"Honey, I'm home!"

Reno kicked the door to Healin Lodge open carrying an armful of groceries. Following close behind was Rufus who glared sharply at Reno. How dare he enter first and expect Rufus Shinra to follow behind. Of course, had Reno opened the door for him and politely let him go first, Rufus would have to shoot him based on the assumption that a polite Reno was an imposter. So, Rufus magnanimously allowed Reno to go ahead of him. However, Reno was not completely improper. He waited for Rufus to clear the threshold before he kicked the door shut with a bang. There, now nobody could say Reno was anything but respectful of his boss.

"Welcome back. Did you-"

Having heard the door being ruthlessly beaten by Reno, Tseng came downstairs to make sure Reno followed the list. Before he could finish haranguing his subordinate, Tseng stopped in his tracks and almost suffered a conniption. Rufus Shinra, the man who neither bleeds nor cries, was holding a grocery bag. Gaia must be topsy-turvy if Rufus was completing a menial chore. Reno seemed to pick up on Tseng's train of disjointed thoughts.

"Don't ask. He was dead set on carrying that bag…Kinda creepy not that I think about it."

He made a point not to make eye contact with a very miffed Rufus. But being the man he was, Rufus took measured breaths and recalled why he was carrying the bag in the first place. Having done that, he was again at peace. Thus, Reno was mercifully granted a quick kick to the back of knee causing him to lose balance and drop the groceries all over the floor. Tseng just shook his head. What did it say about him if such occurrences no longer incited him to lecture on propriety?

"Reeeeenoooooo!"

All three men in the kitchen were suddenly distracted by the slightly desperate, very excited sound of Elena's more or less screeching. Elena bounded into the kitchen where Reno was putting the groceries away. He looked over his shoulder and smirked.

"Glad to see ya missed me, babe."

"Don't call me babe," she said with a glare before shifting into a look of complete hope. "Um, where-"

She paled considerably when Reno pointed to Rufus. Tseng cocked an eyebrow while Rufus looked awfully smug for a man holding a bag of feminine products. Not sure how to respond to her sudden embarrassment, Elena whipped around and smacked Reno as hard as she could on his arm.

"Ow! That hurt ya crazy, PMSing bitch."

Rubbing his arm, Reno was unprepared for the onslaught of smacking by Elena.

"You're an idiot, a fool, a, a…a jerk!" Elena screamed before dropping her shoulders and began to mumble, "I'm sorry, I'm just upset, you know? It's not like I'm always a psycho or something but, what am I saying? Of course you know. I mean, you've known me for a while now. I thought I was okay with the president getting my stuff, but I find that I-"

Her rambling was cut short when Reno slapped his hand over her mouth and kept it there. He slowly removed his hand while saying, "I get it. Shut up. Get it from Rufus."

Elena nodded her head a bit too eagerly and sort of felt light headed since the blood in her body had already rushed to her head during her first embarrassment. She stepped wrong and wobbled a little, but instead of falling or tripping flat on her face, she felt herself steadied by a firm, yet gentle hand on her arm.

When she looked up, she came face to face with a concerned, yet somewhat amused expression from Tseng. Not expecting to be so close to her boss, she quickly mumbled out an apology but tripped over her feet only fall into the arms of her other boss. Not even wanting to know what Rufus or Tseng looked like right now, Elena did the only she could do. She stared pleadingly with Reno who gave her a sort of, why-the-hell-are-you-looking-at-me expression. But after seeing her absolutely defeated expression, Reno sighed and looked over at Rufus.

"Give her the damn stuff before her head blows up or something, sir."

Rufus always wondered why Reno even bothered with any honorifics since they always seemed like a meaningless word tagged on as an afterthought. But right now, he had more pressing concerns. Rufus could not prevent his smirking as he stared at Elena who was having a difficult time making eye contact. She currently was admiring the shiny cleanliness of her superior's shoes. It was impossible not to feel the scrutinizing stare boring a hole in her head. Elena bit back a shaky sigh and slowly lifted her head.

