Picking up the Pieces

Het in this chapter!
Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Shadows

After Reno left the hotel room, Cloud had gathered his clothes off the floor and gotten dressed. He was in the bathroom now, trying his best to brush his teeth with his finger and some toothpaste from the tiny tube that the hotel provided. He looked at the shower longingly, but with the deliveries he had put off yesterday he knew he didn’t have the time, he’d just have to wait until he got home.

He examined the mark that Reno had left on his neck the day before, it was all angry purple and red, and a few faint teeth impressions still surrounded it, he was surprised that the redhead hadn’t broken the skin. He rubbed at it, willing it to go away.
At least zipping up the front of his top a little higher than usual covered the bite somewhat. He frowned at his reflection in the mirror, it was unlikely that the bruise would go unnoticed and he had no idea how to explain it to his friends, especially Tifa.

Speaking of Tifa…

He took out his phone and dialled the number for the bar. Barret’s deep voice boomed over the line.

“Seventh Heaven”

“Hey, Barret”

“S’up, Cloud?”

“Can you tell Tifa that I have a few deliveries to catch up on today, but that I should be home by nightfall?”

“No problem, Spiky. Hurry up though, she’s worried about you.”

He flipped his phone shut and slid it back into his pocket. He felt bad for making Tifa worry, but he didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of his friends knowing about Reno. He just couldn’t see them approving of him being in a relationship with a ShinRa employee, especially a Turk, no matter how different the company may now be. He would just have to keep it to himself… unless things between himself and the redhead became serious, and he would deal with that hurdle when he came to it.

He left the bathroom and pulled the sheath for his sword onto his back, fastening it under his shoulder guard. He slid the main body of his sword into the sheath, its weight reassuring against his back.

~

The drive from Fort Condor back to Junon had been hellish for Rufus; the entire trip spent rubbing potions into his unconscious lover’s skin, trying to wake him up and screaming at the driver to go faster.
When they finally arrived he watched helplessly as his doctor and her team of assistants bundled Tseng away on a stretcher to the infirmary.

Now he sat in a room across from the infirmary, which used to be an office by the looks of things. Gods, he hated all these old empty rooms, he needed to find a new base of operations for his company, and soon.
He paced the room nervously, throwing anxious glances at the clock. Time seemed distorted and thick as the seconds trickled by.
It wasn’t long until he felt a familiar pain creeping into his legs. He sat back down in his wheelchair angrily, disgusted with himself for becoming tired from just a few hours on his feet. He felt so useless, sitting here in his wheelchair while Tseng suffered. He wished that his Turks were here with him; it was maddening waiting alone like this. But they had a much more important task to take care of right now.
If Tseng hadn’t been in such bad shape he might have stayed to watch and maybe shoot one or two of the heathens himself. He could almost picture them squirm under the sight of his gun…

He was brought back from his fantasy as the doctor knocked softly on the door and entered the room.

“Sir, I have finished assessing your fiancé’s condition.”

“Yes?”

She flipped through the pages on the clipboard and cleared her throat.

“He has regained consciousness for the moment. But that may not last, as we had to administer tranquillisers to combat his delirium. He is severely malnourished; they had been starving him, only giving him enough to keep him alive. He’s also suffering from severe sleep deprivation. He’s been beaten repeatedly, his right tibia is fractured and his left wrist was broken and has healed wrong. We’ll have to re-break it before we use any curative magic on his wrist to make sure that it sets correctly. Some of his fingernails are missing; we have yet to ascertain whether that is from torture or from trying to defend himself. He is covered with numerous cuts, bruises and burns. The skin on his wrists is badly damaged, most likely from being bound with some sort of rope. Separate from these injuries, there is a scar on his midsection, mirrored by an identical one on his back, made by a blade that we assume to be the Masamune…” she trailed off, fidgeting with the clipboard in her hand, seemingly unwilling to finish.

“What?” he asked impatiently.

“He has also been…interfered with…sexually” she replied, not meeting his eyes.

Rufus inhaled sharply, his grip on the arm rests of his wheelchair tightening until his knuckles turned white. Anger and tears clouded his vision and he felt the sour taste of bile rising in the back of his throat. He found himself wishing that he had ordered his Turks to do a lot more than just exterminate the people of Fort Condor.
The doctor shifted on her feet uncomfortably, but she took his silence as a signal to continue.

