Chapter 59

Aura hurried down the hallway, trying to hold in the laughter she felt bubbling inside of her. She could not believe what she had just seen. Never in a million years would Aura have expected either Tseng or Elena to be performing sexual acts in such a public space. Tseng seemed too straight-laced by far, and she had never really thought Elena would be quite like that. Zena, sure, but not Elena. It was thoroughly hilarious, and as Aura reached the end of the hallway and was out of earshot of the infirmary, she allowed the laughter out. Coming around the corner, she was giggling loudly when she collided with Reno. He caught her before she fell, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her.

"Hey, Sweetheart…" he grinned, spinning her around several times. "Where are you going in such a hurry…"

"Reno…" she grinned, "Oh… You will never guess what I just saw…"

"What?" he asked, chuckling. "What's so funny, yo?"

"I am pretty certain, like ninety-five percent certain, that Elena just blew Tseng in the infirmary."

Reno's jaw dropped. "What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah…" she watched him look up the hallway, toward the infirmary, his eyes alight with something between amusement and joy.

"Well, well..." He took a few steps in that direction before Aura seized his wrist, pulling him back.

"No, you can't go and have a look. Leave them alone."

"Oh, but…" he looked down at her, "…I…"

"Leave them." She grinned at him, "Besides, I have something for you… Come on…"

"What is it?" he asked, following along, and the curiosity in his voice was evident. "Will I like it…?"

"I should hope so, yo."

Aura led him to her work room and over to the bag she'd set on a chair by the window. She grinned at the way Reno hovered by her shoulder, trying to see what she was doing. He had always been like a child with surprises. With another grin, Aura closed her hand over what she had been looking for and then turned to face him, her hand behind her back. Looking down at her, Reno was obviously trying to be patient as he stood, his own hands behind his back as he failed to remain still. "Whatcha got?" he asked, a wide smile on his face.

"You have to promise to use this responsibly." She told him, trying to keep her voice serious.

"You know me." He replied, "Always…"

"Yeah, alright…" Aura smiled and brought her hand around, opening it, palm up, in front of him. Reno tilted his head. "I thought that you should probably … you might want… need… to get in when I'm not there…" She fell silent. She'd rehearsed what she would say all morning in preparation for this, but now she'd forgotten everything. Looking silently at the key in her hand, Aura just waited for Reno to speak.

"This… is… to your house?" He slowly, gently, took the key from her hand and Aura nodded, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Seems silly…" she said, "We lived together for years… It's not a big deal…"

"No…" Reno's voice was soft as he closed his hand over the key. "You've had your own space for years… Letting me into it is a big deal." He slipped the key into one of his pockets and then wrapped an arm around Aura's shoulders. She stepped into him and felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you."

Leaning into him, Aura drew and released several slow breaths. "I like the idea," she murmured, "of you being able to come and go of your own accord."

"Me too." He replied, "I'll have a key to my apartment cut for you."

"Alright." She smiled, looking up at him.

Letting her go, Reno stepped back, his fingers tracing her cheek for a moment. "Do you think Elena and Tseng are done fucking?" he asked, and Aura made a face. "I've got to talk to him about some things."

"I mean, they looked pretty done before…" she turned and began gathering jars from her work bench.

"Well, good. I hope so."

"No, you don't." Aura grinned at him over her shoulder. "You'd love to walk in on them."

She heard Reno chuckle. "I could use that to annoy Tseng until the end of time."

"Elena would rip your face off."

"She could try."

"Well, off you go, then." She bent to open a cupboard. She heard him laugh again as he headed for the door.

"See you later." He called and she just nodded.

Reno grinned at Tseng. The redhead stood at the end of the hospital bed, just looking at his superior who had raised an eyebrow and was regarding him with an unamused expression.

"Yes, Reno?"

"How you doin, yo?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll bet you are."

"What does that mean, Reno?"

"Zena is a good doctor?" Reno replied evasively. "I'm sure you'll be up and at 'em in no time."

Tseng just raised an eyebrow at Reno. "… have you come to report to me?"

"Well, I haven't come to suck your dick, yo." Reno grinned, reaching into his pocket and taking out the key and button he had found earlier. He watched Tseng turn a variety of colours before setting on an irritated shade of blush. Not giving the other man a chance to respond, he went on. "I went to check out the recruitment centre, just to see if there was anything there we could use and I found these." He passed the key and button to Tseng. "Any idea what that key might be to?"

"It… looks like one of the old keys to the ShinRa warehouses the President gave Kylegate access to…" Tseng frowned.

"To build Edge?" Reno shook his head, "Why would they… You don't think they're using our own warehouses against us?"

"Stealing whatever we left in there…"

"We changed the passcodes a dozen times…" Reno frowned.

"And then we left them unguarded." Tseng passed him the key back. "They've had plenty of time for someone clever enough to hack the system… if they had a key as well, it would have been easier."

"Great." Reno muttered, "Then we should've been checking what's left of Midgar too."

"It doesn't matter." Tseng told him, "It doesn't matter what they've had access to or where they hide. We only need to be able to stop them. That means locating their base, and wiping it out. The shipment from Junon. As soon as we have more info, that needs to be taken care of."

Reno nodded. "It will be."

Tseng let out a soft sigh and Reno watched him try to straighten himself up in the bed. "Was there anything else happening today that I should be aware of?"

"Nah." Reno gestured at the button Tseng still held.

"I don't know." The man answered, frowning at it. "Looks as if it's from a generic labourer uniform…"

"Like… someone helping build the city?"

"Likely."

"Makes sense." Reno leaned against the chair by Tseng's bed. "But, nah. Nothin' has really happened today. At least, outside the infirmary." He smirked at the other man, and watched as Tseng tried his best to ignore the comment. "Elena said that you didn't remember anything…" Reno grinned at the confused look on Tseng's face, "…about the attack."

"Yeah." The man agreed, "Zena tells me it may come back."

"There might not be anything to come back." Reno replied, "Rude just says they were suddenly there…"

Reno watched Tseng give a resigned nod. "I suspect that may be the case."

Running his hand through his hair, Reno gave a shrug and stood straight again. "Right, well, I'll finish things up for the day." Tseng nodded again, looking tired. "Get some rest, Boss."