Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 18: A Night on the Glacier

Reno yawned as the elevator rose steadily past the lower floors of the Shinra Building. It was entirely too early to be awake… much less at work already… but he didn’t have a choice. This had to be done, and if he waited until a less painfully early hour, he’d almost certainly be caught in the act. The doors opened at his floor, and the Turk moved silently into the deserted hallway, cautiously listening for even the slightest indication that he wasn’t alone.

His feet carried him swiftly towards his destination, almost of their own accord. The door was locked, of course… and he didn’t dare use his access card to open it. The security system kept a log that even the Turks didn’t have the ability to wipe. He’d just have to do it the old fashioned way. It took him longer than it should have – Shinra didn’t skimp when it came to security, and these locks could be tricky – but it eventually surrendered to his pick, and the door swung open.

The room was in near-pitch darkness when Reno slipped inside… not that it mattered. He knew this place far too well to let a little thing like not being able to see deter him. Several long strides brought him to the far corner and the lone desk that stood there. He glanced back the way he’d come, at the meager light that filtered through the crack at the bottom of the door, assuring himself that he’d remained undetected, and placed his surprise in the center of the desk, arranging it carefully. He grinned to himself, and turned to leave, secure in the knowledge that his intended target would never know it was him.

Without warning, the lights in the room came on.

“Ahhh!” Reno cried, shielding his eyes from the glare, and swearing vehemently under his breath as he wondered why in the hell the overheads in this room seemed to be so much brighter than in the rest of the building.

“Ha! I finally caught yeh!” a voice called out accusingly, as he tried to blink away the spots currently dancing in front of his vision.

“Yeah, yeah… ya caught me… but did ya have to fuckin’ blind me, too?” he groaned. His eyes at last adjusted to the light, and he found his target standing before him, smirking.

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic. Yer fine,” Dr. Ward stated, patting his arm fondly. He glared at her as she turned and lifted the flowers from her desk, inhaling the sweet scent of the yellow daffodils and white daisies. “They’re lovely, by the way. Thank yeh.”

“Yeah… well… Happy birthday,” he replied, turning to leave.

“I always knew it was you, Reno,” Dr. Ward called after him, smiling, “Just took me awhile ta finally prove it, yeh little sneak!”

Reno froze. “You did not…” he countered. She couldn’t have… he’d always been so careful not to do anything that would make her suspect him if he happened to run into her later in the day after leaving the gift. In retrospect, maybe that was his mistake. Maybe he’d been a little too careful in the past.

“Of course I did,” Ward chuckled, “Just how many patients do yeh think I have that can break in here year after year like it’s nothing?”

Or maybe he just hadn’t given the good doctor nearly enough credit. Reno turned, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Right… I was kinda hopin’ you wouldn’t’ve realized that…”

Dr. Ward snorted contemptuously. “I’m old, not senile,” she commented dryly, before her smile returned, “Now go on, yeh silly thing. Off ta work with yeh. Unless of course yer of a mind ta get yer annual physical out of the way a might early…”

“Hell no… I’m puttin’ that shit off as long as Tseng’ll let me. As usual,” he replied, backing steadily towards the door.

“Well, fine, then. Have it your way. But yeh are due for a tetanus booster this year,” she added, teasingly, “We could take care of that today, at least…”

Reno’s eyes went wide. “Are you tryin’ to make me regret bein’ nice?”

---

He sighed as he waited for the elevator. Years of being convinced the doc was none the wiser to his annual acknowledgment of her birthday, and it turned out she’d known the whole time. Not only that, but the damned woman had fucking ambushed him. Him! He hung his head in shame. For a seasoned Turk to be outdone by an old lady in a lab coat… if anyone found out, he’d never live it down.

The doors opened and Reno looked up, blinking in shock as he suddenly came face to face with two familiar faces.

“What the hell are you two doin’ here so early?” he asked, stepping in with them. Elena looked at him oddly.

“Tseng called us in,” she said, “He didn’t get a hold of you, too?”

Reno swore, and extracted his PHS from his jacket. Three missed calls while he’d had his phone silenced for his delivery. Of all the luck. The boss wasn’t gonna be happy about that.

“Wait… so if you never talked to Tseng, what are you doing here so early?” the rookie asked, suspiciously. Her companion snickered.

“It’s the doc’s birthday,” Rude said simply.

“Shut it, partner,” Reno ordered, blanching. Since when did Rude know about that?! Rude smirked, as if in answer to the unasked question.

“Dr. Ward?” Elena asked, sounding confused. The bald Turk nodded. “Wait… Why would that get Reno in here at the crack of dawn?”

“Don’t you dare…” Reno warned.

“Leaves her flowers every year… before she comes in, so she doesn’t find out it’s him.”

“Goddammit, Rude, would ya shut up already,” Reno said glaring at his friend, as his cheeks flushed. Did everyone fucking know?

“Awww,” Elena cooed, “Reno… That’s so sweet!”

Reno sighed in defeat and rolled his eyes. “I just… appreciate her puttin’ up with me ‘n shit, that’s all…”

“Most doctors hate him as much as he hates them,” Rude added as the elevator chimed and delivered them to the Turks offices, “Ward actually likes him… says he’s a ‘good boy’.”

“I am seriously gonna fuckin’ kill you if you don’t knock it off,” Reno threatened, as menacingly as he could manage with his cheeks taking on a gradually darkening pink hue. Rude laughed softly, but said no more on the subject. He only wanted to tease… not humiliate. And nothing seemed to embarrass Reno more than pointing out what a nice guy he could be. For whatever reason, having other people know about some of the less self-centered things he did left the redhead feeling incredibly awkward… a rarity Rude thoroughly enjoyed witnessing.

As they stepped out, Reno’s phone went off a fourth time. He answered it immediately.

“Yeah, Boss?”

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for half an hour…” Tseng’s voice spoke over the phone, echoed by the real thing from just down the hall.

“Had an errand to run,” he replied, “Phone was on silent. Sorry ’bout that.”

“I need you in the office. Now,” Tseng replied, not commenting on his second’s excuse. Reno smirked to himself and ended the call as he pushed open the door.

“Your wish is my command,” he said, bowing with a flourish. Rude and Elena slid in behind him, snickering softly. The look of surprise on Tseng’s face was worth the exasperated roll of the eyes that followed. “Somethin’ up?” Reno asked. Tseng pointed to the pile of gear that lay on the couch.

