A/N: I hope that every is safe after the hurricane. If you haven't seen pictures of New Jersey, I suggest you look at some. Considering donating to the red cross fund, or at least please be thankful for everything that you have. I was lucky enough to not even lose power, and my roommates and I are going to donate clothes and shoes to the refugees being housed at our university. If you can do anything for these people, I beg that you do.

Chapter 12: Don't Go Away

"How old are you?"

Reno looked up from his pile of fries at Bee in a daze. "What?"

"I asked how old you are," Bee repeated, a bit more forcefully this time. She picked at her salad in front of her with her fork, spearing a lettuce leaf. She and Reno were sitting in a small restaurant on the far side of town that had been next on Bee's list of places she needed to eat at.

She had kept her promise of owing him a weeks worth of dinner, paying for the three dinners they had had together over the past week, and were currently on their fourth together. He had been only a bit nervous at first, wondering if she remembered that she had tried to have sex with him again, and if their dinner would be awkward. But she had smiled at him when she found him already sitting at an outside table on their first dinner after that night. He had been relieved at this, and he stood to greet her with a wave, his lop-sided grin, and a crude comment about how good her legs looked in the shorts she was wearing. She blushed and shrugged him off as she usually did, and the two stood in line together to order food like it was the most normal thing for an alchemist and a Turk to do on an evening.

They didn't really talk about that night, Reno was relieved to note. She had simply thanked him again, this time in person, and he had asked if she had spoken to her brother. She told him that she had talked to Tifa, who had talked to Toby for her, saying that she wasn't ready to face him again just yet, and she didn't know when she would be. He dropped the subject afterwards, and did not bring it up again. He had already witnessed her breakdown over Toby. He didn't want to see it again.

Instead, they would ask each other questions, as she was doing now. Sometimes she asked about being a Turk, other times asked about the SOLDIER program and Reno knew she was trying to find out about Zack and her brother. He answered as best as he could, without giving her too much information (he did still value his job as Turk and did not want to be killed because he gave away a secret of Shinra). He would counter by asking about her apprenticeship and her life in the slums, and then she would ask about his partners.

By the end of the second night of eating together, Reno knew that not only was blue her favorite color and that she liked climbing things, but that she wore the bracelet that Zack had given her to this very day, she didn't like chocolate by itself, she loved anything caramel, she was afraid of loud noises such as thunder (but she loved watching lightening so it was a bitter sweet fear) and big trucks that rumbled by her house at night, and that she didn't keep in contact with her ex-boyfriends because both relationships had ended badly, to her dismay. She liked wearing her hair down, but held back with a headband because it bothered her when it was in her face, and wore it in a braid on days she really missed Aerith. She couldn't lie to save her life, she had tried it on him when he asked her if she liked the fourth movie he had brought over (it was terrible, full of death and pretty girls that weren't realistic at all). She missed Nanaki the most out of her friends, but valued all their friendships equally. She chewed the tips of her straws, claiming that she didn't like how much liquid came through them when they weren't chewed smaller. When they sat down for dinner, she always sat at the edge of her seat, as if she was ready to spring up at any notice, and when Reno pointed it out to her, she admitted sheepishly that it was a habit from hanging around Aerith when the Turks were after her. He had apologized gruffly, but she only smiled and said that Aerith would have forgiven him a long time ago.

Bee knew that Reno's hair was naturally that red, he hated formalities (though she honestly could've guessed that one), he had never had a serious girlfriend even before joining the Turks, his parents had both died at a young age, Rude was his best friend, he really loved burgers, he didn't like iced tea, and he wasn't really afraid of anything. He refused to tell her about his tattoos, but did tell her that he grew his hair out because when Tseng had stopped wearing his hair back, he felt there was something missing and needed to have his own. He regretted not being able to save Zack, more so than he regretted anything in his life, and he had a lot of regrets, he told her. All the Turks felt that that mission was the biggest failure of them all. He revealed that there had been more Turks, but didn't give her specifics, and was pleased when she didn't bug him for more. He liked walking with his hands in his pockets because it made him seem less threatening, he thought, and she agreed with him. He had picked up the EMR because he thought that it was different than most weapons, and suited his lifestyle. He felt that if he was going to be a killer, he would at least be man enough to watch his victims die in front of him, watch the life leave their eyes, instead of shooting them from far away and not taking in the full consequences of taking another's life. Bee had listened to this carefully, and gave no comment to it, but Reno was happy when she continued with the conversation in an even tone.

