Chapter 72

Warm sun across her face awoke Aura the next morning. Stretching as she turned her head, she reached as far across her bed as she could, noticing that Reno was no longer beside her. Looking toward the open bedroom door, she wondered how long ago he had gotten up. "Reno?"

Upon getting no response, Aura swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet. She bent and picked up a light robe, shrugging it on as she headed for the hallway, pulling her hair up into a loose bun as she did so.

"You're awake." Reno's bright voice greeted Aura when she reached the kitchen and found him standing at her stove, plates nearby on the bench.

"Yeah…" She crept closer when a delicious scent reached her. "… what are you making?"

"Eggs…" he said simply, and Aura grinned at him. "That sound good, yo?"

"Sure does." She strode across the room and set the kettle to boil, "I'll make some tea."

By the time they sat down to eat breakfast, Aura's stomach was well and truly growling. "Have you been up long?" she asked Reno who was swirling his tea around his cup as he watched it.

"A bit." He replied, his green eyes moving over her, "Was thinking I was going to have to drag you out of bed, yo."

Aura stretched, arching her back. "Mmmm, I slept well…"

"I wear you out last night?" his grin sent a wave of heat through Aura and she felt her cheeks flush. Reno's chuckle made her look back up at him. She watched his eyes move quickly back and forth across her face, clearly trying to read her. "I…" Reno's hand slid across the table toward her, palm up, "I'm sorry if I was a little too…"

Remembering the way he'd bent her over the couch the night before, holding her there with a hand on the back of her neck, Aura gave Reno a shy smile and slid her hand into his. "It's okay…" she said softly as his fingers tightened around hers. She watched him still trying to read her face before he nodded.

"You'd tell me if it wasn't?"

"'course, yo." Aura saw the moment Reno accepted that, as he leaned back in his seat a little.

"I saw what you've done to that spare room…"

Aura nodded, her eyes not leaving his face. "I think it's time I really start putting some effort into the Apothecary…"

"You don't want to work for Rufus anymore…" It wasn't really a question he asked her, but she nodded anyway.

"I…" She gave a shrug, "You saw what he did… he wont stop… and… one day…" she let out a huff. "I just think I need to work on my own thing…"

Reno was nodding, "Can't say I don't like the idea of you not having to go to him every day…" his fingers moved over her wrist, "So… you're not going back?"

"Oh, I don't think I'm there yet. I've got way more work to do… but… soon."

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Reno spoke again. "I think that it's a good idea to get you out of here for a few days. Cadan knows where you are, and I think he may try…"

"Where would I go?" Aura asked, "Your place?"

"I was thinking of maybe Costa Del Sol?" The grin he gave her made Aura smile.

"Ah…" she nodded slowly. She'd never been there. Until Meteorfall, she'd never really been out of Midgar.

"Yeah?" He asked, and she could see the hope in his eyes, "You want that?"

"Can we?"

"I'll talk to Rufus." He told her, "Now that that shipment is blown to shit, he may let me have a few days off…"

"What would we do there?" Aura couldn't help but start to wonder about the possibilities. From what she'd read or seen of Costa Del Sol, she imagined lounging around in the sun would feature heavily on any plans they may have. Reno pulled her hand gently toward himself as he leaned forward.

"Whatever we want, yo." His voice was low and Aura smiled widely at him.

"You dove off the bridge?" Rude's voice was flat and he eyed Reno sceptically.

"Pressed the button and jumped, yo." Reno couldn't help the feeling of pride that swelled in him. "It was pretty spectacular if I do say so myself."

"Ohh, I bet Cadan didn't know what to do with himself." Elena's voice chimed in and Reno nodded.

"He didn't die, so I guess he probably followed me into the water…"

"That guy needs putting down." Rude got to his feet and strode away from his desk.

"I feel that." Reno muttered, looking at Elena who was tapping her pen against her teeth, clearly lost in thought. "So, Laney…" her dark eyes flicked to meet his gaze, "You spent some time with Aura while I was gone…"

"Yeah, she was kinda worried." Elena said slowly, "Especially when we didn't hear from you."

"So the Prez told me…" he watched as her eyes widened and she looked away. "Yeah…"

"She… uh… She … hit him."

"Mhmm." He kept watching Elena who was now clearly uncomfortable. "And what did he do in return?" Reno wondered if Elena actually knew what had taken place once she had left the office.

"He… he grabbed her." She said, meeting his eyes again, "… then he told me to leave."

"And you did."

"Y-yeah…" Reno just looked at her and Elena made a face. "What was I meant to do?" she asked a moment later, "He's the President. And Aura came out a few minutes later… it's not like he shot her." She had no idea, Reno realised. About any of it. "…I bet… Aura was happy when you got back last night…"

"That's one way to put it." He replied.

Elena huffed and looked at him again, "Whatever he did… She hasn't come back…"

"I know."'

"Is she okay?"

"Yes." He tilted his head, "I'm gonna ask the Prez for a few days off. I think that shitstain, Cadan, will come at Aur in retaliation for what I did. Gonna take her to Costa Del Sol."

"You think he'll agree?" Elena asked, tapping her pen against her chin now.

