Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Surface Tension

'Yo! Strife man, wait up!'

Cloud grits his teeth and glares at him. Ignoring the growing throb in his arm, he jams the keys into Fenrir and pointedly ignores the Turk.

He just wants to be out, and away.

'Look! Just wait, eh?'

Reno is scrambling over the ramp railings in an attempt to get to him. Cloud revs up the engine and kicks the stand down.

'No wait!'

Cloud glares again at the man currently slapping his hands down onto Fenrir's front, effectively blocking all chance of Cloud leaving unless he wants to leave behind some road kill Reno.

For a moment he considers it. He was in no mood to deal with anybody, let alone a Turk, but he is sick of fighting after all. The Turks face is intense, almost determined, and he doesn't hide the gleeful look of relief off his face when Cloud kills the engine.

'What?' Cloud stares balefully at Reno and crosses his arms impatiently. He has next to zero tolerance left and the sharp-laced pain in his arm is growing. He tries not to let the spasms show.

Reno tightens his lips in a way that suggests that Rufus hadn't asked him to come down.

'There's something I wanna show ya.'

'…'

'I need a little bit o' help, nothing too drastic' he brings his hands up to emphasize his point 'It'll take ten minutes, max, and no dealing with the Shinra man, yo?'

Cloud sighs.

Reno acts calm and in control, like a Turk should be, but inside he's twitching in agitation and pent up frustration. He won't let Strife see it though; damn, this really was a last resort, getting him to help.

But then, Reno doesn't have much choice. Rude was as baffled as he was and Rufus was keeping a tight lid on what the deal was with the girl.

So, Strife it was then.

He leads the scowling blond man through the back entrance of the clinic. Whitewashed corridors, clean and prim, appear passive and nondescript and Reno hates them. It's too quiet here, especially in that room, and the blank, boring walls put up a façade of peacefulness that annoys the hell out of him.

They turn down one last corridor before reaching the room. Reno slips out his key card and slides it through before typing in his code word.

'No peeking.' He says slyly to Strife as he punches in the numbers. He gets an impassive stare in return.

The lock clicks open and he slowly opens the door. Strife enters first, and Reno checks the hallway for witnesses before following.

He turns to meet the back of Cloud.

'Yo, what's the hold up-'

'Reno.'

'Yaw?'

He's got his annoying, laid back act going on because, really, he has no idea what Strife's reaction will be. Ignoring his nerves and irritation, Reno shoves his hands into his pockets and stalks to the other side of the hospital bed to investigate the machinery he has seen before.

Strife is still standing there, staring at the woman on the bed. No violent tendencies showing yet, so Reno counts himself slightly lucky.

'What is this?' Cloud has that tone of voice that demands an answer, and a good one at that.

Reno sighs and straightens, looking sideways at his once enemy.

'This…' he begins slowly '…is what I need help with.'

He's growing uncomfortable under that intense blue gaze. He shrugs it off, or tries to.

'We found her up North, in that lovely crater. She's woken up, but…' Reno taps his finger on his temple playfully and gives a wry grin 'Not all there, yo?'

He doesn't say that Elena saved this woman at the possible expense of her own life, just like he doesn't mention that both Elena and Tseng are now missing and presumed dead. That is irrelevant.

Bitter, he feels so bitter.

Cloud is still staring at him, slightly incredulous, judging him and whatever possible motives he could have for showing him the girl. Reno bites the inside of his cheek, trying not to appear impatient. He couldn't care less about Strife's opinion of him, but he wants to know the deal with her, and he doesn't want Rufus or Rude to walk-or roll-in. That would be…awkward.

'Why…come to me?'

Reno sighs and rolls his eyes.

'That don't matter. Look, can you just…look at her and see if you can figure out what's wrong with her?'

He can see that Strife is still deliberating whether to help him. Reno almost tells him to get fucked if he isn't going to help, but swiftly bites his tongue when the blond steps forward and shifts his gaze to the girl. Reno looks down at the bed too, watching the not the woman but the drip leading into her arm.

He hears cloth rustle, and glances at the ex-soldier when he reaches down to touch a limp hand.

'She's suffered from severe mako poisoning…' Cloud says softly.

'Is it normal to have wild muscle spasms?'

Strife glances sharply at him, and Reno knows why. He's dropped the carefree façade. Returning to look at the girl, Cloud shakes his head, almost confused.

'No…not…I don't know. Mako poisoning normally leaves the body in a vegetative state, but…' his voice trails off as his brow furrows 'She…died. She's meant to be dead.'