They never talked throughout the movies they watched, and Reno was happy when she immediately sat next to him again and again, easily placing her head on his chest again as if they had been doing this every night of their lives. He would always rub her arm because the contact of his skin on hers made him remember that she was real, and she always listened to the sound of his heart beat because the steady thump-thump made her remember that this wasn't a dream.

And every night, she went to bed just after the movie ended, not really caring that she hadn't made it to 7th Heaven like Reno promised she would, and she would watch through her bedroom window as he left out the front of her shop, locking it behind him with her key, still on his key ring. He looked up every night to see her there, and he grinned at her, making her heart beat faster and her mind buzz to the point where she couldn't hear the wind blowing right past her ears. He waved at her, then turned and left for wherever it was that he lived, not looking back to see that she watched him until he slipped around the corner at the end of the street. She then got dressed for bed, pulling a tank top over her head, and sunk into her bed, lazily dragging her covers over her, turned off her lamp, and placed a hand on the arm that he had been rubbing just minutes before. She slept with her hand there, trying to capture the left-over warmth and bring it with her, into her dreams.

Now, on their fourth dinner night, Bee watched at Reno eyed her in suspicion, taking a bite of his burger and chewing slowly, stalling time before he had to answer.

"Why?" he asked her cautiously. He picked up a fry and poked into his pile of ketchup then stuck it in his mouth, savoring the salty taste.

"Because Vincent said I was a little young for you," she said noncommittally, trying her hardest to pretend like the answer didn't matter to her. She speared another piece of lettuce again, smiling in triumph when she managed to get a crouton at the same time.

Reno watched her and chuckled at her childish actions, causing her to grin at him before plopping the lettuce and crouton in her mouth. "He did, did he? I didn't realize we were dating." He had forgotten that she mentioned Vincent spoke to her about their friendship, but said nothing to her as she probably didn't even remember mentioning it to him.

"He didn't mean it that way," Bee corrected, not mentioning that it looked a lot like they were on a date that very minute. "He meant because we slept together." She was proud of herself for how easily it was to speak of that night now. While she still regretted it, wished it had never happened, she could not deny that she was grateful for the friendship that she had with Reno. She enjoyed his company and was slowly discovering that he was right; her life had been very boring. Reno brought her a sense of happiness and excitement that she had never had before.

"Oh, right," he acknowledged. He looked at Bee, remembering that her twenty-second birthday was coming up soon and suddenly felt very old. He tried to ignore that thought by taking a sip of his soda and then scratching his face, stretching out the red tattoo on one side. "I'm gonna be thirty soon."

"Thirty?"

Reno turned back to look at Bee when he heard her voice crack on the word. She quickly tried to cover up her stunned reaction by picking at her food again, mixing it around in her bowl with a bashful expression. She cleared her throat and said, much more calmly, "I didn't know there was such a distance between our ages."

"Eight years," Reno supplied with a shrug, "I'm not concerned about it. You're really mature for your age anyway. If you hadn't told me your age that night, I woulda thought you were older, yo."

"And you are not really mature for your age," Bee teased, earning a french fry thrown at her head. It fell into her shirt, and she tucked a hand down to grab it. As she placed it in her mouth she noticed Reno watching her intently, his eyes following every movement. "What?"

"That... Was sexy," he purred at her, leaning forward and grinning at her.

"I grabbed a fry out of my shirt and ate it," she stated, looking at Reno with an eyebrow raised.

"You grabbed a fry out of your boobs," Reno corrected her, flicking the flimsy fabric of her blouse with a finger.

