Final Fantasy VII 1. The more things change

Hello everyone! Welcome to my story, Becoming Tifa! I just wanted to say thank you for checking this story out and I truly hope you will enjoy it. I want to mention a few things before you get started, first and foremost I am using Tifa's look in KH2 as a the foundation when describing her. Therefore she will have red eyes instead of her original brown. It is truly just a personal preference of mine, I love how she looked in that game. Please know I will strive to be correct with my continuity but having not played DoC does hamper that goal somewhat, however I did do some research on the game and storyline so hopefully it will work out. Again thank you for taking time to read this.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

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Tifa let out a large sigh as she scrubbed wearily on a section of the counter. She glanced up at the clock for the umpteenth time in the past hour. 3am, he hadn't shown, again. She briskly walked over to the sink, forcefully turning on the water and then stood there, staring straight ahead. Feelings of embarrassment mixed with nerves and disappointment radiated through her body. It wasn't until the steam started to rise and engulf her face that she snapped back to the present.

"Shiva Tifa look at you." she said out loud.

It wasn't that these feelings were new to her. On the contrary, she used to have this ritual almost every evening. She would try to change her routine to help herself not feel the feelings or look at the clock. However, by the end of the night she would have done the ritual anyway and then end up standing over the sink lost in thought, worrying because he hadn't shown up yet.

Tifa began to laugh in spite of herself. _Gawd, you really are the same as you've always been. You're pathetic. Did my inner monologue actually say gawd? I need to stop spending so much time with Yuffie._

She shook her head. "Time for bed." Tifa jumped, she had actually surprised herself by how loud she had said the words. Turning off the water and leaving the cloth in the sink she turned and headed upstairs not looking forward to what was sure to be another evening of going in and out of dreams about him.

As she laid her head to the pillow, she looked up at the ceiling and began to laugh again. Maybe she was just doomed to go through life like this, pining for a guy she felt deep down would probably never love her. _Shiva help me_, she thought as her eyes began to shut, _first Cloud and now...Reno._


	2. A change will do you good

Hey there! Here is the second chapter, I hope you will enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I still do not own FFVII. :)

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"Tifa?" The voice was soft and sweet but Tifa groaned as she was forced to come out of her not so peaceful night's rest. She begrudgingly sat up to see Marlene peaking in the doorway.

"Come in Marlene it's okay."

A smile broke out on the young girl's face and she quickly complied. Before Tifa knew it Marlene and arrived at the side of her bed and jumped into her arms.

"I missed you Tifa!" Marlene's voice was muffled from her face being buried in Tifa's neck. The wide-eyed child then looked up at her and asked, "Why didn't you come with us to the Gold Saucer?"

Tifa bit her bottom lip. She new eventually she would have to talk to Marlene about the changing circumstances but somehow it seemed to sneak up on her and at the moment Tifa was at a loss for words.

"You missed so much, we found out Denzel is afraid of heights and we even got daddy to race a chocobo!" Marlene's excitement level rose immediately as she began to recall what happened on her trip. Marlene was an excellent story teller, and could make any normal day sound like an adventure, but picturing Barret on a racing chocobo had Tifa in stitches and she figured it had to be from the lack of sleep.

Her laughing ended abruptly however with Marlene's next sentence. "See you should have been there, I knew you would have loved to see daddy on that chocobo!"

Marlene pulled away from Tifa now but continued with her rant. "Denzel was amazing in the battle arena, I think it helped that Cloud was there cheering him on, but still he got to the third to last battle even though he has only been training for a little while."

Marlene spun around, anger flashing in her eyes.

"So what happened, did you and Cloud decide to switch roles and you take on the absent one?"

Tifa felt like she had been slapped in the face. But instead of being loving and patient like she usually was, pent up anger came to the surface instead.

"Oh I see so now that Cloud has made it to a few get togethers he is wonderful and I am a horrible and neglectful person is that it?"

Marlene's mouth dropped but Tifa didn't give her the chance to respond. "Look Marlene I was going to talk to you about this with Denzel and your father present but you have forced the issue."

Tifa was shaking now, she was tired of the guilt and the way things were. Not all of it was Marlene's fault but Tifa knew she was old enough not to be coddled and decided to use how she was feeling to her advantage.

"Now that there is a new source of power your father will not have to travel as much as he did before."

Marlene nodded at this looking intently, though she already knew this information.

"As you know he has purchased a house a few miles from here, closer to the schools and near other families with children."

Tifa sighed; all that time worrying about how to give the speech was now out the window and she figured she might as well just spit it out the best she could.

"I won't be coming to live there with you."

And just like that, the secret was out taking the dread of telling her with it. Tifa paused, and finally got around to meeting Marlene's eyes with hers. Marlene just stood there, waiting for her to continue.

"Your father, Cloud, and I agreed that this is a needed step for you and your father."

Tears began to form in Marlene's eyes but Tifa continued.

"You have grown up before you should have, you have been raised in bars with alcohol and violence saturating your life everyday."

Tifa sat back down on the bed now, allowing what she was saying to be absorbed by her own mind.

"It's time we changed that for you."

Somewhere during all of this Tifa had lost her anger and went back to approaching her with a mother's tone and love she had always prided herself for.

"Cloud and Denzel will be living by Aer..the church and on days where Cloud's deliveries keep him away over night or longer Denzel will stay with you."

Marlene finally tried to break in with a question but Tifa wouldn't have it, she knew what Marlene was going to ask.

"I am not going because my work is here and I love my job." She now got up a moved toward the crying girl.

"I will always be there for you and Denzel." Tifa placed her arm around Marlene.

"But I need this time to myself, to find parts of me that have been missing."

Tifa noticed a slight nod so she continued. "We are a family, in some ways we are more fortunate than others because we were able to choose each other, and most of the time we like each other."

This brought a laugh from the brown haired girl.

"But even in the best and closest families, changes are necessary, and needed."

Marlene looked up at Tifa and she slowly wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Tifa was taken aback by the way Marlene was looking at her. Honestly Tifa expected a fight from Marlene, she wasn't too worried about Denzel, she knew as long as he was with Cloud he would be happy.

But Marlene, she looked at Tifa as a mother and a best friend. Tifa always assumed there would be pleading or even bargaining with possible defiance at the end. But the look she gave Tifa was one of acceptance and understanding.

"I understand Tifa, and though I hate to admit it, I agree with you, a change will probably be good for all of us...especially you."

After a quick strong hug and a quick exit, Tifa stood alone in her room. Tifa never would have imagined she would handle it so well.

It would appear that the changes had already begun.


	3. Welcome Back

Hello all. It is time for our favorite Turk to make his first appearance! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own FFVII now either.

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The last customer was out the door and it looked like for the first time in a while that she would be able to close on time and she had been looking forward to a bubble bath all day. Tomorrow was her first official day off in months and she wanted to be relaxed before heading to Costa Del Sol to obtain that tan that had been alluding her. She was so tired of looking like, well…Vincent, and so a tan along with a stop at the spa was just what the doctor ordered. She quickly came around the bar to lock the doors when she noticed a figure standing right outside. She took a moment to observe the slender, red headed man who, at the moment had his back to her. She watched the puff of smoke come up from the area of his face and followed the cigarette as it dropped onto the pavement. He turned to face her with a cocky grin, his aqua eyes glistening with mischief. He leaned in just enough so his head was now inside her bar.

"Gee Lockhart, trying to lock me out, haven't you missed me?"

Tifa tried immediately to hide her excitement by rolling her eyes and sighing. "And here I thought you had found another bar."

Reno again smirked as he made his way fully inside. "Would I do that to you, I know you must have been in agony the last few weeks without my visits." He then paused and to time to really look at her in the light. "Wow I am not a moment to soon, you look so pale, and your hair…." He used this opportunity to gently pick some up in his hands and let it slide through his fingers as his finished his sentence, "no shine."

Internally Tifa was deeply embarrassed; she had just begun to come out of her funk since everyone had moved out. She had finally gotten use to the quietness and the freedom of not focusing all her attention and energy on the kids or juggling phone messages for Cloud. She had upgraded a few things for her bar and redecorated her place to be more her and less of the kids. She had also given Cloud a down payment towards the new orphanage that he was investing in. She hadn't told Reno that she was seriously considering running the orphanage and just becoming the owner of the bar, letting go of running it. But there was still so much to consider and she worried that the orphanage would suffer if someone with her background were in charge. As much as people still held her and the rest of Avalanche in high esteem, there were many that would rather see her in the background and not hands on. Thinking of all this reminded her how much she needed this vacation.

She jolted back out of her daze when she heard the clanging of a glass and turned to see Reno behind the bar fixing himself a drink. "Welcome back. I figured things would go a lot faster if I just helped myself."

"Sorry, a lot has happened since the last time you stopped by Reno." Tifa quickly regained her surroundings and went over to make herself a drink.

"Everyone moved out."

Reno stopped what he was doing to look over at her. She could tell he was trying to gage her feelings on these new circumstances. When after a few moments he could see she wasn't about to break down in tears so he gave his thoughts on the matter. Reno abruptly jumped up on the counter, letting out some sort of cheer.

"Wahoo, you finally got rid of Emo guy, muscle man, and the brats! Way to go!"

Tifa took a moment to take in what she was witnessing. If someone had told her even six months ago that she would be impatiently waiting for Reno of the Turks to visit her at her bar, and enjoy his stupid antics, she would have called them crazy, delusional, wacko and any other word she could think of when it comes to describing an insane person. She still wasn't exactly sure when her feelings for him had begun to change, it was very gradual and came from many, many evenings of him being the last customer. Tifa had been so surprised on how easy he was to talk no matter how silly or serious the conversation. It was somewhere in all these conversations that Reno's standing had changed in Tifa's heart. He went from acquaintance, to friend, to crush. And now here was that said crush making a fool out of himself just because he could. So while Reno was having some fun up on her counter top, Tifa decided to have a little fun too so she reached for the broom near the end of the counter, picked it up and with one swift motion, went to knock Reno's legs out from under him. As Tifa predicted Reno was too quick and jumped to miss her attack. But something that she had no foreseen happened next, she had not wiped down the counter and as if in slow motion she watched in horror as he came down. One of his feet landed on a little mixture of water and liquor that was still on the counter and after a few quick contortions Reno landed on his butt, letting out a little yelp.

In a slightly higher pitch Reno exclaimed, "Damn it Lockhart I was just kidding, I know those kids mean a lot to you."

"Oh shit Reno are you alright? I forgot I hadn't wiped down the counter yet." Tifa ran around frantically looking for something to put some ice in. She finally remembered a pile of clean hand towels she had, got a towel and some ice and headed over to Reno.

As she handed it to him, though he was still grimacing in pain, he forced a smirk and said "Lockhart, if you wanted to play doctor and nurse, all you had to do was ask."

Tifa grinned and moved right up next to him to where her cheek and her cheek were almost touching and she whispered in his ear, "That could be fun, but in the end it would never work because both of us would want to be the doctor."

Reno's eyes initially became very wide, but quickly continued with flirting. "Oh you underestimate me Lockhart, I don't mind being submissive in the right situations."

Tifa laughed, "Oh, well now I finally understand your relationship with Rude."

Reno groaned, "Oh man I walked right into that, nice one." Tifa continued to giggle.

"Under the circumstances can I at least have the first drink on the house?" Reno asked.

"Oh hell Reno for you I'll let you have two."

Reno and Tifa exchanged smiles.

After a short time of silence Tifa decided to try to start up a conversation again.

"So Reno how's work been, has it kept you away from this area?"

Reno shifted in his seat a little. "Work has been...hectic. I've been pat...overseeing different assignments of some of our newer Turks."

"Are both you and Rude overseeing the same areas and Turks or did they separate you so all areas are covered?" Tifa asked.

She figured besides Reno and Rude, the only truly seasoned Turks were Elena and Tseng and with more people finally healthy both mentally and physically from the Geostigma many were looking for their new start. The Turks paid great with a much lower risk of injury and death thanks to the continued collaboration efforts of Avalanche and the Turks through the WRO. Most of the time keeping the peace was pretty simple. There had been that fairly recent incident with Vincent but anytime she thought of the adventures from the past with Avalanche she immediately became weary. She was bound and determined to start a new chapter, not away from her friends but away from fighting huge battles and being protector of the people.

All of the sudden she realized she had been lost in thought again but this time when she looked at Reno, he wasn't staring at her impatiently or pulling any other stunt, he was still staring at his glass and his aqua eyes seemed to be filled with weariness and worry.

"Reno?" Tifa asked apprehensively.

"Rude is on vacation." Reno stated in a very matter of fact tone.

Tifa relaxed slightly. "Good for him, so where did he decide to go, I am heading to Costa Del Sol tomorrow afternoon."

Reno continued to stare at his glass and as in a trance said "You're going on vacation? That's great have a wonderful time."

Tifa sat there a while observing him, she new now something was very wrong ,bringing up Rude had seemed to trigger something and now she wanted to find out what that was.

"Reno what's going on, did you and Rude have a fight?"

Reno let out a huge sigh, "I'm sorry Lockhart, I hate to burden you with my problems, but besides Rude you're the only one a fully trust, I haven't been completely honest with you the last few times I have come in here...it's time I told you what's going on."


	4. Missing

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or its characters.

"I believe Rude is missing." Reno said in a matter of fact tone.

Tifa froze afraid to put down the wash cloth in her hand; the silence that was in the room was deafening.

"Missing?" Tifa finally whispered.

Reno just stared at the bar. "He normally keeps in contact every couple of days but it has been over a week and I haven't heard from him."

Tifa managed to set down her wash cloth and sit down next to Reno; she tried to cover her shaking hands by retying her hair.

"If I didn't know that he was working on something…without permission I wouldn't have given his silence a second thought." Reno said, half to himself, half to Tifa.

"So his vacation was a front to work on something not approved by your boss?" Tifa said it more as a statement than a question but deep down she was in disbelief Rude would go rogue from the Turks; he seemed to be a person who lived the job.

"No he really was on vacation, he just can never really let go of work and so he decided to investigate while he wasn't under Tseng or Rufus' microscope."

Reno let out a large sigh, Tifa noticed his aqua eyes looked dim, and there wasn't any hint of the vibrant personality that she was used to seeing.

"As you know the Turks have been recruiting lately. Our dear president made it seem like it was all part of his new commitment to make Shinra a government everyone could embrace instead of fear, or at least look at without distrust. Instead of the Turks causing fear and disorder, we were now the ones keeping order, helping the local law enforcement when they were short handed or handling the bit more shady affairs that the public had no business knowing. Even now we still have battles with jurisdiction but overall the public and other organizations have embraced us. I think it also has helped hero boy be less hassled...and the rest of you."

Tifa rolled her eyes, even when he was serious he never missed a chance to take a shot at Cloud. But he was right, the public's relationship with all of them had become much more tolerable, Cloud still got swarmed on occasion but for the most part people seemed to respect their need for privacy and even normalcy. And there was always the "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Since life had become easier again the love affair the world had with Avalanche…with Cloud…with Aeris… had subsided. They still showed their appreciation with smiles or with a quick trip to the Angel or the church. But overall life had moved on and for Tifa seeing the people moving on was the biggest compliment, it was important to look to the future and not dwell in the harsh past…as long as the past was remembered.

Tifa squirmed a bit in her seat. She didn't like when her mind started drifting, she still had many issues left unresolved inside her and thinking about everything else that was going on outside her little bar was not allowed most of the time. That was her new philosophy she had adapted and she so far it suited her very well. For too long she had wallowed in guilt.

Reno was up and he grabbed the whisky bottle and ice and brought it with him back to his seat. He had also brought a second glass. Tifa knew his story about Rude was bound to be less than pleasant and decided to embrace what she hoped with be the numbing affect of the whisky. As the whisky splashed over the ice Reno continued.

"Of course I know you are not naive enough to believe that we are completely new and improved, old habits die hard and the worst ones we have is greed and power."

There was a momentary pause. Reno's aqua eyes were fixated on his glass of whisky, watching the pieces of ice clink together. At that moment Tifa knew that though Reno was in the middle of a conversation with her, right now she was an after thought. Reno continued to look at his glass as he began again but with a more reflective tone. "If Rufus had really wanted to start anew, he would have dismantled Shinra, retired, and just do some philanthropy work and then maybe down the line try something that did not have the filth and stigma of everything that Shinra represented. But no, President Rufus thought that by firing many old employees, slapping some fresh paint and new logo for the company that the past would stay buried and the sins of the father would not fall on the son."

Reno harshly set down his glass and looked up as Tifa stood there flabbergasted.

"Oh, sorry sometimes I loose track of what I am saying and go off on a tangent, Rufus seems to have that affect on me."

Tifa couldn't help but smile, "He sure does seem to get your blood boiling, maybe you like being his subordinate a little too much."

Reno flashed his infamous smirk and silently Tifa wondered how his teeth were so white with as much as he smokes and drinks. "He not enough man for me baby."

Tifa immediately shot back "Well that finally answers all my questions about you and Rude"

Reno responded "Lockhart with the zinger for the win."

They both let out a little laugh but the fun was short lived because just then they both heard a woman's shrill scream coming from outside.


	5. Jenova's Hope

_I am hoping this chapter doesn't disappoint. It is lengthy and has many action sequences in it. I struggle with action sequences so it would be great to hear some feedback. Hopefully the chapter is exciting and keeps you wanting more. Take care! _

_Disclaimer: And as usual I do not own the characters, they are the property of Square Enix.

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Without hesitation, Reno and Tifa sprint out of the bar to ascertain what was happening outside. They come on to a scene where people are fleeing in every direction. A few buildings had broken windows and some paraphernalia on the doors and walls. As she tries to absorb the whole scene Tifa suddenly feels a deep ache as a passerby bumps violently into her, but to Tifa it appears that even the momentary delay will not sway the man from his mission of getting out of the area. She turns and her ruby eyes flash with shock and horror as she watches a group of people shrouded in grey hooded robes pull at the Angel statue, and as if in slow motion, Tifa sees the stone statue tear away from the ground and make a crashing sound that was deep and ominous. Anger swelled up inside her. Feelings of disgust and hatred rose from all parts of her body making her body shake and face flush. After taking just a moment to make sure she would have no opponents on the way to her objective, she broke into a full force sprint which put her in contact instantly with two of the robed figures which she immediately started pummeling.

Meanwhile Reno had observed the same series of events, except that his eyes had picked up a young woman who had tripped in the middle of the street, and was getting trampled. The woman let out a high pitched shriek and Reno realized she had been the one responsible for the scream he and Tifa had heard in the bar. Reno leapt into action, literally. He used his momentum to fall into a roll coming up right in front of the woman. In one swift, fluid motion he pulled out his weapon, the magnetic rod who had been his friend in many battles and smacked two oncoming citizens with it. He then spun around and grasped the woman by her arm, using his upper-body strength to firmly, but gently throw her over his shoulder. He then made a few evasive maneuvers and was able to set the woman down inside the bar.

"You okay lady?" The young lady's chest was heaving making it quite clear that she was having trouble catching her breath. Reno observed her wounds; she had a cut on her forehead and there were deep purple and blue colored bruises all over her arms. He figured other parts of her body sported a similar bruised look. Reno stood there, silently watching the girl, waiting for her to come out of the obvious fog she was in. He fidgeted with his goggles on the top of his head, knowing there are still problems outside and that is where he should be. He could feel the impatience creeping up inside him but he forced himself to stay long enough to see her regain coherency. So after a few moments he decided to try to ask her again. "Miss, are you alright?" Reno asked with an authoritative tone. As he moved in front of the woman it appeared to do the trick because he saw her eyes come into focus and look up at him. "I couldn't get up, I couldn't get away" she choked out.

Reno crinkled his brow but did not get annoyed at her for not answering the question. "Look, I am going to lift you into a chair so you can reach the phone on the wall and call for an ambulance, okay?" The girl looked like she was about to protest, but Reno knew he had already wasted enough time, and needed to get back out there. "I'm sorry to leave you here alone, but I assure you once you call for an ambulance things will get better and soon you will have a bunch of people here to help you." Then in a very effective, but brisk manner he lifted her up, put her gently onto a stool that was right next to the wall with the phone and made sure she was steady. As he briskly walked toward the bar's exit he flipped open his cell phone and dialed a number. "You should get to her church, now." Reno's tone was firm and all business; and he closed the phone as soon as he finished the sentence.

Outside at the fallen statue, Tifa felt only slight discomfort as she threw a right hook at one robed figure while using a side kick on another. There were many of them but none seemed to be anywhere near her level in terms of fighting and therefore she was feeling good about her chances, besides it's not like she hadn't faced bad odds before. Tifa wanted a better position so knowing that the statue was directly behind her, she effortlessly flipped her body into a back flip using her legs to knock out the enemy in front of her. She landed steadily on the statue and took her ready fighting position and re-observed her surroundings.

The hairs stood up on the back of her neck; her spine began to tingle. As Tifa watched the grey robed figure in front of her come towards her, her body warned her of the other robed enemy directly behind her. She stood eerily still and tightened her fists; waiting for the right moment. In the next few seconds that moment came and she leapt high into the air creating a forceful split kick with her legs and simultaneously knocking both of her enemies back. As she landed again on the statue her eyes caught what looked like a lightning bolt hit another of the robed men. As the figure fell she saw the deep red hair of Reno coming into view which caused her to let out a small smile. Reno's aqua eyes met hers and it seemed as if his eyes had the same electricity in them as he had just dished out on his unfortunate enemy. Without hesitation she dismounted from the fallen Angel statue and with deadly accuracy used a series of round house kicks and uppercuts from her fists to make her way to Reno.

"I thought you may have decided to bail" Tifa said in between hard breaths.

"What and let you have all the fun Lockhart?" Reno quipped. "But ya know, even though I am loving seeing you all sweaty and breathing hard, there are actually even better ways to get in this condition, so next time you want me to see you in this hot and sweaty state don't go to all this trouble okay?" Tifa couldn't help but chuckle, only Reno would be able to use that kind of humor while they were in the middle of being attacked.

The two skilled fighters put their backs against each other and waited for the next wave of attacks. "Don't worry Reno, I've got your back" Tifa said quietly.

"After we get through this what will it take for you to change that statement to I've got you on your back?" the redheaded Turk asked in a serious tone. Tifa shook her head and smiled but the joking would have to be put on hold because the next wave of attacks had arrived. They went through the enemy skillfully and efficiently, keeping thoughts of fatigue at bay. It seemed the fight would go on forever, when all of the sudden the faint noise of sirens caught Reno and Tifa's ears. In an instant the robed figures stopped the never ending wave of attacks and turned to flee the scene.

"Oh no you don't!" Tifa screamed as she tackled the nearest robed figure to her. Reno quickly took Tifa's lead by rushing to her side and directed her to let go. To an observer you would think these two had been partners for years, watching Tifa let go and roll away while Reno moved in and put his foot on the robed figures chest just below the neck. "What group are you apart of?" Reno's voice was cold and steady. He never raised his voice but his eyes showed malice that Tifa had only seen one other time. Tifa shook violently as the memories of all those years ago came rushing back. The memories are still so vivid, she can hear the screams as if they were happening right now, right next to her; that awful day when Reno blew up sector 7.

Instinctively Tifa wrapped her arms around herself, trying to force herself to stop shaking. Meanwhile, Reno continued with his interrogation of the robed figure pressed to the ground. Grinding his teeth Reno asked again, "What group are you a part of and why did you tear down this statue?" The robed figure began to laugh nervously which caused Reno to push his foot down on the unknown enemy's chest. The robed figure's laugh turned into a cough and as the figure struggled the hood slipped back to reveal a young woman no older than 20. Reno pulled up on the pressure he had on her chest and allowed her to regain her breath. She then let out a smirk that gave Tifa a deep chill as the girl finally spat out her answer to Reno, "Only statues on display should be those of Mother and her son, not ones given in remembrance of their defeat and in honor of that filthy Ancient girl."

Before Reno could respond he was knocked off the girl, hitting the ground hard. He used a kick-up to get back to his feet immediately which gave him the opportunity to see Tifa on top of the girl pummeling the girls face in with her fists. Tifa was completely enraged shrieking at the girl below her. "Shut up, don't you dare speak of her like that! You're sick, you worship Jenova and Sephiroth! After everything they did to this planet, to its people!?"

Next thing Tifa knew her arms were pulled back and she was engulfed in a bear hug from Reno, with his voice calm and soft in her ear "Easy Tifa, easy." She struggled with him for a moment, her whole body and mind wanting to attack the robed girl again. But Reno would have none of it and used all his strength to keep a hold of her, continuing to whisper in her ear as calm and soothing as he could muster. "Tifa, please, stop." His voice finally registered within Tifa and she stopped struggling and became almost completely limp in his arms. He helped her to sit down and she stared silently at the girl, Tifa's eyes never leaving her for a second.

The bruised and bloody girl began to laugh again making Tifa's stomach turn. " Mother's resurrection is coming and when she gets here she will finally accomplish her goals that she began so long ago." The girl's voice was airy and extremely high pitched. Then she looked Tifa directly in the eyes, and with a voice that was as cold as it was sinister she stated, "We are called Jenova's Hope for a reason."


	6. Conversations

_Hello there everyone. Here is the next chapter. A couple of original characters are being introduced or at least mentioned. I realized that I never wrote when this was set, but this chapter should give you a better idea. Also please note that I have never played Before Crisis, Crisis Core, or DOC and I am not to familiar with those stories so they do not play any factor in mine. Thanks for the reviews and please keep the feedback coming! Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter. The characters and places belong to Square Enix._

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" What!?" Tifa said breathlessly, her ruby eyes filled with fright and disbelief. Tifa took a look at Reno, but there was no disbelief and shock on his face, just a look of concern and more importantly... confirmation. Before Tifa or Reno could say anything else the sirens and flashing lights were upon the three of them. A few policemen opened their car doors, pointing guns at each of them demanding them to put their hands where they can see them. As Reno and Tifa slowly turn an ambulance and another car pull up. The medical team from the ambulance are immediately at the side of the robed girl but both Tifa and Reno have their eyes on the detective getting out of the unmarked car. " Easy boys, these two are on our side." His voice was gruff and harsh but his grey eyes were kind. "Should have known you would be right in the thick of it Reno, you Turks never miss an event do ya?"

Reno flashed his trademark smirk 'If there's action count me in yo." The detective and the Turk shook hands.

" So tell me is this going to be a jurisdiction issue?" the detective asked.

" I'm afraid so detective." Reno looked very weary all of he sudden, almost like he had seen an event like this too often recently.

Tifa took a quick glance back to see how the girl was doing, the medical team already had her on a stretcher and were loading her into the ambulance. Tifa was about to express her opinion of them needing restraints for her but as she opened her mouth she heard the detective yelling to the medical team "Make sure that girl is restrained, I am not taking any chances with the suspect."

Reno spoke next " Detective Burton I hate to cut our chat short but there is another area I need to check out; Tifa would you mind coming with me?"

"Woah, wait a minute, you didn't even introduce me to your protege,' wow how did you get on Rufus' good side to be training that sweet piece of as-

Reno abruptly cut him off, "Uh detective, I would like you to meet Tifa Lockheart."

The detective grey eyes widened. "Oh, you mean of Avalanche fame?" the detective sputtered out. "Oh, Miss Lockheart I apologize for my inappropriate outburst."

Tifa could help but smile, "It's okay detective but Reno and I really must be going."

"I should have known when reports started coming in about a women taking on a group of 50 by herself. Miss Lockheart, it has been an honor meeting you." The detective and Tifa shook hands.

"I'll have Tseng contact you as soon as I have finished my report with him." Reno stated to Detective Burton as they hurried to get to Reno's vehicle.

Once in Reno's car Tifa spoke " I would say that you need to start explaining yourself, but that would be such an understatement." Her voice was consumed with bitterness as she continued " This Jenova's Hope, this is what has been keeping you so busy isn't it?" Reno only responded with a slight nod while opening up his cell phone.

"Hey Tseng, yeah the intel we got was legit; it appears that Jenova's Hope is more than just an average terror group. This group doesn't want money or to force us to set anyone free, it wants to punish the entire planet by throwing a family reunion with Mother." It looks like he has figured out most of the glitches that was in his earlier work. Yeah, and they are still only attacking materia shops and other high priced stores. It has to be how they are funding his research."

There was a slight pause and then Reno continued, "No I am not going to call Rude in on this now, look until I have a good lead on where Iotola or at least his leading goons are I am going to let Rude have the rest of his vacation. Look I have a few more stops to make and then I'll be back at the office. Yeah it will be at least a few hours from now."

Reno hung up the phone and glanced briefly a Tifa. "I know you need a lot of blanks filled in." He let out a weary sigh. "And yes Rude's disappearance is connected to Jenova's Hope." Tifa could see Reno hesitate for a few seconds but then continued. "I'm afraid there is another factor I didn't mention on the phone that effects you personally."

"We think there is two agendas, with two leaders working together because most of their interests are the same, but one difference is reports we are getting that Jenova and Sephiroth are not the only two in the resurrection sweepstakes." As they came to a red light Reno turned and looked at her with a very solum face. "Tifa, the other reports speak about having big plans for the protector of the planet."

"Oh Shiva, oh I...Aerith...oh I can't...why...how would they" Tifa was shaking all over, and she obviously couldn't put one steady thought together, the only reason she regained herself at all was when she saw where Reno's destination was.

"No." was all Tifa could breathlessly muster to come out of her mouth. They had pulled up at the church, Aerith's church. Tifa jumped out of the car and bolted for the door. Reno's voice barely registered on her ears and she slammed her way past the doorway. She would take out anyone who was desecrating this building, so help her... but then her surroundings started to register and she came to a violent halt. Standing just inside the doorway was a man with his back to her, but it didn't matter that she couldn't see his face, she new the man all too well and besides the spikey blonde hair was a dead give away. "Cloud?"

As Tifa watched Cloud turn around she took in the whole seen. in her rush to get inside she had jumped over a pile of bodies, probably at least 20 that were all right outside the door. The actual inside of the church, the pool, pews, and stained glass windows were still intact. Tifa gasped when she met Cloud's blue eyes, they were flashing with hate. But as soon as he registered who was in front of him, his features and eyes softened. "Tifa?"

Tifa ran and embraced him, crying as she put her head in his chest. "Oh Cloud you kept them from"... but she couldn't finish the sentence. She cried softly in his chest for a minute and when she had regained her composure she asked "Wait how did you get here in time to keep them out?" I doubt you were coming for a visit at 3:00 in the morning.

Cloud gently pulled away from Tifa's embrace as he responded to her questions. "Well, I got a interesting phone call."

His eyes move past Tifa as Reno comes up to them. "I guess a thank you is in order Reno."

Tifa spun around, partly confused and partly shocked "You called Cloud?" Tifa tried to comprehend Cloud thanking Reno for anything. Even in other crisis time periods she was pretty sure Cloud had never spoken those words to anyone who was a Shinra employee.

"No problem, I'm just glad you picked up." Reno smirked "Especially when you saw who it was at the hour it was."

"Figured it had to be important, you and I aren't known to be in touch." Cloud's voice was serious and quiet.

"Yeah, nice to see you were able to get here in time." Reno had lost is smirk now and his voice was quiet and reflective. "This place...I'm glad it's still intact."

Cloud then turned his attention back to Tifa putting his hand gently across a cut on her forehead. "Looks like you were dealing with problems of your own."

Tifa turns away from Cloud, lowering her head. Her voice cracks as she begins to tell him what happened earlier in the evening. "Their was an attack in downtown Edge. A few stores were looted, there were a lot of scared citizens." She let out a hugh sigh, maybe it was having to retell the events of what had occurred but she finally felt every ache in her body, the fatigue was almost overwhelming.

"There was a group, hooded figures standing around the Angel statue...her voice trailed off. Tifa forced herself to look at Cloud, and at the mention of the statue his eyes regained the look they had sported just minutes earlier. Tifa glanced over at Reno who was leaning on his car, her eyes pleading for help and Reno was kind enough to oblige.

"Strife, this group, they pulled down the statue...it's ruined."

Cloud stood motionless, he was looking at Reno with just a dead stare. Reno quickly finished telling Cloud how he and Tifa fought the group and what they had been told by the one group member. Tifa could help but be impressed, Reno was completely business like in his retelling of the events. He stated the facts of what happened and was very accurate in his details. Tifa had never taken the time to think about how good Reno was at his job, she had been watching Reno in his element since that woman had screamed outside the bar all those hours ago.

"We are called Jenova's Hope for a reason." and with that Reno had finished but neither he nor Tifa were ready for what they saw next. Cloud's eyes were now flashing with hate and you could see the hate carry throughout his entire demeanor; there was a darkness around him and Tifa let out a gasp because of it. Tifa had only seen Cloud look like that one other time and that was when he was face to face to his mortal enemy in the crater; the man who had wanted to end the world and had taken a huge part of Cloud's when he murdered Aerith. Tifa instinctively backed away from Cloud and for a few moments was truly frightened at the sight of him.

"Jenova's Hope?" Cloud asked through clinched teeth. Tifa took another glance at Reno and was surprised to see him staying so calm; though she noticed him fidget. But his eyes never left Cloud.

"Yeah apparently Sephiroth and Jenova still have a pretty proactive fan base. Like those before them, it appears they want to see a mother and son reunion live and in person." Reno said with disgust.

"They want to finish what Kadja, Loz, and Yazoo started." Cloud whispered.

"Definitely, and then take the vision to a whole other level."

"What other level?" there was apprehension in Cloud's voice.

Reno pulled out his pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and lighting it. As he exhaled the smoke he said "A third ressurection, that of a Cetra."


	7. Disturbing News

_Hello everyone! Finishing up this chapter took longer than I expected and it was a difficult one for me to write. First I wanted to take a moment to thank **stars amongst dust** for continuing to leave reviews, it means a lot! I hope I will get some major critical feedback on this chapter because it was hard for me to write and has a lot of important information in it. I want to know if you were bored; if you thought the chapter was too long especially since it is quite a long length; loved it; hated it, etc. I wanted to give you a heads up before proceeding. I did some research about DoC and used a few things to keep this as true to the already developed canon stories as I could. I don't think it is anything in this chapter that would ruin Dirge of Cerberus for those who have not played it but are planning to. But I just thought you all should know. My goal is to have a good balance between what has already been created by Square Enix and my own original characters. Hopefully everyone will continue to enjoy the journey I have decided to take them all on. Thanks again for taking the time to read my story and I will see you all in the next chapter! Take care!_

_Square Enix owns FFVII, it's world, it's characters, all of it, not me._

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Cloud's blue eyes widened so much that they almost appeared to bulge. It looked like the wind had been knocked right out of him. A few moments later he finally showed a definitive emotion.

Without warning Cloud leapt at Reno grabbing him by the neck and lifting Reno's feet off the ground.

"Cloud stop!" Tifa screeched but Cloud didn't even flinch.

"Damn it Strife let go!" Reno grunted. But Cloud only tightened his grip around Reno's throat.

"A resurrection of a Cetra, is this some sort of sick joke!" Cloud was enraged and Tifa wanted to make a move but with Cloud having a grip on Reno's neck she knew she couldn't be careless so she continued to try to get him to hear her.

"CLOUD STRIFE LET HIM GO, NOW! Her voice was loud and commanding and it was enough to get Cloud to turn his head to her and say "Stay out of this Tifa!"

Cloud immediately turned back his focus to Reno his tone cold and menacing. "What is the time table on this? Do you have ideas on the location of where these resurrections are going to take place!"

But Cloud's momentary turn to Tifa ended up being the moment Reno needed, as Cloud finished his sentence Reno had gotten a hold of his weapon and proceeded to shock Cloud with it. Cloud lost his grip and Reno took full advantage slamming him with a head butt and rolling away from Cloud as soon as he hit the ground. Tifa sprinted and got in front of Reno just as Cloud was about to attack again and using her right arm blocked Cloud back by using his own momentum against him. Cloud slammed into an outside wall of the church grunting from the force of the collision.

Reno was still gasping as he staggered to his feet. Cloud got to his feet slowly, the look of hate had subsided as he stared silently at Reno and Tifa. Tifa was positioned in between Reno and Cloud but she turned to face Cloud, her voice serious and slightly cold as she spoke.

"I understand the rage your feeling Cloud, I feel it too but none of us have time for you to take out your anger on Reno."

Cloud did not respond he just listened as Tifa continued talking. "And all the bulling in the world is not going to change what Jenova's Hope is trying to do."

Tifa's voice softened as she continued, Cloud casted his eyes downward. "Reno please tell Cloud about the resurrections and the theories regarding them."

Reno's voice was a little hoarse when he began to speak, and Tifa could see he was extremely angry.

" At first glance their ultimate goal could be viewed as a major contradiction. Aerith protects everything Sephiroth would destroy. So why put enemies near each other? Because as strong as Aerith was in life, she has been even stronger in death."

Cloud's eyes shot back up at Reno but there was no longer anger in his eyes, just sadness.

"We know that Aerith can use the planet as a weapon against those trying to destroy it. You would have to look no further then when Geostigma was healed by the rain."

"How did you know the rain came from Aerith?" Cloud asked.

Reno sighed, "Children. We received reports about children seeing _the_ flower girl, described as wearing a pink dress with a red jacket with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail."

Reno looked at Tifa, a small sad smile came across her face. She knew Cloud had seen Aerith.And until Reno revealed other wise she always thought it had been just him. Tifa had always been okay with that, it made perfect sense to her. But as far as Tifa knew only herself and Marlene had felt Aerith's presence back then. Why had she let other children see her but not her other friends? Tifa was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard Reno continue.

Reno's voice became slightly softer now, even he knew that all that he had said and was going to say would hurt Cloud tremendously.

"We believe that Jenova's Hope wants to make Aerith human again to make her less of a threat, and probably even more so to control her and study her. We are pretty sure they want to learn how the Cetra learned to communicate with the planet; how they were so connected to it, and then try to replicate it."

"But the last "pure" Cetra wasn't Aerith." Cloud's voice was hallow and far away. "It was Infalna, Aerith's mother."

Reno nodded in agreement, "Yes but we are quite certain it is not Infalna that is to be resurrected. The assumption is Infalna's DNA was either lost or tainted. So in short they would need a new sample. She has been dead too many years and is most like one with the lifestream. Add all those factors to the threat that Aerith poses to Sephiroth and Jenova and there's your answer."

"But I thought the WRO had all the information from any research done by Shinra scientists since the day the Science and Research department received it first funding?" Tifa finally decided to chime in with a question.

Reno looked down, looking suddenly tired. "That certainly was the original idea, but like most things that have great and noble intentions, corruption always finds a way in. The World Restoration Organization was created to restore the world and undo the mistakes made by Shinra. So what do you do with all this research that was a catalyst of all the threats on the world the past 5 years? You could destroy all of the information from existence. Though there is danger in that line of thinking too since we have always learned that those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them. But to keep it available, how long would it be before the next great psycho decided to improve on the research? So Reeve was so torn on what action to take, but you already know this since the two of you and the rest of Avalanche were in the discussions."

Reno paused a moment to look in the outside mirror on his car to see what his neck looked like.He squinted when he saw that bright red welts were starting to form.

"Anyway to keep from boring you it appears those who opposed the decision to destroy any research archives found someone on the outside to keep secret copies off all Professors Gast, Valentine, Hojo, and Dr. Crescent's darker work along with other scientists controversial research."

Cloud inhaled sharply, his face showing bewilderment trying to comprehend what he was hearing. Tifa walked over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder as Reno continued.

"Apparently Hojo had kept in touch with a University buddy throughout the years. Hojo would send him letters and apparently visited him from time to time. Well in any case this friend of Hojo's had a son who is all grown up now and an expert in materias. It is said he is an excellent researcher. As a matter of fact there have been documents found where Hojo recommended him for the research team he was heading and Hojo did send a letter asking him to come work for Shinra and work under Hojo specifically. But before he could come to Midgar his father became very ill and so the son chose to stay close to his father. We do not know if the son and Hojo were in contact much after that. The timeline we were able to put together puts Hojo's friend's death right around the time he started loosing his mind. There are whispers that after he lost his wife and child to Geostigma he was completely shattered and went mad, but that hasn't been confirmed as of yet. We do know he went into seclusion not long after the Geostigma was cured. That is pretty much all the background information we have. Well that and his name, Dr. Damien Iotola."

"So let me see if I understand, some of those within WRO's organization decided to make sure the past research of Professors Valentine, Gast, Hojo, Dr.Crescent and others were spared so they sent secret backups of all the files to a man named Dr. Damien Iotola." Tifa was pacing as she continued to go over the information.

