Hojo was after her.

Those four words repeatedly assaulted the poor flower girl's mind. Cold stark white fear at the revelation numbed her body. She knew this day would come though. Knew she could not stay safe forever, that one day her Cetra heritage would bring them hounding after her again. No matter how hard she had steeled herself against that undeniable inevitable truth, it was still a shock when it had arrived.

Hojo was after her.

"Aeris?"

Shinra was after her.

"Aeris?"

She was vaguely aware of Reno's voice, stormy azure eyes, red fiery eyebrows leading upwards towards a worried brow, and delicately chiseled features set with worry hovering over her. She gave him something that resembled recognition. She could see his mouth opening and closing, allowing her a glimpse of pearly whites to appear, only to disappear once more behind a pair of sensual lips. But nothing seemed to reach her ears, the sounds were oddly muted. Aeris slowly glanced down towards the side, she could see tangled limbs twisted and bent horrible out of shape. Blood splayed over the poor faces, over the helmet that had fallen off, all over the blue uniform. And now there were two dead troopers lying in the alleyway, their lives unexpectantly snuffed short.

Was that pity she felt?

A little bit. Pity towards her would be captors, it was an odd concept. But beneath the bloodied Shinra uniforms, there still lay a beating heart, filled with emotions and humanity. Past tense, there was a beating heart. Sprawled over the concrete ground, bodies still warm, they never had a chance against her flame haired companion. With merciless precision he'd dispatched them so effortlessly. Those poor unfortunate troopers never had a chance. Perhaps if they had sent a SOLDIER, perhaps one of first class ranking…

"Zack?"

Reality snapped firmly back in place. Aeris blinked twice, awareness settling into her pupils. The blurred colors around her sharpened, allowing her to distinguish when one outline stopped and another started. And just like a dose of cold water splashed over her face, her surroundings became focused with crystal clarity. Sound flooded her eardrums, carrying Reno's deep voice along with it.

"What did you just say?" The tone in Reno's voice was dead serious.

Embarrassment swept over the flower girl's expression. An unreadable look passed over Reno's face, as his mind seemed to internally tuck the flustered girl's unexpected outburst away in his memory. Aeris was unsure of how to answer, she hadn't meant to voice her thoughts out loud. Hadn't meant for his name to slip like that.

Upon seeing the flower girl's guarded actions, Reno only slipped his fingers between her delicate ones and slowly lead her away from the alley. "I think the best thing would be to take you home right now."

Aeris only gave a monotonous nod at the suggestion, worry gnawing on her insides. A soft squeeze brought her back towards the present, allowing Aeris to realize that Reno was cautiously leading her by the hand back to her church.

Despite the few moments of neglect she had given Reno's presence earlier, with his hand firmly entwined in her own, she could no longer ignore the taller man. She could feel the small select parts of her that were free from the grip of panic and fear hum with excitement. Her thighs still tinged with the whispers of his contact, and deep in the corner of her mind she knew that those troopers had actually saved her. Saved her from losing herself, to giving her chastity away so easily. Would her morals have agreed as easily with her loose actions the next day? Her hips ached from the loss of warmth. She was not in any condition to contemplate anything at the moment, there were too many emotions trapped inside her. Panic, fear, shock, gratitude, confusion, infatuation, too many profound events had impacted her at once.

Reno led her onto the streets with deliberate strides, an aura of intimidation radiating off of his body, extending towards the crowd around them. Aeris had never noticed it before, she had always been too enthralled by his appearance in his presence, but the throngs of people actually parted for Reno whenever he passed. Aeris watched amazed as she observed the mass of people around them branch off, giving the pair a clear path towards their destination. She had just assumed the girls would let him pass due to his dreamy good looks, but as she passed a pair of young men Aeris caught a glimpse of their faces. It was a look she had seen many times before…

Fear and fascination.

