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Chapter 6: Being Around You

The first half of the meeting was mostly boring to Bee. Reeve had brought up diagrams of battle plans that the group and the armies were to follow. To Bee, the screen just looked like a bunch of lines and dots pasted over a picture of the rebel base, but the others looked at it intently and participated in conversation with Reeve easily. So Bee sunk down in her chair, in between Yuffie and Tifa, trying to become invisible and wishing that they had just let her play with Marlene, Denzel, and Shelke for the first half of the meeting. Or at the very least, let her take a nap back in Yuffie's room. It was with this thought that Bee actually started to doze off in her chair, slumping down even further, and leaning her head on her hand.

She didn't awaken until she felt someone shake her shoulder roughly and Yuffie's voice whisper furiously in her ear, "Bee! Wake up, dummy!"

"Wha...?" Bee asked, confused for a second. It took her almost a minute to realize that she was in the WRO conference room at their headquarters, and that Reeve had probably just addressed her, as he was looking at her with an amused smile on his face. Then again, almost everyone was looking at her with some sort of amused expression. Even Rufus had turned his head to hide the tiniest upturn of lips. Bee stuttered, feeling her face go red, as she jumped up in her chair, straightening herself out as fast as she could. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, looking to Reeve and grasping the arms of her chair to help her sit even straighter against the black leather.

Reeve couldn't hold back a chuckle, but he shook his head and smiled kindly at the girl. "No, it's alright," he told her gently over the laughs of Cid and Yuffie. Even Tifa gave a small giggle and Bee was horrified to hear Elena and Reno give a few laughs as well. "Okay, everyone, settle down. This isn't Bee's scene, we should give her a break."

Yuffie continued to laugh at Bee, and the alchemist turned to her friend and glared at her, instantly causing the ninja to cease, and give a sheepish smile. Bee frowned at her, and poked her in the ribs, causing Yuffie to yelp and this time, Bee laughed. She turned her attention back to Reeve and said, "I'm really sorry. What were you saying?"

"Right," Reeve continued, a smile still on his face, "It is already agreed upon that you would be helping us to create enough antidotes to support our armies." Bee nodded at this and Reeve went on, "But what we wanted to discuss with you here is the means to make your antidotes, and potentially how long it would take for you to make enough. You would be making over a thousand antidotes."

Bee nodded and frowned at this, thinking through what would exactly have to be done to meet Reeve's demands. "What is the longest I could take?" she asked him.

Reeve paused and looked at Rufus. The former Shinra company president spoke up, looking at Bee directly. "The maximum amount of time that we can afford to wait would be about one month," Rufus told her, "We don't know what the rebels would do if we waited any longer."

Bee couldn't help but blanch at that, and she felt the blood leave her face. "One month? You want me to make one thousand antidotes in just one month? How am I supposed to run a shop and tend to my patients if I have to make that many antidotes in such short a time?"

"You would be generously compensated for your time," Rufus informed her calmly, but Bee shook her head quickly.

"No, you don't get it," Bee told him, the slightest quiver of panic in her voice, "I'm really the only good potion shop in Edge. If I close down, how will people be able to heal themselves? How will my patients survive if I don't go to help them?"

"Maybe..." Reno surprised everyone by speaking up, "A compromise?" He eyed Bee with that grin, and she watched him cautiously address everyone in the room. "None of us have any serious preparations to make before attacking the rebel base. The WRO has fully recovered from the conflict with Deepground. And, it's still prepared for another attack. Maybe... we could have some volunteers to look after the shop during the day while our little alchemist works her poor fingers to the bones. In return... we let her still go and do her angelic hospital visits and give her an extra two weeks to finish the antidotes."

Bee stared at Reno, surprised at how smart his idea was. She turned to Rufus, ignoring the smug look Reno was giving her and waited for the verdict.

"Well..." Rufus answered, also stunned with Reno's suggestion, "I suppose we can spare two extra weeks... Do the rest of you agree?"

"Cloud, Yuffie, and I can take care of the shop," Tifa offered, smiling at her friend, "We've been in the shop during the day more than anyone besides Bee. We know how she runs things and how she organizes her products."

Rufus nodded and turned to Reno. "I will be sending the Turks as well," he told Reno casually. He ignored the noise of protest that Reno made at him. "I want them to monitor your progress, and to bring the antidotes that you make back to headquarters. I doubt that you can fit a thousand bottles of antidotes in your shop."

"No..." Bee regretfully agreed. The last thing she wanted was for Reno to be coming around her shop on a daily basis, but Rufus had a point. She would never be able to fit so many antidotes into her shop at one time. "I need more supplies too. I can make a list for you if you want."

