Sparks and Steel

by T.C.Rose

Tifa must choose between the man she's loved since her childhood and a man she once considered her enemy. Cloud/Tifa, Reno/Tifa. Incorporates some elements of OTWTAS and AC but does NOT take place in those worlds. Lime/Lemon Content. Ongoing rewrites to improve the story. Chapter 27 replaced 7/26/2022.

27. Love Grows

Chapter 27:

A/N: Rated M for language and sexual content. Standard disclaimer applies.

Updated July 2022: Another massive rewrite, with tons of additional scenes that expand on the original premise of this chapter.

"Director?" Rude said as he stood in the entrance of Tseng's office, knocking on the already open door to alert his presence.

Why was he standing here? Why had he begrudgingly gotten up from his desk a few seconds ago to come to get Tseng's attention, still standing in this place with his knuckles raised up to graze the door? Was he really so much of a follower that he would do this favor for Reno, the man who had betrayed him, so that the red-haired Turk could continue that betrayal and have a chance at getting everything Rude had ever wanted?

The image of Reno pinning Tifa against an alley wall in Junon – with his hand groping her breast and her leg wrapped around his waist – was still seared in Rude's brain, tormenting his thoughts and torturing his dreams. He still held a dimly lit torch for that woman, even after she had chosen his best friend over him.

Because, when he thought about it, he wasn't doing this for Reno. He wasn't doing this for his company or the planet or for any other reason that would get him any commendations from his employer in the immediate short term. He was doing this for Tifa, so that she wouldn't have to continue to be Shinra's foil merely because she, of all the members of AVALANCHE, had chosen Edge as her main residence. Sure, there was a Turk stationed in nearly every city on Gaia and ordered to keep tabs on any AVALANCHE members living or visiting the area, but Tifa had the misfortune of living near Shinra headquarters, in a town with four veteran Turks who had grown an affinity for drinking in her bar and had developed a tepid relationship with her. Rude, like Reno, hated violating her privacy by listening in on her conversations and intimate moments (though he had a particular motive for despising such surveillance), and didn't want her to ever find out about their treachery.

Tseng calmly and quietly looked up from his paperwork to acknowledge Rude's presence, giving his subordinate a look that indicated he was cleared to enter the office and take a seat. Clearly, this was going to be a conversation of few words; they just needed Vincent Valentine to really have a party.

Tseng's office was a fraction the size of Rufus Shinra's, but even more minimalist, since Tseng hardly cared for worldly possessions, finding them a waste of time. His office furniture consisted of a modest-sized desk in the middle of the room and accompanying swivel chair, with three additional armchairs on the other side for subordinate meetings. Along the back wall was the only indication of Tseng's personality: an antique record player with storage below for half-a-dozen records, all classical, only to be played when the director was in need of serenity, which was rare. When it did happen, his three subordinates would look at each other in confusion, sharing glances to warn each other that they should stay far away from Tseng until the music was turned off.

Also unlike Rufus's light-filled, white office that depicted the new Shinra attempt at portraying itself as a softer, more compassionate company, Tseng and the Turks' office resembled the Department of Administrative Research from the old headquarters in Midgar, with black walls and sleek furniture. It suited them just fine, even if it meant they worked in what was known as "The Cave" to other Shinra employees who toiled in brighter surroundings.

Rude closed the door behind him and approached Tseng's desk, though he gave no indication he was nervous or that he even had something to discuss privately. He sat down in a chair in front of Tseng and removed his sunglasses, taking a cloth out of his pocket to clean them as he gathered his thoughts.

"I think we should work with AVALANCHE on this one," he said, finally.

Tseng sat forward in his chair and clasped his hands under his chin, prepared to patiently hear out his subordinate as he always did, considering Rude's advice to be among the best of his fellow Turks.

Though Rude seemed like the best candidate to be second-in-command under Tseng, the director had promoted Reno based on his ruthlessness and ability to pass what was colloquially referred to as "The Verdot Test." The former leader of the Turks, Veld, had developed an ability to see through his underlings and determine who was most mercilessly loyal to the company, who he could describe as someone who would choose loyalty to Shinra over anything else – love, family, innocent life – in under 30 seconds. Reno had been trained to be that type of a Turk, but the leaders of the organization always felt Rude had a steadfast compassion within him that could lead to a decision that would place someone else over the Shinra name, though he had conducted himself atop the Sector 7 pillar with precision and professionalism.

"Why?" the leader of the Turks asked, narrowing his eyes briefly while quickly recognizing Rude's not-so-hidden agenda.

"They're not our adversaries anymore," the bald Turk replied, returning his sunglasses to their rightful place.

Tseng sat back in his chair and considered Rude's proposal, wondering if this had truly been his idea. "Does Reno agree?"

"It was his idea. We informed Rufus."

There it was.

"And what did he say?"

"Only to join if necessary."

Tseng leaned back in his chair and stared at Rude for a few moments, giving off no expression to explain his thinking. It was true AVALANCHE was no longer fighting Shinra and there was no need to treat them as the enemy, but Rufus was in charge and he made the final decisions.

"I'll talk to him," Tseng said after another minute.

Rude nodded and stood up to leave the room. Though little was said, he knew Tseng was onboard and if anyone could convince Rufus, it was Tseng, even if that wasn't saying much. Rufus had his own ideas on how to do things and didn't like input from anyone else. Still, it was their only chance to avoid what could end up being a public relations nightmare if Shinra were to openly antagonize the recognized heroes of the world.

Rude returned to his desk and put his headphones on to listen in to Seventh Heaven. He had been tasked with listening live while Elena was forced to listen to the information from the night before. Elena's task was easier, since she used a program that isolated the audio recordings into a visual format so she could skip ahead to moments where there was actually sound, rather than sit around listening for hours to mundane background noise like footsteps and pots clanking. The occasional "aww" escaped her lips as she listened, finding herself looking at Reno in a different light. Maybe he was capable of genuine love, a thought that seemed so foreign to her just a few months ago.

Meanwhile…

Waking up, for Reno, was like coming to after passing out, no matter where he was. He always seemed confused about where he was and how he had gotten there – even when he was in his own home. He opened one eye that morning, as the other was obstructed by a pillow, finding that he was not in his own bed or his own apartment. He studied what he could see of his surroundings without moving anything but his eye as it suddenly became clear to him that he was, yet again, waking up in Tifa Lockhart's apartment.

There was a nightstand with his phone and wallet right next to his side of the bed, and beyond that, on the adjacent wall, a dresser with a bunch of framed photographs on top. He could see just one well enough. Tifa was in it, as was Barret, his kid, and Cloud. Also, three other people. Oh, those friends of hers he murdered, which certainly couldn't be a good reminder for her. Maybe he could steal the picture or put it face down, or place it in the back? Nah, that would all be too obvious. Dammit, she might as well have had a book called "101 Reasons to Hate Reno" on her shelf. She probably did.

He was sprawled across her bed as if he were a rag doll that had been thrown from some height; his legs were spread wide and his left foot as well as his left arm were hanging off the bed. He was face down and his right arm was bent back awkwardly, with the bedsheets gathered at his waist, leaving his torso and legs exposed and somewhat cold. He knew he wasn't alone, but even taking up as much of the bed as he did, he didn't feel anyone else beside him. He moved his right arm a bit until he felt soft, delicate skin against the back of his hand, which brought a smile to his lips. He wasn't just waking up in her apartment, he was waking up next to her for the third straight day, as if he were living here now, a thought that irked him but did not send him running for the hills as it may have once upon a time.

With strained effort, he pushed himself up until his arms were straight and his back was arched down, yawning like a lion first adjusting to the morning.

Nope, no point in getting up. Try again later.

He flopped back down to the bed but turned his head to look in the other direction. Ah, the back of Tifa's head, a much better view than some of his murder victims. She stirred when he disturbed the mattress but didn't seem to wake, sable locks pooling on the sheets between her and the red-haired Turk. Reno now saw where most of the sheets had gone, clutched in Tifa's hands while facing away from him. Sheet thief.

Reno shifted to his side and wrapped an arm around her waist, scooting up against her and inhaling her scent as he tried to conceal his morning erection against her spine. He realized then that the last thing he remembered was holding her in almost this exact position, with his hand cupping her breast in what he thought was an act of defiance, to which she didn't object. By Gods, he had slept through the entire night without needing the debilitating effects of alcohol, exhaustion, or post-coital bliss. He hadn't gotten up for a cigarette or with thoughts of escape; he had slept soundly through the night beside Tifa.

She smelled like some combination of beautiful smelling things, like flowers and fruits. He didn't know, whatever was on her soap bottles he had used the night before.

Oh shit, that's right, he smelled like her now too. This would not do; he couldn't go about his day smelling like a lady and wearing a three-day old suit. He'd have to make a trip home before he started work; though, to be fair, he had technically been working for about 48 hours straight. Probably wouldn't get an overtime bonus though.

He flattened his palm against her belly, relishing the satin nightgowns she had worn to bed the past two nights, which again rode up to bunch around her waist, revealing her firm but fleshy rump. He pulled her close against him, hoping the steel between his legs and resting against her back wouldn't wake her. He heard Tifa moan softly as she awoke and turned over in his arms to smile at him, curling against him with her head against his chest.

"Morning, sheet hog," he whispered groggily into her hair.

"Yeah? Well, you were taking up the whole bed," she retorted, the sleep still evident in her voice.

She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, the lacy hem of her satin nightgown falling from her waist to cover just enough of her lower body to drive Reno wild. He had experienced what was underneath that fabric just two nights ago, but, he assumed, the fact that he had only used his fingers and mouth meant he was still aching for more. And yet, his eyes didn't linger on that part of her anatomy for too long, gliding upward along the line of her body, over her ample bosom, to rest upon her sweet face as she yawned, revealing her small pink tongue. He thought she looked cute even when first waking up and found himself with a smile etched across his face as he watched her welcome the morning, thankful she didn't seem to notice.

"Will you be sticking around today as well?" she asked him, sliding her legs off the bed and standing up to stretch more fully. She didn't think he could keep shirking work to help her with chores, but he didn't seem too concerned about the issue outside of the angry phone call he had received yesterday, which he hadn't spoken about again.

"Sure, babe, I just wanna run back to my place to change and get my manly musk back," Reno replied, his voice low and sensual even though he wasn't trying to flirt.

Tifa looked up at him sharply and smiled. He said the weirdest things.