“All of his physical injuries can be healed easily with an intensive course of cure treatments. You yourself are a testament to the wonders that can be achieved with curative magic. In comparison to the injuries you sustained a few months ago his are relatively minor. He should be physically well in a matter of weeks. For psychological reasons however, I would advise against him going back to work for another four or five months, and another two months after that before he should go on any missions”

Rufus almost snorted at that. If he had anything to say about it, Tseng wouldn’t be going on any more missions, full stop.
He stood up abruptly, moving towards the door.

“Sir! You shouldn’t be out of your wheelchair”, she stammered

“I want to see him,” he said, leaving the room and the bewildered physician. He crossed the hall in two long strides, pushing open the door to the infirmary and making a beeline for the bed in the corner. There was a nurse standing beside the bed and Rufus shooed him with a wave of his hand.

His breath caught in his throat when he laid eyes on his lover. He looked so wrong in the hospital bed, seemingly unconscious again and hooked up to endless machines, his usually bronze skin now pale from months of captivity.
His eyes flicked to the other man’s broken wrist and he wondered angrily if it had been broken in an attempt to escape, straining at his bonds as they did the unspeakable to him.

“Oh Tseng…” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I’m so sorry”

Tseng’s eyes half opened at the sound of his name and he looked up at the other man.

“Rufus?” he asked, blinking deliberately. His voice was slurred and his dark eyes were unfocused and confused. Rufus swallowed thickly and grasped his lover’s uninjured hand in his own.

“Yes, Love. It’s me,” he said, trying to sound reassuring.

Tseng smiled weakly and closed his eyes again; Rufus watched as his lover’s breathing slowed, and he guessed that he must have fallen back asleep.
Rufus knelt beside the bed, his wretched legs betraying him. He watched Tseng sleep through a curtain of tears, before lowering his forehead to the mattress as sobs wracked his body and tears stained the sheets.

~

Rude stood with his fellow Turks in the President’s office, giving his report on their neutralisation of Fort Condor.
Rufus was sitting behind his desk, his elbows resting on its polished surface, tapered fingers laced together. Rude knew that Rufus was trying to project an image of a calm and collected man; Rude may have been inclined to believe him if the President’s eyes weren’t so bloodshot and his cheeks red and blotchy, obviously from crying.

They had been summoned here the second they had arrived back in Junon, not even given a chance to clean the blood off themselves or their weapons, and he wondered if the President had wanted it that way, that he wanted to see the blood of his fiancé’s captors on them, to breath in the stench of the bastard’s deaths as it emanated from each of them.

Rude finished speaking gratefully, he couldn’t wait until Tseng resumed command and he wouldn’t have to do all of this talking.
The President didn’t speak for some time and the tension in the room was palpable. Rude knew that Elena and Reno must have been itching to ask about Tseng. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, Elena’s jaw was clenched and her eyes were fixed on the floor, Reno was literally twitching, each small movement shaking droplets of blood from his EMR onto the floor. He looked at Adrian last, the poor boy looked scared to death and Rude realised that this was probably the first time he had ever been in the same room as Rufus. The President could be intimidating at the best of times but it was much worse now, anger and pain seemed to be emanating from him in waves. Rude just wanted to get the fuck out of here and into a shower.

When the President finally spoke, his voice sounded strained. “I am extremely pleased with your performance today.” He paused and swept his gaze across the four of them. “You may each visit Tseng tomorrow briefly, if you wish.” He stopped speaking again, this time training those blue eyes on Adrian.

“Mr. Frayne?”

“Yessir?” Adrian all but squeaked

“I think that after today’s mission that any further training on your part is unnecessary. You have more than proven that you are worthy of your uniform.”

“Thank you, sir”

“You are dismissed”

The four of them saluted and left quietly.
Their short journey from the President’s office to their floor was a silent one, each one of them just wanting to get into a shower and then bed.
Rude watched Adrian and Reno enter their respective rooms and was searching his pocket for his key when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned slowly, looking down into Elena’s brown eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t really sure what, when she stood up on her toes so that her lips met his. It was a soft kiss, wet and full of promise. She withdrew slowly, gripping his hand in hers and pulling him toward her room.

