Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Mark of the Phoenix ❯ Chapter 14

“Mark of the Phoenix”

Chapter 14

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*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all characters therein belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can't get enough of this world and the characters.*

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“How long have the new headquarters been at Junon?” Cissnei asked as they drew nearer and nearer to their destination.

 

“Not very long at all,” Elena explained. “About a year now. We were doing everything from a temporary base in Healin for a while, but they rebuilt the old ShinRa base in Junon and everything's been operating from there ever since. The damage to Midgar was too severe to rebuild there.”

 

“And Reno lives there?” Cissnei had fond memories of Junon and she had always liked it better than Midgar. It didn't have as modern a feeling to the building structures but it was cleaner than Midgar. She knew about the city built around Midgar but from what she understood, it wasn't completed yet.

 

“Mmm-hmm, he's got a nice apartment…you'll like it. It's got a modern décor and there's plenty of room for you and the munchkin.” Elena smiled at Sadie, who was asleep in her seat. How the child could sleep so fitly in the noisy chopper was a mystery to Elena. It was just further proof that she had a bit of Reno in her.

 

Cissnei sighed, wishing she'd had time to gather more of her belongings. She'd have to buy practically a whole new wardrobe for herself and Sadie. She could use public transport until she could get a car, so at least transportation wasn't an issue. She looked out the window at the harbor city and despite her misgivings, it felt good to see Junon again. She looked through the open cockpit door at Reno and she silently prayed to anyone that might be listening that he wouldn't be taken from her.

 

~******************************~

 

Tseng met them in person at the airport, flanked by two other Turks that must have joined sometime after Cissnei left, because she didn't recognize them. The Wutaian gave her a courteous nod as she climbed out of the cabin behind Elena, holding her daughter in her arms.

 

“Cissnei,” greeted Tseng. “I trust you're in good health?” His dark eyes were subtly warning on her, reminding her to play her role carefully.

 

“Well enough, Sir,” she answered with a respectful nod. “I'm doing my best to adjust but everything is unfamiliar to me.”

 

“That's to be expected, considering the trials you've endured,” Tseng responded smoothly. He looked to Reno and Rude, his expression carefully neutral. “The two of you are to report to board room C immediately.”

 

“Right away, Sir,” Reno said, looking sidelong at Cissnei with a faint frown.

 

“Cissnei, why don't you, Elena and your daughter come to my office while the trial is underway?” Offered the Turk director. “You must be tired and hungry. I'll have some food brought to you and you can relax and watch some television while you wait.”

 

Cissnei and Elena exchanged a look and the petite brunette nodded. “Thank you, Sir.” She looked at Reno and couldn't disguise the concern in her expression. Sadie picked up on her anxiety and the child began to fuss softly, squirming in her mother's embrace and reaching out for Reno with her chubby little arms.

 

“Come,” Tseng tactfully ordered the two operatives at his side. “We're expected in the board room.” He and his companions walked away, leaving Reno and the others alone at the landing pad.

 

Reno closed the distance between himself and Cissnei, taking both his daughter's reaching hands in his. He smiled at the little girl. “Hey, everything's fine, kiddo. Don't get upset and don't give your Ma a hard time, okay?”

 

Sadie calmed down a little and nodded, soothed by his confidence. Rude and Elena moved a few paces away to give them some privacy as Reno looked into Cissnei's eyes.

 

“It really is going to be okay, Ciss,” reiterated the redhead. “We've just gotta answer some questions and tell `em what happened. Just take a load off in Tseng's office and I'll see you when it's over, all right?”

 

She nodded slowly, swallowing her doubts and fears because she knew it wouldn't do either of them any good to worry over it. Reno's mouth descended to hers for a kiss and she returned it with feeling. When they broke apart, he kissed Sadie on the crown of the head and put his arm around Cissnei's narrow waist.

 

“Let's get this over with, partner,” Reno said to Rude as he and Cissnei started away from the landing pad. The bald Turk nodded silently and fell into step beside his partner, with Elena on his other side.

