Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 46: Cars and Trains

It was Saturday… a day that Tseng typically spent in the exact opposite manner he spent most other days of the week. He slept in. He ate a leisurely breakfast. He caught up on his reading. If Viridia happened to have some time in her schedule as well, he trekked to see her in Junon, or occasionally met up with her in Kalm. He forgot, temporarily, that he was a Turk with a hectic schedule and a young rookie to train, and simply enjoyed the relative peace and solitude of the weekend.

That was how he typically spent his Saturdays.

Unfortunately, as he pulled out into traffic, he sighed as the realization that this wasn’t a typical Saturday settled over him and he resigned himself to fulfilling his promise to a certain vice president. Tseng still didn’t know what it was that the young heir had in mind. Rufus had merely bade him arrive at the Shinra estate promptly at seven o’clock in the morning, in his car, prepared to pay his debt.

He took the exit into Sector 3, and headed for the large manor near its center, and wondered just how much trouble this was going to be. Rufus had mentioned going against his father’s wishes… and while Tseng was more than willing to turn a blind eye when the young executive engaged in some of the more harmless things the elder Shinra had declared forbidden, if it was something the man had a good reason for prohibiting, he would be forced to put his foot down. Promise or no, Rufus’ safety came first… no exceptions.

Luckily for the Turk lieutenant, the younger Shinra had never been much of a risk taker… at least not in terms of activities that might physically injure him. He was utterly fearless when it came to monetary ventures.

At last, Tseng pulled into the long driveway and stopped at the large, wrought iron gate, nodding a greeting to the security guard. He was here often enough the security staff knew him by sight, and he was let inside immediately. He made the short drive towards the front of the house, pulling up in front of the large entryway that led into the mansion.

He barely had time to put the car in park and unlock the passenger door. Rufus climbed in beside him, settling in and pulling the seatbelt across his body.

“The edge of the Plate, if you please, Tseng,” Rufus said by way of greeting. Tseng cocked an eyebrow, but obeyed, proceeding back out the way he’d come and making a quick left to get back to the freeway.

“Are you planning on telling me what it is you have in mind, sir?” he asked, “Or am I expected to guess?”

Rufus smirked and leaned back in the seat, making himself comfortable.

“You mean you don’t already know?” he replied, and gave a soft snort of derision, “I was hoping to see the psychic abilities you’re so famous for on display this morning.”

The Wutaiian Turk rolled his eyes.

“Oh, for Leviathan’s sake… I’m not –”

He protest was cut off by a sharp laugh. “I’m only teasing, Tseng. For now, just drive. I’ll explain when we get there.”

“And just where is ‘there’, sir?” Tseng queried. “The ‘edge of the Plate’ is a rather vague destination. Nevermind that there’s very little out there besides the reactor and its support buildings.”

The vice president grinned mischievously. “Precisely. No witnesses.”

“Witnesses to what?” Tseng prodded, suddenly concerned. Rufus only smirked. The car flew down the interstate, and he came very close to purposefully missing the exit that would deposit them near the Plate’s edge. At the last moment, he went through with it, turning onto the off ramp, and gliding out into the noticeably empty streets of the edge of Sector 3.

It was the weekend. The reactor personnel would be working on their weekend schedules… which was essentially a two shift skeleton crew. The area would be largely devoid of activity until noon or so, when the shift change happened.

Rufus turned his gaze out the window, watching as the silent buildings drifted by.

“Right here will do nicely,” he said after a few more blocks. “Pull over.”

Tseng slowed and pulled to the curb, shifting into park.

“Sir…”

The young executive snickered loudly.

“I swear you get more paranoid with every passing year,” he said. “We’re not here for anything illicit. Now get out. We’re switching seats.”

“… We’re what?!” Tseng choked, in horror.

“You heard me correctly, Tseng,” Rufus replied, the grin on his face widening, “We’re switching seats. Today, you are teaching me to drive.”

The Wutaiian Turk groaned aloud… and began to seriously question whether or not saving Reno’s career was really worth this level of torture.

