Chapter 49

Lifting his feet up onto the coffee table, Reno watched Aura come back into her living room. "You feelin better, yo?" She sat lightly beside him and her hand came to rest on his knee. He smiled, trying not to move as his skull had begun to pound every time he so much as turned his head. "Do you need the extra meds Zena gave you?"

"Yeah, maybe." He murmured. Aura got straight back to her feet and went back into the kitchen. Closing his eyes, he waited. She had brought him home when they'd left the infirmary, and he had been surprised when she had insisted she bring him to her house. He had figured she would drop him at his own apartment, but Aura had said she wanted to make sure he would be okay, and that it would make more sense to take him home with her.

"Reno…" her gentle voice roused him, and Reno struggled to open his eyes. "Here…" she sat beside him again, a glass of water in one hand and pills in the other. He took the glass she passed him and quickly swallowed the painkillers. He was thankful that it was quality stuff, and that mere minutes later the throbbing had faded. "Is that better…?" she asked, and Reno nodded.

"Yeah." He turned to look at her, frowning when he saw her eyes moving across his forehead, an odd look on her face. "… is it bad?"

"Uh…. I mean… fresh stitches always look… sore…"

"I need to see…" he pushed himself up, Aura following him.

"Are you sure…?"

"Oh… It's worse than bad, is it?"

"No…"

He headed for the bathroom, with Aura still following behind him. "Ah." Reno stopped in front of the mirror, staring at himself.

"You see… not that bad, yo…" Aura met his eyes in the mirror from where she was standing just behind him.

"This a magic mirror, where you see something different to what I see?" He asked, his eyes going back to the mess that was his face. He looked at the ugly black stitches across his forehead, supposing that they would probably look better in a few days when he wasn't so swollen and sore.

"I still see you."

Reno turned and sank to sit on the edge of the bathtub. "That's because you're wonderful." He said gently. Aura moved toward him and he looked up at her as she bent over him, one of her hands coming to rest on his shoulder.

"If you want… I have something that will soothe… all of this…" she gestured at his face in general and he gave a soft laugh.

"Yeah, love." He smiled, "Hit me with it."

"That's the word choice you're going with?" she asked and Reno smiled again. "Alright, wait here…" She turned and left the bathroom, coming back a few minutes later, a small container in her hand. He sat still as she opened the container and then gently began applying the ointment to his face. "If I just put a bit here… the swelling will go down and it should feel better sooner…"

"Zena know you were gonna do this, yo?"

Aura made a face at him. "I think she's offended by the very idea of what I do."

"I won't tell her, then."

"Yeah, well… you'll be lucky if I let you leave this house before those stitches have to come out…"

"What you gonna do? Lock me up?" He grinned at her and she put the lid back on her ointment.

"Hey, if I gotta tie you down, I will, yo."

Reno's grin widened. "You promise?" he watched colour fill Aura's cheeks and she gave a small laugh.

"Oh… Well…"

"You can't go sayin' these things without meaning them…" his hand closed around a handful of her skirt as she went to step back, and he pulled her toward himself on the edge of the tub. "You gotta follow through." He looked up at her when her hands came to rest lightly on his shoulders. "I'm sorry…" he said softly, "For earlier… In the infirmary… if I pushed too hard…" He watched Aura tilt her head, looking down at him. "I'm sorry… I… I just… a lot was happening, and I didn't know if I was going to be told there was damage… I might have made poor choices…" she frowned and he shook his head, "No, I … I just mean, if I pushed too hard and made you do something you didn't want to do… I… I'm sorry if I didn't listen…"

He fell silent when Aura bent, pressing her lips to his. "No…" she replied, "I may have been hesitant at first…" she told him, her hands moving up the back of his neck into his hair, "but… it was hot." She smiled shyly, "Knowing that somebody might have walked in… kind of exciting…"

Reno gave a relieved smile, grinning up at her again. "You think so?"

The rich throaty laugh the bubbled from Aura then had his hands moving around the back of her legs, pulling her even closer to himself on the edge of the tub. "I'm not sayin' that I want to start having sex in public, yo…"

"Not even once?" he asked, unable to help himself.

"You…" she pressed a kiss to the top of his head as her arms moved around him and she leaned into him gently, "need to practice a little self-control…"

"I practice self-control every day." He told her, trying to keep his voice serious, "Can you imagine what I would be doing if I didn't?"

"Very easily."