She had to admit, Reno did look quit menacing right now, stalking through the streets with a sharp look of alertness tensing his body. But to cause the crowd to part like this for them seemed to be a little bit of an overreaction. Perhaps they had seen their clash with Shinra and did not want to run the risk of any association with the electric company. After all, Shinra was extremely frightening. It was extremely wise to avoid stumbling across their vicious path, as mysteriously, people, even companies that crossed swords with the giant corporation seemed to suspiciously vanish.

The pair reached Aeris' church quickly. Aeris, so consumed by her various thoughts was surprised to see the familiar sunny building before her.

"Where to now?" Reno, his mood noticeable more relaxed, looked around in anticipation for their next destination.

Aeris only frowned at the question, a dilemma hovering over her reply. She wanted nothing more then to drown her confusion and terror with the soothing voices of her ancestors. To just think and contemplate her situation over. But other parts of her, her thighs, hips and neck tingled still from those intimate moments in the alleyway. Fate was an incredible cruel tease, that single small interlude had drawn such intense feelings out of her small body. Feelings she had never experienced before. And now, due to these deep feelings her mind could not focus on how grave her situation really was. Now that the initial shock had passed, one look at Reno's striking face and all thoughts of Shinra seem to take backseat priority in memory to the feel of his lips on her skin. It was tempting she contemplated, to just forget Shinra, and drown herself in his masculine scent again. She wondered, if she asked, would he take her there again? Whisk her away with his passionate kisses and bold strokes, bring her back to the place where thoughts disappeared only to be consumed by feelings alone. She glanced upwards towards Reno, into the deepening shades of navy staring down at her.

If she asked him…

She was a mess right now. What was she even considering? She felt like fate had thrown too many random paint strokes of events onto the canvas of her life. The colors were mixed into an ugly shade of confusion, she needed time to fix the mess, needed time to brush the colors back into a full picture. Silently she berated herself for even thinking about doing anything else but the obvious.

Aeris gave the waiting man a timid smile replying pensively, "I think I better sort out my thoughts right now."

Reno nodded at her response, catching a glimpse of shame in her reply, or perhaps it was shame stemming from something else. It had only been a small flash, quickly replaced by a hesitant smile. "That's a good idea." He replied, agreeing with her decision.

Aeris tugged softly at her entangled hand, a touch of sadness in her eyes. But Reno didn't free her hand so easily, instead giving her a sharp tug towards him. Aeris' flew into his broad chest with a surprised look and landed snugly into Reno's embrace. Her chestnut braid came flying behind her a moment later. She felt his warm arms embracing her frame tightly. Aeris only closed her eyes enjoying the security that those arms brought. She felt his lips brushing a soft kiss upon her forehead before reaching her ear.

"Don't worry about it too much. I promise I'll protect you."

It was a soft whisper, but those sweet words lifted her spirits impossible high. Aeris opened her eyes wide, hope shining through emerald green as she searched his face for the sincerity of his promise. Reno returned her gaze steadily, honestly reflecting in his cerulean eyes and determination jetting from his jaw.

"Really? Do you really mean it?" Aeris rested her chin on his blue blazer, her trusting eyes looking up at Reno.

At the moment, it struck Reno how innocent the flower girl really was. She was far too easy to read, letting her emotions roll out of her whole being. She had so easily placed all her hopes into him with that one single look, and all it took was one simple promise. It would be so much easier this way, he stared down at her open face, past the girlish innocence, where her womanly curves lay. Where his ultimate goal resided. He had been so close today. He could still feel the hard rush of unfulfilled lusts fuelling through his body. Having her pressed so closely against him, totally oblivious to the naughty thoughts running through his head caused a small tremor of thrill in his spine.

Has Zack ever held her like this…?

The stray thought randomly crossed his mind, causing an unexpected surge of jealousy rushing through his body. He suppressed the unwanted feeling, locking it somewhere underneath his ribcage as he continued to stare into the flower girl's waiting eyes.

"Of course I mean it." He gingerly stroked her smooth cheek with his thumb.

