Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 23: To Junon

He couldn’t eat when he was nervous. He just couldn’t. It made him feel queasy as hell for the rest of day if he tried. Of course not eating had its downsides, too… but a little light-headedness was preferable to feeling like he was going to puke. As long as Dr. Ward didn’t find out about it… he’d be fine.

And he certainly had a reason to be nervous today. Tseng was taking him with him to Junon… as part of the fucking President’s security detail. That was… kind of a big deal. Reno had never even met the President before… not officially. This was the boss of his boss’ boss’ boss they were talking about. The guy who literally ran the company. From what he’d heard, rookies didn’t typically get handed an assignment like this until they had a lot more training under their belts. Even Rude hadn’t been taken on a major security escort yet.

And that was why he was so nervous that he’d skipped dinner last night… and breakfast this morning. Though, he sort of hoped that lunch wasn’t going to be on the chopping block, too. One or two meals, he knew from experience, he could do without… but much more than that, and he’d start feeling fairly shitty. And after a couple days without food, he started getting downright lethargic and clumsy. He tried never to let it go that far if he didn’t absolutely have to, but there had been times…

And it probably didn’t help that he seemed to be hungrier than ever, lately. Training had gone from intense to downright insane in the last few weeks. Everything Tseng put him through would work up an appetite for just about anyone, but it made Reno utterly ravenous by mealtimes, even with the two extra meals every day that the good doctor had mandated.

Today, though… food was the farthest thing from his mind. Or at least it would have been had it not been for the gnawing sensation in his belly, and the slightly lightheaded feeling that assailed him as he and Tseng rode the elevator up to the rooftop helipad. As they arrived, Reno spotted President Shinra already boarding the executive helicopter with Veld.

“It should go without saying that you’re to behave professionally for the duration of this trip,” Tseng stated, as they made their way across the roof.

“Yes, sir,” the redhead replied.

“I should also tell you that there has been a last minute change. You will not be joining me on the President’s detail. At least not until later today.”

“W-wait… Why not?” Reno asked, trying, and failing, to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

“Because Rufus has been invited along for the afternoon tour of the base. He has, however, opted not to accompany his father to greet the new army recruits.” The older Turk smirked slightly. “Frankly, I don’t blame him. His father is notoriously long-winded. I think you should be the one to keep an eye on him during the welcoming speech.”

“So… basically, I’m babysitting. Great…”

Tseng chuckled softly before they boarded the aircraft. “Reno… that is essentially what any security detail is, no matter whom you happen to be guarding.”

Reno gave a sharp laugh and followed him through the doorway, into the back of the helicopter, and took a seat beside him. This wasn’t the Turks’ usual aircraft, which he was becoming increasingly familiar with… This was the executive transport. And, dear Ifrit, was it ever cushy. Soft, padded seats, soundproofing to mute the roar of the engines… and, he noted, a fully stocked wine cooler. He vaguely wondered what sort of booze passed muster to be included for presidential day trips… but doubted very much that he’d ever find out.

Across from the pair of Turks sat the President, flanked on either side by Veld and the blonde-haired teenager, a decidedly snobbish expression on his face. Rufus glanced over at the rookie with a distinct look of disdain, but said nothing… merely folded his arms over his chest and turned his gaze toward the window to his right.

This was the first time Reno’d even seen the future executive since their… less than friendly… first meeting almost four months ago. Apparently his opinion of the redhead hadn’t changed much in all that time. Reno quickly decided that his opinion of Rufus hadn’t changed much, either. He was still a dick.

---

‘How much longer?’ Reno silently lamented. Tseng had been gone more than two hours now… and in that time the rookie had been subjected to very close to his limit of condescension and snark. The little bastard really was on his last damn nerve.

It had started out bad… and gotten progressively worse. And the fact that he was absolutely starving didn’t make it any easier to deal with. Worse still, he’d made the fatal mistake of reminding the Shinra heir that Tseng had recruited him from the Slums… and since then, the little shit had never once used his actual name.