"This man is connected to Hojo by his father, who was a University friend of the professor. Tifa' eyes lit up as she continued to see the story fall into place. So this Iotola, who is an expert with materias and research has headed up this new threat Jenova's Hope. Their goals from what we know are to resurrect Jenova, Sephiroth, and Aerith. Bringing back Aerith is a preemptive strike to take one of their biggest threats out of the way, so Jenova and Sephiroth can be reborn and united. But the question remains what is the ultimate goal? To end the world?

'To recreate this one, with a new superhuman race." Reno says suddenly. "Or at least that is one of the theories, ending the world is another." Reno sheepishly looks away from Tifa, realizing she had made that same conclusion had paused for dramatic effect and therefore stole her thunder by blurting the theory out.

" So, like the Deepground soldiers?" Tifa asked thinking of those elite Soldiers of the last crisis.

Yes, but worse. By fixing the mistakes made by Hojo, the mental problems and other weaknesses would be obsolete.

Cloud stood up now, crossing his arms, a terse tone in his voice as he spoke.

"There are still flaws in Jenova Hope's plan. I know there are still pieces of Jenova that have not been accounted for and Sephiroth said to me in our last meeting that he would never be just a memory. But how do they plan to bring Aerith back?" Reno opened his mouth to answer but Cloud continued on, "Maybe she has completely returned to the planet. Because the last battle between me and Sephiroth was a while ago." Cloud snapped.

"You're probably the only one who knows that for sure." Reno snapped back. Cloud had a scowl on his face but did not deny Reno's statement.

And you have to remember that Aerith was studied by Hojo, he had her DNA and that sample if it is still around would only be 5 years old. So that would be the key. So even if Aerith herself is just another part of the lifestream now, maybe they plan to clone her to fulfill their mission. Look there are more reports with more tidbits of Jenova's Hope's possible plans and it certainly looks like cloning is going to be a big part of whatever they are planning. But right now we still don't know how Aerith's resurrection is going to b accomplished. I'm not a scientist so getting into the particulars about how any of this is possible is way past my area of expertise; but it is pretty clear that Aerith is going to be part of the plan because if it was futile we would have heard something by now.

"Look that is all I can say for now and I need to get back to give my report and get an update on what we've learned from last night's attacks." Reno just sounded annoyed now and the sun was coming up. Tifa realized that both her and Reno had been up all night.

"I really believe that now that they have made an aggressive move, Rufus and Tseng will want Avalanche in on this."

"Gee, how kind of you." Cloud said sarcastically.

Maybe it was because he was so tired, but Reno shot back.

"We weren't sure what this group wanted until a couple of weeks ago and believe it or not this wasn't about sticking it to you or Avalanche." Did it ever occur to you that bringing Avalanche in would only agitate the situation, if this is about what we think it is how do you think they would react knowing Cloud Strife and the rest of his friends that brought down their precious Jenova and Sephiroth were onto them? Contrary to belief I am not stupid, we don't want Jenova's Hope to know that we have as much information about there plans as we do. As a matter of fact I may have blown it by giving you the heads up. Their going to notice Cloud Strife was there stop one of there assaults. Look sometimes playing ignorant is the right move so you can hopefully catch them off guard."

"Shinra just wants to cover there own ass, why the WRO allowed Rufus Shinra to restart a branch of the WRO as the "new and approved" Shinra Coorporation I will never know." Cloud said bitterly.

"Or maybe because you aren't the only one who has ever wanted forgiveness." Reno hissed. Tifa's eyes widened at Reno's statement, she knew he would just be talking in general but from his tone it seemed personal.

"The Turks and Rufus were put back in place because as corrupt as we may be, we know how to do our jobs. And do I have to remind you that the precious leader of the WRO is Reeve, former Shinra employee and spy. Almost all the WRO is made up with people who have dirt on their hands, and that is the beauty of what the organization stands for. You can't take back your sins, but you can help yourself and others heal."

"Or maybe Rufus hates having to share power and sees this group as an opportunity to create chaos and get things back to the way things were." Cloud had obviously been unimpressed by Reno's words.

"And so what, even if it is about someone else's agenda; Avalanche and Shinra want the same conclusion. We want to stop this Jenova' s Hope from bringing their dreams to reality, right? So bottom line this Iotola and Jenova's Hope have to be eliminated. So please get off your high horse and see what you can find out from your contacts. And please try to keep it subtle, with all that has happened tonight I figure the ignorant card is probably gone but we don't need to make it worse." Reno commanded.

Cloud just stared at him for a few moments and then spoke, his voice was cold and unfeeling.

"I expect to hear from you soon."

"Likewise." Reno spat back.

Cloud then went up to Tifa. "You need a ride back, you're exhausted." Cloud's voice was completely different now quiet and concerned.

Reno looked like he was about to protest but then stayed silent.

Without responding to Cloud Tifa turned to Reno.

"Reno, we still have a conversation of our own to finish."

"Yeah, how about I stop by after we both get a chance to rest up." Reno still had hints of bitterness in his voice.

Tifa wanted to ask about his neck but there was already to much testosterone floating in the air and she figured he would just be offended.

"Okay, see you later then, oh and good fight tonight." Tifa was feeling the exhaustion now but somehow felt shamelessly giddy when Reno flashed her his trademark smirk.

"Not to bad yourself Lockheart." flirtation back in his voice for the first time since the fight with Jenova's Hope. Tifa smiled at Reno and then turned to Cloud.

"Alright let's go." Tifa was too exhausted to have anymore conversations this evening. Sadness again overtook her when she thought about how Cloud and how he was feeling after hearing all this news. So instead she just concentrated in the wind flowing through her dark chocolate hair as she sat behind Cloud on his bike, thinking of how great a hot shower was going to feel on her tired and aching muscles.


	8. Servant

Hello everyone! I decided to make a fun chapter, hopefully one that makes you chuckle a few times; or at least that is my intention. Please let me know if you enjoy the way Tifa and Reno act. It is very important to me that the characters are believable. Again thanks to all who have taken time to review. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy VII and it's Compilation

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Two days, that was all it had been since the night Tifa was introduced to Jenova's Hope and fought along side Reno the red headed Turk. As Tifa put together her turkey sandwich her mind wandered to what Reno's diet was like. She assumed it was mostly a daily dose of alcohol, smokes, and woman. And that would certainly explain why he was so lanky. She laughed in spite of herself when she pictured Reno's wardrobe. His Turk suit whether navy blue or black was always unbuttoned, untucked, and wrinkled. His shoes dingy and dirty to finish out his ensemble. And while his look may be disheveled somewhat, his style complimented him, he made the look work. Oh damn, Tifa thought, here I go again thinking about Reno. She began to blush when she started to remember her dream of him the night before. It had been quite detailed and intense. She shook her head and swiftly took a bite of her sandwich which was very yummy but sadly did not satisfy the kind of hunger she was having at the moment.

"Damn it" she said out loud. It wasn't like it was her fault that he had looked so good fighting, and that head butt he had given Cloud...heat suddenly consumed her face, completely flushed as more images from last night's dream came into her head. She felt so embarrassed even though no one was else was there. Gawd was she going to have to take a cold shower? She frantically looked around to get her thoughts elsewhere. She grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and began to put it under the faucet. She would do a little more work on the counter and the tables, that should help. But the next moment she heard someone coming through the door. Oh man, she had forgotten to re-lock it after she swept outside. "Business hours are from 4pm-2am tonight, come back then, Tifa said tersely.

"Oh come on Lockhart don't make me wait until 4, I missed you." Now Tifa's humiliation felt complete as Reno walked into her bar, smiling from ear to ear, his aqua eyes sparkling. " I was hoping you would be looking out the window anticipating my return."

For a moment Tifa contemplated just grabbing him and bringing him into a toe curling kiss, half to wipe that smug look off his face; half because she has been wanting to kiss him for a long while now and she knew he would never expect it.

"Hey Reno."

_You are such a wuss, _she thought to herself, _why can you never act on impulse?_ She violently twisted the rag in her hand.

"Glad you stopped by, I've been looking forward to finishing our conversation from the other night especially with all that's happened."

Reno smoothly came up next to her his back on the counter as he leaned his head so it was only inches from her face. "So you _have_ been anticipating my return."

The look he was giving Tifa was painfully seductive, Tifa could feel her knees getting weaker as he stared. Did he know the effect he had on her? He was so experienced when it came to women, he must know. But if he knew why didn't he make a move?

"I would be so turned on if I didn't know your anticipation was for what I know instead of my body." Reno tone switched to light hearted and flirty.

_Say something seductive or witty_, Tifa's mind was screaming. Instead she just gave a weak smile. _Nice job, way to be in the moment,_ she silently told herself.

Reno put on an over dramatic pout. "Ya know, you may be my only blemish."

This strange statement helped to get Tifa back to actually being able to speak. "What? I don't understand."

"Here you are the sexiest girl in Edge, no probably the world and you are completely immune to my charms. It is a real blow to the old ego ya know."

Tifa was flabbergasted at his statement but tried not to show how much his sexiest woman comment effected her. "What are you rambling on about?"

"I'm serious yo, most woman at the least find me charming, but not you, all I get from you is annoyance or tolerance." Reno smiled really big. "I don't know whether to be impressed or insulted."

Tifa couldn't help by beam with pride, he hadn't been joking, he really did find her sexy. And on top of that she had managed to keep him from having any ideas about how she felt about him. Though she wasn't sure how she felt about that one. Was she really that closed off with her emotions?

"Well this is interesting news, so what's my prize for being able to bring you down temporarily from your pedestal?

"Well Miss Lockhart, your prize is me." He let out a chuckle when he saw how tense Tifa became.

"Easy Lockhart I'm not delusional, I meant that you get to use me as your servant for a month in whatever way you see fit."

"Is that right?" Tifa was beginning to relax now though her insides were doing a sort of dance as ideas of how Reno could serve her kept popping in her head.

"Yes ma'am after this Rude disappearance and Jenova's Hope is dealt with and solved, I am all yours." Reno's seductive tone was back.

"So if you want me to clean the bar every night until it shines, I'm your man. Or if you would prefer me to cook you fabulous meals every evening, just say the word."

Tifa's eyebrows went up at the mention of him cooking.

"Hey I happen to be quite a good cook." He let out a cocky smirk, "What can I say my hands are very talented."

Tifa rolled her eyes as she smiled. "All this because I have shown resistance to your charms?"

"Well it would take some sacrifice from you because for me to give you my services would mean you would have to deal with me for a month straight. "

"Oh man that is true, makes it hard to decide." Tifa teased.

"Did I mention massages after a hard days work, kept completely professional unless you say otherwise?" Reno was making his way over to the liquor now.

"And what you hope is that by the end of all this I will find you at least slightly charming."

Reno was pouring a glass of whisky, "Yeah something like that."

"Well then, I accept." Tifa used a much of a mock professional tone. Then noticing that Reno wasn't paying attention she quietly and strategically maneuvered herself up next to him so her lips would be right by his ear as she seductively whispered,

"Persuade me."

Reno jolted and spit out his whisky. "Holy shit Lockhart!"

Tifa was laughing so hard she was bent over clutching her stomach.

"This is going to be a lot of fun." Reno chuckled as is continued to try to catch his breath.


	9. Plans Change

_Hello everyone. I have just a quick chapter for you this time. The goal of this chapter is to give you more insight on our Ms. Tifa Lockhart. My hope is it is a good blend of the Tifa from that we already know from the games, FF:AC, and my interpretation of where she is now in my story. Feedback as always is greatly appreciated, thanks to all that review and all that are taking time to read this story._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or it's characters

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Tifa could feel the sea breeze as it brushed her face and flowed through her hair awakening her other senses of smell and taste as she breathed in the salt air while the salt teased her taste buds. This is where she wanted to be, where she had planned to be to give herself her first ever personal vacation. Her job, her friends and family were to be left behind so she could focus on herself without any of the day to day life that always gets in her way. This was the place where she was going to do her soul searching. Tifa had never really dared to do that before. Ever since her mom had died, taking care of others had been her way to cope with the loss. This was her way to survive without having to ask those terrifying questions; _what are my goals in life, what do I want, who am I, who do I want to be?_

Only one other time in her life had she been on her own, after she had recovered from Sephiroth's attack. Her father was dead and her town was in ruins, and she had left her mentor, Zangan behind because all she saw and felt when she looked at her decimated town was death and despair. Even to this day she sometimes has nightmares about that horrible day. Visions of townspeople, people she knew all her life were now unrecognizable from being charred by the flames. The horrible stench that had filled the air and the heat of the flames that still ferociously fed on last bits of homes that had not yet been completely consumed. That day more than any other shaped her life. It was on that day she learned of beings with no mercy.

That was the day she learned how to hate.

Tifa let out a quick, bitter laugh. When she was still fairly young she decided that she wanted to learn martial arts. She wanted to learn to be strong and defend herself and others. But after that horrible day, her agenda changed. What she wanted was replaced with what she needed...and that was vengeance. So after walking away from the only home she knew she eventually found her way to Midgar and with that came a place to stay. She quickly got a job working in the bar where she persuaded her boss to teach her to be a bartender. Then she met Barret and Marlene and they all became quick friends. After her boss decided to move to a different town she found herself left with a parting gift, the bar she worked. Not too long after that she offered the extra rooms in the building to her friend Barret and his Avalanche group. It didn't take much to get her to become part of the group. Two key words in Barret's lengthy speech was all she needed to get on board with his vision, _against Shinra_.

This decision would eventually earned her new titles to go along with her actions; terrorist and killer or activist and protector; depending on who you were talking to. She had become involved with a necessary evil. Tifa smirked as she quietly contemplated, _is evil ever necessary? _The wind whistled in her ears as she debated the answer internally. _To have good you must have evil. There must be a balance. _She pressed her eyes shut forcefully, trying to change her train of thought. Even by being part of the team that saved the world once; the team that continued to try and watch over it. Tifa had never really been able to release her guilt of her actions so long ago. _Are you ever allowed to stop paying for such great sins? No, atonement was never finished. _But she had seen Cloud forgive himself for what he viewed as his own terrible sins; it was time for her to do the same. Then again she didn't have an equivalent of Aerith to help her. _T_aking a frustrated sigh, she looked out at the ocean. The water was so calm, so soothing. _This is why i picked this area. _The laid back feel of Costa Del Sol was the perfect contrast to the turmoil inside herself. Yes this is the place she was going to try to define who Tifa Lockhart was and then become who Tifa Lockhart should be.

That had been the plan.

"Lockhart?" The male voice had an air of curiosity in it. "We're here...you okay?"

Tifa closed her ruby eyes one last time, trying to push away all her internal issues. Thank Shiva Reno couldn't read her thoughts he would probably have to head to a shrink after hearing all her issues.

"I'm okay just ready to get out of this car and stretch my legs." Tifa only gave Reno a quick glance, she knew he wasn't an idiot but he mercifully played stupid and headed into the hotel.

Gotta love how plans change.


	10. Consummate Professional

Hello there! Okay so this one was a little difficult for me but hopefully it will be enjoyable. This is another long chapter but if I reached my goal than it will be interesting and leave you wanting more. Again thank you to all who are taking time to read my story and a special thanks to all that give feedback.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or it's characters, they are the property of Square Enix. However my original characters are mine. :)

* * *

Tifa put down a few of her suitcases and began to observe the hotel room. Actually it wasn't right to call this a room, it was a suite. Scanning the enormous sized bed it appeared the awkwardness of having to possibly share a bed with Reno wouldn't be an issue since you could probably fit three adults on the bed comfortably. Both of them had agreed that sharing a room was the best option. And since this was business, the suite was on the Turks tab. Tifa wondered what Reeve would think of a branch of the WRO using funding for something this elaborate.

She laid her hand on deep hunter green comforter that covered the bed. She could notice by the stitching that the comforter was hand made as were lovely embroidered pillows which were laid perfectly in the middle of the bed. But what was the most stunning part of the bed was the deep red oak head board donning an elaborate oak tree hand-carved on it.

As she continued to look around she saw the marble counter that represented the mini bar. Beautiful crystal drink glasses hung from the overhead glass rack. They sparkled with an aray of colors thanks to the rays of light shining in from the spacious balcony. As Tifa proceeded out to the balcony she noticed lounge chairs and an over hang that was retractable, she made a promise to come out here and retract the overhang tonight if time and weather permitted so she could gaze at the stars over the ocean. And speaking of the ocean, the view of it from here was breathtaking.

As she became increasingly giddy at all that she was observing, Tifa then decided to take a peak at the bathroom. She had never seen so much space in a bathroom. The marble counter was approximately as long as Tifa from head to toe if she was laying down. The shower appeared to be the size of a small walk-in closet. It's door had beautiful diamond cut glass which she assumed was done to skew the view of the person on the inside. She also observed a large jacuzzi in between the shower and counter. Even the toilet was beautiful.

Tifa was drawn away from her gawking by Reno coming in from the outside hallway.

"Hey, look I just got of the phone with one of my contacts and it appears he has information for me so I am going to go meet him."

"Okay, great." Tifa said.

"This is going to take a little while but I know a great way for you to pass the time. I believe there is a spa on the first floor. I know that there isn't a lot of time for pleasure but since this was originally suppose to have been your vacation, why don't you go treat yourself for a few hours?"

There was a twinkle in his eye and Tifa knew that he had seen her eyeing the spa as they had made their way through the hotel.

"Oh is there a spa? I hadn't noticed" Tifa gave Reno a big smile.

"Okay see ya later." And with that Reno left.

Tifa quickly changed into one of the beautiful hunter green bath robes hanging in the walk-in closet. She pulled back her chocolate colored hair into a loose ponytail and headed down to the spa. as she walked in to the spa she chuckled because she couldn't help but be amused with the situation she was in. Just a few nights ago Reno had walked into her bar and asked for her help to find Rude. That had actually been his purpose for coming the time prior but Jenova's Hope had stopped their conversation. She smiled warmly as she remembered how professional he had been when he asked her, giving her a list of reasons why it would be worth her time and effort. He had also explained why he had decided on coming to her about Rude in the first place.

"Ma'am, please follow me."

Tifa was slightly startled by the young woman that spoke to her but then realizing that it meant it was time for her massage happily got up to follow her. As she laid her face into the cushioned hole that would allow her to breath as she received her much anticipated pampering Tifa closed her eyes and thought back again to the conversation that had put her here.

_Tifa observed Reno's somber look as he said "I know we have combined forces off an on the past few years and it has always been successful." Reno paused, looking at the glass of whisky Tifa had recently poured him. "But I also know that as much as we joke around when I come in here; because of some incidents in the past; you can't be fond of me...not after what I did to Sector 7, and with what I do as a Turk."_

_Reno paused again to take a sip from his drink. "I have a lot of respect for you because you do what is necessary to protect the planet; to do what you think is right. Even if it means working with people like me. And you have every right to feel however you do about me and my actions but I need to be perfectly clear, I'm not here to go down memory lane with you; hear what you think of me; or talk about forgiveness."_

_This time Reno downed the rest of his drink. "What you need to know about me before giving an answer is simple. The job comes first for me, period. That is where my loyalty lies; everything and everyone else is secondary." _

_Reno finally looked at Tifa trying to read how she felt about what he was saying. "I know that for you Jenova's Hope is your priority but this should work out perfectly since I am certain that those Jenova's Hope bastards are linked with Rude's disappearance so we will be taking on both pressing matters at once._

_Tifa could not help but be impressed with his candor. She doubted she had ever been that honest with anyone; certainly not to herself._

_"If you can handle working with me again then I could really use your help finding Rude. You are a good person and a great alli to have in a fight. And truthfully, it would just mean a lot to me if you said yes."_

As Tifa enjoyed the sensations of the massage therapist's expert hands on her back she wondered how Reno would have reacted to know that there had been no need to give that speech to get a yes out of her. But that meeting was the essence of Reno, he had come to her on business and therefore that was how he had to conduct himself. His outside appearance may not show it, but he is the consummate professional. He had even taken the time to shake her hand after she had agreed.

Her body was still tingling as she made her way back to the suite. Tifa opened the door to see Reno out on the balcony looking out at the ocean.

"Reno, I'm back." She was almost embarrassed on how cheery her voice sounded.

Reno turned around and gave her a big smile. "You look like you enjoyed yourself."

"I did, thank you." Tifa headed for the bed and noticed that the comforter had been pulled back to reveal white satin sheets. She plopped down as Reno came in from the balcony.

"I hate to bother your euphoria Lockheart but I am afraid we are going to have to get ready and go down to the beach." Tifa gave a grunt to acknowledge she was listening but she did not move.

"Apparently there is a very booming underworld here in paradise, thanks to a new player that has come on the scene named Gabriel."

Tifa sat up, intent on hearing all that Reno had to say.

"This guy apparently is the new Don Corneo as far as perves come but he is also more discreet about his more colorful money making operations. In any case my contact confirmed that Rude had a lead that this Gabriel had dealings with Jenova's Hope since he is not one to turn away any business, no matter how shady. But with Rude's disappearance we now believe Gabriel wasn't just freelancing to Jenova's Hope, he is actually a member."

Tifa responded, "So he gave Rude false information and on the bogus lead Rude was ambushed sometime after he left Costa Del Sol so Gabriel's ties wouldn't be revealed."

Reno nodded but continued. "My hope is that we can get in and get a meeting with this guy."

"And then persuade him to tell us where Rude is." Tifa chimed in.

"Absolutely. And the way to get a meeting is by getting into the Paradise Club." Reno paused as he sat down on the other end of the bed.

"Getting in is the part my contact couldn't help with, he was already starting to feel heat from all the questions he had been asking so we are going to have to find out the way into this very exclusive club by ourselves."

Tifa nodded.

"So Lockheart, are you ready to play detective?"


	11. Tension

_Hello everyone, big news this chapter. I have decided to do a rating change and push it up to Mature. The content is becoming more adult in nature and I feel this is the appropriate move. I truly hope I don't turn off or loose readers for this decision but for any that decide to stop reading I completely respect that and thank you very much for taking the time to check out this story up until now. Okay with that being said I am going into uncharted territory for me and could really use some feedback as I go along. As always thanks to all those who are taking the time to read Becoming Tifa. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. One last thing, this chapter picks up right where Ch.10 left off so if you have not been by in a while you may want to look over the previous chapter. Take care!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or anything in the Compilation. They belong to Square Enix._

* * *

Tifa smiled at Reno, "Yeah, I'm game."

Reno got back up from the bed. "I need to freshen up before we go so I am going to grab a quick shower. We should be able to head out in about 20 minutes...unless you hold us up getting ready."

Tifa threw one of the pillows at Reno. "Just hurry up jackass."

Tifa laid back down on the bed trying not to think about what was happening behind the bathroom door. She tried very hard not to think about Reno undressing and the getting into the shower...or the water hitting his built chest as the thousands of water droplets rolled down every part of his body. After a few more futile moments she realized that she was being extremely stupid.

"Enough", Tifa jerked herself suddenly to a sitting position. She couldn't take it anymore. The man she wanted was right here, in the same hotel room, just a few steps away. Tifa knew there was a job to do and they couldn't waste a lot of time but that was exactly why now was the time to act. She was going to take initiative and go after what she wanted.

Tifa opened the door as quietly as she could, tip-toeing towards the shower. She could see a blur of tan moving behind the shower door. She carefully slipped off her robe and underwear and then with her heart pounding and hands shaking she reached and opened the shower door. She took a moment to observe Reno's thin but completely toned body, watching how his dark red hair clung to his back. He had not heard her because his face was directly under the shower head, washing away the soap and shampoo from his face and hair. With the help of a moment of calm and confidence, Tifa moved up behind him and wrapped her arms round his waist, he jerked from being so startled and actual inhaled a little water. He twisted around to figure out what was going on "Lockheart, cough what are you..." But Tifa wouldn't let him ask questions, she pressed his wet lips to hers and much to her relief and delight he responded, returning the kiss passionately. He pulled her under the water with him as they continued to kiss. She let out a gasp as he pulled away from her lips and then let out another one as he began to take his lips and move down her chest towards her breasts. "Oh, Reno." She said breathlessly.

"Hey Lockheart did you fall asleep?

Tifa groaned. As she grudgingly got up from the bed she wanted to scream. It had just been another one of her far too detailed and realistic dreams. To make it worse there was Reno standing in only a towel that was wrapped around the bottom half of his body. She hurried to her suitcase and threw all of the contents on the bed to try to find an outfit, extremely frustrated.

Reno spoke as he started back towards the bathroom to change. "Let me guess you were just drifting off and had a really good dream starting and I messed it up didn't I?"

Completely annoyed by how dead on he was she just blandly responded, "Yeah, that's right." She looked through her clothes, finally finding a navy blue spaghetti strap tank top which she quickly switched into. Thanks to her falling asleep she knew they were behind schedule. After she found her khaki skirt she quickly slipped it on. Tifa was happy with the length of the skirt; which came up to about a inch above her knees; because she realized how pale her skin was and she wanted her legs to not glow in the dark. Slipping on her tan sandals she went to the closet mirror to redo her ponytail she observed that this was the most color she had worn in years. "How sad is that." she said to herself.

"Please be naked! I mean, are you decent?" Reno joked as he came out of the bathroom again.

"So Lockheart what were you dreaming about?"

Tifa was thankful she had moved away from the mirror to start to put the rest of her clothes away so her back was to him. She wouldn't want him to see the red that had come to her cheeks.

"I bet you had some big muscle man give you a message downstairs and now you were dreaming of him taking it to the next level, yo."

When Tifa felt the heat leave her cheeks she turned around.

"Actually I was dreaming of kicking your nosey ass." Tifa said smiling.

But her smile immediately lost out to the now shocked expression on her face when she saw Reno. He was wearing light khaki pants and a white half-buttoned up long sleeved shirt that was slightly see-through thanks to the lightness of the material. He had switched out his trademark goggles for sunglasses on top of his head. He was even wearing tan sandals on his feet. Tifa could not get over how good he looked in something other than his Turk uniform.

Reno was looking in the mirror, making sure his glasses were just right so he didn't see her reaction. "Damn Lockheart, don't tease me."

Tifa was pleased at his reaction when he turned from the mirror, he gave her a brief shocked expression as he looked her up and down. He then gave her his signature smirk, "My, my Lockheart; looking good."

"Likewise." They both smiled as they began to head out the door.

Tifa prayed that this day would bring fighting, either with Gabriel himself or some of his thugs. She really needed to release this pent up tension she had.


	12. Playing Detective

_So here's my latest chapter. A lot is going on so it is fairly long. I tried to throw a lot of humor in but only you all can let me know if I succeeded. I hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Characters of Melanie and Gabriel; situations are my own. Everything else is Square Enix's property.

* * *

_

Tifa and Reno observed the outside of the Paradise Club, it would open at 9pm. So they had till probably 11pm to find a way to get in. Seeing it was 12:30 in the afternoon they didn't have a lot of time.

They started to walk down the street finding people to strike up conversations with. Both were impressed on how natural the other was at asking leading questions without being obvious. Couples, an older man walking down the street, students, they even asked the cashier at the trendy clothing store. Not one gave the answer they were looking for. It's like no one could pinpoint what the criteria was to get in and as hours started to tick away, both Reno and Tifa were becoming discouraged.

Reno let out a large sigh, "I know this Club is still considered new...it's only been around for a little over a year. But how they have kept people from figuring out what tickles the bouncer's fancy is beyond me."

Tifa took a moment to stretch and all of the sudden her stomach made a large gurgling sound. Tifa quickly clasped at her stomach making the futile attempt to silence the noise.

"Let's grab a bite to eat while we eavesdrop." Reno said with a smirk.

Her cheeks still had a hint of pink from the embarrassment but she laughed, "As long as your treating."

After grabbing Reno's patty melt and Tifa's chef salad the two conveniently sat near a group of 20's and two mid 20's to early 30's couples. Tifa realized that for the University this was an extended weekend for upperclassman. That had been half the reason she had picked this time period to come to Costa Del Sol. Though there would be a bunch of drunk horny twenty somethings here, at least she could use force because she wasn't trying to get higher tips. She hated when young creeps grabbed her ass, even though she was only in her 20s, she felt much older and looked at University students as kids. As Reno and Tifa sat and ate they began to listen in the students' conversation next to them.

"So what are tonight's plans, are we going to Paradise?"

"Are you high, you don't just get in, it's exclusive for a reason."

"I heard you have to be young and hot... or famous."

"Well I guess that leaves you out doesn't it."

"Screw you, no they should let most of us from the University in."

"This is the most business they will see this off season."

"How would the club keep it's reputation if it let in all University students."

"Do I look like the owner? All I know is that it is an exclusive club but the word is that it shouldn't be hard for us to get in."

Reno turned and looked at Tifa, he leaned over trying to be as quiet as possible. "Look Lockhart I am going to need to sit closer to you if we want to talk out in the open. No one will pay attention if the just think we are a couple showing affection. Are you okay with that?"

Tifa fidgeted in her seat, trying to not get to excited about having to act like a couple..._gawd what am I, 14?_

Unfortunately Reno took her fidgeting to mean she was uncomfortable. He scrunched his brow a little and Tifa could swear she saw sadness in his eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry this makes you uncomfortable but I was only asking to be polite, we don't have time to deal with your need for me to stay out of your personal bubble. Every day that goes by Rude's chances for survival shrink that much more."

Reno pulled up next to her and started stroking her hair, moving in slowly kissing her cheek and then moving toward her ear.

Tifa's face flushed immediately and she shifted again, not use to the affection she was being shown.

Reno grabbed her arm and hissed in her ear "Lockhart I am not going to violate you but I need you to not act like I disgust you."

She wanted to argue but that would ruin his whole point for moving close to her in the first place so she turned and gently kissed him on his lips. That made him slightly jerk back and this time Tifa moved in whispering in his ear.

"You misunderstood my body language...I'm not disgusted...I"

She wanted to say love it and I want you to do more, but she figured that would just send him running.

"I'm just not use to being shown this kind of affection, even if it's fake. But I won't let you down, I promise."

Reno hesitated for another moment, he was relieved to hear that she wasn't disgusted by him. The problem was that her kiss, however brief had ignited the passion he always carried for her. In normal circumstances since she wasn't in the realm of possibility he had learned to bury his desires. But these weren't normal circumstances and even though his brain was telling him she was just pretending, he couldn't seem to stop himself from leaning in to kiss her. As for Tifa, when his lips brushed hers, the sensation sent shivers up and down her spine. It took every ounce of her self control not to grab the back of his head and devour him with kisses. She kept trying to repeat to herself that it was just pretend, like when she played make believe as a child and she was a princess or whatever. But she was starting to loose control of her logic, she has wanted him for so long.

"Thanks Lockhart. Reno's voice had become soft and kind. "So it looks like we either need to find a way to loose a couple of years off our age or definitely throw up the red flags by using your hero celebrity card."

Tifa giggled, knowing how both were impossible. She and Reno both turned their attention...at least listening wise to the two other couples sitting to the right of them.

Tifa had wrapped he arms around Reno's neck and decided to be slightly bold and kiss him again. This time they both responded by deepening the kiss and within a few moments they had begun to kiss passionately, loosing concentration on those around them becoming completely focused on themselves.

Reno tightened his grip on her waist, her kisses were a little lost at first but she was an extremely fast learner. _How long had it been since somebody kissed her? _He was amazed on how much her kisses had an effect on him, not just physically but emotionally as well.

Tifa was in complete bliss, she had dreamed of how his kisses would feel and they were infinitely better than she had imagined. And she thought she had a pretty decent imagination. Still, she tried to remind herself once again that he was pretending so as not to bring attention to themselves. But Shiva help her she couldn't do anything but express her passion for him through her kisses. She also hoped he would forgive her for having no idea what was being said by the other couples. She knew she should break apart from him but she figured she would never be this way with him again and she just couldn't bring herself to let go.

Reno was enjoying every sensation her kisses brought him, nothing else mattered. But he could hear his conscious screaming to him, begging him not to take advantage of a woman he had so much respect for. Only her and Elena held the honor of having his respect, all other woman he looked at with one objective, how can they make his time worth while. He knew he had to stop this, she was only kissing him because she thought she was helping keep up a rouse.

_This woman who should never even given you the time of day has come here to help you find your partner and help you bring down the latest big bad. And so how do you repay her, by not doing your job and giving in to your selfish desires. This is exactly why an amazing woman like Tifa could never fall for you._

But there was the problem,he knew she would never be like this with him again. This was the only time he would have Tifa Lockhart kissing him and even though it was fake,he just couldn't let go of her yet.

"Well, damn Reno looks like you haven't changed a bit baby!" Both Reno and Tifa pulled apart quickly, breathing heavy and trying to regain their surroundings.

Reno looked up at at a lovely woman hovering over him "Melanie?"

"Aw you remember my name, I am flattered...how are you?" Reno had stood up and gave the woman a big hug.

"Look I am very sorry for interrupting you two, believe me, my husband and I were enjoying the show you were putting on."

Tifa turned beet red, she felt completely humiliated, how had she allowed herself to loose control like that...in a public place! Reno had probably hated every moment of that, she knew she had very little experience kissing, he probably felt violated.

"Damn girl you're married! Well if you liked the show so much consider it my wedding gift." Reno and the woman started laughing.

"So I'm gathering that you and your girl are going to be making an appearance tonight at Paradise?"

Reno flashed a look at Tifa, and the mention of the club brought Tifa out of her wallowing.

"Well we would love to but I wasn't sure we would get in, they say it pretty exclusive."

"Oh don't give me that garbage Reno, you know damn well you and your lady friend are hot enough to get into the club."

The lady smiled at Tifa, "And just for good measure I'll make sure I put in a good word for the two of you with the boss."

Tifa could not believe their luck, this person was apparently a regular, did not feel scorned by Reno, and was going to mention them to the one person they needed to see most.

"Oh what does that get us a free drink." Reno tickled the woman's side and Tifa was surprised at how comfortable that acted, not to mention how comfortable her husband was watching another man flirt and tickle his wife.

"No, it gives you an all access pass." Melanie nudged Reno.

"I'm guessing she is pretty new to exhibitionism by the way she acted after I came over."

Melanie came over and sat down next to Tifa, "It's okay sweetie, it gets easier." She gave Tifa a huge smirk, "Which in turn helps you take more chances thus enhancing the excitement and pleasure."

Tifa's eyes widened enough to where they were almost bulging. Reno was trying to silence a chuckle by covering his mouth.

"Gabriel loves when new hot and heavy couples come to Costa Del Sol. He just loves a good show."

She then got up from next to Tifa and went over and gave Reno a quick kiss on the lips. "We will see you tonight, I will only give a description of the two of you; I know Reno doesn't like to be bothered when he is on vacation." She winked at Reno.

"So they should let you in...and just for safe measure tell the bouncer Mel says hello. Oh and one more thing, I expect a good encore tonight for me and my husband; right honey?" All the husband did was nod yes.

Melanie started to walk away but then turned back around."Oh and if you two decide you would like to try swinging, please think of us okay?" Melanie was smiling big at Tifa now and all Tifa could do was look down and blush again.

"Bye Reno baby."

"Bye Melanie, you know you still look like you could light a fire with that body, yo." Reno winked at her.

"You _know_ that's right."Melanie chuckled as she went off with her husband.

Tifa was still sitting in the same position trying to comprehend all that was just said.

Reno turned and looked at Tifa again."I can not believe this just happened, can you believe that?"

"We will need to be on the lookout for a trap but I can't believe our act brought this kind of information." Tifa thought for a moment Reno might literally jump up and down.

"Come on let's walk down to the beach, with all the commotion there we should be able to have a conversation without prying ears and eyes. We need to discuss a plan for tonight"


	13. Hidden Thoughts and Desires

Hello all, I am very sorry for the delay with this chapter. To be honest it gave me a lot of trouble and I just don't know how I feel about it. One of my main goals was to give a little more insight on Reno and his attitude towards women. There will be more revealing as we go along but I would like to know how you feel about how I have done so far. I also tried to bring in some fun too. I really would appreciate feedback on this chapter. Okay enough of my yapping, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: As always FFVII and it's characters belong to Square Enix.

* * *

Tifa felt the warm water rush onto her bare feet. She dug her toes into the soft, wet sand that stayed while the water came and went. She was finally relaxing after all that had happened just a few minutes ago. She had gone from hungrily devouring her salad to making out with Reno, to being able to get a free pass into the Club they needed to go to and may have a chance to discreetly meet the boss. But instead of game planning in her head she was reliving the sensations of his lips on hers; his hands sliding around her waist and then grabbing a hold of hips as their kisses had heated up. If she was completely honest, those few minutes of kissing Reno were some of the best of her life...she had never felt passion like that from someone else; or more importantly herself. She tried to hide a smile from Reno who was smoking a cigarette a few feet away from her.

Her thoughts lingered on her initial reaction when they first kissed; she was not the biggest fan of smokers even though she was around smoke all the time and she certainly never thought she would enjoy kissing a smoker. But he didn't ...well... taste disgusting, actually just the opposite. It was a strange mixture of alcohol, smoke, and some other flavor she couldn't quite place. In any case it didn't matter, she liked everything about kissing him... and that was the whole problem. She wanted to kiss him again, not just in the recreational sense...it was deeper than that, like the beginnings of an addiction that if she didn't quit now she would never be able to recover from. So her emotions were tearing her in all directions when Reno put out his cigarette and turned to tell her what tonight would probably entail.

"So it looks like there will be no problems getting in but after that...well Lockheart I am afraid you are going to have a rough night. It looks like my contact was on the money with this Gabriel character. It looks like he loves to see him a good show and I am not talking about a play or ballet."

Tifa nodded but still wouldn't look at him, she was afraid he's see the excitement and anticipation in her eyes. So she kept her eyes on the waves moving in and out to a beautiful rhythm.

"I know this is going to make you extremely uncomfortable but we have to convince everyone that we are a hot and heavy couple and don't give really give a damn if everyone knows it and sees it."

Tifa began to feel slightly dizzy as she continued to harbor the battle that was going on inside her. For at least a few more hours she was going to get to be with Reno in ways she only dreamed about. But it would only be for these few hours and he would be just pretending..again. She would feel what is like to be Reno's hookup and yet know that under normal circumstances she would never be his choice. She could feel the pang in her stomach. But what may be even worst was what would be the aftermath. She would have had affection, the kind she deeply desired and screamed for but then it would be gone and she would have to act normal. Then how would she loose that ache that was already developing from his touch? As Tifa once again thought about the way she felt when he had wrapped his arms around her she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks...she was so inexperienced with men. Shame began to rise from within her, she had wasted so much time pining for Cloud she had missed out on so much. How could she fake being experienced in something she had no experience in?

"Lockheart, come on I need you to look at me."

She turned slowly only glancing at him. "I...I haven't had a lot of experience when it comes to...intimacy." Tifa felt like a young teenage girl, awkward and foolish.

Reno's felt a twinge of pain, Tifa looked so sad, so...lost. This was going to be hell for her, a private person having to act completely opposite in public with a guy she normally only tolerated. Reno silently cursed. What the hell was wrong with him, he should be giddy, getting this chance with the hot Tifa Lockheart and all to save his best friend. This was just great for him and why should he not just enjoy what was to come. So what if she hated it, he could have a really fun night.

But...that train of thought wasn't working like it normally did. This situation...she was different and his heart just wasn't into the idea of using her. So instead he would only do what was necessary to get in to see Gabriel. After what he had done in the past to sector 7, this was how he could make some sort of small amends. He would make sure to not touch certain places no matter how tempted he was. Even if she never knew it, that was his gift to her. Any other time, anyone else he would milk this for all it's worth...maybe even getting her so piss drunk that the inhibitions would leave and then she would be the aggressor. Those were some of his favorite scenarios.

He normally always had a good laugh with working his charm on a prude, ice queen who acted like she was a goddess to be worshiped. It as always fun taking advantage of their stupid naiveté, waiting for a chase prince to come into the bar and sweep her away for courting and g-rated love until they were engaged or married; then she would grace him with giving herself to her love as if the dumb ass should get down on his knees and thank the gods she was so giving. But once Reno had put the plays in motion, by the end of the night it would be them worshipping him and he would only be on his knees to hear the bitch beg for him to touch her and scream his name. The best part was always the look of shock when they would wake up the next morning. He would be cold and dismissive but be honest on how they did. Then one of them would leave. He would smirk to himself because he knew that some of them would never be satisfied as good as they had been their first time, condemned to disappointment due to their now high expectations. And it would serve them right; damn bitches, teasing with looks and what they wear but then demand you respect them for the innocent angel they are. Buy them gifts, compliment them, show them why you should be even considered. Woman were so damn self righteous. Every look or sentence spoken had to be dissected. It was exhausting. He had learned a long time ago, women were normally only good for one thing and that was satisfying Reno's basic animal need. He didn't want them for anything else.

But Tifa was different. She was strong and demanded your respect by her intelligence and actions. And she didn't yap senselessly. She would give you the chance to be her equal as long as you gave her the same courtesy.

