Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII compilation does not belong to me. I do not own the characters, story, places etc. They are all the property, copyright and trademark of Square-Enix. I place no ownership/claim on them by using them in this work of fan fiction.

Chapter Twenty Two: The Journey

"No. Absolutely Not."

The young woman's voice was unwavering in it's finality, the tone unmistakable even over the roar of the airship's engines. Reno wasn't surprised; anyone who knew her was well aware she wasn't one to take to the skies so easily. As she continued to 'discuss' her objections with his Boss he couldn't help but watch on in amusement, though he made sure to keep it hidden from his face.

It was difficult. She was the most animated he'd seen her for a while and it comforted him more than he'd like to admit.

She had been so quiet last night, withdrawn almost. Not matter what he did or said it didn't seem to work and she remained just that little bit further from him, refusing to tell him what had happened to upset her so, or what had happened afterwards with the President on the balcony. It made him uneasy. Had she told him instead? Maybe he was in the way after all and this was the beginning of the end for them. Perhaps she was slowly trying to push him away.

No, she had been trying to tell him something on the balcony, he was sure of it. Perhaps the Boss had said something to her that had scared her into silence and she was just trying to protect him. Shit, he was second guessing every thought that went through his head. This was why he avoided relationships, they were always such a fucking mess.

A relationship. When had he started thinking they were in something like that? Fuck, he really was screwed in the head. He wasn't exactly offering her much as a partner anyway.

What could he have done? Whatever had happened was undoubtedly far beyond his influence and if all he could offer her were words to soften the hurt what good was he? To feel so useless, so out of step was unnerving and it was only going to get worse. Wutai was a world away to everyone in Edge and although he couldn't deny that he was curious, the apprehensive feeling coursing underneath his skin refused to budge.

His attention focused in on the two in front of him once more as the heated flurry of words that had been coming from the young woman's mouth came to a halt with a single hand motion from the President. After a beat of silence, he spoke, his tone giving nothing away as always.

"Fine, I will have an alternative mode of transport arranged."

Yuffie appeared to blank a little, as if taken aback for a moment, the President turning to wave over Tseng who had been standing beside the red head in such silence he had forgotten he was there.

"Find us a suitable train, we will need to have several carriages free, organise a full security team and word will need to be sent ahead to inform them our arrival will be later than planned…"

The red head's attention soon began to faze from the increasing dull conversation between his co-worker and his boss as his gaze drifted back over to the young woman, her arms folded protectively as she watched on in cautious optimism.

He couldn't blame her for the small degree of happy relief she was probably feeling. She had been forced into doing so many things that were out of her comfort zone over the past few weeks that this concession must be nothing short of a surprise and even Reno had to admire the willingness of his Boss. It was annoying. Rufus Shinra was clever, cunning and ambitious amongst other things, but he also knew he was not only the unsavory traits that he had become so known for. Of course he hadn't admitted this to her. He had tried to pretend it was because he thought he could be wrong, that his Boss really was an evil scum bag, but that had never really been the case, unlike his father. Maybe it was just selfishness, a base desire to keep her affections for his own, but as he watched her he knew that it was fear. The fear that one day she would fall for someone else and it would break him. Shit, what kind of a Turk was he? A pitiful excuse for one, that was for sure.

What did it matter. In a little over a week it would all be over after all and he'd have to forget, for his own sake and for hers.

The floorboards were warm against the soles of her feet, creaking softly with every step she took. It was dark now, the amber glow from the lanterns placed at either end of the hallway the only light to be found and they cast eerily mesmerising patterns against the shoji. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she felt no desire to turn back. It was like she was being pulled, an invisible string around her waist drawing her further down into the darkness.

There were voices ahead, muffled and quiet, but she could hear them as if they were speaking just to her. Her pace never seemed to increase, even as she became aware of just how painfully her heart was beating in her chest. She wanted to reach them, but the hallway before her remained the same, the corner she was so desperately trying to get to as far away as ever. Why couldn't she move any faster? It was important, she knew it, she must get there, she must, move Gawd damn it move, why couldn't she-

Yuffie awoke with a start as something hit the window beside her with some speed, though whatever it was disappeared just as quickly, or rather it was obliterated. The train was barreling along at a speed she wasn't used to; the one she had taken to get into Edge had seemed to go at a much more reasonable pace, but then this was unlike any train she had ever been on before. Shinra certainly had influence. It wasn't every day you got to ride on something so advanced and as far as she knew, something very much intended for private use. It wasn't owned by them though, but that hadn't stopped them being allowed sole use of it at a moment's notice. It was impressive, she'd give them that.