"What, you didn't like my soaps?" she asked wryly.

He sat up on the bed and crawled to the edge near her, rising up on his knees so that he was taller than her, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"They're fine for a girl, but I can't go around smelling like couscous all day."

She looked down at him in confusion, her lower lip dropping slightly as she scrunched her nose and eyebrows, blinking as she tried to figure out what he meant.

"Couscous? Do you mean hibiscus?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Men shouldn't smell like biscuits and candy."

She laughed at his lack of knowledge of basic flowers and fruits, silently vowing to teach him one day.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna hop in the shower so I smell like biscuits and candy" she snickered, pointing to herself for emphasis.

"Sounds good, you make yourself pretty while I—" Tifa's sour expression cut him off.

"Huh?" she asked, looking playfully irritated.

"I mean, make yourself pretty-er," he tried again. Nope, also wrong. Tifa crossed her arms and looked legitimately disgruntled. "Shit, I don't know what to say to women in the morning…"

"Excuse me?"

Reno realized he was putting his foot in his mouth – what else was new – and had to get out before he completely pissed her off. It wasn't like she didn't know about his past indiscretions – he had paraded enough of them through Seventh Heaven to make his proclivities clear – but he hadn't seemed to be doing that for the past few months. Maybe he just hadn't been so obvious in order to gain her favor, which made her feel like a complete idiot at the moment.

She knew a life with Reno was impossible, deep down, but he had been so attentive the past few days she was beginning to wonder if she was still holding onto a deep-rooted bias from their days as adversaries. But if he was still seeing other women… Granted, she had no proof, but his verbal mistake made her remember his penchant for one-night stands and what started as playful teasing quickly became anxiety.

"I, uh, I'm just gonna go before I dig this grave any further…" he stammered, running a hand through his bedridden hair.

"Good idea," Tifa said, swatting him playfully on the chest before walking into the bathroom and trying to let the mishap fall to the wayside, not wanting a repeat of what happened yesterday.

Reno stared at the closed bathroom door for a moment after Tifa entered, unable to help the feeling that he had just done something to anger her. He'd never been concerned about angering or upsetting a woman before – except Elena, with her short temper and sharp nails – but the thought that he was continually failing Tifa was sitting low and deep within him. He'd never had to try this hard to get a woman into bed, and it was beginning to wear on him, wondering if it was still worth it.

He started to get dressed but found it difficult to keep his eyes off the bathroom door once he heard the water running, his thoughts quickly snapping back to pinning her up against the shower wall, slipping inside her as hot water rained down on both of them. Yeah, she was worth it.

No. Stop. He had to get home and change so he could get back to work. It was a rough life, sleeping next to a beautiful woman and flirting with her all day to get information, but it had to be done.

Once he was dressed and had his weapons secured, he let his mind drift one more time to thoughts of Tifa lathering herself up in the shower, his eyelids heavy and a feral grin plastered across his face. He shook his head to clear the thought before walking downstairs and leaving Seventh Heaven, stepping into the brisk morning air and lighting a cigarette.

Footsteps on the sidewalk; black, polished boots carrying the red-haired Turk away from the only place that had felt warm and accepting since he was a teenager, before everything went to hell. The Turks as an organization may be his family, and he may have occasionally passed out at his work desk in the office, but that wasn't home, and his apartment had never felt as inviting as Tifa's house. He had designed it that way, with cold, dark furniture and walls meant to repel him back into the world for work or debauchery. Now, however, he felt even less drawn to the place he was returning to, a heavy air settling over him under the pale blue sky.

Rubber soles scuffed the rungs of the ladder hanging against the wall of Tifa's neighbor as he climbed to the rooftops to avoid battling any fiends on his way home. The makeshift rooftop pathways that had been hastily constructed over the past few months were empty except for the sounds of beasts on the street below, which he preferred to crowds of people possibly smelling his feminine soap.

Reno scanned the visible walkways as he moved further from Seventh Heaven, his hands deep in his pockets and a cigarette hanging from his lip. He knew that aside from looking into the world's monster problem and searching for ways to solve it, Rufus had been working with Reeve and the WRO to come up with a plan to place more permanent rooftop skywalks and provide access for businesses that could not afford to modify their buildings on their own. Reno knew Reeve was all for the idea, but Rufus' main concern was solving the monster crisis and becoming a world hero – everything else could wait.

A rather feline grin stretched across Reno's lips as he strolled home, smoke curling upward from his cigarette in ribbons as he puffed. The sun capped the tips of his fiery red spikes with a muted orange glare and he ran a hand through them, looking to the side as he rested his palm on the back of his neck in contemplation. He took a deep breath to inhale the fresh mid-morning air as his thoughts turned back to Tifa, imagining what she would think of the sky and what it looked like through her ruby red eyes.

His belt shifted atop his hip bones with each step, his suit rumpled and loose after three days of wear. The monsters below him didn't even try to snap up at his feet as they often did under the bridges crossing rooftops, perhaps due to the air he gave off that told the creatures he would burn them to the ground if they came close. And he would. He hadn't really been able to destroy something for a while – not since before Meteor, actually. He was half tempted to go on a rampage against some old computer equipment with a nine-iron, like he and Rude would do when work was a little slow years ago. Maybe he should ask if Tifa wanted to join? He felt like she of all people needed to let off some steam right now, even if he would prefer she use him to blow off steam, though one couldn't be too picky.

It felt odd for a Turk to be out in the daylight alone, just as it had been the day before when he rushed to Shinra HQ for a tear down. They may have compared AVALANCHE to cockroaches – when one was crushed, several more would appear – but the Turks were more like wolves, hunting in packs. Rarely did one Turk appear, and Reno's most violent work had been done in the company of another Turk, usually Rude. They took out Sector 7 together, and maybe that had diminished some of the guilt he felt about it. He couldn't imagine how much more messed up he would have been had Rude not been there, and seeing that picture on Tifa's dresser reminded him that he was the real monster in this town, yet somehow Tifa didn't seem to see that anymore.

His phone vibrated just a few blocks from his apartment building. Rufus. He flipped it open and brought it up to his ear, his third cigarette of the morning sticking to his lower lip.

"Yeah Chief?" he asked, trepidation flowing from his throat like Lifestream beneath the surface, prepared to be handed another assignment that would eventually blow up in his face and ruin whatever chance he had with Tifa.

"It seems your fellow Turks agree with you," Rufus said with a certain edge to his voice.

Reno was honestly shocked, the cigarette falling from his lip and narrowly missing his pant leg. They agreed with him on something?

"They do?" he found the words after a pause.

"Tseng has suggested we work with AVALANCHE to find a solution to the planet's problem regarding monsters," Rufus breathed into the phone, as if he were being told to say this by his superior.

"Uh huh?"

"I disagree, but if you must use that as a ruse to get the barmaid to talk, go ahead."

Reno felt one of his nostrils twitch. She had a name.

"Can I remove the bugs from the building?"

"No."

He obviously wanted to ask why, but knew he'd be pushing his luck if he didn't take what he could get from Rufus at that moment. He faked his most appeasing tone while saying, "S'ok, Chief."

As usual, Rufus hung up without saying anything. Reno rolled his eyes and dropped the PHS back into his pocket, lighting up another cigarette for the remaining walk home. Rude had done it. At least he no longer had to worry about undermining Rufus by helping Tifa and her friends – if she'd let him, that is. If Cid fixed that airship, he probably wouldn't be invited along to wherever they were going this weekend, and that would make things a lot more complicated.

Reno stopped outside the elevated skywalk that led to his building and brought his index and middle fingers up to his lips to remove the cigarette, exhaling casually and discarding the butt into the hordes of monsters below.

There were several people milling about in the hallway who looked like they wanted to go outside but feared they would risk their safety. Reno glided past them, hunched over, his eyes straight until he was in the elevator and pushing the button for his floor. He couldn't deal with people who had convinced themselves the walkways weren't safe and that they would have to remain in their homes until the monster crisis solved itself. Living in fear was not really living at all.

Home had long ceased to feel like home to him, suddenly noticing that the bare essentials lacked the warmth and familiarity that he felt when sleeping at Tifa's. What had once been the perfect bachelor pad now felt foreign and cold, like a hotel he only needed for a few days. Previously, the whites, blacks, and grays let him know he was a single, virile man, but now, they felt cold, sterile, and empty. He looked around at his furniture and tried to remember that this was his home base, his fortress of solitude; the place where he was supposed to feel most at ease.

The cleaning lady had come while he was away, which was a relief, since he had built up quite the pile of filthy clothes from fighting monsters in the summer heat. He paid her extra to keep her mouth shut about anything she may hear or see in the apartment, a holdover from his days living in Shinra housing and knowing that the cleaning staff underwent high levels of scrutiny. Couldn't let just anyone into his home, what with all the ammunition and contraband lying around – not to mention the office supplies he'd stolen from Shinra.

He unhooked his weapons and placed them on the couch before unbuttoning his shirt and walking into his bedroom, the movement tired and automatic. He hung his suit jacket up on the door to indicate it needed dry cleaning and tossed his shirt onto the floor to start a new dirty clothes pile. His pants joined his jacket while his belt landed on the bed and his socks and boxer briefs went to the floor somewhere. His goggles were hooked gingerly around the bedpost.

He stepped into his own shower to wash that couscous biscuit smell off of his skin and to be alone with his thoughts, letting the hot water soak his hair. He was rather enjoying his time with Tifa, whether he was mauling her or not. It was an odd discovery for him, learning that he was actually interested in what she said and wanted to know more about her, though he figured that would get old pretty fast. What more was there to know? She was from Nibelheim, knew how to fight, and smelled like crickets. Wait, no, that wasn't right. She helped kill Sephiroth and destroy his employer and she looked damn good in a skirt. Oh yeah, Sephiroth attacked her when she was 15 and her hair felt like silk against his cheek when he slept.

Nope, not much else to know.

He closed his eyes as his thoughts turned erotic once again, his hand finding its way down over his firm muscles to find his cock, erect from thinking about pushing Tifa up against a shower wall and slamming into her from behind. Again, he caught himself, turning the water temperature down to calm his hormones before turning the shower off completely. He may not be getting anything from Tifa, but he was not about to lower himself to masturbation again, still ashamed that he had been so craven not too long ago.

He exited the shower and toweled off, spending a little extra time drying a certain part of his anatomy. He wrapped the towel around his waist and turned his head to the side to smell his shoulder, inhaling the fresh, manly scent of his regular soap.