“But… sir –”

“There’s no sense in stalling. You agreed to this. I am tired of being treated like something that might break should I dare step out into the real world for more than two seconds, Tseng! Give me one good reason for my father’s prohibition on driving.”

“My sanity?” the Turk muttered under his breath before sighing and opening his door. To be fair… Rufus had a point. The boy was twenty years old, after all. There was really no valid reason he should be banned from it. President Shinra was merely overly protective of his sole heir in certain matters. Rufus was the future of Shinra Company… and the President wasn’t as young as he used to be.

Leviathan help him if the President ever found out it was Tseng who’d done the teaching, though.

With no small sense of dread, the Turk lieutenant climbed out of the car, walked around to the other side, and switched places with his passenger, memories of Reno’s not-so-long-ago driving lessons flashing through his mind. He glanced over at Rufus as he scrambled behind the wheel.

“You might have at least let me know your intentions ahead of time, sir…”

“Why?” Rufus snorted, “So that you could go and collect that beat up piece of junk you taught those lunatic twins in? Please… I have no intention of being seen in such a vehicle, let alone driving it. No. I will learn in this car. It’s far more suited to my position in society.” He smirked slightly. “Besides… I know full well that you don’t let anyone else anywhere near the driver’s seat. I’m looking forward to rubbing it in the slum rat’s face come Monday morning.”

Tseng came dangerously close to informing him that Reno had, in fact, driven his car on one occasion… albeit without his permission, and without a license, resulting in the teen’s arrest and subsequent punishment. But the thought of Rufus attempting to somehow outdo the redhead’s earlier transgression quickly silenced him and he made a mental note to tell Reno to never mention that little misadventure to the vice president.

“Well?” Rufus prodded at the overly-long silence that followed his proclamation. Tseng sighed and pulled the seatbelt across his body… and then reached for the other two pieces of the customized five-point harness and clicked them into place, effectively securing himself to the passenger seat. The restraints may have been something of a small joke when Rufus had insisted to the build team they be installed… but at the moment, he was grateful for them.

He took a calming breath and turned to his charge.

“Left foot on the clutch, right foot on the brake,” he replied, a note of resignation in his voice.

---

Reno yawned widely as the Blue Line snaked its way through the tunnels below the Plate’s surface on its way to Sector 5. It was much too early to be awake on a Saturday… but Lira was working this afternoon, and if he wanted to spend some time with her today, it was going to have to be now. And he wanted to spend some time with her. He hadn’t seen his friend since Christmas. He’d missed her company… and he’d missed her bed.

Besides… he wanted to tell her all about Hell Week and his new apartment and talk her into coming Plateside for a visit. Hopefully more than just a visit.

Sure, his place was a little small, but they could manage for awhile, until he could get her settled somewhere. Hell, he was gone all day, anyway. Lira’d have the place to herself. He could give her the kind of life she really deserved. One where men didn’t pay for her body and she wasn’t under the thumb of that son of a bitch, Corneo.

The more Lira had told him about Don Corneo, the more Reno had decided he hated the old fucker. He shuddered slightly. Apparently, part of her interview for working at the Honeybee had required her to spend the night with him. Corneo liked to ‘sample’ his new merchandise before he turned the customers lose on the girls. Just the mental image of that was enough to make him queasy.

He would never think less of Lira for how she chose to make a living. He knew first hand how hard just getting by could be down in the slums. You did what you had to do. But… Lira deserved better than that. She was a good person. Kind, and patient, and caring. She was his first real friend, and, for awhile, she’d been the only person who actually gave a damn about him. She was family to him.

As the train rattled into the Sector 5 station, the redhead yawned again and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. Speaking of family… he wondered briefly what Tseng was up to this morning. Now that he didn’t have the rookie for a roommate anymore, the Wutaiian Turk suddenly had his freedom back. It had always struck him as just a little odd that Tseng never seemed to have many visitors in the months that Reno had lived with him. But then… he supposed that someone as rigidly professional as his mentor probably wouldn’t be too keen on inviting, say, his girlfriend from Junon over for a little raunchy sex while Reno was hanging out in the next room. He shook his head and laughed softly, wondering just how many dates his presence had canceled before they’d even been made. If it’d been him, he was pretty sure he’d have chucked said roommate out long before Tseng had.