"You love it, I know." He said, tightening his arms around her waist. She made a small squeak when he suddenly got to his feet, lifting her as he went. "Let's go sit back down somewhere comfy." He threw her over his shoulder, steadying her with a hand on her backside.

"Is there a reason I can't walk?" she asked, and he could hear the laughter in her voice.

"My legs are longer and I don't want you to get left behind." He replied, giving her a bit of a squeeze. The high pitched indignant sound she made had Reno chuckling as he carried her back into the living room. He set her gently back on her feet and grinned at her, unprepared for when she gave him a shove, sending him back into the couch. Aura bent and tossed a cushion onto his lap, looking down at him.

"You stay there, I'm going to put dinner in the oven for later."

Reno gave her the best mock bow he could manage from his position seated on the couch and watched her as she headed into the kitchen. Reaching for the remote control, he flicked the television on and settled back to watch what appeared to be an in-depth exploration of the present economy in Wutai. Maybe he would be able to learn something that he could use to annoy Tseng.

It was several minutes before Aura returned. "Get your fingers off of that." Her voice made him jump, and Reno realised that he'd reached up and was running his fingers lightly over his stitches.

"Not something I usually hear…" he replied, dropping his hand back into his lap. Aura dropped down onto the couch beside him, giving a light shrug.

"Not something I've said to you in a while…"

"When have you ever said that to me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I lived with you for years. I'm sure you've been touching something you weren't meant to before."

Reno nodded, he supposed that she was right. Grinning, he slipped an arm around Aura's shoulders, sliding his hand down her arm, lightly tracing his fingertips across her skin. "Not this though, right…?" He felt Aura lean into him and she rested her head back against his shoulder.

"Definitely." She murmured.

"Yeah?" he asked, "Are these fingers welcome?" Reno kept his eyes on the television, but he felt Aura's eyes on him. He tried hard not to smile but after a few moments, he failed. He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow, waiting for her answer. Aura rolled her eyes and let out a small huff.

"They're welcome." She told him and Reno gave her a dirty smirk, earning an elbow in the ribs. "Don't be gross."

"Aw." He pressed his lips to her temple, "You love it, I know."

"No."

"Yes."

"No…" he felt her squirm, so he tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer as she wiggled again.

"You do. You love it."

"No…"

"Yes." He kissed her cheek and felt her hands come up to push at him as she laughed. He tightened his arms around her, continuing to kiss her cheek repeatedly, and she let out a shriek, broken by another laugh as she tried to twist away. "You love it."

"No…"

Reno tried to kiss her again, but one of her hands came up to block him and he flinched when she touched one of the fresh bruises across his face. His sharp intake of breath must have caught Aura's attention as she froze and just looked up at him, wide eyed.

"I'm sorry…"

He drew a slow breath, waiting for the pain to pass and he nodded. "No worries…" Reno tightened his arm around her, drawing her closer again, and Aura shifted herself, turning and hooking a leg over him and lifting herself into his lap. He tilted his head, meeting her green gaze as she settled over him. Both of her hands came up to cup his face carefully as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Aur."

"They'll be gone by morning…" she said gently, her eyes moving back and forth across his face. Reno nodded, remembering the ointment she'd given him in the past to deal with bruises. The stuff was effective. It wouldn't do much for the stitches, however. He smiled lazily when she leaned closer, one of her thumbs tracing his jaw slowly. Reno took hold of her hips, squeezing gently as Aura brought her lips to within a hair's breadth of his. He could feel the heat of her, so close, and his breath caught as he waited for her to close the distance as he struggled to remain still and not do it himself. "… Why are you watching a program on the economy of Wutai?"

Reno blinked and Aura sat back, raising an eyebrow at him. He glanced at the television to see a panning shot of mountainous forests and he gave a half shrug. "Educational…" Looking back to Aura he watched her smirk at him.

"Imagine you," she said, shifting to the side, lifting herself off him and falling beside him on the couch. "if you'd been raised and educated above the plate…"

"Nah." Reno wrapped an arm around her shoulders again, tucking her into his side. "I'd be some stuffy twat who sits in an office all day and never does anything fun."

"Not you." She murmured, making herself comfortable against him. "That would never be you." Reno gave a small smile, running his hand slowly up and down Aura's arm as they both turned their attention to the television. He had no idea just how he would have ended up if things had been different, but he knew that if he was given the option to change things, he wouldn't take it. He liked everything just the way it was.