“I hope you’re all in the mood for cold weather,” he replied, “We have a lead on Istev.”

Both Reno’s and Rude’s demeanors shifted immediately, the redhead looking decidedly pissed off and even Rude’s expression becoming more readable than usual.

“Payback time,” the bald Turk muttered, fists clenching.

“S-sir?” Elena questioned.

“He’s a target that has been at large for nearly six years,” Tseng explained, “He was responsible for a bombing in Junon near the end of the war with Wutai. We were sent after him, but we ultimately lost him. He went into hiding, and we haven’t had so much as a whisper of him until now. He’s officially remained a low priority target ever since.”

“Yeah… officially,” Reno ground out, “Unofficially, that son of a bitch is shoot on sight. Fucker killed three Turks with a second bomb before he disappeared. Almost took out Tseng, too. Where is he?”

“He was seen at Icicle Inn less than twelve hours ago, heading out onto the glacier,” Tseng replied, “We leave in five minutes.”

---

“…”

“Everything alright, partner?” Reno asked, glancing over at Rude.

“Hate being cold,” he muttered, shuddering as an icy blast of wind cut through him again.

“Heh… yeah, you ‘n me both,” Reno replied. Both men were wrapped up tight in warm winter gear, but it didn’t seem to be doing much more than keeping them from instantly freezing solid. The cold was biting on the glacier and the wind that had kicked up over the past few minutes just made it worse.

They were on the right track, though. Someone had definitely been through here recently, and given the remoteness of their current position, odds were pretty good it had been Istev. The four Turks had been following the trail of a pair of cross country skis for miles before the wind had started burying the tracks. Even so, they had a pretty good idea of where he’d been heading. There were caves in the distance… the perfect place for someone who didn’t want to be found to hide. Tseng and Elena had already gone ahead to locate their quarry, leaving Reno and Rude to watch from afar in case he decided to take off again.

Reno’s PHS played a muted tune from deep inside a pocket. He stripped off a glove, wincing at the feeling of cold air on formerly-protected flesh and fished it out.

“Reno here,” he answered, pausing as he listened to the reply, “… Got it.” Rude looked at him expectantly. “Boss says we’re a go. He and ‘Lena are movin’ in from the upper trail. You ‘n me are gonna flank him from below.”

Rude nodded, turning his gaze to the mountainous terrain ahead of them. He could just barely make out the two figures separating from one another some fifty feet above the nearest cave entrance. The two men split up at a crossroads, approaching the caves from opposing sides.

They were close… Reno could feel it. So, apparently, could Istev. Shots rang out from one of the cave entrances.

“Shit…” Reno swore and took cover behind the drifted piles of snow. Tseng and Elena were above the caves, most likely out of sight, which meant that it was probably he or Rude who had been spotted. Either that or the guy was so paranoid, he was firing blind and hoping he hit something. Over the howl of the wind, Reno heard a shout and broke cover long enough to see what was happening.

‘Not firin’ so blindly after all,’ Reno thought, cringing. Istev had been shooting at a target. Not just a target, but at the rookie, or rather the ice ledge she was perched on. Reno watched, horrified, as the ledge gave way beneath her, sending her sliding down the steep embankment. Elena seemed to keep her wits about her, though, at least long enough to get a shot off herself. Istev crumpled to the ground mere seconds before the woman lost her footing on the crumbling ice completely, her slide suddenly becoming a tumbling fall.

“‘Lena!” Reno shouted, breaking cover completely and rushing towards her. He kept one eye on Istev, just in case… though knowing Elena’s aim, the odds of him being a threat at this point were slim. By the time he reached her, she’d rolled to a halt at the base of the ice cliff. “Hey, rookie… you alright?” he asked, carefully rolling her onto her back. She blinked, looking up at him somewhat dazed.

“My leg hurts…” she bit out, wincing as she tried to move it. Tseng and Rude, meanwhile, had reached Istev. A second shot rang out as Tseng finished what Elena had started. “I missed?” she asked, a little forlornly.

“Please, ‘Lena… When do you ever miss?” Reno replied, “He went down. The boss was just finishin’ the bastard off for ya. Come on… let’s getcha out of here. How bad’s that leg? Think you can walk if I help ya?”

She sat up slowly and nodded. Reno looped an arm around her waist, hoisting her to her feet and letting her lean heavily against him as they began to make their way toward the other two Turks. A sudden rumbling from above them caused Reno to pause, glancing up. Elena let out a frightened gasp as she did the same, seeing a truly terrifying amount of snow and ice tearing loose from the cliff face and heading straight towards them.

“Ah, shit…”

Reno scooped Elena off her feet, barely noticing the cry of pain she gave as her injured leg was further jostled, and sprinted for one of the cave openings at the base of the cliff. He made it with hardly a second to spare, having to quite literally throw himself into the shelter of the cave to do so. He hit the ground hard, cushioning Elena as best he could, as they skidded to a stop on the ice-coated floor.

Moments later, they were plunged into blackness as the entrance was covered and sealed by the avalanche. Reno lay on his back, breathing heavily, Elena clutched to his chest. He felt her shift slightly and then push herself away, rolling off of him.

“Reno?!” she prodded, concern evident in her voice.

“I’m fine,” he panted, “That was way too fuckin’ close, though… You still in one piece?”

“Yeah,” she replied, groaning loudly as she tried to move her leg, “I think…”

Reno grunted softly as he sat up himself, ignoring the throbbing in his shoulder where he’d hit the ground on the way in, and moved toward her in the darkness. He yanked his gloves off, gently running his hands over Elena’s legs, feeling out the injury. It wasn’t hard to find. The break was painfully evident and the rookie whimpered quietly at even the softest touch.

“Well… mostly one piece, anyway,” he said, trying to mask his concern. When his PHS went off a moment later, he answered quickly.

“You still alive?” the caller asked.

“Fuck, you have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice, partner. Thought maybe you guys got caught, too. Get us the hell outta here, will ya?” he said, pulling his gloves back on before his fingers froze.

“Working on it,” Rude replied, “You both there?”

“Yeah, ‘Lena’s here too,” he said, grinning in the pale light of his phone’s screen, “Say hi, ‘Lena…”

“Hey, Rude,” she responded, sounding fairly relieved at knowing that help was coming.