"Shut up," she said sternly, though her eyes held amusement, and when Reno pouted at her, she finally laughed at him. She examined his face for a moment then asked, "You're really turning thirty?"

"Yup," he answered, still not concerned.

"You don't look anywhere close to thirty."

"I know."

Bee continued to examine him as he chomped down his burger and watched as he looked around at the people that were sitting around them, most of which had stared at him, recognizing the Turk uniform. He was so carefree, she had come to notice, taking pleasures from life where he could get it, holding on tight to the things that he liked. Bee surmised that it came with the Turk territory. He kept his EMR on him at all times, tucked into his pants pocket and hidden beneath his white button up shirt. On the other side, he had a gun holstered, hidden under his suit blazer. He was ready for a fight wherever he went, and Bee had noticed that he often checked the people around them at extensive lengths, as he had at the diner the first time they had eaten dinner together. Yet, he was always in a good mood, grinning at her, making jokes. Bee loved that about him because she found his emotions to be infectious. If he was in a particularly good mood, she was too. She admired the way he always looked for fun things in life, trying to live it to the fullest.

"I was thinking I could take you on that trip to the mountains next weekend," he said, knocking Bee from her thoughts. She looked at Reno as he finished off his burger. She had honestly thought that he had forgotten about his offer.

"Okay," she consented easily, causing Reno to look at her closely. "What?"

"It's your birthday that weekend, isn't it?" he asked her. A couple walked by their table and he watched them until they had left the dining area.

"Yes. Why? Is that a problem? You just asked if I wanted to go climb that mountain. I wasn't going to have the shop open that weekend anyway. It's the only weekend I really close the shop down. And yes, I actually sleep in that day." Her voice was playful at the end and she smiled at Reno before taking a sip of her water and then munching on another bite of her salad.

"I was just afraid that you already had plans," he told her honestly. He really wanted to take her to the mountain for her birthday, not that he would tell her that, but he had thought that she had probably already planned on hanging out at the 7th Heaven, or maybe doubling her angel visits, he wouldn't put that past her. And the weekend after her birthday was the weekend they were heading to Wutai. No doubt she would be cramming in antidote making for the next week so that they were ready.

"Tifa asked for me to eat dinner at the bar one night. Everyone is supposed to come. I can go that Friday and we can go climbing on Saturday into Sunday. Is that okay?" she asked, unable to keep a tone of hopefulness out of her voice.

Reno noticed, however, and gave her a playful smirk and a wink. "Can't wait to get me all alone on a mountain, huh? Ya know, that doesn't have to be the only thing you mount this weekend."

"Reno!"

He knew he deserved the slap to the shoulder that came right after.

They packed up their trash, throwing it out as they left the eating area outside the food stand they had stopped at, and settled into a comfortable pace towards the heart of Edge. Bee looked around at all the buildings, still in awe two years after leaving Midgar. The buildings were just so tall to her, and she could see the sky above them, which was probably why she liked climbing so much. She had never been able to see the sky when she was living in the slums, and the first time she saw it, she was terrified that she would fall into it.

Reno walked beside her, his hands in his pockets as usual, watching the people that shifted around them, giving them both a wide berth. He remembered that it had bothered Bee the first time they walked together, to the point where she had glanced around nervously the whole walk home, her hands fidgeting on her backpack straps uncontrollably for the better part of twenty minutes. Now, she ignored the people around her, he noticed, relieved that she was no longer discomforted while being with him.

"You should come," Bee said suddenly, catching Reno's eye, "On Friday to my birthday dinner, I mean."

"I don't know, little bug," Reno drawled, "I don't fit in to dinners like that."

"What do you mean?" Bee looked up at him with sad eyes, and Reno mentally cursed himself as he felt himself caving.

"Turks don't usually do dinner and that sort of stuff," he explained, "We have business meetings where we talk about who our next target is or where out next mission will take place."

"Oh." Even to Bee's ears, her voice sounded small. She knew her face was crestfallen, and she turned her head so that he couldn't see it. She had wanted him to be there, more than anyone else. She had thought that because he had been willing to hang out with her the past week, and how he gave her the TV before that, that he would want to go to her birthday dinner. He was willing to take her climbing a mountain, which she was ecstatic about, and he was willing to tell her bits and pieces about his life, but it would have meant more to her for him to be at dinner, with the rest of her friends.

