Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue!

I dedicate this chapter to my lao-tong's birthday which was on the 19th of November. As well as my lao-tong's cousin who died on November 13th and a friend's mom who died of cancer in August, and my departed grandfather who died in January. May you all rest in peace!

Chapter 5: Sleepovers

Before he could go to the Seventh Heaven, he needed to pick up Cloud's clothes in Sector Five. After he had the clothes, Reno quickly walked through the Sectors until the lovely sight of the Seventh Heaven came into view. He physically relaxed and strode the last few blocks at a slow pace. He had Strife's clothes nicely packed in a back slung around his left arm. Just because he chose to never wear a tie for work did not mean that he was generally messy! He just liked to grate on Tseng's nerves.

Reno took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before walking into the bar. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on spiky blond locks. He grinned and walked over to the blond hero. Said blond was serving drinks to a table on the other side of the bar. One of Tifa's workers had called in sick on short notice, and since she couldn't find anyone else to replace the worker's shift, Cloud had ended up filling in. Luckily, the worker's shift was nearly over, just another ten minutes until freedom!

Reno padded over to Cloud. "Yo, Strife."

Startled, Cloud whirled around blue met blue-green eyes. Cloud blinked. "Reno?"

Reno smirked and handed Cloud the bag. "Here. Thanks for letting me borrow them."

Cloud took the bag and smiled wryly at the redhead. "You came all the way over here just to give these back?"

"No, I also came here to get my drink." Reno responded back cheekily.

"Well then, what would you like?" Cloud inquired. He personally didn't agree with the idea of getting smashed, but he was on the clock and Reno was a paying customer.

"Vodka. Hundred proof." Reno replied before sitting down at a small table near the back.

Cloud sighed before going to get the redhead his drink.

"Hey Tifa, I need a shot glass and a bottle of vodka, hundred proof."

Tifa smiled at Cloud as he came over to give his order. As she was getting him the requested items, she asked, "Who would want something so strong this early?"

Cloud looked at her. "Who else? Reno."

There was a glint in her eyes. She bent down and retrieved the bottle of vodka from below the counter and handed it to Cloud. "Here."

Cloud nodded his thanks and went to give Reno his drink.

Reno took the offered bottle, and ignoring the shot glass, began to drink straight from the bottle. His eyes widened and he choked.

"What the hell, yo?" Reno spluttered angrily.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Reno just offered the drink towards Cloud.

Cloud shook his head. "I don't really drink."

"Just try it."

Sighing, Cloud took the drink and hesitantly took a swig. His confusing vanished as he spluttered on the drink. "Does vodka always taste this bad?"

"That's not vodka, Strife. It's carbonated water!" Reno spat in disgust.

"But I told Tifa that you ordered vodka." Cloud defended.

"Did you just say Tifa gave you that?" Reno fumed. Why that no good bitch!

"Ye-yes."

Reno stood up and stalked over to the front of the bar where he met with a smug looking barmaid, while a confused blond followed him.

"What'd ya do that for Tifa?"

"You know perfectly well why I did that." Tifa shot back. "You didn't finish breakfast. You think you won that fight, but you didn't!" She smirked triumphantly. "Now, if you want any alcohol tonight, you have to eat dinner first."

Reno smirked at her. "Well, then give me my real order, I've already eaten dinner."

"Oh, is that so? What did you eat then?"

"I had Wutaian take-out."

"Oh really. According to Rude you skipped not only dinner, but also lunch too."

"And how would he know? He wasn't with me today."

"He sent one of Reeve's toys to spy on you. You didn't eat." Tifa smirked.

Reno fumed. "Fine. Whatever. I'll just get my drinks from a different bar." He turned to leave, but Cloud grabbed him.

"I'm sorry, but you can't leave." He said apologetically.

"What do ya mean I can't leave?" Reno seethed.

"Tseng called a couple of minutes before you arrived. He said that you were to remain here tonight and that he'd pick you up in the morning" Cloud explained.

"I'm not a kid. I don't hafta listen to him! He's not my boss outside of work."