Reno had been dubbed ‘Slum Rat’, and the look of glee in the other boy’s eyes every time he said it and Reno was forced to bite his tongue was nothing short of maddening. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he was supposed to be guarding the brat, he’d have been sorely tempted to punch him in that smug, snot-nosed face of his. In fact, it was only the knowledge that doing so would deeply disappoint his mentor – and probably get him booted right out of the Turks – that had stopped him from doing just that after the last comment the asshole had made.

Without warning, Rufus suddenly stood and started towards the door of his father’s office.

“And just where are you goin’?” the redhead demanded. Rufus raised an eyebrow in challenge, and the rookie grudgingly tacked on a ground-out “Sir?” to that query. The blonde boy snorted haughtily.

“For a walk. I’m bored.” He turned on his heel and strode out before Reno could even get to his feet. The Turk quickly stood and went to follow, shaking his head as the room spun momentarily. That wasn’t good. Skipping breakfast was starting to seem like a bad idea… particularly given that lunch was still a couple hours away. He ignored the minor vertigo and hurried to catch up to his charge, following him down the hall to the elevator and stepping aboard with him.

As the elevator reached the first floor and the doors slid open, Rufus looked back at him with a smirk… and vanished. It took Reno a moment to register that the other teen had taken off at a dead run, and by the time the redhead’s initial shock had passed and he was in pursuit, Rufus had already darted through the doors at the end of the concourse.

“What the hell!?” he yelled after him as the door began to swing back. The Turk shoved his way through it before it could close, eyes scanning for his charge. Tseng was going to kill him if he lost the President’s son… which was probably exactly what the son of a bitch had in mind with this little stunt of his.

Thankfully, he wasn’t hard to spot… but he had a hell of a head start on him. Reno growled and sprinted after him.

Rufus was quick, the rookie had to give him that. But Reno was quicker. It didn’t take him long to catch up. It wouldn’t have mattered, however. Rufus suddenly found himself at a dead end. Apparently realizing that he was outmatched in terms of speed, as well as effectively cornered, the Shinra heir calmly folded his arms over his chest and watched as the redhead stormed up to him.

“What the hell was that all about?!” Reno demanded, struggling slightly to catch his breath. Rufus snorted.

“Just trying to figure out what it is Tseng sees in a slum rat like you,” he replied. The redhead glared at him.

“Well, quit tryin’ to make me look like an idiot!”

“You don’t need my help with that, believe me” Rufus responded, snidely.

“The fuck’s your problem, anyway?” the rookie queried, eying the little brat with suspicion. Reno had spent years of his young life learning to read people. It was the only way a kid like him stood a chance on his own in Sector 2. And it hadn’t slipped his notice that it was “what Tseng saw in him”… not what the Turks or Shinra or even Veld saw in , Rufus’ only interest was the opinion of the rookie’s mentor.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a tidbit of information pulled itself out of his memory. Tseng had been almost exclusively in charge of Rufus’ security for years. He remembered Rude saying something about it a week or two ago… and that it was a little unusual for a Turk to be personally assigned to someone as a matter of protocol. Even the President’s son. He’d mentioned that he was working on finding out the whole story… because surely there had to be a story there.

“At the moment? You are my problem. You annoy me.”

“Tch… What’d I ever do to you?” Reno asked, following his charge as he made his way back towards the administration building. They’d actually covered a lot more ground during the brief chase than the Turk had realized. Maybe a little too much, judging by the woozy feeling that had suddenly come over him.

Rufus turned glanced back at him and smirked. “What’s the matter? Is being a Turk just too difficult for the little baby slum rat?” he laughed, coldly, “Go home and cry to Mommy.”

That was his breaking point. He’d largely let Rufus’ insults and sneers roll off him all morning until that one. After all, most of it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard a thousand times before down in the slums, anyway. He’d even managed to maintain at least some level of professionalism through it all… a few minor slip-ups during their little chase aside. But that was crossing a line.

