Tengoko: Sorry, again for taking so long. I had another case of writer's block, and then when I finally got over that, it took me a while to get this chapter just right. I hope you all enjoy it. I know I've kept some of you waiting longer than you would've liked. I'll try to be more expedient. Please review. Reviews really are the best cure for writer's block, and I really can't tell you how much I appreciate them.
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Rated M for language and romance
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Chapter 15: Promised
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"Where's Laney?" Justus asked, sitting down at the round table. The question resulted in a powerful glare from Rude and a censuring expression from Tseng. He seemed not to notice. Only that his question had yet to be answered. "Was she fired or something? She hasn't been in to work since…last week. What's going on?"

Tseng frowned. "I can assure you, Justus, that Elena will be returning to work very soon. In the meantime, I do advise you to stay focused on the task at hand." Justus nodded and looked down at the manila folder which had just been thrown in front of him. Rude was already reading his briefing, and suddenly, he stood up and threw it back down on the table.

"You can't honestly expect me to work with him?"

"What?" Justus asked, tearing the folder open to read what was inside. Sure enough, he was to partner with Rude. "Who's brilliant idea was this?"

"Mine," Tseng said angrily. "And you will both do as I tell you to do. I will not be coerced. At work, I am your boss…not your friend. You will do as I say."

"But given previous situations, sir, I don't see how this partnering is going to be very productive."

Tseng sighed. "Rude, I have no other choice. With Elena on sick leave and Reno requesting the week off, I am left with you two."

"Elena's sick?" Justus asked, rising from his chair.

"Where the hell have you been, dolt?" Rude snapped, hating him more each time he looked at him.

"I would have thought she'd be over it by now," he shrugged. "Unless this has something to do with Havre. Are you hiding her from him or something? Because if you are, and Reno's the one protecting her, then you might as well arrange for the funeral now."

Rude balled his hands into a fist and started making his way around the table. Tseng lunged forward and grabbed him by the back of his coat to stop him. But, then to Justus' surprise, Tseng turned on him. "Didn't I warn you to drop it?" His voice was shaky, almost as though he were trying to force himself from yelling. "And, if Elena's protection were the case here, I'd trust nobody but Reno with the job. Furthermore, if I ever hear you talking about your superior in such a manner, I will be forced to suspend you…without pay. I do not tolerate disrespect here. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Justus said quietly.

"Good. Now, if I may continue…" He narrowed his eyes on Rude who grunted before sitting back down. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying. Several eye witness reports have stated that they've seen Havre in the slums of Sector Six. As it's not a very big area, I figured that you two could get to the bottom of this with little difficulty."

"That could very well be true…unless," Rude trailed off, eyeing Tseng as though waiting for permission to go on. Tseng looked annoyed at having been interrupted again, but looked at Rude, waiting for him to finish. "He could very well have made the train graveyard his hideout. It'd make more sense to me than him being in Sector Six."

"How typical," Justus groaned. "Why must you make the mission any harder than it has to be?"

"Because it is our job to eliminate any shadow of doubt. If there is a possibility that he's still hiding out in Midgar, it is our duty to find him. Hell, Justus, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want to find him."

"It's more the fact that I don't want to work with you any longer than I have to."

Rude smiled. "Oh, I am almost positive that I'm hating this exponentially more than you are." He then turned back to look at Tseng who now was rubbing his temples. "That's why you should be able to appreciate how much I want to find this guy. I'm willing to lengthen the duration of this mission to find him."

He really was. There was nothing that could hinder his desire to help Elena. She was the closest thing to a little sister that he had, and too many times he'd stood by when she needed him the most. Well, he wasn't going to let that happen anymore. He was going to protect her, no matter what the cost.

Tseng looked down at his papers and then nodded. "Rude's right. We can't just assume that Sector Six is the only place he could be. Havre's smart. He'll keep moving, and he'll be damned if he gets caught before exacting his revenge. So, we've got to be one step ahead of him."

He leaned over and began marking on the papers before looking up at the two of them. "Rude, I am leaving this in your hands. You make the call. Justus, you are to follow his orders as though I were the one giving them. And please, for my benefit and for your own, do try to play nicely."