“How bad is it out there?” Reno asked, “‘Cause it’s cold as fuck in here, and ‘Lena’s hurt, so… ya know… we’d kinda appreciate a quick rescue.”

“…”

“Ah, hell… don’t go all quiet on me now, pal. Is it that bad?”

“It’s that bad. Me and Tseng can’t do much on our own. Gonna have to call in help. You’re gonna be there for a while.”

“Define ‘a while’,” Reno said, hesitantly.

“… Several hours, at least,” Rude stated, “Maybe overnight.”

“Crap.”

“… Yeah.”

“… Whatever. Just get us out of here before I end up a Turk-cicle, ‘kay?” Reno sighed.

“Tseng says to conserve your phone’s battery in case we need to contact you when we get close,” said Rude.

“What, no late night pillow talk for us tonight?” Reno joked, though he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the prospect of being out of contact with the outside world. Rude chuckled quietly on the other end of the line.

“Ask Elena,” he suggested.

“Yeah, I’d like to survive the night, thanks. She has a broken leg… pretty sure her trigger finger still works just fine.” He could practically feel the rookie eying him after that comment, “Later, Rude.”

“Later,” Rude replied before ending the called. Reno sighed and pocketed the phone.

“Why exactly are you concerned about my trigger finger?” Elena’s disembodied voice asked, suspiciously.

“Heh… no reason,” Reno hurriedly replied, glad that she’d only heard half that conversation, “Tseng and Rude are workin’ on getting’ us outta here, but it sounds like we’re buried pretty deep. We’re gonna be here awhile.”

Reno dug his lighter out of his pocket. The tiny flame gave him enough light to see Elena by, but not much else.

“I thought you quit smoking,” said Elena, her tone accusatory. The expression on her face was made all the darker by the flickering light.

“Said I would and I did,” Reno assured her, “Lighter comes in handy on occasion, though. Hang here a minute. I’m gonna see how far back this goes. Maybe it hooks up with another opening we can use to get outta here.”

“‘Hang here’? Really?” Elena parroted, “What do you think I’m going to do? Drag myself along behind you?”

Reno snickered and turned toward the back of the cave, one hand on the wall to his left as a guide. He took it slow, not knowing what might be lurking in the darkness… and it was a good thing he did. Thirty yards in, he found himself at the edge of what was likely a very deep crevasse. He couldn’t see the other side. He walked along the edge until he reached the opposite wall. No way across.

“Well… so much for takin’ the back door,” he muttered to himself. Reno sighed and started back toward the entrance. As he came nearer to where he’d left Elena, he discovered a stack of crates. “Now that’s more like it,” he murmured, lifting the cover off the topmost container. The inside was filled with straw packing, and he dug through it until he found something solid. He lifted out one of several large, cloth-wrapped bottles, and laughed.

“Reno?” Elena called out to him from a short distance away.

“Heh… No way out back here, but if ya want, we can have one hell of a party while we’re stuck,” Reno replied, stripping away the wrapping and reading the label in the dim flame light. Bourbon… vintage bourbon. Not, strictly speaking, his favorite, but this shit had to be twenty years old, and he definitely recognized the label as top-shelf. He’d happily suffer through a bottle or two of it… later, when he was someplace warm and comfortable.

For now, though…

He broke apart the crate lid, and wrapped the cloth from the bottle around one of the slats. Then cringed as he cracked open the bottle itself, shuddering at the waste, but telling himself there was plenty more where that had come from as he soaked the cloth and struck a flame from his lighter, igniting it. It went up with a soft whoosh, bathing the chamber in orange firelight.

“Much better,” he commented, grabbing more of the wood from the crate lid, and returning to Elena at last. “How ya doin’, ‘Lena?”

“I’m good… as long as I don’t move too much,” she replied, “What the hell did you mean we can have a party?”

“Things get really desperate, there’s five whole fuckin’ cases of liquor back there,” he grinned, “And not cheap shit, either. If I gotta freeze to death, at least I can be drunk off my ass when it happens…”

He wedged the makeshift torch between two rocks, and knelt down next to the rookie.

“Freeze to death?!” Elena said, looking alarmed.

“Ah, relax,” Reno replied, “Those guys’ll have us outta here way before we gotta worry ’bout that. Umm… ‘kay, so this is gonna hurt.”

Elena blinked in confusion. “What’s going to hur- eeeyah!” she screamed, as Reno jerked her injured leg out straight, sending an agonizingly sharp pain lancing up through the limb. She felt dizzy for a moment, as her vision grayed temporarily. When her focus finally came back, she discovered the redhead was carefully securing her leg between two slats wood.

“Sorry,” he said softly, glancing up at her face, “Had to set it. Figured if I did it without givin’ ya too much time to think about it, it wouldn’t be quite so bad. Always works for me, anyway…”

“I-I don’t think I like that method…” Elena managed, trying to ignore the painful throbbing in her leg.

Reno grinned at her. “Don’t ever let Rude do it, then. Ya get no warning at all from him…”

Elena leaned back against the cave wall, letting her head rest against the rock. “Well? Now what do we do?”

“Wait,” Reno said with a shrug, “Not much else we can do.”

“Oh,” she said, quietly. The redhead sat down next to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Here… Lean against me instead of the rock. You’ll be more comfortable.” Elena gratefully did as he asked, curling against his side and laying her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a little while, and soon, Reno realized she’d drifted off. He nudged her gently in the side. “Hey… ‘Lena…”

She jerked slightly, startled out of the light doze she’d fallen into. “W-what?” she responded.

“Maybe try not to get that comfortable,” Reno said, seriously, “Ya don’t wanna fall asleep in a place like this and risk gettin’ too cold. Might not wake up again.”

Elena nodded, and sat up a bit. She felt like an idiot for not realizing that herself.

“Tell ya what…” he continued, “Game time. Ask me anything.”

“W-what?” she replied, wondering just where he was going with this.

“Ask me anything,” he repeated, “It’ll keep us both awake.”

“Anything?” Elena clarified, “Anything I want… and you’ll actually answer it?”

“Not like I’m easy to embarrass,” he smirked, “So yeah… I’ll probably answer anything ya throw at me.” Elena grinned.

“Okay… What’s the deal with you and Dr. Ward?” she said, thinking back to that morning. Reno rolled his eyes.