“Well, I would, but she’s dead,” Reno replied, equally as cold, openly glaring at the other boy’s back. He started forward, intent on offering Rufus a little glimpse at how just intimidating the rookie could be if he put his mind to it… but stumbled and caught himself against the wall of the building, just as Rufus stopped short and turned back to face him. Whatever the other teen might have said was lost as Reno’s vision swam and darkened. It was accompanied by a loud ringing in his ears. He had to sit down. If he didn’t, he was going to fall down. He was dimly aware of a voice speaking to him, but at the moment, his focus was on the more immediate problem… specifically, not passing out.

This had happened to him several times when he was younger… always when he was short on food. But it had been ages since the last time it was this bad. Though… it made sense, in a way. Lunch yesterday had been early in order to accommodate an extended block of training in the afternoon. He’d been interrupted by Saya requesting some help with her cousin before he had time to devour his mid-afternoon snack before he went back to training, and he’d skipped dinner out of sheer nervousness after Tseng had given him his assignment for the following day. Then he’d skipped breakfast that morning, too. And now he’d just run a brief marathon across half of Junon, chasing down the President’s obnoxious little hellspawn. Whatever he might have had in reserve after so long without food was undoubtedly long gone.

After a few moments, the ringing in his ears subsided, and his vision cleared… and much to his chagrin, he found himself face to face with the pain in the ass Shinra heir. For a very brief moment, the rookie even imagined that Rufus was looking at him with an expression of concern. As his head cleared, however, he quickly recognized it as disdain.

“Pathetic. This is what passes for a Turk these days? A light jog and you’re practically falling over…”

Reno felt an unwelcome heat rising in his cheeks as he staggered upright. “I haven’t eaten in… awhile,” he muttered, embarrassed. Wonderful. He probably couldn’t have made a bigger idiot of himself if he’d tried. And when Tseng found out about this… or worse, Ward… he was completely fucked.

Rufus snorted in contempt and turned on his heel, marching back toward the administration building. The pair boarded the elevator in silence and returned to the President’s office. Somewhat to Reno’s surprise, Tseng and Veld were there waiting for him, along with the President himself.

“Ah… Rufus. There you are. Are you ready for the tour?” President Shinra asked. Rufus strolled past the two senior Turks, presenting himself in front of the man.

“… No. I’m hungry, Father. Let’s have an early lunch first,” he replied in a somewhat dismissive tone.

---

“Reno?” Tseng’s voice prodded him, and the redhead turned away from the view out the tram window as it carried them down to the lower section of the military complex. The President had dismissed them following the tour and retreated to his local office to deal with some company business. Veld had opted to remain nearby, but Tseng was taking the redhead on a second tour of the base to see the things they’d missed on the official tour. “You’ve been unusually quiet. Is something on your mind?”

There was plenty on his mind. Why, for instance, had Rufus insisted on inviting the three Turks to join him and his father for lunch? A lunch which the Shinra heir had only picked at, himself. And why hadn’t he mentioned any of what had transpired between the two of them to Tseng or Veld? And why had he been just as openly insulting of the redhead for the remainder of the afternoon, but never once ventured to again the press the one subject he knew would get a reaction out of him?

It was almost like the little fucker had just been toying with him all morning… until things got a little too serious for his taste.

The redhead finally shrugged and Tseng chuckled softly.

“Ah. I know that look all too well. You’re trying to figure Rufus out,” he stated.

“What’s that asshole’s deal, anyway?” he asked, letting the lid off of some of the irritation he still felt. Tseng shook his head and laughed.

“I believe I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that subject,” he said, smiling faintly, “But perhaps it would help if I told you a little more about him.”

“… ‘kay, I guess,” Reno replied, dubiously. He didn’t think there was much of anything Tseng could tell him that would alter his increasingly low opinion of the little fucker… but, hell, they had some time to kill.

