Chapter 18

Reno couldn't calm down. He'd known that this would happen. Having Aura working for ShinRa and perfectly safe had obviously been too good to be true. It was utterly ridiculous what Rufus wanted her to do. She only had to be spotted heading to the Lodge one morning to be found out. They would know she worked for ShinRa and then she'd be killed. Uniform or not. Snarling as he paced up and down the path in the sunshine, he tried to work out what to do.

He could tell Aura to not do it. Disobeying Rufus would have consequences though, likely for both of them, but Aura would be safer. At least from the scum in the Wandering Weapons. She wouldn't be safe from Rufus. He could go back in there right now and demand his boss come up with a different plan. He could do that, but it would likely result in a bullet between his eyes. He knew that Rufus often tolerated his outbursts because he still got the job done reliably. He also knew that he had pushed the man earlier. He wouldn't be tolerated again on this subject. Tseng. He could go to Tseng. What would the older man do? Tell him that orders were orders and that they were to be followed? Rubbing his hands through his hair in frustration, Reno headed back inside. He would talk to the others, surely someone would come up with something.

By the end of the day, however, he had nothing. Nothing, besides talking to Aura about it to make sure she understood exactly what was at stake here.

"You're underestimating her." Rude told him as they both headed for the doors, ready to go home. "She's quite clever."

"I know she's clever." Reno retorted, "She's the one who taught me how to read."

"Consider the possibility that she can do it."

"I have." He replied, "But the more pressing issue is the possibility and consequences of her not."

Rude nodded and pulled his jacket on in the cool evening air. "Just talk to her."

"I plan to." Reno muttered, looking behind them to see who had just come out the door. He came to a stop when he saw that it was Elena. He would have to wait for Aura.

"She's coming." Elena told him on her way past before catching up with Rude and heading up the street with him, leaving Reno behind. He watched them go, rubbing his hands over his jacket as he tried to resist fidgeting.

He saw her falter when she came out the door and saw him waiting for her. "I wondered where you had gotten to earlier." She said, moving to meet him.

"Just needed to think," He replied as they began up the street together.

"You really pissed Rufus off…"

"He'll get over it." He replied, "He always does."

"Ah."

They walked in silence for a while, and Reno knew that Aura was waiting for him to voice what he wanted to say. "You know I'm concerned…"

"Yes."

"Right, well… I think that you should stay away from that Cadan guy."

"I have to find out what I can."

"That's the thing," Reno sighed, "Rufus wants you to do that because you have an in. Because you're buddies with the guy. You spend time there. If you didn't, he'd have nothing to expect from you."

"You think I can't handle this."

"Aur, this has nothing to do with what I think you can handle." He ran a hand through his hair. It had more to do with what he could handle, and he definitely couldn't handle her being killed.

"It's really not that hard, Reno." She replied, "It's not like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not and suddenly my secret identity is gonna slip out."

"You work for ShinRa."

"That's one aspect. Cadan knows I'm an Apothecary. He knows I lived under the plate before… It's not like I turn up for meeting trying to sus stuff out, yo. I just happen to be there and they're comfortable talking in front of me. I literally don't have to do anything."

"You're being dismissive…"

She sighed and he cast a glance at her from the corner of his eye. "You think?"

"Aur, I'm not tryin to fight with you." He really wasn't. They never used to fight, and he didn't like that they were fighting a lot lately. "Just… is it a big deal for you to not spend time with him?"

"Yes." She replied and he frowned, "Because I feel useful."

"You are useful, you always have been."

"This could make a difference." She said, then cut him off before he could interject and tell her that she made a difference with what she was already doing, "Look, Reno." She told him, "If you were me, what would you do?"

"Not hang out with creepy bar-guy."

"You would." She said, shoving him lightly, "Because you would have to try and help protect people you care about." He looked down at her and she raised her eyebrows at him, "You know I'm right, yo."

She was. He knew that. He knew that there was no way he wouldn't be doing everything he could to get information that could protect people he cared about. He wasn't Aura, though, and she certainly didn't need to be spending time with that Cadan prick. "I just want you to be careful…" he said gently.