Though to be fair, if it’d been him, fucking someone with his roommate listening in from the next room over wouldn’t have bothered him all that much. Hell, he’d have done it in the same room if he’d had to.

The redhead followed the small throng of other commuters as they disembarked, and made his way across the station towards a different platform. The train to Wall Market wasn’t due for about another ten minutes, so rather than joining the somewhat seedy-looking collection of individuals gathered there, he wove his way through the crowd towards a food vendor’s cart on the mezzanine. Reno grinned widely as he spotted the huge pretzels hanging in the warmer, and bought two of them.

He downed one as he made his way onwards towards his platform, and then started in on the second at a slightly more sedate pace. It was warm and soft and doughy, and deliciously salty. He took a seat on one of the benches near the platform and leaned back in content.

In all honesty, Reno couldn’t remember ever being quite so happy. Up until Tseng had recruited him, he’d always felt as though he was just surviving. Sure, there were moments of happiness. Even long stretches of it. But always, there was the looming shadow of cold reality. Would he have a place to stay next month? Would he have food tomorrow? Would he make it to his next birthday?

Now, though… he wasn’t surviving. He was living. It came at the cost of endless training and hard work, but… he finally felt like he had a purpose. And a future. Barely a week ago, he’d seen it nearly come crashing down on him. Something about that moment during Hell Week when he’d been all but certain that he’d be out on his ass had changed him. He’d made it through. And he wasn’t afraid anymore. Every last one of his fellow Turks had rallied around him. Even Veld, in his own… extremely loud and shouty… way. It wasn’t just that they were putting up with him. They really wanted him there. And that meant more to him than he’d ever realized.

He wanted Lira to have that, too.

The train to the slums clattered into the station, slowing to a stop, and people began to board. Reno hurried to slip into the crowd and find a seat before they were all taken. Weekends were Wall Market’s busiest time of the week. The trains always seemed to be packed. He planted himself on a seat near the back of the car. It wasn’t long before it started moving again.

---

Tseng cringed as his car crept forward a foot or two from the stop sign, and then jerked to a sudden stop when Rufus let up on the clutch a little too quickly and stalled it. Again.

“Slowly, sir…” he reminded him.

“I did it slowly. This car of yours is entirely too temperamental!” Rufus shot back. Tseng couldn’t help the faint snort of laughter that escaped him.

“Then you have no one but yourself to blame, sir… after all, you were the one who commissioned and helped to design and build it.”

In reply, Rufus only ground his teeth and scowled before making another attempt at shifting into first. It went far smoother this time.

The car had been a gift some four years ago, in honor of Tseng’s promotion to second in command. It was also Rufus’ way of saying thank you for all he’d done for the boy over the years… something he seldom did either openly or in private. The Shinra heir preferred to show his gratitude in other ways. The grander the gift, the greater his appreciation. Many people mistook it for unrepentant materialism on his part.

Tseng knew better. Rufus loathed any show of weakness… and over the years, the simple words ‘thank you’ seemed have become too difficult for him, most of the time. Even when he did manage them, it often came out sounding forced and insincere. And the Turk lieutenant was quite certain the young man was aware of it… which made him avoid it all the more.

Which was also why Tseng was so protective of his vehicle. It was tangible proof that behind the Shinra heir’s cold and aloof exterior, there was a heart.

He was getting better, Tseng mused silently as they circled the block. His starts and stops were more controlled now, and shifting to the next gear was smoother… though his downshifting still needed work. Still… the Turk was grateful for the lack of other cars on the road. He didn’t think Rufus was quite ready to drive in traffic just yet.

Speaking of which…

He glanced at his watch. It was getting dangerously close to noon, and the next shift of reactor workers would be flooding the area any minute now.

“Sir, take the next right and pull into the parking lot, please,” he instructed as they neared an intersection.

“Why? I’m finally getting the hang of this,” Rufus protested, somewhat petulantly.