“There’s no ‘deal’,” he replied, “Rude pretty much explained it already. Doctors hate me. I can be a real dick when I’m not feelin’ so great, and Ward is probably the only one of ’em that’ll put up with it without wantin’ to kill me. Even teases me about it… so yeah, I kinda like her. Don’t you ever fuckin’ tell her I said that, though.”

“Not wanting to kill you is an awfully flimsy excuse for bringing her birthday flowers every year,” Elena goaded him.

“… Ward’s been takin’ care of me for a long time, ‘Lena,” he chuckled, “Since I was first recruited, so goin’ on ten years now. That’s a lot of not wantin’ to kill me. And… the candy’s a nice bonus, too. She… uh… actually keeps it around just for me, I think.”

“Why?” she asked, curiosity piqued. Reno shifted a little awkwardly.

“‘Cause I was a sixteen year old kid the first time Tseng dragged me in to see her,” he finally said, “First medical workup, they check that you’re up to date on vaccinations ‘n shit. Tseng pulled me straight outta the slums… so I wasn’t. Which meant way more needles than I ever wanted to see intended for me.” He shuddered at the memory.

Elena giggled. “I still can’t believe you’re afraid of needles…”

“Anyway…” Reno continued, ignoring her, “I was kinda nervous… like… halfway out the door the second I saw ’em nervous. She promised me candy if I sat down and let her do it.”

“And you just let her bribe you?” Elena grinned.

“Hell, yeah, I let her bribe me,” Reno replied, “I was a fuckin’ kid. I liked sugar. Still like sugar. It kinda got to be a thing after that.”

He could feel Elena shaking with laughter pressed against his side.

“Oh, shut up,” he said, poking her lightly, “My turn now…”

“Wait, what?” she asked, the amusement quickly being replaced with trepidation, “I don’t remember agreeing to that…”

Reno grinned evilly. “What? I’m ‘sposed to bare my soul and get nothin’ in return? Nuh uh… You get a question, I get a question.”

Elena groaned, thinking back to the last time she’d had to answer Reno’s questions… during Hell Week. At least this time she was fully clothed. “Fine… but if the first thing out of your mouth is ‘Are you attracted to me?’, I’m kicking your ass.”

“That wasn’t what I was going to ask… but I’d almost like to see how ya plan to kick much of anything with only one good leg…” he teased.

“Just ask your stupid question…” she muttered.

“What’d you really think of me when you were first promoted?”

Elena bit her lower lip, not quite sure how to respond to that. The truth was she’d kind of hated Reno at first. Now he was one of her closest friends, practically family.

“Heh… Don’t worry ’bout sparin’ my feelings, ‘Lena. I’m just curious to hear it in your own words,” he prodded, grinning, “I already know you could hardly stand me.”

“I…” she started, glancing up at Reno’s slightly smug expression, as if he were daring her to let him have it. Well, if he was going to be like that… “Okay… You want it, you got it. You were a total jerk. An egotistical, obnoxious, heartless bastard who’s greatest joy in life seemed to be centered on tormenting and mocking me. You were a… a shameless womanizer, and easily the most annoying person I’d ever met. And I hated that you kept calling me ‘Lena when you knew I didn’t like it! I hated that you went out of your way to make me look incompetent. I hated that you always made perverted comments at my expense. I hated that you never seemed to be satisfied with anything I did…”

Reno’s grin had grown progressively wider the longer she ranted.

“Damn, ‘Lena…” he snickered, “Don’t sugar-coat it or anything…”

“There were days that I just wanted to punch you in the face,” she finished, “… so badly…”

“Were? Ah, come on… There are days ya still wanna punch me in the face, admit it…” he joked.

“… Not really,” Elena said, smiling, “Slap you really hard, maybe… My turn?”

“Go ahead,” Reno said, gesturing for her to continue. Elena hesitated before she asked the first question that came to mind.

“What did you think of me?” she finally asked.

“Sure ya want me to answer that?” the redhead taunted her. To be honest… she wasn’t really. But she’d asked anyway, and after a brief internal debate, she nodded.

“First impression? You were naïve, gullible, and way too concerned with impressing Tseng.” Elena flinched. This was going to be brutal, she just knew it. “I kinda had ya pegged as virgin for awhile, too…” he added off-handedly. Elena glared and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “Ow! What? You asked…”

“So I was a naïve, gullible virgin…” she replied, shaking her head, “How the hell’d I ever get promoted?”

“‘Cause you were talented. And you were also incredibly strong-willed and driven. You knew what you wanted, and you wanted it bad enough that you’d fight for it,” Reno answered, “That’s not something you can teach a person. I was willing to work on trainin’ you out of the other shit, long as I knew I had someone worth the effort. Wouldn’t’ve bothered askin’ Tseng to consider you otherwise.”

“Hold on… You nominated me for promotion?” Elena choked out in shock. She’d known that Reno’d had a say in approving her promotion, but she had no idea that he had taken an interest in her before she was even up for for it.

“Yep,” he said, “And made sure you got it. Actually took a little convincing to get Tseng to let me have you over our other two picks. He liked you, too, but he wasn’t sure you were quite ready. Ultimately, though, I was gonna be the one handlin’ ya, so he let me have my way.”

“W-wait, wait wait…” Elena stammered, trying to sort things out in her head, “If you were so gung ho about me getting into the Turks… why were you such an asshole at first?”

Reno sniggered. “Whaddya mean ‘at first’?” he threw back, “Think about it, ‘Lena. I don’t really treat you that much different now, do I? I still tease you constantly, I still go out of my way to embarrass you on a regular basis… I still, how’d ya put it? Make perverted comments at your expense. And of course you’re never gonna get me to stop callin’ ya ‘Lena. Only thing that’s really changed is that now you know that most of the time I’m just screwin’ around…”

Elena just stared… realizing that he was right. Over time, Reno had maybe let up on her a little as she made fewer dumb mistakes on the job, but by and large, he was still the same old Reno. She’d just redefined what that actually meant as she’d gotten to know him better.

“Heh… my turn again,” he said, breaking the short silence, “So… Are you attracted to me?”

“Oh, for Shiva’s sake…” Elena rolled her eyes.

