Disclaimer: FFVII and respective characters belong to Tetsuya Nomura/Squeenix.

Author's Note: Here's another one, though a little more serious than the last two chapters. Sorry about that. D: Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I'll hopefully have another one up soon, but I'm putting these up as I'm writing them, so it could take a little longer. Review please. 3

About halfway through the day, after Elena had finished the majority of her work, she stood from her desk with a large stretch, intent on taking a break before submitting the final forms she needed to be officially back on the job

About halfway through the day, after Elena had finished the majority of her work, she stood from her desk with a large stretch, intent on taking a break before submitting the final forms she needed to be officially back on the job.

Swinging her door open wide, she exited her office, taking a deep breath as she shut the door behind herself and headed off down the hallway toward the elevators. She paused as she entered the main lobby of the floor, seeing Reno standing by the elevators already, clearly waiting for one to become available. The blonde gave a heavy sigh as she nearly felt her accomplished mood evaporate at the sight of the fiery redhead. However, she continued onward, stopping a bit away from him at the elevator and feeling his gaze on her as she stared patiently at the floor number above the elevator doors.

There was silence for a long moment, the low hum of activity in the lobby the only noise that intercepted the space between them, but after a few careful glances from each, the silence was quickly broken.

"I'm sorry."

The two paused, staring owlishly at one another, the situation having become awkward with their united apology. Reno's face lit up in a look of sheer surprise, eyes wide as he blinked at the blonde.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" he questioned, honest curiosity and obliviousness in his voice. "I'm the one that should be sorry. I mean, with how much I bug you and stuff…"

Elena shook her head quickly, eager to correct her coworker. Neither really noticed the elevator doors open a few people spill out, slipping between the two as they continued to stare at each other.

"I shouldn't have been so…harsh, in my refusal earlier," she offered, albeit a bit grudgingly as she began to question whether or not this was really a good idea. Her suspicions grew when Reno's face lit up with a rather bright and happy expression, grin slowly creeping back across his face.

"So you'll go out with me?" he quickly interjected, tone full of a bubbly hopefulness that Elena had never heard from him before.

"No," she corrected still, and the crestfallen look that replaced the redhead's happiness made Elena's stomach churn with guilt. "I'm still objecting to anything resembling a date with you, Reno. I just wanted to apologize for being so…"

She trailed off, mind searching for a word to describe her actions earlier, other than harsh, because she knew it was more than that. However, she didn't have to search for very long because her coworker was happy to finish her statement for her.

"Bitchy?" Reno offered, a bit of venom in his tone as he tore his gaze away from the blonde and set it onto the opening elevator doors. A few more people exited before Reno entered the elevator and turned to face the woman outside, his expression holding a demeanor and attitude that Elena had never seen on him before. It was slightly startling, she had to admit to herself, to see such a cold and slightly hurt look on Reno's face.

"Now look," she tried to sound scolding as she entered the elevator beside him, but her voice didn't hold as much as conviction as she hoped it would. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything, Reno, I'm just not interested in you like that."

Reno seemed to ignore her speech, instead moving closer to her, his eyes reading of a long-lingering desire that was just now beginning to truly show. Elena felt herself stumble backwards from his approaching form, suddenly finding herself very unsure and slightly nervous.

Hitting the wall with a small exhale, Elena looked up at Reno with a rather unsure expression, sort of searching for a silent explanation, as though it should be written clearly on his face. Instead of offering her any sort of explanation, Reno merely leaned closer, pausing just centimeters from her face and giving a satisfied little smirk as he felt her breathing stop, her breath having hitched in her throat as his lips neared hers.

"Your not interested, huh?" he whispered enticingly, and Elena swore her heart must have skipped a beat when his hot breath hit her lips. The elevator gave a little ding and the doors opened, however Reno stayed for a moment longer, and Elena glanced toward the open doors, hoping that no one on this floor had been waiting for the elevator.

"Reno," she breathed, cursing herself afterward for being so affected by his closeness. All she wanted was to get out of this elevator, get some coffee, and then get back to work, but as usual the fiery redhead was blocking the path to her goal.

"That's what I thought," he grinned softly before pushing off of the wall and exiting the elevator, the bounce in his step rejuvenated. Elena sank to the floor as the elevator doors slid shut once again and it began moving, but the only thing going through the blonde's mind just then was the redhead that had just left.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she whispered to no one, the silence of the empty elevator giving her the answer she was looking for.