“Rufus was only nine when I first met him. I had been a Turk barely even a year, and it was one of my first escort assignments without Veld accompanying me. Instead, I was paired with a senior Turk named Laine,” he began. “It was supposed to be a quiet, uneventful trip to Sector Four with Rufus and his mother for a little shopping. Little more than a formality, really. There was no perceived threat, no indication that anything might go wrong.”

“And since you’re tellin’ me that, obviously somethin’ did go wrong…” the redhead interjected, smirking. Tseng chuckled.

“Oh, yes. It was not the quiet, uneventful assignment Veld had envisioned when he’d handed it to me that morning… I very nearly died.”

Reno blinked in surprise, and fell silent, mouth slightly agape.

“We were just preparing to leave a store. I was securing our exit and Laine had turned his back for no more than a moment to help Mrs. Shinra with her purchases. Rufus suddenly cried out. When I turned to look, a man had emerged from somewhere in the store and grabbed hold of him, trying to drag him toward the employees’ exit in the back. Laine had his weapon drawn, but before he could do anything, there was a gunshot and he fell. While our attention had been focused on the man trying to abduct Rufus, his partner had gunned him down.”

“… Did he… did he make it?” Reno asked, hesitantly, but Tseng shook his head.

“It was a point blank shot to the back of the head. Laine died instantly. And… so, too, did Mrs. Shinra when she started screaming in panic. It happened so quickly, there was nothing I could do. Rufus saw it all from mere feet away.”

“Fuck…” the rookie breathed. The story coaxed memories of his own mother’s death to the forefront of his mind, unbidden. Hers hadn’t been so violent… but Reno had been the one to find her the next morning. There had been blood. A lot of it. That wasn’t something a little kid should ever have to see. Not even Rufus.

“He took a shot at me, as well, but I was able to react in time. The bullet only grazed me, and I returned fire. He was not so agile, and went down,” the Turk lieutenant continued. “It distracted the other man, and Rufus managed to get free. He ran for me, and his attempted abductor apparently decided that if he couldn’t have his prize, then neither could President Shinra. When I realized that he intended to shoot Rufus,all I could do was tackle the boy to the ground and hope that I could shield him. I was successful. The shot hit me instead.”

The tram stopped at the end of its track and the pair of Turks disembarked, stepping out onto a wide street lined with shops.

“I woke up six days later with no memory of anything that happened after that point, and a sizable dose of painkillers in my system. I’m told that my heart stopped twice before they finally stabilized me, and I spent more than two months recovering… It was nearly six months before I was cleared for full field duty again,” Tseng finished. “It seems our attacker fired four more shots, three of which struck me, and then fled. Rufus was unhurt, but understandably inconsolable when backup arrived. He’s been rather… attached… to me since then. When he requires an escort, he usually insists that it be me.”

“… Guess that explains why he quit givin’ me shit about my mom,” the redhead mused. Tseng raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and Reno shrugged. “It’s nothin’. He was just talkin’ shit at me’s all. I was mostly just ignorin’ it. He kinda hit a nerve on that subject, though, and I mighta gone off on him a little…”

“I see,” Tseng replied, with a nod of understanding. “His mother’s death is not something he likes to discuss, either. I very much doubt he’ll ever use that particular strategy against you again, now that he’s aware that it’s something you have in common. Despite appearances, Rufus really isn’t as awful as he pretends to be. Hopefully he’ll warm to you… eventually.”

Reno snorted derisively. “I still think he’s kind of a dick.”

“Is that any way to talk about the future vice president of the company, private?!” a voice from behind him demanded, so loudly that he nearly jumped out of his own skin. The redhead turned to find a woman, in military uniform, standing directly behind him, piecing, steel-gray eyes staring at him intently. Her hair was short and spiky, a dark brown that that mirrored the dark look on her face.

The redhead sputtered a mostly incoherent reply as he tried to work out just who the hell this woman was, and whether or not he was going to be in trouble for apparently pissing her off. Tseng laughed at his reaction.

“Don’t tease him, Viridia,” he said, shaking his head. “He gets enough of that back in Midgar.”