“Hey, you just said it couldn’t be my first question,” he teased her, “And the best I got last time was ‘not awful to look at’. My poor, fragile ego has been suffering ever since…” Elena gave disbelieving snort of contempt. “If you tell me what I wanna hear, I might just drop it and find some other way to bug ya…”

“Or you’ll be ten times worse,” she deadpanned.

“Fifty-fifty shot, either way.”

“I know I’m going to regret this…” she sighed, “I guess you’re… you’re… Ugh, I can’t do it. It’s too much like telling my brother he’s hot.”

“So… does that mean ya think I’m hot?” he prodded, grinning maniacally, “Ha! I knew it.”

Elena narrowed her eyes at him. “Remember what I said earlier about wanting to slap you sometimes?” She suddenly shivered as a chill ran up her spine. Reno’s expression turned serious.

“You gettin’ cold?”

“Kind of, yeah,” she responded. She hadn’t realized how cold until just then. She wished she could get up and move around, but even thinking about it made her leg ache. Apparently Reno was thinking along a similar vein.

“Hate to do this to ya, but sittin’ still’s not gonna make ya any warmer…” he said, levering himself to his feet, and grabbing her hands, “Up we go.” He pulled, dragging her up to join him, in spite of her pained yelp, and pulled her arm around his shoulders to support her. “Time for a little walk.”

It took so much effort to just to hobble along making the brief circuit around the cave’s entrance chamber that by the time the pair returned to where they’d started, Elena could actually feel herself beginning to sweat. Reno carefully lowered her to the floor again, before sliding down next to her.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she answered, a little winded as she resumed her position against his side.

“So… I think it’s your turn, right?” he mused. Elena had to think for a minute… she hadn’t yet decided on her next query. Suddenly, she smirked, looking up at Reno with purpose. “Uh oh…” he muttered.

“I’m sick of relying on rumors and second hand information. I want know the whole story about why you and Scarlet don’t get along,” she stated. Reno groaned and let his head fall back against the wall of the cave.

“Shoulda known you’d get me back.”

“Spill it!” she demanded, even more interested now.

“Fine,” he groused, “Christmas party probably eight years back. It was all the company executives, buncha investors, a few representatives from towns Shinra was tryin’ to talk into lettin’ ’em build reactors… that sort of shit. Exclusive guest list.”

“So how’d you get invited,” she joked.

“Heh… I didn’t,” he replied, “Heidegger’s an asshole, and always has been. Called Tseng in last minute on Christmas Eve to handle security, since the place was packed with VIPs, and Tseng dragged me, and a couple of fairly new rookies, along for good measure. Almost managed to pawn that shit off on Rude, but I lost the coin toss. Pretty sure he cheated, the son of a bitch…”

“Don’t get off topic… I asked about Scarlet,” prodded the rookie.

“I’m getting’ there, geez…” Reno chuckled, “Anyway, it actually wasn’t such a bad assignment, all things considered. Couldn’t drink since I was on the clock, but it was open season on the food, long as we didn’t piss anyone off. ‘Round two in the morning things were finally windin’ down. President had fucked off home for the night hours ago, and most of the guests and the execs were either passed out drunk, or damn close to it. Time to start roundin’ ’em up and makin’ sure they got back home or wherever they’re staying, right? Which is exactly what Tseng told us to do. My luck, I get stuck wrangling Scarlet.”

“I’m guessing she wasn’t exactly sober?”

“Completely wasted,” Reno said, smirking, “Which actually might’ve been pretty damn funny, if it weren’t for the fact that, as soon I hauled her into the elevator, she decided that since she outranked me in the company pecking order by a few orders of magnitude, I was free for the taking.”

“What do you mean?” Elena asked, having a pretty good idea where this was going.

“I mean that by the time we reached the parking deck, she had her hand down my pants and her tongue down my throat,” he replied, sounding more than a little disgusted, “Typically I don’t mind a lady – and I use the term very loosely in reference to Scarlet – gettin’ a little aggressive with me, but I do have limits… and I definitely draw the line at nonconsensual public groping. I’m also not stupid enough to think that screwin’ an executive is gonna end well under any circumstances. Problem was, I couldn’t exactly shove her back and tell her to fuck off… which is probably, at a minimum, what it woulda taken to get through to her at that point. That gets back to Heidegger and he’s gonna have my head… ‘specially since, rumor had it, he had a thing for Scarlet at the time. Plus, she kinda literally had me by the balls… so… yeah.”

“So what’d you do?”

“Thankfully, Tseng was on his way back for the next load. Hegot her off of me pretty quick. ‘Course then she started in on him. And I kinda got the impression it wasn’t the first time, either. We both lucked out, though. Right as she was goin’ for his zipper, she passed the fuck out. We tossed her in the trunk of his car and took her home.”

“Y-you WHAT?!”

“Yeah… that part was fuckin’ awesome,” he said with a grin, “Guess Tseng had finally had enough of her shit. Just shoved her right in there. She was out cold, so it’s not like she was complainin’.”

“Come on… You’ve got to be making this up,” Elena chided him, “There’s no way Tseng would ever do that to a company executive.”

“I swear it’s all true,” Reno assured her, “It was an opportunity for a little payback without havin’ to worry about explaining himself to Heidegger or Veld, and he jumped on it. But anyway, that’s why I try ‘n steer clear of Scarlet. I still get propositioned every fucking time I do have to deal with her. And then she’s pissed ’cause I always turn her down.”

Their torch, which had been burning low for some time, finally flickered out. “Crap… Guess we need a new one,” Reno muttered, as he forced himself to his feet, “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

“That joke wasn’t funny the first time,” Elena called after him, and he snickered in response.

As he made his way back to the crates by the miniscule illumination provided by his lighter, Reno wondered how long they’d been there by now. It certainly felt late. He supposed he could check the clock on his PHS, but that would eat into its battery life. Even if it was only a fraction, who knew how much longer they’d be stuck. That fraction might be needed later, and knowing what time it was wasn’t exactly life or death. He suppressed a yawn. Yeah, it was definitely late.

As he assembled a new torch… and a couple extra for good measure… he wondered what he should ask Elena next. He needed something that would keep her awake for awhile. He was still mulling it over as he lit the new torch, grabbed a couple bottles of bourbon, just in case he didn’t get the opportunity later, and made his way back to the rookie again. He found her dozing quietly, propped up against the cave wall. Reno hurriedly set his load down and shook her lightly.