"We can give you whatever you need," Reeve assured her with a wave of his hand, "Is there anything else?"

Bee thought for a minute and then nodded slowly. "I want to run a medical camp close to Wutai," she told Reeve calmly, garnering confused looks from everyone in the room. She quickly stood and moved to the map of the base on the screen at the front of the room, pointing at the area of Wutai and turning to look at Reeve. "The base is not far from Wutai," she explained, dragging her finger from the village to the base, showing how close they were to each other. "Innocent people may get caught in the crossfire. I want to be there to help them, should they get hurt. If you want, you can bring your injured soldiers to me too. And, I can set up a work station and make even more antidotes for you." She dropped her arm from the screen and curled a stray piece of hair behind an ear, waiting for an answer. To her surprise, it was Reno who spoke up again.

"That's stupid," he exclaimed, standing from his seat and approaching the screen as well, "Where would you set up a medical camp that wouldn't draw attention to the enemy? Look." He held a hand out to the screen and gestured to the general area. "You can't set it up in Wutai itself, you would be putting those innocents in danger, and you can't get close to the base without drawing their fire. Which means, you would need to be further away, which isn't possible because of the mountain range. Where would you go without putting yourself in danger?"

"Right here," Bee said simply. Everyone looked to see that Bee pointed to a small clearing surrounded by mountains, a few miles away from the base. "I know that it's still close, but the rebels won't be able to see the camp. You will all just have to be stealthy about bringing people in."

Reno turned to her and motioned to the screen again. "And if the rebels find it? You'll be a sitting duck, you'll never make it out. They'll go straight for you. You'd be the only healer there, they don't care about the wounded. You would be their target, and you would never make it out alive."

"And if I don't do it, hundreds of people could die," Bee argued back, motioning to Wutai on the map, "Maybe you don't care about innocent people's lives, but I do. The whole point of the WRO is to protect the planet, isn't it? How can you possibly protect the planet if you can't even protect the planet's people? Too many people have died in the name of progression already. I won't let that happen, not when I have the means to protect them. You want my antidotes? These are my terms."

"You're crazy!" Reno told her, clenching his hands into fists at his sides, "You're willing to sacrifice your own life, to save people you don't even know? People who aren't even from your country?"

"Sorry if I like saving lives, more than taking them," Bee shot back, knowing it was a low blow but not caring, "I know, as a Turk, you wouldn't understand the feeling."

Reno backed off at that, gritting his teeth and wanting to argue more, but having nothing left to say.

"Reno."

The Turk turned to find that Tseng had stood and that everyone in the room had been watching the two argue back in forth, some in fascination, others in confusion, and a few with knowing looks on their faces.

"I think you've made your point," Tseng informed him tersely, "But we need those antidotes, so I suggest you sit down now."

"But-"

"Sit. Now."

Reno grumbled as he made his way back to his chair at the far corner of the table, hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched over. He kept his head low as he plunked himself into his chair and turned it so that it faced away from everyone else. He didn't speak again, the rest of the meeting.

Bee turned back to Reeve again and cocked her head back at the map and asked, "So, can I have the camp?"

Reeve sighed and looked over at Cloud. Bee's friend had remained silent throughout Reno's protests, but for once in his life, he actually agreed with the Turk. He hated the thought of putting Bee in danger, especially when he would be no where close to her to protect her. Nobody would be. But he saw no way around Bee's demands. All Bee saw were innocents that needed her help, and Shiva help anyone that stood in her way. He closed his eyes and nodded at Reeve, placing a hand over his face in disgust at his decision. Tifa sat silent next to him and Bee noticed that her fingers were laced together in front of her, her knuckles white. When Cloud nodded, she turned her gaze downwards to her hands, but said nothing.

"Yes," Reeve conceded finally, turning back to Bee with a frown on his face, "We will set you up with a medical camp just before we go after the base. However, it is as Reno said. Should you be discovered, you will have no where to run. We can leave you with a radio that can connect you to our airships so that you can radio for help if you need it and a few soldiers to guard you, but I don't know how useful they will be if the rebels discover you. And by the time your radio message got to us..."

Bee nodded in understanding, not needing Reeve to finish his thought. She understood the risks. She had understood the risks the day she had went to find survivors after Meteorfall too. Midgar had been extremely dangerous after that day, but that had not stopped Bee in the slightest from helping the people that needed her for the next two years, and no rebel faction would stop her now.

"Then it is settled," Reeve announced, looking back at the group with an air of finality, "I will send around battle formation papers to everyone tonight, and you can come find me or call me later on with questions. Bee will be making antidotes, and we will go over a schedule for her tomorrow, along with the Turks and those who will be watching over her shop. Bee, write a list of things you will need and give it to me by tomorrow morning."