A smile broke out from Aeris' face, as she wrapped her arms around Reno in return. She rested her cheek against Reno's warm chest. Allowing the happiness from his words to wash through her.

"Thank you…"

Reno caught her small whisper and responded by sliding his fingers underneath Aeris' delicate chin. Gently he tilted her face towards his and with such tenderness that echoed his previous promise, he kissed her softly.

Aeris could have sworn she felt her feet grow lighter while Reno's lips were upon hers. Shinra, Hojo, they didn't matter at the moment. Reno was holding her, his lips against hers with his promise surrounding her soul, soothing her nerves into a peaceful white bliss.

And all too sudden their kiss was over. Aeris felt a small pang of disappointment at the loss of his lips. But she was pleased to find herself much calmer. All thanks to the handsome man holding her.

"Well then," Reno gave her cheek one last stroke before they ended their embrace. "I'll leave you to your thoughts." He gave her his trademark signature grin as Aeris nodded towards his offer. "But I'll visit you tomorrow gorgeous!"

Aeris laughed in response, her cheeks blushed slightly at the compliments. "Thanks.. for everything.."

"My pleasure!" Reno winked towards the flower girl and begin slowly walking backwards. He then blew her a kiss and with that he turned around and walked off in the opposite direction.

Aeris watched Reno disappear down the street. Mimicking his actions, she turned around herself and begin walking towards the familiar doors of her church.

She gave a small push against the flaking dark brown doors, careful to not break the hinges off. She slipped into her church with a relieved sigh. Instantly she was transformed into a different world, from a place full of smog and unhappiness to a scenery of sunshine and nature. She slowly walked down the aisle, the church was indeed in a bad state. Every creak from the floorboards announced each of her steps, and the few remaining benches were for pure aesthetics only as any moment they looked as if they would collapse if any weight were to be applied. But Aeris didn't notice any of it, each step she took she could feel her mind clearing up. She absent mindedly skimmed her hand across the mahogany wood of one of the many benches. A smile graced her lips as she remembered the young man who had shown her this place.

Zack Zack Zack…

Finally she made her way to the center of the building, where her flowerbed of assorted buds lay. She gracefully sat herself down beside the colorful blossoms. Letting their fragrance surround her, she closed her eyes and inhaled nature's sweet scent. Eighteen year old First Class SOLDIER Zack. Confident, sweet, funny Zack. He had given her so many things; her first relationship, her first kiss, and even after it was all over, he still offered her his loyalty and protection. Aeris' forehead wrinkled slightly at the memory, the day her feelings of puppy love had melted into friendship. He had been incredible nice about it, nodding his acceptance and pledging his help, while his eyes reflected the saddest glow she had seen.

The flower girl pulled her knees upwards while she rested her chin gently upon them. Idling she softly caressed the flower petals beside her, letting the velvet feel of life glide against her fingertips. It had happened a month later, he had always known about her unique heritage, known Shinra was after her. But it was on that fateful day, that Zack got a new assignment. He was to capture the last surviving Ancient, Aeris, his former sweetheart. Of course the president had not known that last detail. And so, Aeris mused, that was the sole reason why she was not in Hojo's clutches at the moment. Zack did everything but try to capture her, in fact, he did the exact opposite, often thwarting all other attempts made by anyone else. Aeris smiled wistfully.

Zack Zack Zack…

A loud creak cut the silence of the serene church, signaling a new arrival. Aeris nervously glanced backwards, towards the small double doors of her church. She stood up quickly, debating if she should attempt to run and hide, or boldly face whoever. The petit girl debated the latter as she turned around defiantly to greet the newcomer. She could feel the small sensation of apprehension prickling towards her back, causing her to revert back to her old habit of chewing on her lower lip. The familiar sight of the figure poking his head through the door caused her to sigh inwardly in relief.

"Zack!" Aeris cried in relief at the young man. A huge smile erupted across her face as she began to walk towards him.