"I do, actually."

By the time Rufus had called Reno into his office, Reno was even more certain that the man would agree. He sat casually in the chair across from the blond, eyeing him as he waited for Rufus to speak.

"I'm putting Tseng and Elena on following any known members of that group…"

"Okay." Reno crossed his ankle across his knee, waiting for anything else.

"If they find any information about further shipments from Junon, you're going back to take care of it."

"I figured as much." Reno watched Rufus look him over. The President's pale blue eyes became sharper as he met Reno's own gaze.

"You have something to say, Reno?"

"Yeah, I want some time off."

"Oh?" Rufus tilted his head, "How much time?"

"A few days."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I nearly got blown up, yo." Reno went on, "It's been ages since I had a break. Cadan knows where Aura lives, he even told me he's coming for her. I want to take her somewhere safe for a while."

"I see."

Reno nodded, his eyes going to the thin strip of sunlight cutting across the office carpet. He knew that how he conducted himself for the rest of this conversation would be the difference between Rufus agreeing to what he wanted or telling him that it wasn't going to happen. So, Reno held himself still and waited silently while his boss thought about his request.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Costa Del Sol."

"Why?"

Reno gave a half shrug, his eyes going back to the President. "Aura's never been there, and Cadan won't find her there."

"So this is purely to protect her? Not some attempt at a romantic getaway?"

"Can't it be both?" Reno asked, careful to keep his voice even.

Rufus tilted his head again. "Anything else?"

"Can we use ShinRa Villa?"

Rufus sat back in his chair and gave a single nod. Relief flooded Reno and he tried hard to keep his face neutral. "Thank you."

"You have a week." Rufus was watching him carefully, "A week from tomorrow, you are to be back here. Both of you. Aura will return to work, as her contract specifies." Reno just nodded. He didn't need to let the man know just yet that she was making plans to leave employment with ShinRa behind. That was a conversation for another day.

"Can I take the chopper?"

"I thought the idea was to go unnoticed… to hide Aura from Cadan?"

"It is…"

"Then perhaps passage on a ship would be better."

"Yeah, I guess…" Reno made a face. He'd rather liked the mental image of taking Aura for a ride in the chopper, showing her what he could do with the thing.

Elena was waiting at her desk when Reno returned. She had purposefully lingered when she should be heading for the training room because she wanted to know what the President would say to Reno's request.

She knew that Aura had been especially stressed when they had no contact from Reno while he was gone, although she had had no idea what to do for the girl to help her. That day in Rufus' office still made Elena feel slightly guilty for leaving Aura in there when the man had been so obviously pissed off, but there really hadn't been another choice. Hoping that Reno would be granted permission for the time off, Elena watched as the redhead came out of the office and strode quickly toward his own desk.

"Well?" Elena asked.

"He gave me a week…" Reno replied, flashing her a grin, "And we get to use the Villa."

"That's surprising…"

"Yeah… I guess." She watched as Reno sank into his chair, bringing his feet up onto the desk. "Who cares, though." He stretched lazily, "Tomorrow, I'm free for a week."

"Then we should celebrate."

"How so?" he asked, eying her thoughtfully.

"7th Heaven." She said simply. "Tonight."

"How could I refuse, yo?"

"Great." Elena said, getting to her feet. "I need to get up to the training room, catch you later." She hurried quickly out the door knowing that Tseng would be waiting for her already, and that he would be less than impressed that she was late.

The look on his face confirmed as much when Elena hurried into the changing rooms and found her boss just sitting silently as he waited.

"Sorry…" She murmured, pulling her jacket off and tossing it into a locker. She pulled it back out again a moment later when she saw Tseng's eyes tighten, and she folded it quickly before replacing it. "The President approved Reno's time off…"

"Did he?" Tseng's voice was soft.

"Yeah, I waited to find out…"

"You would have found out anyway, Elena…"

"I know…" She fell silent when she realised she had no further reasoning, "I… just wanted to know…" She paused for a second before venturing a question that had been on her mind since before Reno had gone into President Shinra's office. "What… do you think the President did to Aura… that made her not come back?"

Tseng tilted his head, frowning for just a second before his face cleared again.

"Do… you think he hurt her?" She pressed.

"I think he's hurt her before." He replied and Elena felt a heavy weight settle in her chest, "I think that is why Reno's attitude toward him has changed."

Elena bit her lip, "Why… would he do that?"

Tseng's back straightened and a moment later he got to his feet. "It's not our place to question him."

"But…" Elena felt sick, "But Aura was… and he knew." She frowned at Tseng, "He knew how important she was to Reno…"

"That's probably why he did it." Tseng said, "Now, put it from your mind, Elena."

"I…" She made herself close her mouth. Time and time again she wanted to prove to Tseng and to everyone else that she wasn't some weak rookie. She would do that now. She would prove that her emotions did not control her. She was a Turk and she would act like it. Elena took her clean white shirt off and pulled a loose one on. She would focus on what she had come here to do, which was train.

By the time Elena got out onto the training mats, she was ready to put everything she had into her session with Tseng. She welcomed the rush and the burn, she even welcomed some of the pain; anything to keep her mind off of Rufus Shinra.