She shook her head as she tried to fully awaken herself. She was sure she had been dreaming, but whatever it was had turned into nothing more than a vague feeling of familiarity and a tinge of something that made her feel like a child lost in a room full of strangers. She didn't much care for it.

Her fingers absentmindedly went to comb through her hair as a sigh escaped her lips. Her compartment was empty, by her own request and it had been accepted with relative ease. Rufus had 'work' to do after all and she wasn't about to feign a desire to spend time with him if it wasn't entirely necessary. Still, she had been suprised that she had been allowed such solitude. In fact, he had seemingly withdrawn since their little 'talk' the previous evening. Was he upset with her? She couldn't imagine why, but still she was left feeling as if she had done something to cause this change. Well whatever it was, she wasn't going to waste anymore time thinking about it now.

She lent her head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling for a moment, puffing out a breath as her gaze drifted towards the door. However much she had wanted to be left alone for this journey, she felt a sudden need for company, even if only as a distraction. The soft hum in her belly was growing with every mile closer they drew to Wutai and now sleep was lost to her as well, she needed something more engaging to occupy her mind.

With only a moment's pause, the young woman lifted herself from her seat, making her way to the sliding door and pulling it open with a sharp tug. She peeked her head out with an arch of her brow. There were guards stationed at either end of the corridor, presumably to keep people out, or perhaps keep her in. If that was the case, she was certainly up to the challenge. Putting on her best 'I can have you fired' face, Yuffie stepped out into the corridor and made her way up to one of the guards.

He had a pleasantly naive sort of face. The kind that looked far too fresh to belong to someone in his line of work and it led her to the assumption that he must be new. New was good.

The young man gave her a small bow of his head in acknowledgment as she approached.

"Can I help you Miss Kisaragi?"

She let out a dramatically long sigh, letting her weigh shift to her hip as her finger went to twirl around the end of her hair whilst she made a point not to bother looking him in the eye.

"I'm bored, I wish to take a walk around the train."

There was a hint of awkwardness to the guard's body language and she could sense the tensing of his shoulders as he shook his head.

"I'm afraid that is not possible-"

With a bluntness that almost made even her jump, she snapped her gaze up to his.

"Why not?"

He took a breath as if the effort to sound authoritative took a great deal of concentration.

"It is for your own protection, it would be much safer for you to stay in-"

She threw a hand up with a dramatic sort of flare, her head tilting to one side as she let her voice take on a sharp edge of irritation.

"I just told you, I'm bored."

"Yes, I understand that-"

Yuffie took a step forward.

"I don't like being bored."

The close proximity to someone whom, to him, was so completely and utterly above him seemed to cause him some distress as he tried to take a step back himself, only to collide with the door, whilst his gaze darted around the empty spaces either side of her.

"Perhaps, perhaps we-we-we can arrange to have something brought to you-"

She brought a hand up to his chest, the motion silencing him immediately as she begun walking her fingers up the buttons of his jacket, her voice becoming an enthralling deathly quiet.

"Mr Security Man, do you know what happens to little men who get in the way of my entertainment?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound caught in his throat as she pushed herself up to rest on her tip toes, her face now inches from his. She let her gaze settle on his own, before dropping all warmth from her eyes, her tone holding a threat she knew was toe curling.

"They become my entertainment."

Yuffie held that look for a moment before giving him a smile that was jarringly innocent compared to the rest of her.

"So, if you would…get out of my way."

"I can't believe they sent you."

The young woman crossed her arms with a huff, though she failed to sound nearly as irritated as she meant to.

Reno smirked as he shrugged.

"Well who else did you think they'd send, they think I'm the only one that can handle you."

Yuffie huffed again.

"Please, you can't handle me."

The smirk on his lips grew as he lent a little closer towards her.

"I don't know about that, I'd say I've handled you plenty of times."

She rolled her eyes, though there was a hint of a smile in her voice.

"Gawd…"

The red head had turned up a few moments after the guard had disappeared. He had mumbled something about fetching an escort for her, though she hadn't really been listening as she'd been far too preoccupied reveling in the state she'd managed to put him in. When she had noticed though, it had taken everything in her to not skip over to him and to suppress the smile that she so instinctively wanted to show him.

A comfortable silence settled between them for a moment, though as they neared the middle of the corridor they had been strolling down, Reno slowed his pace as his fingers went to run through his hair.

"So, where do you want to go?"

Yuffie shrugged. She hadn't honestly thought about it, she had just wanted to do 'something' and now she was sure she'd be happy to go anywhere as long as she had his company.

Her red headed watcher sighed as he seemed to consider something.

"You hungry?"

She gave him a little nod, though she wasn't sure she really was.