Zack smiled at the excited flower girl as he briskly began walked down the aisle to meet her halfway. "Aeris…" he greeted softly in return.

The two met in the middle as Aeris embraced Zack warmly. Her happiness at seeing him again was evident in her hug as she hopped up and wrapped her arms around his neck Zack was quite tall, even taller then Reno, to compensate for the smaller girl Zack had to bend down in order for her to reach his neck. The SOLDIER half hearted returned the excited girl's hug.

Aeris' excitement died down instantly, releasing hold of the taller man's neck she glanced up inquisitively at him. "What's wrong Zack?" Her expression switching from giddiness to worried instantly.

The SOLDIER looked away embarrassed, there was no escaping Aeris' keen eyes, it was next to impossible to hide anything from the young woman. He looked at his feet and stammered, "uhh…."

Aeris giggled at Zack's actions, she was one of the rare few that got to see him with his guard down. Here in front of her was not the cocky, confident ladies man that the rest of the world knew. To her, he was human Zack, a man that didn't know the answers all the time, who did sometimes stumble, someone who did have doubts and worries like everyone else. And right now he was someone with something plaguing his mind.

Aeris took a small step backwards and rested her fingers on her chin, cocking her head sideways to inspect her friend. "Well then, it's been so long since you last visited me. At least let me have a good look at you!"

"It's only been a couple of months." Zack protested as Aeris began to slowly circle around him, lifting his arms up and tugging at this and that. "And besides," he continued weakly, "it's not like I'm a teenager anymore, I'm not growing or anything…" Zack trailed off in defeat as he realized he had already lost the argument.

After Aeris finished his slow circle around the SOLDIER she stepped back once again to inspect the whole picture. Zack was right, he hadn't grown another inch since she last saw him, and his face hadn't changed one bit either. He still wore his black hair in those wild spikes that jetted off in different directions, and he still had those shiny mako blue eyes that she was sure girls swooned over. Even his dark loose SOLDIER uniform with the lone shoulder guard was the exact same.

"mmhmmm…." Aeris pretended to take note of some detail from her inspection.

Zack couldn't help but let the corners of his lips turn upwards ever so slightly at the flower girl's antics. She certainly was special. Zack placed his hands on his hips, "See, I told you there's nothing different about me!"

Aeris beamed silently, secretly pleased that she was able to wrestle a smile from the moody man. "Actually," Aeris placed her own hands on her hips, copying Zack's actions, "how'd you get that new scar on your left forearm eh?"

The SOLDIER, realizing that she did indeed find something different, crossed his arms over his chest and looked away again. "Well.. you see, I was on this top secret mission and I was fighting thirty guys all heavily armed and then.."

Aeris giggled, "No really, what happened?"

Zack's cheeks turned slightly red as Aeris caught his fib. He should have known better then try to lie to the flower girl. "I slipped in the shower.." he confessed lamely.

Aeris burst out laughing at Zack's words. The mental image of a first class SOLDIER losing his balance while showering was too much. She doubled over and began to laugh so hard she could begin to feel the small tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Zack, who couldn't help but smile at Aeris' energy patiently waited for her to finish her laughing bout. He observed the giggling girl, like himself, she had not changed either. She was still the same; cheery, vivacious, kind, and still strikingly beautiful. He had felt a need to protect her the first time they had met. And even now, the feeling to keep her safe still compelled him. He had done everything in his power to do so in the past few years, everything except for the one lone stupid mistake he had committed. He had told Reno about her, he didn't know what possessed him to blurt out her name like that to him. What he was sure though, was the guilt and regret he felt constantly after that moment. And now, he needed to fix that mistake.

Eventually Aeris sobered herself enough to just a few giggles escaping her lips occasionally. She looked up towards the object of her amusement to find Zack revert back to the uncharacteristically somber look on his face.

