The time to make friends, is before you need them.

    "Reno."

    The red head silently gazed out the window from his seat on the sill. The young man seemed at peace, his eyes bereft of any anger or bitterness. At least for this moment. Reno turned his head slowly, and looked at his friend without a word.

    The bald man held the paper rolled up in his closed hand. "Lookit what I found." Handing the paper to his friend, he jabbed at a certain paragraph and let the other man read.

    "They need workers in Nibelheim?" Reno blinked and looked up at his friend. "You think we should do this?"

    "It's a simple job. No questions asked, if you know what I mean. Sure we're overqualified, but the pay ain't bad." Rude shrugged. "I think we could make it to Nibelheim. It would be an easy way to start over. Feel useful again."

    The red haired man hung his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You've been so talkative lately, Rude."

    "Yeah, well, someone has to make up for the silence." With a sigh the bald man tossed the paper onto the bed. We're just rottin' here, Reno. We've done our grieving, and it's time to move on."

    Reno sighed and spoke quietly. "Then.... Then I'd be moving even further away from her."

    "You don't wanna she her," Rude snapped. "Don't give me that shit."

    The other man didn't answer.

    "I'm going, Reno," Rude said sternly. "This is hard for me to say, but I'm getting on with my life with or without you."

    The red head remained silent.

    "Well, Reno? You leavin' with me tomorrow or you gonna stay here and sulk. Alone."

    "....I don't really have a choice." Reno looked at his friend. "Me 'n you have always been a team, Rude. And who the hell am I to break that up?"

    Rude cracked a smile. "Glad to have ya back, Reno."

    "Yeah, well..." the red head turned back to the window. "We'll see about that."


    Rufus smiled from behind his desk, fanning through some paperwork. Reeve Leander sat silently across from his, legs crossed.

    "Glad to be back in Nibelheim?" The blonde man pushed a stack of paper aside, blue eyes sparkling.

    "Well, Bria, Cloud and Vincent certainly aren't, but I can't say I'm terribly upset to be here." He managed a small smile. "It all still seems unreal to me."

    "Well wake up, because it's happening." Rufus moved the last of the paperwork aside. "I'm just hoping people answer that ad I placed. We really need the labor."

    "And once that's assembled?"

    "We start building. According to the estimates, we'll be in business in less than a year." The now familiar smile remained on the younger man's lips. "Come on and smile, Reeve. This is going to happen for us."

    Reeve did smile, casting his dark green eyes downwards. "Actually, I've been thinking about something."

    "You think too much, but all right. What is it?"

    "What would you say to making Vincent and Cloud partners?" His eyes came up again.

    Rufus blinked. "Cloud and Vincent?... I don't see why I would object. Cloud got us the loan in the first place after all, and Vincent...well, I think Vincent could use something like this, you know?"

    The older man nodded his head. "Looks like we can agree once in awhile."

    Laughing, the blonde leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, look at that."

    There was a soft knocking at the door, and both men set their eyes upon it and called, "come in!"

    Bria stuck her head in, a soft smile on her pink lips. "It's oddly amusing to hear you both speak at once."

    She was answered with lighthearted laughter, to which Rufus added, "what's up?"

    There are two guys to see you about that ad you placed. Want me to send them in?"

    "You're not our secretary, dear," Reeve reminded her gently.

    "I know, but really, I don't mind." She looked at Rufus and asked, "should I?"

    "Yes, please." The former President's reply was almost hushed, and he was quite fixated on Reeve's wife as she left the room.

    Reeve said, "Rufus," but before he could pose any question or make any statement and once more they turned to look.

    And truly, they could not have been more shocked had the ghost of Sephiroth waltzed in wearing toe shoes and a tutu.

    It was Reno and Rude, the two longtime Turks themselves. It was Reno with his uncombed red hair, and his light blue eyes, and his seemingly scrawny build hidden by sloppy clothes. And then there was Rude, broad shouldered, eyes still concealed by ever present sunglasses. They hadn't changed a bit. And truly, they both could not have been more shocked themselves.

    "Holy shit," the red head muttered, not believing his own words. "No fucking way."

    Reeve had braced himself on the desk so to not fall over.

    "Reno?" Jenova fused blue eyes blinked in shock. "Rude?"

    Then for a long moment no one said anything.

    It took Reno to turn to his friend and say, "it's like seeing a fucking ghost."