Aura gave Cadan a glass of wine. She sat down, eyeing him warily. She had thought a lot about her discussion with Reno the previous evening as they had walked home. She knew that he was worried about her, but she was so close to being trusted by Cadan. He would tell her something she could take to Rufus, she knew it.

"I'm glad you invited me over." Cadan told her, smiling. She nodded. She had been thinking all day about it. Perhaps he would feel more free to talk to her here than at his pub. It would also definitely help him feel like he knew her better.

"Me too." She smiled, sipping from her own glass. "It's quieter here."

"Is this where you make your stuff?" He asked, looking around.

"Well, not in the living room." She replied, "But yeah.

"Do you sell at markets?"

"Not a lot." She told him, "Mainly people come to me when they have a need…"

"So what do you do in your free time?"

"Experiment." She gave a light shrug, "Try and work out new things…"

"You hear about the cure coming out of Junon?" He asked, draining half his glass.

"I heard talk," She replied, "You think it's real?"

"People have been going missing in Junon." He said slowly, "Reckon this 'cure' is just something that ShinRa have released to get rid of the people with the Stigma."

"Why would they do that?" Aura asked, resisting a frown. She knew outright that he was wrong.

"The Stigma appears to vanish, they'll look better, won't they?"

"Only if they fixed it…" She said, leaning back in her chair, "So, lemme get this straight, yo… People are saying that ShinRa released this fake cure for Geostigma, that actually kills the people it's given to… to make it look like the disease is vanishing…?"

"That's a theory." Cadan replied.

"Why not in Edge?"

"Who knows." He said, "Maybe it's coming."

Aura sipped slowly at her wine, wondering if Cadan actually realised how ridiculous that sounded. As if Rufus ShinRa would put that much into an elaborate scheme like that; that literally resulted in him getting nothing. It was actually pointless. "That's… intricate."

"People have had enough." He told her, "We've got to do something before it gets further out of hand. It's only a matter of time before the people of Edge start vanishing. I mean, Shinra is living here…"

Aura just about jumped when there was a loud pounding on her door. She jumped up and went to answer it. Reno stood on her doorstep in the swiftly fading light. He staggered forward, one shoulder hunched and she knew he'd been fighting. The way he was holding himself told her that he was hurt. "What happened?" she breathed, but he didn't reply. He'd frozen the second he'd seen Cadan sitting on her couch.

"Seriously?" he turned to look at her, but she'd pulled his jacket aside, looking for indication of wounds. "Aur…" He caught her hands, holding her still.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking up at him. She couldn't see any blood, but his face told her something was wrong. "I'll get something to clean you up with…" She hurried into the kitchen.

"You have a bit of trouble?" She heard Cadan ask.

"Just had a bit of an accident." Reno replied, barely a heartbeat later.

"Ah, Aura will have you patched up in no time."

"-I know." Reno's voice was hard now, and Aura quickly grabbed a few wipes and hurried back out to him.

Reno sat on the edge of a couch as Aura came back to stand before him. He just looked up at her silently as she applied a damp cloth to his cheek, wiping gingerly. Why was that prick here? He couldn't even tell her what had happened and he was lucky that he'd tossed away his wrecked suit jacket before coming. She asked him again what had happened, but he couldn't exactly tell her that one of Cadan's fancy new mobs had jumped him in the street, and that he'd had to fight off about six of them before he'd been able to get away.

"Was just a bit careless." He murmured, his gaze flicking in Cadan's direction. Aura understood then. He watched realisation flood her eyes and she nodded, folding the cloth and starting again with a clean bit.

"Well," She said softly, "From what I can see, your face is the only thing bleeding…"

"Yeah, that's the worst of it." He told her. He hadn't been stabbed or shot, thank Shiva. He would bruise pretty nicely, though. He'd just bet his face was going to look all kind of excellent in a few days. "I'll just be pretty colourful…"

"I actually have something that can minimise bruising… I'll see if I can find it…" She turned and hurried off into her kitchen again and Reno turned his eyes on Cadan.

"So…" The man said, slinging an arm over the back of the couch.

"Having dinner?" Reno asked blandly.