 

~*******************************~

 

“Have a seat,” Tseng ordered when Reno and Rude arrived in the meeting room. There were a total of twelve high-ranking Turks sitting around the table and both Reno and Rude hesitated when they recognized the former Turk leader. Verdot's presence only reinforced how unusual the circumstances of this trial were, and Reno felt a swift stab of fear as he looked at the man's rugged, scarred features.

 

Rude eased into one of the chairs that Tseng had motioned to and he nudged his partner lightly, reminding him to do the same. Reno sat down next to him glad for the bald man's calm, stoic presence. He hated that Rude was mixed up in this too but at the same time, he was glad for his support.

 

“Let's cut to the chase,” Verdot said sternly once everyone was settled in. “I'm here to preside over this trial and make sure it's quick and thorough. We're here to investigate why you and your partner shot a fellow Turk, Reno. As the second in command of our organization, you've earned a lot of respect and thus you are given this chance to explain your actions to us.”

 

“Well, everyone thought Cissnei died three years ago—” Reno began to explain. His mouth was dry and his palms were sweaty.

 

Verdot waved a hand for silence, cutting Reno's recap off before it could begin. “We've already been over that. Tseng explained it all and Cissnei isn't the one on trial, here. What this jury needs to hear from you, Reno, is why you fired on and killed a fellow Turk whilst he was trying to do his job. I'm sure we've all got a busy schedule to keep so I would prefer for you to keep your answers quick and precise.”

 

Reno resisted the urge to reach for the glass of water that Tseng had poured and set in front of him, though his mouth felt like it was full of cotton.

 

~Can't let them see how fucking nervous I am. We didn't do anything wrong and if I don't look and sound sure of that, they're gonna read into it as guilt.~

 

“If Tseng already told ya that Cissnei's innocent of defection, then you already know why we showed up at her house, Sir.” Reno said.

 

Verdot nodded. “And?”

 

“When we got there we found her babysitter dead on the floor and from where we were standing, it looked like the operative that did it was about to shoot Cissnei and my kid.” Reno kept his voice steady and matter-of-fact. He didn't look away from the imposing, distinguished man's eyes as he spoke.

 

Verdot's expression changed, softening ever so slightly into something like understanding. Reno suddenly understood why Tseng had asked the former Turk leader to attend this trial. Verdot had a family himself and he could empathize with Reno's position. Not only that, but the man had a presence about him that commanded respect. He was somewhat of a celebrity amongst Turks.

 

“Rude, I'd like to hear your input on this matter,” Verdot said, his gaze shifting to the bald man at Reno's side. “Did you have any reason to believe that not firing at the Turk in question would have resulted in the death of Cissnei or her child?”

 

“None at all, Sir,” Rude answered without hesitation. “It was a judgment call and we had no reason to believe he wasn't going to shoot.”

 

Verdot mused over his answer for a moment, looking at each of the assembled Turks in turn and finally settling his gaze on Tseng. “What is your position in this, Director?”

 

“They both have my full support,” answered the Wutaian smoothly. “I believe they acted according to necessity.”

 

Verdot nodded and tapped his fingers on the surface of the table. After a moment, he stood up and walked around the table slowly, with his hands clasped behind his back. “How many of you here have children?” he queried.

 

Four of the Turks raised their hands in acknowledgement.

 

“And what do you think your first instinct would be, if you found someone threatening your children?” Verdot persisted.

 

They looked at one another uncomfortably, unwilling to answer.

 

“I'm a father myself,” Verdot announced. “Many of you know this.” He stopped by a window and gazed out at the city through it. “I'll tell you what MY first instinct would be if I found someone pointing a gun at my daughter. Turk or not, I would kill them. There would be no hesitation and no doubt. Say what you will about loyalty to this organization, but in the end, what we truly are is a big family. If you would risk your life for a trusted partner, why wouldn't you do the same for your own flesh and blood?”

 

Verdot turned to look at Reno again. “I understand you didn't know of your child's existence until you sought out Cissnei to clear her name. Is this correct?”

 

Reno nodded stiffly, for once holding his tongue.

 

“And what was your reaction to this? What were you thinking when you arrived and saw one of your fellow Turks holding your former lover and child at gunpoint?” Verdot sat back down and threaded his fingers together before him on the table.

