Chapter 4

After a few moments, Reno and I managed to catch up to Rude and Eva who were waiting for us.

"Finally," said Eva, "have you two gotten your shit together?" she asked and I remained silent as Reno grinned.

"Sure thing, demon hag. We're all good, yo. Right, Ari?" he asked as he nudged me with his elbow. I shoved my hands into my pockets and scuffed the dirt with the tip of my shoes, all while saying nothing.

"Mh mm." Eva hummed apprehensively and skeptically. Reno shrugged and I kept my gaze downward.

"Well whatever happened, it still looks like Reno got something that he deserved." Rude said and Eva laughed, "anyway, the temple should be just up ahead. I suggest we keep going until someone gets hungry." The bulky man said with an accusing look at Reno, who grinned and pulled a pack of smokes from his pocket. He pulled one out and put it to his lips then held the packet out to me. I turned away slightly and shifted my weight to my left leg instead of my right. I heard Reno sigh as he put the pack back in his pocket and then pulled the red lighter out from under the strap of the goggles that he constantly wore. Eva and Rude started walking and Reno and I followed, it was silent in our little group as we walked but I could tell that Eva and Rude were texting, no doubt about what the hell happened to Reno's face. As the two in the front had their own electronic conversation going, Reno and I walked beside each other in silence. I could feel Reno's aqua eyes looking over at me from time to time but I kept ignoring him. Suddenly, I could feel something on my wrist and I glanced down to see Reno's lanky fingers fishing my hand out of my pocket. My face began to heat up as I could feel his fingers slowly trail down to my palm and slip themselves between my fingers. I looked over at him to see him smile at me lightly only to suck in air as the smile pulled apart the broken skin of his lip. I quickly looked away and snatched my hand away from his. I could feel him look at me as I folded my arms across my chest, a sign that I was uncomfortable. I let out a little sigh as I walked with Reno, wanting to crawl under a rock and die. I felt so bad for punching him…repeatedly but he deserved it.

"Hey, can we stop yo? I'm hungry as shit." Said Reno and the pair ahead of us stopped. Eva turned around and looked at me, her eyes conveying her worry clearly. I looked her and gave a half hearted smile and she smiled back lightly.

"We're stopping? Good, my feet are freaking killing me." said Eva as she plopped down on a rock, kicked off her shoes and began to rub the soles of her feet. I sat against the base of what looked to be a large orchid tree, my back pressed up to the smooth bark. I sat alone while the others gathered food from the surrounding bushes and trees. I looked at Eva as she perched back on her rock. She knew well enough to leave me alone when something bad happened, that's what I liked about her; that she understood me.

"Hey, aren't you hungry?" asked Reno as he sauntered over to my side. I watched quietly as he sat down beside me and handed me a berry that he had found. He held the little dark red orb between his index finger and his thumb, rolling it tantalizingly. I shook my head and looked away.

"Aw, come on. I'm sure they're not that bad." He joked and popped one in his mouth. On impulse, I quickly smacked the back of his head and watched the berry go flying from his mouth. He glared at me as he rubbed the back of his head but all I did was sigh thankfully. "What the hell was that for?" he asked and looked at the discarded berry.

"She saved your life again, numb nuts. Those berries are poisonous." Said Eva from her rock and Reno looked at me.

"I'm gonna owe you a lot of favors soon, yo." He said nonchalantly and I shook my head. As much as I was mad at him, I didn't want to see him hurt. "Can you come and help me find some food that ain't gonna kill me?" he asked with a feather light touch on my shoulder. I looked at Eva and she shrugged and gave a look that said it's not going to kill you. I bit the inside of my cheek and got up off the ground. I followed Reno as he walked deeper and deeper into the thick jungle in silence, nothing but the sound of the animals in the distance.

"Ari?" Reno asked as he stopped and turned around. I didn't look at him but somehow he still knew I was listening. The red headed Turk walked over to my side and I tried my best to keep myself from running back to Eva and Rude. Reno leaned down so that his mouth was next to my ear; his breath was hot against the nape of my neck as he breathed. I could feel as he slowly and lightly touched my arms with his hands. "I'm sorry…" he whispered softly, so soft that I could barely hear him, "I didn't mean to be such an ass back there, yo. It's just that I'm not used to things I don't understand." He whispered and I looked away.

"Then it's best if you stay away from me…I'm the type of person that people never understand." I whispered back and I heard Reno give a low chuckle.

"That's the thing, babe. I want to understand you, yo. I want to know more about you." He said sincerely and I balked. It was weird for Reno to be this…serious, rather than his usual goofy, nonchalant, and cynical attitude. I sat motionless for a few seconds before I felt Reno lean down lower till his forehead was on my shoulder. "Please, stop pushing me away, yo." He whispered sadly. I felt my chest tighten and I looked to the side where Reno's head rested on my shoulder.

"Reno…" I said as I unfolded my arms, slowly I brought them up and wrapped them around his neck. I could feel him slowly slide his arms down and softly enfold them around my waist. "You can't push me away either, ok?" I said and the older man nodded his head against my shoulder. We stood there for a few moments, wrapped in each other's arms before I felt Reno begin to pull away from me. I dropped my arms from around his neck and he smirked down at me.

"As much as I enjoyed that, I'm still kinda hungry…" he stated with a lop sided smile. I smiled lightly before looking around. There wasn't much here except for a few bushes and trees but I spied a small sapling that held a clump of small purple-ish berries. Acai berries. I thought to myself and began to pick a few of the small orbs off the sapling.

"Here, these are edible." I said and handed a small handful to Reno, who gladly accepted the berries and ate them in one bite. I gave him a look before shaking my head. Reno and I sat there eating the berries before there was a soft vibrating from my pocket. I reached down and pulled out my cellphone. Eva's name ran across the top of the screen.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, you two should make your way back to the chopper." Eva said and my brows knitted together in confusion.

"Why? I thought we had to head to the temple." I asked.

"Tseng just phoned and said that we are being recalled. The trace of whatever was at the temple has disappeared and we have no business there anymore." Eva explained and I let out a sigh.

"Fine, we'll meet you there." I said and Eva gave a small giggle.

"Don't get lost; I'm sure Reno would be no help to you unless you want to start a civilization." I pouted at her words.

"You need to shut the fuck up." I said and ended the call before she could make anymore smart remarks. Reno looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "we're being recalled. Whatever was at the temple is gone now." I explained and Reno nodded.

"Great just when we get close to the destination, leave it to Tseng to tell us to leave." Reno said as he put his hands on his hips and shook head. I smiled a little and began to walk back to where we had left Rude and Eva. The two were probably gone back to the chopper by now. I thought to myself as Reno and I headed back to the chopper. I wonder what great and mighty mission Tseng has for us when we get back. I thought; my hopes set on something easy like body guarding the President.