"Yes sir," they said in unison.

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Reno wasn't the type of man to stop and take in the scenery or beauty of nature. He definitely wasn't the type to sit on the roof of his building to watch the sunrise and sit to think about things that have already transpired. But, there was a first time for everything, and if he ever needed a time to clear his head, now was it.

Three days had passed since he'd brought Elena back to his apartment with him. Last night was the first night she wasn't in pain. So she slept. Was still sleeping. And Reno was so grateful that the worst was over. His friend…yes his friend…would be all right. She would no longer have to suffer the effects of what the drugs did to her body.

He took a long drag on his cigarette and then went back to thinking. There was no missing the point that Tseng had been trying to prove to him. Even Rude had understood and he hadn't even been there the whole time. At first, it was easy enough to put off. With Elena needing help, it was easy to keep his thoughts off of what was implied. But now that everything had passed, he had to face it.

Did he love Elena? Well, of course. He'd loved her for a long time. But, he always thought he loved her just as Rude loved her. She was family. They all shared the bond of being a Turk, of only having each other to rely on. So, of course he loved her. But did he really love her?

That was a bit more complex. Reno had sworn long ago that he would never fall in love. It was just too inconvenient for him, and it would be unfair to the unlucky woman. His first love would always be his job. How could he ask anybody to take a backseat to it? But Elena….she loved the job too. She wouldn't be in the backseat. She'd be right up there with him, racing into the heart of a mission with as much enthusiasm as him.

He did enjoy kissing her. The memory of it made him smile. He'd kissed many, many women before Elena. But none of them had made him feel so lost in the kiss. It was hard to describe the effect her kisses had. It was as if is heart wanted to speed up and stop all at once. As if he were melting, but he'd be shaking at the same time. And she was so stimulating. Every time he'd kissed her, he'd always yearn to kiss her more, and more. Kissing her, ruined other women for Reno. So yes, he'd kissed many, many women before Elena…but he'd kissed none after.

But he hadn't been her last kiss. Now, in the past, Reno's philosophy about women were, there were none worth fighting over. Not when another willing candidate to share his bed could be found elsewhere. So usually, when a man decided to compete with him for the affections of some gem that'd caught his eye, he'd let his eye wander to find a better gem. But when Justus began focusing his attention on Elena, there was no describing the rage and jealousy he felt.

"…Reno?"

Reno snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see Elena. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts, so long that it came down to her mid-thighs. Which was good because she hadn't put any shorts on. She was wearing a robe, but it wasn't tied shut. In fact, it looked as if she'd just woken up and decided to find out where Reno had gone.

"Is everything all right?" he asked, standing up.

"Yes. I was just wondering where you went," she said, approaching him and then taking a seat in the chair next to the one he'd been in. "Wow," she breathed. "I can't remember the last time I've seen the sun rise."

Reno sat down and threw his cigarette to the ground, stepping on it with the tip of his shoe. "I've seen a lot of the, but I've never really looked at any."

"That's a shame," she said, her eyes still fixed on the golden hues. "There's so much beauty in this world, and if you don't take the time to look, you'll miss it all. Come to think of it though, I haven't really looked either since I've become a Turk."

"Elena…there is something I've been wondering…"

"Reno…let me go first…there's something I have to say to you." She looked down at her feet, and then back up at him, her eyes full of tears. "Thank you!" she cried. "You don't realize how much you've done for me. You had every right to leave me for dead, to let Havre kill me. But you saved me. In more ways than one. And I'll never be able to thank you enough for that, Reno."

"That's what Turks do, Laney. We look after each other."

Elena stared at him blankly for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense. That's why you all came. I'm half surprised Rude showed up though. As pissed off as I made him."

"You know Rude will always be there for you," Reno said, lighting another cigarette. "No matter how fucking pissed off he is."

Elena looked down again and shook her head. "To be perfectly honest…I'm more than half surprised that you came too. I would have thought that the only Turks intent on saving me would be Tseng and…"

"Don't say his name in front of me," he gritted out, his face suddenly turning dark. "Damn, Laney, you always know just what to say to make a perfectly peaceful situation turn to hell." Reno stood up and began walking towards the stairway, but Elena quickly jumped up to stop him. "Elena, I'm not in the mood to talk anymore. Hell, I don't even think I was in the mood before now. Just get out of my way."