 

Reno shrugged. “I was thrown for a loop at first, yo. Who wouldn't be? As for what I was thinking, Sir…I've gotta admit, I didn't think at all. I saw the guy pointing a gun at my kid and I just shot. Didn't have time to think about much of anything.”

 

Verdot nodded and cast another glance around at the assembled Turks. “Instinct,” he said empathetically. “Every creature has it. It's what makes a mother bird pretend to be wounded to lure the cat away from her chicks. It's what prompts a stag to fight one of his fellows for mating rights. The emotion of love has no bearing on instinct. Reno had no time to bond with his daughter before these events occurred, but he acted as most parents instinctively would, to protect his offspring. We should take that into consideration, as well as the fact that neither Reno nor his partner had any way of knowing that the Turk they fired upon was there to retrieve Cissnei, not silence her.”

 

Verdot gave Tseng a meaningful look and a swift nod. The Wutaian stood up and addressed the gathering. “This meeting is adjourned. Reno, Rude, go to my office and wait there. I'll come to you when a verdict is reached.”

 

“Sir,” Rude nodded respectfully and Reno did the same. Together, the two partners exited the meeting room and as soon as the door was shut behind them, Reno's legs almost gave out. Rude caught him around the waist to steady him before he could fall.

 

“Easy, partner,” the bald man murmured.

 

Reno accepted his help gratefully and took a deep breath to clear his head as he righted himself. “Shit, that was more nerve-wracking than I thought it'd be,” the redhead muttered.

 

“Well, it's over,” Rude said. “All we've gotta do is wait, now.”

 

“Yeah, lucky us,” Reno grumbled as he straightened his clothes and started toward the elevators. “I told Cissnei everything's gonna be okay but I'm not so sure. Even with Tseng and Verdot pitching for us there's still a chance that…” He shook his head and reached into his blazer for the pack of cloves he'd picked up from the company lobby before the meeting.

 

“Our chances are a lot better than they could have been,” reminded the bald man softly. He pulled out his lighter and flicked it, holding the flame under his partner's cigarette for him.

 

Reno puffed until it was lit and he nodded in thanks before taking a deep drag. Ordinarily he wouldn't smoke inside, even though there weren't any rules against it. He was too nervous to go without, though.

 

They took the elevator up to the twentieth floor and went into Tseng's office. Cissnei and Elena were sitting on the couch eating takeout from the cafeteria. Sadie was in her mother's lap, sharing dinner with her while she watched the cartoons that were playing on the TV hanging on the far wall. When she saw Reno come in, the toddler called out for him and started squirming in Cissnei's arms.

 

Cissnei set her food aside and helped her daughter down, allowing her to stumble toward Reno eagerly. She smiled despite her anxiety, happy that Sadie and Reno had bonded so well. The redhead squatted down and picked the little girl up when she reached him.

 

“She's definitely a `Daddy's girl',” observed Elena with amusement as Sadie held Reno tightly around the neck.

 

He bounced Sadie lightly and grinned with pride. His smile faded a little when he noticed the concern in Cissnei's brown eyes. “They're talking it over now,” he explained as he crossed the room and took a seat next to her on the couch. “I think it'll go pretty fast. Verdot was there and he took charge of the meeting pretty quick. Looks like we've got him on our side.”

 

Both Cissnei's and Elena's eyes rounded. “Verdot?” the brunette repeated. “But he vanished for a while, didn't he?”

 

“Yeah, but it turns out he was doing stuff behind the scenes and the organization was just keeping it quiet,” explained Reno. “He's been back for a while…he just stays in the background most of the time.”

 

“If Verdot's rooting for you, I'm sure everything will be all right,” Elena insisted with confidence. “That's like…like Sephiroth vouching for an AWOL member of SOLDIER…uh…back before he went insane, that is.”

 

“Let's hope so,” sighed Cissnei. While she didn't doubt Verdot's diplomatic influence, she knew that the rigid policies of the organization weren't something that could be easily overturned. Their best hope was that Reno and Rude would be found innocent of deliberate murder of one of their own. She fed her daughter another spoonful of mashed potatoes while Reno held her. Cissnei tried to be optimistic. They had made it this far with the odds stacked against them. Surely fate wouldn't have let them make it through so much, only to tear them apart again.

