Chapter 75

Reno followed Aura through the street. Costa del Sol was bright and bustling and, once they had ditched their bags at Shinra House, Aura had been eager to explore. "Has it always been like this?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him, and Reno quickened his step to catch up to her. He fell into stride beside her and looked around.

"All… relaxed… and…?"

"Yeah…and everyone looks kind of… happy." Aura grinned at him, "It's nothing like Midgar used to be…"

"I think it's the sun…" he replied , "and the coast…"

"Did you get to come here a lot?"

"Well…" Reno eyed her hand, swinging by her side. His own hand itched to take it, and he clenched his fist to stop himself. A moment later he wondered why he shouldn't. They had no restrictions on them here. He wasn't in uniform, so there was no concern about people recognising him as a Turk. Nobody would be after them. They were just regular people. There was no need to hide anything.

"Well?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"I've been here enough to be familiar with the place…" Reno came to a sudden stop when Aura stopped walking and turned to watch a street performer. His eyes went back to her hand and he slid closer, gently taking it in his own. He smiled when she looked up at him, and he laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a light squeeze. She grinned at him before turning her attention back to the musician.

Reno couldn't help himself. His eyes scanned the street constantly, looking for anything that might be troublesome. Just because they were away from Edge didn't mean that there was no danger. ShinRa employees were being attacked all over the continent. He reminded himself that there was no way someone would be able to work out who he was from looking at him. They were staying in ShinRa Manor, however. If somebody saw them coming or going…

"Relax, yo."

"Hmm?" He met Aura's eyes when she looked up at him.

"Relax." She repeated. "You're on edge… and we're on holiday."

"Sorry," Reno grinned, lifting her hand to his lips. "I'll switch off, I promise."

Aura smiled at him, lifting her free hand to sweep his hair back from his face, "Let's go walk on the sand…"

"Sounds good…"

Aura turned as if to lead him away, but stopped, looking back and forth up the street. "Uh…"

"This way, yo." Reno told her, pulling her gently to the left. She followed him, holding tightly to his hand as they wove their way through the busy street. He tried not to, but his eyes continued to scan their surroundings. Old habits die hard, and this was something that Reno had been doing long before he'd worked for ShinRa. He had had to be well aware of threats surrounding him since he'd left his mother as a kid, and when he'd met Aura and she had agreed to stay with him, he'd had even more reason to be hyper-vigilant.

"What do you like best about Costa Del Sol?" Aura asked him and Reno turned his head to look back at her.

"Everything is pretty chill here…" He told her, "Can't imagine anyone telling me off for not wearing a tie…" He smiled when he heard her soft laugh and he slowed his pace to fall back into step beside her. Aura swung their hands playfully and he grinned, gesturing around them with his free hand when they reached the beach. "Voila."

"Ooh."

"Nice, right?"

"For sure."

Reno quickly scanned the beach, his eyes moving across the various people strolling the water's edge, or lying on the sand. He looked at the low grey clouds squatting along the horizon and then watched as the cool onshore breeze blew Aura's dark hair back from her face before she looked up to meet his gaze. She released his hand a moment later and bent to unbuckle her shoes before picking them up in one hand. "Here…" Reno reached out to take them from her and she let him with her murmured thanks. He didn't even have time to reply before Aura had bolted down onto the sand, and he followed a moment later, grinning as he watched her race toward the water's edge. She stopped when she reached the wet sand, dancing away as the next wave came in. Reno just stood and watched as she crept forward again and then stood her ground as the next wave came in, crashing over her feet and sliding up the beach again. She squealed and jumped and Reno took another step closer.

"It's cold!" she told him, laughter in her voice.

"Yeah…" he nodded and she hurried back over to him. Reno wrapped an arm comfortably around her shoulders and they began walking up the beach. "So… worth it?" he asked, "Coming here?"

"Absolutely." Aura said, leaning into him. "It's beautiful."

They walked in silence for a while, taking in the sun and fresh air, and Reno enjoyed being able to freely walk beside Aura with his arm around her. "Do you want to go for a swim?" he asked her and she shook her head slowly. Reno watched her face, her own eyes on the ocean.

"I… don't know how…" Aura murmured. Of course she didn't know how to swim. He hadn't learned himself until he went through training for ShinRa, and there had never been a reason for Aura to learn. "Can you teach me?" she asked a moment later, and Reno nodded, pulling her closer.

"Sure thing, yo." He watched her face.

"Tomorrow."

"Yes." He agreed, turning them around. The wind was picking up as the sun sank lower in the sky. "Let's head back and get ready for dinner…" Aura moved with him, looking back over her shoulder at the ocean as they headed up off the beach.

"It's gorgeous." She said gently, "…do you think someday we could live by the coast?"

"Hmm…" Reno mused, "I don't see why not…" The world was constantly changing, and maybe one day they would be able to leave Rufus and ShinRa and they would have the freedom to go where they liked. Reno hadn't really ever considered where he would like to live after ShinRa. He'd never considered where he would like to grow old. Costa Del Sol seemed like a good option, but he supposed that anywhere Aura was would be a good option.

The crowds had somewhat thinned by the time Aura and Reno had made it back to the main street. As they strode together, the lights began to flicker on overhead and restaurant doors began to open. "Looks like the place does pretty well of an evening, too…" Aura hooked an arm through Reno's and he felt her lean more closely into him.

"Sure does. Keep an eye out for something you'd like to eat later, yo…"

"What're you thinking?" she asked, "Shower and dress… then back out for food…?"

Reno smiled, "If that sounds reasonable to you?"