Reno forced himself away from his thoughts.

"First, let me say that I think you will do great. I also want you to know that I will not touch you in the obvious off-limit spots...but my hands will have to roam." Reno let out a small smirk. "It will be hell but I'll suffer through it. It is all to get my partner back."

Tifa let out a grateful laugh, she appreciated him throwing in some humor with her emotions still all over the place. And the fact that Reno was even attempting to be respectful of her was endearing. She just hoped she would able keep her own personal desires in check. But then another thought crossed her mind and she could feel the panic setting in once again.

"Um, I haven't gone dancing much...I may be spastic."

Reno was smiling wide now, completely amused on how bashful Tifa was acting. He had never seen her act quite like this before and couldn't help by find her adorable.

"It's okay Lockheart, you'll be fine...think of it on the same terms as when you fight or spar with someone. You may decide to take a preemptive strike to see his reaction time or wait to be attacked first to learn how your opponent moves. But as you know there is rhythm and flow to fighting hand to hand. You have phenomenal instincts, so allow them to work for you in this situation too. If it helps watch how my body moves and then react accordingly."

Reno was smirking again but this time Tifa smirked back. "I have to hand it to you Reno, you are full of surprises, I had no idea you could be so supportive."

She turned and splashed the water on her feet again, but then felt his presence right next to her. She turned and his facial expression was serious and his eyes...well she felt like they were looking right into her soul. She instinctively held her breath.

"So you're ready to take this on?"

Tifa prayed he could not hear her heart beating, for her she felt like it was about to push through her chest. He moved even closer and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist while coming so close to her face that their noses were almost touching. For a split second she felt like she was going to instinctively push him away still not knowing how to handle the intimate contact. But she realized he was testing her, trying to see if she could really take on this mission.

So though she was shaking slightly she allowed herself to wrap her arms around his neck and leaned forward taking away the last bit of room between them. It took every part of her self control not to moan feeling his chest against hers and she could feel the heat rushing to her face. She quickly moved her face to the side to whisper in his ear...she had to or else she was afraid he would see how he had just turned her on by getting close to her and then she would never hear the end of it.

"I'm am."

Tifa noticed his grip tighten around her waist for a second and then he quickly pulled away giving her a large smile.

"Way to go babe, I think you are ready." Reno then turned and walked a few steps to get his feet in the water and then without warning, started kicking up the water at Tifa.

"Hey!" Tifa yelled. Not to be out done she did a sudden sweep kick, taking Reno's feet out from under him. He landed butt first in the shallow water covering most of him with water.

"Oh hell no! That is it!" Reno jumped up and ran towards Tifa, who in turn let out a screech and tried to run away from his charge. But she had been laughing too hard to get a good head start and next thing she knew Reno had picked her up over his shoulder and tossed her into the ocean. When she came up she was laughing and ended up choking on the salty water. Reno bolted to her and hit her back to help her recover.

"Hey you okay?" Reno's voice was concerned. Tifa leaned on him a little as she recovered but decided to act like it was taking longer to recover than it really was. Once she knew she had a firm grip on his arm she nodded "Thanks Reno...YOU'RE MY HERO!" And with one fluid motion she spun him around to help him meet an oncoming wave.

When Reno came up from the water he instinctively grabbed the top of his head. "Oh man my sunglasses, yo! I had just gotten those!"

Tifa began laughing hysterically. Of all the things to say and react to, that was what his first thought was about.

"You mean these sunglasses?" Tifa had a devilish look in her eye as she gave him and innocent pose while holding out his sunglasses.

"Damn babe, you might just be worth keeping around." He smirked as Tifa rolled her eyes.

"So now I think I need to repay you for your kindness."

Tifa gave him a quizzical look and started to get into fighting stance...she had no earthly idea what Reno was going to do; and she realized how much she liked his spontaneity.

He chivalrously put out his hand. "So Lockheart, now you have to decide if you really trust me." His aqua eyes were sparkling and Tifa could feel herself getting lost in them but she forced herself to move her ruby eyes towards his hand,but not before taking a moment to admire how his completely wet clothes clung to him helping to expose parts of his well defined body.

Tifa then proceeded to take his hand and Reno looked triumphant. "You won't be disappointed." And with that he started to lead Tifa, but to where she had no idea.


	14. Destination Revealed

So here is a quick little chapter. Hopefully you all won't find it bland or end up disappointed with where Tifa and Reno end up. Things will pick up again soon as far as major plot and action are concerned but in the mean time I hope you are enjoying a little bit of lighter fluff between Reno and Tifa. Oh and there is once again a little more thoughts on Reno about women, I do have my reasons for writing his attitude this way, so hang in there all will be revealed in do time. Okay, enough chatting from me, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And as always feedback is appreciated! Take care!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns the FFVII Compilation, I am just placing their great characters in my story. :)

* * *

Giddiness. If Tifa was not being pulled by Reno along the streets of Costa Del Sol she would have stopped abruptly at the revelation of the emotion she was feeling.

_When was the last time I felt like this...felt giddy_.

Tifa was having such a good time. She knew she shouldn't be so happy, not with all the trouble that was going on around her. But she couldn't help it, Reno brought out so many parts of herself she thought were dead...or maybe didn't exist. Who knew she could be so...silly.

Damn there was those butterflies in her stomach again, how was it that Reno made her feel like a schoolgirl with a huge crush on the popular guy of the school that was unattainable?

She hadn't been able to stop grinning since the two of them had left the beach. As she continued to allow Reno to lead her wherever they were going her thoughts and eyes fell to how Reno was holding her hand. It was stupid to be so caught up in something so small, something he probably didn't think twice about; but for her she loved how he had intertwined his fingers with hers instead of just wrapping his whole hand around hers. Simply put it was more intimate, more secure; and for a few moments she allowed herself to imagine how wonderful it would be to be holding his hand like this again...later. To be actually with Reno and just be walking somewhere together, hands intertwined because it was what a happy couple would do. But then the sting came again, that annoying voice of reality. _Reno doesn't have girlfriends stupid, you have lost it; your dreaming about being his girlfriend? _Tifa briefly shut her eyes, forcing herself to stop beating herself up, for once she was going to try to just enjoy herself and live in the moment.

She put up a slight resistance by squeezing his hand and slowing down. Reno turned abruptly, noticing the resistance.

"You know you have been guiding me along for quite a little bit here, can I at least have a hint on where you are taking me?"

There was distinct flirtation in her voice, and a twinkle in her eye; much to the relief or Reno who for a brief moment thought that she had grown tired of his little games.

He squeezed her hand, he hated to admit it but he really enjoyed holding her hand. He couldn't remember the last time her had held hands with a woman in this way. The only time he ever had his hands in another woman's was if it happened during sex and normally that was a little too loving for his taste. Just another one of Reno's many rules when it came to sleeping with a woman. He never made love...he could pleasure woman in ways most of them wouldn't have even been able to come up with fantasies and he could even be slightly romantic if that was the way to get them in the mood; but every time it was simply sex, fun and amazing...but sex. He had told a few of his conquests that when they had pleaded with him to make love to them. Every time he would set the record straight..."I'm here to fuck you, not love you. If you want someone to make love to you go back to your husband/boyfriend/find a boyfriend." Love was not something Reno wanted anything to do with.

"Anticipation..even a little frustration helps to make the surprise that much sweeter." His tone was extremely seductive.

"That's true, but you have to admit sometimes it is just as good or better to just take what you want when you want it. That can be invigorating."

Reno's eyebrows went up and he winked at Tifa in appreciation of her suggestive response. It's not that they hadn't flirted before but there was a look in her eyes he had not seen before and it was turning him on big time. _Don't even think about it, say it with me, this is Tifa Lockheart... you try to get her in bed and she will put you in the hospital. _

Thanks to his inner monologue he didn't act on his instinct to pull her to him and kiss her, he instead forced himself to turn around and continue on to his destination. After a few more minutes of walking Tifa noticed that her hair and clothes had stopped dripping and when Reno finally stopped she was grateful for it because she was standing outside a store that harbored some of the prettiest clothing she had ever seen. She slowly walked into the store with Reno trying to keep her mouth from gaping open as she looked around. Reno just smiled watching her as she looked around in awe. Neither one had even noticed that they were still holding hands.

Tifa slowly tried to take in all the lovely colors and fabrics, there were so many beautiful dresses, skirts, and blouses. She wasn't a real girly girl when it comes to shopping or clothes but deep down she did wish she owned one amazing article of clothing that would make most men turn their heads and women turn slightly green with envy.

"May I help you?" Tifa was drawn away from the clothes thanks to a timid voice from a young girl.

At that moment Reno and Tifa realized they were still holding hands and quickly and sheepishly broke apart. Reno quickly responded to the young clerk.

"Yes, my girlfriend and I have a very special evening planned at the Paradise Club tonight, do you think you could help her find something to wear?"

Tifa's eyes got wide as she was beginning to realize what was going on. Reno turned back to her with a big smile.

"Choose whatever you like, it's on me."

Tifa broke into an excited smile, this was going to be a lot of fun.

"Well Reno you were right, I'm not disappointed at all."

And with that she went of the the young lady to find the perfect outfit. As for Reno, he took the opportunity to slip out, he had one more errand he had to do.


	15. The Uncertainty of What Was to Come

Hi there! So here is a chapter that finally begins to push the plot towards the infamous evening I have been building to the last few chapters. I hope that you have enjoyed Reno and Tifa's day together but I must admit I am excited to be progressing to the main point which is getting them to Club Paradise. I believe the next chapter or so should get us to that point. In any case getting back to this chapter, I hope the characters don't seem to out of character at the beginning, I think they work for the situation they are in but only you can tell me for sure. Oh and I would love some feedback on whether or not I did okay describing Tifa's new outfit. Well that is all I really have to say right now so see you next chapter and as always I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Square Enix, yeah they own all things Final Fantasy. :)

* * *

"I think this is the one!" Tifa exclaimed excitedly. For the past hour or so, Tifa had felt almost like a carefree schoolgirl out with some of her friends trying on clothes and being silly. She knew some of the way she was behaving was Reno's fault but Tifa also realized that some of her behavior was the influence of the young clerk. Tifa could not be sure but this young woman truly seemed to be enjoying helping Tifa find the right clothes. It had almost become like a huge project and both women were not leaving until they were satisfied with the result.

When Tifa stepped out of the dressing room, the young clerk actually jumped and clapped her hands together. "Oh my goodness, yes it's perfect!"

It wasn't till after they high each other that they seemed to realize what they must look like and both women immediately blushed and looked down, trying to regain some maturity and dignity. Tifa took a moment to look in the mirror. Yes, this was the right one,the perfect mixture of class, sexiness, and fun. A plum colored halter mini dress that ended about a half of inch above her knee. Thanks to the material, the dress clung to her body in all the right places, flowing out ever so lightly around her legs which allowed the whole dress to not be completely skin tight. In Tifa's opinion it gave a more flirty feel than another mini dress that was skin tight from top to bottom. A sudden cool breeze on her back due to someone walking by made her shiver, she couldn't remember the last time so much of her back was exposed. It also made her thankful for the built in support in the dress because honestly she couldn't think of any type of bra that would work with this dress. Tifa went back into the dressing room to change.

"I love dresses that don't expose a lot in the front but show all the back,I just think it is much more sexy than the other way around." The clerk was speaking in such a matter of fact tone that it made Tifa giggle.

"What are you making fun of me, I just feel most men enjoy a little mystery in their woman. If nothing is left to the imagination where's the fun?"

"I couldn't agree more." A male voice said.

Tifa heard the clerk gasp,obviously startled that someone had come up behind her in the middle of her and Tifa's conversation. But Tifa popped her head out of the curtain smirking, because she recognized the voice immediately.

"Nice to see you made it back, but I'm afraid you missed the show." Tifa teased.

"Maybe not all of it" Reno jokingly lunged at the curtain, trying to sneak a peak at what he thought was an indecent Tifa. But Tifa was ready for him and grabbed his arm and a bit of the curtain and forcefully spun him around until she knew he was well and tangled.

"Man, Lockheart you're cold,not even a little glance huh?"

"I couldn't let you see what I was wearing yet, you'll see it tonight." Tifa voice was slightly muffled as she finished putting her top back on.

"Wait so does that mean you are okay with me trying to see you naked?" Reno asked.

"I would have been offended if you hadn't tried." Tifa quipped back.

The clerk started to laugh,winking at Tifa. "Here sir, let's see if we can get you out of the curtain."

After a few comical moments Reno finally was freed. "See this is why men should never shop with women."

The three of them just plopped down on the floor, laughing.

--

As Reno and Tifa walked back into their suite, Tifa was lost in her own thoughts. She had a few questions that were plaguing her. Reno had come back to pick her up from the store with a bag but it seemed like it took him a long time just to get some clothes for tonight. And after they had left the store, Reno's demeanor had changed though she could tell he was trying not to show it. But before she could ask him about where he had been Reno's phone had began to ring and almost immediately some of her questions began getting answered.

_"Reno here... Will you stop with the god damn lecture Tseng and tell me what your decision is, I need to know now so Tifa and I can have an idea on what our options are." _

_"Look we get Rude back and put a stop to Jones's Hope I will make your head swim with as much respect I'll show your righteous ass." Reno was becoming more and more agitated, and Tifa knew there was nothing she could do but wait for the conversation to be over. _

_"That's what I am saying, I will be your yes man, go on whatever assignment you want me to, no smart ass remarks, pressed suits and whatever else tickles your fancy if I...if Tifa and I our successful." _

_Their must have been a pause at the other end because Reno glanced over at Tifa, and she knew by the concerned look in his eyes that he wasn't sure what Tseng was going to say. _

_"Yeah I'm here...really? Okay, great thanks, I really appreciate this...I won't forget what I said. I'll be in touch." _

_Reno let out a deep sigh, there were deep creases in his forehead. Apparently even though he had gotten what he wanted from Tseng it had not been enough to keep him from being worried. Whatever he was worried about, Tifa hoped she would be able to talk to him so she wouldn't have to figure it out on her own. _

_"As you have already undoubtingly figured out I told Tseng about Rude's disappearance." Reno was beginning to pick up his walking pace. _

_"Let's get back to the hotel so I can fill you in without anyone overhearing." _

And so that's where Tifa had been left, rushing along side of Reno with so many questions in her mind, some about the mission at hand, some about Reno's status as a Turk, some even slightly random; at this particular moment, Tifa was wondering how Reno had gotten those scars under his eyes.

Reno sat on the bed warily, it appeared to Tifa that for whatever reason, the gravity of how important tonight was into finding Rude and more about Jones's Hope was finally hitting him and he looked defeated by the uncertainty of what was to come.


	16. Final Gameplan

Hello everyone. So I know I said that I would be probably finally moving on to the evening portion of this particular day that has been the focus of many of my previous chapters...sorry to say that I am going to have to retract that. This chapter and the beginnings of the next one went in a bit of a different direction than I had anticipated but hopefully you will enjoy it. I would love to hear what your thoughts are on the story's progression, along with the characters individual progression and growing "relationship" or lack there of. Well enough from me. As always thank you all for continuing to come back and read my story, it means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: As always Square Enix owns Final Fantasy.

* * *

While Reno continued to sit silently on the bed, Tifa decided to go an hang up her new dress to combat the terrible awkwardness that had consumed the room. She kept feeling like she should say something substantive but nothing of any value was coming up in her brain.

Thankfully when Tifa came back out from the closet, Reno turned and looked at her and began to talk.

"So...while talking to Tseng I have found out more enlightening information about Gabriel and have a pretty good idea of what our approach on how to get information should be."

Deep down Tifa had hoped Reno would let her know exactly what had happened when Reno had informed Tseng about Rude and then her helping him without clearance from him. But from what she could gather by his opening remarks, right now he wanted to focus on the mission at hand.

"After hearing all the intelligence on Gabriel there was one major omission that kept coming back up in my mind. There is not one thing showing him to be a devout follower of Jenova. His religion is making money, not worshiping some alien and hoping the world would end while he hopped on a vessel with Jenova to a new planet. But he also will work with anyone as long as it's profitable to him. From what my sources could gather when looking into Gabriel's past he was an extremely bright kid who was able to impress a few big time investors and entrepreneurs in...the pleasure business. He was extremely ambitious and rose to power extremely fast. Gabriel was able to break away with his own business at 25. But as is shown so many times his greatest strength ended up being his greatest weakness."

Tifa spoke, "Let me guess, loan sharks?

Reno developed a small smile. "Yup."

"I'm willing to bet this is where Jenova's Hope enters the picture, someone with Gabriel's philosophy of almost no questions as long as the money keeps coming in steady would work perfectly with a terrorist organization." Tifa continued.

Reno nodded as he continued. "The whispers out there say that he was in way over his head. Gabriel had contemplated trying to flee because there was a bounty on his head and the loan sharks were no longer interested in being paid back. They wanted him dead and to just take his businesses."

"So who would have the cash and charisma to bail him out? A very successful professor who had earned millions on gill from profit of his innovative materia." Tifa stated proudly.

"Ya know you are really cute with the way you react when you start to put all the pieces of the puzzle together." Reno mused.

Tifa's cheeks flushed just a little, and she broke into a big smile.

"So the question becomes, are Gabriel and Jenova's Hope still in a mutually beneficial relationship? Or did Gabriel at some point want to move on and finds himself once again in a situation that is dangerous and hard to get out of." Reno seemed to be really enjoying the discourse between himself and Tifa.

"Both are good possibilities, but if he isn't a fanatic then either way he can be...persuaded." Tifa stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Absolutely, yo."

Reno turned to look out past the balcony and then glanced at his watch.

"It's starting to get late, I am going to order some room service now so we can have a decent meal before we work it off at the club."

He gave off one of his trademark smirks. Their talk seemed to make Reno feel a better and Tifa could sense a renewed energy in him.

"I'm waiting to see if Tseng and/or anyone in the WRO can get us just a little more insight to which way it is, every little bit helps. But either way the goal is to make it worth his while to turn... and that means guaranteeing his safety and convincing him that he won't loose everything by being a snitch."

"So being brought to justice is not on the agenda." Tifa said quietly.

She didn't know this Gabriel and the truth of the matter was that he could have truly not known Iotola was the leader of a terrorist organization. But his philosophy of not asking a lot of questions and getting himself so deep into trouble with loan sharks made him responsible for the company he keeps and therefore should be taken to prison, loosing his businesses and paying for his crimes.

But Tifa was learning that was the black and white answer and Reno and the Turks so many times had to deal with the grey. Sometimes scum like Gabriel had to be let off if you want to get the bigger threat. Tifa was learning hands on about necessary evil.

"It doesn't mean we can never go after Gabriel..." Reno must have sensed Tifa's disgust with Gabriel getting a possible free ride.

"I know...and I know we have to hope Gabriel cooperates, because only getting him punished with no leads on Rude or Jenova's Hope headquarters means many more lives will be lost. He is just one parasite, we have to concentrate on the bigger threat."

Reno got up off the bed and came over to Tifa placing his hand on her shoulder with a look of appreciation on his face.

'It doesn't mean we can't kick some ass tonight and make him so scared he shits himself."

The image of a grown man soiling himself out of fear came into her mind and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Reno had picked up the room service menu and was looking it over. "So, another salad for Ms. Lockhart?"

"Oh hell no, get me a thick juicy steak with mushrooms and grilled onions...with mashed potatoes if they have it. Oh and what do they have for appetizers?"

"That's what I'm talking about, Lockhart you are too fabulous for words."

"Damn right, and don't you forget it." Tifa said playfully giving Reno a wink.

"Yes, mam'. Actually I have something that hopefully will show you I wasn't kidding about thinking you are fabulous."

Tifa raised an eyebrow, wondering once again what Reno had up his sleeve.

Reno placed the menu down and stood up and reached into his pants pocket.

Tifa was becoming more confused as she watched him pull out a black box.

"I have never been good at thank yous...and to be honest those words to leave my lips very often...but well...this made me think of you; hope you like it."

Reno was acting uncomfortable and Tifa's gut was telling her this was a huge prank. She tentatively took the box and very slowly opened up. A she looked at it's contents she let out a loud gasp. Once again Reno was full of surprises.


	17. You're Welcome

Hello there. So when you find out what is in the box I will need you to let me know if you think what Reno gave Tifa and the conversation that takes place because of it is realistic in regards to the characters. I believe it is on how I have progressed the story but as always I want to know what you think because the last thing I want is you all thinking, _these characters would never have this conversation or they would never do that._ Because my goal is character progression and not character mutilation. In my original layout I had thought this kind of scene would come about later but as I have one along this just came out naturally for me as a writer and thus why we have this chapter now. I must say a lot of my inspiration came from the Buffy and Angel series and for those who are fans of those shows may catch certain phrases. Even the title of the chapter is in honor of one of the episodes from Angel. Well I think of have rambled on long enough. As always thanks to all who are taking the time to review and too all of you who are reading my story. And as always I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy and Joss Whedon owns all things Buffy and Angel.

* * *

Tifa stared into the box with an almost blank expression on her face. There inside was a beautiful black opal pendant on a white gold chain. Tifa was memorized how the chain glistened when she slightly moved her hand.

As Tifa continued to study the contents of the box Reno immediately regretted getting the gift, feeling by the way she was staring that it obviously made her uncomfortable. Had he honestly expect her to be thrilled with receiving a gift from him, however lovely the gift may be? He was about to retract the box from her hand when Tifa spoke.

"Reno, I...it's stunning. This is..for me, its not on loan just for tonight? Tifa's ruby eyes were wide with shock and slight hesitation.

Reno stared at the floor becoming more insecure as the moments passed.

"Yeah its for you, figured with us having to get all decked out for tonight that she should have a piece of jewelry to compliment the rest of your wardrobe. Plus, the woman in the jewelry shop said opals promote love, joy, and emotional balance. Can't speak for your emotional balance; but I think you deserve the other two so I figured the gem couldn't hurt." Reno couldn't bring himself to look at Tifa, he felt like a fool.

Tifa finally tore her eyes away from the necklace to look at Reno. Reno had bought her a gift, and it was thoughtful and surprisingly feminine. Most of the time she would get only gift cards, supplies for the bar, or new gloves when it came to gifts. So often she felt like just one of the guys, even with Yuffie around since Yuffie rejected almost anything that made her feel girlie. And Tifa liked that side of herself as well. In all honesty one of her proudest accomplishments is being able to burp louder then both Cloud and Barrett. But sometimes she liked embracing her other more feminine side that bought the latest shade of lipstick or took long bubble baths. So simply, receiving a gift like this was...refreshing.

Normally Reno felt he could read Tifa pretty well, but right now he had no clue what her eyes and body language was telling him; so his instinct was to try and explain himself.

"Look I am not normally good with saying thank you and I sure as hell don't like to dote on women...but I have a lot of respect for you Tifa, as a woman, as a person, and your unwavering commitment to fight for what you think is right."

Reno put one of his hands behind is head and started messing with his hair, looking back down and fidgeting.

"I know you have your own stake in this with Jenova's Hope, but let's not kid ourselves, you know what I have done in the past...what I am and yet somehow you treat me as a man instead of a monster. To be perfectly honest...I don't understand why."

Now it was Tifa who let out a large sigh, taking a moment to reflect on what Reno had said.

"Sometimes I wonder why too...there are moments when I still wish you would be punished for what you did to Sector 7. To think that you get to enjoy life when you took away so many others opportunity to do the same..."

Tifa's voice faltered, it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to really think back and remember what Reno did all those years ago. When she had first noticed she was beginning to develop feelings for Reno his past actions came up a lot in her internal struggle to stop from falling for him. But in the end it had not been enough because deep down Tifa had felt that he had changed. She still didn't truly know if she has been deluding herself all this time but with all that has happened since that terrible day her instincts kept telling her he was not the same man as he was then.

"I guess I believe you are a different person now...that you have grown as a person." Tifa couldn't bring herself to look at Reno so she went back to staring at her gift.

"Am I wrong?"

Reno became perfectly still, his aqua eyes no longer had their vibrancy...as the sky outside their suite grows darker bringing them the closer to night, Reno's inner light mimics his surroundings; growing more and more dim.

"I am not all Mr. Moral and Repentance...I am a Turk. I am not ashamed of that...I am proud of it. Without the Turks, I would have been nothing, almost everything that I am now good and bad I owe to the Turks. This organization gave me hope, purpose when I had none... when I had nothing at all."

Reno eyes became sad now, and Tifa wondered how often he allowed himself to think about his past transgressions, including Sector 7.

"All that being said, there have been times..." Reno's voice cracked ever so slightly.

"...When I wish I had called in sick."

And with that ever so slight confession Tifa finally had an answer, his actions that horrible day have stayed with him...and he did feel... sadness? Regret? Tifa couldn't be sure exactly what his emotions were but at least now she knew he felt something for what he had done and it wasn't pride.

"But the thing is, I may make a lot of mistakes but I always do my job."

He almost broke into a small smile. "I am a pain in the ass, but I will do what is asked of me on the job because before anything else I am a Turk, and I am damn good one at that."

Tifa still didn't know what to say so she kept silent.

"And because I am proud of being a Turk...it would be hypocritical to ask for forgiveness because as much as I hate what happened that day I don't regret working for the Turks. I also believe everything you do in your life helps you to grow for better or worse as a person. Do I try to make amends in my own way? Yeah but I am not a good enough person to give up all that I should to pay for what I did or who I am. So I will always be different from you and our friends because **I **come first."

Reno walked towards the balcony, watching the last bits of the sun disappear.

"Have I changed? Yes, some of my views are different and I am over all pleased with not having my hands...well be at least quite as dirty as they were; and the past view years I think we have been fighting the right people, the right causes. But I don't think I will ever be...good."

Reno paused for a few moments while continuing to stare out at the ocean and sky.

"I really don't know what else to say." His voice was very quiet.

Tifa stood still for a moment, just watching Reno look out at the view. She had never thought she would of had a conversation like this with Reno. To see such reflection from him. She was happy to have had this glimpse into his character but it also made her realize that there was so much about him that she still didn't know. Tifa silently wondered if she would ever get the opportunity to learn more at a later time. She then took the necklace out of the box and moved toward the closet mirror.

"Thank you for being candid with me Reno."

So now she knew that Reno was overall comfortable with the person he had become over the course of his life and he wasn't going to do a major transformation to conform to what others think he should be or what he should feel.

So in regard to her feelings toward him, how did she feel about him now? Her feelings were stronger than ever. But there was still that lingering question, could she ever truly be with someone who was overall proud to be a Turk and would never be...good? Tifa knew deep down that had always been part of the attraction to Reno, he wasn't someone she should fall for; that damn bad boy allure so many women fell victim to had grabbed her too. She refused to answer her own question since the only way it would really have to be answered is if her and Reno were together...and she doubted that would ever really happen. So she let it go, forcing herself to refocus at the task at hand which was finally satisfying that aching hunger in her stomach; and getting ready for tonight.

She looked at the beautiful oval shaped black opal pendant as she held it in her hand. The gem, placed in a simple four prong setting of white gold was such a dark blue that it almost was like a deep navy color, therefore it looked almost black. She lifted her dress to see how it would look with it and she was extremely pleased that the other iridescent colors of lighter blues and purples swirling around combined with the color of her dress almost gave the gem a purple shade to it. She carefully put the chain around her neck and clasped the chain. She took a few moments to look at the gem actually on her. She smiled noticing how the gem now appeared more blue due to the top she was wearing. So with all the things she had learned about Reno so far today, right now she was the most pleased at learning he was great at picking out gifts.

"I don't know about you but I have had enough of this deep conversation crap." He actually had the phone in his hand obviously ready to order that room service that had been delayed by the gift and the conversation that followed.

"Yeah I would like to place an order." He looked at Tifa and saw that she was wearing the necklace. He broke out into a big smile as he put his hand over the phone. "So I did okay with the thank you?"

Tifa returned his big smile with one of her own. "Yeah, more than okay. Oh...and you're welcome."


	18. Gone but not Forgotten

Hello all! Sorry for the delay but this chapter ended up surprising me, I originally thought this would be what you might call a filler chapter but in the end I was able to bring up some important relationships for both main characters. So Rude finally gets a little more love as his and Reno's friendship come up. I also brought in my interpretation on Tifa and Aerith's friendship/rivalry. It might be slightly exaggerated but for overall this is how I see these two women viewing each other. I know there are a lot of different opinions but you have already probably gathered that both of these characters are very dear to me so please keep that in mind while reading. On that note as always I hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks to all who take time to read and thank you to all that review...I get so excited when I see a new review haha. I am also very humbled by all that have put my story on alert or favorites, it had me beaming.

Disclaimer: As FFVII and all that pertains to Final Fantasy is the property of Square Enix.

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Reno sighed in frustration as he fought with his cigarette pack. After a few moments he finally found success. Reno glanced around the room, not even sure what he was looking for. Tifa was getting ready and Reno had just finished just a few minutes ago. Eventually he sat down on the edge of the bed staring blankly ahead while rolling the single cigarette he had fought so hard for between his fingers. He was always anxious before a mission but this was worse than usual. Reno knew why, he was just mad that he had allowed his missing friend Rude to creep into his mind so close to leaving for the club. The truth was that when it was quiet and Reno's mind begins to wander, his thoughts almost always stray to his partner. Then the fear would immediately creep in along with question after question. Should he even hope Rude was alive? If he is alive how long could Reno really expect Rude to hold on? It had been weeks already and not once had anyone asked for ransom. Reno silently prayed that whoever had him believed he had information and they just hadn't gotten what they wanted yet. Reno knew better than anyone else how tough Rude was and if anyone would survive these kind of horrific circumstances it was Rude.

At that point Reno stood up and briskly walked outside on the balcony to get some fresh air. After taking in a few moments to breathe in the salty air he softly chuckled at his own hypocrisy as he clicked his lighter on and lit his cigarette. Here he needed fresh air and so what does he do, contaminate the fresh air and his lungs with smoke. And that was something Rude would have pointed out with a simple eye roll. Reno laughed bitterly, it hadn't been until Rude went missing that Reno had realized how much he depended on Rude as a coworker and more importantly as a friend. They're completely opposite personalities worked well together and Reno depended on Rude to keep him in check. Rude in his subtle way would always find a way to push Reno's ego back down when Reno would get to high and mighty or when he needed Reno to simply keep focused on whatever task was at hand.

Reno could feel the hatred rising within him when he thought of the hell he knew Rude was in..if he was alive.

Instinctively he looked down at his watch. _Shit. _It was 8:30 and he had no idea how close Tifa was to being ready. He was becoming anxious but he wanted Tifa to get ready on her own time; to be as comfortable as she could be under the circumstances. As Reno observed the sky he couldn't help but smile while looking at the moon. _A full moon, eh? So a good or bad omen? _The sky was clear and the stars were out in full force. As Reno watched how the moonlight glowed on the top of the water he jumped when he heard someone else say the words he was silently thinking.

"Breathtaking."

Reno turned to scold Tifa for startling him but once he saw her all he could say was, "Yes...breathtaking."

And she was, standing there with the atmosphere of the moonlight and the stars as he heard the waves crashing against the beach. There Tifa Lockhart stood looking like a goddess. As she moved past him and leaned over the ledge Reno took in every inch of her. The dress had been worth the wait, he couldn't get over how well the dress complimented her body. Her dark chocolate hair seemed to have even more of a shine than usual as it laid perfectly against her exposed back. Her toned legs were smooth and glowed under the light of the moonlight. And though he never really paid attention to shoes, he couldn't help but notice how her opened toed, slight heeled black shoes enhanced her beautiful legs. As he moved up towards her on the balcony, the pendant he had bought her hung in just the right spot on her chest, and to his relief saw that it complimented her outfit. They stood there is silence for a few moments, enjoying their surroundings. When Tifa took in a deep breath he turned, taking advantage of the fact that her eyes were closed so he could take in all of her beautiful face. He smiled softly as he noticed that she was wearing just a touch of makeup. A hint of shimmery lavender eyeshadow with a touch of mascara, base, and powder. Her lips had never looked so inviting with her dark red lipstick (he was silently grateful that it wasn't a bright red, he hated bright red lipstick) and shiny lip gloss. As a slight breeze came through he caught a slight whiff of Jasmine, and just like the rest of her it was intoxicating.

Reno finally forced himself to look away from her and tossed what was left of his cigarette into the ashtray on the nearby table.

"So...?" Tifa's voice was quiet and unsure as if waiting for approval.

"Smokin, Lockhart. Let's just say it was worth the wait to see what you had picked out. I will be the envy of the club since I have you as a date."

Tifa broke into a huge smile, Reno was looking pretty smokin himself, in his dark khaki dress slacks and black button up shirt. He had his signature goggles back right below his red bangs. It was interesting to see how much his aqua eyes and red hair stood out in contrast to the rest of his attire.

"Thanks...you look good too, I am pretty sure I'll get quite a few glares from ladies in the club tonight thanks to you."

Reno smirked, "Damn right you will."

Tifa just laughed, she figured it would be almost impossible to get to thank yous from Reno in a day but she could see an appreciative look in his eyes and was content with that.

"Are you ready to go?" Reno pulled out a pack of gum and began fiddling with the wrapper.

"Yes, I think I am." Tifa responded in a self assured tone while eyeing the pack of gum.

"May I have a piece of gum?"

Reno smiled, "Sure thing I figure we can finish off the pack on the way there...if I can't smoke for the rest of the night, chewing gum helps to relax me."

Tifa nodded in approval, at this point she figured she was up for most suggestions to keep her nerves at bay. So much depended on the next few hours. She wondered if she should say something positive but she wasn't sure if Reno was superstitious about tempting fate. So she decided to stay silent as far as that goes.

"Oh Reno, I was hoping to not have to take a purse...would you mind holding my compact and ID?"

Reno got a quizzical look on his face but before he could respond she decided to clarify.

"I am sorry about the compact but I'm not bringing it to touch up my makeup...I think it could come in handy after we get in to see Gabriel."

Reno let out a smirk, already catching on.

"I see, your going to "touch up" after getting in so you can check out part of the surroundings. Very nice."

"Exactly, plus I think I may be able to use it as a weapon."

"Are you deliberately trying to turn me on now Lockhart?"

"No but I won't complain if I am."

Reno just smiled seductively and whispered as he walked by her. "I'm glad to hear that."

Damn him, she felt her knees weaken and her face heating up but luckily he had continued to walk past her to pick up the phone in the suite.

"Let's hope though that no one actually asks you for your ID. I am just hoping that no one there is a huge fan of yours."

Tifa forced a laugh. "Cloud is really the only major celebrity, if you can even still call him one. I mean all of us fighting Bahamut Sin in the middle of Edge threw us all back in the spotlight temporarily, but most still knew that it was Cloud that had the most to do with stopping Yazoo, Kadja, and Loz...well Cloud and Aerith.

Tifa paused for a moment. At least Aerith was revitalized in people's minds. I know she probably hates it, but I think she is the biggest celebrity of all of us now...

Reno chimed in, "Yeah the Protector of the Planet. I wonder what she thinks of her title?"

Tifa gave a sad smile, "As long as her people are remembered I don't think she minds that much."

"I have to say, as much as I was impressed at how fiercely you went after those who had desecrated the Angel statue...I was honestly surprised that you care so much about her."

Tifa became solemn. "Common misconception, yes we both were interested in being with Cloud...and I believe both of us were in love with him...but we were friends. We talked a lot on the journey and sometimes we would get into girlie giggle fits at night at whatever inn we were staying at; it was nice because the guys would normally have to squish into one room early on before we had a lot of gill. But they were always adamant that Aerith and I had our own room. So many times to take are mind off the seriousness of what we were up against we would pretend we were kids again and having a sleep over. It was a lot of fun..and then after Yuffie came along...many of those nights were crazy."

Tifa was beaming now as she continued.

"Side by side in so many battles, you know what kind of trust that builds. And before Yuffie came I believe we were grateful to have another female to turn to in midst all that testosterone."

Tifa winked and Reno laughed.

"Both of us new what it was like to loose a parent, actually both of us knew what it was like to be with a parent when they died. We both knew what it was like to feel alone and both of us knew that we were underestimated because we were woman. Not by our companions, well most of the time anyway,...but in general."

Tifa paused again her demeanor becoming more melancholy, "Many times she was a pillar of strength for me...I never told her that."

Reno just stood there watching as Tifa remembered her friend.

"And do you think Aerith felt the same about you?"

Tifa jerked up, as if the question had physically shook her from her thoughts.

"Yes, because unlike me Aerith was very open about her feelings. She started out telling me how jealous she was of me because I knew Cloud as a child and my relationship with Marlene. Big fan of kids, both of us. And how my beauty intimated her. I protested, especially when it came to knowing Cloud...lived right next door to him but never had taken the time to really get to know him.

Tifa shook her head, trying to not get too far gone into memory lane.

"In any case throughout our journey she was very open with me and took the time to tell me that she really cared about me and after some time had come to consider me a dear friend."

"She always believed in me more than I did in myself. And to this day I still miss her and wish I could know what she would think of me all these years later."

Tifa fell silent now, sadness starting to take over her emotions. She should have known Reno would nip that in the bud.

"Well, that is interesting to know, though I still think I like my version of your relationship better than the obvious reality."

"Your version?" Tifa smiled coyly.

"It didn't have as many details as yours but it definitely had you and Aerith in bikinis mud wrestling.

Tifa just broke into laughter, she felt better after taking the time to actually talk about Aerith and to finally tell someone about their friendship. To show that she hadn't worn the ribbon on her arm, or visited the church with Marlene out of obligation to Cloud or Marlene but because Aerith was her friend.

"So let me guess the details your version had probably had to do with the color of our bikinis right?"

"Ah you know me too well. Yes, you were sporting a fabulous red bikini and Aerith was wearing a lovely green one, both to accentuate your intoxicating eyes. And you must know you both fought valiantly, even though now you know why I hate that pecker Cloud so much. But don't worry Lockhart, I was always knew you would take her in the end, you just work the bikini so much better than Aerith. I mean Aerith was a lovely girl but a little lacking in the curves.

Tifa was holding on to her sides, trying to catch her breath.

And in the end I come in and convince both of you that Cloud wasn't worth either of your time and showed you both how a woman could be appreciated.

"Oh what a sweet and thoughtful guy you are." Tifa teased between laughs.

"You know it yo."

They both stood smiling at each other as Tifa finally regained control of her laughter when suddenly something started beeping.

Reno fumbled for his phone, finally getting it out of his pocket and turning it off.

"Gawd, sorry...I didn't mean to get us so off track, are you really worried the ID will be a problem?" Tifa asked.

Reno paused for a moment thinking about the question.

"Not if Melanie does what she says she was going to do, and Mel may be a lot of things but she does not go back on her word. I just don't think most people will be paying that close attention. They will notice you but with the dark atmosphere, loud music, and excessive drinking I think we will be fine. But if anyone asks, tell them you get that all the time."

"And what shall I say my name is?"

Reno stared at Tifa for a moment.

"How about Bree?"

Bree? Tifa eyes became wide.

"Or not, hey it was just a suggestion, seemed simple and kinda nice...but it's just my opinion."

"No Bree will be fine, it will be easy for me to remember." Tifa said quietly.

"Why is that?"

Tifa became very uncomfortable refusing to look at Reno as she spoke.

"I secretly hoped that if I ever had a daughter that her name would be Brianna. It was pretty safe since if people decided to call her Bree I wouldn't mind at all. I just think they are both beautiful names."

Tifa's face was beet red, she had never shared that with anyone not even Marlene or Yuffie. She braced herself for the teasing that was about to come at her expense. But it never came.

"I agree with you."

And with that Reno turned and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, could you call for a cab for us please. Yes, we would like to leave right away. Thank you."

He turned to her, holding out his hand just as he had earlier in the day.

"Its time to go."


	19. Club Paradise

Hello everyone! This is going to be a massive chapter. First I want to make sure to give credit out for things that gave me inspiration this chapter. First, I wasn't up on popular clubs but had some ideas in mind on how I wanted Club Paradise to look and like a godsend I stumbled across the Tryst Club in Las Vegas. I changed some things around to make the club still a little different, but the layout and the major aspects belong to this club and whomever designed it. I could understand completely why people would want into that club. Then there is the drink, called the Drunken Ninja that was found on , which I found to be a fun subtle way to pay homage to our dear Yuffie. Also though I am not calling it Calypso music because this is a different world that is the style of music I am referring to when reading about the island music with it's steel drums. So hopefully that covers all inspiration references for this chapter.

Going back to the length of the chapter, I normally like to keep the chapters around a certain length but with this one I just didn't feel there was ever a really good place to truly break it up and start a new chapter so I hope people don't become bored while reading. I also want to say thank you all the reviewers. The last view chapters I have had new reviewers as well as my constants, LadyLuck22 and the fabulous stars amongst dust who has been kind enough to come back virtually every chapter. Thank you all so much, the feedback is so encouraging and please keep the reviews coming. And as always a huge thank you to all who keep coming back to check out the next chapter, those who have put the story on favorites or alerts...the support means so much to me. I just hope I can continue to bring you an interesting story.

