. She had what looked to be some kind of oil burn across her hands and up one arm. Glancing up, she saw that the woman was now looking at her. "Hi, I'm Aura…" She told her gently, "I'm gonna get you all fixed up real quick. Don't you worry."

The woman just nodded, her eyes closing again.

"So… So, she's gonna be alright?" Nik asked from behind Aura.

"She will be just fine." Aura told him, glancing over her shoulder. "Don't worry, yo." She smiled reassuringly at him.

"You see, Nik." The man by the door said, running a hand over the boy's hair. "Your mum'll be fine."

Aura turned back to the woman before her, and rolled the sleeve on her burned arm up a little further. "We'll just get that out of the way a bit… and then I've got a salve that will help with the pain."

Unscrewing the lid on one of her jars, Aura began smearing the mixture on the woman's arm. After a few moments the woman let out a slow breath and sat a little straighter. "… so what's your name?" Aura asked her.

"Kera."

"How'd you burn yourself?"

"Got a bit careless with breakfast."

"Ouch."

"…Mum?" Nik moved past Aura and climbed onto Kera's lap.

"Careful, Nikki." The man by the door warned.

"Yes, Uncle Cadan." The boy murmured.

Aura sat back on her heels. "We will have to leave that salve on for a few minutes. Then when the pain is gone enough, I'll take it off. After that I've got something that will help with the healing of the burn."

"Cadan…" Kera said softly.

"Right." Cadan moved toward Aura, "Would you like some tea, or something to drink…?"

"Sure, thanks." She nodded, "Tea would be nice." He smiled at her.

"Great. I'll be right back."

She smiled and looked back to Kera. "How is your arm? Is it numb?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll just wipe it all off." She pulled a cloth from her basket and began cleaning the salve off carefully. "And then we will use this one… Smells a bit nicer, too." She smiled again and took out a second jar.

"What's it made of?" Nik asked as she unscrewed the lid.

"Lots of things." Aura told him, scooping some out.

When she had covered Kera's burn in the ointment, she wrapped it in a clean bandage and secured it gently. Nik then climbed off his mother's lap and the woman got to her feet. "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem." Aura replied, putting her jars back in her basket.

"Uhm… I should get changed… Cadan will see you're paid…" She stepped toward the door, "Nikki, you need to get dressed, too."

The boy ran out the door and Kera followed with a smile. Aura picked up her basket and moved slowly to the door. The kitchen was right there, so she went inside. Walking toward Cadan, who had his back to her, she let out a soft breath as she cast her eyes around, remembering just where she was.

"Have a seat, Aura." He said, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Thanks." She put her basket by her feet and took up a stool by the bench he was standing at. Picking up the mug Cadan pushed toward her, she inhaled deeply. "This smells delicious."

He smiled at her. "It is. It's a special blend Kera makes."

"She's your…"

"Sister."

"Ah."

"Have you been here before?" he asked, his hand gesturing back toward the bar.

"Once." She nodded, "I came in with a friend after shopping in the market."

"How'd you find it?" He asked, his honey-brown eyes looking hopefully at her. Aura couldn't resist a small smile.

"We didn't stay long." She replied, "… But it seemed a friendly enough place."

Cadan smiled back. "Perhaps you'll come back." He said, "We do dinners of an evening."

"Oh, really?" Aura took a sip of her tea.

"From seven until nine." He told her, "Sort of opened us up to families and gives the place a more family friendly feeling."

"Nice idea, yo."

"Yeah." Cadan put a small purse of coins on the bench in front of her, "This is for you." He smiled at her again, "And if you are interested, you're welcome to come and join Kera, Nik, and I for dinner."

Aura smiled back at him. "That would be nice." She replied. Perhaps she would be able to learn something more about what went on here in relation to those meetings about ShinRa. She was having difficulty working out how it would be. Cadan seemed nice. Was he a part of the group who organised attacks on ShinRa? Was Kera? Did they know what their pub was used for? Remembering what Rufus had told her about having to take these opportunities to find out anything that would help him, she supposed that she would have to do it anyway.

When she had finished her tea, Cadan picked her basket up. "Let me walk you home?" He asked. She looked at him uncertainly and he gave a small smile, "Rumour has it that things could get pretty nasty out there today."

"Nasty for who, yo?"

"The scum that is ShinRa."

"I see." She replied. So, likely he did know what went on in his pub. "Any particular reason today is special?"

He walked her to the door before he answered, "Shinra has his scum patrolling the city. People have had enough."

"ShinRa are the reason we have a city…"

Cadan's honey eyes turned on her and he replied very carefully, "Does that mean we are to be owned? Controlled? After what they did, we need to take control back before it all happens again." He led her out onto the street. "You're clearly from under the plate. Do you ever think about how lucky you are to not have lived under Seven?"

"Of course." She replied softly. "But that wasn't…"

"Of course it was ShinRa." He waved his hand, "His Turks do all kinds of things like that. They can make it look however they want."

Aura was silent, wondering if Reno knew who had dropped the plate on Sector Seven. She looked up when Cadan's hand touched her back gently. "Sorry." He said, "It's all a bit heavy for this early in the morning. Especially as you don't even know me."

"That's fine." Aura said lightly, "You're clearly quite passionate."

"You could say that." He nodded.

"I'm out of practice." Elena muttered, playing with the condensation on her cup, her eyes focused upon her drink and not moving.

"Cheer up, Rookie." Reno said, "Tseng can sweep the floor with all of us."

"I used to be better. He used to have to work for it."

"So practice more." Reno watched her sigh. It was understandable. They could probably all use a bit of practice. It had been a while since they'd really needed to fight. Perhaps they needed to allocate more time to training once again. "I'll work with you tomorrow." He added. Elena's eyes flicked up to him.