They carried on down a few more corridors before they reached where Yuffie imagined the middle of the train must be. As Reno slid the carriage door open, she was met with the sight of a sumptuous dining cart.

The young woman's brow rose as she gave a soft huff.

"This sure is fancy…"

The red head bumped her shoulder with his own as he gave her a teasing smirk.

"Come on, you're the 'White Rose' of Wutai, you must eat in fancy places all the time back home."

Her gaze flickered up to his for a moment, though when she opened her mouth to speak she found herself struggling.

"I…"

Her voice died in her throat as that feeling in her tummy returned, her eyes quickly shifting to rest on the bar as she found herself unable to focus. She could feel Reno watching her, but she really couldn't face his concern right now. She made a point to look around the rest of the cart and felt her brow furrow.

"There's no one here?"

She turned towards him, the look of confusion on her face clear as he gave her a shrug along with a small smile.

"The Boss is picky about where he eats so he didn't bother getting anyone in to staff it."

Yuffie raised one of her brows.

What about the rest of us…

As if once more picking up on what was going through the young woman's mind, the red head let his smile become a little bit more mischievous as he winked at her.

"I'm sure I can find us something."

Without another word, he turned and swiftly made to jump over the bar, before beginning to rummage around behind it. His voice sounded slightly muffled as he called up from where he was currently crouched.

"Drink?"

She paused for a moment as the thought of having something 'numbing' flickered into her head, but she soon shook the idea from her mind. It wasn't a good idea to get into bad habits.

"Erm…Tea, please."

Yuffie shifted her weight from one foot to another as the room fell into silence. She suddenly felt strange, though she couldn't work out why. As if he could sense her unease, Reno's head bobbed up from behind the top of the bar, as he motioned towards the side of the cart that was lined with tables.

"Go sit down, I'll bring it over."

She blinked herself out of whatever had tried to take hold of her as she nodded, before turning and walking towards one of the tables. She had chosen the first one she'd laid eyes on, it backed on to a partition in the middle of the cart which made it feel protected somehow and it sat besides a large window with beautifully soft curtains that were so long they brushed the floor.

She slid into one of the chairs and let herself flop back against the cushioned velvet. Her gaze drifted towards the window. The view was still pretty desolate, the sky a pale haze that was almost uncomfortable on the eyes and for all of her apprehension she couldn't deny she was looking forward to breathing Wutai air once more.

It was something she didn't think people appreciated enough, the beauty of Wutai. It hadn't always been that way of course. When she was young and the war was still in recent memory for most of her nation, it had been in recovery and whilst the reactors were at work it was in a constant struggle to return to it's former glory, but that didn't mean there weren't pockets where nature had managed to take hold.

Those were Yuffie's favourite places. She'd spend hours exploring just to find them and mark them as her own. They became her own little hideaways. Sometimes she felt selfish, keeping them to herself, but who would she have shown them to anyway? It wasn't like she had that many friends, at least not that many she could trust with something so important. Not after-

"Here we go."

There was a clatter of plates and cups as Reno rather unceremoniously dumped them on the table.

"Tea and…"

He looked down at what he'd brought as if deciding what it was he'd actually made whilst Yuffie joined him in scanning the table with mild interest. There were two cups, one looked like her tea and the other smelled strongly enough for her to guess it was a black coffee and there were what appeared to be a pile of sandwiches haphazardly shoved onto a couple of plates.

Reno seemed to falter for a second as a rare awkwardness edged into his voice.

"They might not look that good but…"

She reached out and pulled one of the plates closer.

"They look good enough. Thanks."

She gave him a small, but meaningful smile before grabbing one of the sandwiches and taking a bite. It tasted good, but she couldn't appreciate it as her tummy gave an unsettling clench. Gawd, maybe the airship would have been better after all. Constant vomiting might actually have been preferable to this.

Reno brought his cup to his lips as he watched her with a furrowed brow.

"You okay?"

Yuffie swallowed and gave him an unconvincing nod. They fell into a moment of silence as an odd sort of tension began to settle between them. It was so strange. She could sense there was something he wanted to say, but for whatever reason she also knew she didn't want to hear it. She snapped her attention over to her cup, grabbing it and feigning a sudden interest in it's contents.

She flashed her eyes up to his as she took a sip.

"So…Where's Rufus?"

A soft chuckle sounded from his throat as he lent back in his chair.

"Bored of me already?"

She shook her head, glad that he seemed to have let go of whatever it was he was thinking about a moment ago.

"No, it's just I kind of expected them to send for him if I'm honest…"

He quirked his brow as if irritated by the thought, but still nodded in understanding.

"He's busy, he doesn't like to be bothered when he's busy."