Whew! Okay without further ado, here is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

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Tifa and Reno were standing just a few feet away from the club, observing the massive line that kept going for what seemed forever. Tifa took a deep breath and without thinking grabbed Reno's hand. She didn't have time to kick herself for the move, Reno had already intertwined his fingers with hers and squeezed which helped on two fronts, one helping her not feel like a fool for grabbing his hand and two, calming her nerves that had annoyingly crept back up after the cab had sped away.

"That must be the bouncer." Reno didn't even have to point,Tifa had found him too. He was...large. Actually Tifa thought that he looked like a perfect blend of Rude and Barret; sporting Barret's features, yet Rude's build and calm demeanor.

"Let's go say hello." Tifa said.

They immediately received glares from disgruntled would be patrons who had obviously been standing along time, waiting to hear the good news from the bouncer that it was their turn to go inside. Tifa and Reno waited patiently for a few moments until they caught his eye. The bouncer looked them both over and then asked one question,"Do you have something to say to me?"

Reno replied, "Yeah, Mel says hello."

The bouncer's whole demeanor changed and he broke into a smile.

"Yes she does, and normally a whole lot more than that." His voice was deep and rich. Truthfully Tifa found his voice incredibly sexy.

"Let me guess, you've been victim to her Freshman Year story." Reno replied.

"Oh yeah, after two hours, I slipped out my cell phone and texted a friend to call me so I could fake an emergency."

Reno snorted out a short laugh. "Hey your smarter than me, yo. It took me over 3 hours to think of that."

The bouncer let out a boisterous laugh that actually startled a few of the women near the front of the line who hadn't been paying attention due to carrying on their own conversations.

"She's a good friend though." The bouncer replied.

"Yeah she is, a lot of fun to hang out with." Reno replied.

The bouncer nodded and he and Reno shared a moment of what Tifa only could describe as a moment of guy understanding.

"Go on in."

Reno turned and gave Tifa a quick wink. He let go of Tifa's hand to shake the bouncer's hand and when he did not reclaim her hand afterwards, Tifa could feel a slight twinge of disappointment. But that feeling went away quickly as he wrapped his arm tight around her waist instead and Tifa realized it was time to put on a show.

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But there was no way Tifa could have prepared herself when she walked in the club. She was thankful Reno had a hold of her waist guiding her along because she would have stopped in her tracks to gawk at the scenery she was taking in. In front with her a few hundred feet away was...well, a lagoon surrounded on two sides by trees. Behind the aqua water was a tall jagged rock that was home to a stunning waterfall. It looked exactly like what you would see on tv or in a magazine when they were trying to sell one of those exotic giveaways to a forgotten island. While the rest of the areas nearer to them had a more intimate lighting the lagoon and waterfall were illuminated with light. It was truly an amazing sigh to behold.

"Oh my." Was all that Tifa could get out and she finally forced her eyes away to observe other parts of the club.

There were two levels in the massive room they were in and on the top level there were hammocks and pool lounge chairs that were padded and leather to give them a unique and obviously extremely comfortable feel. In between the places to sit there were a combination of tables covered in seashells and beautiful aquariums. Bringing her eyes back to the ground level her eyes wandered over to an area slightly adjacent to the lagoon and waterfall. The floor was jut slightly higher than everywhere else and the many dancing bodies gave it away as the dance floor. The lighting was incredible, switching colors, brightness, and speed to compliment whatever type of music was playing. Just in the time Tifa and Reno had walked in the music had changed from dance techno to remixed hits of the day. Tifa was relieved to know she would not have to be tortured by one sound all night long. After a few moments of observing the people dancing, she finally turned her head far to the right and saw the hints of a part of the club she had silently been curious to check out since she knew she was going to the club tonight. She turned to Reno but didn't even have to say anything, he gave her a tight squeeze and a nod and the two of them headed down a corridor into the next "room".

Tifa's eyes became very wide once again as the entire bar came into view. It was very long,Tifa could barely see the other end. The actual counter had lights inside to highlight the shells and sand underneath the smooth clear surface. Looking up there was a beautiful blue light glowing behind hundreds of Liquors stacked high on a gorgeous blue glass shelves, some extremely rare. The space behind the bar was to die for and the set up made it perfect to make drinks quickly and efficiently with a state of the art cash register to make putting cash away or retrieving it simple and quick. There were three bartenders, and she took a moment to watch them mix drinks and take orders. They were meticulous yet extremely fast....it was obvious they had it down to a science. When an easy order came up she watched the one girl turn to use a radio of some kind(it was state of the art) and within 2 minutes another bartender was there to give her a break. She then noticed that the bar itself stayed pretty clean,along with the area behind the bar, it was then that she noticed a young man, stealthily slipping in and out cleaning whatever area wasn't taken by a body leaning over the counter to yell an order or retrieving a drink from one of the bartenders . He would then slip right under the bartender and the patron as they exchanged a drink or order to keep the area looking as nice as possible.

Tifa was extremely jealous and silently wished she could work one shift, to see if she was as good as she thought she was as a bartender. Plus to be able to keep everything so organized and fairly clean...she swore she would take mental notes and put some of what she saw here to use in her own bar.

"I'm guessing your impressed with the bar eh?" Reno was smirking, completely enjoying watching Tifa's reactions to the different parts of the club especially this part.

"Just a little." Tifa blushed, she knew she must have been observing the bar for a few minutes by Reno's reaction.

"I promise we'll get drinks in a little bit, but for right now I want to dance with my hot date." Reno winked, grabbing Tifa's hand and maneuvering their way to the dance floor. With so much movement around her, Tifa instinctively moved in closer to Reno, she was realizing that she was a slow dance, small intimate settings kinda girl instead of this. The music was loud but at the moment it was island music, the steel drums hitting out a fabulous beat. But even with all the chaos with changing lights, tons of bodies, and loud music, Tifa was amazed a how calm she felt in Reno's embrace...it felt natural and inviting.

Reno could see Tifa was trying to adjust to her surroundings but he saw the determined look in her eye and he knew she wouldn't let him down. Without thinking he pulled her into his chest and she leaned her forehead on his collarbone. He softly began to stroke her hair as he whispered, "Just remember tonight you're Bree, party girl and curious exhibitionist who can't keep her hands of her hot boyfriend."

Tifa giggled nodding but not moving her position yet. Reno wasn't upset, actually it was almost unsettling how much he was enjoying holding her in this manner. Finally Tifa lifted her head, gave Reno a small smile and began to move. It was slight at first and she actually decided to observe other girls to figure out what seemed like possible dance moves she could pull off. She also remembered what Reno had told her earlier in the day, to use the same principles you would when sparring or fighting.

After a few minutes she had lost her self-consciousness and was dancing full force. Reno was just getting a kick at seeing Tifa let go of an insecurity she had and he felt she moved beautifully. She was actually quite a good dancer but he didn't dare compliment her for fear it would make her think about what she was doing and freeze up. To think someone so beautiful and talented had so many confidence issues made Reno angry and a little sad for her...but he wouldn't think about that right now, he could see she was having a good time and he'd be damned if he didn't follow her example. By a few dances later the two of them were being completely goofy and at one point Reno did a swing dance type move that spun her right into another dancer.

"I beg your pardon!" Tifa said mortified. She had bumped into a young man, probably between 22-24 years old. When he turned his face went from annoyance to interest when he saw who had bumped into him.

"No problem, how about a dance and I'll forget the whole thing?"

"Sorry but all of my dances are already taken up." She moved away quickly to get away from his lustful gaze and only made it one step when she felt a protective hold come around her waist.

"Hey baby, sorry we got separated, got caught in the crowd. "Reno was acting casual and cool while acting out the boyfriend role. But Tifa could see how his eyes never left the guy as he slowly moved the two of them away to the edge of the dance floor.

"Yeah some date you're being, leaving me with a way too hormonal college kid." Tifa teased, feigning a dramatic tone. Reno smirked, he was really enjoying this silly, flirty Tifa he was seeing more and more of.

"So how are you going to make it up to me?" Tifa was flirting heavy now, she was in such a good mood. It was really nice to know she could be silly; that the guy she was hanging out with understood joking and she didn't have to feel like she was performing brain surgery to have a conversation.

"How horrible, I must make it right!" Reno pretended to be horrified for upsetting Tifa.

"I'm waiting." Tifa said in a sing song voice while putting her hands on her hips and taping her foot. It was taking all her self composure to not to begin to giggle.

Reno continued smirking as they had a stare off and Tifa was sure he was about to do something crazy to humiliate her in public like getting down on a knee and singing a song of unending devotion. But just like so many times today, once again Reno surprised her.

Reno grabbed Tifa and forcefully pressed his lips to hers. She responded right away, very happy with his aggressive move. His kisses felt desperate and hungry,or maybe Tifa was just projecting how she felt as she kissed him back. And though she was thrilled to be kissing him again, it was like she feared, the more they kissed the more she desired his kisses. And she still felt a hint of sadness, wishing desperately it wasn't an act. After a few minutes they broke apart trying to catch their breath.

"So..am I forgiven?" Reno couldn't even look her in the eye, what was it about her that made him loose control like this? His original goal was just to kiss her for a few moments, with enough force and passion to leave her breathless but then let go. But Reno was finding out that he couldn't_ just_ kiss Tifa Lockhart.

"Not sure yet."

And with that Tifa forcefully began kissing Reno with similar hunger and desperation he had kissed her with moments before. They had been near the edge of the dance floor but now he felt his back bump up against a wall. That bump was the only reminder that all this was real and he hadn't been having one of his many fantasies about her. He couldn't remember a time when he enjoyed kissing so much, but the more she kissed him the better it got and at the moment he had completely forgotten about everything else, all that mattered was her. Then much to his delight and surprise Tifa moved from his lips to his neck, forcing a moan from the Turk. He could feel her nails in his back as her gripped tightened and in response he gripped her waist tighter.

Reno was under her control, but he could feel he was loosing his; he had to tell her to stop...she could have no idea the effect she was having on him, she was doing what they came to do hoping to get Gabriel's attention. Tifa could have no idea how his hormones were so riled up that he was about to say screw his best friend and screw the world because....well, he wanted to screw Tifa. His desire for her was almost suffocating, but there was also a hint of fear in his emotions because deep down he was beginning to realize it wasn't just lust he was feeling; he was really _falling_ for her. He started to speak but then Tifa was kissing him on the lips again and he ended up just putting all his desire, frustration, fear, and hope into the kisses he was giving her.

Tifa was out of her mind with lust and want..but also it was more than that, she wanted to be with him; to make love to him, to show how much she cares about him. She was about to surrender and confess that she wasn't acting and beg him to please take her to an abandoned room and fuck her like there was no tomorrow. That's when she heard a semi-familiar voice.

"I swear you two are about to light this place on fire."

Tifa and Reno quickly broke apart, heaving in breaths and trying to regain their surroundings.

"I hated to break up the show but I was afraid that in a few more minutes either you two would have slipped into a room or the police would have been called to pick you two up for lewd and lascivious conduct."

Tifa noticed Reno looking down, but she couldn't quite figure out the look on his face.

"Well then thanks..I guess." Reno forced himself to recover and flashed his signature smirk at Mel, the woman who had made there being in the club possible. He then moved in to give her a hug.

"I heard you had a nice conversation with Dante outside." Mel began.

"Yeah, he's a cool guy." Reno replied.

"Melanie, I can't thank you enough for helping us get into the club, this place is amazing." Tifa had decided to speak now that she had caught her breath.

"No problem honey, again my husband and I were enjoying your encore performance so really we should be thanking you." Melanie smiled.

"How about this, why don't the four of us go dance for a little bit and then we will make a trip to the bar for some drinks."

Tifa loved the idea, she needed to cool down...well at least in a sense. So she allowed Melanie to take her hand and lead her back to the dance floor.

--

Vodka Tonic! Melanie yelled.

Drunken Ninja!" Tifa yelled.

Tifa was parched and ready for a sit down break.

A couple moments later one of the bartenders and Tifa were exchanging money for drinks.

Tifa immediately took a gulp of her drink, then shouted "Perfect, keep the change!"

The bartender nodded in appreciation as Tifa turned and grasped arms with Melanie to make it out to the patio where their men already were.

As Tifa sat down she smiled in appreciation for the comfortable seat she had just inhabited. She took in a deep breath and became enamored once again with the amazing sight of the lagoon and waterfall. Tifa had to give Reno and Melanie's husband credit the place they had picked was wonderful with the view and they fact that they could actually hear themselves over the music.

"So tell me again why you two went to the main bar?" Melanie's husband asked.

He and Reno both had drinks themselves but had ordered from the area they were in now.

Tifa glanced at Reno before answering. "I've been a bartender off and on so I was interested to see how well the drinks were made, they seem to be very efficient."

"Oh man you want to talk about previous jobs, I could tell you stories about while I was a stripper trying to make money to pay for university tuition." Melanie seemed to get a nostalgic look on her face before turning and winking at Reno.

"I guess after that statement she probably knows now how the two of us met eh Reno?"

Tifa just smiled, she was sure that Melanie could tell her some crazy stories about Reno. She found herself wanting to find out if Reno was as good in bed as the rumors had proclaimed he was. What she did know is that if his kisses were any indication on the rest of his lovemaking skills...well for once the rumors would not have been an exaggeration of the truth.

"He had just got a new job and was looking to celebrate..." Melanie started.

Reno looked like he was about to protest when Melanie's cell went off.

"Mel here...oh sorry Gabriel baby, I didn't realize it was you. Oh? Yeah I guess I can let you have them now. Hold on a second."

Melanie pulled the phone away from her ear and broke out into a devious smile.

"Looks like I was right, Gabriel has been watching the two of you all night and would like to meet you... in private."

"Yeah, I'm back. I'll send them down in a few minutes so they have a chance to freshen up...oh your very welcome, it's our pleasure."

And with that Melanie closed up her phone and took a final swig of her drink.

"Okay kids it's showtime, Gabriel wants to see you guys so I'll take your girl and help her freshen up...I have a storage locker here with brand new lipsticks and never used brushes and such, I know it's hard to carry a purse in here."

Tifa was extremely relived and grateful for Melanie's offer. To be honest she was not looking forward to seeing herself in the mirror; between the dancing and making out with Reno she was sure she was a terrifying sight and though she had though out the compact, retouching up her lipstick had completely slipped her mind.

"Thank you Melanie I definitely could use some touching up." Tifa replied.

"Absolutely...hey I just realized I don't know your name honey?"

"It's Bree."

"Oh, how lovely, well Bree let's go re-enhance our natural beauty."

Tifa just laughed as she followed Melanie to her storage locker. As the two of them walked Tifa could feel the tightness taking over her stomach as a physical reminder that in a few minutes the fun was going to be over. It was time to meet Gabriel.


	20. Gabriel

_Hi there! It's time to meet Gabriel and thus the creative title. Most of this comes from Tifa's point of view and I attempted to make man of her thoughts humorous but only you dear readers can let me know if my humor is only enjoyed by me or if I was able to bring out a few chuckles in you as well. One treat is a quick glimpse into a happy time in Reno's childhood. As for my attempt with the slight spy actions, I guess my love of James Bond movies is to blame there. As always, thanks to all of you who are taking time to read my story and please review when you can._ _See you next chapter!_

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy. However Gabriel belongs to me :)

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Tifa's mind was in a silent battle with her body, trying to fight the urge to pace and twitch as the anticipation of the Gabriel meeting inched ever closer. She was staring at an elevator, pure black and so shiny she could see herself and her two companions in it's reflection. She was watching the floor number as it annoyingly did not move. It had been that way for a few minutes now and her patience was growing thinner by the moment. She looked at Reno through the dark exterior of the elevator, he was looking straight ahead but it was clear he was somewhere else, focused and calm. _Damn him, how did he give off such a steady air? Weren't redheads suppose to always be volatile?_ But that was one of the many things she liked about him, one side showed a carefree, I don't give a damn about rules or the dress code air; the other a cold, calculating professional who carried out orders to perfection. A subtle flash before her eye caught her attention and she looked up to see the numbers on the elevator counting down to them. Shit, the butterflies in her stomach were dancing full force now, _get it together Tifa_.

"Well kids it looks like are time together is over for the evening. It has been fun, though."

Tifa turned to the vivacious woman next to her, she had not known what to think or how to act with this woman; but she really had grown a fondness for her. And it was then that an oh so familiar friend appeared at the bottom of her stomach...guilt. What was going to happen to Mel and her husband if things go the way Reno and her hope they will? Someone will have to be punished for them getting in to Gabriel. Someone always has to pay the price when it comes to people like Gabriel and the shady business he was in.

Tifa quickly embraced Melanie and gave her a tight squeeze. "It has been a lot of fun, thank you so much...for everything."

She caught Reno's eyes for a moment when he moved in to hug Melanie and Tifa could see that she had not been the only one thinking about the consequences of their upcoming actions. His face had been sagging through her embrace with Melanie. However now that Melanie was facing Reno, he forced his expression to brighten, exuding that cocky, flirty air he normally had about him. How many times had his demeanour been a facade?

"Mel, thanks baby...you really are...fabulous." Tifa had to hand it to Reno, he could cover his feelings really well.

"Hey don't think you are getting of that easy Red, I expect full details and a lunch on you sometime very soon." Melanie was smiling big now and gave Reno a wink and a pinch on his ass. Reno jumped, laughing and then pulled her in for a quick kiss before turning at hearing the elevator door opening.

"Count on it...and Mel take care of yourself." Tifa wondered if Melanie had heard the seriousness in his request.

"You know I will, honey...making Mel happy is always my first priority. Oh and press B okay?"

Both Tifa and Reno smiled and gave a wave. Tifa instinctively intertwined her arm with his as the doors closed, cutting off Melanie's beautiful face and intoxicating smile.

Reno leaned into Tifa immediately and just as quickly lost his smile. He began to look as he had earlier in the day after his phone call with Tseng, like the weight of what was at stake and how it always brought difficult choices was hitting him, sweeping him under from the sheer magnitude of it all.

Tifa put her head on his shoulder, she wanted to talk but she knew their were cameras and probably microphones embedded in the walls so that everything in the elevators could be seen and heard. She wanted to hug him, try to take on some of that weight in his shoulders but as if he could read her mind he turned into her and she immediately stood up straight so that he could lean his head into the crevasse of her neck and shoulder. He held on tightly and she embraced the warmth and weight of his body..she had never hugged someone quite this long or this way before. Tifa glanced up and saw the 6 come up, and she realized neither one of them had hit the button. She sadly pulled away from Reno's embrace and pressed the B button.

"Oh, thanks." Reno actually looked a little sheepish and Tifa figured he probably wasn't use to hugs like that either.

To lighten the mood Tifa decided to speak. "You know this elevator is kinda how I originally pictured your bathroom."

Reno came out of his haze to observe the inside of the elevator now and realized that their were mirrors on all sides "held" by some elaborate sculpted picture that had to do with the ocean. One was two huge ships that looked as though they were in the middle of a battle, another had dolphins under the water and jumping above the water. They were all extremely well crafted and detailed. Reno broke into a devilish smile, "So are you trying to tell me I'm vain"

"And they said you weren't a quick study." Tifa's eyes a look of mischief in them to compliment Reno's smile.

Reno had never wanted to kiss someone more in his life, not just because her teasing was incredibly sexy, but also for the fact that she was trying to get his mind off reality and make him feel better. Why did she have to act this way?

"Careful babe, this feels very much like your challenging me to a who ends with the best zinger contest and you know damn well I won't fight fair." His eyes were flashing now looking the way Denzel's does when he thinks she hasn't seen him and he sneaks a cookie out of the cookie jar. He leaned into her and Tifa's heart was pounding. _What was he going to do this time?_

DING

Reno just gave her a goofy grin and smoothly transitioned into grabbing her hand, leading her towards the elevator door. Tifa let out a disappointed sigh which drew a chuckle from Reno. Once they stepped out of the elevator both of their demeanor's changed immediately, it was time to meet Gabriel.

–

They stepped off the elevator and immediately started to take in their surroundings. To both their surprise their was only one bodyguard. However he was even larger than Dante the bouncer and appeared to be meaner as well. Next to the bodyguard stood a man who both Tifa and Reno assumed was Gabriel. Tifa was very taken aback by him. In every way the Don Corneo was plump, ugly, and disgusting in his appearance and speech, Gabriel was just the opposite. He appeared to be in his late 30's to early 40's. He was wearing a white button up collared shirt, the top couple of buttons unbuttoned and rolled up long sleeves revealing beautifully toned biceps. Apparently he was done with formal meetings for the evening as Tifa observed the strewn sea green tie and crisp black jacket that were tossed on a beautiful tan leather couch on the left far side of the room. Tifa figured he probably spent a lot of nights here working into the early hours of the morning and as she looked around his office, she could understand not wanting to like everywhere else in this club, this office had been made in style.

As he headed toward them Tifa continued her...observations of the owner. His hair was a sandy blonde and had a slight wave to it and his skin was tanned perfectly, not to dark but not to light. His eyes were hazel and extremely memorizing. She felt the shame rising up in her for finding a man of such vile business dealings so handsome.

"Welcome, you must be Reno and Bree...thank you so much for taking time out of your evening to meet with me." His cologne, like the rest of him was intoxicating as he took Tifa's hand, shaking it firmly and then holding it just for a few moments longer while asking her a question.

Tifa could feel her heart racing and her anger at herself building. _What the hell is wrong with you Lockheart get it together, this guy is a creep_. But she could understand why he was so successful, he certainly had the charisma to pull off most business deals.

"May I say Bree that you are definitely the most stunning woman to come to my club in a long time." Tifa could feel her face flushing, even though she assumed it was bullshit, she always became uncomfortable when she was complimented on her looks. Maybe it was because most of the time she was hit on by drunken perverts.

"You have good taste Reno." Tifa felt Reno's arm wrap protectively around her waist.

"Yes I do." Reno's voice had a slight edge in it and Tifa was pretty sure that he was not as enamoured with Gabriel as she was.

Gabriel smiled and just like the rest of him, it was beautiful.

"And you're smart, I can see by the way you hold her you don't like to share." Gabriel's look had become seductive when he looked at Tifa and there was a hunger in his eyes. Tifa felt lightheaded as she allowed herself to think of having both him and Reno at the same time. _Shiva woman, you really do need to get laid. You have lost your damn mind!_

Tifa gave Gabriel a weak smile and forced herself to break away from his intoxicating gaze. Just like everywhere else they had been since arriving this room was elaborate with fish aquariums and elaborate sea statues and fountains. The floor was marble tile and the color was a beautiful sea green. Tifa decided this was the time to see if she could find just how many cameras were hidden. She politely asked Reno for her compact and began to sweep the room. First, there was one high up towards the back of the room that was not meant to be hidden. She then looked over the fountains and saw one in the eye of a beautiful dolphin statue and another embedded in the scales of a majestic fish statue. She assumed there was probably at least one more she couldn't see and they were already past the limit of manually shutting them off.

She quickly closed her compact and turned to see Reno keeping Gabriel occupied with one of the aquariums. Gabriel's bodyguard however seemed to be keeping his eyes on her. She silently prayed she had been as slick as she thought and decided it was time to give Reno the signal to contact WRO and get them to hack into the system. Reno had already requested Tseng talk to Reeve and get one of their computer hackers to break into Gabriel's mainframe. She just hope they had been given enough time to find an employee and blackmail them into telling them which company they used to set up their security.

"Mr. Gabriel, I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you decided to build your fabulous club here in Costa Del Sol. This is my 4th visit and I have to say your club has made this the best visit I have ever had here."

Tifa was pouring in the charm now hoping Reno had caught that she had begun with their code conversation peace. When they had been discussing it over dinner, she thought it had sounded so cheesy, like a bad spy film; but right now she was most grateful for the earlier conversation.

"Please it's just Gabriel, and you are very welcome, I am so pleased by your compliment. I have my hands in a lot of different enterprises but this club is really my pride and joy." Gabriel was coming over to her now and she once again feeling weak in the knees. Good Shiva that was happening a lot lately...damn men.

He was studying her now and Tifa started to become concerned, had he noticed something she or Reno had done?

"I have to say Bree you look very familiar and just now I know why...you look like the famous Tifa Lockheart." His demeanor had changed suddenly and there was an accusatory tone in his voice.

_So that's what it was._

"Well thank you, I get that from time to time and to be honest I don't really see it but since the reference keeps being made there must be some truth to it. But I'm pretty sure her eyes are brown from what I have seen of her on tv and I have always prided myself on having ruby eyes which are much more rare." Tifa prayed she had used the correct balance of being flippant and sheepish to get him off the subject.

"Yes your eyes are beautiful and unique." Gabriel was now face to face with her, inching closer and closer. Tifa internally began to panic because she wasn't sure what the right move was. She glanced around looking for Reno but didn't see him. _Oh Shiva, I'm going to have to kiss him._ The next moment however she felt familiar strong arms come around her waist from behind her back.

"You got that right man, I just love getting lost in those eyes of hers. They remind me of beautifully aged red wine; rare and to be cherished."

Gabriel backed up a bit, but seemed amused at Reno's apparent territorial nature.

"So, you said this club was your pride and joy, why is that?" Reno decided to try to get him less focused on Tifa and see if they could move things along, he really did not like this guy.

"I've always loved the ocean and I think most kids dream of a place that is their's; that is perfect and exclusive. I also developed a love for business at an early age. So I guess this club is the perfect combination of my biggest dream and my deepest passion"

"That's great yo, when I was a kid I wanted to be a hero and decided the best route was as a fire fighter. For almost a year every day I would put on my fire cap, jacket, and boots on and get the hose out in our back yard and put out the pretend flames in the trees or fence. After a while other kids started to come over and we would make it an elaborate drama. My favorite days were when I would have to save one of the girls from my neighborhood from the flames. I would get a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then they would say "My hero, thank you for saving me."

Tifa had turned and was listening intently at Reno's story. She wasn't an hundred percent sure that he was telling a true memory but there seemed to be genuine joy in his eyes when he talked about it. Then followed what looked like genuine sadness.

"At least you were bold and strong enough to make your childhood dreams a reality."

Gabriel nodded. "I am proud of my accomplishments, but even I have days where I get jealous of children's beautiful hope and naivete that anything is possible. It is a terrible day when a child looses that innocence and see the harshness of the world."

"Yes it is." Tifa replied.

The three of them went silent for a moment. Finally Reno ended it. "I know this may sound cheesy Mister, I mean Gabriel but before I forget would it be okay if I took a picture of my girl here. Your office is stunning and don't think our friends will believe us when we get back without a picture. You can check out the phone if you like, I'm guessing by the bodyguard you are serious about security."

Gabriel actually chuckled, it seemed that their conversation had warmed him up to them enough to loose the suspicious looks.

"Sure, take a few if you like."

And with that Reno pulled out his phone and began taking a few pictures and neither Gabriel or his bodyguard was the wiser of the signal sent to Tseng and Reeve.

"Babe, would you stand by the dolphin statue please?"

"Would you mind being in the picture with me Gabriel?" Tifa gave a seductive smirk.

"I don't think i could refuse you if i wanted to." Gabriel said smiling.

Reno took the picture and then closed up his cell phone. Tifa relaxed slightly, thankful that he had been able to get through and now it was just a matter of occupying enough of Gabriel's time so the hackers could do their job. But then her body became ridged again as she felt Gabriel's hand move up and down her exposed back. She had been concentrating so hard on Reno she hadn't realized that Gabriel had not put his arm down after the picture.

"I must say Melanie is an excellent judge of character. I am really enjoying your company."

Tifa quickly turned around so that she was away from his roaming hand and facing Gabriel. "Thank you, we are having a really great time, aren't we baby?"

"Definitely." Reno said as he came up and put his arm around Tifa's neck.

"And our conversation has been interesting, but are you willing to make the evening even more so?" Gabriel's eyes had regained their lust as he looked at Tifa.

Tifa responded. "Absolutely." It was time for her and Reno to put on one final PDA performance.


	21. A One Time Only Performance

Hello friends! Well I hope you don't mind me calling you all that because honestly if you are still here after 20 chapters then I think we have moved past acquaintances don't you? In any case here is the latest chapter. I would love feedback from all major Tifa fans for this chapter because I would like to know what you think of how I view her and if you like how I handled her moving on from Cloud. I don't give you everything about that subject in this chapter but I think it is enough to explain how things were at the beginning of the story for her as well as a nice reminder of where the story began since it was such a long time ago. In any story that follows Square Enix's FFVII Compilation and has Tifa as one of the main characters, Cloud must be addressed, but I decided to boldly have him be almost a non factor for Tifa in my story as far as a love interest is concerned and would like to know what everyone thinks about the direction I chose. Oh and is my last line good or just cheesy? I just couldn't decide. As always thanks to all of you for taking time to read my story and come back each chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all that is Final Fantasy.

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Tifa continued to remind herself to breath in and out. It would do absolutely no one any good if she passed out from nerves now. And she would have to consider the fact that if she did faint, she may never regain consciousness because Reno would probably kill her for breaking under pressure. Besides she was used to having men look at her with a lustful eye. It happened everyday at her bar and the men didn't always have to be drunk to get the look that Gabriel was sporting now. Hell, that horny college kid had that same look on his face earlier on the dance floor. She had always consciously wore the type of revealing clothes so she would get the best tip. She had learned very early on that she was blessed with curves and large breasts and after getting tired of the teasing and then the grabbing she decided to put her "gifts" to good use.

But the real truth was, she was almost completely opposite of the persona she showed at work; that her clothes gave to her. Like so many things in her life it was a mirage, helping to hide all the doubt and insecurity she really felt about herself. Just as she had wasted so much time making Cloud into something he wasn't; she herself tried for a very long time...too long, to become what she assumed he envisioned all those years while he was away. That had been one of the reasons she had been so jealous of Aerith at first. She exuded confidence and was flirty and fun by nature. Of course she looked the part of innocent and naive which was not the truth. Just as people assumed Tifa was confident and owned her sexuality by what she wore, they thought the opposite of Aerith because she wore the color pink with a long skirt and ribbons in her hair. But the two women had learned early on about each other and knew what it was like to have to put on a costume, as it were, to survive. And after Aerith died Tifa tried to be enough to fill the void for Cloud, for herself...but it was a lie. And it took Aerith's presence back in all of their lives to finally figure that out.

It was a few months after the defeat of Loz, Kadja, and Yazoo; Tifa had been standing alone in the bar when she realized that she had no idea who she was or what she really wanted. When she hadn't been able to sleep that night she had gotten up and though it made her feel like a nerd, she got out a piece of paper and a pen and started to make a list of what she wanted, what she didn't want, and what she had been pretending to want. That is when she figured out about Cloud. Her feelings of being in love with him had long past into a more maternal feeling. She realized that they had never had a chance to really be true friends and that is what she wanted now with him more than anything. The other pressing need was to learn about herself and that is when the plans began for Barret, Marlene, Cloud, and Denzel to move out. Ironically before Tifa's big revelation, earlier that evening Reno had come in to have a drink and the two had spoken briefly. After that he started to come into the bar almost every night and their chats would go from light conversation to troubles at work etc. There was a brief hiatus with the WRO becoming a true force and Vincent's whole journey and chance to play big hero due to Deep Underground, but Reno had become a constant in Tifa's life. And somewhere along the way she had started to fall for him, becoming her first crush in a very long time. Of course he brought with him a whole new slew of problems and drama for her but it was very refreshing to not be pining over Cloud anymore, to have her heart and mind focused somewhere else.

And now here she was about to put on an exhibition show for an enemy with that said crush. If her friends could see her now..._no don't think about their reactions, concentrate. _Tifa closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

"It's okay Bree, Melanie told me this was new for you, just concentrate on Reno and soon the room and extra eyes will disappear." There was major anticipation in his voice but yet there was a kindness to Gabriel's voice. It helped her calm down. She turned to face Reno who broke into a cheesy smile which caused Tifa to laugh and her nerves calmed even more.

"Just remember what an opportunity this is." The devilish gleam was back in his aqua eyes and Tifa knew that it was now or never so she gave a slight nod and closed her eyes; anticipating another enjoyable kiss from Reno. But it didn't come. Instead he began giving butterfly kisses on her closed eyelids and continued to kiss different parts of her face. Tifa giggled at first, half out of shock and half out of the fact they tickled. But as he continued the kisses became more and more sensual. Soon Tifa was so preoccupied by his kisses she did forget for a few minutes where she was; her whole focus was on Reno. As for Reno he couldn't help but snicker softly, he still didn't know what god he had made happy allowing him to kiss on Tifa Lockhart to overtake an enemy and therefore was enjoying every second to the fullest.

Tifa's whole body was tingling, it was sinful, the way he made her feel. the way he was in control but allowed her a few concessions from time to time....at least with the kissing. His hands were a different matter, they stayed in constant control, knowing exactly where and how to touch her. Tifa's body was becoming more submissive to his touch, she could feel her knees weakening. She was desperate to return the favor, but was still some what hesitant on what to do. She felt as inexperienced as she was when it came to this sort of thing but, for the sake of the show they were trying to give Gabriel, she pushed her insecurities aside and allowed her instincts to take over.

She moved her hands from his hips and slipped them under his shirt, lightly rubbing her hands up and down his chest trying to at least semi mimic the way Reno was touching her thighs and back. She felt encouraged by his response when she felt him pull her tighter to his body and he became even more forceful and passionate with his kisses. They broke a part a few moments later to catch their breath, but almost immediately Reno began showering her neck with kisses which Tifa responded to with a loud moan. Tifa was actually a little embarrassed at how loud she was but that quickly past when she heard Reno gasp at her reaction and become more aggressive again with his kisses moving to the other side of her neck. She reacted to his aggression by slightly digging her fingernails into his back to show approval of his actions. This made Reno chuckle softly, move his attention back to her lips for a few moments while moving one of his hands to run his fingers through her hair. This time Tifa became more forceful in her kisses and she smiled slightly when she heard Reno moan in response. When they pulled away from each other again, he moved his lips to her ear and very softly and seductively whispered, "Ready?"

Oh she was ready, her whole body was aching for him, begging for him to stop teasing with hints of touching more forbidden areas and actually make his move. But then when Tifa opened her eyes she realized where she was and what his question was actually talking about. Secretly a little sad; while still trying to catch her breath she nodded. She slowly turned around to where she was now facing her audience lifting her arm and putting her hand in Reno's hair. Reno lightly and skillfully moved his hands from right below her underarm down to the middle of her thigh. As his hands came back up they slowly moved to her stomach and began making their way up but before his hands reached her breasts which she could she could tell by Gabriel's body language that's what he wanted to see next. So she gracefully moved her arm away from Reno's hair and moved down until her hand was right by his pant pocket where her trusty compact was stored. As Reno showered her with soft kisses on the side of her face he whispered..."Now."

Tifa moved her hand into his pocket which luckily only got an eyebrow from Gabriel and the bodyguard didn't move. Once Tifa had a hold of the compact she quickly pulled it out of his pocket and threw it directly at Gabriel's head with perfect accuracy, hitting him square in the nose forcing his nose to pour blood and his eyes to well up with tears. Reno moved to the side of her and then immediately sprinted at Gabriel to silence him by pulling out a handkerchief from his other pocket.

While Reno was occupying himself with Gabriel Tifa had turned her attention to the bodyguard who was charging at her. She held her ground just long enough to get him to pounce at her as she smoothly slipped to the side at the last second. She then did a swipe kick to upend him again as he tried to get back up on his feet. Seeing he was dazed Tifa then ran and picked up one of the smaller but definitely expensive statues she had observed when she walked in; and for the third time as the bodyguard tried to get back up she landed a blow with it across the bodyguard's face to knock him out. As for Gabriel, he certainly wasn't going to run, seeing as Tifa had broken his nose. As she observed the man his eyes were still flowing uncontrollably. He was writhing in pain as Tifa came over to him. She quickly ripped part of Gabriel's shirt off (no way was she ruining her new dress) and pushed his head back and shoved two thin pieces up his nose. He let out a muffled scream (thanks to Reno tightening the handkerchief that was in Gabriel's mouth. Tifa and Reno were unsympathetic to his extreme pain and just concentrated on holding him down and keeping him as quiet as possible until the initial excruciating pain wore off. When both Reno and Tifa felt like the pain was subsiding, Reno leaned down next to Gabriel's ear, his facial expression was cold and calm. "Now Gabriel, it's your turn to perform for us."


	22. The Morning After

Hi everyone. The holidays are almost here and so here is my gift to you...another chapter! I need to point out inspiration from fanfic writer altol and her fic _Fire and Ice_ for part of this chapter. I had a hard time finding a stopping point so that is the only part of this chapter I am not sure if I am happy about. If you have any free moments during this busy time of the year, let me know what you think of this chapter, the direction of the story, things you are hoping to see as the story continues, or all of the above. Once again thanks for taking the time to read, leave reviews etc. See you next chapter.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns everything except the journey I give their characters and my original characters.

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Tifa was sitting outside on the balcony slowly sipping on a cup of tea, enjoying the hints of sweetness the dab of honey she put in it gave her. As she stared out at the ocean she was actually surprised at how early she was up. She knew it had to be around 10am or so and honestly with the time she got back to the suite she figured she may have gotten 4 hours. As tired as her body was; her body, along with her mind, couldn't come down from all that happened just hours before. Even now in a setting that would allow anyone to just let go of all deep thoughts and problems, she was completely engrossed recalling all that had happen the day before. Tifa had days like that in the past, with so many emotional up and downs; but yesterday was still...different. They had met their objective, they had gotten in to see Gabriel and had persuaded him to corporate. Reno had gone with Gabriel to get him to the meeting site so Gabriel could be put into protective custody. Tifa still wasn't sure how well they had pulled everything off, if they truly had been able to remain discreet throughout the entire event. That little twinge of doubt was enough to make her glance over at the gun Reno had told her to get out of one of his travel bags. Tifa had never liked guns, she enjoyed learning about other weapons and her own passion were using her own fists, but there was something about guns...they felt so impersonal. It may have sounded strange to someone who didn't know how to fight or believed only in peace but for Tifa she had learned through her many lessons and experiences that fighting can and is necessary, but there can be honor with it. When she fights with an enemy, because of her style of fighting, she has brief moments to see something behind the violent actions of her adversary, and that always helps her remember that it is a life she may have to take whether it be a person or an animal. Therefore the goal was to always take the fight seriously and try to spare life when at all possible.

Tifa sighed, remembering times that she had lost that clarity. She took a few moments to pray to whatever higher entity that may be listening that she would never feel that kind of rage and hate again. The sun hit the gun again, pulling her back to the reason Reno had left it, just in case they had missed a signal and Gabriel had found someway to call for help. The good news was no matter what Gabriel had already given them vital information. Tifa and Reno now knew that Iotola's lab was in a cave in the Great Glacier.

Tifa shivered instinctively as memories of that god forsaken place on the northern continent began to force their way in. Besides the Icicle Inn which was actually very lovely and quaint, she had hoped to not remember that continent at all, it held so many horrible memories for her and the rest of Avalanche. Closing her eyes she could still feel the mind numbing cold consume her whole body. Even as each year passed, if that memory was somehow allowed to come to the forefront of her mind; the pain and the cold came right along with it.

Tifa and the rest of Avalanche had wondered in the Whirlwind Maze, barely being able to see in the blizzard snow, getting lucky temporarily by finding a hot spring and that cave. But they hadn't found the right path out and if it hadn't been for a kind man who found them after they had all passed out from the cold they would have all been dead. When she had awoken wrapped in soft fur covers and near a crackling warm fire...that moment was heavenly. But not long after that they had gone back out in the cold and it was as she turned back, longing for that fire and dreading what lied ahead that she had sworn she would never stay in a place that was cold after that. Thanks to those memories snow and ice had no beauty left for her and she had always put it on her list of reasons why she hated Sephiroth, Hojo, and Jenova. They had ruined that climate and atmosphere for her. And she always figured it was just one other thing they had taken from her that she could never get back.

Tifa grasped onto her warm tea a little tighter, she normally didn't have hot drinks since she was almost never in a position to be cold but this morning she needed something to help warm her spirit and now help warm her against her bad memories.

She had to give Iotola credit, it was a perfect place to conduct shady or illegal business with no worries of being interrupted. And in a way incredibly obvious, wouldn't someone who wanted to resurrect Sephiroth and Jenova want to be near where the two of them had almost triumphed once before? Tifa could feel the queasiness overtaking her stomach. To think there were people who worshipped those two...that wanted to see such vile creatures return to power and for what? Early this morning that same queasiness had overtaken her, when Gabriel had told them what Jenova's Hope members thought they would get if Sephiroth and Jenova were brought back; the members believed that they would be apart of a new Utopia with a new super soldier race that could defy sickness and death as Sephiroth and Jenova used this planet as a vessel to move on to a new planet.