"Umm…"

What should she ask? It was obvious Rufus was purposefully trying to get under her skin, but he was still her neurotic boss who demanded a proper response or a properly formed question. So was she supposed to just ask, "President Rufus, please give me my tampons, sir!"

"Here."

Elena's eyes bugged out of her skull as she spastically slapped her hands over her mouth. Reno might have been on to something when he said her head might explode. Even more blood was rushing to her head while she berated herself for thinking so loudly that she said it aloud. Before she could even bring herself to look at Rufus, Elena peeked a glance at Reno who gave her an overly enthusiastic, two thumbs up. Of course it would be too much to ask for support from Reno.

Gnawing on her lip a minute, Elena settled her resolve. She already boldly asked for her feminine products like a Turk, by Gaia she would follow through.

She ignored the amused stares of her co-workers and grabbed the bag from Rufus before turning on her heel and marching stiffly away. When she was sure she was out of sight, Elena bolted for the bathroom nearest he room and slammed the door shut.

While Elena may have been out of sight, she was not out of hearing range. The three men still downstairs heard her rapid steps and the way she slammed the bathroom door. Reno shrugged and resumed putting the groceries away while Tseng shook his head and walked over to Rufus with a couple of files.

They briefly discussed the files' contents but were interrupted by another pitiful yell.

"Reno!"

Reno sighed and set down the bottle he was holding. Without acknowledging Tseng or Rufus, he brushed by them while yelling back, "What woman?! I ain't yer mother or sister, so solve yer own damn womanly problems!"

Despite what he was yelling, Reno still made his way to the bathroom where Elena was holed up in. When he approached, he knocked on the door and heard Elena growl in frustration before heaving an audibly defeated sigh.

"Reno?"

"Who else?"

"Can you grab me a new pair of pants…"

Even though she softly drifted off, Reno caught it and smirked.

"I feel like there's a 'that's what she said' comment in there somewhere."

Elena let out a small chuckle that sounded more like a snort in her attempts to hold it in. Reno continued smirking as he strolled over to Elena's room. On his way, he passed by Rude in the hallway who was finally curious enough to venture from the sanity of his room.

"Oh, hey Partner. Finish up the groceries?"

There was no noise from Rude, but Reno knew it meant an affirmative. The only time he knew something was off was if Rude started talking. And really, Rude enjoyed it that way. He walked to the kicthcn where Rufus and Tseng were calmly discussing something, most likely pertaining to the important looking documents Tseng was holding. If they did not bring him into the conversation, Rude was fine with not prying.

That was where he differed from his partner, Reno. Then again, most people differed from him. However, at the moment, one other person was being awfully similar. But the question was who was being like whom? A small smirk worked its way on this lips as he listened to the yelling match.

"Where the hell do ya keep your pants?"

"That's what she said and in the closet, ya idiot!"

"Dammit all Elena, where does all this crap come from?! We always wear the same thing!"

"It never hurts to have other stuff and it's not crap! Farthest to the left on a hanger! Now just bring me my pants Reno!"

At this point, the yelling banter drew Rufus and Tseng's attention. They looked over at Rude who was currently studying the groceries and the placement of the items in the cupboards. Wihout sparing them a glance, Rude just shrugged his shoulders and continued to try and determine the pattern Reno was using to put groceries away. So absorbed in his task, he did not hear his partner come up from behind until Reno grabbed a can from the upper shelf and set it on one shelf lower. Off by one shelf, Rude was pleased with such a marginal error and resumed putting the remaining groceries away at a faster rate now that he knew where things should go.

It did not take much longer for him to finish up. When he completed his task, Rude folded the bags neatly and put them with the other collected bags. It was an odd assortment of paper and plastic bags collected under the sink, but there was no sense in wasting. Sometimes a good plastic bag was needed to quietly suffocate somebody and a paper bag was good for covering somebody's head so they could not see anything. He paused when he contemplated additional uses for the leftover bags and decided it might be good for him to take a vacation at some point.

"So do those files mean we get something to do?"

Rude glanced over at his partner who had one arm draped over Tseng's shoulder and trying to see the files. So much for tact. Then again, this was Reno, so he was not the least surprised. Speaking of the tactfully challenged, Rude watched as Elena came waltzing in looking much more at peace than he had seen her looking all day.