"Thanks, Reno."

"Do I get to learn?" Aura asked, looking from one Turk to the next.

"I don't see why not…" Elena replied, "You probably should."

"You should ask Tseng for a training schedule." Rude put in. Reno nodded, wondering who Tseng would assign to teach Aura. He supposed that if he asked, it could be him. He had taught her a little back in their days under the plate, but that was before even he had had training. There were so many more things he could teach her now. Moves which would suit her size and strengths. With things as they were now, and with Aura working for ShinRa, she definitely needed to learn.

Reno finished his drink and closed his eyes, listening to the music. Tapping his hand on the table, he figured another drink couldn't hurt. Opening his eyes, he got to his feet, and headed over to the bar to try and get Tifa's attention. Once at the bar, he winked at Tifa and watched her smile in acknowledgement while still serving a group up the other end of the bar. She'd get to him in a bit. Turning around, Reno looked back toward the table, meeting Rude's eye. His friend hadn't so much as approached the bar this evening. Reno wondered just how long Rude was going to try and avoid Tifa. "Worst strategy ever." He murmured, turning back to the bar as Tifa approached him.

"Another two?" The woman asked.

"You know it, gorgeous." He grinned.

"…This is the last I'm giving you." She warned, opening two bottles. "You've had more than enough."

"What if I send Rude to get the next ones?" He asked, leaning on the bar. "Would that soften you up?" He watched as Tifa's eyes flickered toward the table his partner was sitting at and she frowned lightly.

"That would mean he'd have to come and speak to me." She replied, "I don't think he wants to."

Reno tilted his head, "But if I got him to…" He smirked at her "Would you give me another then?"

"We'll see." Tifa replied lightly, taking the money he passed her "… if you're even still able to stand on your feet."

"Challenge accepted." Reno nodded, before turning once more and carrying the two bottles back to the table, unable to help dancing to the music as he walked. Putting a bottle in front of Rude, he smirked at his friend. "You're getting the next lot, yo." Rude just picked up the bottle and took a sip wordlessly.

"Well, you two play that game." Elena said, getting to her own feet, "Aura and I are going to dance." Reno watched as the blonde woman pulled his friend onto the dance floor.

"If you want to go dance," Rude said, "You should go and do that instead of tormenting me."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Reno asked, taking a long drink.

"And people say you're not clever."

"No they don't." He chuckled. Rude glanced at him and Reno smiled winningly back at him.

Five minutes later Reno had finished his drink and Rude had done nothing but stare across the room at Tifa. Bored, the redhead got to his feet.

"Fine." He said, pushing his empty bottle away from himself. "You sit here and puss out of actually going over there… I have to dance."

"Sounds good to me." Rude replied flatly. Turning quickly, Reno strode onto the dance floor and over to Elena and Aura.

The beat was fast and energetic and Reno moved effortlessly. It had been a while since he had actually danced. Lately he had been happy to just sit and drink, but he had missed this. He had used to love dancing. In their time under the plate, he and Aura had done it a lot. Generally the clubs they had gone to were warmer than their house, and so they had spent a lot of time avoiding being at home. Watching the way Aura moved now, he knew that she hadn't forgotten. Moving toward her, he smiled when she turned to him and reached a hand out. Taking it, Reno pulled her closer and into one of their old routines. Her light laugh reached him, even over the music, and he smiled more widely.

Reno felt his blood begin to race as they danced. He grew warmer as the music surrounded them until he no longer noticed anybody else on the dance floor. There was only Aura and the music. His hands moved down to her waist, pulling her closer as he moved with her and her hands moved around and up his back. Reno bit his lip. When Aura looked up and Reno met her green eyes with his own he backed her off the dance floor, toward the edge, his hands tightening on her waist.

"What are you doing?" She breathed as Reno pressed her back against a wall. One of his hands moved up to her cheek, keeping her in position as he pressed himself firmly against her. "Reno?"

Reno's eyes moved quickly back and forth across her face as his fingers stroked her cheek. What was he doing? Stepping back from Aura, Reno lowered his hands. "I… I'm sorry." He muttered, "Aur, I'm sorry."

"…What?"

"Sorry." Turning, Reno hurried for the door. Pushing it open roughly, he took off up the street. What the fuck had he just done? He had gotten so caught up in the music, and maybe he should have listened to Tifa. He had had too much to drink. For Shiva's sake! Aura wasn't some woman he could pick up and take home when he felt like it. How could he have acted that way with her? As if she would ever want him in that way, anyway. She knew what he was now. She knew what he did.

"Reno."

He swung around wildly at his name. Rude.

"What?" he asked, turning back around and continuing up the street.

"You know her, don't you?"

"What?"

"Don't play stupid with me." Rude retorted, and Reno could hear some strange emotion in his friend's voice. "You know her. You've known her longer than you say. Before Elena introduced us." Reno glanced back at the big man. It was hurt in Rude's voice. "You lied to me."

"I'm sorry, Partner." He replied, "I had to."

"Who is she?"

"She was my life." He said, "… Before."

"I see." Rude replied, "You protected her."

"Yeah." Reno ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "What I just did… I've never done before. What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"You want her."

"I do not!" He exclaimed, "We've never had that kind of relationship."

"Things change."

"No. I'm just drunk." He muttered, "I'll apologise again in the morning. I… I'll see you tomorrow, yo." Reno turned to head up a nearby street. He needed to get home and get some rest. Having taken two steps, he turned back to Rude.

"I won't say anything." His partner told him, obviously knowing what he was about to ask.

"Thanks, Rude." He murmured, turning back to the street. He would have a lot to fix tomorrow.

Author's Note

Thanks again to those darlings leaving me encouraging reviews.

xx