'Yeah, and don't I know it. You rebels are a slippery lot, in any case. Thought one bullet would've been enou-uh…' Cloud openly frowns at him, and Reno curses at his slip. He had practically just stated that he had been the one to shoot her 'Hey, I'm a Turk, I had a job to do, yuh?'

The ex-soldier narrows his eyes at him, far too self-righteous and condescending. Reno mentally tells him to stuff it. Times were bad, back then, and old man Shinra had been watching the Turks like a hound dog. He hadn't wanted to, but it had been his ass or hers and Reno was a firm believer in self-preservation.

'So was she, once-'

'Yeah, I know, k? But I don't want your opinion, so shut the hell up!'

Reno openly glares at the bastard now, finally showing his frustration on the surface. He refuses to admit that the blond may have touched a nerve. Cloud's face shows no change, and he snidely wonders if the man is capable of facial expression. Tension sifts through the small room in an instant, and the Turk barely holds back an urge to punch something. Instead, he sets his jaw and breaks off the staring competition with Strife, turning his back on him to face an annoyingly blank wall.

He hears the rustle of heavy cloth and the jangle of belt buckles behind him. Reno ignores the silence, jamming his hands deeper into his pockets.

'She also has jenova cells. Inactive, but they're there.'

Heavy footfalls sound a retreat as Reno swings around, eyes wide.

'Wha- you sure? How do'ya know, anyways?!'

Strife pauses at the door.

'I just…do.' He steps out the door 'Don't call me again.'

The night air is cool, with a certain bite to it. It is mountain air, after all.

Vincent watches the small town, the flickering lights at windows, the silent streets. All is calm, on the surface. One would assume that things had always been this peaceful in Nibleheim.

He doesn't mind the chill; such discomforts remind him that he is alive now, truly living. Not locked away in a place where reality is twisted by his own guilt and subconscious. A place of warped dreams and hidden nightmares where he spent his suffering alone.

The lantern in his hand emits a warm light, and he smiles bitterly at the thought of those wasted years. No matter, he is making up for it now.

He gazes off into the mountains, marveling at their twisted formations. It gradually slides down to rest on the large building behind him.

Shinra Mansion.

Except, it is no longer referred to by that name. It was renamed Gospel Orphanage when the restoration first began five months ago. A lot has been accomplished since then. There are even some children living there now, but much of the building is still in the throws of disrepair, most notably, the lower east wing.

But that does not matter, he has dealt with it.

Lights at windows flicker, indicating occupants who are awake far past their bedtime. He only hopes the matron doesn't catch them, for she is a large, intimidating woman whom even Vincent steers clear of when is of fowl mood.

He is waiting for someone that should have been here hours ago, but he is not bothered much. He likes it out here in the quiet, watching the town in slumber. Night crickets chirp incessantly, breaking the otherwise silent night.

A slight nerve twitches his ear, and he turns to face the town again.

-whumch whumch whunch-

The faint crunch grows steadily in sound; he turns his impassive face to meet it. The shadowy figure atop the light-blue chocobo gently reigns the big bird into a walk. He raises the lantern in greeting as bird and rider approach, and light washes over them both.

The cloaked rider smiles faintly at him and nimbly dismounts.

'Greetings.'

'Hello, Vincent.'

She walks next to him, reigns in hand, to admire the mansion.

'You didn't have to wait up, you know.'

'I wasn't expecting to.'

She gives another small smile and lowers her head, seemingly abashed.

'I…went to visit an old town…to see if it was still there…'

He notes she sounds wistful, and sad.

'And was it?' he queries.

'Hah' She lets out a short laugh 'It will be there forever.'

They stand in silence for a moment more, before she is gently head butted by her impatient bird. She laughs softly, and it sounds less sad. She strokes the bird's head affectionately in appeasement.

'Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I know you're tired too.' She coos, before unstrapping a pack off the bird's back, letting it slide to the ground. He watches in amusement as she woos the bird, combing its feathers with her fingers as she unloads it

Vincent sets the large lantern on the pavement, before leaning over to take the reigns. She looks at him, startled, and he sees that pinched look of weariness in her face.

'Go inside, I'll take care it.'

Blinking once, she nods, letting the leather ropes go.

'Thank you.'

He inclines his head towards her.

'Goodnight Tifa.' She smiles again before making her way to the orphanage door, and he leads her chocobo to the stables round the back.

Authors notes: I apoligize to everyone who's reading this. I haven't updated for a while as I am currently spending six months traveling around western Europe before I start uni next year. I will still be writing, but my updates may be a little late(I'm still trying to get my wireless connection onmy laptop to work.)

So, hope you won't give up on me, and hope that you enjoy this chapter. Any questions/queries, just email/message me or whatever.

See ya!