She looked up when she heard Reno grumble under his breath. He was dragging a hand over his eyes, his tattoos stretching again as they had earlier. He looked down at her in frustration, and sighed out, "Okay, I'll be there. If that's what you want."

"Reno, you don't have to go if you don't want," she told him, hating herself for saying it, but feeling it was the right thing.

"Listen, I just said I'd go, didn't I?" he asked in frustration, "If it will make you happy, I will go to this dinner. There will be alcohol right?"

"I want it to make you happy," she argued back, touched by his confession, but perturbed that he was only going because of that.

"Bug, when you're happy, I'm happy too," he said without thinking. She looked up at him with wide eyes before looking away, her face flushed. Reno was taken aback by his own words as well and so said nothing else, as he realized that he had meant them. When she had been crying the night she was drunk, he had felt her pain, he felt unbelievable sadness too. He liked when she was happy, but wasn't that what friends normally liked?

The rest of the walk was a daze for Bee. Reno's words had startled her, and she couldn't seem to stop her heart from beating faster and faster. She had the sudden urge to hug Reno, pull him close and thank him a thousand times over, run her hand through his too-red hair, and kiss his too-perfect face. She remembered passing by the monument in the center of Edge, newly rebuilt after it had been destroyed just before Bee had come to Edge. It was here that Bee plucked up the courage to grab Reno's hand and squeeze it. When he looked down at her in bewilderment, she smiled shyly up at him and they stopped their walk. Her face was beat red as she tried to keep the courage to continue holding his hand.

"Thank you," she told him, her voice just above a whisper and Reno had to strain to hear it.

He tried to shrug it off, and answered back cooly, "It's not a big deal."

"No, you don't understand," she said, trying to explain. She squeezed his hand again and brought it up to memorize the way her fingers laced with his. "I've... never had someone like you in my life before. Tifa and Cloud, they saved me from Midgar and brought me here, gave me a means to a new life. But they're so busy all the time, I don't really get to talk to them as much as I want. And Yuffie is oblivious to everything but materia. You already know about Toby. You... were the first person to point out how boring my life is, my place is, my personality is. And I feel that even though I haven't known you very long..." She felt her voice give out, and she cleared her throat again and continued, "I've felt more alive in these past few weeks than I ever have in my life. You've made me... really happy."

"We haven't really done much," Reno joked, uncomfortable with Bee's confession, "I just tease you a lot, and make you watch movies with me, and meet you for dinner. Take care of you when you decide to get drunk."

"I know. That's what I mean. Just those few small things have shown me how boring my life was before, how unhappy I was," she said with a nod. She continued to look at their hands, too embarrassed to look up at his face. "And you coming to my birthday dinner means a lot to me. I want all of my friends there, and you're the friend that means the most to me."

"Next thing you know, you'll be asking me to marry you," he teased, looking away from her. He didn't know how else to react to her except with jokes, and he hated that he couldn't tell her how much she meant to him too.

Bee looked up at him finally and noticed that he had looked away from her, clearly uncomfortable. She dropped his hand then in shame, thinking that she had really upset him, and starting walking away from the monument and Reno. "No, of course not. I'm sorry." Her words were hurried, choked, and Reno realized with dismay that she was crying. He rushed forward to catch her arm, swinging her around to face him.

She crashed into him, her chest bumping into his, and his mouth found hers in a hungry kiss as he tried to convey everything he wanted to say to her through just his lips.

I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. Don't leave me. Don't cry. Don't ever cry because of me. Don't ever go away. I need you. I want you. You're the best thing in my life. I'd do anything to make you happy. Just don't go away.

