Chapter 66

It was still raining when Reno awoke in the morning. That was the first thing he noticed, the soft pattering of the raindrops on his windows. The second was the warmth of Aura beside him, and he rolled slightly toward her, his hand grazing lightly across the soft smooth skin of her back. Smiling as she made a soft sound, Reno shifted closer as he lifted the sheet and pulled it up to cover her more completely. She shifted again and the sheet slid down exposing her skin once more. Reno pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, his hand gently smoothing Aura's hair back as he peered over her shoulder at her face. Aura's eyes were still closed and he listened for a moment to her even breathing before he wrapped an arm low around her waist and cuddled up behind her, enjoying the warmth and comfort of having her close.

He thought again about the time he'd taken her to first see those storms at the edge of the plate, and how he had enjoyed having time alone with her without restrictions or other things pulling at his attention and time. Sweeping Aura's hair carefully aside, Reno pressed his lips to the back of her neck. He would have to take her somewhere again. Somewhere nobody would find them, where they could be alone with nowhere they had to be and nobody coming to interrupt them.

Glancing at his clock, Reno was pleased to see that it wasn't yet eight in the morning, and he still had time to lay here with Aura in his arms. Perhaps he would tell Rufus that he needed some time off. It would definitely have to wait until the man was in a good enough mood to agree to it, but his boss had always been pretty good about things like that. That was before, however. Rufus didn't really have staff to spare these days. Especially with everything going on around Edge.

When Aura shifted back into him, Reno pressed his face into her hair. He could feel her arse pressed up against him and knew that he was growing hard. "Aur…" he murmured into her hair, one of his hands moving under the sheet and down her side, over her soft skin. "Aura…" his hand slid around and down between her legs as he pressed more firmly up against her from behind. She hummed softly and Reno used his fingers to try and draw further sounds from her. Aura hummed again pressing more firmly back into him, and Reno slid his other hand carefully down between them to take hold of himself. Carefully, he adjusted himself so that he could rub against her, and his hips began to move of their own accord. He wasn't about to fuck her while she was asleep, however. He needed her awake. Biting his lip as he continued to move against her, Reno tried to look at her face. "Aur… Wake up…" he pressed a kiss to her cheek, trying to rouse her.

Aura shifted, warm and comfortable. She went to stretch, but found herself somehow restricted, and opened her eyes to find out what was going on. Trying to stretch again, she found Reno's arms around her, holding her tightly to himself, and she could feel him hard against her backside as he moved slowly against her. "Wake up…" he murmured in her ear, and Aura blinked several times, trying to catch up with what was happening. "Wake up…" she felt his lips against her cheek.

"Mmm…" Aura turned her head to try and look over her shoulder at Reno, "What…?"

"You're awake?" She could hear the smile in his voice, and his hands shifted to her hips.

"Hmm?" Before Aura was even aware of the movement, she found herself on her back with Reno's weight pressing down on top of her.

"Don't have to leave for a while yet…" his lips were at her ear again and then she felt his hands on her thighs as he moved between them. Aura blinked, suddenly very awake.

"Oh…"

She felt him shift a hand between them as he adjusted himself and she barely had a moment to draw a steadying breath before he'd pushed into her. Aura bit back a startled gasp, hands seizing handfuls of the sheets around them. "Wish… you were… here when I woke every morning…" he told her softly, and Aura could feel his hot breath on her throat as he moved. Laying as she was, Aura lifted one of her hands, releasing the sheet, and moved it gently to Reno's back. He was already hot, and she could feel the strength in the muscles moving under her touch as he held himself braced over her as he thrust repeatedly into her. Aura's other hand came to join the first, following Reno's movements as she marvelled at the strength she could feel there despite his deceptively slim frame. He had always been more than he appeared to be.

Wrapping her legs around Reno's waist, Aura had just begun to really get into it, her fingernails scratching at his hips as she began to urge him on, when his phone went off. Turning her head, she glared at the offending noise. Reno grunted and then his movement slowed before he stopped altogether, swearing viciously as he leaned over her to reach the bedside table. Aura lay still, watching him check the message and then he sighed.

"Fuck."

"What is it?" she asked, a little breathless.

Reno sighed again, his weight on her increasing as he pressed his face into her neck for a moment. "I gotta go."