Her gaze suddenly sharpened with a genuine curiosity. What on Gaia was he doing? She tried to keep her voice light as she spoke.

"His 'work' right… What exactly is it that's keeping him so busy?"

Reno shrugged.

"Don't know."

She looked at him for a moment before letting her attention drop back down to stare into the gently steaming contents of her cup. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't know if she entirely believed him. Once more they fell quiet. It was heavy, suffocating and almost unnatural.

The red head brought up one of his hands and begun drumming it softly against the window as he let out a long exhale.

"So…looking forward to seeing your old man again?"

Yuffie gave him a blank stare before kicking out at him under the table. He jerked back with a grimace, though there was the hint of a smile on his face.

"Hey!"

As he rubbed at his leg, she made a point to cross her arms in pointed defiance.

"Well ask a stupid question, get a painful answer."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"That's not the saying you know."

She huffed.

"It should be."

He broke out in a low chuckle as he shook his head, before looking up at her. Something glinted in his eyes as he got up and pushed his chair back just far enough so as to be out of her reach before sitting back down with a grin. It was Yuffie's turn to shake her head now, though she couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips.

"Scaredy cat."

Reno smirked, though didn't try to come up with a response. His eyes drifted over her face before they crossed over to the window.

"So, what's it like then? Wutai?"

She tilted her head with a look that signaled she was just as unimpressed with this new choice of conversation as the previous one.

"You've been, idiot."

He shrugged.

"That was more of a…stop over."

She gave a little huff, though again couldn't stop the smile from forming on her lips. It was so long ago now she could barely remember it. At the time it wasn't something she ever thought to take much note of. She had been so preoccupied with her anger at Shinra, her father and her plan to screw over people she now considered her friends she had barely noticed Don Corneo before it was too late. She hadn't expected anyone to show up to save her, that wasn't how things usually worked. She had learnt from a young age that no one was going to swoop in and rescue her, she had to rely on herself.

But then they all showed up. It had been the start of her journey, the start of the change within her. It had given her a taste of freedom, of a life, of an agency she had felt was so long denied to her. It felt like a lifetime ago now.

She gave him a smirk of her own, as she let a teasing quality play into her tone.

"Were you just there to run in and rescue us poor girls?"

"Think Don Corneo was the one in need of rescue…"

"Hey!"

She tried to kick out at him again, though her leg was no where near long enough to reach him where he sat now and he gave her a smug sort of smile as she rolled her eyes. She let a beat of silence pass as her gaze locked with his.

"Do you think I'd have made a bad bride?"

Yuffie had meant her voice to sound teasing or snarky, but what came out was far more vulnerable than that. Reno looked straight back at her for a few moments, his gaze unreadable and she felt a warmth spread across her cheeks as she suddenly felt utterly exposed. A soft breath finally sounded from the young man's throat, before he let a small smile play across his lips as he spoke, his voice barely audible as if it was being forced out at no more than a hush.

"Damn straight."

They had finished in the dining cart in relative quiet. It was strange, this awkwardness between them. Yuffie knew why she felt this way, but she wondered if it was the same for him. She had almost told him she loved him last night. Had almost given in and asked him to save her, to put herself at his mercy. It would have been unfair and cruel of her of course, but she had almost done it.

Had he known what she was going to say? Was he embarrassed by her weakness, or was he angry at her? What if she had made him uncomfortable with her almost confession? What if he didn't feel that way about her and now he was left awkwardly trying to push her away?

Gawd, she didn't know.

Should she even care? It was their last week together after all, maybe she should just make the most of it.

Reno slid open the door of a carriage at the rear of the train. He had asked her where she had wanted to go next and once again she had almost left it up to him to decide, but something in her had sparked into life and she had suggested somewhere they would have had very little chance of being disturbed.

They had ended up in the carriage that was seemingly being used to store the mass of luggage Shinra had decided to bring and she hoped her suitcases were somewhere hidden in the pile and not forgotten back in Edge.

Reno slid the door closed behind them, pulling across the lock with a click before walking over to join her, her back to him as he brought his head down to whisper in her ear. She could hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke.

"Planning on returning to bad habits?"

She lent back against his chest, turning her head just enough to show him a smirk of her own. She couldn't blame him for it, after all there was probably some very valuable things in here, both in terms of wealth and in terms of knowledge.

Still.

Yuffie lowered her voice to the same hush as his as she looked back at him with overly innocent eyes.

"Must you always think so poorly of me?"

Reno brought his mouth teasingly close to her own.

"I have nothing but the highest respect for you, Miss Kisaragi."

He held himself there for a moment, his gaze flickering down to her lips as he seemed to be deciding on something, but then his brow furrowed as he begun to pull away.