“Because it’s nearly time for the reactor shift change, and the roads are going to get quite a lot busier in the next few minutes.”

Rufus paled slightly, and quickly made the turn. Tseng smirked. Apparently the new driver wasn’t quite as confident as he’d let on. Sure enough, just moments after he’d put it in park, the first few cars began to trickle into the area, heading for the Number Three reactor.

“I suggest a lunch break, sir,” the Wutaiian Turk chuckled softly. “I’m sure you’re getting hungry by now. I know I certainly am.. and by the time we’re finished, the roads in the reactor district will have cleared out again.”

“… Yes. Yes, that does sound rather appealing,” he agreed, and unfastened his seatbelt before slipping out of the driver’s seat. Tseng hurried to take his place at the wheel. “The Juniper Well, I think. I haven’t been in some time. Father… doesn’t care for it.”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng replied, and started the engine, heading for the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Sector 2. He was intimately familiar with it. It had been one of Rufus’ favorites when he was younger. One of his mother’s favorites as well. Following her death, he asked to dine there frequently, and Tseng was fairly sure it was because of the happier memories of her that it held. He found it comforting. For the elder Shinra, however, it seemed to have the opposite effect. After the first few trips, he had refused to join his son at the restaurant any longer… and so it had fallen to Tseng or one of the other Turks to accompany the boy.

Bertrand Shinra, president of Shinra Company, and easily one of the most influential men on the planet, preferred to pretend that his wife had simply never existed. Tseng believed he understood why. Most people regarded the marriage as one of convenience. It was common knowledge that Annisea Shinra was one of several women the President had been seeing at the time, and it was rumored that it was Rufus’ conception that had nudged his father into marriage. And that was probably true to at least some extent. But Tseng had seen them together. It was obvious to anyone who spent time with the family that, regardless of the circumstances that had made them a couple, the two were now very much in love. Annisea’s death had devastated Rufus’ father. He was a much changed man afterward.

To cope with the loss, he had thrown himself into his job almost entirely, and largely erased the woman from his life, eventually refusing to even speak of her. He also became far more protective of his son… but at the same time, far more distant.

They reached restaurant in short order, and Tseng escorted Rufus inside. They were quickly shown to a table. The Juniper Well was little more than a cafe, really. Most of its seating was outside in an enclosed patio area, which made it even smaller when the weather turned cold and snowy and patrons were forced indoors instead. The interior only had seating for around ten people. That, and its out of the way location, left the place nearly empty in the dead of winter. When they arrived, the only other diners were a young couple off to one side, and an elderly woman sipping hot chocolate in front of the large picture window at the front of the dining area.

“I must admit… how this place survives with so little business is a mystery to me,” Tseng commented.

Rufus smirked. “Oh, that’s quite simple. I bought it six years ago and have simply not allowed it to close. Actually, it does well enough in the spring and summer that even with the winter lull, it typically breaks even… more or less. It would even turn a decent profit were I to only open it seasonally… but then I wouldn’t be able to indulge at my leisure, now would I?”

Tseng smiled and shook his head.

“That’s a bit more than an ‘indulgence’, sir,” he chuckled. Rufus simply shrugged and picked up his menu.

“It’s merely a matter of scale,” he replied. “For you, indulgence is that horrid imported tea you’re so fond of that you ration out over the course of an entire year before buying more. For me, it’s purchasing a failing restaurant so that I may dine there whenever I like.”

“My tea is far from ‘horrid’…” the Turk said, irritably. Horridly expensive, perhaps… but it was by far his favorite, and not exactly easy to obtain outside of Wutai, as the trees only grew in one very tiny region of the island nation… meaning that the crop was limited. It was pricy in Wutai… but the cost of importing it was utterly ridiculous. He generally had his sister purchase it for him. She then held his prize hostage until he returned home for the cherry blossom festival in the spring.

Rufus snorted softly from behind his menu. “You’re right. Horrid is being much too kind.” He peered over the top at the menu. “Don’t comment on my vices, I won’t comment on yours.”