"Ahhh, much better," he said as he approached the mirror. He brought his fingers up to his jaw and felt the stubble that had grown while he had been with Tifa. It was prickly, but hardly noticeable. And patchy. Stupid genes.

He lathered up and brought the razor down in one slow, fluid motion from his jaw to his neck, taking extra time to ensure his face was smooth before applying his after shave and brushing his teeth. With his favorite suit jacket in need of cleaning, he grabbed his second favorite out of the closet along with a crisp white dress shirt. He pulled on his underwear, socks, and pants, leaving the belt buckle undone while he buttoned his shirt.

As he did occasionally, he tucked in his shirt and checked himself out in the mirror. It showed off how thin he was and drew the eye to his low belt buckle, but as always, he untucked his shirt and buckled his belt. He just wasn't that guy.

He flipped his jacket on over his shoulders and adjusted the collar. Looking good, as always. He grabbed his goggles from the bedpost and secured them to his head – one never knew when one would need to fly. He grabbed his weapons and took one last look around his home to see if he had forgotten anything, once again feeling as though he was looking at a temporary shelter and not the expensive apartment he had bought years ago. He blinked a few times to see if he could get the original sensation back, but failed, so he locked the door and headed back to Tifa's.

He was about halfway back to Seventh Heaven when his phone rang again, this time being Tseng.

"Director." Reno said, assuming his boss was just calling to confirm what Rufus had said earlier.

"Did you speak with Rufus?" Tseng asked, getting straight to the point as always.

"Yes?"

"What did he say?"

"That we should work with AVALANCHE."

"Anything else?"

"No?" Reno was now waiting for that classic second shoe to drop. If it wasn't Rufus shoveling shit at him, it was Tseng, though at least Tseng didn't seem to do it with gusto.

"He didn't say anything about the Highwind?" Tseng asked.

"What about the Highwind?"

"Our sources indicate that it was damaged during the night and won't be able to fly AVALANCHE to their destination this week," Tseng informed him flatly.

"What kind of damage?"

"It's mostly cosmetic," Tseng replied. "Large gashes to the hull as high up as the propellers, with additional destruction to the engine compartment."

"Sabotage?"

"Unclear at this time; the damage could have been caused by a flying fiend or possibly a long-range weapon, we really don't know," Reno could practically hear Tseng's lip curl upward during the latter part of the sentence.

"Looks like I have an opening then," Reno replied, running his hand down his face in frustration. While he was intrigued about the possibility of playing White Knight for Tifa this weekend, he dreaded having to spend time with her AVALANCHE cohorts – and was even more dismayed by the possibility that Shinra was now taking shots at the terrorist group in order to more closely spy on them. Just more levels of deception.

"I suggest you use it," Tseng said before hanging up.

Reno sighed and returned his PHS to his pocket as he drew closer to Seventh Heaven, wracking his brain trying to figure out how Shinra could have pulled this off. After Meteor, when the former Turks were pulled out of exile, most were stationed in their hometowns to watch out for anti-Shinra activity and to keep an eye on members of AVALANCHE and who they met with. The Turks who had been recruited from Midgar previously were dispatched to the remaining towns; Emma was sent to Cosmo Canyon, Ruluf to Wutai, and Alvis was stationed in Rocket Town. But Alvis, like Reno, used a mag rod as his weapon, so he couldn't have caused the damage to the Highwind described by Tseng.

Cissnei.

Reno stopped dead in his tracks as the realization hit him. While most of the Turks were to remain in one place and report back to Shinra, Cissnei traveled the world providing them backup and intelligence in places where a Turk wasn't stationed. She maintained a small apartment in the South Side of Edge, but she rarely used it as she was always on the move. Cissnei's weapon of choice was the shuriken, a long-range weapon that could absolutely cause the destruction Tseng described, especially when wielded by someone as strong and dedicated to the cause as the former Shinra ward.

Reno dropped his shoulders as he approached Seventh Heaven, trying to let go of the tension that was now clouding his mind and stiffening his muscles. The door was unlocked, his little sign from Tifa that he was welcome to return, so he opened it and headed up the stairs, eager to see the beautiful woman that made all of this frustration worth it.

Meanwhile…

"I'M GONNA KILL HER! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL HER!" Cid bellowed into Tifa's ear, forcing her to hold her PHS at arm's length and scrunch her eyes closed. She waited until he finished with a string of obscenities before placing her phone back to her head.

"Whoa, Cid," she said in a calming voice. "Kill who?"

With Cid, "she" could mean anyone – even a machine.

"THAT FUCKIN' LITTLE NINJA SHIT!" he shrieked indignantly, as if Tifa should have known whom he was talking about and why before he even called.

"Calm down, why do you want to kill Yuffie?"

"SHE FUCKIN' MESSED WITH MY BABY! MY BABY TIFA! THE HIGHWIND!"

Tifa's heart sank, thinking back to her conversation with Yuffie the night before and how the ninja had been so excited about the possibility of Reno flying Tifa somewhere this weekend. She recalled the very end of their conversation, a comment Yuffie made just as Reno was trudging down the stairs soaking wet in a towel. Tifa had been so enraptured by Reno's appearance that Yuffie's little statement had been almost completely forgotten, but now it seemed vitally important.

Yeah, well, we'll see about that.

Could Yuffie have really vandalized Cid's airship just to try to get Tifa and Reno together? Tifa refused to believe that her friend would do such a thing, but she had no other explanation at the moment for why the Highwind would have been attacked other than fiends, and she doubted Cid would be calling her to blame Yuffie if it had been fiends.

"Why do you think Yuffie did this?"

"BECAUSE SHE –" Cid began to yell.

"Calmly, Cid," Tifa interrupted. Cid growled on the other end of the line and Tifa could sense the vein in his forehead had become engorged.

"Because," Cid emphasized in a purposefully, almost aggrieved manner, "the damage I found this morning is different than what those got-dang fiends already did – it looked exactly like the shit left behind by that little brat's weapon."

"But why would Yuffie do this?" Tifa asked, more to herself than to Cid.

"She's always hated the airship! Her and her stupid motion sickness…"

"But why now? Why this trip? She's been on the airship lots of times and never tried to destroy it…"

"WHAT AM I, A DETECTIVE? How the fuck should I know why she picked now to fuck everything up!"

"Cid…"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I'm just so fucking pissed right now."

"And I assume there's no way you can have it fixed in a couple of days?"

"NO! This is gonna take days, maybe more. I need new metal, new parts, plus I gotta do everything while those monsters are trying to kill me…"

Tifa stopped listening as Cid continued to rant about all the work he would have to do to get the airship moving again, and how she was now suddenly left with only one other option to get her, Yuffie, Vincent, and Nanaki to the Forgotten Capital this weekend – and that option was currently walking up the stairs.

"Listen, I've got to go, but let me know if you need anything else, Cid," Tifa told the pilot before hanging up while he rattled off another list of obscenities; something about going back in time and stopping Yuffie from "fucking everything up in the first place."

She was in her kitchen as Reno appeared from downstairs to find her fully dressed and eating a piece of dry toast while sipping her coffee. That delicious, delicious coffee. He wasn't sure if he should do anything differently this time to prevent her from having another panic attack, but he figured he should try to act less casual in her home.

"Hey babe," he said as he approached her slowly, even though she had noticed him coming up the stairs and abruptly ended her phone call. He had lingered downstairs a minute to listen to her side of the conversation, knowing full well that Shinra had heard it too and that AVALANCHE thought that it was Yuffie, their own shuriken wielder, who had attacked the Highwind. Reno had smirked knowing that annoying little pest was taking the blame from her own friends.

Tifa smiled as he approached but didn't get up, vexation from her phone call evident on her face just as it had been when Reno had almost the exact same phone call with Tseng just a few minutes earlier.

"Mind if I grab a cup of coffee?" he asked, already heading to the cabinets and figuring he would act as if he had heard nothing, for now.

She nodded. "Mugs are on the third shelf next to the fridge," she said, as if he hadn't learned where they were the day before.

Perhaps that really had been the problem the day before; he was just too familiar in her home. He didn't mean to act like he had been coming there for months, it was just so easy to feel comfortable around her with her warm smile and inviting arms.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and timidly sat next to her at the kitchen island, hunching over the granite and clasping the mug with both hands.

"Whadya need help with today?" he asked.

Tifa had just bitten into her toast, holding her hand under her chin to catch the crumbs that fell when she broke the crisp bread. She held up a finger to Reno as she chewed to indicate he needed to wait, so he took a sip of coffee. Nectar of the Gods, indeed.

"I need to stock up," she said after swallowing the toast, Reno watching the rise and fall of her throat from the corner of his eye as he sipped.

"On… alcohol, thongs, Reno time?" he asked. She placed her hand over her mouth politely and laughed.

"Supplies," she said through another bite.

"Condoms?"

She swatted him with her hand on his shoulder, hard, causing him to grip his arm and wince.

"Geez, lady, get those things registered, yo."

"No, I'm out of potions and ethers and some other stuff," she informed him in an amused tone, still chuckling.

Great, she gave him an opening.

"For your AVALANCHE reunion?"

"It's not a reunion," she said unhappily. A reunion would require Cloud.

"I can help you carry stuff, if you need," he said to try and get her to switch gears. "And I'm proud to offer you Turk service on your trip."

Tifa looked at him with one eye squinted in disbelief. What were the Turks up to?

"Heh, no thanks," she said, returning her gaze to her coffee and taking another sip. They may be her only option, but they weren't a good option, since the rest of AVALANCHE would probably never accept their help or trust them. She'd just have to think of something else.

"Hey, come on, we're past all that."

"We've moved past a lot but trusting the Turks to work with AVALANCHE is a bit of a stretch," she replied, looking at him wistfully.

Reno brought a finger to his chin and looked up to the ceiling.

"What if I told you Rufus no longer wanted to be adversaries?"

"I'd think there was some deception afoot."

Reno put his hands up defensively. "No deception. Rufus wants to help heal the world any way he can, and AVALANCHE knows how to do that better than anyone else."

Tifa narrowed her eyes at him. "Thanks for letting me know, I'll take it under advisement."

"Has Cid fixed his airship yet?"