 

~*********************************~

 

Nearly an hour later, Tseng entered his office. Sadie was dozing in Reno's arms and the redhead was talking quietly with his lover, who sat close to him on the couch. Rude and Elena were sitting together on the sofa closer to the television, watching the news together. When they saw him come in, everyone except Reno stood up.

 

“It's decided,” the Wutaian announced. “Reno and Rude have been cleared of all charges, on grounds of accidental death. The jury has agreed that they acted to defend Cissnei and her daughter and they couldn't have known the other Turk's orders weren't to kill.”

 

Cissnei felt her knees go weak with relief and Reno grinned hugely and held his daughter a little closer to his chest. Elena hugged Rude abruptly, making the bald man stagger. He patted her back gingerly, unsure of how to handle the sudden embrace.

 

Tseng smiled faintly, unperturbed by the blonde's show of affection for Rude. If something grew between them, it was better all around. He had another romantic interest and he was still trying to decide how to go about revealing his feelings.

 

“So that's it?” Reno asked, shifting his slumbering daughter carefully in his arms. “Back to work as normal?”

 

“Well, not precisely `normal',” corrected Tseng. “You'll be returning to your position under a probation period, of sorts—only because you are second in command. When the organization is satisfied that your sabbatical didn't affect your ability to perform, you'll be fully reinstated. Rude will resume his duties as normal and Cissnei will be assigned light work, until the day that she's willing and able to continue where she left off.”

 

He looked at Cissnei with reassuring eyes. “When and if you resume full Turk duties is entirely up to you. You'll have to play your role carefully and appear to make a gradual recovery from memory loss. I've made certain that you'll never be forced into black ops again and if you wish, you can remain in a position of paperwork and communications indefinitely. This will be your decision alone, Cissnei.”

 

“I understand,” she said softly. “I don't think I can thank you enough, Tseng. You're giving me the chance to give my daughter a more normal life, and that means everything to me.”

 

He smiled slightly, his gaze straying to the pretty child in Reno's arms. “I've long known you dreamed of a different life, Cissnei. Despite your personal desires, you've remained loyal to us. That in itself deserves some reward. I suggest you go home with Reno and get settled in. You can return to work when you've finished making the arrangements you need.”

 

~*********************************~

 

There was much more involved in settling in than simply buying a new wardrobe and setting up the guest room as Sadie's bedroom. Cissnei had to find a new pediatrician for her daughter, choose a daycare center and look into future schooling options. She gave herself a headache going over the list of things she needed to do that night and Reno sat down at the kitchen table with her after putting Sadie to bed.

 

“Take it easy, Doll,” Reno told her when he saw the way she was rubbing her forehead. He reached out and slid the list away from her, ignoring her attempt to drag it back. “You're trying to do everything in one night.”

 

“But if Sadie gets sick—“

 

“Then we'll take her to a company doctor until we find a pediatrician ya like,” he cut in.

 

“Yes, but we're going to need daycare for her—“

 

“Not a problem. You don't have to go back to work until we find one. It ain't like they'd expect you to leave a toddler home alone.”

 

Cissnei sighed, grateful for how supportive he was being but reeling from the swift changes in her life, nonetheless. “I just don't know where to start with all of this,” she murmured. “I don't know Junon like I used to and even when I was more familiar with the city, I wasn't looking into childcare or schools.”

 

“We aren't the only Turks with kids,” reminded Reno as he closed the notepad and stood up. He took her hand and urged her to her feet. “I'll ask around and see what kind of advice I can get, yo. We probably shouldn't be sending her anyplace standard, anyhow.”

 

Cissnei bit her lip. They'd not only need someone trustworthy to watch over Sadie while they were at work, but someone that could protect her if for some reason someone attempted to get at either of them through the little girl. The thought of someone trying to kidnap her daughter from daycare or a local school filled her with dread.

 

“Maybe we should look into hiring a nanny,” suggested Cissnei softly as she allowed her lover to usher her towards the bedroom they were going to be sharing from now on. “Daycare workers are fine but they have a lot of children to divide their attention between.”

