Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Interludes – Scene 21

Scene Notes: Growing up in the slums, Reno never experienced much in terms of weather… so moving up to the Plate was a little bit of a shock for him, especially in the winter. This takes place during the brief period of time Reno was staying with Tseng after being thrown out of his apartment for setting off explosives.

From Chapter 26: ‘Tis the Season:

“You’d think he’d never seen snow before…” Elena giggled.

“He hadn’t until he became a Turk, actually. It doesn’t snow in the slums… save perhaps in parts of Sector 6 where the Plate has yet to be completed. He’s… fond of it. At least until he grows tired of being cold and wet. Myself, on the other hand…” He suppressed a shudder and turned up the temperature via the thermostat on the wall. “I don’t think I’ll ever become entirely acclimated to Midgar’s idea of winter. Wutai’s climate is far milder.”

---

“Reno.”

“Mmmph… Go’way…”

“Reno.”

“It’s fuckin’ Saturday. Leave me alone…” the lump under the blankets replied, petulantly. Tseng shook his head and smirked.

“Normally, I would do just that, as I really have no say in how you spend your weekends. However…” He gripped the blanket and yanked, obliterating the warm little nest Reno had created for himself and exposing the shirtless teen to the cooler air of his guest room. The redhead yelped, wrapping his arms around himself as though he’d suddenly been tossed into a cold shower. The rookie glared up at him. “If you don’t get up, you’re going to miss it.”

“Whatever the hell I’m gonna miss, it can’t possibly be better than bein’ warm. Give that back!”

“If you slept in something a bit more appropriate to the season, you wouldn’t have to cocoon yourself like that…” he pointed out, ignoring the demand. “I’m not certain you’ve noticed, but it’s winter.” Though, the Turks second-in-command noted, the rookie had finally given in and worn a pair of sweat pants to bed last night, at least. Apparently even Reno’s preference for sleeping nude had its limits.

“I noticed,” the teen said, dryly. “And now I’m goin’ back into hibernation.”

“There’s breakfast.”

Tseng saw him hesitate. If there was anything that might motivate the redhead into getting up early on a weekend… if one could consider eight forty-five in the morning particularly early… it was food.

“Tch… Sleep in or eat your cooking…” he mused out loud. He glanced up at his mentor with a smug expression. “Ya know… that’s actually kind of a tough decision. I mean… on one hand, I’m starvin’ and food is food. On the other… what you make just barely qualifies. Goin’ back to sleep might still be better.”

“I didn’t cook. I bought you donuts when I went out for groceries this morning.”

“Fuck… Really? There’s donuts?” Tseng had him now. The rookie groaned and sat up in bed, resigned to his fate. “Hang on… You hate sugar. What’s the occasion?” he asked, eying the senior Turk suspiciously.

“I don’t hate sugar… I simply dislike so much of it so early in the day. And if you’d get up, you would see what the occasion is.”

“Fine…” he muttered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and dragging himself to his feet. “There. I’m up… happy now?”

“Ecstatic,” Tseng replied with a soft chuckle.

“And you better not’ve been fuckin’ with me about there bein’ donuts.”

“I assure you, I would never,” the Wutaiian Turk lightly teased. Reno grabbed a t-shirt from the floor, pulling it over his head as he followed him into the living room and through to the kitchen, and grinned as he spotted the promised pastries on the counter. As he was passing the large picture window, though, movement outside caught his attention from the corner of his eye, pulling his gaze around. He stopped short, staring.

“… What the fuck?”

“That is why I woke you.”

Reno walked toward the window, eyes wide as he watched the the huge snowflakes falling gently to the ground. A few inches had already piled up outside, and it didn’t seem to be in any hurry to stop.

“Is that snow?” the teenager breathed, looking around to Tseng for confirmation. “I’ve never actually seen it before…”

He smiled. “I thought it might interest you…”

Reno grinned and headed for the door.

“Wait a minute… Where are you going?” Tseng called after him, concerned… In retrospect, the teen’s intentions probably should have been fairly obvious.

“Outside!” the redhead replied, excitedly, breakfast all but forgotten. He threw the door wide and rushed out, apparently oblivious to the feeling of the icy pavement on his bare feet.

“For Leviathan’s sake… at least get dressed appropriately first!” he shouted, though by then, his rookie had already left the apartment and let himself fall backwards into the nearest drift of snow. Tseng rolled his eyes slightly at the sound of the Reno’s laughter and went to find him a coat before he froze.

~fin~