“… Fair enough, sir,” Tseng conceded, smiling faintly. Rufus was in an almost shockingly good mood today. Far more relaxed than he’d been the past couple of weeks. He suspected it was because the trip to Corel had gone well. Veld had told him that most of the town leaders had been very receptive to the idea of building a mako reactor nearby and the vice president had returned home with solid support for the project from the locals.

“So tell me… has the slum rat managed to get himself into any further trouble in my absence? I haven’t missed the opportunity to see him fall afoul of Hojo, yet, have I?”

He shuddered slightly. Professor Hojo, in Tseng’s opinion, bordered on unhinged at times. A genius, perhaps, but… notably disconnected from reality. He was also, however, one of the company’s most valuable assets. He wasn’t looking forward to formally introducing either of the team’s rookies to the man. Hojo and the Turks didn’t have the best of histories.

“I pray he will never afford you that opportunity, sir,” he responded, to which Rufus only laughed.

---

Reno tightened his grip on his lover’s waist, pulling her firmly against him as she tried to slip out of the bed.

“Mmm… don’t go yet,” he murmured against her soft skin. Lira giggled and rolled over, looping her arms over his shoulders and pulling him in for a kiss.

“Sorry, sweetie. I gotta be at work in less than an hour… and after that little workout I’m gonna need a shower.” She pulled back slightly and grinned at him. “Join me?”

Reno leaned in and stole another kiss, returning the mischievous smile. “Sure… but in a minute. I like just layin’ in bed with ya.”

She giggled again and nuzzled his chest with her cheek. Her hand crept to the back of his neck, gently fondling his ponytail.

“Ya know… I really like your hair long like this,” she purred, and then tugged it slightly. “It’s sexy.”

Reno laughed. “Do me a favor and tell that to Kai. She says it makes me look girly.” He cocked his head to one side and stared at her for a moment. “So what’s it gonna take to get you to come spend the weekend at my place some time soon?”

“Well, let’s see…” Lira began, teasingly, “First, you have to promise me dinner.”

“Done,” the redhead agreed.

“… That you didn’t cook yourself,” she added, nipping lightly at his earlobe and reveling in the faint shiver she received in return.

“Pizza it is,” Reno declared, grinning. Her hands traveled lazily along his bare skin, making their way down his body at an almost painfully slow pace. Her lips trailed behind them at an even more agonizingly slowly.

“And you have to take me to that zoo you told me about. I wanna see the chocobos…”

Reno groaned… both at the thought of those oversized, phone-chomping turkeys, and at the sensation of Lira’s tongue lavishing attention on his left nipple.

“… ‘kay.”

“And most importantly,” Lira began, a sultry smile spreading over her lips for a moment before she ducked beneath the covers. Reno moaned as those lips made contact with an extremely sensitive region of his anatomy, and let his eyes roll back in his head as he enjoyed everything she was doing to him. It abruptly stopped a moment later.

“Most importantly,” she repeated, with a laugh, “You have to come and join me in the shower. Right. Fucking. Now.”

“If I gotta…” he snickered, and let her pull him from the warmth of her bed.

---

The streetlights had begun to flicker on overhead by the time Rufus finally called an end to the day’s lessons. He still needed a lot more practice, but Tseng was quite impressed that he’d picked it up so quickly. As they made their way back towards the Shinra manor, Tseng at the wheel once more, Rufus stared silently out the window.

“Tseng… May I ask you a serious question?” Rufus suddenly queried, breaking the long silence.

“Always, sir.”

“Would you have agreed to this had I not forced you into it?”

“Sir?” he replied, an eyebrow rising. Rufus tore his gaze away from the passing scenery and looked over at the Turk.

“Had it not been a matter of saving that redheaded idiot, would you have done any of this if had I simply requested it?”

Tseng hesitated a moment before answering. “Your father did deny you permission the last time you requested driving lessons, sir,” he pointed out.

“That’s not an answer.”

“I… would likely have refused,” he replied, and Rufus nodded, as though that were the answer he’d expected all along, and turned to watch the streetlights passing them by once more. “At least initially,” Tseng added.