They undressed beside her bed, holsters unhooked and guns set aside, ties and shirts pooling on the floor. Once naked they both padded into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. It felt wonderful under the spray of water, her warm body pressed against his. He worked shampoo into her short blonde hair, paying special attention to the places where blood had left its mark; rinsing it out and watching the water turn pink. It wasn’t until they were free of any trace of what had happened earlier that their mouths met again, her lips pressing against his hungrily, her tongue circling his. He slipped his hand between their bodies, moving down over her smooth stomach and between her legs; he slid a finger inside her. She gasped into his mouth and he bit down gently on her lower lip in response, adding a second finger and circling them.
He moved his free hand to her breasts, caressing and squeezing gently while she writhed and moaned against him, until she cried out, digging her short nails into his back.

He removed his fingers carefully and lifted her up, pinning her against the wall and entering her in one smooth motion. He started a slow and satisfying rhythm, holding Elena’s gaze as he did so, her eyes were intense and beautiful, and he felt like he was drowning.
She moved with him, her thrusts speeding up as she approached the edge, her breathing coming in harsh, ragged pants. Her head rolled back against the wall as she cried out, tightening around him. He wasn’t far behind, moaning as he came, the first sound he had made since she kissed him outside his room.

~

Tifa kept one eye on the door while she wiped down the bar, it was nearly ten, the sun had set, and Cloud still hadn’t come home. It wasn’t really safe for anyone to be outside the cities alone after nightfall, even for someone as strong as Cloud.
She twisted the cloth in her hand worriedly, and she thought back to the conversation she had had with him on the phone yesterday. She was no fool, she knew that he had been lying when he said that his bike had broken down and, stranger still, she was almost positive that she had heard someone in the background when she was talking to him. She had no idea who it could be, and why they would inspire him to make an overnight trip to Junon.
The door opened and she looked up hopefully, but while the figure that entered was familiar, it wasn’t Cloud.

“Vincent” she smiled. “What brings you here? We haven’t seen you in months”

“Fort Condor is burning,” he said in his usual curt manner. He moved forward, his cloak swirling as he sat down on one of the bar stools.

“What? Why?” she asked, bewildered.

He just shook his head. “I sensed something was wrong and I found Fort Condor in flames… there was nothing I could do.”

She wanted to ask why that would make him come here of all places, but decided against it. She poured a drink for herself and one for Vincent; they sat in amiable silence for a while, before he spoke up.

“Where are your customers?”

“We don’t open on Fridays.”

He paused, seemingly savouring that statement as if she had just told him the meaning of life. “How is everybody?”

She was surprised by that question, Vincent had always seemed so aloof, concerned only with his own matters. She felt a little guilty about judging him so harshly. So, she told him about Denzel, what the WRO had been doing, the apparently reformed ShinRa, her relationship with Reeve and finally about Cloud and his strange behaviour over the last three days. No sooner had she finished talking about him that said blonde came in the door, noisily clomping in those big boots he always wore.

~

Vincent noticed the change in Cloud immediately, just as Tifa had said he looked uncharacteristically happy. Gone was the shell-shocked, forlorn boy he had taken as his leader all those months ago.
His eyebrow twitched when Cloud clapped him on the back in friendly greeting and sat down on the stool beside him. Even the news about Fort Condor didn’t keep the happy glint from his eyes or the smile from the corner of his mouth.

“I’m going to go tuck the kids in” Tifa said and headed for the stairs.

Vincent turned to Cloud; intent on asking him what had brought about this profound change when something caught his eye. He reached out and pulled the strand of hair from the younger man’s clothes, a very long strand of very red hair. He only knew one person with hair that particular shade of red. His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to ask Cloud why exactly there was a Reno hair (of all things) on his clothes, that was when he noticed the love bite standing out on the other man’s neck and all of the pieces fell into place. The reason for their leader’s sudden good cheer and lengthy trip to Junon instantly obvious in that mark and the hair pinched between his thumb and forefinger.

He watched Cloud’s blue eyes flicker nervously from his face to the hair in his hand and back again. The blonde looked about to speak when the sound of Tifa descending the stairs interrupted, Cloud jumped at the sound, all but falling off his seat.

“Vincent, please don’t say anything to Tifa,” he whispered urgently.

Vincent raised an eyebrow but complied, he hid the incriminating hair under his cloak before Tifa re-entered the room and moved behind the bar to pour herself a fresh drink.

“Vincent? You want another?” she asked

“No. Thank you, Tifa.”

“Cloud?”

“Some sake would be nice, Tif’” the blonde replied quietly, not meeting their eyes.

