Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Interludes – Scene 6

Scene Notes: Reno was kind of an asshole to Elena at first. Just how much of an asshole? Well, let’s start at the beginning…

From Chapter 1: It Starts:

“Reno had been making her life difficult from the moment she’d been promoted to probationary status. He seemed to find fault with everything she did – though she grudgingly had to admit that sometimes he did have a valid point. Still, he didn’t have to be such an asshole about it. She was getting a little tired of being told that she talked too much… or worse, that she was “acting weak”, which seemed to be one of his favorite insults. It wasn’t so much that she thought he didn’t like her personally… he could actually be quite friendly, if a little too casual in his comments, towards her when he felt like it. It was more that she got the distinct impression that Reno thought she didn’t deserve to be a Turk; or at the very least wasn’t fully convinced of her qualifications yet.”

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“Nervous?” Tseng asked.

“Tch… Me? Be serious, boss…” the Turks second in command said with a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Not like I’ve never wrangled a rookie before…”

“Not on your own,” Tseng pointed out, shrugging, “But if you say so.” He chuckled knowingly. “Though if you’re really so decidedly not nervous, you might consider relaxing your posture a bit. You look as though you’re about to be marched into my office for a reprimand.”

Reno scowled, and folded his arms across his chest, turning his gaze toward the lazily rising sun. Normally, it was so windy on the roof of the Shinra Building, he could hardly hear a person mere feet away from him unless they were shouting. It was still early enough, though, that the wind hadn’t picked up yet. He bit back a yawn, and shifted his weight to one foot, falling into his usual slouch. He hated to admit it, but Tseng was right. He was nervous. Horribly nervous. He’d even skipped breakfast… something he had a feeling he’d be regretting later.

“You’re certain about this recruit? I know she scored quite high on the qualifications, but I still worry about her being able to work as part of a team. She’s very… guarded. There’s still time to change your mind, you know.”

“Fuck that… I’m sure,” Reno replied. He had a good feeling about his choice. Sure, she’d need some work to toughen her up a little, and she definitely had issues trusting someone else to watch her back for her… but he’d known she was a Turk from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. Anything he could dish out, she’d be able to take… even if she didn’t know it herself yet.

Of course, that was also what had him so apprehensive. She was definitely not going to like him… not at first, anyway. Maybe not ever, when it came right down to it, though Tseng had assured him otherwise. In fact, she was probably going to outright hate him for a while, because he was not going to go easy on her. He couldn’t.

The sound of helicopter blades cutting through the still air caught his attention, and both Turks turned towards the source. She was coming from Junon… final evaluations were always held there rather than Midgar. The unfamiliar setting added an extra element of discomfort to the process. They’d been there, watching, of course… but he and Tseng had returned the previous evening.

“Why’d we have to fly her back at the asscrack of dawn, anyway?” he muttered, petulantly, “I coulda done with a couple more hours’ sleep, ya know…”

Tseng smirked. “I thought having her meet you while you’re still in one of your wonderful early-morning moods might prove helpful to you. You’re such a joy to be around at five a.m.”

“Sarcasm really doesn’t suit you, Tseng,” Reno retorted as the helicopter came into view in the distance. The Turk leader laughed softly, and placed a hand at the back of Reno’s neck, gently kneading the tense muscles.

“Hmph… no… not nervous at all…” he commented, his tone uncharacteristically snarky, as Reno instinctively relaxed a bit before shaking off his grasp with a half-hearted glare.

“What am I? Five?” he asked, though the annoyed tone was noticeably forced.

“You do occasionally act like it.”

Reno finally cracked a smile at that. “Someone’s in an interesting mood this morning…” he replied. It was rare for Tseng to tease him so relentlessly, and he got the distinct impression that he was trying to calm him down a bit. The copter reached its destination, and the sudden downdraft from its rotors nearly caught him off-guard. Reno watched as the craft descended and touched down on the helipad, the engines whining to a stop. He held his position as Tseng moved forward and escorted the young woman from the vehicle.

He couldn’t quite hear what Tseng was saying to her from where he stood. The wind was starting to kick up a bit as the sun rose higher in the sky. Eventually, though, they drew close enough for conversation.

“Allow me to introduce you to my second in command. Reno, meet Elena Brewer,” the Wutaiian said cordially.

His first impression was that she looked slightly terrified and more than a little defensive, and he internally sighed. He had his work cut out for him… and it was time to get started.

“So you’re my new rookie, huh?” he said, smirking.

“Y-yes, sir,” Elena replied, stammering timidly. Well, if she was going to hate him anyway, at least he could enjoy making her squirm a bit.

“Tch… It’s just Reno,” he said, “And don’t act so weak. You wanna be a Turk, fuckin’ speak up like ya mean it.” He wrapped an arm around her, his hand just millimeters shy of actually groping her, and she shifted uncomfortably in his grip… though she didn’t try to pull away. One way or another, he was eventually going to make her stand up for herself. He grinned, suggestively. “So, ‘Lena… you single or what?”

~fin~