For those of you who are returning to the series, welcome back! It was a short break, I know, but thanks for coming back. For those people who are brand new, welcome to the series! For much of it to make sense, please check out C'Est La Vie... it's 30some chapters, but I promise it'll be worth the read.
Now now... onto the story...
The Footsteps of Life
Prologue
Renaldo Miller was asleep. His hair was in a red mess, and his bare shoulders peeked from the duvet. He was dreaming not of destruction but of hazelnut muffins. He picked one up and…
CLANG!
The loud noise jolted him away from the muffins, and he woke up with a start. Elena's voice was muffled, and she seemed to be apologizing for something to… someone. A sweet aroma was drifting from the kitchen. Scratching his head and trying to focus, he wondered where he was. Reaching out from the warm comforts of the bed, he looked around for something to wear. It was his habit to wear pajama bottoms but nothing on top, but sometimes he regretted it. Like this time. It was freezing in the morning, and the cold, chill air attacked his pale skin with such ferocity that he could do nothing but tremble for a few minutes.
Looking around, he found nothing to wear, and he would rather be damned than get out from the bed and pull out a shirt. He looked for his fellow Turk who shared the room with him, and did not find that person. Hmm.
"Arien!" He shouted. "Arieeeen!"
There was a shuffling noise and several muffled words in the direction of the kitchen, and then there were footsteps. A moment later, a slender woman opened the door none too quietly, with a very annoyed look on her face. "What?" She demanded. "What is it?"
"Can you get me a shirt?" He tried his best to make an innocent smile. Arien DeVir scowled violently, then sighed.
"And since when are you unable to get a shirt for yourself?"
"Well, now, yo." More grin. Arien resolutely marched over to the closet nearby, pulled out a navy blue sweater, and threw it at his face.
"Hey, no need for violence there."
"If you want to know, I was cooking," she snapped. "For those who cannot cook for themselves."
"Who's the other person in the kitchen?"
"Elena." With that short answer, she turned on her heels and left.
Reno sighed. It had been over a year and a half, approaching two years, since they had started living together. Some things changed dramatically; some things never changed. Like Arien's dislike for disturbance when she was cooking. Pulling on the sweater and pulling out his hair from the back collar of the sweater, he stretched languidly like a cat, and hopped off the bed that he and Arien shared.
The Healin Lodge was a private estate of the Shinra family for the last generation. Located a couple of miles away from the now-broken city of Midgar, it was now where Rufus Shinra resided, along with his little troupe called the Turks. Ever faithful to Rufus Shinra, the band of assassins who used to do Shinra's dirty jobs had turned into the young president's caretakers and bodyguards. Reno and Arien occasionally lived there, but most of the time they retreated to the safe haven of their house that they had bought in the outskirts of the Edge.
It was but over a year ago when Reno first encountered Arien DeVir. She was a fellow Turk, his subordinate that was assigned to him by Tseng for the soul purpose: to stop him from harrassing Elena so much. They quarreled at first, but soon they fell into a mutual relationship. They never really knew who thought up of the idea of living together. For all he knew, Arien was more of a nuisance and a hindrance to his freedom than not. But they grew on each other; after several separations, they realized that the could not be apart. It was mushy, Reno knew it, and it was unlike him. But he could not help himself. He kept missing her, the view of her long, black hair, her sarcasm, her Wutaian face that would have been considered pretty if not for the constant wry expression that decorated her features.
Since the destruction of the Meteor, the people of Midgar dispersed, mostly to the town of Kalm. Some stayed. Soon, a city began to grow around the desolate remains of Midgar, which people called The Edge. The bank had not collapsed, as its headquarters were technically in Junon.
Reno was glad that the bank survived. Arien was a proficient saver, and despite Reno's constant protests, she had made regular deposits into the bank account they owned. When the Meteor struck, their checking account was in billions. It was no big feat to purchase a small house in the growing city, and thus, that was where they officially had residence. But they often made trips up to Healin, and they often hang around Rufus, just for the fun if nothing else.
The Old Shinra monarchy was gone, with most of the execs gone as well. Scarlet was dead, the last they heard; Hojo was dead as well; Palmer and Heidegger was dead much to everyone's relief. Reeve Tuesti was leading WRO, but that was the last they had heard of him. The AVALANCHE had disbanded; Tifa Lockhart had opened yet another Seventh Heaven, which Reno and Arien visited occasionally. Barret Wallace was hanging around, scowling at the former Turks but doing nothing about it. Cloud was still Cloud, but for Arien he seemed to be a little more brooding.
As for the others, they had dispersed. Yuffie Kisaragi was around Wutai, or that was what her father had told her when Arien returned to Wutai after the chaos. Vincent Valentine, who had been alive after all these years, had left the group without much further ado. Cid Highwind was probably up in the air, and that was all they knew.
Reno stood up and yawned, and sat down on the bed again. Pulling out the shoes from under the bed, he untied the laces and started to pull them on when Arien opened the door. She looked weary; there were dark smudges under her eyes. The radical changes had taken toll on her, and it was starting to show. He waved her over.
"What?" she asked, looking a little surprised. Reno smiled, and pointed to the space between his jeans-clad legs. He grinned at her.
"What?"
He repeated the movement again.
"You want me to sit there?"
Nod.
"Uh, okay." She trotted over and sat down. He wrapped his arms around her thin shoulder and leaned forward.
"Got you." Reno grinned. His breaths touched her ear. She moved her shoulders a little, smiling, and taunted, "baby."
"You look tired, Arie," he whispered. "Take a break." He rocked her, inhaling the sweet scent of lavender from her hair and her clothes.
She turned and smiled at him. "I'll be fine," she replied, holding his hand and brushing her mouth against it. "I'll be fine…"