Vincent watched his friends drink and listened as Tifa asked Cloud about his bike breaking down. Vincent almost laughed at the flimsy excuses that their leader put forth, and it was quite obvious that Tifa didn’t believe him either.
They went around in circles like that for a while, Tifa trying discreetly to catch Cloud in a lie before she finally gave up, wishing them both goodnight and going upstairs, shooting Vincent a concerned look before leaving.

An awkward silence fell upon the two men, and it stretched for quite some time before Cloud shifted uncomfortably in his seat and spoke.

“Vincent…” he paused, swallowing audibly. “The others can’t know, …not yet”

Vincent didn’t answer for a while; he didn’t really know what to say. Cloud was treading dangerous territory by getting involved with a Turk. But it wasn’t his place to force Cloud to confess to their friends, and he had no right to preach to the boy, not with the choices he had made in the past when it came to romance.

“Your secret is safe. I hope you know what you’re doing, Cloud” he replied, getting up and heading for the door.

“You’re not going to disappear again, are you?” Cloud called after him.

“I’ll keep in touch,” he answered simply, closing the door behind him.

He stood outside the Seventh Heaven, gathering his cloak around himself against the cold. He had a long walk ahead of him if he wanted to get to Junon by morning.

~

Reno woke up early the next morning, pulled from sleep by a throbbing ache all along his right arm. He sat up and rolled his shoulder experimentally, trying to work the knot out of the muscle.

This is what I get for using my EMR as a club… he thought to himself with a wince.

He looked at the clock on his bedside table, blinking dumbly a few times before the numbers sank in, 6:45. He rolled out of bed with a groan, trying to remember the last time he had been up before eight.
He stumbled into the bathroom and started up the shower, pulling his underwear off with one hand and nearly falling face first onto the tiled floor when they caught on his ankle. He let out a shaky laugh, glad that one of the other Turks wouldn’t be finding him naked, ass in the air and unconscious on his bathroom floor after some severe head-to-tile contact.
He was just about to step into the shower stall when he noticed his shampoo was gone.

Shit!

He had only bought a new bottle recently and someone had taken it upon themselves to steal it. Only the other Turks and Rufus had access to this floor, so it had to have been one of them. He knew that it wasn’t Rufus, who probably washed his hair with something that cost more than Reno made in a fucking year, he didn’t think that Adrian would have the balls to sneak into his room and take his shit; it couldn’t have been Rude because Rude didn’t have any hair to wash… that just left ‘Lena.

He stroked his chin in thought, ‘Lena does have access to this floor, she does have hair and she does indeed have the balls to steal my shit.

He pulled on a pair of pants and grabbed the small black wallet he took with him everywhere. He left his room, stopping in front of Elena’s and testing the handle. It was locked. He opened the black wallet and took out several lengths of wire, the tools of his trade before he became a Turk; he inserted two of them into the lock, picking it with practiced speed.

The door’s catch sprung open and he let himself inside, intent on retrieving his stolen shampoo and relieving Elena of some of her things in the process. He had taken two steps into the room when he noticed that Elena was not alone in her bed. The large shape beside her was hidden completely under the blanket, piquing Reno’s curiosity. He crept forward, quietly as possible until he was beside the bed. He reached forward carefully, catching the edge of the blanket between his thumb and forefinger and drew it back slowly, revealing a familiar bald head.
Reno jumped backward, clapping his hands over his mouth to stifle the laughter that bubbled in the back of his throat, threatening to escape. He turned and left the room as quietly as possible, snickering as he went.

He headed down the hallway to Adrian’s room, needing to share this tasty morsel of gossip with someone and he still needed something to wash his hair with. He turned the handle on the door, surprised when it turned freely and the door opened. He poked his head around the edge of the door, confronted with the sight of a fully dressed Adrian sitting on the edge of his bed and tying his shoelaces. Adrian looked up curiously at the sound of the door opening, smiling when he saw Reno.

“Reno, why are you sneaking into my room at the crack of dawn?”

“I need shampoo, Ade, ‘Lena stole mine so now I’m stealing yours.”

“Why don’t you go steal yours back?”

“I was going to… but ‘Lena had a guest in her bed and I didn’t want to risk disturbing them, yo.” Reno chuckled, dropping Adrian a conspiratorial wink.

“Guest?”

“Rude and ‘Lena finally fucked. Those two have been pining after each other for nearly a year and neither of them seemed inclined to do anythin’ bout it, until now that is. Nothing like a bit of bloodshed to get the libido goin’, yo”

Adrian didn’t answer, just sat there looking at his hands strangely.

“You okay, Ade? About what we did yesterday?”