"I'm sorry, but Rufus backed Tseng up on this. You have to stay here."

Reno was pissed! He couldn't do anything to them now, but he'd get them back later. A little itching powder in Tseng's soap, a little pink hair dye in Rufus' shampoo, a couple of cracked sunglasses for his partner…Yep nothing beats sweet revenge!

Reno deflated slightly. "Fine. Am I sleeping in your room again?"

Cloud nodded.

Reno turned to go up the stairs to Cloud's room when Tifa called out to him. "You ARE eating something."

Reno paused for a moment as she spoke before continuing his trek up the stairs.

"Is he ignoring me?" Tifa fumed.

Cloud wisely chose that as his cue to leave. An angry Tifa was one not to cross paths with. He didn't want her to direct that anger on him; she already had Reno as a target.

By the time Tifa turned around, Cloud was long gone.

Cloud found himself standing just outside his door. He hesitated for a moment. Should he knock? Wait a minute, since when did he care? It was his own room for Gaia's sake! He opened the door and slowly peeked in. Reno stood facing away from the door, staring out the window.

Reno stared dejectedly out the winder. He was so absorbed in his morbid thoughts that he didn't hear Cloud come in.

"I wonder…should I just…no I can't…but I don't want to…but I can't let…" He had opened the winder and started to climb out.

Cloud tried to piece together what Reno was saying when he saw the man open the window, and he started to put his leg out of it. Alarm bells went off in Cloud's head as he dashed towards the redhead.

"No don't!"

Reno turned around just as he was tackled by a blond blur. Reno lay stunned for a few seconds. He stared down into a mop of blond spikes.

"What the hell, Strife?"

Cloud got up and glared at the redhead.

"Suicide is not the answer." (can you guys guess where I got this quote from? n.n)

Reno's scowl vanished and he blinked stupidly at Cloud.

"I know that your situation is grave, but I don't think you should to kill yourself over it. Instead you need to be looking for another cure." Cloud continued.

Reno found his voice.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself. I was going to take a walk to clear my head."

It was Cloud's turn to blink.

"…Oh."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. He pulled himself up and then helped Reno up in turn.

Reno dusted himself off.

"So why would ya think I was trying to off myself Strife?"

Cloud blushed again and averted his eyes as he mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"It's because of what you said when you were drunk yesterday night."

Reno was horrified. He had forgotten all about yesterday. Don't panic, do not panic! He was able to maintain his outward appearance, and looked calm.

"What exactly did I say?

Cloud stared at the redhead. "You told me how you got high doses of mako in your system, Hojo, and your degradation."

Reno sighed. 'Shit.' "Well, you can't really thrive on life when you're in my situation."

Cloud narrowed his eyes.

"I suppose. Though, that's still no reason to give up."

Reno inwardly started to curse. Shitshitshitshitshit!

"You're starting to sound like Tifa."

"Don't change the subject."

Reno winced. He was done dodging around the bushes. His face turned serious.

"Just drop it, Strife" he ground out.

Cloud glared at him.

"No."

"Dammit! Stop being so persistent. It's not your problem. It's mine."

"You're right it's not my body that's breaking down, but that doesn't mean you can't lean on someone for support." Cloud shot back.

"Well, I don't need some golden boy to watch over me! Do you think you can 'save' me or something?" Reno laughed bitterly. "You can't. So forget about it. There's nothing that you and your goody-goody AVALANCHE buddies can do to help me." Reno spat out.

Cloud reached his limit.

"Stop being such a bitch and just tell me. Maybe I can help you." Cloud hissed.

Reno hesitated. "Just please drop it." Reno pleaded. "There's nothing anyone can or would do to help me if they knew."

"Tell me. You don't know if people will or won't help you unless you ask for help." Cloud reasoned.

"Trust me, no one would."

"And how would you know?"

Reno looked pointedly at Cloud.

"Would people help me at the expense of their own lives?"

"What do you mean?"

Reno sighed. He did not want to get into this. He had already told Cloud too much.

"Look, if you really can't tell me, then don't, but if you need to talk to someone, you know where to find me."

Reno turned surprised eyes towards Cloud.