“‘Lena?” he said, coaxing her awake.

“Huh?”

“What’d I tell ya ’bout sleepin’?”

Elena yawned and sat up straighter, rubbing vigorously at tired eyes. “I didn’t even realize I was falling asleep,” she replied, “What time is it?”

“Don’t know… Late, I’d guess. Or early, depending on how ya look at it,” he said settling in next to her again. “So… where were we?”

“Your turn.” She yawned again.

“Fuck, don’t do that,” Reno moaned, stifling one of his own, “You’re gonna get me started, too.” Elena giggled quietly. “My turn, huh? Okay, little miss perfect… What’s the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?” Elena started to answer, but he quickly cut her off. “Before you met me, I mean…” he added with a smirk.

“I guess… it would have to be the time I burned down a bar,” she said, hesitantly.

Reno gawked at her, not quite sure he’d heard her right. “… Say that again?”

“I burned down a bar,” she repeated, “In Kalm.”

“Okay… I’m pretty sure I’d remember readin’ something like that in your background file,” the redhead commented, skeptical.

“I was nine… and it was an accident,” Elena said, rolling her eyes. “We were visiting a friend of my mom’s, and she had a couple of boys my brothers’ ages… so of course they all went off together and left me behind, because guys are jerks to girls at that age.”

“I wasn’t,” Reno commented, sounding slightly offended… before he added, “Course that was mostly cause I was really scrawny at that age and most of the girls coulda beat the crap outta me… Couple of ’em did, come to think of it…”

“Was there ever an age you weren’t scrawny?” she sniped back.

“Touché,” he said, in a dry voice, “I really was pretty undersized ’til I was twelve or so, though. But go on…”

“The third day we were there, I guess I just got sick of always being left out, so I followed them. The boys were friends with the son of the owner of the bar, and that’s where they all kept sneaking off to,” Elena continued, “I caught them in the back room with a bottle of beer and a pack of cigarettes. And when I threatened to tell on them, they said that they’d let me play with them if I didn’t. I… I really just wanted to be included. So I said okay… and then they said that if I wanted to hang out with them, I had to do everything they did. The next thing I knew, I was holding a cigarette and one of them was lighting it for me.”

“And then it all went horribly wrong,” Reno dramatically interjected.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Elena replied, seriously, “I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing with it, so I just sort of tried to copy them. I ended up coughing so hard I dropped it and it rolled under a shelf. And it spiraled from there. No one was hurt, but the place burnt to the ground. And of course we got caught. I don’t think I ever saw my father as angry as he was when he found out. Del and Bel tried to play down just how much I had to do with it. I think they felt guilty about pushing me into joining them. But we all got the same punishment.”

“Lemme guess… grounded? Sent to bed with no dinner? Nah… I know. Bet they took away your TV privileges…” he taunted, “That musta just about killed ya…”

“Ha, ha…” she replied, poking him in the ribs, “You know, just because I grew up on the Plate doesn’t mean I was spoiled.”

“Ah, I know… I’m just teasin’ ya. So what did they do to you, anyway?”

“We really only had one punishment in my family. God, I couldn’t sit right for an hour after that… neither could my brothers,” she said with a groan. She suddenly felt Reno’s body tense.

“Wait… you got hit?” he asked, and she could hear the note of anger in his voice.

“Well… spanked, yeah. It’s not like we were beaten, or anything,” she said, a little surprised that it would bother him. He relaxed a little. “What, weren’t you ever punished like that as a kid?”

Reno shook his head. “Not ’til I got dropped in the orphanage, and even then, it was pretty rare ’cause they mostly didn’t give a shit. When I got the crap beat outta me there, it was almost always by some other kid I ticked off. My mom never once raised a hand to me that I can remember… Got slapped by one of her dates once for bein’ a little too nosy, and she laid into him like a fuckin’ nibelwolf.”

“What was your mom like?”

“That your next question?” Reno frowned, caught off guard. He hadn’t been expecting her to go quite that personal. Elena fidgeted slightly.

“Sorry… You don’t have to answer that, if you don’t want to,” she said.

“Nah… It’s not that,” Reno replied, “I’m just not real sure how to answer it. I don’t really remember much about her, to be honest. I was really, really little when she died. My most vivid memory of her is… findin’ her the next morning. And don’t think that’s really what ya had in mind…”

“Oh, god… Reno, I’m so sorry. I never should have asked…”

He shrugged. “Don’t be,” he replied, “I don’t mind talkin’ about her. Just, like I said… I don’t remember much, other than a few things that really stood out. Like her bein’ so pissed off at that guy for hittin’ me.” He closed his eyes, and sighed softly, “I do remember her voice, though. Can hardly see her face anymore, but her voice has always stuck with me. She used to sing to me. I’d fall asleep to that almost every night. It was breathy and sweet, and she had this way of holdin’ a note so it kinda trembled.”

Reno went silent for a moment, his eyes still shut. “Please tell me you’re not cryin’…” he said at last. Elena quickly wiped away the moisture that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.

“N-no…” she replied, “I’m not…”

“Thank Ifrit…” he sighed, finally looking over at her with a lopsided grin, “I never know what to do with a woman who’s cryin’… Half the time, I just seem to make it worse.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, “I practically had a nervous breakdown in front of you when I… er…”

“When ya brutally murdered Mr. Foo-Foo?” he finished for her, smirking.

“Y-yeah… that,” she confirmed, blushing in embarrassment, “And you were fine.”

“‘Lena, I was about two seconds away from running out the door and goin’ into hiding for a few days until it all blew over,” Reno laughed, “Only reason I didn’t was ’cause I had no idea what the hell was goin’ on and I was worried you were in some kind of trouble…”

“Ok… what about the little girl we saved during Hell Week? She was a wreck, and you didn’t so much as bat an eye taking care of her until we found her mother…”

“Scared kid. Not even remotely the same thing.”

Elena giggled. “So I guess that means there are at least two things Reno, second in command of the Turks, is absolutely terrified of… needles and distraught women.”

“And I’ll take needles over the alternative any day,” he said with conviction. He yawned before he could catch himself, and moments later, Elena reflexively did the same. Reno sat up straight, stretching his arms above his head. Normally, he didn’t have a problem staying up all night, and then some… but normally, he was doing a little more than just sitting around talking. “Rude’s gonna be pissed at me. At this rate, the second we get outta here, I’m fallin’ asleep, and he’s gonna be stuck haulin’ my ass across the glacier. You still warm enough?”