Tifa sighed. The Turks weren't interested in helping her and her friends, just their employer, who probably only wanted to "help" in order to get positive press coverage. Even if Reno had gotten close to her for personal reasons, his job would always come first, and the suspicion she used to have of them playing one long con was creeping back up her neck again.

"No," Tifa replied, turning to look straight ahead at her cabinets and avoid eye contact with the Turk.

"Sounds like you could use a chopper pilot. I come with an excellent first mate," Reno beamed, ignoring her obvious apprehension but noticing a crack in her stern façade as she chuckled at his wording. There was no way the other members of AVALANCHE would accept or trust Turk help. Well, except maybe Yuffie, especially given the events of last night. Vincent might not care… Wait, what was she thinking? She wasn't seriously considering this. Best case scenario, the Turks help them search the Forgotten Capital for the information they needed and then scamper away with what they found, just like in Nibelheim.

Reno turned to her and took her hands in his, forcing her to look him in the eye. She continued to look at him skeptically, assuming he would snatch her up like he had done the other night, but he just held her hands and looked deep into her carmine eyes.

"Lockhart, listen to me," he said, more serious than she was used to from him, his icy blue eyes alight with a glint of mako. "The Turks are not going to give you trouble, I swear. We really do want to help."

Tifa's expression didn't change. He sounded sincere, but could she really trust him or his organization yet? He hadn't done anything nefarious since Nibelheim – that she knew of – but that didn't mean they weren't just waiting for an opportunity, and the Forgotten Capital was a big one.

"I would have to clear it with the others…" she said slowly, hoping her apprehension let him know not to expect anything would come of this discussion.

"I understand," he said, squeezing her hands. "If it makes it any easier, you can tell them you want to bring your lover boy along to play with."

Tifa laughed and punched him in the same arm she had smacked earlier, again making him rub his arm and wince. She really was strong, even when holding back.

"Look, you don't want to drive or walk wherever you're going, so at the very least the helicopter will be useful," he said, still rubbing his arm and taking a more even tone.

"That's for sure," she sighed.

He smiled sweetly at her. It didn't seem right, coming from him, as she was much more comfortable with him looking devious. That look she could trust. This… sweetness… just didn't feel natural.

"Well, let's go get supplies anyway, and I want to stop by Marle's and the theater to tell them I'll be out of town for a few days," she said, getting up and taking her mug and plate to the sink to rinse them before placing them in the dishwasher.

"Yes ma'am, official Turk assistance starts right now!" Reno said in that mock formal tone he used whenever he was helping her during work hours.

A short time later…

Getting around in Edge had become nearly impossible unless using the rooftop walkways, even for world-class fighters like Tifa and Reno. The streets were nearly filled with fiends, pushing and shoving their way to some destination elsewhere, driven by some unknown force or desire. The Turk and the barmaid battled their way to Marle's orphanage, surprised to find that fiends from the Western Continent were now appearing in Edge amongst the usual herds of levrikons and Kalm fangs.

Tifa knocked on the door and waited a minute before knocking again when Marle didn't answer. The old woman was probably suspicious of a simple sound against her door considering all the monsters that were in town, even more so than there were just a couple days ago when Tifa was last at the orphanage. Another minute of waiting, with Reno looking out for fiends aggressive enough to attack, and Marle finally answered the door slowly, ensuring that she wasn't about to let a monster into her orphanage.

"Tifa!" Marle exclaimed, surprised to find her friend still using the main door and not the recently built roof access hatch. "What on Gaia are you still doing on the streets, haven't you noticed how bad the fiends have gotten?"

"I know Marle, but I'm not alone," Tifa replied, motioning toward Reno, who was standing just out of Marle's view since she had the door barely cracked. "I wanted to come teach the children and let you know that I'm going to be out of town for a few days…"

Tifa let the worlds trail off solemnly as she thought about what she was about to do. She didn't know how long she would be in the Forgotten Capital, how long it would take to find the information Nanaki wanted – if it even existed – and what would happen when she saw Cloud again. In that moment, standing just outside Marle's orphanage, she thought about canceling on her trip to help AVALANCHE, finding the prospect of continuing her life in Edge, teaching the children and helping out at the theater more appealing than what she would surely experience up north.

"Well, come in! Come in! Before the fiends get you," Marle insisted, rolling her hand for emphasis and quickly closing the door behind Tifa and Reno once they were safely inside. "So, he's still hanging around, huh?" she asked, nodding her head toward Reno.

"He's been especially helpful lately," Tifa said, her cheeks growing pink and a small smile creeping across her face, which she quickly hid for fear that Marle would get the wrong idea. Marle narrowed her eyes and regarded Tifa skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her wait onto one foot.

"Is that right?" she asked with a hint of suspicion, like a mother knowing her daughter had been out with a boy instead of doing her homework. "Well, as long as you have someone who listens and cares about you," she added, eyeing Reno darkly.

The red-headed Turk shrugged in an effort to appear disinterested, though Marle's comment about listening stung a little due to Shinra's deception.

Tifa helped the children with any moves that they were having trouble with while Reno watched and tried to avoid dredging up any painful memories for the kids. Occasionally, he would look over at Tifa and catch her looking back at him, each quickly looking away with reddened cheeks and embarrassed smiles. He paid attention to how attentive and patient she was with the children, never appearing annoyed or bored and willing to do so much for people who were unrelated to her and whom she barely knew. Something about her kindness was burrowing into Reno's soul, knowing that even a few months ago he would have gagged at the thought. But now, it warmed his heart and made him want to try harder to show others the consideration he had long denied to anyone but his fellow Turks.

For Tifa, watching Reno do his best to politely help any children who happened to wander up to him made her heart sing. He may be doing his best to remain cool – like Cloud used to – but Tifa could tell that deep down he didn't mind kids and may even be enjoying himself. The idea that Reno, of the Turks, might one day make a good father brought laughter to her eyes.

They left the orphanage a short time later and headed to the Theater, working up a good sweat battling valrons alongside grashtrikes on the way. Those leading the theater's construction were understanding, as was Marle, about Tifa's upcoming absence, but the knowledge that they would be down an additional person was clearly weighing heavy. As the monster presence grew, volunteers building Edge became scarce, focusing instead on the infrastructure needed for the rooftop paths or helping residents install alternate entrances to avoid the streets. Building a new entertainment venue dropped to the bottom of the list for most people who sincerely wanted to help the city, and only a handful of volunteers continued to make the effort each day, Tifa included. The barmaid understood, but it pained her to know that the arts had to take a back seat for now.

When Tifa and Reno left the theater for the item shop, they found a pack of Nibel wolves prowling around the streets outside, snarling and snapping their jaws at each other as they looked for a fight. Tifa readied her gloves, adjusting the leather at her wrists, while Reno flicked his mag rod on and got into a fighting stance. The noise alerted the wolves to their presence and the pack immediately rushed the two fighters, teeth bared and claws ready to strike.

The fight began quickly and violently, but no matter how many Tifa and Reno seemed to put down, the bastards wouldn't stop coming. Tifa was punching two at a time, leaping off buildings, and stomping on the damn things while Reno whittled away at them with his mag rod and pistol. Still, they kept coming. Tifa performed Beat Rush, Somersault, Waterkick, Meteodrive, Dolphin Blow, Meteor Strike, and Final Heaven, taking out no less than seven of the beasts in one effort, yet still found herself overwhelmed and exhausted.

Just as she was preparing to perform Starshower on a group of wolves ganging up on her, one lunged and clamped down hard on her thigh, dragging her to the ground as she cried out in pain, blood immediately seeping from the wound. Hearing her anguish, Reno immediately rushed to her aid, driving his mag rod deep into the wolf's throat as if it had personally insulted him and holding down the electricity until well after the creature was dead, leaving behind a wound that smoldered as he stood over Tifa.

"Can you stand?" he asked her, looking around as the wolves circled around them, scrunching their noses and growling menacingly. He extended his hand toward her and she took it without hesitation, unlike a few months ago when he had made a similar offer during an elfadunk attack.

"Yeah," Tifa responded as she allowed Reno to pull her up, using her good leg to ease herself up while keeping her weight off the injured one.

Once standing, she backed up against Reno, surveying the Nibel wolves that were slowly closing in around them and considering her options. There weren't many.

"Glad you weren't out here by yourself today," Reno told her over his shoulder.

He was struggling with her and he couldn't imagine what would happen if she were alone and having to fight these beasts without his help or anyone else's. As strong as Tifa was – and Reno knew it from personal experience – the sheer number of wolves would overpower her, as it was about to do to them both.

"I think we're gonna have to run for it," Tifa responded as one of the wolves snapped its drooling, diseased mouth at her.

"You good?" he asked, referring to her leg, his voice laced with genuine concern.

Tifa smiled at his growing affection, having missed the feeling of being with someone unnecessarily worried about her.

"Of course," she said impishly, "try to keep up."

The two fighters took off side-by-side, plowing their way through the creatures and taking out as many as they could until the item shop was in sight. Reno slowed his pace to stay with Tifa as she limped ever so slightly on her injured leg, both swatting back wolves who continued to attack. When they neared the ladder hanging on the side of the item shop building, Reno grabbed Tifa by the arm and propelled her ahead to ensure she climbed up first without any objection, turning his back to her as she scaled the ladder in order to continue bashing and electrocuting the fiends that got too close.

Once Tifa was out of harm's way, he jumped as far up the ladder as he could get and began to climb, the wolves chomping at his feet and pant legs, trying to drag him back down. One managed to get a hold on his boot and pull him down a few rungs, forcing him to kick at others thinking they now had a chance for a kill.

"Reno!" Tifa called from the roof, reaching out her hand for him to take so she could pull him up and away from the fiends. Fear showed on her face as she desperately reached for him, a million thoughts running through her mind of him being dragged into that massive pack of wolves and devoured.

Reno managed to shake off the wolf and scurry back up the ladder enough so that he could reach for Tifa's hand, the feel of her leather gloves against the skin of his fingers a welcome sign of relief. Tifa gripped his arm with her other hand, and with a final heave, Reno was safely on the roof, collapsing next to Tifa as they both tried to catch their breath, hearts racing and chests rising and falling rapidly.

Reno's gaze fell upon the wound on Tifa's thigh, marring one of his favorite parts of her anatomy. Though she didn't seem fazed by it – she was used to getting injured in fights – his expression dropped as he thought that he should have been the one to get bitten. Tifa always seemed to be the one to get injured, and, Reno thought, if he were a better man, that wouldn't be the case. He had his own injuries from the attack, and perhaps it was just because he could see the blood on her thigh, but he felt a wave of guilt for failing to protect her. He suddenly realized what Strife was going through years ago when AVALANCHE was at war with Shinra, a slight, tortured appreciation for the blond creeping up.