The brunette blinked a few times and looked up at Reno with those glowing blue eyes, not as bright as Cloud’s but close enough for Reno to guess that they had played a large part in him bedding Adrian the other night.

“Yeah I’m okay. I’m no stranger to violence, Reno. I was in SOLDIER after all. But yesterday was the first time I’ve ever had to harm a child…” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Reno crossed the room and sat down beside the younger man, looping an arm around his shoulder.

“What we did yesterday had to be done, for Tseng, for Rufus and for ShinRa. If those people kidnapped Tseng, what’s to stop them doing that to you, or me, or any of us Turks? Or the baby that the boss men have on the way?”

Adrian sighed and leaned into Reno. “I know. I know that it was necessary, and I’d do it again if I had to… but I still feel terrible for those kids.”

“Nothing wrong with feeling bad, Ade, as long as you don’t let it get in the way of your work, yo. Coz believe me, that wont be the last time you have to do something unsavoury for the Company.” Reno stood up and stretched. “I’m gonna have that shower and then go for a walk, yo. You wanna come with?”

~

Elena woke up slowly, snuggling close to the warm body beside her. She opened her eyes and took in the sleeping form beside her, she felt warmth bloom in her chest and smiled, pulling him closer and resting her forehead against his. Why had she waited so long to make a move on him? They could have been like this for months now.
Her movement woke him, and his eyes opened slowly, meeting hers. She didn’t think she could get tired of looking into those eyes, a shade of brown much deeper than her own and absolutely beautiful.

“Good morning” she whispered.

He answered by pressing his lips to hers gently, when he withdrew a small smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth and she smiled back.
She plucked up her courage for what she wanted to say next, taking a deep breath.

“Rude… I love you”

He blinked a few times, and Elena was afraid that he was going to shoot her down, but then he smiled. The first real smile she had ever seen on his face.

“I love you too, Elena.”

~

Reno and Adrian had just returned from their walk, and now they were both leaning against the front of the ShinRa building, a cup of coffee in Adrian’s hand and a cigarette in Reno’s.

“I gotta go take a piss. Back in a minute, yo” Reno said, flicking his unfinished cigarette onto the ground and walking around the side of the building into an alley. He was just about to unzip his fly when he heard a noise behind him.
He spun, raising his EMR. The metal rod stopped abruptly in its downward arch as his right arm was caught in a bone-crushing grip.
He found himself staring into a pair of crimson eyes.

“Fuck! Valentine, you scared the shit out of me!” he squawked, yanking his arm back and rubbing it sulkily.

Adrian came running around the corner, gun drawn. He skidded to a stop when he saw Vincent and he looked to Reno nervously.

“It’s cool, Ade. I’ll be around in a few minutes” Reno assured the younger man.

Adrian nodded and reluctantly left the alley, keeping a wary eye on Vincent as he went.

“I need to speak with you, Reno”

“What the fuck about?” the redhead grumbled, sliding his EMR back into his sleeve.

“About you and Cloud”

“He told you?” Reno asked, looking surprised. “He said he didn’t want any of you to know, yo”

“He didn’t tell me, I found your hair on his clothes and you left a sizeable bruise on his neck”

Reno chuckled at that, looking thoroughly pleased with himself before his expression turned suspicious. “So? What’s it to you?”

Reno watched as Valentine slid his gun out of its holster, its three barrels glinting coldly in the sun. He hefted it in his hand, as if considering its purpose. When he spoke his tone was menacing. “Cloud has suffered much in his short life. I wouldn’t want to be the person who causes him any more pain.”

Reno almost laughed, but he thought that might be a bad idea, at least until Valentine put that gun away. “What the fuck are you threatening me for?! Cloud can look after himself!”

Vincent just looked at him as if he had said something monumentally stupid. “Remember this conversation well, Reno” he said, his tone loaded with hidden meaning.

Reno sighed exasperatedly, “Whatever, yo.” He walked to the entrance to the alley, wanting to end this unpleasant encounter. He glanced back before turning the corner and wasn’t at all surprised when he saw that Valentine had disappeared.

“Fuckin’ weirdo” he mumbled to himself as he walked toward a worried looking Adrian.

~

Rufus sat in the chair beside Tseng’s bed, his back was killing him and his legs ached from sitting in the uncomfortable chair all night. He shifted in his seat and winced at the pain that shot through the small of his back.

“You know, Rufus, you could have slept in the bed beside me instead of that chair” Tseng pointed out, smiling slightly.