“I guess,” she replied. She wasn’t freezing or anything like she’d been a while ago, but she wouldn’t exactly venture as far as to say she was ‘warm’ sitting on an icy stone floor. Her legs were starting to go a little numb, in fact… which, in so much as it dulled the pain in her injured leg, wasn’t an entirely bad thing, but it probably wasn’t an overall good sign, either. She drew the knee of her good leg up to her chest, and tried massaging some feeling back into her calf.

“Wanna move around some more?”

“No… but we probably should,” she said, eliciting a soft chuckle from the redhead. She groaned as half-frozen muscles protested when Reno helped her up. Moving didn’t seem to have near as great an effect on her body temperature this time around. Elena wasn’t sure if the cave had gotten colder as the night had worn on, or if she’d just had so much heat leached out of her that it was getting harder and harder to generate more. Either way, she hoped they wouldn’t be here too much longer. Even Reno – who up until now hadn’t seemed bothered much by the cold – was becoming noticeably more lethargic in his movements than he had been earlier.

“I fucking hate bein’ cold,” he sighed as they eased themselves down again. The torch was burning low again, and Reno lit the first of his reserves off of it. “I guess it’s my turn again, right? I should really get two, I think.”

“What?!” Elena squawked indignantly, “Why should you get two questions?”

“‘Cause you basically got two last round.”

“I did not…”

“Sure ya did. First you asked me about my mom… then we went off on that whole tangent ’bout me not likin’ it when women cry…”

“That wasn’t even a question!”

“Pretty sure it was…” he replied, grinning. Elena folded her arms across her chest. She was not going to let him get away with that.

“No, it most certainly was not. Quit trying to cheat,” she said firmly.

“I’m not cheatin’,” Reno retorted, narrowing his eyes at her, “I’m just tryin’ to keep things even.”

“By cheating. I only asked one question. Everything else was… was… an anecdote!”

“Heh… Anecdote, huh?” The redhead gave an exaggerated sigh, and smirked. “Alright, fine. Since I wanna ask my question sometime in the next decade or so, I’ll be the bigger person and let ya win this one.”

“Bigger person? Really?” she said, insulted. He nodded. “Watch it, Reno… or I might be tempted to wipe that smirk right off of your face…”

“Okay, okay…” he snickered, “How ’bout we go five questions each… one word answers only. No ‘anecdotes’ to make things confusing. Every question asked counts, even if ya didn’t mean to ask it.”

“I guess…” she replied, trying to figure out what Reno’s angle was with this new rule change.

“Heh… One. How old were you when you lost your virginity?”

And there it was. “Ugh… seriously?!”

“One word answers, ‘Lena,” he replied, perfectly straight-faced, “Ya can’t answer a question with a question.”

“Twenty,” she ground out. Reno blinked, doing a quick count. Elena was only twenty-three now. She’d been tapped for Shinra’s recruiting program about two years before she was promoted, which meant maybe he hadn’t been quite so wrong about his initial impression of her…

“Really?”

“Yes… and that was your second question.”

“What?! … Oh, fuck…” he groaned, realizing that that was a question, too. He was being done in by his own rules.

“Second question. And that was your third,” she said, mirroring the smirk he’d graced her with earlier.

“Goddammit…” he swore, “Either you’re too good at this shit, or my brain’s half frozen. Fine. Four… Ever stolen anything from the office?”

“Uhh…”

“That’s not really an answer. More of a suspiciously thoughtful moan…” Reno commented.

“Y-yes…” she admitted, hanging her head.

“Five… What?”

Elena looked away shiftily, and mumbled a barely audible answer.

“It doesn’t count if I can’t hear it,” Reno prodded, far more interested now.

“… Gummy worms.”

He looked at her oddly. “Why’d ya take… wait, a minute… MY gummy worms?! That’s why they keep disappearin’?! You don’t even like ’em!”

“You keep eating my cookies!” she accused, folding her arms across her chest. “So every time I find a cookie missing, I take a worm. And I throw. It. Away.”

Reno mockingly gasped, looking positively scandalized. “You monster.”

“Leave my cookies alone, and your worms are safe,” she shrugged, “And that’s five. Six, really… so question number one. How old were you when you lost your virginity?”

Reno rolled his eyes at the weak attempt. “Oh… rookie wants to play my game, huh? Fourteen. And ya can’t seriously think I’d be bothered about answering that…”

“What was his name?”

Reno blinked and then burst out laughing. “Okay, ‘Lena… I’ll give ya credit for that one. That was actually a halfway decent setup…”

Elena grinned triumphantly.

“And for the record, her name was Lira.” he added, then grimaced, “Fuck… hey, ‘Lena? Ya mind if we switch things up for awhile? Leanin’ against this wall for so long is murder on my back…”

“Oh… sure, Reno,” she replied. Elena suddenly realized she hadn’t even been thinking about how uncomfortable he must have been. Meanwhile she’d been about as cozy as she could hope to be under the circumstances, curled up as she was against his side. He’d been shielding a good portion of her body from the cold stone for hours. She quickly sat up so he could move, and Reno positioned himself on his back, his head and shoulders resting on her lap.

“Mmmph… that’s better,” he groaned, letting his eyes close. When he didn’t open them again, Elena started to worry.

“Reno… Are you awake?” she asked, concerned. The redhead’s lip quirked into a smile.

“That’s three…” he smugly informed her.

“You jerk! That’s not fair…”

“Hey, I didn’t make the rules…” he replied.

“… What are you talking about? Yes, you did!” she responded automatically.

“And there’s four.” He opened his eyes again and looked up at her, bemused, “And before ya decide to kill me for that, just remember… I fucked up two of my questions, too. Now we’re even again.”

Elena was about to make the argument that he’d lost those questions on his own… not because she’d tricked him… but her appeal died on her lips as Reno’s PHS suddenly came to life. The redhead sat up immediately, nearly dropping the phone, his hands were so cold, and answered.

“Got good news for me, partner?” he said without preamble.

“Almost there,” Rude’s voice acknowledged, “Last bit’s gonna suck, though. If you’re near the entrance, you need to move back. Ice is kinda unstable out here… it’s probably gonna collapse inward some when we break through. Don’t want you buried a second time.”