Rufus glanced back around, a surprised look on his face. The Turk lieutenant laughed softly.

“Provided it’s not placing you in danger, I’m not… entirely…adverse to bending your father’s rules a bit. You may not have noticed, but it’s actually quite rare that I outright tell you ‘no’. I even allowed you to drive my car today. Even Reno would not receive permission for that.” He shook his head. “Not the way he drives,” he added under his breath. Rufus snickered slightly at that.

“Sir,” Tseng continued, “If I may be blunt… you are not in competition with Reno. I don’t prefer his company over yours, nor vice versa. And if I seem to be spending less time at your personal service these days, it is simply because my job demands it. It’s not meant as a slight against you.”

Rufus didn’t answer. Instead, he awkwardly looked away. But Tseng did notice some of the tension in his posture ease as he did so.

They exited the freeway, and shortly afterward arrived at the imposing mansion. Rufus slipped out of the car.

“I’ll expect you at the same time tomorrow,” he said, a faint smirk on his lips. “In this car again.”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng chuckled.

---

It was late by the time Reno made his way back topside. After he’d escorted Lira to work, instead of returning home, he’d spent some time down below.

He’d stopped in to see Wilfred at The Lonely Dragon, for starters. To say that the old bartender was shocked to see him was an understatement. When the redhead had simply stopped showing up for work, he’d assumed the worst. Especially after some of the regulars had reported that no one had seen him around. He’d hung out for awhile, catching up. And drinking. It was nice to be able to get a beer and not have to worry about fake IDs or getting arrested.

The he’d made his way over to Sector 2, as well… mostly just to see what his friend Kel was up to. He didn’t find him. His old apartment was occupied by new tenants, and one of the neighbors had informed him as he was leaving that Kel and his mother had moved out shortly after his grandmother had passed away about six months ago. They weren’t sure where they’d gone.

Against his better judgment, he’d paid a brief visit to the cemetery while he was there. He didn’t like the place… but for some reason, it felt wrong to be down in the slums just screwing around and not say hello. It wasn’t as if his mother ever got any other visitors. In the end, it really wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. Seeing her reduced to nothing more than a cold stone marker had always been hard for him. But today, it hadn’t seemed quite so depressing.

By the time he’d made it back to Wall Market, he was exhausted. He considered just turning up at Lira’s place again and spending the night… but she’d been working all afternoon. She was probably just as beat as he was by now, and he didn’t want to impose. The train ride up to the Plate was surprisingly relaxing, and he soon arrived in the mako-lit train station in Sector 5.

Reno yawned as he stepped off the train and walked across the station, glancing briefly at the schedule the display board to make sure he had the routes straight. Weekend routes were different from those during the work week, and though he had plenty of experience with them by now, he really didn’t want to wind up half asleep in the wrong sector tonight.

He ran his train pass through the scanner at the platform gate for the Yellow Line and took a seat on one of the benches to wait. The station was largely empty. Several platforms away, another train arrived, and a small flood of passengers disembarked. Reno blinked in surprise, wondering where they hell they were all going… until he realized that it was just after midnight. The reactor crews would have just had their shift change. Must have been the second shift going home for the night.

Indeed, most of the passengers quickly made their way out to the street. A handful headed for other platforms, on their way to different parts of the sector or other sectors entirely. No one joined him on the Yellow Line platform. The redhead shrugged. He certainly didn’t mind having a train car all to himself.

A few minutes later, his own ride rumbled into the station, and he hopped aboard.

As expected, the car was empty. Reno flopped down and stretched out along the seats under one window, folding his hands behind his head and gazing up at the ceiling. The train started up again and soon he was flying though the tunnels beneath Midgar, bound for home. It wouldn’t be a long ride… especially this time of night. There might be a few people getting on or off between here and the station near his apartment, but none of the throngs of people the city’s public transportation saw during the day.

He yawned and let his eyes close for a moment, blocking out the harsh fluorescent lighting above him, as he considered what to do with the rest of his weekend. Hell, maybe he’d just spend Sunday doing nothing. He could sleep in ’til noon, order some pizza, play some video games… and be completely un-fucking-productive and lazy. He’d earned it, hadn’t he? He’d survived Hell Week.

