Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Epilogue

Over the next few weeks, a distinct chill descended over Midgar. It was honestly beginning to feel more like early winter than the beginning of autumn. The cold had sent many of the residents of the city indoors, and the streets were far emptier than usual. The trains, though… they were as packed as ever, and Reno’s commute seemed to get longer by the day.

He yawned widely as he squeezed into one of the cars, coffee clutched protectively against his chest.

Thankfully, the weather had remained decent for the funerals. Shay’s had been a rather grand affair. Far more ostentatious than Reno would have thought, given that the young Turk had never exactly lived an opulent life… even though he could have. It was practically a social event, with members of society’s upper class showing up in droves, and an extravagant reception afterwards at the family manor where the top tier of Midgar schmoozed and drank and ate. It was the sort of gathering that Shay probably would have tolerated for appearances’ sake and because it was expected of him… but not what he really would have wanted. Reno – along with the rest of the Turks – had bowed out gracefully after about half an hour and reconvened at Veld’s condo instead for a more… low-key… memorial. He doubted any of them were missed.

Tres’ service was far less flashy. In fact, having no living family – Rude had informed him later that Tres’ parents had died a few years before he’d become a Turk, and his only sibling, a younger sister named Maria, hadn’t survived infancy – the only ones present were the Turks themselves and a handful of close friends from his days working for Corneo.

Tres had, prior to his death, left a letter for each of them, and entrusted their distribution to his protege. Reno didn’t know what the late Turk had had to say to the other members of the team, but his own letter told him never to doubt himself. That he was a Turk, and a damned good one. It also asked him to look after Rude for him and keep him out of trouble… a request that had made the redhead laugh despite his somber mood, given that Rude was usually the one trying to keep him out of trouble.

Saya had been taken home to Mideel, to be buried with the rest of her family… but that didn’t stop them from holding a memorial for her in Midgar, as well, before Sato left for the funeral. There had been fireworks. Sato had insisted on celebrating her life, not mourning her death… or at least that was the face he’d put on for them until the moment he left to make the trip home. Deep down, though, all of them knew that he’d still been in a great deal of pain. The twins may not have been actual twins, but Sato certainly felt her loss as if they had been.

As for Rodney… well, Reno had been sent after him. He’d been the one who had to deal with the results of his handiwork. The Turk traitor was buried not far from where he’d died, in a small, shady copse that had seemed like it would be seldom traversed by other people… though he’d made sure that the grave wouldn’t be disturbed by the local wildlife. It had taken hours to drag enough rocks over to cover the site completely… but somehow, he’d felt that it was the least he could do for him.

He understood why Rodney had done it. He knew what it was like to be so desperate for someone to love you that you’d do almost anything. He could never condone Rodney’s actions, but he understood, and even though a very large part of him hated the bastard for the destruction he’d wrought, he couldn’t bring himself to just leave him there for the scavengers to dispose of.

Afterwards, he’d been surprisingly numb to the whole thing. He’d expected to feel – well, he wasn’t sure, really… Satisfaction? Pride in completing the task entrusted to him? Guilt, perhaps, or even the tiniest bit of regret for taking the life of someone he knew? But the truth was, he’d felt none of those things once it was over and done with. Still didn’t, even weeks later.

It had been an order. It had to be done, and if not by him then it would have fallen to someone else. He’d known that going into it, and so had Rodney. The rookie had already accepted his fate by the time Reno had caught up to him. Reno supposed that he had just accepted it, as well… though, in the back of his mind, he wondered. Did it make him a terrible person that he didn’t seem to care? That thought actually bothered him far more than murdering a fellow Turk in cold blood.

He’d finally put that question to Tseng. His mentor had responded that, no, it didn’t make him a bad person. It merely made him a Turk. Turks often had to do things that others would shy from or even outright refuse. It didn’t make them inherently evil. It just meant they were willing to sacrifice a bit of themselves and do what was necessary for the greater good… even when it was unpleasant or went directly against their own nature. Even Rodney, in his own way, had understood that, and in the end, had died with dignity, rather than cowering and pleading for a reprieve he knew couldn’t be granted.

And then Tseng had sent him to speak to the psychiatric staff on Nine before he was allowed to get back to work. Reno had very quickly decided that psychiatrists were the absolute worst kind of doctors. But they’d cleared him, and that was all that really mattered.

Just in time, as it had turned out, since they’d picked up a tentative lead on Istev. It had ultimately led to a dead end, but at least he’d been able to help with the search. They still didn’t know where the asshole was. Fuhito had given them nothing, and Rodeny’s father hadn’t had anything useful to tell them about their fugitive. Both men were now dead, but Istev was still out there… somewhere. Rude had privately told him that he was going to find him one day, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

The train finally pulled into the Sector 0 station, and the redhead had to battle his way out onto the platform. Somewhat miraculously, both he, and his precious coffee, made it out in one piece. He yawned again as he made his way into Company headquarters and boarded the elevator, only to be greeted with a snort of contempt.

“I see you’re wide awake this morning,” Rufus sneered. Reno stifled a third yawn and pressed the button for Fifty-eight.