Reno pulled out his mag rod once again and cast a cure spell on Tifa first, watching as green light sparkled and wove around her injury, stopping the bleeding and returning her thigh to its former glory. Luckily, the bite hadn't been as deep as the wound she received all those months ago when he offered to stitch her up, a surface wound easily mended. He caught himself staring at the creamy skin of her thigh for a shade too long before remembering to cast the spell on himself.

Reno laid on his back with his arms stretched out to the side after the materia worked its magic, squinting his eyes to avoid being blinded by the sun. Tifa sat next to him, listening as the wolves continued to growl below them and claw at the ladder in an attempt to climb it and continue their hunt.

Eventually, the two fighters' heart rates slowed down and the fiends gave up, more interested in attacking other monsters than trying to catch unreachable prey. Tifa wiped the sweat from her brow as she continued to calm down, noticing a snicker coming from the man lying beside her. She looked down at him and his laugh grew into a full-throated roar, prompting Tifa to knit her eyebrows together.

"What's so funny?"

"That shit was nuts, yo," Reno said, gasping for air as he continued to chuckle, placing a hand on his belly as his abs seized from the action.

Reno hadn't been in such an intense fight since he and Rude battled the Jenova reject in the old Shinra HQ basement. There was nothing else to do after such a situation but laugh, and Tifa soon joined in, even if she didn't completely understand why what they had just gone through was so funny. Better than letting it get to her, she figured, and Reno's jovial take on the matter was infectious.

After a few minutes of laughing, the two settled down and Tifa found herself looking down into Reno's aquamarine eyes, lingering for a moment as he stared back up at her, pupils widening. Tifa knew she had to ruin the moment by being productive, lest they end up showing their affection in public and annoying the few people out on the rooftops at the moment.

"We should head inside," she said, breaking the spell and causing Reno to frown.

"You're probably right," he said with a sigh, sitting up and then getting to his feet to offer his hand to Tifa once again.

She walked over to the rooftop entrance and pulled open the hatch before climbing down the ladder into the store, with Reno watching from above. When she was firmly on the ground, Reno swung his legs over onto the ladder that led into the shop, catching a comment from the item shop owner directed at Tifa that was far too flirtatious for his taste.

"Gettin' rough out there, Tifa?" the shop owner asked. Reno could practically hear the infatuation oozing from the man's lips.

"Just a large pack," Tifa said with a forced smile as she picked up a basket and headed toward the aisle she needed.

"Are you okay, do you need anything?" asked the concerned item shop owner, who previously owned a shop in the Sector 7 slums and had a blatant crush on the fist fighter.

"No, that's okay. Thank you though," Tifa replied gently, as she did with customers who flirted with her in her bar.

Reno came up behind Tifa once he was on the ground and took the basket from her, placing it on his own arm in a chivalrous manner. She smiled sweetly at him for the gesture, taking a mental note of what appeared to be slight jealousy.

"Thirty more hi-potions, 26 more ethers, twelve phoenix downs…" she said as she looked at the list she had made earlier in the week.

"Geez, you guys going to the Northern Crater or something?" Reno asked, mostly out of confusion, but somewhat to pry.

"Nope, I just like to be prepared," Tifa said confidently.

"What are you preparing for, another Meteor?"

Tifa laughed and looked at the shelves a little longer before walking to the counter, Reno struggling to carry the basket with two hands.

"Couldn't have gotten a cart, huh?" he asked as he heaved the basket onto the counter and picked up the items that dropped out. First the Nibel wolves, and now this; he was a little winded, but he tried to hide it.

"That'll be 51,600 gil," the cashier told her. "But since it's you, I can take off 5%. It's the least I can do," he added with a wink, leaning his elbow on the counter and ignoring Reno.

Reno's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You're going to drop that much on this junk? Is all of AVALANCHE going?"

He grimaced at his last sentence. He meant to make a joke but he knew it was the wrong thing to say, since of course all of AVALANCHE would not be wherever it was they were going since Cloud was still missing. Tifa shot him a look that told him he had said the wrong thing and needed to be nice in front of this man he didn't know who was hitting on Tifa right in front of him.

Remembering why he was there, Reno reached in his pocket and removed a stack of gil. He licked his thumb and started counting the bills until he had a smaller – but still sizable – stack. "Here," he said, dropping it on the counter and pushing it toward the man.

Tifa put a hand on his and pulled the money back.

"No," she said. "I've got it."

Reno insisted. "No way. If the Turks are helping, the Turks are paying."

"The Turks?" the cashier asked angrily, appearing to notice Reno for the first time since he entered the building with Tifa.

The red-haired Turk sunk back a little bit. He'd been so focused on Tifa he forgot he was in public and couldn't identify himself. He didn't usually have that problem, since most people recognized the demeanor and the suit.

"Here's 50,000," Reno told the man. "Keep the change."

"Th, thank you, sir," the cashier said nervously as he pulled the stack toward him in case Reno decided to take back his offer. It was less than he needed to charge, but more than he would have ever charged Tifa, and he was too afraid to ask her why she was hanging around with one of the men who destroyed Sector 7.

"Have a good day, Tifa," he added after the payment was exchanged. "And remember, if you ever need help or protection or anything, you can always call me."

Reno rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to laugh out loud at the shop owner's pathetic attempt to woo Tifa, who had clearly developed a way to handle it without hurting the guy's feelings. In Reno's opinion, however, she should have shut down that guy's hopes and dreams immediately.

Tifa passed the bags up the ladder to Reno, who set them on the roof awaiting her arrival, as there was no way they were going to deal with fiends while carrying so many items. Reno insisted on carrying all the bags back and loaded them up onto each of his arms, the plastic handles digging into his wrists painfully. Tifa objected vehemently, leading him to allow her to carry one small bag on her own that contained just a couple potions. He was a man, dammit, he would carry all the items himself.

By the time they got back to Seventh Heaven, Reno was losing feeling in his wrists and just a few seconds away from bleeding. He quickly shuffled to the bar and lifted the bags onto it with his last ounce of arm strength.

Tifa laughed.

"Not such a great idea, huh?" she asked as she placed the one bag he let her carry on the bar as well.

Reno sneered at her while rubbing his arms. He still looked manly, right?

Tifa started to put the items away in the back storage room, clinking bottles and shuffling items as she organized them on a shelf along the furthest wall. Once Reno regained feeling in his hands, he picked up a few potions and brought them back to where Tifa was working. He hadn't been in the back room before, and though it wasn't very impressive, he was interested in the shelf where Tifa kept all her potions, ethers, and other health items. With what they had just purchased, the shelf was perfectly full, with each type of item in its place and arranged neatly in rows. There were potions, hi-potions, ethers, phoenix downs, softs, hypers, you name it. Reno even noticed some megaelixirs.

Sweet, he thought to himself. At least he knew where to come the next time he burnt his finger on a cigarette – which was a surprisingly common experience.

"So, when do you all leave?" Reno asked after Tifa placed all the plastic bags inside one of the other plastic bags to take up to the apartment with her. What did she need all those bags for?

"Soon," she said, cryptically.

"Aww, come on, I'm flying, aren't I?"

"Maybe, I still have to call the others."

"I still think you should go with the 'lover boy' angle."

Tifa held up a sly warning finger to him and smiled, shaking her head in disbelief at his presumptiveness.

"Fine, I'll call them, but can you take the chairs off the tables and place the drink menus?"

Reno looked at her like a deer in the headlights, staring at her as if she had spoken another language. She wanted him to do bar work? He'd helped her close up before, of his own decision, but after carrying so many bags, he thought he had earned a break – and maybe even another free drink.

"Oh come on, you know how chairs are supposed to look, don't you?" Tifa asked in a huff, not believing for a second that he was going to argue on this point.

Reno blinked a few times before laughing with a "yeah, yeah, yeah, you boss me around…" as he staggered to the tables, his manhood deflated ever so slightly. Months ago he would have easily waved her off with a snide comment about how she could pay him for such work, but he now found himself doing what she asked without any real hesitation, an unwelcome development. He didn't even know how he had gotten to this point, wrapped around her little finger as if she were capable of knowingly establishing such control. The knowledge that he had fallen so far did not sit well with him, even as he lumbered through the task she had asked of him.

Tifa took out her PHS and dialed a number as she walked into the storage room, pulling the door behind her but leaving it ajar. She hugged herself with one arm while holding the phone to her ear, waiting for Yuffie to answer and trying to figure out how she would approach Cid's accusations that the ninja had sabotaged the Highwind.

"Hi, Yuffie?" she said quietly, hoping Reno wouldn't hear. "Um, were you near Rocket Town last night?"

"What? Why would I be there?" Yuffie asked, defensively.

"Well, someone attacked the Highwind and Cid said it looked the marks could have been made from your weapon…"

"He thinks I did that?" Yuffie spat. "Does he know I'm a ninja? If I wanted to cripple the Highwind it wouldn't be so obvious. He wouldn't even know anything was wrong until he was in the air!"

"You swear it wasn't you, then?" Tifa asked timidly, lamenting the fact she had to question her friend's honesty in the first place.

"I swear! I didn't cause that damage!" Yuffe whined into the phone.

Her insistence set Tifa's mind at ease, though she failed to notice that Yuffie never denied being near Rocket Town and only said she didn't cause "that" damage, not that she hadn't caused any other destruction.

"Ok… I believe you…" Tifa said, wanting to kick herself for ever doubting her best friend.

"Wait, so that means we can't use the airship this weekend?" Yuffie, sharp as ever, figured out.

"Looks like it," Tifa replied. "Would you be upset if the Turks flew us on Saturday?"

She had to hold the phone away from her ear as Yuffie screamed something about how cute it was that Tifa's new boyfriend offered to fly.

"He's not my boyfriend," she corrected, glancing out the opening of the storage room door to make sure Reno hadn't heard. He was arranging the chairs as if he were an interior decorator, taking a step back after each one was turned over and examining it through his hands, which he formed into a rectangle. "They just, want to help, apparently."

"Well, it's still a-DOR-able," Yuffie swooned. "Of course your boyfriend can come."