"I know what it's like to have Hojo fuck around with your body, and I know about the shit that it causes." Cloud explained.

Reno paused for a moment. "Thanks."

Cloud shrugged.

Tifa rapped on the door and opened it at that moment.

"It's dinner time" she said pleasantly enough, but the look in her eyes said otherwise when directed at Reno. A spark of challenge shot in his direction. With that, she left.

Reno turned to Cloud. "You go on ahead, I need to wash my hands and face first."

Cloud nodded and quietly padded out.

Reno went into the bathroom and shut the door. He leaned against the sink and exhaled. A sudden pain flared up and he clutched his stomach, doubling over in pain. He could already feel his body breaking down. He bit his bottom lip til it bled to refrain from screaming. He could feel bile fighting its way up his throat. His insides were burning and he broke out in a light sweat.

He whimpered. Slowly the pain subsided to a dull throb. It was still painful, but at least it was endurable. He washed his hands and face. Don't let the pain show! Mask! Reno smiled outwardly. Presentable. Good. Perfect. With that he headed out the door.

Reno came down the stairs and turned into the dining room around the corner. He was greeted by Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene all staring at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Nothing, we were just waiting for you." Denzel and Marlene quickly snapped their eyes to their plates.

Tifa's concerned eyes stayed trained on Reno.

"What's with the look, yo?"

"We just heard some noises…A-are you alright?"

'Shit' Reno mentally cursed.

"Ye-yeah, I uh just lost my balance and stubbed my toe."

"Oh. Well then, your plate is right there." The barmaid pointed to a vacant spot between Cloud and Denzel.

Reno looked at the plate full of food. It smelled delicious, too bad Reno's stomach was in knots. For the second time that night, bile started to rise up his throat. He swallowed convulsively.

"You better finish it." Tifa smiled in satisfaction.

The finality in Tifa's voice made Reno wince.

Maybe he could eat it. Yeah right. He poked his food and started shoving it around on his plate.

"Why aren't you eating Mr. Reno?" Marlene innocently inquired.

"Yeah, why doesn't he have to eat it all?" Denzel piped in.

"Reno, you're setting a bad example for Denzel. Cloud and Denzel barely eat enough as it is. They don't need any prompting that it's alright not to eat sufficiently." Tifa scolded sternly. At the mention of their names, both Cloud and Denzel winced. Denzel looked like he wanted to protest that he did eat enough, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Reno took a couple of deep breathes. He raised a forkful of rice to his mouth. Inserted it. Chewed. Swallowed. See? He could do this. Tentatively, he took another bite. Pause. Still fine. He was about to take a third bite when suddenly, his stomach made its protest. He stood up and made a dash to the bathroom, effectively emptying his already nearly empty stomach into the porcelain goddess. When he was done dry heaving, he placed his head against the cool rim of the toilet seat. Just breathe. Focus on breathing. Slowly he was able to stand up on shaky legs. His hands were clinging to a wall and the sink countertop as he steadied himself. He wiped his mouth with a tissue. When he pulled it away from his mouth, it was flecked with blood. Reno looked into the basin, more blood. Fuck! Reno looked with horrified eyes at the blood.

He threw the dirty tissue into the toilet and flushed it. He washed his hands and face. Great, now what was he going to say to them? He contemplated an excuse as he opened the door to stare at one Cloud Strife.

"What is wrong with you?" Concern edged Cloud's voice.

Reno paled. He stared into Cloud's make blue eyes.

"I don't know what to tell you, Strife. I think the process of my body's breakdown is faster than I originally anticipated, yo."

"How fast is it degrading?" Cloud inquired.

"Enough." Reno put simply.

Cloud didn't keep prodding, but mercifully let the subject drop.

An awkward silence filled the space.

Reno started to fidget.

"So…um…can I skip dinner and go to bed instead? I don't think I can handle eating anything right now." He rubbed his sore stomach for emphasis.

"I'll tell Tifa that you're sick, I'm sure she'll believe me. You go on and rest."