“Sir… No offense, but I’m only on coffee number one so far today. I’m gonna need at least three before I’m ready for this sorta thing,” he said, tiredly.

“Hmph… Then I suggest you procure them quickly. You’ll be with me today.”

The redhead internally sighed. That figured. Tseng was back at work, but restricted to light duty for another week due to his injuries. At some point, the vice president had begun to default to Reno any time his preferred escort was unavailable.

“… Is it too late to call in sick?” he shot back, before taking a long sip of the hot drink.

Rufus ignored him. “There were some last minute changes to what was supposed to be the final agreement with Corel for the new reactor… but we will at last be signing the contract this afternoon in Costa del Sol.”

Reno raised an eyebrow. “On second thought… I s’pose I could tolerate an afternoon on the beach…”

The elevator reached Turks’ headquarters, and the vice president smirked slightly. “Yes, I thought that might change your attitude a bit. We leave in an hour and a half.”

“Yes, sir,” Reno replied, stepping out of the car. The doors slid shut behind him, leaving Rufus to ascend to his own office alone.

Life went on. They mourned their losses and then got back to work, picking up right where they’d left off. Reno wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing… or if it was either, really. It’s just how it was. Even Sato, who was probably the hardest hit of all of them, was slowly returning to his old self… as evidenced a moment later by the loud boom that suddenly echoed throughout the hallways of headquarters, followed by a cloud of thick, black smoke pouring from Remy’s office.

“SATO!” the senior Turk shouted, in a distinctly unamused tone. Reno snickered softly and quickened his pace towards his own office, lest he get caught in the ensuing crossfire.

Some things never changed. He was glad for that.

---

Eight years later…

Reno yawned and made his way into the park. It was too motherfucking early for his taste. And too damn cold, too. He dragged the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head and shoved his hands into his pockets before plopping his ass down on a nearby bench. His fingers closed around the half-empty pack of cigarettes he’d stowed there and he pulled one free, placing it between his lips before digging a little deeper for his lighter.

Five fucking thirty. He hadn’t even had time for breakfast. Still… this was something he wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on. It wasn’t everyday the team got themselves a new rookie, and this one was gonna be special. He just had to decide which of the candidates he wanted to promote.

He bit back another yawn and lit the cigarette, taking a long drag off of it and exhaling a cloud of smoke into the chilly air. It was gonna be one hell of a cold Halloween this year if the current trends kept up. Though on the bright side, that might also mean an early snow… and the redhead absolutely loved it when it snowed in Midgar.

He flicked the ash on the ground and yawned yet again, wishing he hadn’t stayed up so late last night when he’d known damn well that he had an early morning. This was his first chance at getting an up close look at one of his choices… outside of hiding in the shadows at the recruit training facility, that is. And this one, in particular, was of special interest to him… though Tseng didn’t quite seem to share his enthusiasm about her yet.

He had it narrowed down to five… and now he was beginning the process of whittling that number down even farther. Tseng had advised him to observe only… not to actively engage without a good reason. Technically, they weren’t even supposed to know they were being considered for promotion yet. But the redhead had his own way of doing things, and he wanted to be absolutely sure on this. Whoever he finally ended up choosing would be his First, after all. He only got one shot at that.

It wasn’t long before the sound of rapid footfalls on the concrete pathway reached his ears, and Reno grinned to himself as he subtly glanced in their direction.

She really was a little thing up close, he mused as she approached. Couldn’t have been much over five and a half feet… and that was being generous. Alert, honey-brown eyes spotted him almost immediately as she rounded the corner, and just as quickly refocused on the path ahead of her… though he wasn’t sure if that was because she’d decided that he wasn’t a threat, or if she’d simply opted to avoid eye contact because his presence in so isolated an area made her nervous.

He smirked and set the cigarette back between his lips, inhaling deeply… and waited. Just as she reached him, he exhaled, enveloping her in a cloud of smoke.

“Ugh!” she muttered, coughing, and waved it away from her face with a disgusted look before glaring at him and continuing on.

Reno snickered quietly to himself as he watched her go. Well… she was definitely the non-confrontational type… but judging by the look she’d shot him, she was more than a little willful in spite of it. There were pros and cons to that.

He studied her as she glanced back in his direction, as though to make sure he hadn’t decided to follow her. Not complacent enough to assume that he wouldn’t. That was good.

She also had a seriously nice ass. That was good, too… though for entirely unrelated reasons. If she didn’t end up being his top pick, he was definitely going to consider hooking up with her at some point. For some reason, though… he’d had a good feeling about this one since the first time he’d read through her file. Which unfortunately for his sex life, would put her off limits for the foreseeable future. Sleeping with one’s protege was… not explicitly forbidden… but somewhat frowned upon, even among the Turks. And besides which… this wasn’t something he wanted to risk screwing up for a quick fuck.

Reno stubbed out the cigarette on the edge of the bench and flicked the butt into the bushes behind him. One down… four to go. He just hoped the next recruit on his list wasn’t such a fucking earlybird.

~the end~