No…

Yuffie reached out and pulled him into her. His lips were warm against her own, it was comforting and yet she could feel there was hesitancy there. Reno, hesitant? It wasn't like him at all. She didn't like it. She tried to hold on a little longer before she was forced to let him break the kiss.

He looked her in the eyes, his lips still close enough that she could feel his breath tickle the downy hairs on her skin.

"Girly…"

Gawd…

His voice, why did it sound like that? It was so vulnerable, confused, desperate. Had she done this to him? Was he now suffering just as badly as her?

She couldn't bare to look at him, to meet his gaze because she knew it could be the breaking of her. Instead she breathed her words out against his mouth as her hand twisted into the fabric of his shirt.

"Reno…When we get to Wutai…"

Her voice faded out as she thought about what she was trying to say. She wasn't really sure. Was she scared that they wouldn't be able to spend time together anymore? Did she think that he would find her different there? That he would be repelled by what she was about to become? Gawd, she didn't know, but things wouldn't be the same, she was sure of that.

Her fingers began to dig into the skin beneath his shirt as she felt the threat of tears begin to prickle in her eyes.

"Please…"

She couldn't tell if it was her pained voice, her trembling hands, or just her simple plea but it seemed to make an almost instantaneous decision for the young man as he brought his mouth back to hers with a force that was all at once painful and yet abating.

His hands grasped at her face, her hair, her waist. It was everything and yet all she could think about was whether this would be the last time. The last time he'd be able to touch her, that she'd be able to kiss him. The last time that she'd feel this way with anyone.

No…no, don't think about it, don't think…

Her fingers dragged down his chest to fight with his belt as she tried to block out every thought running through her head. She felt his hands slip under her jumper, his palms feeling cold against the heat of her skin, causing a pleasant tingle of goose bumps to cross over her belly.

She didn't want to give this up. She had given up many things in her life and she knew she would have to give up many more. She should be more accepting of it by now as an inevitability to her life, but it had never been that easy and she had never been the type to say goodbye.

The sudden rush from his touch disappeared as quickly as it had come, as she felt him withdraw his hands, a low, irritated growl sounding from behind his gritted teeth.

"Girly…I…"

Yuffie could only stare as the young man seemed to freeze for a moment, before letting out a long held breath as he took a step back. She watched helplessly as he ran a hand through his hair, the expression on his face unreadable. Eventually he met her gaze. Her confusion must have been clear as she waited to hear what she had done wrong, to hear an explanation, anything.

But it never came. Instead he gave her an unconvincing smile, along with a chuckle that rang hollow.

"It's nothing… Just we need to be getting you back to your carriage. Come on."

Yuffie hesitated in front of her compartment door, as her gaze flickered towards the the other end of the carriage. Reno had dropped her off just outside, before disappearing back into the neighbouring carriage. He had made jokes along the way, saying he needed to get back to Tseng, that Rufus would be getting jealous if he spend the whole afternoon entertaining her, that she should get some more beauty sleep before they arrived. The whole time making a point to keep a noticeable distance between them.

Was that what this was? Was he starting to pull away? Was it some attempt at making this easier for her?

Well it Gawd damn wasn't.

Her hand clenched uncomfortably tight around the handle to her carriage as she let her emotions pour into the cold metal.

Maybe he was right. Maybe she should take his lead. Her eyes flickered over to the opposite side of the carriage. Should she go see Rufus? Was that what she was meant to do?

The thought brought about a strange mix of apprehension and curiosity. She wanted to disturb him. To find out what this work was that was so important to him. Throw him off course. But perhaps that could wait for later. She felt tired all of a sudden. Gawd, she felt exhausted.

With a shake of her head she turned back towards her compartment and made to enter. As she closed the door behind her she all but collapsed onto the seat. The room was quiet, except for the gentle rumble from the tracks below and she knew it would be all too easy to fall asleep again, but she found no comfort in the idea. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to return to that dream so soon. It had made her feel small and she could do without that right now.

She edged closer to the window and let her forehead rest against the glass. The ride was so smooth she could barely feel the hum from the vibrations on her skin. It looked just as pale and lifeless as before, but as the train curved around a small crater she imagined had once been a lake a long time ago, she was met with a sight that made her eyes light up, if only for a moment.

Mountains. They stood like giants against the starkness of the landscape, casting a threatening visage and yet they still managed to seem enthralling. They were a part of her nation, of her and she loved them. She loved what they meant, even if it scared her. It wouldn't be long now, another hour or two perhaps and they'd arrive back in Wutai. She'd be home.

Author's Note: Please enjoy and tell me what you think!