He held her tightly against himself, feeling the fabric of her blouse in his hands has he held them on her waist, making sure that she couldn't leave him again, because as he watched her walk away, he saw his ray of sunshine go with her, and he just couldn't let the only good thing in his life walk away like that, not when he could stop it. And Shiva, her lips felt good against hers as she kissed him back with just as much hunger and it was so much better than her drunken kisses had been. Watermelon on a fall afternoon all over again, and he never wanted it to stop. And he realized he would go to as many dinners, climb as many mountains, watch as many movies as she wanted him to, as long as she would just stay with him.

He felt her gasp into his mouth, and for a second he felt pure satisfaction run through him, thinking that he had caused her to gasp, but then she went limp. So limp that she fell from his grasp, and he staggered to catch her, opening his eyes finally to see a look of horror on her face as they slid to the ground. He heard people scream around him and he looked up to see two men approaching him and he felt his blood run cold. He recognized the uniform the men were wearing as the ones that the rebel group in Wutai wore. They were walking slowly to him, and he saw with dread that one held shuriken in his right hand.

"Bee!"

He lifted her so that her head rested on his shoulder, and he noticed that it simply lulled to the side, hitting his shoulder like dead weight. He peered over to her back and his heart stopped in his chest as his worst fears were confirmed; four shuriken were sticking out of Bee's back, blood seeping through her blouse and Reno thought for a second how mad she would be because that was her favorite shirt. She was still breathing, which was a good sign. Shurikens were small weapons, meant to kill slowly or to incapacitate before executing a victim. She would survive, with only four small scars on her back, but only if she wasn't hit again.

"Re... Reno.."

Her voice was weak, and he knew that she was more going in to shock than she was injured. She tried to move her head, but he held it in place with his right hand, reaching into his pocket with his left and pulling out his PHS. He flipped it open, never taking his eyes off of the approaching men. They stopped, intrigued by Reno's actions.

"What? Never seen a phone before?" He couldn't help himself. He hit two buttons and his speed-dial kicked in, dialing the number of his boss quickly. Tseng answered on the first ring, prompt, as usual.

"Tseng."

"I need back-up!" Reno yelled into the phone, hoping that the desperation in his voice was as obvious as he was trying to make it sound.

"Where?" Tseng asked, not bothering to ask what had happened to Reno, as he was off-duty at the time.

"The monument in the center of Edge," Reno spat quickly. He stood, watching at the men began walking towards him again, and he cradled Bee gently in his free arm, trying not to disturb the shuriken in her back. He winced when she moaned a bit and then swore loudly when more blood poured out of her back, coating her blouse in the shiny red liquid. "Send Cloud too. He knows how to better handle a Restore Materia than I do." He flipped his phone shut, not bothering to hear Tseng's answer as he knew his boss would be sending help right away.

With not much time before the men reached him, Reno backed up, shoving his phone back in his pocket and removing his EMR, slipping the end loop over his left wrist. He moved slowly backwards until the shadow of the Meteor monument fell over him and he turned, placing Bee gently on the ground behind him. The monument would shield her back, leaving less area for Reno to worry about while protecting the girl from her two attackers. She shifted against the cool metal behind her, finding it soothing on her aching back and managed to look up at Reno through hazy eyes.

"Reno..." she whispered and he noticed how unfocused her eyes were and he wondered if she could even really see him. She was probably woozy from blood-loss, and she was definitely going into shock. Again. "Reno, I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?" he asked her, whipping his head back to see the men were almost to him. He didn't have time to listen to her right then, he needed to take the men away from her. "I'm going to keep you safe. I promise." He stood then, squaring his shoulders and carrying his EMR proudly at his side as he walked forward to meet the men who had harmed his little bug.

Bee watched him go, and felt tears escape her eyes, clouding her vision. She tried to lift an arm and wipe away the tears so that she could continue to watch him, but was frustrated when she realized that her arm wasn't listening to her. She wanted to watch him! Didn't her body understand that? She had to make sure he was okay, she had to rush in and cure him if he got hurt. She had to protect him, as he was protecting her now. As he always seemed to be doing lately. She had to... she had to do something besides sit there and cry like the pathetic lump that she was. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not move, and the tears flowed even more, running in her mascara and drawing salt-filled lines on her cheeks, finally being soaked up into the material of her blouse, like rain onto sand. And that was how she passed out, her shock and loss of blood finally overcoming her, and her last thought was that she wanted Reno to be okay, because how was she going to tell him that she was falling in love with him otherwise?