Cloud retreated back downstairs, while Reno slowly walked to Cloud's room. He laid down and tried to go to sleep. He was in so much pain! He felt like someone had used him as a human punching bag. Eventually the pain receded to a bearable level. This left Reno feeling exhausted and weak. The exhaustion took its toll on his weary body and he gratefully welcomed sleep.

It was 7:00pm when Cloud came in to check on Reno. He glanced in at the sleeping form for a moment before softly closing the door. He went back downstairs to an expectant Tifa.

"Well?" She asked the minute Cloud's foot hit the last stair.

"He's sleeping."

Tifa bit her lip. "I didn't know he was sick. I would have made him soup instead. I-"

"He knows it's not your fault." Cloud tried to comfort her.

She nodded in agreement, but she couldn't stop fretting.

"Take it easy. I'll do the dishes." Cloud told his childhood friend.

Tifa agreed and decided that she should check on Denzel and Marlene. Maybe keep them company.

Half an hour later, Cloud was sitting at his small desk doing the financial paperwork for his small delivery service.

Cloud glanced up at his clock. It was midnight. Had he really been working for four-and-a-half hours? He decided it was time for bed. Cloud stretched and went up to his room. He glanced briefly at the sleeping man. He might have noticed the light sheen of sweat on Reno's forehead if he wasn't so tired. Even with his eyes burning, he was able to see well enough in the dark. He maneuvered around the Turk to his bed and slid in under the covers. He was soon fast asleep.

Cloud woke up refreshed. No nightmares! His day was already looking up. He glanced down at Reno, still asleep. He shrugged and got up. He stretched and yawned as he did so. He grabbed clean clothes from his dresser drawers; then he made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and hopped into the shower. Tifa made dinner, so he was going to make breakfast.

Squeaky clean, Cloud proceeded to make homemade waffles. It was 9:00am by the time he had finished. Marlene, Denzel, and Tifa came downstairs.

"Mmm. That smells great!" Denzel said.

"Where's Mr. Reno?"

"He's still sleeping." Cloud answered.

"Oh." The little girl looked put out. "Can I go wake him up?" Marlene asked.

"No!" Tifa quickly answered. More calmly she said, "let him rest, he can eat later."

They sat down and ate.

Tifa went to do the dishes. After that, she would take the children to school.

The other Turks would be at the Seventh Heaven soon to pick up their missing member. He locked up. He was sure that the Turks would be able to get into the bar and retrieve Reno. Cloud drove out to an empty expanse of land to train for a little bit.

Cloud let his body fall into a comfortable stance. His body moved fluidly from one strike into another, taking down imaginary enemies. He worked up a light sweat. When he took a break, he sat down to check his phone.

'One missed call' flashed on his screen He checked his voice messages and played the new message.

"Cloud, we are continuing our search. Don't inform Reno."

It was Tseng.

The message continued:

"If at all possible, can you watch him again today? He will also be spending the night. You will be paid for your troubles. Thank you." The message was from three hours ago.

Crap! Reno was alone at the Seventh Heaven. Cloud pocketed his cell phone and raced back to the bar on Fenrir. He got back in record time, put his bike away safely, and then unlocked the door. He dashed up the stairs to his room. He opened the door. Reno was still asleep. Cloud frowned. Reno had been sleeping for about seventeen hours. Cloud gently shook Reno awake.

Reno blinked weary eyes at Cloud.

"Wha?" He mumbled.

"Reno, you've been asleep for a while, are you hungry?"

"No, m'tired." Reno slurred. He turned back to snuggle against his pillow.

"No, you have to get up now." Cloud insisted.

Cloud managed to get the redhead up. He handed Reno some clean clothes and directed him to the bathroom.

Reno dragged himself into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He stared through bleary eyes at his reflection. Dark rings were visible in sharp contrast to his pale skin. If he really slept seventeen hours, then why did it feel like he only slept two? He groaned in protest as he started to peel off his old clothing, his muscles aching in protest. Maybe a hot bath would help him.

Maybe not. Even soaking his aching joints did little to relieve the pain. Later, Reno would learn that the pain wouldn't go away. Neither would the circles.