 

Reno nodded. “Like I said, I'll get advice and find out what our best options are.” He dropped his voice lower as they passed by Sadie's designated bedroom and he poked his head in. Seeing that she appeared to be asleep, he closed the door a little more and continued urging his anxious girlfriend to their bedroom. “You know I'm not going to let anything happen to her now, don't you?” he murmured as shut the door behind them.

 

Cissnei nodded, feeling bad for carrying on. “I'm sorry,” she said as she went to the dresser and selected a long t-shirt and a pair of jumpers she'd bought to sleep in. She and Sadie had only a few changes of clothing to select from right now, but that would change after she had more time to shop. She watched Reno undress from the corner of her eye and she put her concerns aside to covertly admire him as she finished changing. He climbed into bed and caressed her with his eyes, making her feel a little self-conscious.

 

“I know…not sexy, right?” Cissnei said bashfully.

 

Reno grinned crookedly at her and pulled the covers aside invitingly. “Nothing wrong with it. Just come to bed.”

 

She placed her discarded clothing in the laundry basket inside the closet and joined him. She slipped under the covers with him he kissed her softly and laid on his back, pulling her partway on top of him. Cissnei kissed his throat before laying her head on his chest and she sighed as he rubbed her back. For the first time since returning, she began to feel safe. Reno switched the bedside lamp off and just when Cissnei was about to fall asleep, the sound of her daughter crying in distress made her eyes snap open. She sat up and Reno jerked awake when the cries reached his ears as well.

 

“I'm sure it's just a nightmare,” Cissnei said as she got out of bed and hurried out of the bedroom. She returned a few moments later holding the whimpering toddler in her arms and she gave Reno an apologetic look. “She wants to sleep with us tonight,” explained the brunette as she carried her daughter over to the bed.

 

Reno sighed but he pulled the covers down and made room. Sadie had gotten used to sleeping with them sometimes when they were hiding out in the Forgotten City. Though he didn't want her to develop the habit of sleeping with them every night, his apartment was new to her and he guessed she wouldn't sleep well on her own right away.

 

“Okay, kiddo,” Reno said as Cissnei placed the child in the middle of the bed and climbed in on her other side. “Nothing's gonna get you.” Sadie cuddled up to him and began to quiet down. Reno gave her kiss on the cheek and helped Cissnei pull the covers back over them.

 

~**********************************~

 

“What was it like?”

 

Cissnei looked at her coworker uncomfortably as she sat down to eat in the cafeteria. She'd been back for two days now and evidently, word had spread about her situation. She suddenly wished she was back in her old department working with Elena again, whom she felt much more comfortable talking too because she didn't have to watch everything she said.

 

Cissnei squeezed a packet of ketchup onto her plate and spoke carefully as she dipped a French fry into it. “Confusing,” she admitted—which was the basic truth. The first year of hiding had been one of the most stressful years of her life.

 

“I'll bet,” the other woman said, her eyes wide as she exchanged a glance with another female employee beside her. “It must have been terrible, waking up not knowing who you were or what happened.”

 

“And then finding out you're pregnant and not even knowing who the father is,” added the other woman with a shake of her head. “How are you adjusting to it? I mean, are you and Reno together again or are you just friends for now?”

 

Cissnei knew she had to be especially careful with her words, now. People would get suspicious if she admitted to be sleeping with a man she wasn't supposed to remember but she couldn't tell them her memories of him had fully returned, either. “He's…familiar to me,” she said. “I'm missing a lot of specific memories but I know I can trust him. He's been very supportive and he takes good care of our daughter.” She hoped that was a sufficient explanation and she tried her best not to look nervous as the other two women listened with interest. She hardly knew either of them and she was very uncomfortable with the interrogation.

 

“That make sense to me,” said the one on the left. “You had his baby after all and you two were a hot couple before the accident.”

 

“So you found a good babysitter?” Prompted the woman on the right. “I think I'd be freaking out about leaving my kid with a stranger in a strange city.”

 

Cissnei nodded and began to feel sick to her stomach. “It's hard,” she agreed, “but the nanny was recommended to us by someone in the company and I feel like I can trust her.”

 

Someone came up behind Cissnei and she almost jumped in alarm when a deep, monotone voice spoke to her. “Cissnei, I need to speak with you for a moment, please.”