Reno, meanwhile, was grinning cockily at the men, tapping his EMR on his shoulder and he slowly walked forward to face them.

"We have no quarrel with you, Turk," the one man said, his voice gruff. He held a sword in one hand and he held it out, motioning for Reno to step aside. "Not today, at least."

"But, see, you just stabbed the girl I really like," Reno told him, trying to exude an air of confidence, and slowly finding himself slipping into anger. He took a breath to steady himself. Turks never entered into a fight with anger. It made you sloppy, clouded your judgement. And he couldn't afford to be sloppy right now. Protecting Bee and fighting two men at once until someone else arrived would take all of his focus. "So, really, you have a lot of quarrels with me. Enough to make me want to kill you."

The other man, the one with the shurikens, gave him an evil smile and motioned to Bee with his free hand. "We will kill the girl first before you can get to both of us."

"Well then you won't mind me asking why you want to kill her then, right?" Reno asked, prodding for information and stalling for Cloud's arrival all at the same time.

"She is the alchemist, is she not?" asked the shuriken-man. "She is the one that saved Rufus Shinra from our poison. Our spies have told us so. You were so concerned with protecting you precious president that you did not notice one of us following you to her shop. It was just a matter of time before we figured out that she was working for you. If we kill her, we can stop all WRO operations against us."

"Fuck," Reno swore loudly, hating himself more than he ever had in life. He had lead them right to her! If he had never brought Rufus to her, she wouldn't be sitting there bleeding out right now. She wouldn't be hurt, or afraid, or even in his life.

A loud motor sounded from behind the Wutain men, and Reno watched with insurmountable relief as Cloud on his motorcycle skidded to a stop just before Reno, causing the two strangers to leap out of the way, both rolling to opposite sides and then standing gracefully again, a move he had seen Yuffie use in the past. Cloud removed his riding goggles, letting them hang loosely, and then dismounted. He turned to take in the two men that had finally stood back up, straightening out their yellow uniforms and grasping their weapons tightly in their hands.

"Cloud," Reno nodded in greeting. He gestured over his shoulder at Bee, "You need to help her. I'm useless with Cure."

"Why am I not surprised," Cloud murmured sarcastically, making Reno flinch. He moved past Reno quickly, his fusion sword swinging on his back. When he reached Bee, he knelt down beside her, pulling her forwards when he saw no blood on her front. He observed the shuriken sticking out of her back and nodded to himself, then turned back to Reno and shouted to him. "I can stop the bleeding and seal the wounds, but we have to get her to a hospital as soon as we can."

"Right, I've got back-up coming, so we should be able to handle this fast," Reno assured him with a nod. Right on cue, the man with the sword flung forward, having been hit from behind. He landed on the cement, just before Reno, causing the Turk to smirk at his partner, who stood smugly behind the fallen Wutain. "Nice timing, Rude! You always know how to show up in style! But do me a favor, leave this guy alive, and let me kill the other guy. I owe him."

"Sure," Rude agreed with a nod, pulling tightly on his leather gloves so that they fit his hand snugly. He moved forward towards the man that was still laying on the ground. Rude watched as his partner began to stalk off toward the Wutain with the shuriken, and he was struck by how Reno's eyes gleamed, his jaw seemingly wired shut, and he tapped his EMR a little more vigorously than usual against his shoulder. It was then that Rude saw Cloud in the distance, kneeling over the alchemist girl, his hands glowing on her back in white magic. Rude looked down at his next victim and gave the Wutain the barest of smirks and told him, "You went and pissed Reno off. I'm sorry that you won't survive the interrogation."