Of course this adventure would kill this planet and all who inhabited it, but hey it wouldn't be Gaia if there wasn't some psychos trying to destroy it every few years. The poor planet, sometimes Tifa wondered if it ever regretted giving those who were here on it now a second chance...maybe Aerith was getting tired too. Tifa shook her head in defiance of her own thoughts about her friend, Aerith was too stubborn to get tired, she had certainly been to stubborn to allow something like her death to stop her. She chuckled to herself, Sephiroth would be very pissed to know that his plan had backfired, that death had actually made her more powerful.

But she shuddered at the thought of not getting to Jenova's Hope and Iotola in time, the idea of Sephiroth alive and well with his mommy dearest and a large cult group of wackos was not what she wanted to have her life in the near future be consumed with. Her thoughts drifted back to Reno, she was trying very hard not to let her mind wander with all that could be going wrong or the fact that he could be in danger. The fact was due to his job he was almost always in danger and he knew how to deal with it. And no matter what eventually word would get out the Gabriel was not in his place of business or anywhere else he normally went for that matter and they would put the pieces together and come after her and Reno...and possibly everyone else important to them.

After resetting her tea cup down, Tifa picked up the towel on the other lounge chair that she had tossed aside earlier, deciding to let her hair air dry out in the calming breeze. She wanted to go back in and comb it before tangles started to form. At that moment she was very relieved to be alone, she wondered how ridiculous she must look in a green bathrobe with green fuzzy slippers, holding a gun in one hand and a towel in the other. If only her enemies could see her now. But the look was worth it, the bath she had taken was amazing and did wonders for her aching, tired muscles. She threw the wet towel in the hamper and meandered her way back into the bathroom, where just a hint of steam was left on the mirror. As she slowly combed through her hair she could feel her eyelids drooping and decided right then and there to take a nap. It would at least help the time pass until Reno would return with a decision on what their next move would be. So gathering a brand new towel to wrap around her head she made her way to the bed.

She laid back down onto the inviting bed and covered herself with the cozy sheets and comforter and fell asleep.

---

Tifa awoke but when she tried to focus her eyes it was extremely hard to do. Her head felt like it was underwater, and all her tired aches from the night before felt worse not better after laying down for this nap. She also felt chilled and damp, it was almost the exact opposite as she had felt when she had laid down. Why did she feel so..weird? She sat up and the motion made her feel woozy so she closed her eyes to try to get the feeling to stop. After a few moments she opened her eyes but what she saw or more importantly didn't see made her heart start beating extremely fast. There was heavy mist all around her she could barely make out her hand as she put it out a few inches from her face.

This was all wrong, _what the hell?_ It had to be one of two things, she was still sleeping or her tea brought up by room service had been drugged and now she was having a serious hallucination after being captured. _The drug must have put me in a dreamlike state and so I am not seeing what the real area looks like but I can feel part of my surroundings_. Tifa inhaled deeply and she could smell the dampness from the mist.

It was so quiet..too quiet there was almost no noise except for her breathing and slight movements that scraped the ground and her heartbeat that was beating so hard it was shaking her eardrums. She could feel herself beginning to panic. _Easy Tifa, come on girl just think okay? _Even though she knew it was probably foolish_,_ Tifa took a moment to pinch herself really hard but when she opened her eyes she was still in the same place. _Okay definitely been drugged._

"Hello?" Her voice felt so far away. Should she move, should she stay put?

"Hello is anyone out there?"

Tifa was straining her eyes trying to catch a glimpse of something, anything. She was becoming very frightened and she wanted to sit down and curl into a little ball; similar to how she acted the night after her mother had died. After people had stopped coming by and her father had put her to bed she laid there feeling completely alone and the ache for her mother was almost unbearable...she had never felt anything like it before. She wanted her mother back, she wanted the horrible ache to go away, and she wanted to not feel all alone. So she had wrapped herself up into a ball and shut her eyes, praying to whatever would listen to bring her sleep. If she could only sleep, things would be better, she would rest and when morning came this day would just have been a terrible nightmare. Her mother would come in, sit down beside her and wipe away the tears while stroking her hair softly. "It's okay baby, it was just a bad dream, I'm here."

Of course it hadn't worked that night and Tifa had a bad feeling it wouldn't work now. As she tried to keep from screaming in frustration she heard a noise.

"Hello!" The noise was so far away, so soft.

_Tifa...help me._

"What? Hello? I can barely hear you!" Tifa was almost in a full panic now, if only she could see something.

And as if someone actually heard her thoughts, the mist began to lift slowly. The voice also became a little louder. Now Tifa could tell it was an adult woman's voice, which in one way relieved her because then it wasn't Marlene that was in trouble...but she was certain she knew that voice.

Tifa started to walk instinctively not having a clue on where she was going and she hadn't known where she was coming from but now it didn't matter, somewhere deep in her heart she knew she had to reach that voice.

Her legs felt heavy and her hair and clothes were becoming damp. When she looked down she froze, she was in an outfit she had never seen before and certainly didn't own, it was similar to the one she wore all those years ago fighting Sephiroth except the white shirt had capped sleeves and she was wearing shorts. So strange, but even though nothing made sense right now; that voice...that was the one thing that wasn't wrong. Every part of her knew she had to reach that voice and soon.

_Tifa...please, don't let them have the chance to finish...please don't let them have control over me..._

Tifa started to jog a little, it was obvious the person was becoming more desperate and needed her, she had to find the woman fast. Who was calling to her, the voice was so familiar?

How long has she been moving? Even time seemed to be distorted to Tifa. But it didn't matter she was going to keep going, she was going to help. Tifa stopped dead in her tracks...she knew whose voice it was.

It was Aerith's voice, that who was calling out to her. Oh Shiva, please help me find her, help me to not be to late.

And then all of the sudden she was in a place that seemed familiar yet like everything else so far... off. The mist had almost completely cleared at this point and so she could see a few hundred feet in front of her was the lagoon and waterfall from Club Paradise, except there was no club part. Tifa scanned the area until her eyes fell upon a woman with her back to her; the last remnants of mist swirling around her making it seem as though she was there and then gone. It only enhanced the surreal nature of the atmosphere and the bewilderment Tifa was feeling. The long brown hair, the slender figure... it **was** her. Tifa's friend who she hadn't seen since Cloud had placed her in the Forgotten City's lake brutally slain by Sephiroth. But all that didn't matter now. Tifa was about to be reunited with her old rival, her friend, her sister.


	23. Twisted

Hello everyone, I apologize my last chapter ended without a decent stopping point but I had to break up the whole sequence because I felt it was too long for one chapter. Let me know what you think of my choice along with what you feel about this chapter. I have to say I have been inspired by many dark Aerith fics dealing with the consequences of trying to "bring back" Aerith along with BtVS and Ats dealing with the unsouled version of a person. Those are where a lot of this came from and a version of this chapter has been in my head for quite a while but I never knew if I would take a chance and use it. Well anyways without further yapping, here is the latest chapter. Thanks for continuing to read this story!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all thing Final Fantasy and Joss Whedon owns all things Buffy and Angel.

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Aerith began to turn around slowly and Tifa began to run again, yelling out to her friend.

Aerith's hair was flowing in the wind, half of it tied up in a bun, held together by and emerald studded comb. She was wearing a emerald green sundress that had a green ribbon tied around her waist. On her feet were some basic green colored sandals, she looked very lovely against the backdrop.

Tifa was overjoyed to see her friend here, now. There was so many questions to ask and everything was so strange...but it didn't matter, Aerith had called for her and whatever was after her; the two of them would face it together.

_Wait._..Tifa embraced Aerith in a hug, but Aerith's arms were stiff around Tifa. Slightly taken aback, Tifa pulled back to look at Aerith, and saw that she was smiling. But... the smile was wrong...it was almost sinister. And her eyes were...lifeless. Her laugh was cold and when she said Tifa's name, it might as well have been a stranger. A knot in Tifa's stomach was starting to form.

"Aerith? Oh Shiva, I'm too late...aren't I?"

Aerith smiled again and Tifa could feel the chunks rising in her throat.

"Too late? On the contrary you're right on time, wouldn't you say Sephiroth?"

Both women turned and Tifa felt like she could die. There coming out of the mist was Sephiroth smiling triumphantly.

"My Tifa, I thought your reaction would be different seeing your friend alive again."

Sephiroth circled around Tifa and picked up a piece of Tifa's hair. Tifa whacked his hand away, frowing and preparing to defend herself. Unfortunately there was no way she could have ever been prepared for what happened next.

"To think the same girl who help destroy me and my dreams now has become my dream. Together we will have a true miracle child and that child's strength will be spread to others. We will finally have a race worthy to live under my mother's rule and vision."

Sephiroth wrapped his arms around Aerith and much to Tifa's amazement and disgust, Aerith leaned back into his embrace seeming content with his touch.

"If only Cloud would have taken me seriously, I told him I would never be a memory."

Sephiroth broke away from Aerith and started walking towards Tifa who had now broken into tears. She couldn't stand it, seeing her friend brought back like this, in Sephiroth's arms. This defeat of Aerith was far worse then when he had killed her. He took away everything she was, switched her to destroying the planet instead of protecting it, having no will of her own. Tifa didn't even know if any of her soul had survived, was it destroyed or trapped in the lifestream somewhere? This just couldn't be real.

Tifa was forced from her thoughts by Sephiroth continuing to talk.

"So Tifa do you think I will need to kill Cloud or after he sees his beloved Aerith's change of heart, will he off himself, saving me the trouble?"

"That's not Aerith, it's a clone, it only has her appearance." Tifa spitted out the words through clenched teeth, praying she wasn't in complete denial, holding on to a fool's hope. Tifa just couldn't believe her earlier thoughts..._she has to be a clone_.

"I figured you would need to think that, you couldn't handle the other possibility...but if she is just a replica, call out for the "real" Aerith. She is the mighty Cetra girl right? Protector of the Planet, surely she'll show up and help you stop all this. Yes I am sure she and Cloud are on the way."

He was so smug, Tifa wanted to beat the look right off his face...if only she had a weapon.

"Tifa, please don't do anything stupid, you don't have to be our enemy." Tifa clenched her jaw at the sound of Aerith's voice chiming in, Aerith had been pretty good at reading her all those years ago...could a clone do the same?

"Shut up."

"You've always been so strong... I always knew, even when you didn't."

Aerith put her hand on Tifa's arm.

"You never gave yourself enough credit. I always admired you Tifa, I still do."

Tifa felt so weak, her mouth was dry and trying breathe was becoming more and more of a labored event. There was such hope on Aerith's face...but her eyes, there was still nothing. Was this really Aerith?

No. Aerith; the friend she knew was still dead whether this body in front of her was the original with just memories and her body or a clone who uses Jenova and Sephiroth to trick and tease with words. Aerith was still dead and Tifa knew that even though she had not succeeded in stopping this, she knew Aerith would want this...thing destroyed.

Tifa recoiled from Aerith's touch.

"You're nothing but a clone, you only look like Aerith. You're not even fit to walk in Aerith's shadow." Tifa's voice was cold and malicious.

"I know you can't accept it now, but I am not giving up on you, I love you Tifa...I always wanted a sister but of course it wasn't possible with either of my moms. But then you came along and it was perfect. We were jealous of each other, fought for the same man, but also fought beside each other and confided in each other."

Tifa was fighting back sobs now, it was all too cruel, hearing this thing talk about old memories between Aerith and herself.

"I lost so much when I died, having a chance to enjoy the little things like getting together and watching movies while eating pizza with you and Yuffie. And of course I missed out on many big things..like having the chance to have a child. But that is all over, I have a second chance. I want you to be a part of it."

"And Cloud? What about him?" Tifa hoped this would throw faux Aerith off, but in the end it was Tifa who ended up being thrown.

A darkness came over her eyes, with a hint of sadness. "Cloud has always found a way to torture himself, isolate himself from having true happiness. I...I wanted him to find peace in life, it hasn't really happened. So I will help him one more time, help him to find peace...through death."

Tifa now actually became physically ill. When she recovered she became enraged turning to Sephiroth.

"You sick son of a bitch, your last ironic hard on is to get Aerith to kill Cloud!"

Sephiroth just laughed.

"Well they always say that payback's a bitch, so I thought I would make the saying literal."

By this point Tifa had fallen to her knees, she was beside herself, trying to grasp what was happening. It was then that she heard the rumbling of a motor and turned to see Cloud's motorcycle Fenrir coming into view.

"I see he did get my message." Sephiroth gloated.

Within seconds Cloud was off his bike, sword drawn, staring at Sephiroth. Tifa could tell that Cloud had not seen her...or Aerith.

"Your late Cloud, trying to confirm if what I said was true?" He was sneering, it was like he was a child bullying another child.

"How many times am I going to have to kill your sorry ass for you to stay dead?"

Cloud was calm and ready, Tifa didn't know if she could handle watching Cloud's whole world shatter...again.

"Come on Cloud, there will be plenty of time for flirting later, why don't you tell Tifa if I am a liar or not."

Cloud turned to where Sephiroth was pointing and saw Tifa, on her knees and an emotional mess.

"Tifa!" Cloud ran to her side but kept his sword out and ready as he put his other arm around her.

"What happened, what did he do to you?" Darkness began to fall over Cloud's eyes, he was infuriated but he just clenched his teeth as he spoke to Sephiroth.

"I swear Sephiroth I will kill you slowly, making you beg for death for this."

Tifa tried to speak, tried to switch the roles, tried to become strong and steady... because... he wasn't going to see it coming.

"Cloud I'm all right, please you have to listen to me, the worse case scenario has happened."

Cloud turned briefly to her, his eyes were kind and Tifa knew he was relieved to hear she was okay but probably thought she was incoherent.

"It's okay Tifa, I see that Sephiroth is here, I'll take care of it and then I'll take you home. I'll get Denzel and we can ask Barret if we can take Marlene with us and I'll treat all of you to a fabulous meal of steak and garlic mashed potatoes okay?

Tifa was overwhelmed, he was trying so hard to put her at ease, if only she could stop the pain he was about to feel, she would have given anything to spare him the next few moments.

"You know Cloud you really are stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Cloud quickly turned and almost immediately dropped his sword.

"Aerith?"

"Yup... oh come on don't be so shocked, it's not like we haven't been seeing each other before now. Let me guess, it's the change of outfit right?" Faux Aerith let out a laugh, and once again it was off, cold and more strained than Aerith's actual laugh.

Cloud just stood there trying to figure out what was going on but as Aerith moved forward, Tifa could see Cloud putting the pieces together. It was awful to watch.

"Well I can tell by your expression you realize that I am alive and you are wondering if I'm a clone right? But since I didn't meet you when you asked me to you know that I am here and not in the lifestream."

Faux Aerith put her hands behind her back and leaned forward.

"Do you know how many times I dreamed of this moment...true Tifa and Sephiroth were not here...but you go with what you're given."

She started inching toward Cloud.

"I thought we would meet in the lifestream and be together..but now that I'm back...oh Cloud I love you so much, all I ever wanted was for you to be happy; to find peace."

Tifa knew what was happening but when she started to get up Sephiroth who had moved behind all of them during this Cloud/Aerith reunion quietly began to cast. Just as Tifa went to scream out she heard Sephiroth say silence and then paralyze. And so there Tifa was, paralyzed and silenced, once again helpless to do anything to help and she was about to watch her best friend, the man she had loved for much of her life, be murdered right in front of her by the woman he loved; the woman she thought of as a sister.

Tifa was in hell.

"All these years, we haven't been able to be completely happy, even with our connection...you wondered about kids or having to always be called to fight, so part of you never rests, is never truly happy. But now that I'm here, I can give you what you were lacking."

Aerith is very close to Cloud now, putting her hand on his face. Tifa can see Cloud's logical side screaming at him to be cautious...but his emotional side, it's winning. In a last attempt to try to stay logical, Cloud responds to her.

"This isn't right, something in your eyes is off, you're wrong...you've come back wrong."

Knowing she is loosing him Aerith pulls him into a passionate kiss and Cloud is too surprised to fight back at first and then begins to get lost in the kiss, but after a few moments his eyes reopen, as if it is confirmed that Aerith is not herself...but is to late. Aerith while kissing him had slowly pulled out what was thought to be a hair comb to reveal that it was actually a large dagger and in one fluid motion pulls away from Cloud slightly and stabs it into Cloud's chest. Cloud screams out in pain, but Tifa wonders if it is more for the betrayal than the wound itself.

Aerith begins to cry, she is holding him as he fades. "I hope you can forgive me someday Cloud, I had to save you, I had to bring you the peace you deserve. My dream was to be with you, but when I was brought back I realized we were on two different paths. You may not believe me but I meant what I said, I love you, I will love you until every part of my being has died and faded away. Just please be at peace, I will take care of everything, you don't have to worry about anything."

Tifa sees a solitary tear fall from his eye as he dies. Aerith leans down and kisses his lifeless lips. Tifa is screaming but no one can hear her, Cloud Strife was dead, killed by the woman he loved.

Tifa wants to die, this is too much...how could she fail so terribly, she should have known Sephiroth would do a spell to keep her from Cloud. Why was she never strong enough, why does so many people in her life die yet she gets to live? She closed her eyes, completely broken and searching for anything, one thing she could hold onto before she was lost in her despair becoming just a shell.

_Reno_...Tifa whispered his name, almost like a prayer.

_Reno please find me._

Tifa opened her eyes, and she realized the spells Sephiroth had cast were beginning to fade. She stared at Aerith, Cloud and Sephiroth and she could see through Sephiroth's profile that he was relishing the victory over his nemesis as Aerith continued to cry over Cloud's dead body. Tifa thought she was just about to be sick again when something inside her made her turn, and far in the distance she saw a figure. The figure was so far away she couldn't make out build or anything except...the color red at the top of the figures head. Tifa's heart leapt. She slowly started to back away from the others, if she could just close the gap Reno would get her out of there and then they would regroup with the rest of Avalanche and destroy Sephiroth and Faux Aerith. Tifa swore to herself that Aerith's role as protector would not be destroyed and Cloud would be avenged...she would find a way to stop Sephiroth. Having Reno and the rest of her friends by her side would be enough, they would do whatever was necessary.

And after what seemed like an eternity Reno finally was in front of her, holding her in a strong embrace that kept her from falling to her knees. The tears were flowing so fast now, she was completely spent body and soul though being in Reno's arms made it somehow bearable. She looked up into his aqua eyes and she heard him say, "Hey babe, it's time."

"What? Time for what?" Tifa had pictured all kinds of things Reno would say as they came together, that was not one on her list.

"You know you have to make the calls, with what you've seen, you know what you need to do; don't let them have a really good day."

"Don't let them have a really good day?"

---

Tifa woke up gasping, sweating profusely. Her whole body was shaking and she felt physically and mentally exhausted. _What the hell was that?_She looked around, trying to ground herself and get her bearings. Tifa was in the suite laying in the bed. No Sephiroth, no faux Aerith, no dead Cloud, and no Reno.

_Thank Shiva it was just dream. _

No it was more than that, it was a message; of what would happen if she and Reno failed to stop Professor Iotola and Jenova's Hope.

Tifa forced herself off the bed, taking a moment to steady herself. She reached for her phone; though she was still shaking she had a new kind of resolve. Scrolling down her contacts, she found the name she needed, the perfect person to pay Iotola a visit. She took a deep breath as she pressed on the highlighted name, Cloud.


	24. Back on Track

Hello everyone. Well the last chapter has given me some of the more interesting reviews I have ever experienced. So now I am not sure if I have turned off my readers or just pushed the barrier and have you all begging for more. In any case here is the next chapter, it is short and continues to move the major parts of the plot. Please keep the reviews coming, I am a little nervous that you all are beginning not to like the story and that would make me very sad. As always thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Yeah after all this time I still don't own anything and would never want to profit on something else was kind enough to think up and develop. I am just eternally grateful for having such wonderful characters to put into my own situations. Thanks Square Enix.

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"Tifa, you don't have to defend yourself, I've had the same thoughts you have....well not as detailed and drawn out but I have been very worried about what it would mean for Aerith and her soul if Iotola was able to pull of his resurrections. Are you sure you don't want to tell me the rest of it?"

Tifa paused for a moment, she was shaking again after forcing herself to retell part of her horrific nightmare, vision, whatever it was. Tears were reforming in her eyes, but she also was almost chuckling because she still hadn't truly gotten used to this more...friendly version of Cloud. He was still very much a loner and he certainly wouldn't get together just to talk all night long, but since he had found peace by forgiving himself for his "failures" of the past he was much more willing to show affection in his own way and work on his friendships with all of the Avalanche members.

"Thanks Cloud, I appreciate it, I'm just not ready to talk about all of it yet, telling you about Aerith at all was hard enough. Plus I have other calls I need to make today."

"Fair enough. I'm heading to WRO headquarters now and will probably be there for a few hours before heading out, I'll make sure Reeve is up to date with everything."

"Great thanks Cloud, just...please be careful okay...I know I get too mommy-like sometimes...just take care of yourself." Tifa heard a slight chuckle on the other end. Normally that would have annoyed her but she could tell that the chuckle was...well appreciative.

"Yes ma'am I promise, and I'll call if I need backup. Let's just hope Reno gets back to you soon so you two can continue working on getting to Jenova's Hope's Headquarters."

Tifa heart began to ache a little at the sound of Reno's name. Cloud had no idea how much she wished Reno was with her. Talking to Cloud had helped, hell just hearing his voice, knowing it wasn't a recording helped her get past her initial panic her nightmare had put her in. But deep down she knew there was a reason why Reno was the one who helped her wake up in the nightmare, she really was beginning to depend on him for support and comfort. Plus she knew he would find a way to make her laugh.

"Yeah, let's hope he does get back soon."

"Good luck Tifa."

"You too."

And with that she was back to the quiet, holding her phone close to her mouth as she became lost in thought. She knew that if Reno hadn't called then it meant he was still tied up, but she needed him to know as soon as possible that she had gone ahead and contacted Cloud. While Gabriel had been yapping about Iotola's whereabouts Tifa and Reno had turned to each other and Tifa had mouthed Cloud to Reno. He had been thinking the same thing apparently because he immediately nodded. And it was perfect, who else would be able to handle doing a one man operation where he would find and infiltrate the lab without being detected. Cloud had the skill and the motivation and if anyone could catch Iotola off guard it was him.

So Tifa texted: Told Cloud location of Iotola's Lab.

...One man mission.

...He is going to WRO for supplies.

...It is probably imperative that Reeve and Tseng talk.

...You probably figured that out already, sorry.

...All quiet here so far.

...I texted to much didn't I...wait that last sentence wasn't needed.

...Neither was...damn it. Bye.

Why couldn't she be professional, what was she thinking, texting and texting. How the hell had she ever been a part of saving the world?

~Music~ He had texted back.

Good job babe.

...Way to take initiative.

...Yeah on it with Reeve and Tseng.

...How is it that you are cute even with just text messages?

Tifa blushed. He was either flirting or making fun of her. She hoped flirting but he would be totally justified in making fun of her for being such a dork. Then again maybe it was all the same thing? A large smile started to form on her lips as she thought of different ways he would tease her about this when he got back.

Wait, what was she doing? _Damn it Tifa get a hold of yourself, you swore you would never get into this position again, needing someone. You knew the game plan, wait for some rich handsome man to see you somewhere (preferably not your bar) ask you to dinner and then slowly and suavely lure you into caring about him because he can't live without you. Not the other way around! You're just asking for your heart to be broken all over again. Don't you dare need him....don't you dare fall in love with him._

Tifa stopped her fighting with herself by flipping open the phone to continue her phone calls. Ah there it was, Barret Wallace. Time to see how Marlene was doing, plus it will be really nice to step away from all of this for a little while and just here about kid things. Not that she would tell Marlene that, she knew kids had issues too but still, playing outside, hanging out with friends, going shopping or to a play or movie...that is what Tifa wanted to hear about.

Too bad life is full of disappointments.


	25. Revelations

Hey there! So I have redone the conversation in this chapter many times, trying to find the right feeling and balance of what I want to come across and hopefully I managed to do so okay. I wasn't sure of the most effective way to write a conversation that you only hear one side of, I did do a few small ones in a few different chapters but this one was so long that I did a slight hybrid of other examples I have seen. Please give feedback on whether this worked or not, it would be a great help to me. Thanks for continuing to come back chapter after chapter, and thanks to all who have been taking time to review, favorite etc. As always I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer:I do not own FFVII or it's Compilation. It is all property of Square Enix.

* * *

_*Conversation from Tifa's point of view only*_

Hello? Barret?

...Yeah it's me. I was wondering if Marlene was around?

...Oh...she's out somewhere with Denzel...wait there out just the two of them?

...Excuse me, I know more than anyone on how much she doesn't need supervision it's just with this Jenova's Hope and them attacking so recently-

...That is NOT what I meant...I wasn't hinting at anything- of course I think you are a good father-

Yes it does help that you are around more...well you were gone a lot- it is not a knock it is a fact!

I understand you have and **had** a lot of responsibilities and wanted to make a new life for you and Marlene thus why I agreed to watch over her why you were gone. Shiva, Barret why are you acting like this, attacking me on things I thought we had discussed and moved on from-

You are NOT just saying, apparently there are still feelings of resentment-

What's wrong Barret? Did something happen between you and Marlene?

...Oh excuse me for asking, yeah why would I have any concern when it comes to you and Marlene? After all you and I have been through together and the fact that I look at Marlene as a daughter.

...What do you mean what's with the tone and sarcasm? Look I am just a little on edge due to a nap that went wrong so your pissy attitude is bringing out my inner bitch.

...Oh right you are acting like the poster child for mature, jumping on every thing I say right?

...Damn it Barret tell me what has got you so ticked off!

What does Cloud's leaving today have to do with my leaving for vacation a few days ago?

...What do you mean bad timing on my part? Do I need to remind you it was _you_, along with Cloud and the kids that kept yapping in my ear to take a vacation!

...Look if you think that the WRO can't handle this new threat and was thinking that Avalanche needed to come together than you could have simply made a civilized phone call and asked me to come back to Edge.

...Well if you do think the WRO can handle this than why are you-

(Tifa sighs)

Yeah I guess my being on edge made me over react when you told me about the kids. You know, I really do trust your judgment.

...What do you mean speaking of judgment?

Cloud and me not including you? What are you talking about, when it comes to the kids...

Well if it's not about the kids-

And what is it that Marlene told you?

...You bastard, first of all I am a grown women I do not have to tell you who I associate with now that Marlene and Denzel had moved out. Actually even then as long as the kids weren't affected I am pretty sure it is none of your business at anytime.

...And so what that she told you Reno had been around a lot after hours, I work at a bar does the connection miss you completely?

I am not playing coy with you.

I'm not trying to make fun of your intelligence by using the word coy with you! Coy is just another word for what you just said- stop getting off track!

...

(Tifa grits her teeth)

Well aren't you the detective genius, yes I am here in Costa Del Sol with Reno.

...Can't you guess? I heard he was quite the man to fuck in these parts and since I haven't gotten any in oh say ever I figured what the hell, could be a good time.

...Be serious? You have been making up your own conclusions even before I called when only having bits and pieces of the story and then you want me to be serious! (Tifa's heart was racing, her face becoming more and more flushed. Barret had crossed the line and with her all ready being frustrated and anxious, Barret had picked the wrong time to be in one of his irrational, bone headed moods). Look I am here with Reno on business and I said vacation to keep from having to talk about things with my friends that were strictly Reno's business and had nothing to do with me. It happened to work out with his second objective and my first one on finding out more info on Jenova's Hope and that is why I am working with him.

...Well why are you acting like you're my father and not trusting me and my judgment?

...What do you mean when you heard it was Reno, it's not like we haven't work with the Turks in the past?

...Oh so Reno doesn't count.

(Tifa gasps like she has been punched in the stomach)

How can you say that to me...not remember Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge? HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME!

...Yeah I think I would remember plate in sector 7 falling since I was there!

...Yes I know Reno pushed the button but guess what, he was on orders by the same Turks you allowed to fight side by side with us when it was helpful to our cause. Do I need remind you that one of our closest friends was a spy for Shinra and the Turks!

...You hypocritical bastard, that's different? (Now Tifa was shaking uncontrollably, tears started to build in her eyes and her voice became softer, slightly cracking as she spoke again). What about the people that we killed, that's different too, right? Because of our cause? Do you think the families of those we killed cared about our cause, maybe from their point of view we were the ones in the wrong... so maybe you should take a moment to reflect before passing judgement. (Then there was silence, for how long Tifa didn't know but it seemed like an hour, it was awful).

What do you mean what's happened to me?

...Well that works our perfectly because I don't want to talk to you anymore either.

---

Tifa forcefully closed her phone and then let it fall from her fingers onto the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed, shaking with anger,frustration, and hurt. And though she tried to keep them from coming, she felt the water start to fall from her eyes. She sat there, silently crying as she replayed his last words in her head.

_What's happening to you? I get that you want to stop Jenova's Hope but...it's just...anyone but Reno. If it wouldn't make me become like him I would have already killed that disgusting bastard years ago. And the fact that you are workin' with him, the way you are talkin', as if you have moved on...forgiven him..it makes me sick; I feel like I don't even know you. Reno is trash and I hope when you find out what you need to you will throw him out with the rest of the trash. I...I can't talk to you anymore right now, I'm gonna go._

And what had she expected Barret's reaction to be? She had always known that Reno was the one Turk, the one employee of Shinra he had never forgiven. He had held on to that hate. She had never asked him why but she was pretty sure she could figure it out. It was Reno hands, his face that had set up the bombs; that had pressed the button. When he saw Reno he probably saw Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge being hit by large pieces of metal and other rubble at the plate crashed down; then consumed by fire. And it didn't matter that maybe one or all of them died before the plate fell, that in reality it might have been a Shinra soldier's bullet that took their life. Thanks to Reno there was a face, a person to throw the rage, hate, and hurt onto.

Biggs, Wedge, Jesse...they had been _his_ responsibility and subsequently became _his_ failure as a leader. Barret had not protected them and he had not saved them. So now all that was left was the memories of that terrible day, the guilt those memories still always brought...and Reno.

Tifa couldn't remember a time that she and Barret had fought like that. They would squabble at each other, almost like married couples do. And hell in some ways they were like a married couple, they had been through so much together and knew so much about each other. And he had trusted her with the most precious thing in his life, his adopted daughter Marlene. So it would be fitting that a major fight would be so nasty between them.

And now she knew there was finally something she couldn't ever tell him because it was obvious he would never forgive her and their friendship would be lost. Barret could never know that she had feelings for Reno.

And maybe that would be one of the only good things about once again being left to pine for the man she was interested in. She would never have to hear what was sure to be an ultimatum from Barret. And it wasn't just him that she would loose, even though that loss would be almost too hard to take, the other loss would be even more unbearable...she would loose Marlene too. Barret would never allow Reno around his daughter.

Even just thinking of the idea of not having Marlene in her life made Tifa feel like she couldn't breath. Marlene was like the daughter she would probably never get to have and there was no way she would allow Marlene to not be a part of her life. Even if her role had diminished, she still planned on being at every school function and planned to see her at the biggest moments of her life. Tifa wanted to be there for all of that...so she would be.

The tears started to fall even harder now, it was too much; too many revelations in one day. First the nightmare, then figuring out that she was beginning to truly need Reno, which in turn scared her so much she fought against herself at the mere idea of it because then it was more than just a crush...it was the beginning of falling in love with him. And now, something she had known in the back of her mind since the day she realized she had a crush on him became confirmed, they could never work. Her friends would never accept it, or at least one who had the power to take away someone sacredly precious to her.

So there it was, after she and Reno had finished their goals she would let him go.

It was weird in a way, mourning for something that had never been or was too new to really be that solid of a friendship, but Tifa knew that Reno made her feel different. She was more self assured, more confident. She was willing to step outside her comfort zone more, even when it wasn't necessary. His carefree attitude and ability to laugh at himself had rubbed off on her. Would all that go away when he did? Was it just his influence or had he allowed her to find new parts of herself that she had buried so deep that she had forgotten the existed? And how did Reno truly view her? As a true friend? Would he feel betrayed by her pushing him back into the status of acquaintance or customer? Was there even a minuscule chance that he could be falling for her?

Tifa screamed out in frustration. As for the answers to those questions?

_Stupid gir_l, Tifa thought. _You will never know_.


	26. The Man

Hello everyone. Here's the latest chapter. It's a little lighter which is probably welcomed since I have been piling on the drama and angst pretty thick these past few chapters. For those who had a hard time following the previous chapter, I made a slight change that hopefully will make it an easier read. The reason I am not having the reader see Barrett's answers during the conversation is to help the reader feel Tifa's isolation in the suite. I guess that didn't come across so well. In any case, please let me know if the change helped and of course what you think of this chapter. Thanks for continuing to check out this story!

Disclaimer: Just as every other time, Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

* * *

Tifa stared at herself in the mirror. How many times in her life has she walked up to a mirror and looked into it?

Too many to count.

But with all the strange and upsetting occurrences this day had given to Tifa even this act was different. As she continued to go through the motions of brushing her damp hair, listening to the bristles as they made their way through the different strands; Tifa realized the woman standing there was a shell. She didn't recognize the sad eyes or the droopy posture. And inside she felt hollow and worn out. Tifa let out a large sigh and absently set her brush down on the counter. After leaving the bathroom she took a moment to look out to the balcony. It was getting close to sunset.

Before Tifa could decide on her next course of action her attention was drawn to the suite's front door. Someone was messing with the handle outside. For the first time in a couple of hours Tifa felt something...in this case it was panic. She glanced around the room and noticed the gun Reno had given to her and in a matter of seconds she had lunged for it, grabbed it and bolted behind the counter in the kitchen/bar area. She heard the door open and she readied herself. After a few agonizing moments she heard "Lockhart?"

Tifa and her heart both leapt up at the same time. "Reno?"

Reno almost dropped the pastries he had in his hand as he jerked at the sound of his name and trying to comprehend a suddenly there Tifa from behind the counter.

"Holy shit Lockhart, what are you trying to do, scare me to death?"

Tifa broke into a smile as she watched Reno try to keep his balance and not drop his food. Finally he managed to place everything calmly on or beside one of the lamp tables.

"Sorry, it sounded like someone was breaking in...so I hid." Tifa said as her smile left her (_look Tifa he brought you pastries; are you gonna start letting him go before or after you start eating them)_

Reno took a moment to fix his goggles. "Well I tried to call but someone decided to turn off their phone."

Reno turned with a big cheesy smile, seemingly prepared to begin a bigger teasing monologue when he finally truly looked at Tifa. His face immediately fell and a serious tone took over his voice.

"What happened to you?"

Tifa just stood looking at him for a moment. Every part of her wanted to run to him, fall into his arms sobbing saying how much she missed him. She wanted to tell him every detail of what happened from the moment she woke up, the nightmare, the phone argument with Barret, everything. So of course that's why she said...

"Nothing really important, I woke tired from a really weird dream I had....and then as you know I talked to Cloud, now that he is going on a solo mission I am worried about him...it's just been a strange day." Tifa watched Reno observe her, trying to figure out whether to push her for more information or let her get by with her lame explanation.

She couldn't handle his eyes on her, his beautiful aqua eyes with so much passion; so much life.

_Change the focus. _

"So what is all that anyway?" Tifa quickly walked up to the table with the pastries and even with a side view she could see or more accurately _feel_ his frown.

_Come on Lockhart freeze him out, you've always been so good at being closed off, it's part of your nature, make his concern a non-issue_.

"Oh please stop looking at me like that, I apologize that my phone was off but it should make you feel better that I was frightened too." Tifa finally felt strong enough to be able to look at Reno while brushing off the events of the day.

"Ya know you really are a godsend, after the day I've had, treats are definitely in order...which one is yours?"

Tifa had both of them in her hand,one was a cherry turnover and the other was a chocolate turnover.

Reno's frown subsided but he was still observing her very closely. Much to Tifa's relief, it seemed...at least for now that Reno was going to give her a pass.

"Well...it's a funny story actually." His tone was still serious but just like Tifa he was trying to push the awkwardness out of the room.

"At first I pegged you for a chocolate girl...but then I re-evaluated and thought...no I bet she is a fruit fanatic."

Reno gave Tifa a small smile as Tifa gave him her best 'I am completely enthralled with your tale' face.

"I ended up going back and forth between them; it was very trying for me, I was wrought with indecision."

Tifa's eyebrow went up at his use of large words. _He never fails to surprise_, she thought.

"But then...bam I had an epiphany and then the answer was revealed to me."

Tifa was beginning to grin, which would ruin her pretend enthralled look (even though she was quite interested to be honest) as she spoke.

"And please tell me, which one is the correct one?"

Reno showed his infamous smirk.

"It's both."

Tifa stood up a clapped as Reno bowed at her applause.

"Well done Reno, you are exactly right, I love fruit and I am a chocolate freak."

Reno smiled triumphantly "See, who's the man, yo?"

"Oh, sorry I can''t quite call you the man yet."

Reno's face gave a puzzled look.

"And why not?"

"Well if you know I like both why are you making me choose only one?"

Reno smiled again. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot." He then walked over to the bag he had brought in with him.

"Those two are for you, I have more in here."

"And you think I will eat both of these at once?" Tifa looked at Reno incredulously.

"No babe, I **know **you will eat both of them now and want more later..thus the extra blueberry turnover. I am helping myself to an eclair."

Tifa laughed (it felt good to be able to laugh even though in someways it almost felt foreign).

"Okay Reno, you are definitely the man."


	27. All I Will Have Is Me

Hello all. This chapter has been a struggle but I hope you all will enjoy it. I always like the challenge of writing the characters inner thoughts and it is one of the many things I love about books, to be able to see every part of the character and their thoughts and feelings. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, and thank you for your patience with my lack of updating. Thanks to all of you for coming back chapter after chapter, for those who have reviewed; put this on favorite or alert etc. It means a lot to me. See you next chapter!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns everything Final Fantasy.

* * *

_"Mommy the sun went into the ground!"_

"Hey, Lockhart."

_..."The sun will come back right?"_

"Lockhart?"

Tifa finally registers Reno's voice

"Yeah?"

Reno is staring at her again with the same look he had a few minutes ago. They had moved out to the balcony eating their desserts in somewhat comfortable silence. The joking had helped but Tifa's behavior was keeping things from being completely normal between them.

"Did you enjoy the turnovers?"

"Oh, yes very much, they were delicious."

Tifa turned and looked at Reno. She could see the concern in his eyes so she attempted to open up...a little bit anyway.

"I was just remembering the first time I watched the sun set. I couldn't understand how that huge sun went into the ground...and why the ground didn't suddenly get hotter. I also was so worried it would be gone forever. Of course none of the sunsets around my hometown looked anything like this one."

And it was the truth, the way the light looked like it was trying to hold onto the waves, as if not quite ready to go yet. And the different orange and pink hues that dominated the sky. The sun had just "disappeared" from view...Tifa wondered if it took her hope of being with someone away with it.

"Lockhart I think we need to talk about-"

But Tifa cut him off.

"The plans ahead, I know, but can you give me about 45 minutes, I've been inside all day and really want to get out of here for a few minutes."

Reno's brow crinkled and Tifa was pretty sure his concern was turning into annoyance.

"Sure, you can do whatever you want."

Tifa heard the coldness in his voice but kept making light of what was going on.

"Thanks Reno, I appreciate your patience with me, I am just going to go for a swim and work off some of the fabulous desert I just ate."

Tifa then proceeded to jump up and head to the closet to get her bathing suit. A few minutes later she was ready and headed for the door. Reno had pulled out a map and was studying it carefully.

"Reno?"

Reno glanced up but did not respond past that.

"Thank you again for the turnovers, it was really nice of you to bring me dessert."

Reno just glanced up and nodded, his expression never changing. He watched her as she walked out the door.

And now Reno was alone in the suite, he had been on the go for days, hadn't had but cat naps in over two of those days. Maybe that was why he was so agitated, maybe it was inevitable that no matter what Tifa's behavior had been when he got back; he would end up angry and annoyed at her. But he knew there was also some other feeling mixed in there somewhere...disappointment.

