Chapter 27

It was nearing ten when Reno returned to Healen Lodge. He had stayed with Aura all afternoon while she cried, and then until she had gone to bed and fallen asleep. Once he had been satisfied that she was settled for the night, he had headed back to the lodge. As he headed for Rufus' office, Reno stopped by his desk. A quick glance around the place told him what he had already suspected; the others had gone home for the night. He knew that Rufus would still be in his office though, the man rarely left anymore. Reno took his gun from his desk and strode swiftly up the hallway. He didn't so much as knock as he opened the door and stalked inside, raising the gun as he went until it was levelled at his boss.

"And just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Rufus' voice was flat as he looked up from the file sitting before him. Reno moved forward, his gun aimed at Rufus' head. "You're going to shoot me, are you?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Reno asked, rage and loathing roiling within him.

"Because you're meant to protect me, not kill me."

Reno didn't have a response for that, he just stared at the man looking at him.

"I thought you were loyal, Reno."

"I was!" Reno snarled, his hands now shaking in anger.

"Not to me, apparently."

"I never once betrayed ShinRa!" he snapped, "Or you! I loved you. I would have died for you, yo!"

"You lied to me." Rufus snarled his own reply. "You were meant to give ShinRa your entire loyalty. You cannot do that when you lie and keep secrets." Rufus slapped his hand down on his desk. "While you have interest elsewhere, you're compromised."

"No." Reno retorted. "I was loyal. All I did was use what I had to pay for somewhere for Aura to live. To give her money for food so she could survive. That never once impacted upon my ability to do my job!"

"You handle highly sensitive information, Reno! For all I know she could have been feeding everything she learned to the very people who are now trying to kill us."

"She never had anything to do with any of it!" Reno cried, "She never even knew what I did! She didn't know I was a Turk until Hugo Barron… and that was because she was there!" He took several steps closer. "I never even went to her house in uniform! I kept everything separate! All I did was keep her alive and safe!" He couldn't stop his voice from getting louder. "It was always just to keep her safe!" he tried to calm down. "The two worlds never crossed, Rufus."

"I saw you the other day." His boss replied, "When Elena was hurt, and you were trying to get me out of the crowd. You were looking for her. You weren't focused." Reno stared at him. "Split loyalty is not good enough!" Rufus said, anger clear across his face.

"That…" Reno tried to choke the words out, "does not give you the right to do what you did." Rufus just looked back at him. "Your issue was with me."

"I think I made my point." Rufus replied, flipping the file on his desk closed. "You think you can keep secrets from me? Keep things hidden? You can't. You belong to me. Everything you have belongs to me."

"Not. Her." Reno lifted the gun a little higher, making sure his aim was still on target. Rufus narrowed his eyes.

"Did I spoil your little toy?"

"That is not what she is." Reno growled, "She has never been that."

"Then what is she?" Rufus asked, leaning back in his chair nonchalantly. Reno let out a slow breath and Rufus tilted his head. "Are you in love with her?"

"Yes…" The answer fell from his lips before Reno had made the decision to even respond. He saw Rufus sit a little bit straighter, his eyes narrow as he evidently tried to revaluate the situation. "How…" Reno breathed, staring at the man before him, "could you do that, knowing what we went through…?"

"Reno," Rufus began, hesitation in his voice. "You can't hide something like this from me for years and then, when I piece bits together, expect me to know details."

"So that's what you did then?" Reno spat, "You knew you didn't have all the information, and you still raped her?" He watched Rufus flinch.

"I didn't."

"You did." Reno was at the desk now, the gun only a few feet from Rufus' face.

"I gave her the choice." His voice was calm, but Reno could see the concern in his boss' eyes. "She chose. Agreed."

Reno snarled. "That's not a choice and you know it." After a moment Rufus nodded.

"I was unaware." He said softly, "Of the extent of your relationship with the girl. Of your past. I had assumed that she was merely a connection that you had refused to sever… for whatever reason…"

Reno narrowed his own eyes, looking at Rufus who met his gaze, "I… sought to… remind you who you answer to."

"It was a power play. I know that." Reno growled. "But you didn't have to do that. Everything is different now. She works for you. There's no reason… she's not your enemy…."

"I didn't do it to hurt her." Rufus replied, "In fact I was careful not to. I did it to hurt you."

"I'm aware."

Rufus inclined his head. "I won't touch her again."

"What makes you think I'm not just going to shoot you in the face, yo?"

"Because…" Rufus leaned back in his chair once more, steepling his fingers. "You like working for me. Especially now. Things are different, and I think that you like it. You want to make amends for what we did, and finding this cure… helping the people in this city, you want to keep doing it and the best place for you to do that is here. It's the same reason I'm betting that will make Aura walk back through those doors tomorrow."