"Yuffie…"

"I'm just messin' with ya. Geez, take a joke!"

"I'll see you Saturday then. You'll be our last stop, probably, before we head over."

"Saving the best for last, I see," Yuffie said proudly. "I'll see you soon! AAAAAHHH I can't wait to see you two act all awkward around each other!"

"Bye, Yuffie," Tifa said before hanging up on her friend, who was still screeching.

Tifa scrolled up in her phone, looking for Vincent's name before remembering he didn't even have a phone.

"Well, it'll be a surprise for him then," she said out loud as she scrolled for the next name and pressed it, the familiar twinge of fear making her feel hollow as she listened to each ring.

"Nanaki?" she asked timidly, sure her old friend wouldn't respond as enthusiastically as Yuffie.

"Tifa, hello," the red beast said. "You almost ready?"

"Yes, but there's been a change of plans. Cid's airship was attacked in the night and we can't use it, but the Turks say they want to help us and fly us out there."

"The Turks? Didn't they steal everything you and Vincent found in Nibelheim?"

"Yes, but…" Tifa didn't really know what to say. She knew Nanaki would be the one to push back out of him and Yuffie, but she hadn't prepared any kind of defense with everything else going on around her. "They promised they wouldn't this time."

"And you believe them?"

"Sort of," she said, peering out from the storage room to see Reno had only lowered one chair since the last time she checked on him. She wanted to be annoyed, but something about the way he was dawdling made her smile. "They've been helping me a lot since Nibelheim without issue."

She could hear Nanaki sigh on the other end of the phone.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice without the airship. Unless you want to spend a week traveling."

"I really don't," she replied.

"Okay, see you Saturday, Tifa."

"Bye."

That call didn't feel good at all. Tifa wanted to believe Reno but knew that for the Turks, their loyalty was with Shinra and that even if he wanted to help AVALANCHE, if Rufus told him something else, he might end up betraying her.

She put her phone away and remained in the storage room for a moment to gather her thoughts, not wanting to put AVALANCHE in danger by trusting the Turks. She hugged her arms to her body and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and remembering how things with the Turks had changed over the past few months. Reno had seemed sincere, but he had tricked her before, and this involved his employer.

She returned to the bar area to see that Reno still hadn't finished taking the chairs off the tables, so she walked over and finished the rest without a fuss while he acted hurt.

"Hey! I was designing!"

Tifa rolled her eyes and grabbed the drink menus to place them on the tables, since Reno clearly wasn't cut out for preparation work. Maybe if she needed a customer killed…

A little later…

Reno sat in his usual seat at Seventh Heaven, his knees spread wide beneath the bar counter and his left heel tapping to show the frustration that had grown within him since he started drinking a couple hours earlier. He hunched over the bar, his elbows pressed against the curved lip of the counter and his hands working to pick off the last remnants of yet another beer bottle label. He didn't usually order beer, unless he found it to be the safest option at a dive bar or for times like this, when his nerves were getting the better of him and he needed a tedious task to focus his mind and relieve his tension.

He could no longer keep telling himself that he was only pursuing Tifa for sex after the events of the past two days, when he found himself more focused on her wellbeing than her anatomy, a realization that had started to bring down his entire perception of himself. He hadn't made any crude comments about her thigh after he had cast cure on her earlier in the day, something the old Reno certainly would have done.

He had told Elena on numerous occasions over the years that paperwork made people soft – a claim he made to obviously get out of his own paperwork – but after weeks of sifting through Hojo's documents he wondered if he had been on to something. Maybe this trip with AVALANCHE would allow him to stretch his Turk muscles again and prove to himself he hadn't really changed; he hadn't actually fallen for Tifa Lockhart. Or maybe it was time to suck it up and admit he had – and then dive headfirst into the deep end.

Rude and Elena had been some of the first people in the bar once it opened, with him looking like he really needed a drink and her looking rather bubbly. Tifa poured Rude a glass of the expensive scotch and placed it in front of him as Reno brooded on the stool next to him.

Reno's sudden mood shift worried Tifa, knowing enough about him at this point to get a feel for his emotions, and she was getting the sinking feeling he might soon flee after what she put him through the past few days. The thought of him fading away, returning to his old ways of acrimony and obvious pursuits of other women, produced a white-hot burning sensation in her gut, like her stomach had dropped. She spent the night collecting his discarded beer bottle labels and stealing long, wistful glances at him that went unreturned as his focus seemed to be solely on picking at bits of sticky paper.

She was still nervous about being able to hide her relationship with Reno from the other Turks, though she now knew Rude knew about them but didn't want to look like she was rubbing it in his face. She also couldn't help the feeling that Elena wanted to talk to her about something, but figured she was just seeing things.

It was awkward for Rude and Elena, predictably, since they knew things about Tifa now they'd rather not know and couldn't bring up things they heard on the tape. Elena was dying to ask what Reno had done for her to make those noises the other night and why she was still hung up on Cloud given his prolonged absence.

Rude would rather have not heard anything, as Reno was still his superior and supposed to be on a covert mission. He also wished the redhead could remember the apartment was bugged – or maybe he did remember and couldn't help himself. Either way, it was the worst thing Rude listened to since that time one of the junior Turks tried to introduce him to "today's" music. Damn kids.

Rude gave up trying to provoke Reno into conversation and seemed to settle on his own private theory about Reno's mood, settling in to his own glass of scotch and leaving Elena to fend for herself.

"Long day?" Tifa asked Rude in the same tone she used for all her patrons, though it was slightly more familiar with him, hoping his colleague might perk up.

Rude grunted and nodded. It was not pleasant sitting around all day listening in to Reno and Tifa's conversations hoping to hear something remotely useful while mostly catching their flirting, an emerging courtship he still rued. He had a notebook on his desk to take notes on any nuggets of information and so far he learned that Reno didn't know how to say "hibiscus," called himself Tifa's "lover boy" and might be flying AVALANCHE somewhere this weekend. Elena hadn't fared much better, but she was keeping a separate notebook of "romantic" things that Reno was doing to – as she claimed – tease him with in the future. She said something about a "girl talk" conversation between Tifa and Yuffie before they left the office, but only gave details to Tseng, who seemed uninterested in the information.

Elena had been jealously listening to Tifa and Reno's evening-through-morning conversations all day, and though she hadn't learned anything useful for Rufus, she did feel she was listening to a relationship develop. Tifa and Reno were both crazy about each other and refusing to admit it, Elena heard, and it was driving her crazy, feeling like she was listening in on a soap opera. She was loving the banter and the slow build up but found herself wanting to reach through the recording devices to strangle the lovebirds when they didn't say what they needed to say.

Tifa poured Elena another vodka-soda and set about helping other customers, who were filtering in little by little and taking up the tables. It wasn't usually too busy Wednesday nights, but there were enough to keep her from the Turks for long periods of time.

Later still…

It was just after Tifa announced last call that Reno decided he should leave Seventh Heaven for the night and get away from the bartender, telling himself he had spent too much time with her over the past few days and that it was clouding his judgement. She was a siren, luring men to her lair with her mesmerizing beauty and captivating song – and Reno was a sailor who refused to cover his ears or look away. He had spent the past three days and nights with her, partially because of his assignment from Rufus, but also due to the fact that he was losing himself in Tifa and her life. He had found himself falling into a simple domesticity that had once seemed such a foreign concept but had become so quickly realized without much of a fight.

He needed to reset, thinking it shouldn't be this easy. It shouldn't be so easy to break down the ruthless lifestyle he had built for himself over the past three decades and accept a routine of running errands, visiting children, and drinking delicious coffee with a woman that seemed to be craving him as much as he craved her.

He had battled with this very issue many times over the past six months, trying and failing to stay away from her but always coming back, finding the days much longer when she wasn't around. The reflection he saw in the mirror smiled at him stupidly, betraying the inner torment he thought still needed to be quelled.

He would leave the bar. He wouldn't give her a chance to ask him to stay and he would head home and force himself to enjoy his solitude once again. He could do this; he could stop being a sap and man the hell back up, straighten his back and go punch a wall for looking at him funny – and tonight was that night. Beer was not his friend.

Elena had left an hour ago, a grin on her face and her nose in the air as she strutted out the door of Seventh Heaven like she had just been named Queen of Edge. It was a far cry different than her demeanor over the past few hours, which had soured considerably from the giddiness she displayed after giving up trying to get Reno to perk up. She had been glued to her phone at that time, typing away and then smiling when she would get a response, typing a reply immediately. It soon became clear that whomever she was messaging had grown cold, only texting occasionally and not saying whatever Elena hoped would be said, leading to her grimaces and constantly checking her PHS for a reply that didn't come. At some point, however, she got the news she wanted, and strolled triumphantly out of the bar to meet whomever she had been messaging. Tifa couldn't see who it was through the window, but Reno and Rude had their assumptions, catching Elena's behavior out of the corner of their eyes even as they appeared focused on their drinks.

Rude didn't mind the silence. In fact, if he had his way, he and Reno would spend their evenings quietly drinking and sorting out their issues on their own, without in depth conversation. He had been listening in to Reno and Tifa's conversations throughout the day, per Rufus' assignment, and nothing in them gave any hints as to why Reno had suddenly stumbled into beer after rejecting his first scotch of the evening. Sure, they had been gone for hours and Rude didn't know what went on between them during that time, but when they returned to Seventh Heaven the pair seemed flirtatious and in good spirits. Tifa even agreed to tell AVALANCHE the Turks could take them to wherever it was they were going this weekend.

So, it came as a surprise to Rude that Reno retreated into himself so suddenly and forcefully. The bald Turk suspected Reno may be preparing to flee, to break the heart of the woman Rude had so recently coveted. The thought had always been simmering just below the surface, suppressed by Reno's words and actions that showed Rude the redhead was smitten. But if that changed, if Reno really walked away and returned to his former ways, that simmer could become a boil, and the Turks' already fractured relationship could break apart further, possibly irreparably. Rude didn't want to see his partner go down that path, and didn't think he could forgive him for stealing Tifa's heart and then throwing her away after watching the turmoil she went through with Strife.

Rude shifted onto his feet, easing up off the barstool and reaching into his back pocket to remove his wallet, unaware that Reno had started the exact same action at the exact same time. Perhaps silent sulking resulted in the same stilted movements in all men, regardless of their personal proclivities.