Reno barely heard Rude as his partner picked the man up by his shirt collar and sent him flying into the wall of a nearby building. He didn't watch as Rude easily detained the man after deflecting a sword swing, knocking it away and then knocking the man out cold. He didn't care that Rude had finished his fight before he did. The man with the shuriken consumed Reno's thoughts, because he was the man that tried to kill the best thing in his life, his ray of sunshine. He dashed forward, knocking incoming shuriken away with his EMR, and then reaching the Wutain, jabbing him in the gut with an electric shock. The man yelled out in pain, but recovered quickly, straightening out and pulling three more shuriken from a pouch on his leg. He made to throw them at Reno again, but the Turk was too fast. He managed to grab the Wutain's arm before he could even release the stars, and punch upwards at the throwing arm, breaking it in the process. This didn't stop the shuriken-man, and he used his other arm to go for a second pouch of stars, but Reno beat him to that too, breaking his hand flawlessly. There was a whip of red, and the Wutain found himself being thrown back by a kick from Reno. Looking up in his fall, he noticed the Turk was already on top of him, and the last thing he saw were Reno's eyes, glaring down at him in the most murderous rage he had ever seen. Then, the EMR was at his chest, just above his heart, and he was dead.

Reno dropped the man carelessly, looking down at the charred flesh of his chest. Reno was tempted to give him another shock, just for good measure and because he honestly thought that it would give him even greater satisfaction to char up the whole body, but he stopped just before the mans chest. Bee had moaned behind him, and he turned quickly, seeing that Cloud was standing now, holding Bee close to his chest. Instead, Reno stood, kicking the dead body away from him, and then ran to Cloud, finally noticing that Rude had beaten his opponent and that the sword-man was sitting unconscious at Rude's feet. People were running around the monument, yelling nonsense at nobody, and he vaguely felt annoyed at the crowd control that would have to be done later on.

"Is she okay?" Reno asked Cloud desperately once he had reached the two. He noticed that Bee was breathing easier, but her face was extremely pale. He made a move to touch her, but stopped himself short, a motion that did not go unnoticed to Cloud.

"She will be fine, but like I said, she needs to get to a hospital to get a blood donation. She doesn't have enough right now," Cloud told him gently, for once trying to make the Turk feel better. The panic had still not left Reno's eyes, and he looked Bee up and down like a wild dog who's territory had been threatened and had no idea how to fix it. "You can carry her if you want."

"What?" Reno asked Cloud, clearly distracted. He finally looked away from Bee, having been fully satisfied that she was in fact not in any immediate danger.

"You can take her," Cloud offered again, holding the girl out to him. Reno looked down at her, and Cloud was shocked to see him wince, and push Bee back into his own arms.

"No," he said dejectedly, "I don't deserve to hold her. I couldn't even heal her. I couldn't protect her."

"What?" Cloud didn't understand. Reno had handled the whole affair very well, in his opinion. He had found and defeated the source of Bee's attack quickly and soundly, and Rude even had one of the men in custody. Reno was smart enough to make sure Tseng called Cloud, someone close, with reliable transportation, and a means to heal Bee. And everyone had noticed how happy Bee had been over the past few weeks. Tifa always came back from the shop gushing about how much Bee had changed, and for the better. Her conversations were lighter, a smile always on her face, and she laughed and joked so much more than she used to. And it was all because of Reno, even Cloud could not deny it any longer.

"You take her to the hospital," Reno said, turning away from Bee, his shoulders hunched over, "I don't deserve to be around somebody like her. I'm a murderous Turk. And she's..."

"Your friend," Cloud stated obstinately.

Reno continued to walk away, shoving his hands in his pocket and gesturing for Rude to pick the sword-man up. "Who are we kidding? I could never keep a friend like her around. I'm no good for her."

Before Cloud could protest further, Rude picked the Wutain up, slung him over his shoulder, and flipped a phone open. Ten seconds later, a Shinra helicopter appeared from over the buildings. A ladder was thrown down to them, and Cloud looked up to see Elena standing in the chopper doorway, motioning for the other two to head up. They did so, with Rude having no difficulty bringing two people up the ladder at once. Cloud watched until Reno hoisted himself up into the helicopter, and with one last glance back at Bee, slid the door shut, obscuring Cloud's vision of him completely.