"Zack?" Aeris hastily wiped the remaining tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Aeris…" Zack wrestled the last word out of his mouth, "I need to tell you something…"

-----------------------

Day slipped into night, then back towards day again, with no evidence of time ever passing, the same blue suit graced Reno's frame, and identical to the previous days, the Turk sat slumped on the same couch he had occupied the morning before. His thoughts, still running around his mind, were oblivious to any exhaustion despite never resting the entire night before. He had dreamed of her, of that green-eyed goddess. Dreamt of what had happened, his arm around her waist tasting her honeyed skin. Dreamt of what could have happened, images of her nude, panting, begging, moaning, her perfect body underneath him, but then that name would cut through him.

Zack?

That name, escaping her cherry lips over and over again. Then suddenly it wasn't himself who was on top of her, it was 'him', his dark haired rival. He would be the one she was reaching for, begging for, he'd be the one her bare legs were wrapped around, the one entering her, claiming her.

The reply of the dream invoked his anger again. It was ridiculous, Reno the playboy of Shinra never dreamt about a girl. Never. To be dreaming of one now, a decade past puberty, and making love to someone else no less, was absurd. But then again, he mused, he had been out of character lately. Being delicate while handing out sweet promises was not his style. A small smile broke from his lips, but then again, he considered, it had made her so happy. It had saddened him to see those sparkling eyes dim slightly, so he had said the first thing that had crossed his mind to lighten them again. But despite the small uncertainty he felt now, he did mean those words at the time. She was such a fragile rare beauty, the idea of protecting her was incredible intriguing. After all, he assured himself, he did not want anyone claiming her before him. It didn't matter if that wasn't the sole reason, his thumb stroked his palm slowly, what mattered most, was that was the top one.

"Woah.. why are you so happy this early in the morning?"

The high pitched question interrupted Reno's pondering. So deep in his thoughts he was that he had totally forgotten about Elena's presence. He turned his attentions on his fellow blonde Turk who was currently sitting to the seat across from him. His stare was met with a quizzical expression from his female associate.

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking some happy thoughts y'know?" The red head leaned back on the couch, letting his hands rest behind his head. A lazy grin began peeking from his lips as he let himself slowly sink back towards his thoughts.

Elena's interruption had involuntarily shifted the mood of Reno's thoughts though. The curious doubts plaguing his mind from the night before began to resurface. How did Aeris know Zack? Were they acquaintances? Friends maybe? Or perhaps, they were lovers? The thoughts caused small pricks of jealousies to puncture his ribs. He wanted, needed, to be the first to explore her. The thought of someone else plundering her before him, especially when he was so close to the prize was unacceptable. Reno recalled the shudders he had extracted from her supple body the day before, all from simple strokes that didn't even mark the territory of serious loveplay. No, he had been the first to touch her like that, he was sure of it. Then where did Zack fall into the picture?

Perhaps they were playing him? A small jab of panic surfaced. Maybe it was their plan, both of theirs, to attempt to ensnare him like this. She occupied his mind constantly, her twinkling laugh always in his ear and her scent permanently lingered in his nostrils. He needed to find out the answer.

"Oh well.. I need to tell you something important. Perhaps I should break you the news now in person." Elena spoke up again, interrupting Reno's thoughts for the second time this morning.

"Eh?" Reno lifted an eyebrow at Elena's remark, only half listening, his mind not fully paying attention.

"Listen Elena, I gotta go. Tell Tseng I'll be back later, and you can tell me the news when I come back, k?" Reno abruptly stood up and without waiting for an answer, hurried out the door.

Reno made his way to the slums, his pace somewhere between a fast walk and a light jog, all the while mentally strangling a dark haired SOLDIER. He reached Aeris' church, confidant that she would be in there. The unhappy Turk shoved the old doors open a little too hard as he heard a loud snap and the rusty hinges supporting the door broke off. Leaving him holding on to the doorknob with a baffled expression. He walked a couple steps into the old church, and unsure of what to do, set the broken piece of wood down to lean against the wall. His random act of violence surprisingly calmed him down, as he realized sheepishly how foolish he must have looked in front of the flower girl.

