Tengoko: Sorry for taking so long. I sprained my wrist at work and typing with a brace on is no fun. I enjoyed writing this chapter. So, I hope you all enjoy reading it. As always, reviews are more than appreciated. It's always nice to hear from you guys. Thanks.
------------
Rated M for language and romance
------------
Chapter 7: No Promises

It was the first thing she thought about when she got into the apartment. Her saving grace. Waiting dutifully on the white porcelain surface of her bathroom sink. It was the first place she went. Already, her nerves were beginning to settle at just the thought of swallowing a perfect little pill. But that didn't last very long. They weren't there.

Her eyes widened. She knew she'd left them there. She left them there every night. Why now wouldn't they be there? Ripping open the medicine cabinet, she begin shuffling through countless bottles trying to find the other two containers. Hell. They were missing too. But how? This was no coincidence. Three bottles of the same medicine gone?

"Looking for this?"

Elena snapped her head to the side. Reno was leaning against the doorpost as indifferently as could be. In his hand he was holding an orange container. The orange container. Hers. "Give it back!" she screamed, starting at him. He didn't. She hadn't thought he would. "Damn it, Reno! They don't belong to you!"

"I don't think they belong to you either," he said, looking down at the bottle. He put them in his pocket and then slowly approached her. "I think some members of Shin-Ra's medical research team will be pleased to have these back in their possession. And you don't know how relieved Rude and I will be to know that they're no longer in yours."

"You knew?"

He only nodded before putting a hand under her chin and moving her head to the side. "Does it hurt?" he asked. His thumb brushed against her cheek and for the first time, Elena became aware of the soreness. She wished he hadn't done it. Now it was unbearable. "He must have been wearing a ring. Come here."

She had no time to refuse. His hands gripped her around her waist and lifted her onto the counter. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he said tersely. He turned on the hot water and grabbed a hand towel that was right by the faucet. Turning back to face her, he put the towel to her face and began dabbing at her cuts.

"Reno…I need them," she said distraughtly.

"Why?"

"They…they…" How could she possibly explain to him in a way he could understand? She couldn't. Reno would never know how she felt. He was perfect. Everybody respected him, even if they didn't like him. They knew he'd get the job done. He was revered and feared. So, how in the hell would he ever grasp what she was going through?

"They…they?" He was mocking her now. "They screw you up is what they do," he said, taking a step back and throwing the towel into the sink. Elena was surprised by the blood. Was that all hers? It couldn't have been. She'd have known if she'd been bleeding like that. "You really didn't feel it?"

"I don't care! I don't care if I never feel anything again! I just want those pills back! Screw me up? Hell! They make me better! I've never done the job as well as I'm doing it now! And it's all because of those pills! So fuck you if you think they're hurting me! They're not! You are! You and Rude! So just stay out of my life, Reno, and mind your own damn business!"

Reno didn't seem to digest any of that very well. At first he looked shocked. But that only lasted until the end of her diatribe. Now he was angry, and it had been a long time since Elena had seen him angry. "I'd like to know how the hell you think Rude and I are hurting you," he said. His voice was unsteady. She could tell he was trying his hardest not to yell.

"Have you ever had to live in your shadow?" she asked darkly.

"Damn it, Laney!" he shouted. "Why does everything have to be about the fucking job with you? Do you really expect to be better than me, than Rude, when we've been doing this for years? And face it, Laney. If you need a bunch of fucking pills to think you're ultimately up to standard, than you were never cut out to be a Turk anyway."

He immediately regretted saying that. The look in her eyes tore at him. He'd hurt her. Hurt her more than Giovanni de Luca. "Is that how you really feel?" she asked monotonously. She was crying now. Silent tears.

Reno groaned. "No. Elena, to tell you the truth…I never thought you were that bad in the first place. The thing that prevented you from completing your missions had nothing to do with incompetence. You just thought too much. All the possible ways to fail. You let it get to you. Nerves destroyed you. And they're destroying you now, you're just too doped up on this Argusin shit to realize it."

"All I know is, before Argusin I failed. Now, I succeed. I don't care if I need pills to do that. Besides, you're playing the hypocrite, you bastard!"

"How's that?" he asked, getting his defenses up.

"You talk to me about dependency and foolishness. Yet, you stand there, ignorant of your alcoholism and your addiction to sex. I don't care how you put it, Reno, but both are your ways of avoiding reality. At least my way is safer."

"I'm not an alcoholic." He really wasn't. Sure, he drank every day. But he rarely ever got drunk. Buzzed, yes. Why drink if not for the buzz? But he knew his limits. Knew when he was on the edge, hovering on the line between a small high and complete inebriation. And so what if he chose to get drunk some of those times? At least it wasn't a daily habit. At least he could honestly control it. "And I don't see how my sex life relates to this."

She was glaring at him now. Tears were still falling from her brown eyes. She only wanted her pills. Gods. She was still shaking. Had never stopped. She was exhausted. She was tired of being exhausted. And only ArgusinDSA could fix it all.

"I need them. I need them. Don't ask me why. I can't explain. All I know is that if I don't have them…Gods! Why are you doing this to me? After what happened tonight? Why are you making it worse? Please! I need them! I need them so much!" Her voice was frantic and pleading. It seemed as though she were on the brink of hyperventilation. She hadn't realized how much that troubled Reno. "If you really cared about me, you'd give them back. At least this one last time. Just one more time. I promise. That'll be it. Please."