"Why?" Aura slid a hand up his back to his shoulder, meeting his eyes when he lifted his head. "Uh…" She shuddered when he pulled out of her and pushed himself up to his knees. Aura sat up, following him.

"Rufus wants me to come in, yo."

"…Why?"

"I dunno."

"…Can't you ignore it?"

He gave her a regretful look, pulling his pants on. "That ain't how it works."

Aura pulled the sheet up, covering herself as she watched him. "Okay…" She watched as he pulled a shirt from his wardrobe and pulled it on, buttoning it hallway up before he grabbed a suit jacket. When he turned to look at her, Aura gave him a small smile.

"Hey…" he said, striding toward the bed and bending to press a kiss to her forehead, "I'll definitely be back to finish you off later…" he gave her a grin, "You free tonight?"

"Yeah…" She watched him straighten up.

"Good… You can use the shower… grab whatever you want from the kitchen…" He was backing toward the door as he spoke. When he got there, he paused, "Are you comin' to work today?"

"Ah… yep." She nodded, "I'll be there."

Reno grinned at her again before spinning and heading out the door. Wondering what it was that Rufus could want, Aura shuffled to the edge of the bed before getting to her feet. She needed a shower pretty desperately as she could feel the evidence of last night, and indeed this morning, between her thighs, and as she walked into the bathroom and got the water going, she hoped that Reno had something tasty for breakfast in his kitchen.

As she stepped under the water, Aura realised that she didn't have anything to get changed into. She hadn't intended to stay, she hadn't even properly thought about what she had been doing last night when she'd walked out into the storm to come and see Reno. She hadn't thought further ahead than getting to him, she hadn't even thought about what she was going to say, let along anything that had come after. She would have to go home to get something to wear before heading in to Healen Lodge.

By the time Aura made it to her workroom it was nearly ten in the morning. She had discovered that Reno had next to nothing by way of food in his kitchen, and so she had picked up several pastries on her way home. Figuring that Reno probably hadn't had breakfast of his own, she decided that she'd take a few to him, and so once she had set herself up for the day, she headed down to his desk to look for him.

"Aura…"

"Hey…" Aura looked at Elena who was eying her with an odd look on her face. "Have you seen Reno?" she asked, gesturing at his empty desk.

"He…" Elena bit her lip, "He's gone…"

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

Elena shook her head, "No…"

Aura raised an eyebrow looking at her friend, "…Like, an hour?" she paused, "This afternoon?"

"Nobody knows…" Elena practically mumbled, and Aura's eyes narrowed. "Oh, Aura… He's gone to Junon."

Aura blinked. "The fake cure shipment…?"

"Yeah." Elena nodded. "The President sent him this morning, and he wont be back until it's dealt with… which could be any amount of time." Aura didn't say anything, but Elena went on. "He… he had to go right away."

"That's how it works, right?" Aura muttered, and the blonde girl nodded.

"That's how it works."

Aura noticed Rude walk toward his own desk and sit down and she looked back to Elena. "He… went alone?"

"Yeah… it's… gotta be covert."

Her eyes moving around the room, Aura tried not to panic. "Is… that…" she wanted to ask if it were 'safe', but she knew that was a moronic question. "Um…" she shook her head, "Is… that… usual?"

Elena moved toward her, taking her arm carefully. "Reno's been on loads of missions on his own. He's really good…"

"I…" She nodded. She knew that he was good. "I… should… get back to work."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine…" she murmured, straightening herself before turning and heading back upstairs.

When she reached her workroom, Aura closed the door before sinking to the ground and leaning back against wood. She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she stared unseeingly at the opposite wall. With a million thoughts racing through her mind at once, Aura wasn't sure what she was thinking. She had known that Reno would be going to Junon to deal with the shipment, she just hadn't expected it to happen so suddenly. She knew that it would be dangerous, and she didn't like that she hadn't had a chance to say goodbye. She also really didn't like the fact that she had been left without him while she had to see Rufus Shinra every day. That thought made her particularly uncomfortable.

Closing her eyes, and leaning her head back against the door, Aura just hoped that Reno would get his job done quickly and return as soon as he was able. In the meantime, she would manage. She'd gotten through years on her own, only seeing Reno every once and a while when he was able to get away. She would be fine.