"It does." She agreed, but then a flash of familiar red hair caught his eye and Reno tried to follow it with his gaze, turning his head to get a better look as it disappeared into a cluster of people moving the other way up the street. He wasn't sure, but Cissnei came immediately to mind. He had wondered if she was still about the place. Unable to spot the red hair again, however, he pushed it from his mind. "You alright?" Aura asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah." He steered her toward the door of ShinRa House and quickly unlocked it. Stepping aside to let Aura in, Reno cast another glance back up the street, but saw nothing and nobody looking his way. By the time he'd closed the door, Aura had picked up her bag from where they had dumped their stuff earlier, and was making her way up the stairs. Grabbing his own, he hurried to follow her.

"We need to choose a room…" She said to him, and he nodded, looking up and down the hallway. It had been ages since he'd been here.

"Whichever one you want, yo…"

Reno followed Aura to a nearby door and watched as she opened it. His eye caught on the yellow bedspread and he shook his head as memories flashed before his eyes. He'd fucked Cissnei on that bedspread. "Not that one."

"Okay…" Aura turned and moved to the next room, opening and closing the door with dissatisfaction before moving further down the hallway. Reno trailed after her silently. By the time she'd gotten to the end of the hallway, she'd gone inside before he'd even reached the door. He found her standing at the window, looking out and he moved over to see what she was looking at. "It's a beautiful view…"

"The ocean?" he asked, and she nodded. Reno watched her for a moment. She stood as if transfixed and he leaned around her to push the window open allowing the air and sound of the waves in. Aura took a deep breath and then turned to face the rest of the room.

"I think this will do nicely."

Reno eyed the large bed draped in a turquoise and navy bedspread. The heavy wooden bedframe looked ridiculously expensive, and he supposed it was. "I think you're right." He told her, carrying his bag over to a chair in the corner and dropping it unceremoniously onto it. "So, why don't you go have a shower and I'll get a few things set up for us…"

"Okay."

Reno smiled at her and then headed back out into the hallway and downstairs. The house hadn't been used in a long time, and he suspected that the kitchen would need a bit of work before it was useful to them. He set about filling the sink with hot water, figuring he'd give the glasses and plates a bit of a rinse to get rid of any dust, and then he felt a tingling on the back of his neck. Going still, Reno turned the water off, and picked up a plate, trying to work out what was going on. He felt as if he was being watched, yet he knew Aura was still upstairs. Slowly, he dunked the plate in the hot water and then set it aside to dry. Nothing changed, so he turned around and caught slight movement by the large sliding door that lead out onto the wide balcony.

Moving quickly, Reno strode toward the door and slid it open. Stepping out onto the balcony, he was somewhat unsurprised to come face to face with Cissnei.

"Hello," he said simply. Cissnei stood by the railing, looking at him silently. "I thought I saw you earlier…" he continued, and she quirked a smile at him.

"I saw you." She replied, "You stand out."

Reno gave a small nod, looking her over. She looked just as she always had, minus the uniform. Standing before him now, Cissnei looked like any young woman who may be found in Costa Del Sol. She wore a loose fitting top and casual looking pants, and she appeared to have spent quite a bit of time in the sun. "…what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Thought I'd come to say hello…" Reno saw her eyes move over him, "Not seen you since everything went to hell… So, what are you doing here?" She looked him over. "You're not in uniform… not on assignment…"

"Got some time off, yo."

Cissnei smiled, her gaze going up to the bathroom window from which they could both hear the sounds of the shower running. "I see that. Who's she, then?"

"My…" Reno stopped, not knowing what to say, or if he should even finish that sentence.

"Ahh…" Cissnei's eyes moved from the bathroom window back to Reno. "Is she who you used to pretend I was?"

"What?" Reno was genuinely taken aback by that question. He blinked at her. "…what?"

"You never wanted me…" she replied, waving her hand dismissively, "Every time we were together it was clear your mind was elsewhere."

"I… hadn't realised." He murmured, lifting a hand to the back of his neck. He had had no idea back then that he may have already been in love with Aura, but he supposed that had probably been true. "I'm sorry…"

"I never cared." Cissnei replied with another wave of her hand. "We were just fucking."

Reno looked at her. "I did care about you, Cissnei…"

"I know." She meet his eyes, "And I cared about you… but it's not like we were in love…"

"No…"

"But I saw you earlier." She said, her eyes going back up to the bathroom window "With her…"

"Yes…" Reno tilted his head, watching Cissnei. He didn't know where she was going with this, but he wasn't going to volunteer information. He didn't know where she had been or what she had been doing since she had left. He wasn't entirely sure he could trust her anymore.

"I've never seen you like that with anyone."

"Guess not, yo."

Cissnei smiled at him and took a step backward, her eyes going up to the window once again. "She looked … sweet." Reno didn't respond, just continued to watch Cissnei. "What's her name?"

"Does it matter?"

Cissnei's dark eyes flicked quickly to him and her smile twisted. "Is it a secret?"

"No…" Reno crossed his arms, "But why do you want to know?"

"We were friends, weren't we?"

"Of course."

"Well, I care who you're in love with."

Reno narrowed his eyes at her. "Her name is Aura."

"And where did you meet her?" Cissnei gave him an innocent smile when he raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's an old friend."

"So… she is the one…" Cissnei raised her own eyebrow at Reno, "The one you used to think about…"

"I suppose."

Cissnei smiled wide and looked back up at the window. "Good for you." She grinned and he didn't know what to say. "How are the others?" she asked after a moment.

"They're good…" Reno told her, "Yeah… They're fine…"

Cissnei backed further toward the railing. "Good… that's good…"

"Ciss… Are you okay? Here, I mean… "

"Yeah." She smiled at him, "I'm doing just great. Nice to see you, Reno…"

Reno watched as she lifted herself up and over the edge and then she was gone. "… you, too.." he murmured, standing for a moment before turning and heading back inside to finish cleaning up the kitchen before Aura came downstairs.