Reno lowered the gun, forcing himself to release his breath slowly. Rufus was right, he did like it. He liked his job, he liked those he worked with, and he liked the difference they were able to make, especially recently.

"The girl was a virgin…"

Reno stared at his boss. "Yes."

"I'm curious," Rufus pressed on, "Why had you never fucked her?"

Reno's hand twitched around the gun, and for a moment he considered shooting Rufus in the face. "Because," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, "Where we're from, it's a rare thing, getting to choose if, when, and where you want to fuck someone… or not…"he couldn't keep the sneer off of his face, "All these years I've done whatever I could to ensure that she had that choice, that she got to choose who she would be with… Until you…"

"Did you hope she would choose you?"

Reno was spared having to answer that as the phone on Rufus' desk suddenly went off. The president hit the speaker button. "What?"

"Sir, Elena is awake." Zena's voice rang out, and Reno felt relief wash through him.

Rufus got to his feet, and then looked expectantly at Reno. "So, are you going to shoot me, or can we go and see Elena?"

Reno walked with Rufus up to the infirmary. They entered the room to see Elena sitting up in her bed, while Zena moved around checking on this or that.

"Hi…" Elena smiled when they approached the bed.

"Elena, how do you feel?" Rufus asked, and Reno flicked a glance at the man, trying to discern if the concern he heard was genuine. He supposed it was.

"I feel okay…" Elena replied, then looking at Reno, "I would have thought everyone would be at home…"

"Just had some stuff to work out, Laney." Reno told her with a smile., "Good timing too, or you would have had no visitors, yo."

"Is…" Elena's gaze flicked around the room before returning to Reno. "Is Tseng still here?"

Reno shook his head. "Think he's gone for the night, Laney." He told her gently, and then upon seeing her face, he continued, "He was here a lot though… spent most of yesterday in here and everything."

"I did have to tell him to spend more time at his own desk." Rufus put in, and Reno looked at him in surprise. "I have no doubt you'll see him first thing in the morning, Elena. He will want to see you healthy and ready to go back on patrol as soon as possible."

"When… will that be?" Elena's attention turned to Zena who had come to stand by Reno, a little too close for his liking.

"At least a week…" Zena replied, shaking her head. "I want that wound healed properly before you go ripping it open…"

"A week…" Elena practically moaned, "Surely we…"

"We have no materia." Zena sighed, "You'll just have to deal with it."

Elena huffed and Reno smiled. Out of all of them, Elena was probably the worst patient. "Those are pretty…" He watched her gesture at a vase of flowers by the bed. "Who brought them in?"

"I don't…" Reno shook his head, but Zena answered.

"Aura put them there for you this morning." The doctor told Elena, "For "something nice to look at" when you woke up."

"That's sweet…" Elena's eyes met Reno's gaze and she smiled at him

"Well, Elena…" Rufus put in, stepping back from the bed. "I suppose we should let you get some more rest. I shall check in on you again come morning."

"Yes, sir." Elena murmured, leaning back against her pillows.

"Night, Laney." Reno reached out and lightly touched her shoulder before turning and following Rufus out the door. "Does Zena stay overnight when she has a patient?" Reno asked his boss as they headed back downstairs.

"Every time." Rufus replied, and Reno nodded. He hadn't really noticed before.

They had just reached the hallway to Rufus' office, and Reno was about to stop by his desk to pick up his jacket when Rufus had grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the nearby wall. Reno stared at him, eyes wide. He knew that he could have Rufus off of him in a heartbeat, but he figured that might have been a bad move. His boss snarled at him now, his face only inches from Reno's own.

"Don't you fucking dare point a gun at me ever again…"

Reno met Rufus' cold gaze, and the fury there actually made him shiver. "Yes, sir." He murmured. Rufus squeezed, and Reno struggled not to choke.

"Don't you forget who I am."

"No, sir." He fought to get the words out, already going slightly light headed.

Rufus dropped his hand from around Reno's throat and took a step back, straightening his own jacket and smoothing himself out. "I'll not touch her again." He told him, and Reno nodded slowly. "If you're good." He clarified. "Do you understand, Reno?"

"I do." Reno massaged his throat.

"I meant what I said." Rufus added, "If you lie to me, I'll have her killed." He met Reno's eyes with his steely gaze, "After I fuck her again." Reno forced himself to draw a slow breath, and Rufus began to turn away. "Go home. I expect to see you on time in the morning."

Reno watched as Rufus walked away, closing the door to his office once he had passed through. Then, with a sigh, Reno pushed himself off the wall, picked up his jacket and headed home himself. He couldn't remember a longer or more fucked up day in years.