Everyone in the room nodded, and slowly stood. Bee headed back for the table instead of the door, having noticed paper and pens on the far side of the table. She would stay for a bit longer to write down her list. Tifa cut her off, but Bee waved her off, assuring her that there was nothing that could be done. Bee's demands were final. Tifa sadly walked away from her friend to join Cloud who waited for her at the door. Cloud let Tifa pass, and Bee saw that he nodded at the far corner of the table and then left, shutting the door behind him.

Turning in the direction of Cloud's nod, Bee found Reno still sitting in the leather chair, glaring up her.

"Isn't this funny?" Bee asked, taking a seat across from Reno and grabbing the paper and pen she had seen earlier, "Normally, I'm the one looking at you like that."

"You're crazy," Reno retorted back, placing both of his hands on the table, palms down. Bee saw that his knuckles turned white from the weight he was putting on them as he leaned forward as far as he could over the table.

"You said that already," Bee pointed out, uncapping her pen and looking down at her paper. When Reno didn't say anything back she looked up at him. "Why do you care?"

"What?" he asked her, recoiling from her question. He sat limp in his chair again and watched as Bee looked back down at her piece of paper and began to write on the top line. Her handwriting was small, he noticed, and loopy. It was fitting for her, he decided as he continued to watch her write, her hands gracefully holding the pen in place as she skimmed her hand downwards, line by line.

"I asked why do you care?" she said, not looking up from her paper, "What does it matter to you if I do this? Cloud should have been the one arguing with me up there, or even Tifa. I don't see why you were the one to jump up and yell at me."

"Just because I slept with you and then left you doesn't mean I don't care whether or not you throw your life away like that," Reno said angrily, "You think I'm that heartless?"

Bee stopped writing and looked back up at him, but didn't put her pen back down. Her hair fell over her shoulder from the motion, and she flicked her head a bit, flinging it back. She had forgotten to wear a headband that day, and was paying the consequences. She sighed at Reno's question, and relented a bit, giving a shrug.

"No, I never thought you were heartless," she explained sadly, "I'm sorry. Tifa told me a lot about the Turks before I met you, and Cloud would sometimes remember random events from his past, some of them dealing with the Turks. While I won't claim to know your whole life, I know how much the Turks have changed. Tifa told me you guys went after Zack and tried to save him."

"Yeah..." he said sadly. He placed his head on his hand, supporting it with an elbow on the table, looking away from Bee. "We never found him. We... never really forgave ourselves for that failure."

Bee nodded and watched Reno as his eyes went distant, perhaps reliving the horrible events of that day over again. Bee wondered if he thought about it often. If he said the Turks never forgave themselves for it, then he probably did. Perhaps it haunted him to this very day.

"Cloud says that everyone has things they want forgiven," Bee told him, catching his attention again, "And that we have to forgive ourselves eventually."

"Yeah?" Reno asked, finally returning to his playful nature, "You ever forgive yourself for what happened with me?"

"No," she deadpanned, turning back to her paper and trying her hardest to ignore him. To her dismay he stood and walked over to the chair next to her and sat down, leaning closer to her. She watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh come on, little bug," he told her, his voice lowering to a sultry tone, "You enjoyed that night. What is there to forgive? We're both adults here, we know the pleasures of a person's company in bed. You weren't a virgin, if I remember."

Bee wanted to punch him in the face so hard at that moment. She was discovering that Reno was the only one to bring out a violent side in her, and she didn't like it.

"I wasn't," she confirmed with a nod. She sat up now, deciding that her list would never get finished with Reno in the room, and she capped her pen before placing it back onto the table.

"So..." He inched closer to her then, relishing in the way her face slowly turned red and how her grey eyes widened, her body frozen into place. The same reaction as last time, and Reno still wasn't tired of it. He smiled wickedly and decided to push the girl's limits. He lifted a hand and ran it through the length of Bee's hair, curling it around two fingers, and then letting it fall limp again. His eyes never left hers, and she found that her fight or flight instincts had kicked the bucket. "How did I compare?"

This got a reaction out of her, and Reno laughed at her as anger flitted across her face, but then was replaced by sheer embarrassment as Bee tried desperately to look away from the Turk before her.

"That good, huh?" he asked her cockily. He lifted his hand again, this time to trace her bottom lip, noticing again how pink her lips were, and remembering how wonderful they had tasted when he had kissed them. Sweet and cool, like watermelon on a fall night. Something Reno had experienced just once, and was dying to try again.