"I wish you could hear yourself," he said, shaking his head disappointedly.

"Reno!"

"No. I'm not giving you these pills. You don't need them, Elena. You never needed them. And I'm going to get that through to you. Even if I have to beat it into that stupid head of yours."

"Why are you doing this to me?" She wasn't crying silently anymore. She was sobbing. Pitiful. Pathetic. But that's not what Reno saw. She was helpless. Hopeless. She was falling apart right in front of him. And before he knew it, he'd taken her into his arms and was holding her against him. So tight. It was as if he thought she'd fall to pieces if he didn't hold her like that.

He tried to speak. His words got caught in his throat. What was there to say anyway? There were no words that could ease her. No words that could make her think that he wasn't trying to hurt her. She was still sobbing. He could only hold her. She held him back. She looked up at him. Her eyes were pleading, silent but moving.

And then his lips were on hers. Soft and gentle. Brief but sweet. She had no time to be surprised. This kiss was over before she realized it had begun. And now, a new emotion could be found behind the blue eyes of Reno: guilt. It had completely replaced his frustration and anger.

"I'm sorry," he said, confirming this assumption. "I shouldn't have done that." He could have kicked himself. How could he have been so stupid. After what she'd been through with the don, the last thing she needed was another man, in the same night, kissing her.

And then her lips were on his. Just as brief. Just as sweet. "Now we're even," she said, her tears letting up. She held him tighter, her hands going around his waist. And then…it occurred to her. Only one bottle. She only felt one bottle in his pocket. Had he not found the others? Oh Gods…how could she forget? She'd moved them. They hadn't in the medicine cabinet. She'd been freaking out for nothing. They were safe. They were still hers.

She smiled now. Her happiness was so immense, that she kissed Reno again. As far as kisses went, it was still a very simple kiss. Though, it did heat up near the end when Elena gently ran her tongue across his bottom lip. Reno moaned softly. If it hadn't been so quiet, Elena never would have heard it. And then, of all people, Reno pulled away.

"I…I can't do this," he said breathlessly. "If I keep kissing you…I just can't. And how can you? After what the don did?"

"What? Did you expect me to be sexually inept after that?" She laughed and jumped off of the counter, trying to ignore her shaking hands now. It wouldn't be much longer. Soon she'd have her pills again. But for now, she'd just have to do without them.

"Most women do experience…I don't know, some emotional distress after something like that?"

She laughed again. "Since when have you, or anybody for that matter, considered me to be like most women?"

"Never. But that's not the point, Laney."

"No. I think we both have forgotten what the point is. ArgusinDSA. You and Rude don't want me to take them anymore. It won't be easy, Reno. But I'll try." Suddenly, she felt sick. Why did it feel so wrong to lie to him?

"I'm not giving you much of a choice," Reno said. "And Laney…one other thing…"

"What's that?"

"Please, don't ever tell me that I don't give a damn about you. I care about you. Hell…I care about you more than I damn well should. Now…don't make too much of that. Nothing's going to come of it."

Elena was confused. Had he just admitted what she though he'd admitted? Reno had feelings for her? Reno? But just as she took that in, he said that last bit. 'Nothing's going to come of it.'

"I know," she said. "It'd probably be better that way."

"I don't think 'probably' is the right word," he told her. "I think 'definitely' is more appropriate. But, the fact is, I do care about you. And Rude cares about you too. You're our only family, Laney. You and Tseng. We'd do anything for you."

She hated to admit it. That was kind of touching. A perfect emotional moment. She couldn't believe Reno had instigated it. Strange. Just when she thought she'd had him all figured out. He was…Reno. Plain and predictable. Actually, he was predictable in the way that he was unpredictable. Only a few things were constant as far as this fiery red head was concerned: drinking, fighting, gambling, and women.

"Reno," she began tentatively. "I know that nothing will ever happen between us, but…"

"But?" That smile. His infamous smirk; the corner of his mouth crept upward.

"I really do like kissing you. Can't we just do that…and leave it there? No promises or pretenses."

He didn't answer. He just continued to smirk like a fool. But then he stepped closer, taking her face in his hands. His lips found hers for what wouldn't be the last time that night. He parted her crème lips with his tongue and delved deep into her mouth. She whimpered. He moaned. It was hard to describe how she tasted to him. But it was intoxicating. More potent than any alcohol. And he yearned for more. But he knew he could never have it. He'd never let it get that far.

Her skin was like silk beneath his fingers. Gods. He never thought she could feel so good. Something began to stir inside. He felt that familiar feeling in his loins. Reluctantly, he stopped kissing her. They looked at each other with heavily sated eyes before she stepped into him and embraced him, resting her cheek against his chest.

"Don't leave," she pleaded. "I don't think I can stand to be alone tonight."

"I'll stay," he assured her. And he did. It didn't take her long to fall asleep. Her head was lying on his arm as his fingers gently stroked her short, blonde hair. How long had it been since he just held a woman? For that matter, had he ever just held a woman? No. Laney was the first. His arm was falling asleep. He ignored it. He didn't want to do anything to wake her up; she looked so peaceful. Smiling, he put his other arm around her and closed his eyes.