Chapter 42

As the sunlight filtered through Reno's blinds and across the bottom of his bed, Reno let his eyes move over Aura lying beside him. He let his gaze trail down her neck and across her back and shoulders. In the morning light he could see the darkening bruises showing up across her pale skin, and he could easily make out every place that Cadan had kicked her. The light sheet he had pulled over them during the night sat now around Aura's hips and he couldn't help himself as he lay there, eyes moving over the graceful curve of her neck. Softly, Reno shifted to press a gentle kiss to her shoulder, and she pressed back against him in response. Carefully, he wrapped his arm around her, drawing her back more firmly against himself and he brought his lips to her throat.

"Sleep well?" he murmured against her skin.

"Yes…"

"Good." He breathed, allowing his fingers to lightly trail her skin, tracing her ribs and the planes of her stomach, keeping his touch featherlight to avoid hurting her. He felt her settle more comfortably against him, making no move to shift away or get up for the day, and Reno couldn't help but marvel at how different this was. "I've never had you in my bed before…" he said softly.

"Course you have, yo." She replied, her voice barely more than a whisper. "The night we met."

Reno thought about it. They'd shared a bed countless times over the years. He'd stayed with her a lot recently, and back on the street sometimes they'd only had the one bed, but it had belonged to the both of them. It had never just been his, and when he had had his own, he'd never had Aura in it. Except that first night.

"That was a little different…" he said, and it had been.

Reno had barely slept all night. He'd kept his arms around Aura, waiting for her to stop shuddering as the dirty mako worked its way through her system. Slowly she had warmed up and he had been able to push aside the jacket and one of the blankets he had draped over her. He hadn't let her go, however. He had gone to release her at one point, but as he'd moved away, her hands had tightened on his arms and he had stopped moving. If she had somehow managed to get some proper rest, then he had not really wanted to disturb her.

The morning light had feebly filtered into the shack, pale and grey and Reno had watched the faint shadows appear on the wall while he waited for her to awaken. He had not wanted to startle her, and so he had lain where he had been all night, and just waited. In the pale light, Reno had looked her over. What he had been able to see anyway. Her thick dark hair was more than a little tangled, and her skin was practically transparent. He could tell she had been living on the street, but something about her suggested that maybe that had not always been the case. He could tell, with his arm around her waist, that she was incredibly thin and probably eating less frequently than he was, and he wondered how much longer she would be able to last if nobody grabbed her again.

Eventually she shifted and Reno let her go. Instead of sitting up, she rolled to face him and Reno froze when those wide green eyes looked at him.

"You saved me…"

"I… guess I kinda did, yo."

"Reno…"

He blinked, "You remember…" He watched her frown lightly and then give a small shrug.

"Not all of it… but I remember you." She continued to look at him. "I know that you carried me here and that you took care of me." He didn't know what to say and so just nodded. "Why did you help me?" she asked, "Nobody helps anyone down here…"

"I…" Reno shook his head, "It was just wrong… what those two bastards were doing."

"They tried to turn me into a Mako Whore."

"Yes…"

"And they injected me with…"

"Dirty Mako." He finished for her when she looked confused.

"Oh…" Reno watched panic build behind her eyes before tears welled and fell. "Am I going to be addicted to it? I can't… I don't want…" sobs choked her and she just cried.

"No… No… Aura…" When he couldn't get her to stop crying, Reno bit his lip, not knowing what to do. Eventually he just wrapped his arms around her again and rubbed her back until she had cried herself out. "You're okay." He told her, "You're going to be fine."

"No, I'm not." She breathed, eventually looking at him again and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You're not from here, are you?" he asked softly. She shook her head. "How long?"

"Long enough." She murmured, "Since my dad died…" she looked away. "I knew that people would come, knowing he was gone… so I left first."

He understood that. Looters never waited for the body to even be cold around here before they moved in. If she'd been alone in the house with her father when he'd died, and she hadn't left, chances were she would have been a Mako Whore long before those two shits had found her last night. "So you're on your own?"

"Yes."

Reno watched as her eyes widened and she wondered if she should have told him that. She shouldn't have. It was clear she knew next to nothing about surviving in a place like this. He didn't remember making the decision, and he had no idea why he said it, but the words were out before they'd even registered in his mind. "You can stay with me if you want, yo."

"…really?" Her eyes moved around the little shack that he was calling home for the time being and then she was looking at him. Reno didn't think that anybody had looked at him that intently in his entire life, but it appeared as if Aura were looking right through him. After a few moments she nodded. "Alright…"

Reno ran his hand down Aura's side as he let the memory wash over him. They had spent the rest of that first day looking for things they would need to make the place habitable for two people, and had been lucky enough to score a flimsy little mattress they'd been able to lay beside Reno's own. He was pretty certain however, that until last night, they had never again shared a bed that had only been his.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Do you remember that first morning together?" he asked, "When you woke up after the Mako?"

"Yes…" Aura turned in his arms to look at him.

"You remembered my name."

She smiled wryly at him. "I thought you were hot." She said, "At first with the Mako… but even then after… so I remembered your name."

"I mean, I was a pretty fine lookin guy…" He grinned at her.

"Mm… Shame you got all old and decrepit…"

"Hey…" He tightened his arms around her waist to pull her closer but then she'd hissed in pain and he'd released her instantly. "Aur… I'm sorry…" he brought a gentle hand to her cheek. "Aur…"

"It's okay." She breathed, her hand sliding up to his shoulder. "It's just a bruise."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to get that confirmed…" He pressed a kiss to her forehead, "We should go to Healen."

"As long as we can come back later…"

"That is definitely a deal." His traced his fingers down her cheek to her throat. In the brighter light he could clearly make out the fingerprint bruises around her throat and what appeared to be rope burn. "What's this?" he asked, his voice low. Aura raised a hand, indicating the same red raw skin around her wrist. "He wrapped… rope… around your neck…"

Aura's eyes slid from his and she moved to sit up. "I tried to jump him." She said, actually looking pleased with herself.. "But… he won…" her watched her fingers ghost lightly across the red skin. "Wrapped that tether he had attached to me around my neck…"

Reno shook his head, feeling his blood heat. "I'm going to kill him." Aura fixed him with her green eyes, and he wondered if she would have a problem with that. She didn't say anything however, and after a moment he sat up with her. "We should get you checked by a doctor."

"If you insist." She replied and he nodded simply.

"I do, yo."