Reno let out a bitter grunt. _Yeah Turk, real smart, what did you expect her to do when you got in, tackle you and beg for you to take her right then and there? What made you think she would miss you while you were gone for what 14 hrs or so...yeah I'm sure it felt like an eternity for her, having to be alone in this fabulous suite without you._

_And besides, did you really think she wouldn't feel weird around you after what she had to do yesterday? She had to pretend to be into you, she had to allow you to have your hands on her and kiss her over and over again. So what if you had a few nice talks and some fun moments? What did you expect to happen, was she suppose to be another hot girl you get to fuck and brag about later? And what about Rude? Did it even occur to you that maybe Tifa is still his dream girl? Yeah maybe he moved on to pining for someone else, or maybe you just figured he would forgive you because of his loyality to you. But deep down, do you really know how he would feel about you making a true move on her or in reality taking advantage of her?_

Reno threw the map across the room. What _did_ he think was going to happen the day after they had done their charade? Yeah they had an understanding about the plate and seemed to have a mutual respect thing going on...maybe even friendship. And shouldn't he be happy with that idea? It's not like Reno was busting at the seams with friends, most of his life, friends were a rare gift. So why was he so upset that Tifa felt weird about last night, he knew he could never have her and yet now he had a chance at having someone else in his life he could count on.

But that was just it, he wasn't use to having a healthy relationship with a woman. Even Elena and him, though pretty close were kinda of volitale around each other. A few times when they both were really drunk they had some heart to hearts but even with that, he knew there was still so much that he didn't tell her, that he kept closed off from everyone. Maybe he was concerned because he felt so comfortable around Tifa that he could see himself talking to her about things he hadn't spoken of since...well those events happened.

Could Tifa truly be different? Could he learn to get past wanting her and just embrace her as a friend? Is she truly someone he could confide in?

_Stupid bastard, you swore to yourself that you would never again completely fall for or trust another woman again. Women set up men for failure. They have all these ideals and fantasies and when you can't meet those expectations they stomp all over you, then expect you to pick yourself up and try again. And even if you do everything you can, it is never enough...they leave... and once again you are left alone to carry on, just more broken then before. The walls have been up for so many years, why would you let them crumble now? One way or another she will hurt you...betray your trust. In the end all you have is you. _

_She is good in a fight, makes a hell of a drink so keep her as an acquaintance...but friendship? Are you serious? Do you picture yourself being invited to a get together with all her other friends? Yeah how well would that go with Chocobo head and Barret? Think they would allow you in Tifa's life, think they would believe you would always be willing to just be her friend?_

Reno was pacing back and forth now, completely furious. He had to let off some steam and remembered there was a workout room in the first floor close to the spa. Not even taking to time to change he took off out of the suite.

---

Almost complete quiet. While Tifa was under the water it was like everything else was far away. Lap after lap she enjoyed the refreshing feeling the water gave her. How many laps had she swam? _You're only putting of the inevitable. _Tifa had come up on the deep side of the pool and was gripping the ledge. She sighed as she allowed herself to stop the laps, pressing her head gentling on the ledge. The top of her head felt cold compared to everywhere else. _So you're really going to push him out of your life huh? _Almost as a reflex Tifa pushed herself back under the water, knowing that it wouldn't make her inner thoughts go away but hoping anyway. It was so soothing under the water, if only she could hold her breath for longer. Tifa came up for air and then leaned back so that she was floating on her back. The stars were out now, she could hear cars, voices, music, even the ocean in the background. Funny, here she was in paradise and yet because of the way she felt she might as well have been back in the slums. Tifa closed her eyes again, only this time forcefully, squinting them shut as hard as she could, but the thoughts in her head just kept coming.

_Dad? Why does everyone leave? They won't come back and in the end I'll be all alone._

_Sweetheart don't say that, remember when you were very little you thought the sun left...but it came back didn't it? Why can't the same be said for others who have left?_

_And my mother?_

_...She didn't leave you forever, matter of fact she is with you right now, in your heart._

_That isn't good enough! I want to see her, hug her, her memory is NOT ENOUGH. Just wait, in the end you'll leave me too just like mommy and the boys in our town... and...and I won't have anyone!_

_Tifa...I miss her too but please believe me, it is not always this way, some people you care about will leave and be out of your life..others will return to you someday._

Tifa opened her eyes again.

Cloud. He had been the only one to come back, but he was broken and confused when he came back into her life and the fantasy she had about him became broken and confused too. Tifa had often wondered why she had allowed Cloud to walk around with false memories, never speaking up. She had convinced herself if she told Cloud the truth, any part of him that was left would be destroyed. But maybe it was more about her holding out hope for the hero that never came for her. If Cloud was destroyed how could she mold him into what she wanted him to be? Shiva forbid she accept him as he was and be strong enough to help him through his messed up memories. No, better to hide behind her own false arguments. True it was better now all these years later and she was grateful to love him for who he was; to be able to be his friend. She had truly moved past being in love with him or more accurately, her made up version of him. But...had Cloud forgiven her?

Tifa swam a few more laps as she continued to go struggle over her father's words. No, Cloud had not come back to her because she never had taken the time to let him be hers when they were children. She barely knew him. She knew his family, his name, and that he was a loner who got into fights. If he hadn't asked her out to the well, she wouldn't even have known his dreams. But he was the first person she was able to have a second chance with...but will he be the only one?

Tifa pushed herself out of the pool half in a daze. She didn't want to cut herself off from Reno, but then again at the end of the day what kind of relationship...any kind of relationship could the two of them really have? She wouldn't punish him or herself by trying to force a fantasy that couldn't hold up in the real world.

This is how it had to be.

..._please believe me, it is not always this way, some people you care about will leave and be out of your life..others will return to you someday._

Oh daddy...it is true for some...but not for me...in the end all I will have is me.


	28. You Don't Understand

Hello everyone. This is a very long chapter and really continues to bring up the obstacles I think would be in the way Reno and Tifa becoming a couple. After finally getting this chapter to a place I like, I am already getting excited on what is to come due to what happens in this chapter. Please let me know what you think because for where I want to go with the story, I need this chapter to be powerful and if it is lacking please let me know. Thanks for continuing to read this story and I will see you next chapter.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

* * *

Tifa opened the door of the suite, sad but resolved and looking forward to concentrating on something other than her past and her feelings. But of course it couldn't be that simple as Tifa watched Reno coming out of the bathroom with no shirt. She saw the steam follow him out so she knew he had just taken a shower and was halfway dressed but he had missed a few spots and the few droplets were running down his chest. Tifa took a few moments to observe. Reno really was beautiful, you could never know how cut he was since he appeared so thin under his uniform, but there was not an inch of body fat on the man...he probably is a scientific anomaly because after seeing the way he drinks, smokes, and eats he should have at least a small pudge. But there he was in all his finely toned glory with a few mementos of battles on both his chest and his back, but it only enhanced her attraction to him...Shiva help her.

Reno finally must have felt the eyes on him from the corner of his eye because he finally turned and faced her. Tifa immediately looked down, half ashamed to be staring so boldly and half ashamed for never having the guts to try and show how much she wanted him. And now it was too late.

For Reno's part he was distracted himself, he had cooled off slightly to a point of just feeling bitter now. As he looked at Tifa in her wet bathing suit, how it clung to every curve of her body, how part of her hair clung to her shoulders... he realized at that moment he could never just be friends with her. He could try but at some point he would either just become to curious (knowing what a phenomenal kisser she was already) or be too drunk one night and all his attempts to be a gentleman would go out the window. She was so incredibly beautiful and sexy...being her friend would not be enough, he wanted all of her or nothing at all.

Both of them were becoming more bitter every moment due to their own inner struggles and the tension in the room was horrible. It was the perfect storm for a knock out, drag out fight; or intense passionate lovemaking...preferably both.

Reno broke the uncomfortable silence first.

"How was your swim?"

Tifa couldn't quite figure out the look in his aqua eyes. Anger? Lust? Both? Or was she just projecting her thoughts and feelings onto him?

"Fine."

Reno continued to stare at her, it was unbearable.

"So you ready to tell me what's on your mind now?"

How do you tell someone, _well after trying to figure out how to get you out of my life my thoughts lead to this moment after observing your body and now I am thinking how phenomenal it would be to being having hot passionate sex with you on the bed, on the floor, on the balcony, in the shower..._

"I was wondering...how you got those two scars under your eyes."

Well it wasn't completely wrong, she had been looking at his eyes and she had wondered on many occasions how he decided to have those scars or tattoos, she wasn't sure which, put under his eyes. Plus hopefully it would help move her past her horrible ache for him.

Unfortunately for Tifa her weird behavior plus the obvious change the subject questions had been played out for Reno...and unknown to Tifa she had brought up a subject that was a sore spot for Reno in a normal mood, the way he was feeling now...well to say it simply Tifa asked the wrong question at the wrong time.

"It's none of your business and I would like you to start telling me what the hell is going on with you."

Tifa was taken completely aback by his cold and forceful response but, in one of her more foolish decisions, she allowed her curiosity get the better of her and so she pressed him on it again.

"None of my business? Looks like I hit a nerve, seems a weird thing to be coy about since you can't hide them...ever."

Reno's demeanor became very dark, similar to Cloud's all those days ago outside the church.

"And why the snark Miss Lockhart...what is it that happened to you today that made you act like a completely different person?"

Tifa flinched, it was obvious he wasn't going to be satisfied till he was told the truth but Tifa still wasn't prepared to tell him it.

"You are not getting out of this, I want to know why my question got you so upset."

"And I want to know why you are acting like a god damn ice queen!"

"Stop trying to deflect this back to me Reno, tell me why the two scars are so upsetting?"

"Oh don't fake this wanting another heart to heart bullshit, let's talk about what is really going on here; why you keep deflecting...it's because of having to pretend to be my girlfriend last night isn't it?"

Tifa stood silent for a moment realizing now where his thoughts about her behavior were coming from, and how could she be so stupid, he had no idea how she felt about it; she had never told him.

"See, your silence tells me what I already knew, you thought about it when it was just you and it was quiet and you remembered what happened last night and were disgusted with yourself for having to let someone like me touch you."

Tifa stood wide eyed at him, she had not been ready for him to jump to a conclusion like this, it was a foreign idea to her since her feeling were just the opposite.

"Come on Lockhart how many showers have you taken today? I bet at least two and now that the chlorine hasn't washed me away you are hoping the third time's a charm right?"

"Stop it, I told you I had a horrible day. I h-had a nightmare and then made some phone calls...yes I ended up taking two showers but it had nothing to do-"

Reno came at her now, not touching her but getting right into her face, instinctively she looks down and closes off. She has never seen him like this and she is a little frightened.

" Yeah you mentioned this horrible nightmare, something so awful that you couldn't talk about it. But you've slipped up Lockhart, if you didn't want to talk why did you make multiple phone calls? I get the Cloud phone call, I really do but you said phone calls....so another words you just wanted to talk and did...to someone other than me."

"Reno, please you don't understand wh-"

"Don't misunderstand, I don't expect you to be best pals with me, but when I am working with someone on a mission I need to know how the other person is doing both physically and mentally. You should know this!

"I do...I understand why you wanted to know what was wrong but it...I had so many emotions going through me I just couldn't tell you."

"So enlighten me, you are beside yourself with emotion but then find some inner strength to deal with Jenova's Hope stuff, call Cloud and send him on a one person mission. Then you have another heart to heart that just exhausts you to a point of silent self-reflection eh?"

"Shiva Reno, don't be such a smart ass, you don't understand-"

"Exactly why I am asking all these questions Lockhart! You keep telling me something I already know, which is that I don't understand what happened today, and as I continue to try to figure out what the hell is going on; all I get from you are more piles of bullshit."

Tifa could feel as her stomach started to contort and flutter. Too many emotions, too much has happened...and now Reno is furious with her.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you everything...I just couldn't."

"Well excuse me when I say that answer isn't good enough. But hell I'll bite, let's leave that be for a moment...who else did you talk to today besides Cloud and myself?"

Tifa just continued to try to keep herself from getting sick, she was beginning to shake...she couldn't get herself composed enough to answer him.

"WHO ELSE DID YOU TALK TO!"

Both Reno's fists were clenched, his face was red but he made no physical move at her.

"After my dream and also talking to Cloud, I...I was worried about Marlene so I called Barret."

She had only spoken but the way Reno reacted it was like she had punched him in the stomach.

"Barret Wallace?..."

Reno walked away from her now looking completely dejected. As he headed for the mini bar counter to make himself a drink he spoke again, very softly.

"Yeah it is all clear now, he must have been thrilled to hear that you were working with me. What happened, somehow you got into the details of last night and he freaked right? Said he was appalled, that he didn't even know who you were?. That even a terror organization wasn't worth some trash like me touching you, even if it was fake?"

Tifa's eyes were burning and it made her vision a tad blurry, but she looked up at him. Once again he amazed her, though slightly off about what she had told Barret, the reaction was pretty much dead on. How can she explain?

"Yes, he was upset that we were working together, he said-"

"Oh I can figure out what he said. Thanks to him reality came crashing back right, maybe here in Costa Del Sol we could work together...maybe even be able to find a common ground, respect...but then he reminded you what I am, or at least how most of the rest of the world sees me and you were ashamed of having an understanding with me. Barret would never talk to you again if he thought that you had forgiven me and since you were willing to go off with just me, well forgiveness was around the corner."

Tifa just looked down, what could she say, even though she wasn't ashamed to know him, she had come to the resolution to not allow him into her life after this mission...so what could she really say?

"Poor Tifa Lockhart, my it must suck to have a friend like Barret, making you feel so dirty for trying to stop another evil from ruining the planet...that son of a bitch.

Tifa wasn't even sure why, but his teasing of Barret struck a nerve with her. I guess even when Barret and her were arguing, with everything they had been through together, Tifa just could not tolerate someone talking about Barret that way...even if it was Reno.

"Shut up Reno, it's hard for him; your the face that brings back memories of the plate falling."

" Don't you fucking tell me to shut up! I know...I understand his hate for me but he has no right to be so self righteous. Yeah his reason for killing so many was so much more fucking noble than my reason. That bastard, let me tell you something that is true Lockhart...he hates me not only for what I did...the true deep down force for the hate comes from the fact that when he sees me, he realizes he's no better than I am. Actually worse because I represent the same philosophy his fallen comrades had when they followed _his_ orders.."

Tifa was infuriated now, how could Reno put Barret in the same sentence as President and Rufus Shinra.

"How dare you! Comparing him to Shinra? He values life and the planet..always has!"

Reno paused for a moment and then got almost a slight grin on his face, however his eyes were still raging and made the smile seem almost sadistic.

"He values life eh? Maybe you should rephrase that. Wallace decided he was righteous and only those suffering in the slums were worthy of the revolution and to be protected. Other lives were not really that important."

Tifa gasped...Avalanche had decided, just as Shinra did whose lives was more worthy. For Shinra those who suffered under the plate in the slums was a necessary evil to keep everyone above happy and Avalanche had decided casualties at the bomb sites were a necessary evil to destroy Shinra and save the people of the slums. Yes they cared about the planet...but somewhere along the way it became about Shinra, destroying that company. They hadn't discussed alternate sources of energy back then...it had been about getting even and making them suffer as they had. Her thoughts were confirmed as Reno went on.

Barret wanted revenge because of his town and his wife...Shinra was corrupt with greed and they cost too many people their lives...but you don't think those who worked for Shinra had hopes and dreams and families? Many saw Shinra as something helpful, for some a godsend. Many people got jobs that had none before..they could go to school or go high up in the corporation. Hell I am one of them yo! Shinra, the Turks...they were my cause...my life." Reno paused to drink his newly poured glass of whisky.

"So just as you and your fellow Avalanche members followed Barret into battle; following his leadership, I did the same with Shinra and the Turks. And what about those Shinra soldiers, they deserved to die because they were on the wrong side? All they were doing was _their_ job."

As Tifa continued to stand their in silence Reno stared at his glass, he seemed far away now and the bitterness was oozing out of his voice.

"Who gets to choose whose lives are more important? Many of the people who died by Avalanche's hand didn't know how bad Shinra was, others didn't want to know...does that make what happened okay?

Reno shook his head, "We all played a very dangerous game by using violence as a means to either keep the norm or change the way things were."

He looked at her and his look was one Tifa had not seen before...pure sadness.

"Reno..."

'I know, the greater good, and everything Barret does is for the greater good. See he even saved you from me."

Tifa was flabbergasted...she could barely take in all that Reno had said.

" What was I thinking asking for your help. I can't stand most of the people you associate with, hell I forgot all about that other kid that was always at Seventh Heaven, I could see it now; hey kid really sorry I dropped a plate on your parents but you want to hang out and throw a ball around?"

_Oh Shiva, Denzel...he had lost his parents in that incident. He would want to kill Reno if he knew._

"Look, I think you should contact Reeve and see if he can get you on an assignment."

"What, no way we started this together and I have my own reasons for going after Jenova's Hope... you can't leave me here."

"Sorry to disappoint you babe, but I can do whatever I want to. I told you from the moment I asked you to help me that the mission comes first. Sorry you feel jipped, but at the moment I could really care less, I have to find Rude and shut these Jenova's Hope fuckers down. And to be perfectly frank I don't have time to deal with your issues whatever they may be."

"Deal with my issues? Funny if I have so many crippling issues how could I have given you all the help I did in the past week?"

Tifa was hurt by his nonchalant tone but she also was an expert at pushing her issues to the side to get the job done. She had allowed her feelings and actions to sway her away from the bigger problem once and she swore never to do that again. She had to show Reno she was still capable of fighting along side him.

"But Miss Lockhart you are missing the obvious point, you are acting like a completely different person...no scratch that, like the Tifa I would see all the time when I came into the bar over the years. The sad and repressed woman whose fire was slowly dieing out of her as she held on to a dream that was already gone and responsibilities that should have not been hers to begin with."

Tifa turned away from Reno, she couldn't even face him...once again it seemed like his observations were perfect...it had been exactly that way, even though to be fair she liked having the children as a responsibility...she had always just wished someone else would have helped her out as well.

Reno let out a tired sigh as he headed to the closet to gather up his clothes and other items.

"Whatever happened here today made you revert back to that other woman, I can understand having relapses, it is familiar and safe. I just think you deserve to be more of an extraordinary woman then that."

After many minutes of silence only interrupted by a phone call from Reno to the front desk to send someone to retrieve his car and help him with his bags. Tifa sat on the edge of the bed not having the strength to say anything.

Then in what seemed like a whirlwind of events, their was a knock at the door, Reno gave his bags to the young man; the phone rang, his car was apparently ready, and Reno was heading for the door.

_Don't leave. I was wrong about everything. I do want you and I may even need you. I need to tell you how I feel. Even if you don't feel the same, you need to know why I reverted back, why I am such a mess. I want to fight for you, I want you in my life. Don't leave...everyone in my life leaves._

Tifa watched as he reached the door, her head and heart were screaming, yet inexplicably she just sat there. He turned to her before walking out of it.

"Tifa, you really have a beautiful gift, you are able to forgive and find value in almost any person. I think it is much more of a strength for you than a weakness. It is okay that you questioned yourself about working with me but please don't let Barret or anyone else make you hate yourself for having such goodness. Once this is all over, I'll bring Rude into your bar for a drink once he's up to it. Take care of yourself okay?

And just like that, he was gone.


	29. Alone

Hello everyone. First of all I just want to thank everyone for continuing to come back each and every chapter, it means so much to me! Secondly I want to thank all my reviewers, you have been very kind and very supportive and I appreciate you all taking time to write a review, it is very encouraging to see feedback. This chapter is short but if I wrote it correctly it will still be pretty powerful. I have been looking forward to this part of the story for a long time so I am very excited to see it coming together. I have to give credit to the fantastic song called Alone by Heart as part of the inspiration for this chapter. If you have never heard the song, I highly recommend checking it out. As always please let me know what you think and I will see you next chapter. Take care!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

* * *

Tifa was sitting on the floor of the suite, her legs drawn up to her chin, her faced buried in between her legs. Tifa lifted her head as tears continued to form in her glistening ruby eyes and roll down her cheeks until they dropped off her chin. Tifa had not cried this hard for this length of time in years. She had felt shame before, numerous times actually; but never like this. Tifa forcefully buried her head between her legs again. She could feel the cramping and queasiness in her stomach and allowed herself to be completely swallowed by her shame.

_So weak. So pathetic._

_So Tifa Lockhart let's look at all the names you and others have called you over the years._

_Daughter, friend, fighter, terrorist, liar, hero...quitter._

_Yeah Tifa, congratulations, you can now add one of the words you loathe the most. You always hated everyone leaving you, never understood why you always ended up alone. And honestly most of the times you were left weren't your fault. But today, you have no one to blame but yourself. You quit, you let him leave, you assumed._

_Idiot._

Tifa jolted up and started to pace, the anger and disappointment in herself swelling up more and more as she continued to argue and scold herself.

_Barret was the perfect out, the perfect excuse. If by some crazy way you had told Reno how you felt and he actually returned the feelings than yes at some point the issues between Barret and Reno would have to be addressed along with a slew of other issues like his obvious fear of commitment, your problems with communication etc. But that's what relationships are about. You share good times and problems, you learn about each other and you see if being together is the right thing...that is the whole point. But instead you just allowed the obstacles to consume you, that way you would never have to have _**that **_conversation with Reno....you know the one where you actually come clean and tell him how you feel._

With one swift punch she shattered the glass of the mirror in the bathroom as she screamed out loud in a rage, trying to find a place to release all the confused emotions inside her. She stared a moment at the broken mirror, seeing her face contorted by the jagged pieces that were still in the mirror. It was fitting, since she was broken too. She then looked down at her fist, there was blood on it yet she felt no physical pain. Tifa turned on the sink and let the blood wash off her and and disappear down the drain. If only she could be so lucky to be able to disappear. Feeling no strength in her legs after her outburst, she allowed herself to fall onto the cold floor of the bathroom, sobbing once more.

_Yes Tifa you alone are to blame, choosing the option of silence. That way you would never have to deal with even the possibility of being rejected again. And deep down that is what scares you most. Reno knows you, it could be argued better than you know yourself in some areas. And if you told him and he didn't feel the same, than the only person who had ever really seen all sides of you would confirm what you had always been afraid of..._

_That you were meant to live your life alone._

_So yes, silence is the only option, that way you can have the delusion that there is probably someone still out there somewhere for you._

_But really Tifa, can you live with the regret? Are you willing to loose a confidant, friend, and the possibility of a lover because you couldn't be honest with him or yourself? Because you can't let go of the fear of rejection and truly always being alone?_

_You know this is different that anything else you have ever felt before. _

_So it comes down to one question._

_Are you really a fighter or a quitter?_

As Tifa Lockhart pondered the answer to that question she laughed bitterly at the irony as she looked at herself in the broken shards of glass on the floor. Everything was quiet, and even if there were people in the other rooms or just down the street...it didn't matter.

She was alone.


	30. The Answer

Hello everyone! Many continued thanks to all of you who keep taking time out of their day to read this story! As for this chapter, I am not sure if I love it but I do think it does the job I want it to for moving forward, you will just have to let me know what you think of it. And as for our red-headed Turk, he will be getting the spotlight next chapter! Thanks again everyone, I hope you enjoy and I will see you next chapter. Take care!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy.

* * *

Tifa held her cell phone in her hand as she observed the damage she had caused in the bathroom. She cringed for a moment, embarrassed that proof had been left behind from her meltdown. But in it's own way the broken mirror was a good thing, it was a glaring reminder of the situation she was in, the situation she had caused. With a deep sigh she pressed the send button on her phone.

"Hey Reeve, it's Tifa. I am so sorry to call you so late but I need to get a hold of Tseng, can you give me his number please."

"_Sure no problem, may I ask why you have to get a hold of Tseng? I only enquire because I think he is...occupied for the next few hours. Maybe I can help you instead." _

"Well since this is a Turk operation, or at least the one picking up the tab in the hotel I wanted to let him know that the bill just got a little bit larger."

"_Well I can take care of it, I doubt Tseng would object...so why is has the bill in the hotel gone up?"_

Tifa hesitated, Reeve was one of her dearest friends but also the boss of everyone who is affiliated with the WRO, Tifa was a little worried Tseng would take it as her going over his head and she didn't want to create problems for anyone, especially not Reno or Reeve. Plus how could she possibly explain how she had become angry enough to punch a mirror...she has never told anyone about her feelings for Reno, well unless you count 2:00 in the morning visits to the now demolished Angel statue where she would "talk" to Aerith about her growing feelings for the Turk.

"Look I don't want to make a conflict between you and Tseng, and while I wanted you to have the head's up in case Tseng wants reimbursment from me, I think I should explain to Tseng why the Turks are paying for a damaged mirror. I don't want it to appear I am attempting to go over his head."

_"Damaged mirror? Just a mirror?"_

"Yes...just a mirror."

_"I'm sorry but I am slightly confused, how did...oh Shiva Reno brought some girl into the suite didn't he? Damn it this happened a couple of missions ago, they had to wait a few hours to board a train and so he and Rude decided to get a little rest but our dear red-headed Turk had to get an itch scratched and low and behold when he tried to throw her out like yesterday's garbage the girl freaked out and caused major damage to the hotel room. It cost us a fortune to not only pay for the damage but pay off a reporter that was in the room across the hall and wanted to do an article on Reno. That Turk never learns!"_

Leave it to Reno to be the only one to set off the normally docile and professional Reeve.

"Woah, hold on a second, Reno didn't break the mirror, he wasn't even in the suite when it happened!"

_"Oh."_

Tifa could hear Reeve clearing his throat, trying to move past his obvious embarrassment for jumping to conclusions.

_"Tifa would you be so kind as to put Reno on the phone, I owe him an apology for making a rash assumption."_

She was trying her best not to giggle a little bit and she was truly grateful for the momentary lapse into silliness. But it was truly only a moment because now she had to tell Reeve that Reno wasn't with her.

"Reno isn't here, so you don't have to worry about what you said." Tifa silently wished she had been able to cover her sadness better when she answered him.

_"Oh, okay." _

There was a moment of slightly uncomfortable silence before Reeve spoke again.

_"So...how did the mirror get broken?"_

Tifa could feel her face turn red and was very glad she was on the phone with him so he couldn't see her face.

"I...I lost my temper...I broke the mirror."

She felt like a kid who got her hand caught in the cookie jar.

_"I see...do you want to talk about it?"_

"I just..I...no."

Tifa could hear Reeve sigh.

_"Very well, when Reno gets back to the suite have him call me so he can go down stairs and sign the paperwork I will be sending by fax stating a generous sum is to be given to the hotel and that they can charge that amount to the credit card."_

"Um...well that is going to be a little difficult, can I take care of it."

_"Well you could but it would cause a lot more paperwork. Since the suite is on the Turk organization's tab, Reno has the credit card specific for that organization's funding. If you pulled out your WRO credit card it would have to be shown why there were to accounts for the same room and date. It's not a huge deal but I was hoping to keep the paperwork down."_

"I have no problem doing any extra paperwork, I am responsible for the situation in the first place so let me do all this."

"_I have a better idea_, _how about we both cut the bull okay? Where is Reno?"_

Tifa wondered why it had to feel like daggers going into her heart every time his name was said.

"Well...he's gone, I...I mean he already headed out to find Jenova's Hope's base of operations."

Tifa could feel herself starting to tremble and she could feel herself on the verge of tears again.

_"But why aren't you with him."_

There was no way Tifa could possibly explain all that had happened in a brief phone conversation. The irony on how he asked the question was not lost on her however and it made the pain in her heart worse.

"We had a difference of opinion and with the mission being so vital it was decided that Reno go on alone."

There was silence for a little while on the other end.

"_This was Reno's decision?" _

"Yes."

"_And you are okay with...deferring to him on this?" _

"His reasons were sound."

"_And that's it?"_

"Yeah that's it."

"_I am very disappointed to hear that...according to the report Reno sent this afternoon to both Tseng and myself, it appeared you two were becoming quite a good team." _

"We...I...look I really need to call the front desk so they can start cleaning up. I will be back tomorrow and after Reno sends the exact location I would like to be part of the team that goes in to take Jenova's Hope out. So can I tell the hotel it will be handled and that a new account will be opened so I can pay for the damage?"

"_Tifa-" _

"Will you take care of it or not?"

"_Give me the number of the hotel." _

"252-897-9112... thanks Reeve."

_"In a few minutes head down stairs to sign the paperwork I will be sending._ _Do_ _you need me to send an airship to come get you?" _

"I'll call Cid, I am sure he can think of someone to come pick me up a little bit outside the town. There is no way I want to announce there were important WRO employees here, it is already dangerous with the hotel suite being paid for through a WRO organization. If Jenova's Hope was really looking, it would be easy to figure out what happened to Gabriel."

"_Fine." _

"Good night Reeve, sorry again for interrupting your evening."

"_Not a problem...Tifa? _

"Yeah?"

"_Are you sure this is what you want? I know that you are just as invested in bringing down Jenova's Hope as Reno is...I don't mean to press you. I just want to make sure, well, that you really are okay with all this." _

Tifa looked up at the broken mirror again as her question rose back up in her mind. Was she a fighter or a quitter?

And in that moment, after all that had happened and now hearing Reeve's questions she finally had the answer to her own.

"I'm sorry Reeve, you were right, this is not what I want and I am not okay. Thank you for taking care of the mirror situation. I have to go now, I will contact you once I fix the problem I made with Reno."

So Tifa Lockhart was a fighter after all.


	31. Betrayed

Hello friends. This chapter is extremely dear to me, I have had the basis of it for a long time and now to be posting it is very exciting and at the same time very nerve racking. This chapter is about Reno's past or more correctly my vision of his past. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, it is so important for Reno's character as a whole so I am really hoping to get a lot of feedback here. As always thanks for coming back every chapter and I truly hope you enjoy it. Take care and see you next chapter.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

* * *

Reno slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth as he stared straight ahead. He then glanced down at what was left of his cigarette and smashed the butt of it down into the ashtray next to him. After he caught the bartender's attention, he threw back another glass of whisky, slamming the glass back on the counter. Smokes had not relaxed him and the whisky had not drowned away the extreme irritation, sadness, anger, and all the slew of other emotions that were bogging him down at the moment. The boat that he needed to go on ended up needing emergency repairs and wouldn't be ready for at least 6 hours so he had wandered to one of the many bars in Costa Del Sol to kill the time and hopefully every emotion he was feeling at the moment.

He was a coward, he had no right to leave Tifa in that suite and he knew it. Destroying Jenova's Hope was just as important to her and it was to him. And it wasn't that her lack of communication wasn't a problem...it was. However Reno knew that the real reason he left is because he was upset that she wouldn't confide in him and that Barret was the dose of reality that he could never pursue her.

And that was truly the whole problem.

Reno wanted to be around Tifa in all of her moods and he wanted her with him when he went after Jenova's Hope... he just wanted to be with her. Reno of the Turks wanted a relationship, not just physical or professional...he wanted every aspect with Tifa. And it scared the hell out of him. Today had shown the warning signs of why not to get involved, even though Tifa was definitely the most fascinating and amazing woman he had ever met...she still knew how to play all those games. Deflecting, teasing, silence, half truths...that is what a relationship would bring him. So it was better this way, she never had to know how he felt about her, he never would have to see her disgust at the idea of him wanting to date her. He was hurting now since he stupidly already let her in more than he ever said he would allow any woman to after- no, he refused to think about the past, he had already broken so many of his self appointed rules in the past few days but he refused to allow those memories in. So leaving tonight was perfect because she hadn't gotten deep enough to break him... yet. And that was the one promise he would keep to himself, he would never allow another woman to ruin him again.

Reno turned and waved to the bartender for another drink, praying after this one he would feel the effects of the alcohol...but he did have a lot of time to kill so it really didn't matter. The music was loud and he observed many beautiful women dancing seductively with very little on. But thanks to Tifa Lockhart, those women had almost no affect on Reno at all. Yup it was a very good thing that he got away from her now, any more real quality time and he would be screwed...and not the way he would want to be.

"Hey there stud want to dance?"

Great, here was the perfect thing to distract him from thoughts of Tifa. He kept his back to the voice and continued to stare at his empty whisky glass.

"Nah, not right now."

_Good job loser, yeah it is totally better to wallow in your self pity with alcohol then a hot girl's touch. _

"Oh come on baby, it's just one little dance."

Reno turned to get a look at the girl hitting on him and upon seeing her he suddenly felt very queasy. Petite, blond hair just at the shoulders with piercing green eyes and a seductive smile. Shiva she looked so much like _her_. Reno was completely frozen as memories that he had kept at bay for years began to break through. His memories were interrupted by the sensation of her hands moving up his leg. But before she could get to any area more interesting he forcefully grabbed her wrist.

"And I said not now, so why don't you find some other loser to open your thighs to and leave me the fuck alone."

She winced as though she had been slapped and her reaction was to return the favor. She goes to hit him but he grabs her other hand in mid swing. His voice is quiet and menacing.

"You are really lucky I'm in the mood I'm in tonight, but I swear, try to hit me again and the dance you get from me will stay with you for weeks, understand?"

The girl actually looked a bit frightened but she did her best to stay tough.

"Fine, forget I asked."

Reno then let her go and she took off to the other side of the bar and Reno turned back to his drink.

Damn that bitch, why did she have to come over to him? And why did she have to look like _her_?

There was no stopping the memories now, they came back in full force and all Reno could do was close his eyes and endure them.

_17 years old and a senior in high school. Reno's childhood had many colorful memories but it was this year that he remembered the year was the turning point in his life. As a kid from the slums he had been in and out of trouble. The funny thing about him was that he secretly liked learning so he loved the weekdays in many ways more than the weekends. He would miss test days and assignments here to there to keep his reputation at the right level and his grade point average at a C but on the weekends in his solitude he would study history, art, chemistry... for fun. So many subjects fascinated him so he made a deal to work at the public library so he wouldn't be questioned on why he was there on the certain evenings. Reno would then would check out books all the time to read. Reno didn't have many friends due to where he was from but he didn't really mind being a loner. He had tried the gang thing, but found their ideas for recruitment lame, weary at watching boys try to act like men. It was one of many things he never forgave his mother for; growing up way to early. Reno was aware of so much that shouldn't have been on his radar yet but that was the hand he was dealt and in response learning and reputation were all that mattered to him._

_Well that was the case until she came along. Sienna, he would never forget that name. She had beautiful hazel eyes and legs that went on forever; with long, shiny golden blond hair that swayed when she walked. Sienna was one of the smartest kids in their class so when he started to flunk out of history his teacher asked her to tutor him. He had never been so grateful to an adult in his whole life._

_The two of them got a long famously and after a few weeks he revealed that he wasn't quite as dumb as he appeared. He could still remember her eyes as they lit up when he began a heated and well versed debate about the first Ancients. After that day they had started dating, much to the dismay of her family. Sienna's family wasn't anything special, middle class as a matter of fact but they hated the idea of their daughter dating a kid from the slums. But none of that mattered to Reno, his was completely infatuated with her. Three and a half months of bliss... and then it happened. _

_They had gone to a party together and Reno had been drinking quite heavily, even though now he didn't need to anymore. Getting himself drunk used to be a way to dull the pain of loneliness, but now he had Sienna. But he also had a reputation to maintain and thus showing his drinking ability was part of the job. He could remember Sienna laughing at him in his drunken state. So much of that night was a blur even now. So many muddled images but he could still remember hearing her saying she was going to go because her rival had just walked in._

_Darla. She was blond like Sienna but her hair only came to about her shoulders and she was petite with intoxicating green eyes. Definitely easy on the eyes but she had nothing on Sienna. And it was always the case, Darla was just a bit below her in everything including looks. The two blonds glared at each other briefly and then Sienna came over and gave Reno the most amazing kiss of his life. Sienna was putting on a show for the recently single Darla but that was absolutely fine with with Reno. "See you later baby." Reno was beaming as he watched his beautiful girlfriend walk out of the party. If he had only known it would be the last time he ever got to hold her, feel her lips against his, he would have pulled her back and treasured her a little longer._

_After she was gone Reno figured he would probably stay for one more drink and then head out, he hated going home because it normally consisted of seeing his drunk mother passed out on the couch or coming home to an empty apartment. That was pretty much how it had been since his father died. It didn't matter to her that she still had family, a son who loved her. His mother had lost her reason to live and thus Reno went from a large home with more clothes and toys then he could dream of to living in a dingy one room apartment with a mom who would disappear for days at a time. Yes thanks to his beloved mother he learned to steal, to fight, to survive on only scraps for days and then be appreciative of any hot meal he got. Had it really been 6 years of living like this? Oh well, he would think about that later, he was having a lot of fun and was secretly loving how much attention he had been receiving this evening and really since he had started dating Sienna. Now that he was with her, all her friends had over time started to accept him, seeing him more than just a punk on the streets._

_He had gone to get another beer and Darla was near the ice cooler that held them. He gave her a slight nod, trying to be polite. He would never fight Sienna's battles for her, she was to strong for that so he felt the polite approach was best at this time. He popped open the can but then heard Darla cry out, one of her friends who was completely trashed had been stupid enough to get up on a table to do a dance and lost her balance. With no hesitation and quick reflexes, Reno dropped his beer and lunged forward to catch the falling girl. Roars of approval came from the crowd as he gently put her down on the ground. "Oh, thank you so much." the girl said, grabbing her forehead in the process._

_"No problem, just sit a minute okay?" Reno then walked back over to get his beer and realized it had spilled everywhere. Before he could get a new one, Darla was in front of him, giving him a big hug. Reno was taken aback by the gesture and did not hug back, but thankfully she pulled as quick as she had leaned in._

_"Oh Reno thank you that was so great, thank you." Darla exclaimed. She giggled when she saw Reno's confused expression, "She's my best friend, sorry about jumping you like that."_

_Reno smiled, "Oh, that's okay just glad she didn't fall." Darla put out her hand, a beer in it._

_'Here, I think you deserve another after loosing yours and for saving the girl don't you?" He laughed as he took it from her,. "Thanks."_

_That was the last truly clear memory he had from the evening. When his vision had originally started to go blurry he remembered being so angry at himself for not realizing his had only had one more beer. Now he was wasted and there was going to be hell to pay. Sadly for Reno he had not known had true that statement would be._

_Everything was fuzzy, he couldn't focus his vision. He could hear people talking, saying something about moving him to one of the bedrooms, their voices were echoing. Then he felt the warm softness of a bed on his back. As he laid there, falling into dreams, his thoughts filled of his beautiful Sienna with her long blond hair shining in the sun. She was right in front of him, looking deep into his eyes, when she embraced him, it was so real, as if he could feel the weight of her body on him, her breath on his face. Then she spoke but her voice was off, she didn't sound like herself. "Touch me Reno, please." He had never heard her talk like that before, but she was so beautiful, who was he to deny her request. His hands studied her hips and back and when she moaned in approval he was pleased he was giving her pleasure. And when she started kissing his neck he began not to care that she was acting a little strange or that she sounded strange. He was enjoying her touches but when she moved her lips from his neck to his mouth once again he became confused; she smelled of cigarettes and booze. What was going on? Reno knew she didn't smoke and the kiss felt foreign. Somewhere his own voice was screaming at him to wake up. He forced his eyes open to see Darla on top of him, her hands caressing all over him, kissing him. He gasped and yelled out "Darla? What the hell are you doing get off me!" But all he got was a hand over his mouth. He continued to try to squirm to get free, if only he could focus; get his bearings. His arms felt like jelly, what the hell was wrong with him?_

_"Stop."_

_Reno kept saying it over and over, it felt like he said it a hundred times. But she kept kissing him, kept touching him and Leviathan help him his body began to respond. He didn't want to, his mind was screaming at his body but it was like he had no control. Tears of frustration started to run down his face. He could feel himself inside her, he couldn't understand why he had no strength to get away. In one last moment of desperation he called out for Sienna and in return felt a hard blow to his right cheek. "Shut your mouth!"_

_After what seemed like an eternity later and at the same time no time at all he released inside her. He felt a mixture of relief that it was over and the urge to throw up. Then he felt her breath near his ear; he shuttered, trying to move away. He felt dirty from the experience and weak because he couldn't fight, he hadn't had the strength to stop her. All this intensified when he heard her whisper, "Thanks stud, it's going to be fun watching her cry when she finds out she's dating a rapist." He felt another hard blow to his other cheek and a scratch on his chest that made him scream." He could hear her giggling as she walked out the door and then silence. Reno could feel the chunks coming up as he turned to vomit over the side of the bed. As soon as he was finished he laid his head back down on the pillow just before everything went black._

_The next day; the next week was hell. He was screamed at by some and looked at with disgust by most. He had tried to tell Sienna what happened but she had believed Darla. His beautiful, intelligent Sienna had not stood by him, she turned on him and treated him like everyone else did. He would never forgive Sienna for believing her enemy over him. Darla had played it perfectly, saying both became too drunk and began to fool around but then it got too intense but he wouldn't stop. She had some bruises, he figured he probably had given her some of them while trying to fight her off, others she probably had someone else do to her. Of course he had wounds too thanks to her and it helped her case that she fought to get free. Of course Reno had tried to tell everyone how he was obviously drugged; how he begged her to stop._

_How she raped him._

_But come on he was a 17 year old male. Some of the teachers and other adults tried to show understanding, saying that they knew he didn't mean for things to go so far and Darla was only going to press assault and battery charges. How sweet of everyone, he wouldn't have to be known as a sex offender just someone who likes beating up women. Due to his other priors he was given 5 years in prison with the possibility for parole in 2._

_But hell it all worked out didn't it? While in prison he learned a lot from other inmates and proved his scrawny build did was not a determination how tough he was. He earned respect and immersed himself in the library to continue his own self education. After a year and a half he was visited by a man in a suit who called himself a Turk. An elite organization that was part of the Shinra Company. And they wanted him. So Reno jumped at the chance, learned how to fight and investigate...turns out he was a natural at martial arts and excelled in the classroom. The day he graduated and was allowed to put on the Turk suit he went out with his training buddy and fellow graduate, Rude. They went to a tattoo parlor. Reno requested two tattoos, exactly the same, one under each eye. Rude asked him what they represented. Reno's response?_

_"They're reminders of two people who betrayed me."_

_Rude stayed quiet like he usually did, allowing Reno to give further explanation._

_"For some stupid reason I had women on a pedestal...I thought they were goddesses to be worshiped...I even felt that way about my drunk, absent mom. But thanks to two in particular, I now see the other sex for what they really are; manipulative, petty, self absorbed, vindictive bitches. But they can give good physical pleasure so that is what I will use them for, and if my stupid self ever starts to fall for a woman and the lies she spews... I have a two physical reminders to snap me out of it."_

So yeah sue him if he didn't show much regard for women, he had been betrayed in every way possible curtsey of the three most influential women in his childhood; his mother, Sienna, and Darla. Thanks to them Reno the Turk was created.