    "I don't believe this!" Rufus was on his feet and coming over. "Reno, Rude--you're *alive*."

    "*We're* alive? More like *you're* alive, man," the red head pointed out a bit defensively. "They told us you were dead."

    "I nearly was."

    Reeve stood, still braced on the desk. "I'm........shocked."

    "I have to admit you two were the last bastards on the planet I thought we'd see!" Reno was grinning from ear to ear. "My god, I still don't believe my own fucking eyes! I've never been so happy to see you two in my life."

    "What the hell," Reeve said finally, out of nowhere. "Where did you two come from?"

    The two former Turks laughed. "We might ask you the same thing."

    "Sit," Rufus told them all, going back behind the desk. "Sit the hell down. I need to hear some stories here."

    "What's to tell?" Rude spoke plainly.

    "How did you get here? Where have you been? What did you do after..." Rufus was firing off questions, hungry for answers.

    "After Shinra..." Reno seemed reserved for a change, hands tucked between his knees. "...shit happened. An' Rude an' me ended up in Kalm, shacked up in some shitty hotel for a long time. We couldn't do nothin', so....we kinda sulked, ya know? And I got really depressed. I mean, we just couldn't go get another job. 'Cause what had we been our whole lives? So...things got real bad till Rude saw an ad for a no questions asked kinda job, so we glided into Nibelheim on our last Gil, we showed up here, I flirted with the girl out front, and we met up with you two bastards. Looks like we had to answer questions after all." He turned to Rude with a grin.

    "You flirted with the girl out front, huh?" Reeve asked casually, a smile hiding at the corners of his mouth.

    "Yeah," the red head replied, as if it was obvious. "She's fucking hot!"

    "She's my wife," Reeve admitted, smile appearing.

    Reno's jaw nearly hit the ground for a second time. "No kidding!? Really?"

    Nodding, the former executive added, "she's pregnant."

    "Shit man, that's awesome."

    "Congratulations," Rude spoke.

    "Thank you." Reeve almost seemed a bit embarrassed.

    Rufus Shinra had not gotten over the shock. "So that's it. You're here."

    "In the flesh!" The red head leaned forward, familiar smile disappearing. "So what's your story? How'd you live?"

    "Tseng never told you?" The words were out of Reeve's mouth before he even knew it.

    The former Turks looked at one another, then back at their former employer.

    "The Jenova?" Rude spoke carefully.

    Rufus nodded once. "I got picked up by Bria---that's Reeve's wife, the woman you met outside---she nursed me back to health, then we both went searching for answers. We ran into Reeve at Costa del Sol, he took us to Nibelheim, we all learned a little something, Cloud's team came back and got us, Reeve and I fought over Bria, he won, I got depressed, but got over it, I had the Shinra mansion torn down, Reeve and Bria got married and then when they came back we thought of an idea to build a bar or something in Nibelheim, we went through a lot of shit before we got a loan, I got a girlfriend along the way, and we ended up here to make our dream a reality." He shrugged, "long story short."

    "Sounds like a novel," Rude commented.

    "Basically."

    Reno's light blue eyes focused on Reeve. "What about you, Reeve? What happened to you before you met up with Rufus?"

    With a shrug of his shoulders, Reeve looked down and spoke. "A family in Midgar took me in after Scarlet and Heidegger had me thrown in jail for being human. After we destroyed Sephiroth, Cloud and the others came to get me." He shrugged again. "That's it."

    "We almost all made it then, huh?" Reno commented with a sign. "We almost all escaped."

    "Elena?" Reeve spoke up, eyes on Reno.

    The red head met the other man's gaze. "Elena's fine. That's not who I'm talking about and you know it."

    Oh god, don't remind me. "Tseng." The word was hard as it slipped from Reeve's lips.

    The former President turned his head away. "I remember that..."

    "Yeah, Tseng." Reno practically growled, running a hand through his hair. "That wasn't fucking fair. Everyone liked him."

    Reeve had his eyes covered.

    "Even I liked him." The blonde's voice was soft. "Even when I was President."

    "You all right, Reeve?" Rude's eyes were on the older man.

    "Yeah," voice sounding choked, Reeve uncovered his eyes. "Fine."

    "You guys were really good friends, weren't you?" Rufus too looked at Reeve.

    "Could we *not* talk about this?" the older man snapped, getting all defensive.

    A moment of stunned silence passed between the former colleges.