As the Turk stood up to get out of the tub, a wave of dizziness assaulted him. Reno threw his arms out for balance. As his vision swam, he clutched onto the walls for dear life. Slowly, his vision cleared up. He cautiously released his grip.

Reno dried himself, wrapped his hair in a second towel, and put on the fresh clothes before exiting the bathroom.

Reno glided down the stairs as gracefully as a drunkard.

Cloud had prepared sandwiches. He didn't really know what the Turk would like so he made pb&j's. You can't go wrong with peanut butter and jelly!

Reno stumbled into the dining room just as Cloud sat down.

"Um…what time is it?" Reno suppressed a yawn.

"It's a little after noon. I made sandwiches." Cloud nodded towards the plates. "I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I made peanut butter and jelly."

"S'fine." Reno sat down and picked up a sandwich. He wasn't really that hungry, but if he didn't eat, Cloud would get even more suspicious. So, the redhead slowly started to nibble on the sandwich. One nibble. Then a couple gulps of water to wash down the rising bile. One more nibble. Several gulps of water. He could do this.

He finished about three-fourths of the pb&j when he put it back on his plate. He carefully stood up to throw away the rest. Growing up in the Slums had taught him never to waste perfectly good food, but he couldn't eat any more.

"Reno…"

"Hm?"

"…about your sickness…well…"

"Spit it out."

"…you've slept seventeen hours and still look tired, you can't keep much food down…and you've recently been injected with an overload of mako…"

"Yeah? What about it, yo?"

Well, do you know how long you have?" The question seemed harsh, even to his own ears. "It's alright…" Cloud fumbled. "You don't have to tell me…"

"I don't know how long I have. I know I have at least a month."

"That's not very long. Are you sure you don't want to find that person. I know you have your morals…" Cloud reassured when the redhead shot him a glare. "…but maybe…"

"No. It would be better if I didn't find that person." Reno looked dejectedly at the floor.

"You can't think so little of yourself."

"That's not the reason."

"Oh." Cloud averted his gaze to his sandwich. He took another bite out of it, and silence resumed.

The silence made Reno squirm. It was one of those awkward silences that drove people nuts.

"So…uh…yeah…can I go back to bed?" Reno sounded hopeful. He was exhausted.

"Sure. Oh, you're staying the night again."

"Tseng tell you that?

Cloud nodded.

"That bastard!" Reno fumed. "I'm a part of this mission, he can't just take me off of it!"

Cloud tried to calm the irate Turk down.

"I'm sure he's not taking you off permanently."

Reno stared at him pointedly. 'You have no idea' Reno thought dully. Aloud he said, "I'll give him hell to pay."

The anger subsided from his face. "I'll get revenge tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Reno made a hasty retreat.

Cloud blinked. Maybe Reno had ADHD or something…talk about a short attention span. Reno jumped from one topic to the next like a hyperactive child on sugar. Sheesh. Their conversation had started out like this: first some small talk, then it became serious, depressing, light, and angry. Cloud washed the few dishes from lunch.

Tifa would be back soon to get her bar ready for the night. Then, Cloud could do his deliveries.

Cloud had a long drive ahead of him. He had to deliver a package to Kalm. It takes an average person eight to ten hours there and another eight to ten hours back. Luckily, Cloud wasn't an average person. It also helped that he knew short cuts, and that his Fenrir was fast! It would take him about seven to eight hours total.

"Cloud? You can leave now, I'm back." Tifa had gone shopping. She had dinner planned out for her family and Reno. Although Cloud wouldn't be able to eat with them, he could reheat it when he returned.

"Where's Reno?" The barmaid's voice was muffled around a couple bags of groceries.

"He's sleeping."

"Still?"

"No, he had lunch, then went back to sleep."

"Oh?" Tifa perked up. "What did he have for lunch?"

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"Cloud, he's sick. He should've had soup." Tifa scolded, quickly resuming role of mother hen. "Though, I'm surprised he actually ate. Good job." She praised.

'I don't know what's worse: fickle women or ADHD Turks' Cloud mused.

"Be careful" Tifa urged.

