Reno lounged on the pull out sofa listening to his music. Cid had gone down to the basement to get some wood for the wood stove in the den. Since the power was still out, the rickety stove was the only heat source in the house and it really only heated one room. So the two decided that maybe sleeping in the same bed was a necessity for that night. Reno had offered to help, but Cid had told him no immediately.

"I dun want ya falling down them God damned stairs and cracking yer head open because ya passed out. Basides you are still sore from earlier ain't ya?"

In truth Reno wasn't sore anymore, the mako had healed it all and the dull stomachache had subsided. The mako was a very handy thing, but as many soldiers had said, it was too bad it didn't heal broken hearts.

Then again, why would he need it to heal a broken heart? He now had Cid to do that. Together they could make each other forget the loss of those they loved. Would they ever love each other? Reno frowned and couldn't answer his own question. He didn't know if he would ever truly love he pilot, but he could certainly hope so.

Cid returned with an armload of wood, panting only slightly. He ungracefully tossed it by the fireplace and stepped back.

"That should be enough wood ta keep until mornin'."

Reno nodded and Cid climbed onto the bed, careful not to accidentally knock the "injured" man around. Cid's weight shifted until finally he settled on a position and lay there. After Reno put away his music, the two were engulfed by awkward silence, filled only by the crackling of the flame and the clock ticking in the dining room.

Reno rolled onto his side and looked at Cid. The man lay on his back, arms above his head, and his legs crossed at the ankle. He was the perfect picture of ease, especially with his cigarette hanging slightly out of his mouth. Reno watched as the man's eyes slowly started to close and his breaths became deeper.

Reno smiled and took the cigarette from his lips. Cid jolted awake and Reno laughed, taking a large, deep breath from the Marb.

"Careful ol' man if I hadn't 've noticed you would have lit us on fire."

Cid bristled, "Who're ya callin' old man ya chucklefuck! I'm sure it wasn't the man that fucking lifted you up and ran you to the doctor's when you decided grabbing an electrical wire was a good idea. Or the guy that is helping you fix that hunk of shit in my garage you call a mother fucking chopper."

Reno laughed and finished off the cigarette with one long draw, "Yea and the same mother fucker may have just fallen asleep with a cigarette in his mouth. Ya know that is how old people go, they fall asleep in bed while smoking. "

" I wasn't fucking sleeping, I was resting my eyes."

"I didn't know that resting your eyes involved snoring."

Cid carefully swatted at Reno's arm and grumbled a bit. Reno laughed and ground out the cigarette and tossed it in the trashcan next to the pull out couch.

"Good night, Cid"

"Night."

Reno curled up and buried his head in his pillow and fell asleep with seeming ease. Cid, however, despite his earlier napping, could not fall asleep. He instead listened to the creaks and groans of his house and the soft crackle of the fire in the woodstove. Reno's breathing got deeper and Cid smiled.

'Little liar, conning me into thinking he was asleep.'

Cid continued to listen to the sounds of the house, until an unfamiliar sound reached his ears.

He looked at the man in bed beside him and frowned. Reno was tossing around a little bit and his brow was furrowed in his sleep. His soft whimpers were enough to make Cid's stomach churn in sadness. He hesitated in waking him up thought when, Vincent's warning echoed again in his ears.

'If I have a nightmare, let me be. I would rather live through a nightmare, than have you wake me up and risk Chaos' rage. You should always air on the side of caution waking up a Turk from a nightmare. We don't always differentiate between a friend from the monsters in our dreams.'

Cid looked at the man that lay beside him. Vincent was a different case; he had demons in him that could have torn Cid to pieces if he crossed them. Reno was just a man that had been through more than most should ever go through.

"Reno? Reno-"

Suddenly Cid felt cold metal pressed to his temple and a gun hammer cock back. Reno had moved so fast, Cid didn't know what happened. The redhead demanded something in another language, staring Cid in the eyes and pressing the gun harder into his temple.

"Reno. You're okay. You were having a nightmare and I woke you up."

Reno stared at him for a minute or two in a wild unseeing stare. Then as though a light had been switched on, the thousand-mile stare was gone and Reno was back.

"Holy shit. Sorry Cid. I guess I was dreaming. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to wake a sleeping Turk?"

Cid laughed lightly and fought his pounding heart to calm itself. He didn't plan on doing that again.

"What were you dreaming about?"

Reno looked away and set the gun on the bedside table, "Something that happened a long time ago. It's nothing. You should probably get some sleep."

Reno lay down, but felt Cid tap him on the shoulder. The blonde held out his hand and motioned towards the gun.

"Let's not have a repeat of what jus' happened. New rule. If we sleep in the same bed, you can't have a gun on you. I don't want my fucking brains blown out when I try to be a good guy and wake yer ass up from a nightmare."

Reno gave him a sheepish smile and handed him the handgun. Cid set it on the coffee table, away from the Turk and lay down beside him.

"By the way, what language was that?"

"Mideelian. I am quite fluent in it."

"Where did you learn it?"

"I had several friends growing up that spoke it. I asked them to teach me how and they did."

"That's pretty cool. I don't know another language."

"Maybe some day I'll teach you."

"That'd be nice."

Reno shifted until he was lying on his stomach turned away from Cid. He was just drifting off when he felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him slightly close. He felt a soft kiss get pressed to the back of his head and the older pilot whispered something in coherent. Reno smiled and nuzzled back into Cid's embrace. That night was the first night in a very long time that the Turk slept without a nightmare.

~Well here it is Chapter 17. I hope you all liked it! I'd like to thank fetherhd, Namantos, VioletIsInPain, and Black-Rogue-Fairy for the amazing reviews. I write because you review, thank you all! Thank you for reading! ~CR