 

She almost sighed in relief and she turned in her seat and nodded at Rude. “Excuse me,” she said as calmly as possible to her two curious coworkers. She got up and followed Rude to the other side of the cafeteria. “Is everything okay?”

 

Rude nodded and looked over her shoulder at the table she'd been eating at. “Just thought you could use a diversion.”

 

She smiled thankfully and nodded. “It was that obvious, was it? Thank you.”

 

“You could take your food to Reno's office and eat lunch there from now on,” Rude suggested.

 

Cissnei brightened, finding the idea to her liking. If anyone asked, she could just say it was doctor's orders for her to take a little break from crowds each day until she recovered more. Lunchtime, she'd discovered, was more stressful than the other hours of the day because people weren't occupied with their work and had time to badger her with questions. Her ordeal was the talk of the company now and it seemed like everybody wanted to know the details.

 

“I think I'll do that,” she said with a nod. She turned to go back to the table but she hesitated, seeing the two women still there and watching her expectantly. “Um…maybe I'll slip out for some fast food, instead.”

 

“I'll give them something to do,” Rude assured her. Both of the pestering Turks were under his command.

 

Cissnei breathed another sigh of relief and watched him approach the table and say something to the women. They hastily cleaned up their trays and left with respectful nods at Rude, giving her the opportunity to retrieve her barely touched lunch.

 

~********************************~

 

Cissnei took the elevators up to the office level floor and she promptly got turned around. The new headquarters building would take a bit of getting used to and she had to ask a receptionist for directions. Knowing who she was, the woman gave her a sympathetic look before instructing her to go down the hallway and take a left at the T-junction.

 

“Reno's office is the last one on the right,” said the receptionist.

 

Cissnei thanked her and straightened her blazer self-consciously as she shifted her covered food tray and followed the instructions. She knew she was at the right place when she found Reno's engraved nameplate on the door. She was just about to turn the knob and go in when she heard voices from within. She hesitated, hoping she wouldn't be interrupting a meeting if she walked in now. She recognized one of the voices as Elena's and she began to relax again…until she heard what was being said.

 

“I need a chick's opinion,” Reno was saying. “Do you think it's too big? You know, for Cissnei. She'd kind of small, yo.”

 

Cissnei almost dropped her tray and she leaned closer to the door to listen more intently.

 

Elena gasped. “Wow…I'm impressed!” She didn't speak for a moment and Reno grunted.

 

Cissnei shut her eyes and shook her head. Her imagination painted a picture of Reno dropping his pants and exposing himself for Elena's scrutiny. The blonde's response to the question made her imagine Elena reaching out to stroke him, making him grunt in pleasure.

 

~Don't jump to wild conclusions!~ Cissnei chastised herself. ~Why would they do something like that? Elena's my friend and Reno's never given me a reason to think he'd cheat on me!~

 

“So do ya like it or not?” Reno prompted.

 

“I'm envious,” admitted Elena. “It's so beautiful!”

 

“Yeah?” Cissnei could hear the grin in Reno's voice. “You're sure it ain't too small, either?”

 

Cissnei pursed her lips. Why would her boyfriend ask another woman to rate the size of his junk and what's more, why would Elena go along with it? She heard a slurping sound and she covered her mouth with her free hand, her eyes going even wider as Reno sighed. Now she simply couldn't get the mental picture of the two of them engaged in oral sex out of her head and Reno's next comment cinched it.

 

“She can't find out about this, Elena.” There was the faint sound of the desk shifting, followed by the unmistakable sound of a zipper being drawn. “I mean it. No matter how tempting it is to say something, you've got to keep it to yourself.”

 

Unable to stand it any longer, Cissnei twisted the doorknob and shoved the door open. She kept her eyes tightly shut and pointed blindly in the direction of the voices, still holding her forgotten tray of food in her other hand. “All right, just stop it right now!”

 

She heard someone shift quickly before there was a moment of utter and total silence. Then, Elena's voice spoke up. “Um…hi Ciss.”

 

“Don't you `hi Ciss' me!” Cissnei felt hysterics threatening and she swallowed.

 

“What's the problem, Doll?” Reno sounded as cool as a cucumber and that just pissed her off more.