“I wanted to be right here when you woke up” Rufus replied, rubbing his temple. “Don’t worry about me, just concentrate on getting better.”

Tseng raised an elegant brow. “I feel much better all ready, Rufus. Other than my wrist, everything has more or less healed. I want to get back to work, to regain a sense of normality”

Rufus sighed and slid back in the chair. “Tseng… the doctor said that you’re not to work at all for a few months. It’s not only your physical injuries I’m concerned about…” Tseng cringed at that, but Rufus continued anyway. “You need to rest, you’ll be glad of it soon when the baby is here”

Tseng smiled softly, his eyes fixed on his hands. “It seems that I got back just in time”

“Just in time? I should have found you before now, you were right under our noses all this time…”

Tseng sighed internally, no matter what happened it always seemed to end with him comforting Rufus, and he suddenly felt very old. He reached out and took both of the other man’s hands in his own, holding his gaze as he spoke. “Rufus, you did all that you could, especially considering you were hospitalised for the last few months. You found me, you saved me and you made sure that the people that did it suffered… what more could I ask for?”

Rufus didn’t answer, he got up from his chair and sat on the bed with Tseng, resting his head on the Wutain’s chest and wrapping his arms around him. Tseng could feel tears seeping through the thin material of his hospital gown and he pulled Rufus closer, whispering soothing words and running his fingers through blonde hair.

~

Elena stood outside the door to the infirmary, unsure if it was too early to be visiting. Hesitantly she reached out and knocked on the door. She heard rustling and whispers from inside before Rufus opened the door. He looked terrible, his expensive suit was creased and dishevelled, his usually perfect hair mussed, and dark circles lurked beneath bloodshot eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“Come in, Elena” he mumbled, stepping aside.

“Thank you sir” she replied as she entered. She walked to Tseng’s bed and looked her commander over. All things considered, he looked better off than Rufus. She smiled to herself; Tseng had always been like that. Other than the weight loss, and the odd bruise here and there, he looked almost like his old self.
He was propped up into a sitting position with several pillows and a book lay closed on his lap. He smiled up at her as she entered and she returned it gratefully.

“I’m just going to lie down for a moment…” Rufus murmured and crawled onto the bed beside Tseng’s, curling up and seeming to drift off straight away.
Tseng laughed softly, “He stayed in that chair all night” he whispered. “Sometimes he can be such a fool, but a sweet fool no less”

Elena sat down in the chair and they spent the next half hour talking about what she and the other Turks had been doing while he was… otherwise occupied.
He seemed particularly intrigued by Adrian; he wanted to meet this Turk that he had not selected personally. She neglected to tell him how Reno had chosen the new recruit, let Reno sort that out himself.

“Rufus tells me that Rosalind is due in less than a month” he said quietly.

“Have you thought of any names yet?”

“Aiko” he said, smiling a little. “It means Little Love or Child of Love.”

“A Wutain name?”

“Yes. Since our child will be carrying the ShinRa name, I thought it only fair that the baby should have a first name of my choosing.” He replied, his smile widening.

“Our child wont be the only one carrying my name soon enough, Love” Rufus spoke up from his place on the bed, making Elena jump, and she wondered if he had been feigning sleep all along.

“Indeed” Tseng replied calmly, as Rufus got up and sat on the edge of the Wutain’s bed. Some of his hair was standing up on the side he had been lying on, and Tseng smoothed it down lovingly, Rufus leaned into the touch, closing his eyes. Elena felt extremely uncomfortable intruding on such an intimate moment between her superiors; she stood up from her chair abruptly, blushing furiously.

“I should be going” she stammered.

Tseng smiled up at her. “Come see me again tomorrow Elena. Tell Rude and Reno to wait until after lunch to visit.”

“Yes sir”

“Oh, and Elena?”

“Sir?”

“Tell Reno to bring the new Turk with him, I would like to assess him myself” he said, ignoring the disapproving look from his fiancée.

She saluted and left the room, but not before she heard the President’s exasperated cry,

“Tseng, you are supposed to be resting! Stop trying to work!”

~

Deep inside the Northern Crater, at it’s core, where the life stream flows freely and throws light outward and up, three small shadows danced across the crater’s ancient walls.
The Northern Crater, this strange scar on the planet’s surface, where an unwelcome entity had landed millennia ago, echoed with the laughter of children and the whispers of a mother.
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R&R much appreciated