"Just a bit…" Cadan smirked, "Bit of wine…" He gestured at Aura's half empty glass on the table, "Perhaps a bit more."

Reno tilted his head, his eyes going from the glass to Cadan and back again. What was this moron saying? That he was going to get Aura drunk?

"Probably gonna take more than that, yo."

"I don't think so." Cadan smirked again and Reno bit back a snarl, "Been laying this groundwork for a while. First time she's invited me back here. I've got a feeling that you should clear out as soon as she's given you whatever it is she's gone to find…"

"You fuckin what?" Reno had gotten to his feet just as Aura came back with a tub in hand.

"Here." She said, pressing it into his hands. "Put this on after you shower. Leave it on overnight. You'll have barely any bruising." Reno still hadn't taken his eyes off of Cadan who was still smirking at him. "Reno…" He looked down at her.

"We have to talk." He said.

"We'll talk tomorrow." She replied, glancing over her shoulder.

"It's kind of important…" He pressed.

"So is what I'm doing." She said, frowning at him. He frowned back, flicking a glance at Cadan.

"You can't be serious…" He growled.

"Reno, you don't know what…" She folded her arms and he moved away.

"I do." He said, "I know you're making a stupid decision…"

She huffed and he turned away. "I'm not doing this right now. Can you just go?"

"Yeah." He snapped, moving for the door.

"I'll see you later."

"Maybe." He slammed the door behind himself and stalked down the street. She had actually just chosen that guy over him. He had gone to her for help after nearly being killed, okay so he totally took the lot of them and came away with only bruises and a single scratch, and she had chosen that creep over him. Yes, she had checked him over and given him what he needed, but then she had literally told him to go. So she could be alone with that piece of shit. She had never told him to leave before. Not once. Ever.

Reno clenched his fists as he headed for his flat. She didn't want him. Did she really prefer Cadan? What did that guy have? A bar? So what? Sure, he probably didn't have blood on his hands. Not yet, anyway. But what did they have in common? Nothing. The thought of that creep touching Aura just about set his blood on fire. How could she have sent him away? She didn't want him? Fine. He would find someone who did.

After a quick shower to wash the day and the dirt away, Reno headed for 7th Heaven. He sat at first with Elena and Rude, nursing the hardest drink he'd been able to get, waiting for the anger to leave him. But it didn't. He couldn't calm down.

Hadn't he always protected her? He had done everything he could to keep her from harm all these years. Nobody had hurt her since that night they'd met. He hadn't allowed it. He had kept her safe. He had found her a place to live. He'd kept her fed. He had done everything. Still, she had told him to leave. He couldn't believe it. Every time he heard those words over in his mind he felt like he'd been stabbed in the chest. She had sent him away. To be with Cadan. Reno couldn't help the snarl that escaped him at that thought.

Two could play at that game. He turned in his seat, his eyes scanning the room. Getting to his feet, he stalked toward Zena. Closing his fingers tightly around her wrist, he pulled her off the dancefloor. Ignoring Tifa's protests from behind the bar, he dragged the blonde woman out the back, hanging his leather jacket on the handle and halfheartedly kicking the door closed behind himself. "You're in a fun mood tonight…" Zena laughed.

"Shut up." He replied, pushing her back up against a wall and pulling her shirt open. She gave a startled laugh and removed the last button. Reno had already moved on, his hands dragging her skirt up her thighs as he pushed his knee between her legs. She widened them instantly and he quickly undid his pants before bending to lift her to himself. She wrapped her legs around his waist without hesitation.

"You're in a hu-" Reno clamped a hand over her mouth, silencing her as he quickly thrust into her. She gave a surprised cry, but it was also muffled by the hand which he kept clamped tightly across her mouth. He didn't want to hear her. With one hand keeping her quiet, and the other holding her weight, Reno lost himself in his rhythm; thrusting repeatedly into her with steadily growing force. When one of Zena's hands raked down his back he pressed her back against the wall painfully, his fingers digging into her flesh as he thrust roughly, the sounds he was making the only thing reaching his ears as they echoed around the room. They sounded animalistic even to him.