With his usual curt nod, Rude gently pushed his typically generous payment and tip a few inches closer to Tifa, still unable to stop himself from overindulging the bartender. Out of the corner of her eye, Tifa noticed Reno lightly tap his own gil, a healthier stack than usual, though he kept his eyes down to avoid eye contact before following Rude out of Seventh Heaven and onto the rooftops of Edge.

The two Turks walked in silence, a rarity that made Rude that much more concerned that his partner was about to do something that would not only hurt the organization, but their favorite barmaid. When they reached the point where their paths diverged, Rude stopped, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his partner behind the sunglasses he wore even at night.

"You wanna tell me what that was about back there?" he asked.

Reno stopped in his tracks close to the end of the rooftop that marked their separation, shoulders slumping as he looked up at the moon with irritation on his face and his back still to Rude.

"Can't say as I do, partner," the spice is in his response let Rude know the redhead was invoking his authority, a tone he rarely used, but a clear sign that he didn't want to talk about whatever was going on in his head.

Rude had seen this before, back when Reno turned inward after the plate fell and Shinra collapsed under the weight of its own corruption – and Meteor. The redhead really seemed like he was going to let go of the only good thing to have happened to him since Shinra rescued him off the streets of Sector 3.

"Don't let fear make you do something stupid, like walk away," Rude said, barely audible; a lame attempt to reach his partner's rational side.

Reno never turned around.

"Too late," he said before continuing on the path that would lead back to his apartment.

He was doing this for her, he told himself as he jammed his hands in his pockets and traveled toward home, his feet feeling like lead weights and his brain screaming at him to turn around. He was no good for her, and the sooner he got this over with the easier it would be for both of them, pain inevitable when former enemies became more than friends.

She would realize that someday – that he was unworthy – and if he waited any longer he might become invested and be hurt that much more. At least this way, he got to control the suffering.

What did Rude know about relationships anyway? The last woman he'd been serious with was Chelsea, and the last woman he had even gone on a date with – to Reno's knowledge – was Tifa, months ago. And Reno remembered how that night ended – rosy nipples visible beneath a soaked dress, moonlight in her eyes as she looked up at him from the floor of Seventh Heaven, the feel of her lips pressed against his own. A smile forced its way onto his face, his first since he made the hasty decision to end things with Tifa by simply disappearing from her life without a word.

Admittedly, walking out on the woman who had brought him so much joy these past few months was a stupid fucking decision, especially since he and Rude had agreed to fly Tifa and her AVALANCHE cronies to some undisclosed location in a few days. Reno nearly stopped in his tracks and kicked himself as he realized just how shitty his timing had been, wondering idly if he was even still invited on the upcoming excursion. But he also knew for a fact that the Highwind wasn't fully operational, so if Tifa wanted to cut out the Turks she and her cohorts would be forced to walk, something immensely dangerous given the current crisis.

He scoffed at the irony that as bad as he was for Tifa, he was her best option, at least in this situation. He'd just have to remember how he used to act around her, before Strife left and before she'd twisted around his heart like a damn Midgar zolom. As for how she'd act, he wasn't sure. She could be angry and as aggressive toward him as she was when they were all chasing Sephiroth, or she could be as despondent as she was after Cloud left, looking to him for hope that he hadn't also abandoned her. Reno had Tifa pegged as a third option, someone who could largely separate her personal and professional matters and who would act as if she had never given him more than a second glance, the thought of which suddenly gutted him.

Would he be able to handle seeing her act as if he was nothing more than a barfly who could operate a helicopter?

He came to a halt as the ground beneath his feet came to a sudden end, the last bit of rooftop before he had to turn to head in the direction of his apartment building. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he nearly didn't notice the parapet warning him to stop, his kneecaps just barely grazing its edge as he looked across the street below him, crowded with fiends.

Beyond stood the tallest building in Edge, the new Shinra tower, looming over the rest of the city just as it had in Midgar, only this time, it wasn't 70 stories tall. Edge had some tall buildings, to be sure, but nothing really approaching skyscrapers, and Shinra HQ was the tallest of them all, with Rufus already planning to add more floors.

Reno began to scan the building upwards, floor by floor, realizing that this was the thing now standing between him and possible happiness. The building might as well have been a ticking clock, counting down until all the goodness in his life was ripped from his hands and thrown just out of reach, forever taunting him and reminding him that for one brief, shining moment, he had a chance.

Ticking down until Tifa found out she had been under surveillance and that her home had been bugged, the Turks listening in on her every conversation – and more. Ticking down until she learned that he had betrayed her, lied to her, and that all his coworkers knew her most intimate secrets. Counting down until she left him, seeing him for what he is and reminding him that he was a piece of human garbage too cowardly to stand up to his employer and protect her privacy. Ticking down to the moment he tried to defend his actions and plead for her understanding and forgiveness, knowing she would never believe him and that he deserved neither. Ticking down until the night when he'd return to his apartment alone and fall back onto his couch with a bottle in one hand and the intent to drink until he forgot she ever existed.

His eyes reached the top of the building that determined his fate, tall enough that he could not see his precious helicopter from this steep angle. It was a clear night, and he knew that at this hour it would be pitch black on the roof of the building, unsullied by the light pollution from the city below and the perfect place to disappear.

But an idea popped into his head, ricocheting around his skull like a bullet in a metal room until it finally struck him. His feet turned in the opposite direction, carrying him back toward the bar and the woman he had left not too long ago, unable to let go of this notion.

He finally understood, or at least thought he did. Shinra may have started the clock, but it wasn't going to end today, and there was no guarantee that it would end tomorrow, or the next day, or next week. He didn't need to act as though it had all fallen apart already, he could get as much out of the situation as he could and deal with the consequences later, instead of hurting Tifa without reason – like Cloud had done. Reno didn't have to repeat the sins of Strife, even though he had done a pretty good job mucking things up tonight.

Maybe there was still time to make things right and keep whatever it is he had with Tifa going a little longer. She could hate him tomorrow, but for tonight, he could offer her the world.

He wasn't surprised to find the lights out at Seventh Heaven and upstairs, knowing Tifa would probably be racking her brain trying to figure out how they went from flirting to fallout so quickly today. He dropped down from the rooftops and carefully made his way to the back alley below her bedroom window, easily dispatching a few doomrats along the way.

He picked up a few scraps of concrete off the ground and held them in his right hand, picking each out individually and throwing them at her bedroom window to get her attention. This was unfamiliar territory, slinking back to a woman's home to grovel for forgiveness after acting like an ass, but he was here now and not leaving, even if he'd been wavering these past few days.

Meanwhile…

Tifa lay in bed, gripping the pillow to her chest as if it was saving her from drowning, fighting back the tears she swore she would never cry again – not for Cloud, not for anyone. She replayed the previous days and today again and again in her head, looking for a sign that could explain Reno's sudden change in attitude toward her. He had been following her around willingly, she thought, staying with her at night despite her insistence they don't have sex….

That had to be it, she thought. Reno really was only in this for the sex and after three days without it he must have given up on her, pulling away from her sharply and disappearing into the night just like Cloud had done so many months before.

It didn't help that today was Wednesday, and though she missed the weekly call from the Daily Buzz reporter, she did listen to the voicemail he left on her machine after all her customers had left and she had closed up for the evening. She knew she would regret it, but she was already depressed from Reno's sudden change that she decided impulsively to listen to what the reporter would ask this week. The message was short, asking her if she had been to Cosmo Canyon recently and whether AVALANCHE had discovered a way to stop the monster crisis. She had tensed as she listened to the reporter's questions, wondering how he came to suspect she had been in Cosmo Canyon and whether she was being followed, fear gripping her and sending her down an anxious spiral.

She felt the tears bubbling up along her lower eyelids and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, curling further around the pillow and swearing she could never feel this way about Reno. The past few days were a blur, like a dream she couldn't quite recall that quickly faded from her memory. This would pass. She had a few more days until she had to see him again, and she could use that time to steel herself against any lingering feelings she may have for him. It wasn't that long ago that she hated him; she could get there again, especially with all this new fodder.

She was just nodding off to sleep when she heard a tap on her window, barely discernible above the sounds of fiends slugging through the streets outside, but sharp enough to get her attention. Thinking it was just a monster kicking up dirt in the alley, she replaced her pillow under her head and closed her eyes, sufficiently distracted enough to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day. But a few seconds later, she heard a similar rapping on her window, and then again, too evenly spaced for it to be random clatter from fiends. She sat up and reached for her gloves, considering all the worst possibilities for what could be causing the noise and forcing her out of bed. She stepped to the window just as a speck of something hit the glass in front of her. Who the hell would be throwing rocks at her window at this hour?

She opened it and stuck her head out to look down into the alley, leaning against the windowsill but tensed enough that she could lunge out to attack if she needed.

Her anger evaporated for a brief moment when she saw Reno in the alley, holding a pile of small rocks in one hand and preparing to throw one with the other, his fist cocked and ready to release. Her relief that she didn't have to fight any fiends or marauders quickly dissipated when she thought about how he had treated her tonight and what that treatment made her think.

"What do you want?" she hissed, trying not to speak to loudly and wake the neighbors or alert the monsters. If anyone was going to kill Reno tonight, it would be her.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I fucked up," he pleaded, dropping the detritus and wiping his hands on his pants. Was that an actual, sincere apology escaping his lips?

Tifa considered slamming the window and going back to bed, shutting him out just like he shut her out tonight, another guy who just couldn't be bothered to tell her the truth. She couldn't go through that again. She barely survived her breakup with Cloud, and was reminded tonight why Reno was never right for her in the first place, even if he had seemed like a changed man for a while.

"Yeah, you did," she spat, unsure whether she was directing her words to Reno or Cloud. Probably both. "What do you want, Reno?"

"A chance to make it up to you," the redhead pleaded, eyes searching for any hint of forgiveness she might offer to him. The part of him that still liked to argue considered mentioning how she had twice tried to kick him out of her life, but figured that kind of logic wouldn't go over too well right about now.

"And how could you possibly do that?" she asked, her tone still acrid.

"I have something I want to show you."

"Yeah, I'm not falling for that one."

For once, Reno wasn't making a sexual reference, but took her response to mean she wasn't pissed off anymore – at least not entirely.

"Seriously, Lockhart, come with me. You'll like it, I promise."

Tifa took a deep breath as she watched his face in the dark, looking for any kind of sign that he was planning something nefarious; a twitch, a smirk, a glint, anything. Finding none, she reluctantly gave him a short nod, knowing that she could defend herself if he tried anything on her.