"Reno!"

The red headed Turk recognized instantly the flower girl's melodic voice calling his name. Although the usual jovial overture was tinged with somewhat of a sour harmony, Reno detected a small hint of anger in her tone. He turned away from the entrance to face her, to apologize for breaking her door. It was only the second time he had been in this building but he had noticed every time that the mood of the church was always extremely light, the rays of sunshine dancing around constantly giving off an air of happiness. But as he caught sight of Aeris expression, he noticed it was a direct contrast to their surroundings. Reno had never seen her face in that expression before. The usually demure flower girl looked angry.

Very very angry.

"Oh.. I'm sorry about the door. I didn't think it'd break off so easy.." Reno apologized

Aeris didn't even seem to notice as she stormed up the aisle towards Reno, her beautiful face still uncharacteristically mad. She walked all the way up to Reno's face and pointed a single finger at his nose. "You!" She seethed.

"Me?" Reno pointed to himself innocently. His mind was baffled, why was Aeris so furious? After all, he was supposed to be the mad one. "I'm sorry about the door" The red head confessed again, eyeing the attractive girl to see if his apology would appease her at all.

It didn't.

"I don't care about the stupid door!" Aeris' usually sparkling emerald eyes were now dark with bottled rage. "You!" She jabbed her finger against his chest and balled her other hand into a fist, "lied to me!" Her mouth finished yelling, clenched down again.

Reno automatically went into defense mood. He felt the balance of his control tilt ever so slightly at the enraged girl's accusation. Reno fervently hoped she had not somehow found out about his and Zack's bet. He needed to quickly do damage control. Reno threw up his hands in confusion, "lied? Me? To you? I wouldn't do that!" he looked down at the still infuriated flower girl, noticing how the flush on her cheeks made her extremely appealing.

"Oh, don't lie to me again!" Aeris dug her finger deeper into Reno's chest. "I know exactly what you are! You sold your soul to Shinra! You're a TURK!" Aeris' sharp accusation pierced through the quiet church.

Reno assessed the damage quickly, his mind rapidly making calculations to readjust the balance of the situation. So she had figured out what his job was, based on her personality, she probably did not approve of the kidnappings and assassinations he performed. At least she didn't find out about his bet, the Turk mentally added. Reno inwardly frowned, this was unexpected, he had came down for a talk and perhaps for something more, his mind automatically formed images of pink clad curves. He had come to stake his place between those curves, to make sure there was no room for a certain annoying SOLDIER. And now the situation had become extremely delicate, he needed to be sure the next words coming out of his mouth would be perfect.

Aeris took Reno's lack of response as a silent confession. His lack of a quick explanation only made her more infuriated. The least he could do was explain his actions to her. Explain why he hadn't told her even after he saved her from those SHINRA troopers. Her seething mind was instantly renewed with justified rage, "If you were hiding that from me then who else knows what you're hiding you liar! So it's true then!" Aeris' rage seemed never ending as she half screamed, "Zack was right!"

Reno instantly froze at her words.

Zack was right…

He could feel the tension on the situation start to strain.

Zack.

That stupid scrawny SOLDIER boy! With his ridiculous hair and stupid attitude. Reno felt his tight hold on the circumstances snap.

Zack. Zack. Zack.

That one name caused all his jealousy and anger to surface again. He felt the balanced control that he was juggling tip and overturn, his carefully managed emotions spilling from his being. White hot raging envy seething from his pores over that one insignificant slip of a name.

ZACK.

ZACK.

ZACK.

"Zack eh! What else has Zack told you? Oh hell! Lord knows what else you and Zack have done!" Reno spit the words out, screw being delicate.

Aeris looked at the Turk with shock on her face. "Excuse me?" The shorter flower girl crossed her arms over her chest, her expression turning stony again.