    Finally Reeve spoke again, running nervous fingers through his black hair. "Look, we all have a lot of catching up to do. Why don't we do this later, after we've all rested a bit?"

    There were nods and words of agreement. All four men got to their feet seeming lost. Now that they were all together again, it still was as if it was only just their imagination.

    "Shall we?" Rufus gestured to the door, and they all began filing out.

    "Hey, do we get the job?" Reno kidded with a laugh as they stepped into bright sunlight.

    "Yeah, sure." With a grin, Rufus placed a hand on the red head's shoulder. "Welcome aboard--partner."


    "I still can't believe you went and got married."

    Reeve and Reno were standing on the balcony of Reno's new hotel room, arms draped over the railing.

    "What's not to believe?" Reeve's tone was airy, but he avoided eye contact, choosing to instead focus on the street below.

    "Ya know, this is weird for me to say, but I always thought you loved Tseng..."

    "I did." The truth popped out of Reeve's mouth before he could control it. For some reason he could turn and look at Reno now. "I did love him."

    The read head blinked, seeming a bit taken back. "You still love him, don't you?"

    "I could never stop loving him." With a quiet sigh he once again turned away, watching some children play in the street. "You can't stop loving someone you love that much. It's just not possible."

    Reno's next question was posed in a near whisper. "Does she know?"

    Reeve shook his head, strands of black hair brushed off his forehead by the gentle wind. "No. What would she think? Besides, it doesn't matter now. It's in the past." He hung his head, staring at his own hands. "There are many things she doesn't know, and it's best kept that way."

    "He didn't know, did he." It wasn't even a question, but a blatant statement, and Reno's light blue eyes were still on the older man. "He never knew you loved him."

    "Not as more than a friend. No. I just lied to him. He never knew. Never." By the last word Reeve's voice was completely choked with impending tears. Burying his head in his hands he stood there and cried.

    Reno was frozen, unsure of what to do. "Reeve.... Reeve, I'm sorry."

    "I just... I'm such a liar. A stupid, selfish liar." His eyes were red as he once again made eye contact. "It fucking *kills* me inside to think I did that to him--to the one I loved. *Kills* me."

    "You can't change the past," Reno agreed, turning away. "But sometimes it doesn't matter." He sighed, letting the wind ruffle his hair as he spoke reflectively. "Reeve, if you had been ordered that job at Shinra, *knowing* what was going to happen, would you still take it?"

    His mouth opened, and he was all set to say no, but Reeve closed his mouth and looked down sadly. "I don't know. For all the pain I caused and received as a part of that company--how it led to my being disowned and responsible for the suffering of so many-- It brought me to Tseng, and to Bria. And I just love them both so much that life without them seems *unbearable*. But on the other hand, Shinra was bad for everyone, and had to be destroyed. I'm so glad it's gone. Knowing what I know now, I can't say for sure what I would do." He snuck a look at Reno. "What about you?"

    "Same thing. Yeah, I really don't know. For all that it did for me, look what's it done to me. This is the shit we never thought about, ya know?" He fished into his pocket and came up with a pack of cigarettes. "Want one?"

    "Yeah," Reeve answered without hesitation. The younger man handed him the cigarette, lit it, and they stood together, smoking under the setting sun.

    "You know, Tseng hated it when I smoked." A smile tugged at Reeve's lips. "It was the only thing I did that he couldn't stand."

    "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

    Reeve was shocked. "He never told you?"

    Slowly the red head shook his head. "We never really discussed our pasts. That was the kind of shit we were supposed to forget as Turks." Again light blue eyes were on Reeve. "Tell me?"

    "When Tseng was a kid, about eleven, his whole house burned down. Killed his whole family. He was the only one who survived. He was never sure, but he ws convinced it was one of his father's misplaced cigarette's that burned the place down. That's why he wore that dot on his forehead-- as his tribute to them." Reeve sighed, "he never got over that fire."

    "Wow..." looking back to the action below again, the red head added, "I asked him what that dot was for once, and he told me it was a tribute. He didn't tell me it was a tribute. He didn't tell me about his family or nothin'." Casually he asked, "how did he get into the Turks? If you don't mind sharin'."

    "He killed a man, of course." He flicked some ashes onto the ground. "Shot him four times right in the chest even though he'd never touched a gun in his life. This guy had just killed Tseng's only friend, so he got mad and...reacted."