"Great, meet me on the rooftops next door," Reno said before darting out of the alley.

Tifa looked after him and considered simply returning to bed once again, far too exhausted to play this new game of his, and still hurting from how quickly he had started ignoring her after seeming so interested. If he did that once, he could do it again, right?

She changed back into her street clothes against her better judgement, stopping in front of her mirror to judge her out fit and sigh at herself for being so willing to give him another chance after what he had done. Reno knew what Cloud had done – he had witnessed it from his vantage point as a bar patron – so how on Gaia could he possibly think doing the exact same thing would be so easy to forgive? Still, it had only been one night, and he hadn't left entirely, he had just acted distant. Perhaps something had just been bothering him and he didn't know how to talk to her about it in public.

There was also the fact that she had considered leaving him just yesterday. Maybe this was her karmic payback, though she now suspected that even if that had been the case, Reno's decision to return and ask her to accompany him somewhere seemed to suggest he was no longer thinking about leaving.

She climbed up the ladder next door to find Reno crouching above her, offering his long, slender hand to help pull her up to the rooftop. She accepted his help and he hauled her up and into his arms, standing to embrace her like they had been apart for months.

Tifa was confused by his actions, but wrapped her arm around his back nonetheless, smiling as she placed her head on his shoulder and accepted that he was not Cloud and was not going to leave her, at least not any time soon.

"Can you keep up?" he whispered into her ear, his breath warm and heady, an arrogant smile forming on his lips.

Before Tifa even had a chance to respond, Reno took off across the rooftops and away from Seventh Heaven, checking briefly to make sure she was following. Tifa hesitated a moment, trying to figure out his game, but quickly gave chase. She raced over the rooftops after him, leaping across small gaps and weaving her way through the maze of pathways and bridges that made Edge accessible. She was definitely still fast, but couldn't come close to matching Reno's speed, always remaining at least one rooftop behind until he abruptly stopped on a roof facing Old Midgar. Tifa screeched to a halt next to him as he hunched over catching his breath, his hands on his knees and unable to speak.

Once she had collected herself, Tifa stood up fully to figure out where they were. Looking across the street, she immediately saw the one building in Edge she swore she'd never visit: Shinra HQ. Her heart dropped as she considered far too many nefarious possibilities for Reno bringing her here.

"Ohhh, no. Oh no, no, no," she insisted, shaking her head and putting her hands up in defense as she turned to walk back home. There was no way she would ever let a Turk take her into the Shinra building; she and the Turks may get along outside of work, but that couldn't possibly hold true for inside the building.

"Hey, whoa, whoa. Wait, babe," Reno said as he ran to catch up to Tifa, who was already halfway across the rooftop and heading back to her home. Being quicker than her, he not only caught up to her, but passed her in order to block her path, causing her to walk right into him. "It's not what you think."

"Oh yeah, then what is this?" she asked, distrust in her voice. Reno sighed.

"Look, you're just gonna have to trust me, okay?"

Tifa held back the scoff she wanted to exhale. Trust a Turk? Even now, after everything she had learned about him and his coworkers, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that his actions could all be part of some scheme to trap her somehow, even if the timing seemed off. But he seemed so genuine, and as much as she was hurting, she wasn't quite ready to give up on him just yet. She breathed in carefully, tentatively accepting that she was about to willingly enter Shinra HQ with a Turk, and nodded.

"Okay…" she said, heart thrumming like a jackhammer.

Reno gave her a lazy smirk and took her hand in his, leading her over the bridge that crossed the street to the Shinra building's second floor side entrance. He paused outside the door, keeping Tifa close in the dark.

"Now, listen very carefully," he said, keeping his voice low and muted as if he were about to impart her with some mutinous plan. "There are cameras everywhere inside, so I'm gonna need you to stay close. Not around the corner, not a foot behind me, but right with me, you got it?"

Tifa nodded her head. If he were here to capture her, he wouldn't be sneaking around on his employer, and the thought of this covert mission electrified the blood in her veins, especially since Reno was still holding her hand tightly. She squeezed his fingers and gripped his arm with her other hand, prepared to do as she had been told.

Reno opened the door and rushed inside to a nearby alcove, walking briskly but keeping low to the ground to avoid detection. Tifa stayed as close to him as she possibly could, never letting go of his arm and looking around for any surveillance cameras or security guards. Reno clearly knew where they were and had done this multiple times, and Tifa wondered how many women he had snuck into the office just like this. Still, she was inside now, and turning back would surely alert security, so she continued to follow Reno as he weaved his way through several hallways and service stairways until he stopped at a corner with his back pressed against the wall. He kept an arm across Tifa's chest to keep her from stepping forward and quickly looked around the corner to make sure the path was clear. He then pulled her along and entered a room filled with television screens showing the feed from every camera in and around the building.

He sunk below a row of desks and lead Tifa to the far wall, the idle chatter of the on-duty security guards and the hum of the screens loud enough to drown out their footsteps on the cheap industrial carpet. Reno reached an empty desk and stood up enough to use the keyboard and see the monitor, motioning for Tifa to stay hidden on the floor. She pressed her back against a set of drawers, heartbeat racing like it had the night, two years ago, when she, Cloud, and Barret had broken into the old Shinra HQ to save Aerith. The treachery was exhilarating, a mix of terror and anticipation that reminded her of her early days with AVALANCHE, when Shinra was the common enemy, before defeating Sephiroth became their main goal.

Reno tapped away at the keyboard for what felt to Tifa like far too long to remain undetected, yet she had no choice but to trust him, just like he said. After a few more minutes of endless typing, Reno crouched back down to Tifa's level, giving her a triumphant grin and a thumbs up before motioning for her to sneak back out of the room the way they came.

Once outside of the security room and away from its glass walls, Reno stood up fully and began walking casually, the need for stealth averted.

"What did you do in there?" Tifa asked as they walked calmly down a hallway. Without the need to slink around, she was now able to take notice of how the inside of the new Shrina HQ looked, far brighter and less ominous than the previous building she had infiltrated.

"Just a little backdoor program I worked out a while back," Reno replied proudly, puffing out his chest to celebrate his own achievement. "Runs an old loop of security footage for the next two hours before returning to a live feed. Means no one can see us walking around."

His satisfied smirk disappeared the second he said Tifa's disapproving expression.

"So, how many women have you snuck in doing this?" she asked, that feeling of being just another notch on his bedpost creeping back into her thoughts.

"Hey now, I've never done this for another woman. Just you, babe," he defended himself. "This is how I borrow the helicopter. I can adjust the time or limit it to certain cameras, but thanks for the vote of confidence."

He wasn't completely lying. Back when he used to bring women up to his office, he didn't feel the need to sneak them in, he'd just pay off the night janitor to come back later if he needed. He'd also pay the head of security to look the other way, but he'd never hack the surveillance system to get a girl into the building. He was only doing that with Tifa because he knew sneaking a known AVALANCHE member into the building after dark wouldn't go over too well no matter how much he paid.

"Sorry," Tifa said, looking sullen and realizing she should be giving Reno the benefit of the doubt more often.

Reno nodded in approval and continued leading her through the building and eventually into a back stairwell that was far too reminiscent of the one she had to climb in the old Shinra building. Thankfully, this one was not 59 floors, and they reached the end of the line just as she was feeling her thighs start to burn. Reno stood at the door leading out of the stairwell and turned to face her, watching her rub her thighs and imagining how he could help.

"This is it," he said, pushing open the heavy metal door and stepping out to the roof with arms outstretched, presenting Tifa with her reward for trusting him. "Top of the world."

Tifa hesitantly stepped out onto the roof of the Shinra building, noticing immediately that she could see every building in Edge, all lit up and sparkling in the darkness, a sea of small yellow and white lights dotting the urban landscape. Her jaw dropped open as she nervously followed Reno to the concrete guardrail at the far end of the roof, taking in a view she had not seen since she was in the old Shinra building looking out from Skyview Hall. Nothing could compare to what she had seen out those windows, but at least this time she didn't have the trepidation that came with finding Aerith or the knowledge that the mako reactors were killing the planet.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" she heard Reno say beside her, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Yeah, it is," she replied, eliciting a smirk from the redheaded Turk.

"You haven't even noticed the best part."

Tifa shifted her upper body, still resting on the guardrail, to look at him, bewilderment clouding her eyes as she wondered what else he could show her.

"Look up," he said, motioning upward with his eyes, that arrogant grin plastered to his face.

Tifa followed his eyes and looked up at the sky, finally realizing the real reason Reno brought her all the way to the top of the Shinra building: the stars.

They weren't as awe-inspiring as those in Nibelheim, but being up here, above Edge's light pollution, she could see so many more stars than she could from her own rooftop – and she didn't have to focus too hard to see them. Tifa turned around to lean her back against the guardrail so she could see the sky more comfortably, before slowly sitting down, never taking her eyes off the stars. Reno joined her, still having no clue what she saw by looking up at the sky but knowing how much she enjoyed it. And he enjoyed seeing her smile, keeping his eyes glued to her shining features as she seemed to absorb some kind of knowledge from the universe.

"What happened tonight?" she asked softly after looking up at the stars long enough for Reno to get antsy and bored. He'd much rather be groping her.

He breathed in deeply and turned to look at her, waiting until she met his eyes so he could see her swirling ruby irises.

"We both know I ain't no good for ya, Lockhart," he said, sounding defeated as his shoulders dropped. "I've never been in a real relationship before and I just know I'm gonna screw up."

Honesty? Reno thought he'd try it for once; see how she responded. Worst-case scenario she sent him away, which he had been prepared for all night.

Tifa's lips curled into a half-smile as she let his words sink in, her heart aflame at his admission even though it wasn't something she necessarily wanted to hear. She knew he was probably right, but his actions over the past few months showed otherwise, even if he wasn't perfect, and the thought that he still clearly held so much guilt was endearing. That, and he used the word "relationship." Is that what he thought this was? Her heart fluttered a brief moment, thinking that maybe Reno really was a different man than she had come to know over the previous two years, that maybe he really was changing.

She slowly reached out to cup his cheek with her hand, just as she had done the night on her own roof when he nearly admitted something about his past. Just as before, he let his head sink into her warm palm, closing his eyes to inhale her intoxicating scent.

"So, don't screw up, " she said with half-lidded eyes and her own version of a cocky smile.