Reno, with his cool exterior completely boiled over looked Aeris straight in the eye, "You heard me. You're probably just another one of those notches on his belt I bet." The night's dream replayed over in his mind. He was beyond caring what was tumbling out of his mouth, only instantly saying what came to mind.

Aeris unfolded her arms from her chest, her face was a mixture between shock, disgust, and anger, with the latter dominating the rest. "You!" She pointed at Reno again, her finger trembling slightly. "Get out of my church." She shifted her finger to point straight towards the entrance, her eyes completely glazed over with rage.

"Whatever." Reno mumbled as he turned on his heels to head back up towards the plate, her voice screaming Zack's name still on his ears.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the church, away from an infuriated Aeris. As he walked out into the slums his mind began to cool and clear, the revelations of his actions fully dawning on him. It was rare for him to lose his temper like that, the words had uncontrollable escaped his month. He stared at the dirty pavement of the slums and glumly kicked a stray pebble from his path. Perhaps tomorrow he'll fix things, after all, he still wanted her, still lusted after her being. As Reno made his way towards the train only one long thought echoed through his head.

Shit, that was dumb.

----------------------------

Reno ended up exactly where he left started off this morning, grumpy, annoyed, and tired in the Turk's office. He had grabbed a coffee along the way in attempts to soothe his nerves. He had arrived, cup in hand to find Elena still in the office, working away at her desk. She had lifted her head and smiled at him in greeting, completely oblivious to Reno's sour mood.

Reno didn't bother to smile back, didn't even bother to reply to her hellos as he made his way towards the garbage and flung the half full cup into the trash can, suddenly tired of drinking the caffeine liquid. He made his way towards his desk and slumped down in the chair, his fist resting against his cheek.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Elena chirped up.

Reno kept his stormy azure eyes glued on the rich wood of his office desk, "None of your business." He absently mindedly picked up a random pen and began to twirl the writing utensil around his nimble fingers, ignoring his female associate.

Elena continued anyways, ignoring Reno's cold response. "Well, would you like to hear the important news I have from before?"

Reno didn't even look up from his pen-twirling and responded harshly, "No."

Elena couldn't hide back a look of hurt washing over her face at Reno's callous response. Grabbing a small manila folder off of her desk, she stood up and marched over to Reno's desk. The look of hurt was still clear on her face and in her voice as she plopped the folder down in front of the red headed Turk. "Here. You're new assignment."

Only then did Reno look up at the smaller Turk, picking up the new file he shot Elena a questionable glance. But she didn't answer him, obviously still upset at his earlier response. She abruptly ignored his glance and promptly exited the office. The words "jerk" reached Reno's ear, carried by Elena's offended voice.

Reno thoughtfully tapped the folder against his open palm, contemplating Elena's reactions. He knew he had been harsh in his response but he didn't worry about it. She was the newest member of their elite group, having only joined a couple of weeks ago. But from what he had learnt of the feisty female who commonly got angry at his and Rude's chauvinist actions, she would get over her anger by the next time he saw her.

Reno shoved Elena from his mind, he definitely was on a roll for hurting females today he laughed glumly. The Turk gazed down at the simple file in his hand, a new task was the perfect solution to his dilemma. Drowning his whole being into a job could be a good way to switch all his focus from that green-eyed vixen to something else.

Really, dreaming about the girl, and feeling remorse over her anger towards him was just ridiculous. Reno flipped the folder open, his cobalt blue eyes took in the whole page at a glance, and froze. His eyes widened in shock as he ignored the neatly typed text lining the paper; his eyes were glued on the lone picture.

There, resting perfectly in the corner of a one page document, with the words 'capture' and 'detain' highlighted in neon yellow, was a photo. The bangs that framed the face were a little shorter and the face that held the smile were a little rounder, but those laughing green eyes were the exact same. There it was, his new assignment, an outdated picture of fourteen year old Aeris Gainsborough stood smiling up at him.

"Author's" note – Thanks for all the nice reviews! I was actually not gonna start work on this chapter yet.. but all the kind words motivated me:P