Bee's breath left her, leaving her dizzy as Reno leant forward even more, and his lips covered hers softly, touching her more gently than she thought possible for him. His hand brushed her cheek, and every cell on her skin that he came in contact with did an electrifying dance, one that went all the way down her back, causing her to shiver. She had been so surprised by his actions, that she didn't even close her eyes, and so she watched as red strands of hair tickled her forehead, and the goggles he constantly wore edged higher on his face, being pushed up by Bee's head. Her body went limp as his lips did wonderful things to hers and moved in an intricate dance that she couldn't hope to keep up with. He pulled back then, noticing that she had slumped back in her chair, and his lips could barely stay in contact with hers anymore because of it.

He couldn't lie, taking in her obvious state of overwhelm from his kiss gave Reno a sense of satisfaction he had never felt before, even from the completion of a particularly hard mission as a Turk. He smirked at her, noticing that she had looked away from him and touched her lips delicately with one finger. It gave him a slight buzz to cause her, or any woman for that matter, to fall to pieces from one of his kisses, right in front of him.

"Don't worry," he told her, his voice like silk to her ears and she looked back up at him, "My kisses always leave a woman in a state of total and utter bliss. You should recover in a few minutes, with the only side effect being that you will constantly want to jump my bones every time you see me."

A genuine laugh escaped from between Bee's lips, and she slapped a hand over them, surprised at her own reaction. Reno's eyebrows shot up, also shocked that he had elicited a laugh of good humor from her, and not a scoff of disapproval.

"Looks like someone is finally letting herself have some fun," Reno told her, crossing his arms over his chest, "Guess you can thank me later."

Bee opened her mouth to retort, but she let it die in her throat. She looked at Reno, scrutinizing him and she realized something. She had enjoyed his kiss, and she had definitely enjoyed the night they had spent together. She hated the fact that it had been a one night stand, hated that the kiss he had just given her had meant nothing, and that was something that would not go away, but she found that she actually did not in fact hate the man sitting before her. She thought he was funny, apparently. She discovered that she liked his sense of humor. His cockiness wasn't annoying to her, like it originally would have been. Instead, she found it almost endearing because she knew now that he wasn't actually that egotistical, it was just how he got a few laughs. When he wasn't trying to put her on edge, he was more than tolerable, he was a pleasure to be around. Something different in Bee's life, like a fresh breeze on a humid day.

"Reno?"

"Hmm?" He looked at her cautiously, having watched her expressions during her thought process. He couldn't decide if she had come to the conclusion to slap him again, and he was preparing to dodge it if she did.

"Could we... Be friends?"

Reno couldn't help but blink at the question and then replay it over again in his head, making sure he had hear her right. He eyed her suspiciously and asked, "What?"

"Don't get me wrong," she said, waving her hands in front of her face, and smiling at him, "I'm not trying to make myself feel better for sleeping with you by making you my friend. And I'm not asking for anything more than that. I don't want to have sex with you again, no matter how you may beg me." Bee's smile widened when she saw that Reno chuckled at her joke, and her heart warmed at the sound. "I just... I actually kind of... like being around you. You just can't kiss me again."

A few seconds went by in which Reno again questioned whether or not he had heard her right. He took the fact that she hadn't slapped him again as a sign that he had actually heard her and he looked at her in curiosity. Her face was still flushed from their kiss, and her hands were laced together on her lap. Her eyes showed anticipation, anxiousness and he realized that she actually really wanted him to say that he would be her friend. It took a few more seconds to realize how big of a step this was for her. She was asking to be friends with a man who represented all evil in her world. A man who had slept with her and then ditched her the next morning. A man who had tried to kidnap her friend many times over the years.

It was this realization that prompted Reno to think about her offer, which he had dismissed at first. Maybe the girl had potential after all. It took someone with real guts to ask a Turk to be their friend, or to even associate with them, guts he hadn't thought Bee had. Yet, she had just assured him that she wasn't asking to be friends to make her feel better about her one lapse of judgement. Perhaps there really was more to this little alchemist than just an angelic front.

"I take it back," he told her, leaning forward again. When she gave him a confused look, he explained, "You're not as much of a goody-two-shoes as I thought you were. Making friends with a Turk? That's some heavy shit, yo."

She smiled at him, genuinely happy with his words and she nodded, finally coming to the conclusion that her decision was not a bad one. "I'm... working on it."

"Well, I can certainly help in the bad influence department. Sure you don't want to have sex again?"

He laughed when she blushed at him again. Well, all things come with time, he thought. He held out a hand to her and she took it and the two clasped them together, with Reno placing his other hand on top, and running his fingers over hers and enjoying the way she watched, knowing that she wanted so badly to move her hand away from the contact. He looked her in the eyes and gave her his lop-sided grin again.

"Yeah, I think we can be friends."

A/N: If you don't think Reno would become friends with Bee so easily, it will be explained later on!