Reno opened his eyes to see the bartender in front of him. He was holding the whisky bottle in front of his glass. Reno nodded and watched the liquid slosh and swirled as it it the glass for a fifth time. As he shot it down his throat he was grateful to finally be able to feel a bit of a buzz. It wouldn't take too many more now.

A few moments later he felt his cell phone vibrate. Reno rolled his eyes, it was probably Tseng calling for an update on his status. But when he pulled it out of his pocket he saw that it was a text message and it was from the one person in the world he was trying to forget.

Reno- I've been ridiculous**- **I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am**-** I know this is not the best time to ask you for a favor but if you are still in town can you give me ten minutes of your time?**- **There's something I need to tell you**- **You have the right to know.

Reno stared at the message for a long time. What was she playing at? He knew it wasn't about the mission, as wacky as Tifa had been acting if it had been about that she would have already told him or said that it was about the mission in the text.

What could she possibly have to tell him? What did he have the right to know?

If he was honest he was thrilled that she contacted him, and he definitely was curious as to what it was all about.

_Walk away Reno, you said it yourself...you spend anymore quality time with her, you will be completely in love with her and it will destroy you. Tell her you are already well on your way to your destination and there is no way you can meet up with her._

Reno closed his eyes. He could be a coward and run, or he could be a man and hear what she has to say. Maybe a conversation needed to happen. If he told her how he felt and how he wanted to be with her he could hear her rejection officially and begin to move on. If he stayed quiet, even if the possibility was miniscule he would always wonder what she would have said.

_Don't be such a chicken shit, face her._

Yes, that was the only way, he could get what he needed to off his chest and then refocus on saving Rude and destroying Jenova's Hope.

Hey Lockhart, must be your lucky night...I happen to still be in town and have 10 minutes to spare.


	32. It's Time

Hello all, well here is the next chapter. I am sorry it is so short but I promise the next one is going to be long and very important to the story. Until then I hope you enjoy this one. Also, now that Reno's past has been revealed, I want to take a moment and state that Sienna is inspired by a lovely girl from when I was in high school (but she would never pull what Sienna did). Darla was inspired thanks to the fabulous Julie Benz and her character of Darla from Buffy and Angel (I'm sure many of you already figured that out). Thanks again for continuing to come back and check out the new chapters. And to my 4 faithful reviewers, thank you so much, I really depend on you for feedback and it means so much to me that you continue to take time to review each chapter. See you all next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and situations, Square Enix owns everything else. Oh and Joss Whedon owns all things Buffy and Angel.

* * *

It was all Tifa could do to keep her shaking hands from dropping the cell phone as she tried to remain calm. After taking care of the mirror situation Tifa was free to search for Reno and she prayed the hours that had already past hadn't made being able to meet up impossible. She was walking along one of the many sidewalks of Costa Del Sol, not really having a destination but her nerves made her feel like she needed to keep moving. Then only time she had stopped was right outside the hotel to text him and right now as she realized she was standing outside the store where they had bought that beautiful plum dress she wore to Club Paradise. She instinctively lifted her hand and grasped onto the necklace Reno had given her. Even with everything so messed up, she had remembered the necklace and told herself to not walk out of the suite without putting the necklace back on; she would risk the two extra minutes to make sure she had it with her.

As she stared in the window suddenly she felt vibration in her hand and she heard music playing. In her excitement to check the text message she almost dropped the phone but luckily recovered just in time so it didn't fall to the ground. Tears of relief sprang to her eyes as she read his response.

Hey Lockhart- must be your lucky night-I happen to still be in town and have 10 minutes to spare.

She took a brief moment to compose herself and then with a half smirk texted him again.

Which bar are you in?

Tifa then waited for a response, tapping her foot on the ground and never taking her eyes off the cell for a second. After what seemed like an eternity, he texted back again.

You know me too well-Pelican's Nest

Tifa immediately looked around for a local vendor, Costa Del Sol wasn't huge but her need to see Reno was getting worse every moment and she wanted to waste as little time as possible finding out where that bar was. After a few seconds she spotted one and immediately broke out into a sprint to get to the vendor.

---

Reno chuckled when he read her question.

Which bar are you in?

Of course she would know he went to a bar, hell who wouldn't be able to figure that out. After texting her his location Reno pulled out some cash to give to the bartender, he wasn't sure what Tifa had to talk to him about but he wanted to be ready if she wanted to go somewhere less noisy. Honestly he was hoping she wouldn't want to get drinks when she arrived, he was over this place.

After taking one last gulp of his drink he decided to make a quick trip to the bathroom. When he came back out he went back over to thank the bartender one more time for his service when a breeze from outside came upon him. He turned around to see Tifa Lockhart standing there in shorts and a tank top. Her face was slightly flushed and her breathing was just a bit quicker than normal. Even in the simplest of of outfits she was so stunning, standing there with her eyes glistening with emotion. And speaking of emotion, he was actually surprised at the strong emotion he felt while looking at her, he had never been happier to see someone in his life. He was also taken aback when he noticed the necklace he gave her around her neck. Reno had always assumed she would just keep as a keepsake from the mission...he had never really expected her to wear again. Should he be reading anything into that?

Trying to not let his true emotions be seen, he immediately went to his cocky smile and nonchalant tone.

"Well it looks like-"

But he never got to finish that sentence. The next image he saw was Tifa running into his arms, holding him tight as she softly cried. He instinctively hugged her back, cursing everything above that she felt so good to hold while feeling concerned for why Tifa was so upset. All he could hear were muffled sorry, I'm so sorry responses.

He just held her for a few minutes allowing her to calm down, not sure what to think. He couldn't remember a time ever in his life when someone looked that happy to see him. And he almost never heard the word sorry said to him, or at least not as genuine as Tifa was saying it to him right now.

Finally Tifa pulled away.

"I'm sorry Reno, I didn't mean to tackle you like that...I am just so happy to see you."

Reno smiled a little, he thought of making an inappropriate remark but decided to just let her talk.

"Thank you for meeting with me."

Tifa's voice was timid and she was looking down. Reno realized that whatever she needed to talk with him about was something that was difficult for her to just come right out with.

"Your welcome Lockhart, listen why don't we get out of here so we can talk okay?"

Tifa looked up at him with her wine colored eyes and smiled.

"Okay Reno."

But before they could get out the door Reno felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a big, burly man with disheveled hair and unkempt beard. He wreaked of sweat and booze and Reno felt like he could vomit on the spot.

"I heard you weren't nice to my lady."

Reno rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder to see the blond from earlier sitting smugly on a stool.

Reno looked back up at the man and said "Only because she tried to be too nice to me. And seeing as now she has you, man she must really have a desperate itch for it, know what I'm saying?"

The man growled and tried to throw a punch at Reno but he was too slow and unsteady and Reno easily dodged his punch. Reno then threw one of his own into the man's gut, which made the man keel over and allowed Reno to knee him in the face.

As this was going on a few of the guy's buddies tried to come to his rescue but Tifa quickly took care of them by tripping the one so that he hit his head on a table and knocked himself out while picking up a beer bottle and smashing it on the other friend's head.

There was no hiding the terror on the blond girl's face this time around and she took off out the other door before Reno could make good on his promise to her earlier. Reno turned to Tifa and smiled.

"Thanks for the backup, yo."

Tifa smiled right back.

"Anytime."

Reno tossed some extra money towards the bartender before putting his arm out for Tifa to take as they walked out.

"Now I know why you had to come find me, you were bored without me right?"

Tifa just continued to smile as she watched Reno pulled out his silly, cocky, and yet charming persona.

"Yeah something like that."

After walking for a few more moments Reno slowed down.

"So Lockhart where should we go to have this conversation of yours?"

Tifa could feel her stomach convulse and her face flush. She had been so panicked to find him she didn't even have a chance to think about how she was actually going to say what was on her mind or in her heart. Tifa Lockhart trying to express her feelings....oh dear.

"Um...I...Uh...somewhere quiet would be good." Tifa choked out, getting Reno to lift one of his eyebrows.

"Okay...did you checkout of the hotel yet?" Reno asked.

Tifa started to feel lightheaded...and then she realized she was holding her breath.

"Uh...no I...I actually didn't yet."

Reno got a kind of half smirk on his face.

"Great well then the suite is the perfect place for you to tell me....well..whatever it is you have to tell me. I gotta tell you Lockhart you have me really curious."

Tifa swallowed hard, it was beginning to look like she would either confess all or just throw up all over him, and either way probably spelled humiliation for her.

"Oh...uh well...the suite should be ready by now I guess, so yeah that should work fine."

A confused expression took over Reno's face.

"Suite should be ready?"

Tifa's face flushed again and she was certain that the shade was so dark it was becoming a mixture of black and purple.

"Well...I...broke the mirror in the bathroom."

Reno's eyebrows went up in the air for a few seconds. He then just slowly turned toward the direction of the hotel. A smirk slowly came across his face.

"Well good for you Lockhart, that mirror deserved it, it was such a bitch."

Tifa punched him in the arm while letting out a grateful laugh.

They walked in fairly comfortable silence until they reached the hotel. They were told the room was ready so they headed up the elevator. Tifa was trying to hold down the thousand of butterflies in her stomach. It was a terrible feeling but not still not anywhere near as terrible as the feelings she had felt after Reno had left. And that reiterated how much she need to do this.

As they walked back into the suite, Tifa stayed silent as Reno walked in and took off his coat. He then turned around and allowed himself to lean his shoulder against the wall. He then put out his arm and looked down at his watch before crossing his arms.

"Okay Miss Lockhart, you have ten minutes. What is it that I need to know?"

Tifa could feel her knees buckling but refuse to allow her nerves to overtake her. It was time to tell him.


	33. The Right Kind Of Wrong

Hello everyone. Well this chapter is one that if I have done my job as a writer correctly, you have been waiting for. I am extremely excited and nervous about it and I really hope all of you enjoy it. There is still a lot of story to tell so I hope you will continue to come back to see the full conclusion of it, but for now...enjoy!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

* * *

Sheer terror. That is what was coursing through Tifa Lockhart's veins. There was Reno, leaning against the wall, looking so enticing. Yet at the moment all she wanted to do was run the other way.

_Come on Tifa...you have taken on Sephiroth for Shiva's sake._

Yeah but a least then it had been a team effort with Cloud taking the lead. Here there was no one to take the burden from her; if she was going to do this, it was going to be done by her alone.

Tifa hated feeling like a coward, hated feeling weak....so she was going to stop feeling that way...right now.

"Reno I...I haven't been completely...honest with you."

Reno shifted, he could hear himself from all those years ago, _women lie, are deceitful_. He forced the voice to be quiet as Tifa continued.

"I had a nightmare this morning about what would happen if Jenova's Hope gets to execute their plans. It was awful."

Reno began to speak.

"I know how much getting Jenova's Hope means to you, I had no right to leave you-"

But Tifa put up her hand.

"Please Reno, I appreciate what you are trying to say, but I need to get all this out so please let me talk right now okay?"

Reno nodded.

"Besides, I only have so much time."

Tifa smiled a little as she said that, and much to her relief so did Reno.

"You were completely in the right for leaving me here. I was a basket case, I did a 360 on you and you do not have time for that. Every hour that Rude is not found hurts his chances of being found alive."

Reno once again shifted, for a few seconds there was panic in his eyes. Tifa realized that Reno was not ready to deal with any result except finding his best friend and partner alive, any other result would be too devastating and Reno refused to even allow it to be a possibility.

Sadness overtook her face as she watched Reno struggle with keeping negative thoughts of Rude's fate at bay.

"I am very sorry about today Reno...more than you know."

Reno jumped in again.

"It's okay Lockhart, as soon as that damn boat gets fixed I will be on my way to Wutai. I know now that is the base for Jenova's Hope and thus it won't be long until I get Rude out of there and to safety."

For a moment Tifa felt foolish and lame; with all of these other important matters pending, her need to confess seemed so petty and selfish. But she shook it off because she knew she could be an asset to Reno when he got to the base. As soon as this weight was off her shoulders she could focus on helping him any way she could. So she continued.

"If you can be patient with me for a few more minutes, I promise you I can be an asset to you in your search of the base and rescuing Rude."

When Reno stayed silent, Tifa felt slightly encouraged and pressed on.

"Going back to early today, you were almost exactly right about how the Barret conversation went... except I was not disgusted with having to pretend to be your girlfriend."

Reno looked even more puzzled, and more uncomfortable. Tifa could tell he wasn't sure where she was going with her speech.

"Actually you couldn't have been more wrong about that if you had tried."

The color was starting to leave Reno's face so Tifa pressed on before she allowed herself to wonder what his reactions meant.

"The truth is Reno, I....I've had feelings for you for a long time. But I know you are not into having girlfriend's and I respect that. You have always been completely upfront about that and I wouldn't want you to be anything than what you are."

For Reno's part his heart and mind were racing, he could barely grasp what was she was saying.

Tifa was starting to talk faster now, half out of fear he would take off and half out of the fact that the more she confessed the easier it was to keep going.

"I was just so afraid of feeling rejection again. I am so afraid of being alone; of not being wanted...but you had the right to know why I freaked out and what I feel for you."

Tears started forming in her eyes as she finished.

"I have come to depend on you...you've been a good friend to me...I just wish we could be more than that."

Tifa's resolve to keep glancing at him finally wavered and she looked down as she watched a few of her teardrops fall to the floor.

But the next moment something happened. She noticed Reno's shoes directly in front of her own and felt one of his hands under her chin.

She felt her head being gently raised until she saw Reno's aqua eyes looking at hers.

"So why you shut me out today; why you asked me to meet with you, is because you have feelings for me?" Reno's voice was quavering slightly as he asked her.

Tifa wasn't quite sure what to think but nodded her head yes.

"Well...that works out really well because...I have feelings for you too."

Tifa's eyes bulged and she gasped, completely shocked at what she just heard. The next moment Reno leaned in and kissed her. It was the most sensual, loving kiss she had ever experienced. They kissed for a very long time, until they started to become winded. When they pulled away from each other they just kept their foreheads together, both trying to wrap themselves around what was happening.

Tifa was so full of so many emotions she couldn't even speak, and in a way it was okay that she couldn't because more than anything she wanted to feel his lips on hers again. After a few moments when their breathing had slowed again, Tifa captured Reno's lips hungrily, finally allowing everything she felt for him to come out in full force.

As for Reno, his head was spinning. He just kept telling himself this couldn't be real, _how was it possible a woman like Tifa could want him? _But he could feel her hair in his hands, he could feel her breath on his face. This was actually happening. Reno could never remember feeling such elation, such joy...but there was something else there too, far away but not far enough to not be noticed. That feeling was reality. If he allowed this to happen, Tifa's life would be ruined. Even if he finally realized that this is what he wanted more than anything, that she was what he wanted more than anything...he also realized he cared enough about her to stop it.

He forced himself to pull away from her kisses.

"No, we can't do this, there is still so much you don't know about me, and your friends would never forgive you for being with me."

Reno was still trying to catch his breath as he turned away from Tifa.

"You'll wakeup tomorrow and you'll hate yourself...I couldn't deal...I mean...I don't want to do that to you."

Tifa was still a little winded, and slightly hurt by him pulling away, but she was also overwhelmed that he was trying to think about what was best for her under these circumstances. She also understood how scared he was to trust her.

"The only way I will hate myself tomorrow is if I let you walk out of here. I don't give a damn about tomorrow and I don't care about what my friends will say! I have gone my entire life worried about everyone else and what is best for them, but what is happening between us, that is what is best for me."

Tifa walked up right behind Reno placing her hand on his shoulder, whose back was still to her.

"Reno I can't tell you what it means to me that you are looking out for me. I know that I don't know everything about your past, but I have gathered enough about the way you are to know that you have been hurt before, and I know I have hurt you too. But if you give me a chance, I will show you that I am different from whatever you have had in the past."

Before Tifa could even truly comprehend what was happening, Reno grabbed her hand and whirled her in front of him. This time he was the one to capture Tifa's lips with bruising, vigorous kisses. Her words had broken the wall he had put up around his heart. So now all that need for someone plus months of sexual tension was pouring out of both of them. They were almost manic; their hands roaming everywhere, not seeming to be able to get enough of the other person's body. The button's were popping off Reno's shirt while Tifa felt a violent tug over her head as her shirt was thrown to the side. Reno's lips and tongue were devouring any part of her body their current positions would allow him to get to, and Tifa moaned in approval. After a few moments he slammed her against the wall and Tifa gasped, but more out of being pleasantly surprised by his aggression than pain. She embraced his aggression and responded with her own. She allowed him to be in control until he broke from her to catch his breath, and that was all the opening she needed. She immediately tackled him making them fall on the bed. Tifa could tell Reno was surprised by the move, but was definitely not bothered by the switching of roles. After their lips combined for a few more erotic kisses she finally broke from his lips and allowed hers to study his his neck and his chest, making sure she didn't miss a centimeter of either. She heard Reno gasp so she knew she he approved. Reno then flipped her over and their eyes met for a second and for that one moment everything slowed down. Reno gently pushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" But Tifa only lifted her head, pulling him back into another mind numbing kiss. After that, the only sounds that escaped their lips were moans and gasps with each other's names thrown in there once and a while for good measure.

Tifa had never felt as complete as she did in those few hours, as her body intertwined with his and she heard Reno whisper breathlessly, "Tifa."


	34. Foreign Territory

Hello everyone. Whew, so much has happened, and yet we are not done yet. I debated on how I wanted Tifa to act in this chapter, so feedback on my choice would be very appreciated. Just a quick note about last chapter, the title is taken from the LeAnn Rimes song of the same name from the Coyote Ugly soundtrack (Towriteloveonherarms08 thanks for commenting on that!). I think that song fits them perfectly and it has been an inspiration throughout writing this story, but I chose the revelation chapter to finally use the song's title. I didn't think the song deserved any less. Anyways, as always I hope you enjoy and I thank you so much for continuing to come back.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy

* * *

Reno lazily turned on his side, enjoying the softness of the sheets on his completely naked body. His hand searched around for a few moments but finally found the comforter it had been searching for and he smiled as he felt the warmth return to his body as he brought it up just below his chin. He could not remember a time he had slept so well, and he certainly could not remember a time when he felt so content and giddy. The last few hours had to be some of the best of his whole life, and definitely the best he had ever had with any woman. He smirked a little as he remembered how Tifa's skin felt pressed to his; how her hands felt so phenomenal touching every part of his body. And her lips, so soft...so hungry-

He was pulled from his enjoyable thoughts when he felt movement in the sheets.

Thank Leviathan, he hadn't been dreaming. He turned to see Tifa Lockhart's chocolate hair covering her pillow and part of her back. The sheet covering her came just above her hips leaving a little space between that and her hair that revealed some of her beautiful back's bare skin.

Reno silently thought to himself,_ Maybe not all woman are goddesses, but I think she may be one that would qualify._

After watching her for a few minutes a new feeling began to emerge, the feeling was fear.

Reno quickly turned and laid back down with his back to her. He was in completely foreign territory. Normally he would have jumped up, got the quickest shower he could and scrambled to get dressed and be gone before the girl in the bed even woke up. If he did have the unfortunate situation of her waking up before he was gone, he would say something complimentary (if warranted), act causal and cold and then get the hell out of there.

But that wasn't going to happen this time, and even more terrifying...he didn't want it to.

Reno was actually more afraid that after all the years of walking out on women, now the favor would be returned to him. He cringed to think what Tifa's reaction would be when she woke up and put together what happened. At least he knew she hadn't been drunk, actually all of it had been by her initiation. Well, up to the part where their desire took over, then it was kind of a back and forth on who intiated what.

But things always looked different in the morning.

What if she thought it was a mistake...could he handle that?

He had taken a chance last night, he had let her in...but it would make sense if she had a change of heart this morning. At least the refreshing thing for him was that he felt just the same as he did the night before, he had never been more right about a choice he had made in his life.

Reno was pulled from his thoughts because she began to stir. Reno turned over to look at her as he held his breath, bracing himself for the inevitable confusion, then wide eyed panic that was sure to take over Tifa's face.

Then Tifa turned over and Reno waited...but all he got from her was a huge smile.

"Good morning Reno."

Reno eased up slightly, she was glowing....she looked so happy.

Tifa then leaned over to kiss him but before their mouths met, she suddenly drew back, clasping her hand over her mouth. She then scrambled out of the bed; her words muffled as she spoke.

"Oh, I'm so sorry...my breath must smell hideous!"

She then looked down and showed another horror face as she looked down at her completely naked body and began frantically clawing for the sheets.

"Oh excuse me!" She gasped.

Reno was trying his best to not break out into a fit of laughter at Tifa's frantic behavior. It appears that she is just as nervous as he was about what each other's reactions would be and she was now feeling self conscious.

After a few moments of watching Tifa try to get the huge sheet into a position that covered her body Reno finally gained enough composure to speak.

"Babe....babe...Lockhart!"

Tifa stopped her flailing.

Reno slid toward the edge of the her side of the bed.

"It's okay, you don't need to do anything, seriously after all the things we did last night do you really think I care about morning breath?"

Tifa allowed herself to crack a small smile, but her head was still down.

"Oh...I guess you wouldn't...I just; I was afraid you would see things differently today than you did last night."

Reno smiled, it would seem her fear was the same as his. He noticed how Tifa looked almost child like, similar to when a young child gives another child their first valentine in school.

"I do...last night I thought you were beautiful."

Tifa's face fell and she scrunched up her nose as she waited to hear the next part of the sentence.

"But today I think you are stunningly beautiful."

Tifa looked up quickly and gave Reno a big smile, the tenseness and fear leaving her. After a few moments of looking into each other's eyes Tifa's developed a gleam in hers.

"Seriously, you actually continuously get laid spewing that shit?"

Reno broke out into a hearty laugh.

"Says the woman who just gave it up to me."

"Yeah but I was desperate."

"I'll show you desperate, yo!"

And with that Reno yanked the sheets Tifa was holding onto and pulled her back into the bed and began to furiously tickle her.

"Reno! You son of a- I am so gonna kick your ass!"

They thrashed around for a few more moments before Reno paused his attack.

"Promise?"

Tifa rolled her eyes but before she could get away she was overpowered by Reno's tickle attack once again.

The fun was soon interrupted by the suite phone ringing. They looked at each other with a puzzled expression as Reno reached for the phone.

"Excuse me sir, I am sorry to bother you so early but you did request to call the room if there were any updates on the Loyalty leaving."

Reno was still confused. "The what?"

"The cruise boat heading for Wutai, sir."

Reno's eyes became wide, he had completely forgotten talking to the front desk last or the fact that he was suppose to be leaving for Wutai after the boat's repairs were made.

"Oh...right, Loyalty is the name of the ship...got it. Yes I did ask for you to call, what's the status?"

"The boat leaves in an about an hour sir."

"...Shit."


	35. Close Call

Hi everyone. I apologize for the delay, but now that we are here; let's keep things moving! This chapter brings our dear Yuffie into the fold, so please let me know how I did with her characterization. As always the feedback is appreciated and I hope you will enjoy. See ya next chapter and thanks for continuing to come back!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, well except my original characters and plot. But everything else belongs to Square Enix. Yes, even after all this time. :)

* * *

So the last hour would probably end up as one of those stories he and Tifa laughed about sometime later. As they ran as fast as they could to get to the boarding dock Reno thought back to the few minutes before where they had looked like two chickens with their heads cut off, running around frantically with Tifa screeching at Reno about getting her toiletries while mercilessly shoving articles of clothing into her two suitcases. Tifa had been quite proud to get everything in without having time to fold but in her moment of pride she looked down and the pride turned into horror when she realized she was still naked. Reno still cringed when he thought about how loud and high his voice became while speaking to the poor desk employee when he frantically asked the man to get someone to get Tifa a ticket, and someone to rush down her bags to the boat while they finished checking out. Then of course there was a traffic jam and so now here the two of them were, deciding to run the rest of the way after shoving money into the cab drivers face.

If all that wasn't enough, the guilt that had been building up inside him was almost to a point of choking him...but it would have to wait just another minute or so, and then one way or the other the guilt could consume him. In two minutes he would have either survived one of his closest calls ever or he would be sitting at the dock allowing the reality that Rude would be spending extra, unnecessary hours in the hell he had been living in for over two weeks. Yes, there was actually a possibility that Rude would have to endure more agony and torture...or worse... because his best friend and partner had been getting laid...by a girl that his said partner use to have a huge crush on...maybe still did.

Reno could see it now, _"Sorry partner, but while you were somewhere kidnapped, beaten and tortured for information; I had the best couple days of my life happen to me. Man let me tell you what kind of animal Tifa Lockhart is in the sack."_

It was ironic that Rude was the reason, in a way, that he and Tifa had hooked up, that his horrible fate had given Tifa and him time to cement feelings that had been stirring for a while.

What was Reno suppose to be feeling about that?

Tifa and Reno made it to the boarding officer just as he was about to shut the doors. He seemed extremely put out but allowed both of them on, rolling his eyes at Ren's coughing and hacking. It would appear Reno would need to lay off the cigarettes.

After finally reaching their room, both of them collapsed on the bed, extremely exhausted.

"Whew, well that was a little close for comfort." Tifa stated.

Reno gave a grunt in response, he was still trying to recover not only physically but emotionally.

Tifa sat up and observed Reno for a moment. With all the craziness, they had not had the chance to really address what had happened the night before. At least she knew he was happy about what happened, and she knew it was a big deal that she hadn't woken up alone. But now what were they going to do?

Tifa decided to put off any personal talk for a bit to ask Reno what the plan was.

"Hey Reno, you want to fill me in on what is going to take place when we reach Wutai?

Reno sat up. Tifa could see the tenseness in his body. Whatever was going on, Tifa knew that they were close to the end of their mission.

"Good idea. Gabriel luckily knew a lot and once the lawyer and the DA arrived on the scene, he continued where he had left off in the club. "

Reno readjusted himself on the bed as he continued.

"Jenova's Hope's main headquarters is set up in the outskirts of Wutai. Apparently it was the perfect place to have a lot of space to maneuver around but not be asked a lot of questions or bothered."

Tifa decided to interject.

"But I don't understand, Godo controls all of Wutai, even the outskirts, how did they keep him from knowing or noticing something happening in his territory?"

Reno looked down and let out a sigh.

"They didn't keep him out of the loop Tifa, he was being paid big by agreeing to a don't ask, don't tell policy."

Tifa could feel the blood beginning to boil in her system, how could she have not figured that out earlier, Godo was infamous for his goal to make himself and Wutai very rich. She had thought that he had come to an understanding with Yuffie on slowly moving back to tradition, but she also remembered that Yuffie had mentioned a recent falling out again with her father.

"Tseng was going to have Reeve bring in Yuffie to see what she could find out.

Tifa let out a frustrated sigh, "Reeve is a good choice, but I know someone who could get things moving even quicker with Yuffie."

Reno was already developing a big smile as Tifa pulled out her phone.

"Yuffie, it's Tifa. Have you spoken to Reeve yet?"

_"Well, well if it isn't my pal Tifa, I figured you would be calling. So you are working with Reno eh? Hmm, THAT sounds interesting."_

"Yuffie, can we cut the small talk today please, a lot of time has already been lost and we only have a little more time before Reno and I reach Wutai. Did you talk to Reeve yet?"

_"Oh yeah, can I tell you how pissed I am at my old man right now, I mean I knew he was greedy but I never thought he would be that stupid, he only sees what he wants to see and then makes up a scenario so he can sleep at night."_

"Where are you Yuffie?"

"_Oh I just got back to Wutai, I am going to leave the family for good this time, and after this Jenova's Hope thing is over I am going to make sure my dad looses all his power."_

"I was afraid of that," Tifa shook her head, praying she wasn't too late.

"Yuffie, have you spoken to your father yet?"

Yuffie let out a snort on the other end.

_"You betcha, but to make sure he would see me so I can tell him off in person, I just told him I had serious business to discuss."_

"Perfect! Okay Yuffie I know what I am about to ask you, but I need you to take the lies further."

_"Huh?"_

"Tell your dad that you want to take your place as Princess of Wutai."

_"Have you lost all your marbles, my old man helped terrorists by being greedy and turning a blind eye, and you want me to embrace him?"_

"Yuffie, please stop talking for a minute and listen to me, why do you think Reeve called you?"

_"He wanted my knowledge of the landscape and actually it is funny you called because he wants me to help you and Reno find the base. He figured I would speed up the process."_

"Right, okay yeah that actually will be helpful but you can actually help even more than that."

_"How?"_

"If you do what I ask I think that not only will we get Jenova's Hope, I think I can solve your problem of taking power from Godo."

_"Alright Teef you have my attention....what do you have in mind?"_


	36. Quiet Concern

Hello! A thousand apologizes about being on hiatus for so long. It was not my intent and I will do my best to not let so much time pass between chapters again. I am also not sure about this chapter, you all will have to let me know what you think of it. Next chapter should be much more detailed and lengthy but I do feel this chapter is necessary to keep things moving. As always thank you for coming back to my story and I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Absolutely Reeve, I understand....I'll make sure Yuffie calls you as soon as she and Godo have their talk. Thanks again."

Tifa leaned to see as much of the ocean as she could from her the tiny window in their tiny room. It was a far cry from the spacious suite that had just a few hours earlier. Tifa could feel Reno's eyes on her and she could feel her face flushing. The plans for when they reached Wutai were now set. So now all that was left was the time it would take to get to Yuffie's homeland. Tifa knew they needed to have another conversation, they were both in new territory, yet what they were or what they were going to do about what happened between them was still a mystery.

"So Lockhart, what would you like to do know?" Reno's voice was flirty and there was a twinkle in his eyes. Tifa just smiled at him.

"Well we have a lot of time to kill....so I really want to take a shower, I feel gross." Tifa watched as Reno's face fell a little and she knew he had been hoping for a different answer. What she wasn't sure about was if he wanted to start an encore performance of the night before or have the _what are we _talk.

Tifa started to head into the bathroom but she turned back and looked at Reno.

"Do you remember when you were in the shower the other day and I fell asleep."

Reno nodded, but did not speak.

"Well now I can confess that the reason I was so I'll mannered when you woke me up is because I was having a dream of being in the shower with you." Tifa said seductively.

"Do you think you would be willing to help me recreate that into a real scenario?"

Reno's aqua eyes became wide as a smile developed on his face.

"I would be very happy to help you with that Miss Lockhart."

---

The two of them found a way to make it work with not a whole lot of room, staying in there until all the hot water was used up. Tifa was fascinated how different they were this time than the night before. There love making started out less manic and more loving, taking turns to wash each other while every few moments stealing kisses from each other. Tifa was also introduced to how you can have a lot of fun in a very small space and was never so grateful that she and Reno were in good shape and flexible.

As she wrapped her towel around her body, she was fascinated by the fact that when they were being intimate everything around them disappeared. She was also trying to figure out how she could feel so very satisfied and yet still have the insatiable yearning for him at the same time. She was pulled from her thoughts when Reno spoke.

"Damn Lockhart, you help work up an appetite, do you want to get dressed and grab something?

Tifa wasn't sure what came over her but she sauntered her way over to Reno and then placed her hands on both of his butt cheeks and squeezed.

"I already did." She stated playfully as Reno jumped a little and then responded by tackling her onto the bed.

As Reno laid there on top of her their eyes met and he took a moment to brush a few strands of her hair out of her face and asked, "So Lockhart, what am I going to do with you?"

There was still a hint of playfulness in his voice but the double meaning was not lost on her at all. The fact in a few hours the realities of what was going on outside of their little bubble would be on them in full force. And even after the Rude and Jenova's Hope were taken care of, he is was still Reno of the Turks who was hated by Barret and disliked by probably every other one of her friends; and she was still Tifa the bartender and Avalanche member who had dreams of being part of a large orphanage helping kids find homes and giving them love and support during their stay...how would Reno fit into that? And Reno would need to be there for Rude for a while after all this, there was no telling what was happening to him as a prisoner of Jenova's Hope and he would need his best friend more than ever after he was rescued. Plus the Turks were very close nit themselves, so what was to say they would be thrilled with Reno's new girlfriend. Girlfriend, boyfriend? Do they even get to have labels for each other?

What _were _they going to do?

Tifa sighed, half out of contentment and half at becoming exhausted with all the thoughts going on in her head. She stared deeply into Reno's aqua eyes. It's funny how before she really began to know him, she didn't realize that he told you so much about himself with his eyes, but now she could see that that similar thoughts and worries were going through his mind. She didn't know what was going to happen after this mission ended, but she knew that she did not want this to be the last time she was on a bed like this with Reno. Somehow they would have to find a way to be together.

"I'm not sure Reno, I don't know what I am going to do with you either."

Reno leaned down and gently kissed her. They laid there kissing for a long while until Reno's stomach interrupted them with a growl.

"Let's get some food Reno." Tifa said mid giggle.

"Yeah. Let's go and enjoy ourselves"

Tifa smiled as she got up from the bed, she was beginning to become quite the fan on the live in the moment philosophy.


	37. Popping Bubbles

Hello everyone! This chapter was so tough, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get to put up another chapter. But I am finally pleased with it so hopefully you all will be happy with my choices. I decided to do another slightly brief chapter instead of going for a huge one. As always thanks to all of you who have continued to come back and read my story and a huge thank you to the reviewers. Please keep the feedback coming. See you next chapter!

Disclaimer: After all this time, I still don't own anything. ;)

* * *

The next afternoon they were back on dry land following the hundreds of other tourists into the heart of Wutai. After checking in at the desk of the resort they were staying at, the two of them wanted nothing more than get a few hours of sleep before taking on the next task.

Tifa dropped her bags near the bed. She could feel the tenseness in her neck and shoulders. As if Reno could read her mind the next thing she knew Reno had come up against her back and started messaging her shoulders. She moaned in approval.

"Geez Lockhart, you have some serious knots yo."

"I know, I can't relax..what if my idea doesn't work?"

"It will, but if for some weird reason it doesn't than we will go to the backup plan, there is no need to worry."

"The backup plan...we have a backup plan?"

"Of course, I'm a Turk; we always have a backup plan."

Tifa turned to face Reno, their faces were only inches apart.

"Oh excuse me. So what is this backup plan?"

Reno's eyes sparkled, "Pull something out of our ass."

Tifa giggled. "Oh yeah, I am completely de-stressed now thanks."

Reno slid his hands down her back and let them rest on her hips.

"I work best under pressure."

Tifa developed a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Can't argue with you there."

She leaned in and began to kiss him hungrily until the hairs began to stand up on the back of her neck. Unfortunately it wasn't due to the kisses, it was her training in martial arts kicking in, someone was in their room.

Tifa felt Reno's body language change as well and knew that he had the same feeling. The next moment Tifa was crouching down towards the floor and Reno was throwing his weapon at the figure that had invaded their room.

"Hey watch it will ya, geez!"

Tifa jumped up and spun around, flabbergasted that her dear friend Yuffie was standing there.

"Ya know that weapon of yours only missed my head by an inch you jerk!"

Reno rolled his eyes as he went to retrieve his weapon.

"I'm the jerk but you don't know how to knock on a door? What, you pull out your shitty ninja moves to feel all powerful or something? Give me a break yo!"

"Yuffie, what the hell were you thinking sneaking in here like that!" Tifa yelled.

"What was I thinking, what are YOU thinking!"

Yuffie walked over and sat down on the bed in a huff.

"Ya know when you called and asked me to tell my old man that I wanted to become the true Princess of Wutai and take my place in the family. I thought you were a little off. Then you kept going, saying you want me to ask for this big ceremony so that we can stage all the big to dos in the world arriving in one location so we can lure Jenova's Hope. It was then I thought you were definitely suffering from the beginnings of a mental breakdown. But being your friend and knowing that there is something in this for me, I said yes. But now, walking in on you making out with Reno of the Turks...it's official, you are completely insane!"

"How dare you judge something you saw for a few seconds!" Tifa seethed.

"Oh what you were loosing air and Reno just came to your rescue, puhlease! I thought you learned your lesson after Cloud, you can't change someone."

Tifa was shaking, she knew this fight was always a possibility; but now that she was actually in it, she felt like she could be sick with the assumptions and judgment going on at the moment.

"You have no idea what is going on with us."

Yuffie jumped off the bed. "Us, do you hear yourself? Tifa he is Reno, he is not someone who takes on a girlfriend. "

"Excuse me princess but I am standing right here." Reno was standing against a wall, arms crossed and seemed completely at ease. Both women were slightly taken aback.

"Yeah your hard to miss with your ridiculous hair." Yuffie snapped.

"Yuffie stop this." Tifa pleaded.

"Like hell I will, I don't know what has happened here, but I will not let one of my dearest friends be played by this jackass."

Yuffie moved towards Reno but Reno didn't even flinch.

"So what, you saw that she was lonely with the kids and Cloud gone and decided to have a little fun. Bet you saw her as your biggest challenge, if you could get her into bed, there would be no one even close to your prowess in the bedroom."

"Wow detective, you are so amazing..you have it all figured out don't you."

Yuffie developed a smug look on her face.

"Yeah, with someone like you it isn't hard to put two and two together."

"Someone like me? You don't know the first thing about me."

"I know you are a murder and a womanizer. And I know you could never give a damn about anything but yourself."

Reno's eyes became dark.

"You know what, you little brat...I can see why no man will get near you. You are the definition of what's wrong with women."

"What do you know!" Yuffie spat.

"I know a virgin when I see one. Like you so astutely gathered, I am all about having fun when it comes to women."

Yuffie lunged at Reno to slap him but Reno caught her arm.

"You are very lucky you are Tifa's friend, or I would seriously knock that smug look off your face."

Reno's voice was menacing and Tifa could see the fear in Yuffie's eyes.

"But instead I suggest you find some 19 to 20 year old boy who is dying to get laid so you can get the brattiness fucked out of you instead. Or hell maybe you can get really lucky and pull one night off that you are not insufferable, just long enough to find a lonely man to teach you about becoming a woman."

Reno dropped her arm and moved past her and headed for the door.

"I'll be down in the bar when you get this settled."

And with that Reno walked out.

Tifa closed her eyes and sighed.

Yup her friends accepting Reno was going perfectly so far. Tifa was pretty sure that Yuffie hated him now, making the list of hate 2 instead of one. And she had hoped Yuffie would be the one friend she could get on her side.

"Gawd, he's awful...Tifa how could you kiss that?"

Yup the little bubble she and Reno had been immersing themselves in was definitely popped now.


	38. Broken

Hi everyone! So this chapter is pretty intense, well at least it should be if I wrote it well. I have to say I struggled for balance in this chapter, Yuffie was a hard character to write for me. I think she may seem a little off, but I see it as necessary for the situation she is in. Also, my goal isn't really to make anyone a villain and I am not sure if I did enough to keep that from happening. I would love to hear thoughts on this chapter, and especially Yuffie. As always thanks for continuing to come back and read each chapter. I hope you will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy.

