I wrote this as part of the ff_exchange over on livejournal. Warning for swearing, I guess? There's very mild Cloud/Reno, if you squint quite hard. And yes, I reused the title. Shh.

It's set post-Advent Children, too.


In the Hidden Caves

Darkness. Darkness and silence and an unshakeable feeling of being somewhere big. Cloud shook his head, trying to dislodge the fuzz that lay over his mind. He groaned. "Where are we?"

Another groan answered him, so close to his ear that he felt the still air ripple and the warmth of expelled breath. "My ability to tell you that is somewhat impaired, on account of it's dark." Reno's voice held an edge of pain to it which lent urgency to Cloud as he struggled upright.

"Reno, you alright?"

"I can't feel anything brok- oh wait, never mind. Argh." He gasped, and Cloud felt his sharp intake of breath.

"Where're you hurt?"

"It's my ankle, I must've landed on it."

"I only have Cure. It probably won't be entirely effective."

"It's like pitch down here. Use my nightstick for a sec; I think I've got some matches in here somewhere." The nightstick clattered to the ground, and Cloud groped around until he found it. He pressed the button, and Reno's pale face was briefly highlighted in blue. "Ow, okay no, I can't get to them. They're in my back pocket. You'll have to do it."

Cloud pressed the nightstick's button again and sighed. He managed to fish out the matches and flared one to life, illuminating the space around them with yellow-orange and filling Cloud's nose with the stench of sulphur.

"Here," he said, pushing the Cure materia towards Reno. It glowed, adding a green tinge to the match flame, and Reno expelled a sigh of relief as the pain is his ankle lessened slightly. It wasn't enough to completely mend the bone, but it was definitely better than nothing. Better than improvising some sort of makeshift splint, too, something that Cloud never really fancied doing again, not after the last time.

"So much for this ultra-planned expedition." Reno sighed. "Why did we have to choose the place most likely to have sink-holes, anyway?"

"I don't think that was planned," Cloud replied. He stood up and held out his hand for Reno, just as the flame reached his fingers and the match sputtered out. He hauled Reno upright, one hand under his armpit and the other holding Reno's forearm.

"We should tie a bunch of matches together," Reno said, gritting his teeth as he put weight on his ankle. "Ow, fuck that hurts. You know, for a torch or something."

"Hm," Cloud said, "light this so I can see." He pressed the nightstick back into Reno's hands and gathered together a bunch of matches. He struck them against the side of the box and they flared to life. "Find a stick," he instructed. "We can tie them onto the end."

"Good idea." Reno cast around, glaring at the shadowed floor as if the intensity of his stare would reveal hidden lumps of wood scattered around like windfalls. As luck would have it, some debris had fallen with them through the dirt, and he pointed at it triumphantly. "Check it out! Jackpot." He grinned. "Here, forget the matches." He tore off a strip of fabric from his shirt-sleeve. "Tie this round the end of that big one and light it. Perfect!"

"Yeah," Cloud said, doing as he was instructed. "Can you walk? There might be unpleasant things down here."

"Shh!" Reno hissed, flapping a hand at Cloud. "You'll jinx it!"

"I doubt it somehow."

"Look, the last time me and Rude were in a situation like this, he opened his fat mouth and then bam!" Reno clapped his hands together sharply.

"Surrounded by Movers. They might look like harmless orange blobs, but you do not wanna let them get all triangle on your ass."

Cloud sniggered and Reno swatted him on the arm. "Shut up, they were horrible. Here," he said, just as Cloud took him by the shoulder, "let me lean on you."

"I'm not a hobbling post," Cloud remarked, throwing an arm around Reno's waist. He held out the torch and took stock of their surroundings. There was a tiny pinprick of light way above them, and a soft pattering of dirt on his head. The air was stale and warm, and had a smell of something that was nigglingly familiar. There were no sounds other than Reno's pained breathing. "Come on," Cloud said. "I think the air smells fresher this way. It's probably a way out."

"Either that or we'll die down here in the dark!" Reno said, cheerfully. Cloud looked at him askance and started off in the direction he thought smelled better. "Ow, do you have to go so fast?"

"Shh," Cloud hissed. "I'm sure I just heard something."

"Yeah, the sound of my poor bones snapping under your tireless pace."

"Not that. Here." He passed the torch to Reno, who took it with a grimace.

"Don't let go of me," Reno said, quietly. "I've no chance of running, not like this."

"Never leave a man behind," Cloud said, his hand restlessly palming the hilt of the Buster Sword.