“Can do… give us a couple minutes then come get us the fuck outta here. And tell Tseng I’m takin’ the rest of the day off.”

“Hmph… lazy bastard,” Rude commented.

“You know it,” Reno replied, grinning as he ended the call. He pocketed the phone, and scrambled to his feet. “Gotta move,” he said, helping Elena up, “They’re gonna drop that wall, and then we’re home free.”

“Finally,” she replied, wincing as her broken leg protested sharply. She yelped in surprise as Reno picked her up. He carried her deeper into the cave, setting her down gently when they reached the crates. Less than a minute later, they heard a loud rumbling from the entrance. It was followed by a whoosh of freezing cold air. Elena had only thought the cave had been cold… the air from outside shot through every protective layer she was wearing, chilling her to the bone, and she shivered violently. In the pale light that now penetrated the darkness, she could see Reno wasn’t faring much better… though he turned to her, grinning through chattering teeth.

“Sounds like we’ve got guests,” he said. Harsh beams of light rounded the corner, nearly blinding them both. Reno squinted and shielded his eyes from the glare, just able to make out the silhouettes behind the lights.

“Hey, guys,” he called out, “Come on in… make yourselves at home.”

“Rude, take Elena out to the helicopter,” Tseng commanded, before walking over to his second, “Have a pleasant evening?”

“Oh, sure… You know me, Boss…” Reno drawled, “I love hangin’ out in dark, freezing cold caves for hours on end.”

“Indeed,” the Turk leader chuckled, “Come on… Let’s get you both somewhere warm.”

“Oh, hold on… almost forgot…” he replied, pulling away from Tseng and heading for the crates. He pulled out two bottles and shoved them into his hands, and took two more himself.

“Courtesy of Istev,” he smirked, “Don’t think he’ll be needin’ it, now…”

---

Tseng was standing beside the fireplace when Elena hobbled out of her room, crutches clicking softly against the wooden floor of Icicle Inn’s lodge. She’d slept for a while, but ultimately had found herself restless upon waking and gone in search of her fellow Turks… and food. She was starving.

They’d been rescued in the early morning hours, just after the sun had risen. It was now past noon. The Turk leader seemed to be alone.

“Sir?” she called. He responded by raising a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet, and nodded to the couch that sat facing the fire. Elena made her way closer, rounding the large piece of furniture, and had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from laughing.

“How can he sleep like that?” she whispered.

“I don’t bother asking anymore,” Tseng replied softly with a shake of his head. Reno was splayed across the couch on his stomach, one arm hanging over the edge, face partially hidden by a pillow he seemed to have burrowed under. A glass half-filled with a deep amber liquid dangled from his fingers in a precarious grasp. His other arm was tucked beneath his body. His left foot was wedged between two of the cushions, knee bent awkwardly, while his right leg rested partly on the floor. A blanket, that Elena assumed had once been covering the redhead, lay crumpled beside the couch.

Tseng stooped and picked it up, returning it to it’s original position and tucking it around the sleeping Turk for good measure. He also plucked the glass from his hand before it could fall.

“Heeeeey…” Reno whined, “Wasn’t done with that yet…”

“I knew I was pushing my luck… One of these days, I will figure out how to avoid waking you,” Tseng sighed. Reno grunted in acknowledgment and rolled onto his side, blinking wearily up at them.

“Food?” he asked, hopefully.

“I sent Rude for lunch,” he replied, “He’ll be back shortly.”

“Yay for Rude…” Reno murmured happily as he tried, and failed, to sit up. Elena giggled and helped him.

“Don’t tell me… you’ve already finished off a bottle,” she stated. The redhead grinned, suddenly finding himself upright.

“Nah… not even half…” he said, “But it was all on an empty stomach, so I’m… a little tipsy. Really should know better by now. Quality stuff, though. How’s the leg?”

“It’s alright,” Elena replied, glancing down at the cast that enveloped her entire right leg below the knee. “It kind of itches, though.”

“Yeah… that’ll only get worse,” Reno said, smirking. He slid over so she could sit down… an offer the rookie Turk was only too eager to accept.

“And you would certainly know,” Tseng added with a roll of his eyes. Reno didn’t have the chance to respond to that, because at that moment, his absent partner made his return, food in hand.

“Yay!” Reno cheered, “Rude’s back!”

“Yay!” Rude mimicked, teasingly, “Reno’s drunk!”

“Just slightly,” he assured him, “Now feed me so I can sober up.”

---

“All things considered, not a bad day’s work,” Reno commented, reaching across the table for another sandwich… his fourth, by Elena’s count. “We finally get to cross Istev off our to do list, got some sweet booze outta the deal…”

“Broke the rookie…” Rude interjected.

Reno glanced over at Elena. “Yeah… You don’t think we’ll need to go shoppin’ again, do ya? This one took for-fucking-ever to get workin’ right.”

“I think the repairs will hold,” Rude replied.

“Hope so,” the redhead said, seriously, “Pretty sure this model’s outta stock and I have no idea where we’d get replacement parts…”

“Will you two knock it off…” Elena said in an exasperated voice.

“Ignore them,” Tseng advised her, “They’re just relieved your injury wasn’t more serious. As am I. If you were badly hurt, they wouldn’t dare make so light of it. Believe it or not, I think they’re actually trying to make you feel better… in the most idiotic way they can think of.”

Reno grinned, and Rude flashed her a brief smile.

“Yeah, ‘Lena… just a compound fracture,” Reno teased, “I’ve had half a dozen of ’em. No big deal.”

“Hmm… That’s not what you said when they treating her,” Tseng chided. Reno flushed slightly, and the rookie raised an eyebrow. “Ah… You slept through most of that. Reno probably would have, too, if he hadn’t been so busy hovering over you.”

“Oh, give me a break,”the redhead groaned, “I was expressing moderate concern about the quality of care in this backwater hole. I was not hovering.”

“Of course you weren’t… and I didn’t have to threaten to have you sedated just to get you out of the room. Nor did have to ply you with alcohol to get you to fall asleep,” Tseng said with a slight smirk.

“Exactly. None of that happened,” Reno replied, “Just so we’re clear on that.”

Reno pointedly ignored the quiet snickering that suddenly seemed to be coming from all sides of the table, and reached for sandwich number five.

~fin~