The woman snickered quietly and relaxed her rigid stance a bit.

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist. So… You’re the new rookie, I take it?”

The redhead nodded vaguely, drawing another laugh from his mentor.

“Wonderful… I think you’ve traumatized him,” he said, teasingly. “Reno, this is Lieutenant Viridia Nacelle. She’s a member of the Junon Materia Corps, and third in command of base security.”

“Uh… Hi,” Reno replied, a little awkwardly, wondering just what he’d done to attract base security’s attention.

“She’s not here for you,” the Wutaiian Turk chuckled. “Viridia and I are… friends.”

The brief pause hadn’t slipped his notice. Reno looked the woman over… a little more closely this time. She was about the same age as the senior Turk. Very professional demeanor. Annoying tendency to sneak up on people… Yep. Totally Tseng’s type. He smirked.

“… ‘Friends‘, huh?” he replied, glancing at his mentor with a knowing look. He grinned when Tseng’s expression shifted to one of barely concealed shock. Apparently that little pause hadn’t been entirely intentional. Oh, yeah… definitely more that just ‘friends’.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re too observant for your own good…” Viridia asked, a vague note of a threat in her voice.

“Uhhh… No, ma’am. But they have told me I need to learn to keep my mouth shut once in awhile…”

She glared at him a moment longer before finally dropping the act and grinning.

“Good advice, if you ask me.” She turned to Tseng. “Are you staying long?”

“President Shinra is going to put in an appearance at tomorrow morning’s senior staff meeting… largely to introduce his son to the base’s leadership… so, yes. We’ll be spending the night, at the very least.”

“Damn. He never informs us ahead of time,” she sighed, sounding deeply annoyed, “I’d better go and see to the necessary security arrangements before the Commander decides to chew me out for not having psychic powers. Thanks for the heads up. Good to meet you, Reno.”

With that, she turned and started towards the tram he and Tseng had just exited. A moment later, she looked back.

“Oh… and Tseng? I’m off duty at eight,” she said, with a hint of a smile before boarding the little transport. Reno glanced over at his mentor, a wide grin firmly affixed to his face. Tseng scowled at him.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. Immediately.”

Reno laughed. “Yeah… sorry, boss. No can do. That’s a permanent condition for me.”

---

The following morning, Reno was awake before the sun was even up, with a very specific purpose in mind. Tseng had disappeared shortly before dinner, leaving the rookie to acquaint himself with the base’s cafeteria on his own. He hadn’t yet reappeared by the time the redhead had returned to his room in the administration building, and was still missing when he’d gone to bed. In fact, Reno was almost certain he hadn’t come back at all last night.

He smirked as he stood on the narrow balcony that looked out over the base, spotting a lone figure, furtively making its way towards the doors of the building.

“Heh… I knew it…” he snickered, and yawned. Not only had the Turk lieutenant been out all night… now, he was trying to sneak back into his room without anyone else noticing. There was something intensely entertaining about the idea of the prim and proper Wutaiian slinking back to his own bed in the pre-dawn shadows after a night of debauchery in someone else’s.

Reno crept silently across the room and eased open the door, slipping into the hallway. Tseng would be making his way upstairs any moment now. He hurried to position himself outside the elevator, reaching it just as it chimed softly. The Wutaiian Turk glanced around, but missed the rookie hiding in the shadows. As he stepped forward and turned towards his room, the redhead fell into step behind him.

“Soooo… Have a nice evening?” he asked, and his mentor immediately swiveled and dropped into a defensive stance. He swore softly in Wutaiian upon recognizing the rookie, and Reno smirked at his slightly disheveled appearance.

“What are you doing up at this hour?” he asked, deflecting the question.

“I could ask you the same question… buuuut, I kinda already know the answer to that.”

Tseng simply rolled his eyes, and turned away from the redhead, resuming his trek back to his room. He unlocked the door, and slipped inside, and closed it firmly behind him, leaving Reno standing in the hallway, still grinning.

~end chapter 23~