Cloud nodded. "I'll be back later."

"Bye."

Cloud grabbed his package and left out the door.

Tifa put away the groceries.

Reno had closed the door immediately after he entered the room. Cloud had hit a nerve. Tseng was probably cutting him off of this mission as well as any more in the future. Why? The truth was Reno was dying, and there's not a damned thing anyone could do about it.

Reno could already feel his body starting to break down. Even now, as he lay down in bed, he felt pain course through his body. Cloud knew that he was dying, but he didn't fully comprehend the extent of the damage. Cloud knew he couldn't keep very much down, but he didn't know about the constant pain, or the blood.

He really was exhausted. It took a lot of energy to act calm or even happy on the outside, when searing pain stabbed into him like a knife.

He kept looking down. He expected to see blood leaking out of gaping knife wounds, only to see his skin, perfectly unblemished.

Reno knew the poison that Hojo injected him with was slowly killing him from the inside out, but it sure as hell felt like surface wounds. Was it always this painful to die, or was he just lucky?

After fidgeting for a bit, he got up and walked across the room. He stared out the window, forlorn eyes cast downward. His gaze followed the many civilians. Should he leave? Reno bit his lip. Stay here and rot. Leave for a little while.

Choices. Choices. What the hell? He started to climb out the window. Left leg. So far so good. Right leg. Good. He started to turn around and hoist his upper body out, easing himself down gently, his feet found some niches in the wall. He looked straight ahead and froze. Tifa stood glaring daggers at him.

"Tifa wha-what are you doing here? I thought you were out, yo." Reno chuckled nervously. Why was it that every time he tried to get out, someone was always there to catch him sneaking off. He mentally cursed his luck.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tifa growled.

"Ehehehe…I doubt you'd believe me if I said I was just going out for a walk." Reno looked at the angry martial artist nervously.

"Going on a walk? In your condition?" She looked skeptical.

"Um…yes?" A goofy grin spread across Reno's face.

"Through a window?" She shot back sarcastically.

"Now, now, sarcasm doesn't become you." Reno bantered.

"Get back in here. NOW!" She barked.

Reno scrambled to get back in. He didn't want an angry Tifa on his back.

Once the redhead was back inside Tifa strode across the room and shut and locked the window.

"Go to bed."

"Ooh, I like a woman who knows what she wants."

She rolled her eyes. "Get some rest. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

"Where's Strife?"

"Can't you just do what you're told?"

"And make things easier for you? I could do that…but that wouldn't be much fun."

Tifa was becoming exasperated.

"Please rest." She couldn't stress the 'please' enough.

"Will you tell me where Strife is?"

"Will you go to bed?"

"Touché."

Seeing Tifa's expression, Reno gave in.

"I'll be good if you tell me where Cloud went."

"Will you get some more rest?"

"Persistent much." Damn, she caught my loophole.

"Reno" Tifa warned.

"Fine. I'll go to bed." Reno relented.

"Thank you. Cloud's on a delivery to Kalm. He'll be back later tonight."

"Ah, ok."

They stared at one another.

"Well?"

"What?" Tifa managed to look innocent.

"Will you leave?"

"I will." She didn't budge.

"Then leave."

"When you get into bed."

Reno sighed but got under the covers.

Tifa was satisfied. "I'll be periodically checking up on you. You'd better be resting."

Reno shooed her away: "yeah, yeah."

"Reno, I mean it."

"Alright." Reno turned away from her.

Tifa paused, uncertainty written in her eyes. After a second's hesitation, she left the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

Reno had just turned over onto his back, when he was brought into a coughing fit. He pulled his hand over his mouth, muffling the sound. He huddled in on himself. Red flecks decorated his hand. He groaned in pain. His throat was killing him. He sighed. Just another malady he had to endure until he died. Man, death was sounding more appealing by the day.

Sleep. He needed sleep. He willed himself into a peaceful slumber. He was so far gone that he didn't hear his phone ringing.

Reno awoke to Tifa shaking him.

"Reno, it's dinner time." She didn't wait for him to follow.