"We have something to do?"

Elena's hopeful voice easily matched Reno's tone causing both Rufus and Tseng to cock an eyebrow. Suddenly realizing her slight slip of tongue, Elena blushed and smartly saluted.

"I'm sorry, sirs. How impertinent of me. Please excuse me."

Saluting as stiffly and smartly as possible, Elena held her breath. Keeping her gaze forward, Elena had the misfortune of having to stare right at Reno. Sometimes, when Reno looked at her like that, she really felt stupid. He tilted his head curiously to one side and scratched his head slowly.

"Yeah, see, clearly I'm not the only one getting a little antsy here."

Tseng shot Reno a reproving glare before shifting his attention back to the files and to Rufus.

"This should be taken care of as soon as possible. Besides, perhaps it would be good for them to get out."

Still maintaining her stiff posture, Elena began to feel the burning strain of keeping her muscles tensed for so long. It seemed as if they had all forgotten about her. She did not know what she should think about that. Did it mean her little comment did not cause any harm or could it be that they were annoyed, or even worse, mad at her? Maybe she just did not matter enough to merit any type of real attention? Before she could continue her pessimistic train of thought, she felt a large but gentle hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and over her shoulder to see Rude give her a small reassuring smile. Immediately relaxing, Elena resumed a more natural position and breathed easier. There was something calming about Rude that Elena could not quite put into words. Though intimidating, she came to learn that Rude was more of a gentle giant who could snap people's necks like twigs if he so chose. He was such a contrast to Reno. She was still baffled how those two got along at all.

"Elena."

Her head whipped around to face the origin of the voice. Tseng stared at her oddly a minute before clearing his throat and handing her one of the files he had been holding previously.

"Study those. Reno and you will execute your mission at your own discretion. Understood?"

"Sir!"

It was difficult to reign in her excitement. Tseng had chosen her to go on a mission. Normally, it would always be Rude and Reno, and Elena always wondered why she was left out. That was how it had been when ShinRa was still a ruling power. Sure, at the time she had been a rookie, but she was still a trained Turk nonetheless. There was no reason she could not complete missions just as well as the others. Granted, there was more than once occasion where she might have slipped up a little bit, but those things were out of her power, more or less anyways.

Actually, the more she thought about, the more she wondered why she was chosen. While she was thrilled at having been chosen, she now felt paranoid as to why. So caught up in her whirlwind of thoughts, Elena did not notice how close Reno's face was to hers. When she finally focused and realized Reno was a mere inch away from her, Elena sputtered and quickly backed up.

"Glad you could join us, rookie."

A small smirk played on Reno's lips as he called her by the old nickname. Elena would hope she had been around long enough and proven her mettle enough to not be called that anymore. However, it was enough to refocus her attention to the others. Both Tseng and Rufus had odd expressions she was not quite sure how to translate. But, as soon as she thought she saw them, they were replaced by the usual impassive and nonchalant expressions the two normally wore.

"Reno, Elena, you have until tomorrow."

Elena banished all other negative thoughts from her mind. She was a Turk and she had a job to do.

"Yes sir! It won't even take until tomorrow."

This caused the others to smirk and share amused glances. Reno was the only one who started laughing aloud. He swung his arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair playfully.

"Hear that bosses? We're gonna have this done before tomorrow!"

Rufus smirked and for some reason Elena felt her heart flutter. She had yet to figure out why that always happened. When Reno smirked, all she felt was annoyance. So what made her boss' smirk so different? Well, he was the most powerful person on the planet even if it was now from the shadows. Elena convinced herself that was why it made her feel so odd. Though at the moment, she had a bigger concern; what was their mission in the first place?

She was about to look down at the file in her hands, but before she could open them, Reno grabbed it and carelessly tossed it to Tseng who was already taking his leave from the kitchen, now that the drama and excitement was dying down. Rude retreated to the living room and was now watching the news while Rufus was nowhere to be found. Elena practically slapped herself for not noticing when he had left. So now all she was doing was standing in the same spot with Reno draped over her.