"Er," Reno said, "not that I want to be the purveyor of bad news or anything..."

"What?"

"There's... uh. A light. Over there." Reno gestured to their left with the torch. "It's not from this, either."

"That tiny swinging thing?"

"Shit. Come on, hurry up," Reno hobbled faster, just about keeping up with Cloud's strides.

"You've changed your tune," Cloud said, smiling grimly. "I've got my sword; you've got your nightstick. We'll be okay."

There was a faint shuffling noise, reminiscent of cloth brushing along the ground.

"I don't have any Materia! You don't need Materia for an oil excavation! You've only got Cure! Don't be a maniac; of course we're not going to be okay."

"Don't panic, Reno." Cloud's voice was calm, steadier than he felt deep down. The shuffling noise grew closer.

"Don't you panic! I am totally not panicking. But if we could walk a bit faster, that'd really help my not panicking a whole lot."

"Your ankle," Cloud pointed out.

"Fuck my ankle, I don't want to get stabbed if it's all the same to you! I can hear it breathing, ugh." Reno was determinedly not looking in the direction of the ominous swinging light. He was determinedly trying not to imagine the slip-slide of amphibian tail across the dirt floor, and he was most determinedly trying not to hear the rattling, hollow laughter that rang through the air like nails down a rusty bell.

"Okay, maybe panicking is a good idea. Hobble faster, Reno. Don't make me pick you up."

"Oh, you are not carrying me out like I'm helpless." Reno scowled. He picked up his pace, putting as little weight on his ankle as possible and swinging his good leg forward for the momentum so that his gait resembled some sort of strange, one-legged rabbit's.

There was a scraping sound, metal on rock. Reno didn't dare check to see how close the thing was. He just hung onto Cloud's arm tighter as they sped up until, finally, he was only using the one leg and they were nearly sprinting. The torch sputtered madly as air rushed past it, and then, inexorably, it guttered and died, and they were plunged once more into blackness.

Only it wasn't so black any more. Reno's peripheral vision was lit up with a pale flame, and he didn't have to see the thing to know that it was getting closer. "How the hell do they shuffle so fast?" he gasped between great intakes of breath.

"Don't talk. Run," Cloud said, helpfully. He didn't even seem to be out of breath, the bastard.

The ground was hard under Reno's feet and then, suddenly, it appeared to be a whole lot less hard and more... loose. More like loose dirt, shifting and sliding and then they were falling. Again.

Reno landed on Cloud this time, which he thought served him right. "Fuck," he said, with feeling. "Hey, is it me, or is it a lot lighter down here?"

"Definitely lighter." Cloud groaned. "Get off me!"

"Is the thing still following us? They can't fly, can they? Tonberrys? Shit, I hope they can't fly."

"Tonberrys can't fly," said a voice. A man's voice. A familiar man's voice.

"Took your time, didn't you."

Reno blinked as his vision cleared. "Rude? Is that you, man?"

"Hi Rude," Cloud said, shoving Reno off him. "I hope you saved some work for us."

"There's plenty left." Rude stuck out his hand to Reno and pulled him upright in one smooth movement. "What've you done to Reno?"

"Nearly had to carry him out in my arms." Cloud brushed dirt off himself and appraised their surroundings. "I see you lot took a shortcut."

"Don't worry though," Reno said, leaning casually against Rude. "We cleared out the cave above this one. That Tonberry didn't know what hit it."

"Cowardice, mostly." Cloud looked at Reno. "You need a medic."

"Yeah yeah, I'll go."

"I'll take you," Cloud said. "Rude's got this under control. Right?"

"Yup. You go get healed up." Rude rubbed his forehead, leaving a smear of oil behind. "Come on!" He spun round rapidly and glared at the assembled group of Turks and grunts. "Oil won't dig itself. Stop staring and get on with it."

"Come on then, let's get me all healed up." Reno patted Cloud on the shoulder with a fond smile. "You're not as much of a hard-ass as you make out, you know."

"Hm," Cloud said, suppressing a smile. "Sentimental."

"So are you going to diligently stay by my bedside, nursing me back to perfect health? Bringing me grapes and flowers?" Reno pulled a pathetic face and leaned against Cloud.

"You don't like grapes," Cloud said. He put his arm tentatively around Reno's waist and was rewarded with a smile.

"Totally not the point. I want grapes and flowers. And a soppy card. And a singing troupe of Moogles."

"We'll see."