* * *

Tifa closed her eyes, trying to figure out how to do damage control on what had just taken place between Reno and Yuffie long enough for them to work together to defeat Jenova's Hope. And as for Yuffie embracing Reno as a significant person in Tifa's life...well, that would have to wait for another time.

"Hey, do you not hear me talking to you? Did you not just witness what happened here? Hello?" Yuffie was almost at a shriek pitch, it was clear she was confused and hurt by what she had seen and Tifa's lack of rushing to apologize or explain herself.

"Yuffie I heard and saw it all, and I want to talk to you about it, but I need you to calm down first."

"You need me to calm down? EXCUSE ME? Have I been transported to another planet, because why would I calm down?"

"Yuffie, if you would just listen for a minute-"

"Listen to what? You are in here kissing Reno of the Turks and not stepping in when he spoke the way he did to me, what the hell happened in a few days time that would ever make you show affection to THAT, and allow him to speak to a friend of yours that way!"

"You when into attack mode right away Yuffie, he then reacted as any other person would when being yelled at?"

"You think what he just said to me is something all other people would say? Tifa what the hell is wrong with you!"

"Yuffie stop yelling and let me explain."

"You cannot explain this to me, Leviathan, Tifa he is a MURDERER!"

"SO AM I!"

Tifa never meant to raise her voice to Yuffie like that, and even in there most intense moments in any crisis, Tifa never yelled at her. Barret or Cid maybe, but never Yuffie. Yuffie looked like a little child, trembling wide-eyed. It wasn't the way that she wanted to get Yuffie to stop yelling, but it worked and so she decided to make her case as quickly as possible.

"I am sorry that you had to learn about Reno and me the way you did, and I would never expect or ask you to accept him with open arms with his reputation and past. But I do think I have earned the right to have a chance to speak and try my best to explain what is going on now and what has happened over the past few days."

Tifa was now shaking herself, she wasn't sure what was going to happen when she finished talking, would she have already lost a friend over something that Reno and her couldn't even get a full grasp on themselves?

"You can't understand where this is coming from and think I am in some sort of crisis....that is the only way to explain how I would be with the man who pressed the button that destroyed my home and the countless lives that were living there. I can assure you that I understand why you are reacting the way you are, but if I am honest...I have been falling for Reno for a while now. He has been in my bar a lot and so I have seen many sides of him. At first I thought it was just me being so lonely and the fact that he paid attention, but over time I realized I was actually enjoying his company and looking forward to him stopping in. I didn't tell anyone, because of the reasons you have already stated and my worry of getting the reaction from you and the rest of our friends that you gave me. I was confused..wondering if he really was different, or if I had lost my mind. Then a little over a week ago he asked me for my help and it ended up being intertwined with Jenova's Hope.

Yuffie continued to stare blankly, and she didn't move at all. It was throwing Tifa off, she was so used to seeing Yuffie bounce around or be anything but serious. This Yuffie was an entirely new person. The only hope Tifa had was that she hadn't gotten up and walked out the door, so she kept going.

"As for Sector 7-"

Tifa's throat caught, there was no way she could explain to Yuffie the conversation that she and Reno had the other night. How could she make Yuffie understand?

"That subject is one that will never be gone, nor should it be...but Reno and I have had many talks about what happened with Sector 7, casual and serious and I am now at peace with his part in it."

Yuffie was turning pale at this point, it was obvious she was not liking what she was hearing.

"When people loose everyone, even themselves...they desperately search for someone or something to believe in. I will not break Reno's confidence about his past or how he feels about his role in events that were in the darker periods of the Turks, all I will say is...for a very long time the Turks is the only thing Reno had."

Tifa decided to move closer to Yuffie, but when she flinched, she backed away again.

"I am not excusing what he did, there is no way that should ever happen, but the lives he has saved...the lives he is trying to save now....this is his second chance."

Yuffie finally spoke again, still pale and still shaking, but her voice was quiet.

"You think a creature like that deserves a second chance? It is obvious even now that he is proud to be a Turk. Now if he had gotten down on his knees and begged for forgiveness or become some superhero defending all those in need, maybe I could understand your point of view. You say the Turks was all he had? Bull, he still had himself, he had the understanding of right and wrong, he had the choice to walk away. So excuse me if I don't jump up and say I understand why you would give him a second chance, let alone be with him. He enjoys power and killing; someone who craves the darkness in those things do not change."

"Well Reno has changed, but that is not the point, he is still Reno and he doesn't pretend to be something he isn't. It is refreshing to see someone understand all the parts of themselves, and it has helped me deal with a lot of my own issues."

"I'm sorry, I am a bit slow here...why don't you spell out what you are trying to say so I can get the hell out of here, all this Reno talk is making me nauseous."

Yuffie's voice was cruel and snarky and it chilled Tifa to the bone. She was disgusted with her and Reno...and her explanation wasn't doing anything to soften her thoughts on the matter.

"I am with Reno because for the first time in my life I think I am beginning to know who I am and what I really want, and his personality and his way of doing things has helped me with all of that."

Yuffie looked down for a moment, and when she looked back up there were tears in her eyes.

"It took someone like Reno, to help you with all that, to make you find yourself?"

Tifa could see the hurt in her friend.

"Your friends, those beautiful children in your life weren't enough...you didn't think we could help you?"

Yuffie said the wrong thing, and Tifa responded in with all the venom she could muster.

"How dare you try to make this about my feelings or lack there of about all of you...and especially about Marlene and Denzel, you wouldn't know the first thing about how deep my love is for those kids. While you, miss holier than thou, are off hiding from your responsibilities as the Princess of Wutai or stealing whatever materia you see fit; or when Barret found a calling to find a new source of energy, or when Cloud disappeared in his need to kill himself with guilt...I was the only one who took on real responsibility of raising children and keeping a job to feed them. So you can disapprove or even hate me for falling for someone like Reno, but you damn well better remember that Barret and I are murderers to. We set off bombs with innocent bystanders around because we thought the sacrifice of the few were worth it to save the Planet. But how do you think those families felt about our cause, or those who were just doing a job and hadn't gotten into the philosophy of a dying planet. Their lives were worth less than the ones Reno and the Turks took out, is that it?"

Yuffie's eyes got wide once Tifa let out her anger and called her on her hypocrisy...it seems the murderer reference silenced her once again.

"And along with passing judgment, you seem to have selective memory with another one of our friends...if you recall...your boss Reeve was a Spy who by his workings forced Aerith to give herself up and be poked and prodded in a lab with a psycho...oh and he was part of the Turks when Sector Seven happened. But what, he is the nice, redeemable Turk...apparently they only get one. You hypocritical brat!"

Tifa hadn't hit Yuffie, but she might as well have, the pain in her eyes was intense. Their friendship was broken now...Tifa's worse case scenario had come true...and this was only the first of her friends to find out.

Somewhere in Tifa, she felt bad for becoming so vindictive, but she didn't have time to go into all that, they were already wasting time and they had a mission to complete.

"Look, you and I have now said things that probably can't be taken back and I don't know what is going to happen between us, but there is still a job to do, can I count on you to pull of this ceremony and put your disgust and hate aside long enough to work with both myself and Reno?"

Yuffie slowly looked up at her, the hurt and anger still very much present. The tension between them was awful.

"Yeah, the old man is overly excited which works in our favor, and the ceremony should take place at the end of this week."

"Good, but with you playing the part of dutiful daughter, that doesn't give a lot of time to use your expertize of the layout of the area outside the actual city."

"I should be able to sneak out around 8 or 9pm every night. He is going to want me to get my beauty rest."

"What about guards?"

"My old man wishes guards could keep me in the house, even if he puts some around to keep me from bolting, I know how to get out of that obstacle easy."

"Okay, then Reno and I will meet you at 9pm just outside the lights of the city."

"Yeah there is statue about a mile away outside the city, that should be an easy location for you to find."

"Perfect, alright good luck with dealing with your father and we will see you tonight."

"Yeah....okay."

And with that Yuffie walked out without another word and without another glance at Tifa. As the door shut Tifa broke down. Was it really going to be like this, would she end up having to choose between Reno and her friends?


	39. Precious Silence

Hello all. I can't apologize enough for another lengthy delay. I want to thank everyone who has written reviews and placed this story on the alert of favorites list, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all are enjoying the story. This chapter is very brief to offset the next one which will have a good length to it. As always I hope you all will enjoy and thank you for your patience with the delays between chapters!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy

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Tifa paced back and forth at what turned out to be a huge Leviathan Statue. The moonlight would hit it just right at certain moment which would give it an eerie glow. It was unsettling for a woman whose nerves were already pretty much shot and that was never a good thing when you are suppose to be going on a mission where a great deal of stealth is required. Reno on the other hand was leaning back against the base of the statue while he lighted a cigarette. If he was anxious, annoyed, or anything else...Tifa couldn't tell. Then again there wasn't much light around either. It was 9:10pm and Yuffie hadn't shown up yet. Tifa continued to pace as she went through the options in her head. _How long should they wait, was Yuffie really going to pull a no show? _Every hour was becoming more and more precious, but without the local guide it was more than likely that extra hours would be tacked on if she and Reno went by themselves, hours they really shouldn't be wasting. And as angry as Yuffie was, she knew damn well that Jenova's Hope had to be stopped and that it was of the highest priority of the WRO. Yuffie was too good a person and loved her job too much to not help her and Reno find the location of Jenova Hope's Headquarters.

Finally Tifa stopped moving and closed her eyes. Getting worked up was not going to do anyone any good and she needed to be strong now, not only for herself and the WRO, but for Reno too. For the first time in weeks, he was truly close in finding his partner and that had to be affecting Reno big time, even if he was hiding it at the moment. Plus, he had been such a rock for her, time and time again. Earlier today was no different. He had allowed Tifa time to cry alone, and she took full advantage of it, never moving from the spot on the floor she first collapsed to when Yuffie left. When Reno finally did come back to their room, she could only imagine what a mess she was. Her hair was sticking to her face, her eyes were almost swollen from the constant crying, and she was shaking from the aftermath of the force of her tears. Reno hadn't said a word, he had simply walked over and sat down next to her allowing her to throw herself into his arms as the tears started all over again. When she finally calmed down, Reno had gently pulled the wet, matted hair from her wet cheeks and helped her move from the floor to the bed and lightly rubbed her back as she fell asleep. Tifa didn't know if she would ever be able to thank him for all that he did, the most precious act being his silence, giving her emotions the much needed break from the inevitable talks that would come soon enough.

As she opened her eyes and they fought to refocus due to the lack of light, she thought she saw a brief shadow move from left to right in the distance. It was hard to tell what it was and for all Tifa knew she had seen an animal but to play it save she put her hands in her jacket pockets and slowly put her knuckles on. She turned back to look at Reno, who seemed to be lost in deep thought. Just as Tifa was about to speak to him she noticed movement at the top of the statue. But before she could react the figure somersaulted off the statue landing right in front of Reno...he never stood a chance.

"Hey give it back you little brat!" There was Yuffie standing with one hip out while holding his cigarette in her fingers.

"Didn't anyone tell you that these things could kill you?" Yuffie stated as she dropped from her fingers and snuffed it out with her boots.

Didn't anyone ever give you a nice dose of shut the fuck up?" Reno shot back.

Much to Tifa's surprise she saw a small smirk develop on Yuffie's face.

"Apparently not a big enough dose since I am still quite capable of pissing you off with my yapping."

Now it was Reno's turn to smirk.

_Well that was interesting._Tifa assumed Yuffie would be anything but her usual self and though there was still a coldness in her eyes as she made eye contact with Tifa, her demeanour was much better than expected.

"Okay Yuffie so which area are we checking out tonight."

"The closest to the city, it probably is the least likely place because the chance of something being seen that shouldn't is so much higher, but due to me being late, it is the best one we have time for."

"Did your father catch you?"

"Nah, Reeve and Tseng flew in tonight along with some other politicians. Even with the short notice apparently a lot of big wigs see this as an opportunity to get on on what they all think will be the new hot spot. They think I will breathe new life into the city with new ideas and events. So of course I had to meet with them and they wanted to see what I had to offer. At first it looked like it was going to be a torturous night but what's funny was, I actually had fun coming up with ideas on how to honor tradition while still moving forward. I actually think my old man was proud of me tonight."

Tifa smiled, "So you lost track of time."

"Uh yeah sorry about that."

"No its good, everything must come off as legitimate."

"Okay then let's get going."

Tifa took one more moment to let out a sigh to help her relax and then fell in line behind Yuffie. It was probably close to 10 now, but for the unconventional team, the night was just getting started.


	40. What Dwells in the Deep

Hello everyone. Chapter 40 is here, I cannot believe it! Thanks to everyone for continuing to come back chapter after chapter, it means so much. This chapter brings another fight scene and as always feedback on how I did would be most appreciated. I want to thank everyone who has put this story on alert or favorites recently, as well as those who have taken the time to review. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

* * *

After walking in silence for a long while with each individual caught up in their own concerns, the trio finally reached there destination.

"Well so far there are no indicators that this is the correct cave." Yuffie said as the walked into the entrance.

"Unless they are more thorough than we are giving them credit for." Reno replied as he observed his surroundings.

"Is that suppose to be a subtle knock that I am not giving them enough credit?" Yuffie said in an annoyed tone.

"If you were worth the effort of making a little subtle knock about, then sure. Unfortunately for you I was actually just thinking out loud." Reno shot back.

"Enough you two, this is going to get us nowhere." Tifa stated.

Both crossed their arms at almost the same time and rolled their eyes. It would have been humorous if not for the fact that they might be ambushed at any moment. They proceeded deeper into the cave. What was making Tifa more and more tense was the fact that they hadn't had to fight any random creatures and a cave should be crawling with them. So two options were left, either this was Jenova Hope's headquarters or it was a nest for some large beast. And Tifa wasn't thrilled by either option. Finally, after wandering deeper and deeper into the cave they started to hear movement and noise that they couldn't quite decipher. Whatever they were coming up on, they would be face to face with in the very near future.

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't gonna end well?" Yuffie stated quietly.

"Damn it, you figured out I was gonna use you as either a bargaining chip or a sacrifice didn't you?" Reno said cooly.

"Very funny." Yuffie whispered back.

Tifa couldn't help but giggle a little and it helped her nerves. It was well timed too because the next moment they finally got a glimpse of what was residing in this particular cave.

In front of them were large eggs which wouldn't have been so bad if not for the many mid size Rapps sleeping near them. Tifa and Yuffie immediately look at each other remembering (though from different vantage points), Avalanche fighting a large one of these creatures years ago. Tifa shuddered as she remembered the large winged creature with it's claws and large tail that looked like a scorpions, attacking them with it and Aero 3. Tifa quickly signals to Reno to make sure his highest lightning and fire magic is ready while she puts on her Premium Heart gloves (which have been modified over the years, another perk of working with the WRO), and the three of them try to back up slowly, hoping to make a graceful exit.

It was a nice idea.

_Loud Music Starts Playing_

A horrified Yuffie looks down at her pockets as her cell phone goes off, it appears the great Ninja Yuffie forgot to put her phone on vibrate.

Tifa decides that the next moment of around 10 mid-size Rapps coming at her and her companions was actually a blessing in disguise for Yuffie, because at the quick glance she took to look at Reno, if the creatures weren't already attacking her, he would be by the look on his face. Instead all three instinctively yell out "Lightning!" and hit the oncoming enemies with three master materia of the spell. It also helped that the part of the cave they were in at the moment wasn't very tall so every time they tried to fly up higher to build up an attack they would hit the top of the cave. Plus their wings were getting tangled in the cramped space, thus giving them very little maneuverability. So all this made them attack at a much slower pace.

With the attack the trio gave them, it keeps the second wave back for a moment and the three get closer together to decide their next move. Yuffie observes that with enough momentum, she should be able to slip her way through and get behind them. If the timing is right they move should be able to create enough confusion to separate the enemy. As they are then dealing with Aero 2 spells and dodging tails, Yuffie hisses as one of the tails whacks her thigh but she pushes the pain aside and yells out to Reno.

"Hey Turkey how strong are you?"

Surprisingly at this moment Reno did not give her some smart ass remark or ignore her, he looked at her for a second, looked back at the group of Rapps formation and then smiled.

"Strong enough to boost you through them so you can get you behind them."

Tifa was confused for a moment, but then she observed what the two of them already had and before she could even put it all together Reno was ordering her to get to the side while Yuffie ran back behind them to give her enough momentum to push through the lines of Rapps.

Instinctively Tifa yelled out Lightning again, keeping the enemy from moving forward and killing the final of the first set of them. It gave Yuffie and Reno the time they needed because just as the next wave was coming up and starting an attack Yuffie took off full force towards Reno. He put his arms out a clasped his hands together and as Tifa held her breath. Reno caught her foot at the exact time he was supposed to and gave her the extra push she was looking for. Yuffie flew into a whole between the Rapps slicing many of them with her Conformer.

The gamble worked and the enemies break apart trying to choose which one of them to go after. Reno starts taking on a couple while Tifa takes on a few herself. Very soon the Trio is close to victory, the Rapps can sense it to and immediately start to fly back to each other. There, the deeply wounded Rapps all start flapping there wings as fast as they can...it is a final attack. Tifa was able to keep one of the Rapps to busy to get back to the group but in her dedication and concentration on the enemy in front of her, she doesn't see the new formation of the others and jumps up to deliver the killing blow to her opponent. This ends up being a terribly timed move because the wind from the other Rapps wings keep her suspended after she jumps and flings her into the opposite cave wall. Reno instinctively yells out Tifa's name and rushes towards her and foolishly leaves himself vulnerable for the final attack the Rapps are gearing up to send.

Yuffie had jumped behind a group of eggs and was at the moment protected, but she could still see what was happening to her companions. And honestly, she was not expecting to see the scene that she did. As Yuffie observes Reno she is flabbergasted. The panic in Reno's face and voice as he runs to her, this isn't something that can be faked...not in this situation. Here was Reno the Turk, destroyer of sector seven, not giving a damn about his own health and safety. Tifa was all that mattered. _Tifa was all that mattered._

Instinctively she jumps up and shrieks while picking up one of the large eggs and throws it against the cave wall, this indeed gets the Rapps attention and thus they turn their focus on Yuffie instead of Reno and Tifa.

Yuffie looks wide eyed as she realizes her quick thinking worked...too well.

"Oh gawed I am so screwed!"


	41. One Sentence

Hello all! This chapter continues right where the other left off, except back a few moments and back to Reno and Tifa's point of view. I hope everyone will enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy

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Reno sprints to Tifa, and he sees that she is not unconscious when he hears her moan and look around; a little woozy and her head was bleeding but overall she seemed okay. Tifa opened her ruby eyes to see Reno's aqua ones staring at her with concern. She smiled.

"Reno?"

_*High pitched yell.*_

Both Reno and Tifa turn to see Yuffie picking up an egg and crushing it against the wall. They realize she has done this to take the Rapps attention off of them, but in doing so Yuffie is about to experience their final attack instead.

"Oh Gawd I am so screwed!"

"Yuffie!" Tifa screamed. She tried to jump up, but she was still too woozy, she needed a few more moments to get the fog lifted from her head but that would probably be too late for her friend. That is when she heard Reno yelling as he held Tifa tighter to help to keep everything from spinning.

"Yuffie pick up another egg now!"

Yuffie did as she was told.

"Don't throw it, but put it over your head as if your going to throw it."

At first Tifa wasn't sure how much these dying Rapps would care about one more egg being destroyed as long as the threat was stopped, but then it occurred to her what Nanaki had told her one time about Rapps.

_"Rapps hold different jobs, if you will, as they get older; when they are mid-size or what humans would equate to a teenager, their primary mission and job is to protect the eggs as the mother and father search for food to store for when the babies hatch. The eggs must be protected at all costs."_

Tifa watched in awe as the dying Rapps stopped building their attack.

Yuffie had caught on to Reno's idea, so she slowly moved the egg back towards her body. She also moved it to one arm and called forth fire in her other hand. The Rapps squawked loudly but Yuffie held on to the fire for a second and then had it diminish. It was then that the Rapps calmed down seeming to understand what Yuffie was trying to say. She slowly moved towards them and they parted for her, when she was back on the same side as Tifa and Reno, she slowly held out the egg which one of them carefully took with their claws.

Reno, Tifa, and Yuffie then slowly started to back out of the cave. Since the Rapps did not appear to follow the trio looked at each other, gave a quick nod of understanding, and Yuffie and Tifa yelled "Cure!"

The remaining Rapps bowed their heads as if in thanks and with a strange new understanding, Tifa, Yuffie and Reno left the cave.

They kept walking until they could reach a spot that they would be out of sight, just in case the Rapps parents decided to come home, and then sat down to catch their breaths and assess injuries.

Reno was already curing Tifa while Yuffie looked at her thigh that was still burning from the slap one of the Rapps gave her.

"Damn it, it looks like I will have to wear those uncomfortable kimonos a couple of days early. Even with a full cure that hit is going to leave a mark!"

Tifa quickly full cured Yuffie.

"Thanks, at least the stinging and burning has stopped." Yuffie said a little quietly.

"I'm glad but when you walk it is going to feel tender, it may cause you to limp." Tifa said sadly.

"I won't limp, I've had to hide many injuries from my father over the years so I could go out and wander. I can handle the pain."

Tifa glanced at Reno and noticed him smile slightly.

"You know princess, you weren't half bad in there."

Yuffie glanced at Reno and gave a slight smirk, it was quick and very subtle, but it had been there.

"You know what turkey? You weren't so bad yourself."

Both did a slight nod and then quickly looked away from each other.

Yuffie looked over at Tifa. "How are you feeling? Are you still woozy?"

"No, I am a little embarrassed that I didn't catch the formation of the Rapps though."

"It happens, you were to busy kicking that other Rapps butt into oblivion."

Tifa giggled a little at Yuffie's description of her fight with that Rapps. She noticed Yuffie look down for a moment and then looked back up.

"Besides, Reno had your back...so it ended up being fine."

Tifa use every amount of restraint she could find keeping herself from reacting to Yuffie's words. It was a simple sentence, but that was all Yuffie was going to give at the moment and it said more than most would understand. Tifa wondered if Reno would even notice, but when she looked at Reno, his body was frozen staring at Yuffie; he had caught it too.

"We should get back, I can't be a complete zombie when I am dealing with my old man and it would appear we have another night of traveling to do tomorrow night." Yuffie stated as she got up. She started walking and the first few steps were a bit gingerly and the squinting of her eyes gave hints to her being uncomfortable, but sure enough after a couple of steps, the Princess of Wutai was walking normally and you would never know she was injured."

As Reno and Tifa followed, Reno whispered to Tifa, "Ya know, I may end up having to reevaluate my assessment of Yuffie."

Tifa smiled and nodded. A very small glimpse of hope had returned.


	42. For Every Action There Is A Reaction

Hello everyone, I have a long chapter for you this time, I hope you will enjoy it. As always thanks for coming back every chapter, and please feel free to leave me feedback.

Disclaimer: Square Enix still owns all things Final Fantasy.

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After parting ways with Yuffie and coming back to the hotel and literally collapsing on the bed and sleeping well into the next morning, Reno and Tifa only moved from the bed to get showers and order some room service. After taking care of those annoying inconveniences, they promptly got back into bed allowing themselves to do nothing but talk about the previous evenings events, dose off, and then fool around with each other. It was absolutely delightful.

"Is it wrong to be so happy with so many things going on?" Tifa said breathlessly as she enjoyed Reno's mouth exploring her neck.

"Well you know me, I've never been one to do what's right, so I'm probably not the right person to ask." Reno said seductively as he slowly moved his hand up and down her leg and thigh, painstakingly teasing Tifa as his hand moved farther and farther up. Stealing passionate but quick kisses from her hungry lips.

Tifa bit her lip as she tried to not give into the impulse to jump on top of him and ravish him.

"Hmm, I don't think you give yourself enough credit, you do many things _very_ right." Tifa's breathing was getting harder and faster as the talk continued.

Reno smirked.

"Well that is nice to hear, but just because it always is nice to get that positive reinforcement, why don't you let me know when I do things right."

Tifa was now almost beside herself with need, but she gave one more quick answer before Reno stopped teasing and allowed his hands to get to their destination.

"Good idea."

---

Reno groaned when he felt the warmth of Tifa's body leave him. He half opened his eyelids to a curvaceous and naked Tifa heading in to the bathroom. He had never felt so at peace, so content as he had these few days with Tifa; when they had those quiet moments together, giving them a chance to just enjoy each other. Once he heard the water being turned on in the bathtub he got the sudden urge to take a bath. He had a feeling Tifa would have a new appreciation once he showed her all the fun that could happen during a bath. His destination was deterred however when he heard his cell phone ring. Reno looked down at his phone and saw the name. He took a moment to look up longingly at the bathroom but he decided that bath time fun would have to wait.

"Hey Elena."

_"Hey Reno."_

"It's good to hear from you yo."

_"Really? I wasn't sure how you would feel about me calling you, but aren't you proud of me that I kept myself from calling you all this time after Tseng informed us of Rude's disappearance?"_

Reno couldn't help but chuckle, but he could hear the fear in her voice and how hard she was trying to not show it.

"What did you rig your phone to shock you if you dialed my number?"

_"Oh no much more extreme,I finally have the use of my hands back after having the tied behind my back for the past few days."_

"Hmm, sounds kinky."

_"I knew you would say that, thus why I chose that example."_

Reno laughed out loud now, her being around him, Rude, and Tseng these past few years had really brought out a side of her she had buried for a long time.

"Now how would our boss feel about you flirting with me?"

_"Hopefully become insane with jealousy?"_

"He should because he would know once you had me, he would be yesterdays news with you."

_"Oh Reno, your modesty is such a turn on."_

" I do what I can."

Reno heard her chuckle softly and then there was silence for a few moments.

_"So now is probably the time to stop stalling and get to why I called you in the first place huh?"_

"Yeah." Reno said softly.

_"I know that since we haven't heard from you that Rude- he is still missing."_ Elena's voice cracked a little as she said Rude's name.

_"I just....how are you holding up Reno? I am really worried about you." _Elena stated sadly.

"I'm doing... okay." Reno said he hesitantly.

_"Reno, I know you have to be strong now for Rude...for all of us. I just wanted you to know that if you need a few moments where- if you want to stop being strong for a few moments, I'm here."_

For the first time since Reno had heard about his best friends disappearance, he felt like he could loose it. Elena's kindness warmed his heart and he knew there was no way he could ever thank her for finding away to push but not be too overboard. All this time he had turned his worry and fear into action, focusing on the mission and/or Tifa. If his thoughts and emotions were on affairs of the heart or him working on the mission, he could deal with the fact that Rude had been missing for almost three weeks. He had approached it like a Turk, because Rude would need him to be strong so he could find him. He swore he would never allow himself to think about what may be really happening to Rude while he searched...until now.

Like what torture methods they may be using to extract information from him; how he could be extremely ill; that he was probably in a dank, dark cell full of rats, insects, and their feces. How Rude had probably given up hope that he would be rescued....that Rude may have thought Reno had abandoned him. The fact that he could be dead; that Rude could die thinking he didn't matter enough to be saved.

Now he was thinking like a man who had lost his best friend.

"I- Rude must be going through hell." Reno's voice cracked, his hands started to become clammy.

"I am afraid he will think I- we, abandoned him." Reno's voice was shaking now, as was his hands. It was very hard to hold the phone. He could hear soft sniffles on the other end.

_"That is my fear too."_ Elena said softly.

"But I refuse to believe he's dead. Rude is too strong and too damn stubborn for that." Reno stated forcefully.

Elena chuckled. _"Your damn right he is."_

Reno smiled as the tears started to form in his eyes.

_"I hate that you are facing this without us there to help you."_

"You are helping, by dealing with everything else I can't." Reno's voice was still shaking but he was calming down a bit.

_"But you still need support there Reno."_

"I have support."

_"Look I know Tifa is a great fighter and probably is a good investigator, thinks fast on her feet and whatever, but I don't like you being alone... emotionally._

Reno's breath caught. He realized that now he was in a possible volatile situation. How could he explain in a brief phone call what had happened between him and Tifa. How could explain that he knew things would be alright because Tifa was with him. How could he explain to Elena that he had fallen for Tifa Lockhart.

_"Tifa...I think she would surprise you. She has been...very good to me throughout this."_

He heard a frustrated sigh come out of Elena.

_"Damn it Reno, why is it every time I think we actually move forward into a true friendship, the next second you are shutting me back out again."_

"I'm not doing that here Elena."

_"No? So you really expect me to buy that you and Tifa are friends now, that she has been there for you to listen to you and help you deal with all this?"_

"You know I go to her bar all the time, it hasn't occurred to you that we may have built a friendship?" Reno was getting a little upset, but he was trying to keep his cool, he knew this seemed out of nowhere for Elena.

_"We have a shaky alliance with Avalanche, and I know we are on a lot better terms than we were before, but come on Reno, you pressed the button that destroyed Sector 7. That is just a deal breaker, you may be a customer in her bar who she treats kindly because it's her job, she may respect you as a fighter and handle being an acquaintance, but a true friendship? I am insulted that you still think I am that naive after all these years."_

"Elena, you are making assumptions about something you know nothing about."

_"You know Reno, all you had to say was that right now I prefer to be alone and I don't want you or Tseng here with me instead of lying to me about Tifa being there for you."_

"I AM NOT LYING!"

It had happened, all the emotion, worry, frustration...it was coming out, but the wrong way, at the wrong time, and Elena never saw it coming.

There was silence at the other end for a moment.

_"I don't understand Reno... it looks as if I screwed up again. I wanted to make you feel better, not worse. I just can't figure out why you are saying these things about Tifa."_

"Lainey..."

_"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT RIGHT NOW!"_

Again silence.

"Tifa and I have become...something's happened here, I don't even know if I understand it."

Reno could picture Elena realizing what he was saying, her eyes getting big and her blinking fast to hold back the tears.

_"So, just so I understand your story, you have become... close to Tifa throughout this...ordeal. Is that right?_

"A lot has happened since I saw you last and it is impossible to explain on the phone in a brief conversation.

Silence again.

_"My Shiva, you still don't trust me."_

Reno let out a frustrated sigh. "What the hell are you going on about now?"

_"You think because of my relationship with Tseng, that I will run to him with any little detail."_

"Not that I was thinking that in this particular case, but actually you do have a tendency to forget discretion or silence when it comes to our boss."

_"I thought we hadn't gotten past that; I have proven to keep my mouth shut lately."_

"But your nature is to be the best Turk possible, you always want to impress Tseng."

"_Of course I do but I thought you understood that I turned the corner confidence wise and could be someone you could confide in when you really needed it."_

"For most things I do trust you Elena, but honestly this new found confidence came about when you started fucking the boss and I don't want to have something I tell you in confidence get to his ears the first time you have a fallout."

_"You bastard! You really think after all these years I would only feel like I have job security because I am screwing the boss?"_

"How did this happen? How did we get into this horrible discussion, I thought we were going to talk about Rude?"

_"Why would we do that, to have a real conversation there has to be respect and some trust; You see apparently I am only worth something as a woman and Turk because I have a man who I can open my legs for."_

"Stop this Elena, that is not what I meant and you know it!"

_"You want to know what I know? I know that you are setting yourself up for some serious problems. What do you think is going to happen when your partner finds out that on the way to finding him, you have been screwing his dream girl? How do you think it feels for Tseng and I to know you'd rather have long in depth chats with an Avalanche member than us? And how is this fairytale of yours going to end huh? Do you really think her friends are going to accept you? And what about how your actual friends feel, do we count? _

"Reno I'm getting lonely in here! Are you coming to join me?"

Reno heard Tifa calling to him from the bathroom, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"Elena...I-I'm sorry that your hurt, I'm sorry I can't explain what has happened, what is happening. Tifa and I are so close to finding the location of Jenova's Hope Headquarters and when we do, I-Rude is going to need you and Tseng. Please can we focus on the one goal we all agree on, getting Rude back and destroying Jenova's Hope?

After a few tense moments Elena finally spoke again. Her words were terse and cold.

_"Sure, we will be coming with Reeve and other members of the WRO for the Princess Coronation Ceremony, so just contact Tseng when you find the location."_

"I will...look I-"

_"I'll see you later Reno."_

Reno heard the click and the silence.

He sat there staring straight ahead, allowing the guilt to really seep in. The joy Tifa brought him was like nothing he had experienced in his life and he knew that his feelings for her were deep and real. But how was that going to work once they got Rude back? How could he ever explain to his partner that while he suffered, Reno had found what could be the love of his life. While Reno was experiencing falling in love, his best friend was experiencing horrific torture. There is no way to explain that or come to an understanding. So even if Reno found his best friend, deep down he knew that really, he lost him the same day he found happiness with Tifa.

Tifa's beautiful form brought him out of his trance.

"Didn't you hear me call you?"

But as soon as Reno looked up, she knew something was terribly wrong and her smile disappeared.

"What happened!"

"I'm going to lose Tifa, one way or another...I am going to lose."


	43. Under the Light of the Moon

Hello everyone. To say it has been a while is an understatement. Thank you for continuing to come back, even after such a long hiatus. I hope you will enjoy the chapter and feedback as always is appreciated. The final stretch of the story is coming up!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Final Fantasy

* * *

Tifa stood silently; staring up at a very bright crescent moon. Her shoulders ached, thanks to the tension that was continuously building in them. Her shoulders also felt heavy; the weight of all that was about to come pushing down on her. How strange was it that something metaphorical had actually given her a physical reaction? Tifa instinctively rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath, trying to relieve some of what she was feeling. They still had plenty of time to find JH Headquarters, and Yuffie's ceremony event was coming along beautifully. A lot of important names were already arriving, along with Cid (who had a convenient wife has the flu alibi to keep her safely at home), Nanaki, and of course many higher ups from other parts of the world. Tifa planned on meeting with them tomorrow...and she wanted to be able to put the final plans in motion. At least in a little bit their should have confirmation of the location one way or the other. If the WRO scouts were as good as promised then checking out this next cave would either be the right one or leave the only other option as a winner. Tifa wouldn't even really allow herself to think of the other possibility, that the scouts and Yuffie were wrong and none of the locations were right. She had faith in Reeve, Yuffie, and the people in the organization...they would know tonight.

A puff of smoke redirected her attention, and she began to stare at her redheaded lover who was staring off into space while taking slow drags from his cigarette. Reno had closed himself off to her and she knew why. His worry about Rude and his talk with Elena had really taken a toll on him, though he tried to focus on each little task as the day went on. Tifa had realized that though the Turks did not show affection like she and her friends in Avalanche did, they were still a family; and right now he was feeling estranged from them. Her heart hurt for him, he truly felt he was going to lose something dear to him; that there was no way to be with her and still have all his friends. And as far as Tifa knew, she may be in the same boat as far as being estranged from her friends, once the word got out to all of them. Reno would have to go into hiding to keep himself safe from Barret, Cid, Cloud-

Cloud.

Tifa's eyebrows creased with concern. It occurred to her that she had still not heard from Cloud since he left for his mission. She knew his chances for contact would be few and far between, but she had hoped for some info by now. Plus selfishly she was hoping he would be able to finish his job and get back to be able to join the fight, his skills were always appreciated when a huge battle was going to be happening. As ridiculous as it may sound considering the danger of the mission, Tifa had never even thought about the possibility of him failing. For her Cloud losing was not an option. He has been through hell and back, and no professor, as crafty as he may be, was going to take out Cloud Strife. So she pushed her concern aside...for the time being.

Tifa's wine eyes then began to look around for Yuffie. But she didn't see her. So that meant she was still scouting the area. Once again that twinge of concern came pushing back to the surface. Tifa was worried for Yuffie. There was so much more to the young ninja princess then most gave her credit for; she always hid how complex her thoughts and feelings are by throwing out that bratty air and overly curious and carefree philosophy. But Tifa knew that the realities of her having to take over for her father, even for a little while, to restore good favor and try to fix her father's messes was beginning to hit her. The fear, the doubt, the disappointment in her father had to be very overwhelming for her and right now she and Tifa were still to strained to get into deep discussions. So all Tifa can do right now is have faith and her and be there if Yuffie chooses to lean on her.

"Tifa."

Yuffie's voice brought her back to the here and now and Tifa turned to acknowledge her friend. Within moments Reno was on the other side. His face showed just a slight hint of anticipation.

"So what do you think?"

"We are about a hundred yards from the next possible location, it does seem like the wildlife is not as prevalent here, which can mean many things, but one of them is that humans may be around on a regular basis."

Tifa felt the butterflies start dancing in her stomach; she couldn't help it, after all that her and Reno had been through these past days, it looked like they might finally be coming close to reaching their goal. Time for the three of them to go over everything one more time...just in case. Tifa took a deep breath and began.

"Alright, let's go over this one more time before we get any closer, if this is it then Reno and I will retreat to a viable hiding spot and let you do what you do. The goal is to get as much Intel on the building or buildings and what is in particular rooms. Obviously the two highest priorities are the control room; intelligence room- whatever you would like to call it, and the other is where they keep prisoners. To keep them from picking up your signal, you will transfer the data to me and then I will redirect it to Reeve so we can keep the signal power low.

Reno spoke next.

"Aren't we worrying about information getting lost in all those transfers, I mean the WRO main computer won't even be uploading the data until Reeve puts it in."

"Yes, there is a possibility this could backfire, but it is the best option because are activity should go unnoticed by Jenova's Hope and once Reeve has it, he will be able to bypass a lot of red tape and a lot of extra eyes seeing the data. Vincent and Shelke are on call to be the ones to look over the info and then pick a head squad to meet up with Reno and me back here at headquarters during your ceremony."

Tifa noticed Reno's demeanor change.

"Tifa. I need to speak to you for a moment. Yuffie can you please excuse us."

Tifa was taken aback, he almost never called her Tifa, it was only in extreme circumstances or in the midst of deep love making that he ever said her first name. A queasiness came over her stomach as they walked away from Yuffie.

"Reno what's wrong?"

"So the timing of having this kind of discussion is shit and I'm sorry for that."

Tifa was completely confused.

"Look, you can't be with me when I infiltrate the headquarters."

"Excuse me?"

"Your one of Yuffie's closest friends, actually, the closest friend. It will send up red flags immediately if you are not at the ceremony."

Tifa began to protest, but Reno continued.

"Besides this whole plan is your idea, you will need to be there in case things don't go according to plan...you may have to think on your feet."

"Do I have to remind you all of the Turks and Avalanche will be there, they are all good at handling a crisis."

"Yeah, but you are the one who has seen them in action, plus the more strong fighters to take out Jenova's Hope and protect the guests, the better. Plus I will need Tseng and Elena to meet me at the headquarters has soon as possible. You and I both know getting Rude to safety must be a Turk operation."

"I don't think you have given enough of a compelling argument to keep me from being by your side."

"I know..." Reno sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"So here's the dark truth. Iotola took my best friend and has him captive...he has for weeks now. Either Rude is dead or suffering a great deal....I can not let that pass."

Tifa stood silently.

"You have seen me on one of the worst days of my life, you saw what I was capable of...and that time I was just taking an order because it was my job."

Tifa's heart was beating fast, she couldn't help but be strangely touched by how candid he was being with her.

"You have always known that I can be ruthless, but this time when I confront my enemy, it will be personal for me. Once I know of Rude's fate, whether he is dead or being taken away from there to begin healing...I will become the monster your friends fear I am. And I will not regret it....actually I know I will enjoy every second of it. He will suffer because he made Rude suffer...because he desecrated something special to you, and because he wants to bring back the worst things that ever happened to our planet."

Reno had begun to shake, the hate was flaring in his eyes, but with that an unsettling determination in his voice. Tifa wondered if Reno thought that him telling her the truth of what he planned to do would disgust her and make her want to run. But the truth was....it made her want to stand by him more than ever. She understood that hate, that need to fight for someone else, to avenge.

"Reno I understand your need to do this, for vengeance. Some people are so dangerous and evil, the normal system cannot handle them. I won't think less of you."

Reno's expression changed for a moment, he seemed truly touched by Tifa's acceptance.

"Thank you...I can't tell you how much- but still I don't want you to see me in that state. And when I take down Iotola the only emotions I want to feel is hate and anger."

At that moment Reno's face and eyes softened. "And you see that is why you can't be with me, because you bring other emotions out of me, positive and affectionate. And I can't risk those being there when I do this job."

And that confirmed what she had hoped, that they both had truly brought out positives in each other.

"Okay Reno, I promise to stay in the ceremony fight. But if it is able to be handled quickly...then I will come with reinforcements."

"Fair enough."

They leaned in to kiss when Yuffie's quiet but still startling jump next to them interrupted.

"Sorry to ruin your aww moment, but I just saw someone go to a rock,look around and then twist it...low and behold you could hear some noises, kinda like something opening. I think we found our cave kids!"


End file.