He tried to get up, but quickly doubled over as his body was racked up agony. 'I guess it's a new norm. Well, I guess my only comfort is knowing that I won't have to deal with it for much longer.'

He rolled over onto his side and slowly raised himself up. Careful. Careful. Nice and easy. Almost…There! He stood on shaky legs. Standing? Check. Walking?

He took a step. Steady. Steady. He took another step. Then another.

He deemed himself ok. Well, as ok as he was ever going to be. He made his trek down the stairs. Smile. SMILE! He wiped any traces of anguish off of his face and replaced it with a convincing smile.

"What's for dinner?" the Turk asked as he sat down.

"We're having lasagna. I made you soup." Tifa indicated the bowl.

Reno stared at the vegetable soup. HE shrugged. His insides were still trying to burst out of his skin, but the nausea wasn't too bad. He was sure he could force an appeasable amount down. He really wasn't hungry. He had mercifully lost his appetite. It would suck to be hungry and feel nauseous at the same time.

He put a spoonful of the soup into his mouth and nearly gagged. Luckily, years of living with Elena had allowed him to keep his expression neutral. It tasted like ash. He inwardly shuddered. Did he have to put more of that crap into his mouth? Tifa's expectant face said yes. HE wanted to smack himself into oblivion.

Reno steeled himself. He bravely picked up his spoon and put another spoonful into his mouth. Somehow, he thought Tifa's cooking would be better. He glanced over at the brats. They were eating her lasagna and weren't passing out. Maybe she only sucked at making soup.

He decided he'd best eat more and end his misery as quickly as possible.

He really couldn't stomach anymore that the first bite, but he'd somehow managed to consume about half of the soup before pushing the bowl away from him.

"I'm full." Well it wasn't a complete lie. He really wasn't hungry to begin with.

"Are you sure? You don't want anymore?"

"No!" Perhaps he said that too quickly, or it could have been the volume with which he said it.

Tifa's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm just really tired. Can I go back to bed?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.

He knew he won when Tifa's gaze had softened.

"Of course."

He practically flew up the stairs, away from the garbage, -er soup.

By the time Cloud came back, the children and Reno were all asleep. Tifa was busy managing the bar. Cloud had had a long drive. All he wanted was a hot bath and a warm bed.

After his bath, Cloud went straight to his bed. He'd eat a bigger breakfast.

The next morning Cloud was woken up by the sound of whimpers. He cracked open his eyes and turned towards the unconscious redhead. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. Did his cold get worse? Cloud felt for Reno's temperature. He had a fever. Cloud rushed to get a cool cloth and placed it on the Turk's head. The cool cloth woke Reno up.

"…Strife?"

"Are you alright?"

Reno removed the cloth. "M'fine."

Reno acted like he wasn't in pain at all. This confounded Cloud. Maybe he had imagined it. He did just wake up.

"Well, since you're up, let's get breakfast." Cloud got up.

"You go ahead, I want to get a little more sleep 'fore Tseng get here, yo." Reno yawned. Without waiting for Cloud to respond, he started to huddle back into his warm blankets.

Cloud rolled his eyes and went to get himself some cereal.

Just as he was finishing his second bowl, his cell phone went off.

"Cloud." It was Tseng.

"I'm on my way to pick up Reno. I'll be there in about five minutes."

"Fine."

Tseng hung up. Cloud went to wake up Reno.

Five minutes later, Tseng was half-dragging the drowsy redhead into his car.

In the rush, Reno had left his cell phone. Cloud found it on his floor next to Reno's make-shift bed.

'One missed call' flashed across the screen. Curiosity won Cloud over and he pressed the voice mail.

"Reno, this is Dr. Grey. I may have a test drug that'll slow down the degradation process. I make no promises, but it may buy you a little bit more time. You're scheduled to see me tomorrow morning at 10:45am." The call ended. Cloud checked the date the message was sent. It was yesterday.

Cloud was relieved. Maybe this Dr. Grey would find a solution for Reno.

A/N: Mwahahahahahaha cliff hanger! Please Review! My hand has new calluses from writing this chapter. n.n