 

“You are!” Cissnei dared to open her eyes, expecting to see evidence of their betrayal. Instead, she found Reno standing behind his desk and Elena staring at her with wide eyes, holding a cup of some kind of slushy drink in one hand. Both of them were completely dressed and try as she might, she could see no physical evidence that anything she'd been imagining had gone on just moments ago. The logical part of her brain reminded her that she'd burst into the office before they could have possibly moved fast enough to hide activities like that so completely and she began to piece together little details and what she'd heard.

 

The drink in Elena's hand could account for the slurping sound she'd heard. The blonde woman was on the opposite side of the desk from Reno so unless one of them had managed to vault over the surface before Cissnei opened her eyes, they couldn't have been doing…that. The only thing she could find suspicious about the picture was the fact that Reno had put his hands behind his back and though his expression of confusion looked genuine, his stance was tense.

 

“All right,” Cissnei said as she put her tray on the sofa by the door and crossed the room. She put her hands on her hips and glared at them both. “I know something's going on here. What are you hiding behind your back, Reno?”

 

Reno shot an annoyed look straight at Elena and the blonde huffed. “Don't look at me! I just found out now! How the hell could I have told her already?”

 

“Told me what?” Demanded Cissnei with a frown.

 

“Way to go, blabbermouth,” Reno growled at Elena.

 

“I already overheard some of it,” Cissnei informed them both, “so there's no point trying to keep it from me, whatever it is.” She circled around behind the desk and looked up into Reno's eyes. “What's behind your back, Reno?”

 

The redhead gazed back at her and for a moment, she thought he was going to try and bluff his way out of it. He glanced at Elena, who raised her brows and gave him a pushy look. With a sigh, Reno brought his hands around from behind his back and displayed a small, velvet zipper bag to Cissnei. She blinked at it, realizing it accounted for the sound of the zipper she'd heard.

 

“What's this?” Cissnei asked, beyond confused.

 

Reno unzipped the bag and produced a little jewelry box from it. He opened it up and Cissnei was stricken dumb when she saw a diamond set in a ring of gold. It sparkled in the fluorescent office light.

 

“R-Reno, is this a…” Cissnei hesitated, hardly believing it could be what she thought.

 

“Engagement ring, Toots,” confirmed the redhead with a nod and a rueful little twist to his lips. “I was gonna surprise you…you know, take you out to dinner and slip it in your dessert or something.” He shrugged and lowered his eyes. “I know it ain't original but I kind of suck at this.”

 

“Then…when you were asking Elena if it was too big or too small?”

 

Reno's brow's furrowed. “I was getting her opinion on the ring.” He looked more closely at her and his lips quirked knowingly. “What'd you think we were talking about?”

 

“Nothing,” Cissnei answered hastily, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. If she'd had any reason to suspect Reno had marriage in mind, she was sure she would have figured it out instead of coming up with such a ridiculous theory. “Reno…are you really…I mean, were you really going to propose?”

 

Reno glanced at Elena and made a gesture towards the door with his chin, frowning at her. She shook herself out of it and took the hint. “I'll just leave you two alone,” said the blonde with a grin Cissnei's way. She almost tripped over her own feet on her way out and she cursed and caught herself before slipping out the door.

 

When they were alone, Cissnei looked up at him sheepishly and shifted from foot to foot. “I guess after seeing me charge in here making accusations like that, you might want to reconsider.”

 

Reno snickered softly. “I don't know how much you heard but I guess it could have sounded bad.” He took the ring out of the case and grabbed her right hand. “Haven't had a chance to get it fitted yet, since I don't know your ring size,” he murmured, his humor dropping. He hesitated and looked her in the eye. “I was planning to have that done after surprising you. Guess it's better this way, since I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Think you could put up with me for a while?”

 

Cissnei nodded, still floored by the discovery. Some Turks married but she'd contented herself with being Reno's lover and hadn't expected the two of them to ever do it. Realizing she hadn't given him a verbal response yet, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him, hoping it was a sufficient answer. His arms went around her waist and he returned the kiss, his body relaxing against hers and hinting at relief.

 

~***********************************~

 

-To be continued