He grinned at the thought. As nightmarish as it had been, he couldn’t help but be a little proud of himself for getting through it. And Tseng had been proud, too. Hearing him say so had felt… good. No one ever had before. Not that he could remember, anyway.

The train made its scheduled stop in midtown Sector 5. Just another fifteen minutes or so, and he’d be home. Someone stepped on board, and the redhead sat up to take a look, one hand instinctively dropping to the weapon holstered on his belt. Not that the trains were particularly dangerous in general… but it was the middle of the night, and he was alone. He wasn’t about to get jumped just because he’d gotten too comfortable.

He almost laughed at his own defensiveness when he saw who had joined him. A young… and very pregnant… blonde woman. Judging by the way she waddled over to a seat and awkwardly lowered herself onto it, he didn’t think she was going to be much of a threat. She eyed the redhead with some amount of trepidation, likely making the same assessment of danger he’d just done… but didn’t say anything. The train started forward again, and she wrapped an arm protectively around her large belly.

A few minutes later, he heard her moan softly.

---

Tseng’s phone rang late Saturday night… so late, in fact, it was technically Sunday morning and he’d been in bed for hours. He forced his eyes open and rolled over, groping for the device. He noted the caller ID on the screen before answering and sighed. It figured.

“What have you done now and how much trouble are you in?” he asked, running a hand through his hair. Whatever answer he’d been expecting from his young rookie, it certainly wasn’t the shrill, pained scream his PHS suddenly emitted. Tseng was instantly wide awake. “Reno?!”

The Turks second-in-command dragged himself to the edge of the bed, nearly tripping over the covers he’d knocked to the floor in his surprise.

“I… uh… Tseng? I got a problem… A really big problem…” the younger man’s voice said, trembling slightly. He sounded terrified. The screaming in the background had stopped for the moment, but had been replaced by a loud, keening moan. It sounded like a woman’s voice.

“Where are you?”

“The fuckin’ train! I was headin’ home for the night.”

Tseng spared a few seconds to zero in on the bedside clock. “Reno… it’s nearly one in the morning…”

“Fuck, fine… I was headin’ home for the mornin’, then! Point is power’s out, train’s stopped, and I’m stuck in this fuckin’ tunnel with –” The teenager was cut off by another scream. Whatever was happening, the woman sounded like she was in pure agony. “… Her. Oh, dear Ifrit… what the hell is that? Uhh… O-okay, wait! Seriously, wait!”

“Reno… calm down, and tell me what’s going on,” the Turk leader said, concerned. He was already dressing… though he had no idea where he thought he was going to go. If Reno was trapped on one of Midgar’s trains, he could be just about anywhere in the city right now, depending on where he’d departed from.

“What’s goin’ on?! This lady’s havin’ a kid and I’m the only one in here with her, that’s what’s fuckin’ goin’ on!” his rookie replied, the seventeen year old’s voice gradually rising a full octave. “Tseng… help…” His tone was pleading and desperate… he sounded utterly lost. The senior Turk could hear the woman nearly sobbing. She seemed almost as frightened as Reno did.

“Alright… just relax.”

“You’re fuckin’ kidding, right?” Reno replied, with a slightly manic laugh, “I’m not sure you fully grasp the situation here, boss. There is a kid comin’ out of her. Like right now.”

If the situation hadn’t demanded an absolutely serious response, Tseng might have laughed at that statement.

“I’m perfectly aware of where babies come from… Now will you please try to calm down and focus?” He couldn’t help feeling just a little hypocritical saying that. Tseng was fairly certain ‘calm’ wouldn’t have been his state of mind in Reno’s shoes either. Turks trained for a variety of circumstances… childbirth wasn’t one of them.

“Just tell me what to do!” he pleaded.

“There’s very little you can do besides try and help her through it. Can you see the baby yet?”

“Well, I can see somethin’ anyway… Wouldn’t swear it’s human…”

“Reno… please be serious…” Tseng said, shaking his head. The woman was crying out again.