    "I stabbed my uncle," Reno admitted out of nowhere. "He had just killed my mother, and was going to kill me." He pointed to one of the identical scars he had under each eye. "He did this to me, the fucking bastard. Call me heartless, but I never regretted killing him. I never felt bad about it."

    "I think... I think that first murder is the only one Tseng never cried about." Reeve flicked the last remnants of his cigarette into the wind with regret. "But I can't be sure. He never talked about it much."

    The look of shock graced the red head's features once more. "Hold up a sec, did you say Tseng used to cry?"

    Turning to him, Reeve blinked in amazement. "Oh god yes. Never in front of you, but yes, I often found him crying about what he had done. He hated to...because he knew...he knew he wasn't supposed to."

    Reno was still besides himself. "If I only had known, I...." Blue eyes met green ones. "He seemed so tough."

    "Part of him was tough," Reeve admitted, "tough as nails. But god, how he could be so fragile. And weak too. Ugh, I still don't understand how his mind worked sometimes.

    "You think you know a person," the red head muttered under his breath.

    "What I wouldn't give just to see him again. Even for a moment." The older man had a dreamy, faraway look in his green eyes. "Even if I could only brush my hand against his cheek..." he trailed off then paused briefly before turning to the other man. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must be making you uncomfortable."

    Reno shook his head, eyes on the horizon. "Nah. I'm not in love with anyone that's dead, but still I kinda understand how ya feel."

    Reeve turned and he placed a hand on the shoulder of the former Turk. "What is it?"

    "Nothin'." Reno relaxed on the railing.  "Hey, Rufus is pretty changed, huh?"

    "Yeah, he certainly came around. He was able to shake his past and all the bitterness he had stored away." Pausing with a small smile he added, "I admire him. After what he's been through.... I mean, he's had his hard moments, but he really came through."

    "Maybe I should ask him for advice," murmured the younger man.

    A concerned look swept across Reeve's face. "Are you all right, Reno?"

    "Yeah... Better anyway. Much better. Much, much better than I was." He ran a hand through a shock of red hair. "Hey." He turned to go back inside. "Got any booze?"

    The former executive chuckled softly as the red head left him. Truly, he thought, some things never change.


    "Oh yeah, so everything's going great! We're getting more labor, the plans are coming along, and best of all some old employees of mine showed up, so I made some more partners. Reeve, Vincent, Cloud, Rude, Reno and I. Quite a long list, but we all really need this."

    "I think that's great, Rufus."

    "I wish I could talk to you in person, instead of on the PHS."

    "I wish I could touch you."

    "Ooh... Don't get me upset Madeline."

    "Sorry, sweetie, but I miss you a ton and you haven't even been gone long. How can I last?"

    "I'll come see you as soon as I possibly can. Just don't go forgetting around me!"

    "Oh, I could *never*."

    "Good."

    "Well I've gotta get back to work, darling. Call me soon?"

    "Tonight. Till then, my dear."

    "Oh, Rufus. I'm so glad you're so happy."

    "Yeah. Me too."


    And time goes on, my angel. Preparations are made and people are assembled. There is nothing more to do than watch the action play out.

    With whom shall I begin? Rufus I suppose. I don't believe he has ever been in such high spirits. He has his dream in motion and he has found someone who he can love and hopefully will love him in return.

    I know Reeve is happy with his wife and the idea of being a father. But he remains a man who will be incomplete and he will always remain so. It is the fate of one who has lost their one true love.

    Rude is quiet. He seems at peace, although a great has been lifted from burdened shoulders.

    Reno smiled, but it is phony. He is hiding something, and although I believe in some ways he is happy, like Reeve he too is missing something. I do not know what, but I hope he finds it.

    And Cloud, well, I have my suspicions on him but I decline to comment. Seems he has been turning to me less frequently. I cannot say whether this pleases or displeases me. When he told me he loved me...seems so long ago now, I can't say I believed him. His heart seems so flighty, so desperate. I will not continue.

    And what about me, my angel? I miss you. Though difficult at times, I have overcome my obstacles to arrive at acceptance. I hope I will arrive at more wisdom, but for now I have all I need to go on. Life is a journey for gaining wisdom, angel, and though we may never know everything, what we do know we must treasure and share, in hopes to enrich the lives of others. But there is much time to yet and I'm sure much more will come of this. Whether good or bad I know not, and only time will tell.