She didn't argue. She moved aside to let him continue towards his desired destination, but for some reason, he didn't move. She looked up at him and then gasped. It was in the way that he was looking at her. She'd never seen him look more angry, distressed, confused. Instinctively, she took a step backward, but suddenly, his hands shot out towards her and pulled her against his body as his mouth came crushing against hers.

There was no stopping him. His tongue invaded her mouth, not caring if he had her permission or not. It was such a powerful kiss, so powerful that Elena still was wide-eyed. It wasn't until she started enjoying the kiss that he tore his lips away from hers and stared at her with murder in his eyes. She didn't understand. How could he kiss her so passionately, but still look at her as though he'd love nothing more than to wring her neck?

"I have a question," he muttered. His grip around her increased painfully. "Did he ever kiss you like I kissed you?" Elena's jaw dropped open. She tried to push away from him, but he was determined to be answered. "Did he? Did he touch you like I touched you?" At that, he lifted one of his hands to her face to stroke her cheek gently.

"No," she answered, her eyes spilling over with tears. "He never kissed me or touched me like you did. But there was one thing he did do." She ripped herself out of his hold and backed away from him.

"What was that?" he asked, or shouted rather.

"He promised me more than kisses. Promised me more than touches. He told me he'd treat me right. Whether he meant it or not is moot. He said what I wanted to hear."

"So I didn't lie to you like he did? You've got be kidding me, Elena. You mean to tell me that any pretty boy who compliments you and promises you the world will get into your pants? And you said my sex-life was questionable."

Elena got angry now. "Your sex-life is questionable. And, how dare you question me and my standards when I've only been with one man in my entire life. How many women have you been with? Huh? So what if I fell for the first man who promised me the stars and the moon? At least I have standards. It takes more than a nice body and a bottle of booze to put me in the mood."

Reno looked livid now. But Elena wasn't cowering. He'd pushed all her wrong buttons, and she may be in his debt, but she still had her pride to consider, and she'd be damned if she let anybody step all over it. "Oh, thanks for reminding me, Elena. I can have any prime piece in Midgar I want. Why I get myself stuck on a plain, mousey looking-"

"Stop," she demanded. "That was another thing he did. He told me I was beautiful. You never did that. And now, here you are telling me that your Midgar sluts are much prettier than I am. Damn Reno, how I ever could have fallen for you…"

"What?"

"Oh it doesn't matter anymore," she cried. "You've cured me of my silly little infatuation with you. That's all it was, wasn't it? Lust. Well, that's passed."

"…Laney," Reno whispered, stepping closer to her.

"I should have learned after Tseng. Co-workers are off limits. But you know, Reno. I really thought that you and I could have really had something. I couldn't understand why you didn't. But now I do. Because I'm not a little street urchin. You can't just sleep with me and then shake me off. And you didn't want any complications or strings attached."

"I don't want to hurt you, Laney," he said sincerely. He paused. He wanted so badly to tell her what he felt about her. But not even he was sure. How could he tell her what he didn't know?

"Well, mission unaccomplished," she yelled, turning on her heel and storming towards the stairway. But before she left, she turned back and said, "Thank you for taking care of me. But I do believe I've overstayed my welcome."

Reno felt a surge of panic at those words. He walked towards her. "Elena, you can't go back by yourself. Havre is after you, and you are no match for him."

"Don't worry about me. I'm sure that Justus wouldn't mind taking me in."

She might as well have taken out her gun and shot him in the heart. That's what it felt like. More than once, he thought about going after her. Gods, why did he have to care so much? No woman had ever made him feel so…so…so angry, so irritated, hurt, deliriously happy, right, passionate.

"I love you," he whispered. There. He'd finally admitted it to himself. And part of him felt relieved. Happy even. But there was another part. The part that knew he'd never have the courage to tell her. The part that knew that she really would be better off with a guy like Justus who could promise her everything under the sun. And that part felt utterly miserable.