“Look, I’m tryin’ my best here, man… Oh, god… I think… Oh, fuck, it’s comin’ out… Is there s’posed to be blood? ‘Cause there’s kinda a lot of blood…”

“Just let her push and support the baby’s head as you guide it out… Do you have anything to wrap it in?”

“Uh… yeah. Just… H-hang on, I gotta…” There was a soft clatter, and Tseng assumed Reno had been forced to set the phone down. He could still hear him faintly over the mother’s cries, talking to her, though it was hard to make out what he was saying. It was several tense minutes before anything changed. Suddenly, the distinct sound of an infant’s wail echoed over the line, and Tseng smiled.

“I-it’s… um… yeah… There’s a kid now,” Reno managed, picking the PHS back up, “For the love of Ifrit, Tseng… get someone who knows what there’s doin’ down here before anything else happens… Please…”

“Just sit tight… I’ll get ahold of someone who can get you out of there,” he replied.

---

Reno had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to be doing now. He’d always heard that it took ages for a baby to be born. Hours. Sometimes even a day or more. Apparently this one had been in one hell of a hurry, because it couldn’t possibly have been more than fifteen minutes. He glanced down at his hands, which were still coated in a layer of blood and various other fluids and wiped them on his pant legs with a grimace.

The redhead shifted his gaze to the exhausted mother and the squirmy creature nestled in her arms. It was a little girl. He’d never seen something that looked so delicate so close-up before. He’d been utterly terrified of dropping her before he finally managed to get her tiny body wrapped up in his shirt and – rather shakily – hand her off to her mother.

One thing was for sure… he never wanted to see that again. Sure, he known for years what happened when a woman had a kid. You know… more or less. But knowing the basics and watching it happen were two very different things.

‘Miracle of childbirth, my ass…’ he thought to himself. The whole thing had looked horrifying on his end. And painful. He’d seen a lot of things, but he’d had no idea a woman could… stretch… like that.

Reno leaned back, still sitting on the floor of the train, and rested his back against one of the seats. He glanced over at the other two occupants.

“S-so… Is she okay?” he ventured, somewhat cautiously. Because if anything else went wrong tonight, he really didn’t know how he was gonna handle it.

“I think she’s just fine… thanks to you,” the woman replied with a tired smile. Reno nodded and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back onto the seat… only to raise it once more at the sound of distant voices. A moment later, he was on his feet, peering out the window into the dark tunnel. He could see lights making their way toward the train from the direction of the upcoming station. Help.

“Oh, thank Shiva…” he breathed.

---

Tseng had been waiting patiently at the station for nearly twenty minutes before medical personnel and someone from the transportation department finally managed to restore power and extract the trapped passengers. When the train finally pulled in, he watched as a young woman and a newborn were rolled away on a gurney to a waiting ambulance. It was a few moments more before a very pale… and shirtless… rookie emerged as well. The redhead spotted Tseng and all but ran for him, eyes wide.

“Are you alright?” the senior Turk asked, vaguely amused by the teenager’s rather shellshocked expression.

“I’m not sure,” the redhead said faintly, and Tseng chuckled. Reno glanced up at him, dazed. “It’s a girl…”

“What happened to your shirt?”

“Needed somethin’ to wrap her in…” he replied, still staring somewhat blankly. Tseng gently pried the coat his rookie was clinging to out of his hands and draped his over his bare shoulders before guiding him towards the stairs leading up the the street.

“Come on… I think you need to go home and go to bed.”

“I think I need a drink first.”

“We’ll see,” he replied, smiling indulgently.

When they reached the top of the stairs, the rookie paused, fixing his mentor with a very serious look.

“Never again, man. This shit ever happens again, you’re dealin’ with it… Not me. I do not need to see that shit a second time. Ever. Did you know that more shit comes out after the kid? ‘Cause I sure as fuck didn’t. Looks like a goddamn murder scene in there…”

Tseng laughed softly and led the somewhat traumatized rookie toward his waiting car.

~end chapter 46~