"Do ya even know what we're supposed to be doin'?"

Even though she could not see his face, he could feel his breath lightly graze over her ear and she could practically feel the amusement rolling off Reno. She was loath to admit it, but Elena really did not know what they were supposed to do.

"…No…"

This caused Reno to laugh aloud again. He patted her on the head and separated himself from her. Leading her over to the kitchen table, Reno sat her down and explained the basic details of what they were going to be completing before tomorrow.

"This guy, and never ya mind who he is, needs to be taken out. Rufus doesn't like 'im so we don't like 'im either. Problem with a simple assassination is the fact this guy keeps so many damn bodyguards around at all times. While there are plenty of way to deal with that, the bosses want it quick and tidy, got it?"

Through the whole explanation, Elena eagerly absorbed every detail, few that there were. It had been a while since she was on such a straight forward mission. Assassination was never a favorite for Elena, but she knew it had to be done in order to fulfill her mission. A part of her hoped Reno was going to ultimately take care of it. She had only killed in response to violence against her, comrades, or superiors. To do such in cold blood suddenly seemed impossible the more she thought about it. But of course, she set her resolve and was going to do whatever was necessary to complete the mission. Not only were Rufus' plans on the line, but her pride as a Turk as well.

"Got it. How are we going to separate him from the guards though?"

Reno leaned back in his chair and smiled happily at her.

"I'm glad you asked. Why, that's what you're goin' to be doin'."

The sudden urge to lean forward and poke out Reno's eyeballs filled Elena to the brim. So strong the impulse, she even began leaning forward. Sometimes it felt like she was being punished for being born with a uterus. Seriously, it was not like she had a choice in the matter, so why did it seem like she was being punished and exploited because of it? Sure she was the only female in the group, but still, was that all she was good for? Was that why she was chosen for this mission? A giant wave of doubts crashed into Elena causing her to suddenly drop her head into the table. Her sad train of thoughts was then interrupted by Reno.

"Aw, don't be like that. I'm not askin' ya to whore yourself out to him. Just hear me out 'till the end, okay?"

A slow, slightly pathetic nod from Elena indicated that she was at least listening, so Reno continued.

"You're goin' to turn on the charm, separate him from his guards, and then take him out. I'll deal with the guards."

So she was chosen because of her XX chromosome. For some reason, that just took all the joy out of going on this mission. Be that as it may, Elena knew she had a job to do and she really was the only one who could pull it off. It was not like they could have any of the men try and seduce the target. So in a way, she was special that way. She realized she had something none of the others had. That made her special. Encouraged by her desperate reasoning, Elena snapped her head and pounded the table with resolve.

"Alright, I'll do it!"

Reno clapped enthusiastically.

"That a girl! Now, it's goin' to be sundown soon. This guy is known for frequenting a high class club. That's where we're headin'."

Elena stood up with a new wave of motivation and began marching towards her room.

"Alright. I'm going to get ready then."

Not waiting for any response from Reno, Elena bounced eagerly to her room but almost tripped face first when Reno called after her.

"How about wearin' that little strappy number in the back of yer closet?"

"Reno!"

She screamed at him as she rushed into her room. He spoke so loudly she was sure somebody else heard it too. There were some things she did not think were necessary for her employers to know and that was one of them. Following the rule of a little black dress, Elena always kept one on hand, but knowing Reno saw it and said it in such a tone of voice renewed Elena's desire to poke Reno's eyes.

It was horrible. She was horrible. Even though rational part of her brain told her such a thing was embarrassing and unprofessional in such a position as hers, there was a less ration and more emotional part beginning to rampage. That part of her hoped that Tseng had heard. There was always a part of her that desired Tseng, but pursuing such a relationship was a severe breach of conduct, so she always settled for just being of use to him. But she imagined that he heard Reno talk about her dress and fancied if it made Tseng imagine her. Then, as soon as she even began to play with such an idea, she felt horrible for thinking of her boss in that way. There was a barrier of propriety and right now, her brain was breaking down all of them.

Of course, the worst fantasy was when she applied the same reasoning to Rufus. Of all people, that was by far the worst choice for her thoughts. So inappropriate did she feel over her imagination that she began scolding herself and attempting to banish such thoughts from her mind. But the more she tried, the more aggressive her thoughts became. None of it made sense. She liked Tseng, she had a crush on Tseng, not on Rufus Shinra. Besides the fact that she was afraid he would kill her on a whim, any imaginings involving him just seemed so forbidden. But something about that risk and off limits aspect was damn appealing.

"Dammit! I can't let him win like this!"

She was, of course, talking about Reno. Though she doubted even he would guess her rampant imagination, Elena would not have been having this trouble in the first place had Reno just remained silent. Cursing Reno under her breath, Elena continued towards her room not paying attention to what was in front of her. On most occasions, she could get away with it at Healin Lodge, but once and a while, fate saw it necessary to make a mess out of her.

"Looking forward works better."

In the midst of her cursing Reno for making her think about her employer like that, Elena looked up to stare into the icy stare of none other than Rufus Shinra. No matter how hard she tried, Elena could not stop her mouth from dropping open slightly in surprise. Fully realizing what she was doing, she attempted to close it, but her mouth just refused to remain shut. The familiar warmth gathering around her cheeks added to the image of a fish out of its element.

"S-s-sorry, sir! I'll be more careful!"

All of Elena's effort was put into not simply standing there and gaping. Rufus just smirked softly and looked her up and down. Then, in the most gentlemanly manner, he turned sideways and made a sweeping motion with his arm allowing Elena to pass first. Nevertheless, Elena remained where she was and suddenly began to babble.

"Oh no, sir! I'm the one who should get out of the way. I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz! I should have been paying attention. Please, sir, don't be so considerate of me. I-"

"What if I want to be considerate of you?"

Once more Elena was reduced to opening and closing her mouth in an attempt to form an answer. Did Rufus really say he wanted to be considerate for her? Some odd, discomforting feeling began to creep up from the depth of her gut as she processed his words and expression.

Elena wanted to see if Rufus was still messing with her like earlier. There was absolutely no reason for her to read into it even though she wanted to. Again, she reminded herself she fancied Tseng, not Rufus, at least seriously anyways. So why was Rufus piercing stare so serious and unwavering? It felt like her insides were rearranging themselves as a heavy weight of dread crept upon her unsuspectingly. In no way was there any indication of Rufus joking. He was being completely serious.

"Oh well…then I…I…I'm not worth considering that much, sir…"

She felt inferior whenever she was around him and even if it was completely contrary to what she should feel, Elena found herself having an oddly low self esteem when he told her that. In a natural response, Elena dropped her gaze to the floor in order to avoid whatever expression Rufus was wearing at the moment.

"It is not befitting to contradict me. Perhaps you should just take what is offered you."

The words were cold, but his tone of voice was not. It was too soft for it to be harsh and too teasing to be scolding. Now Elena was thoroughly confused at it all. Taking a deep breath, Elena lifted her head and made eye contact with her superior.

Rufus stared back with the same intensity as before waiting for Elena to do something. After a few seconds of eternal silence, Elena bowed her head in thanks and began to walk by. His gaze never left her form as she walked by and it was not until she was almost past him that he reached out and grabbed her wrist. To say the least, Elena was completely startled. She stared up at him with deep brown eyes. What he saw there was confusion, a hint of fear, and curiosity. Having grabbed her for a reason, Rufus held on firmly yet as gently as possible.

"Be careful, Elena. I do not want a repeat like before."

A/N: It's been way too long for this chapter. :P Oh well, at least it's here now. And I tried to catch my spelling errors since I've been epic fail at it recently and for some reason, spell check doesn't want to work. Anyways, while action is not a main component of this story, what kind of story would it be if there wasn't at least a little action and violence from our favorite Turks? So next up, Elena uses those feminine wiles while Reno does whatever it is he does. :D And what ever does Rufus mean? This and more next on He Loves Me, She Loves Me Not. Questions, comments, concerns can all be directed at me as you will. I feel like there was something I was going to explain here, but it escaped me right now. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoyed. Happy readings and peace out! =D