Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 57: Crumbling

Tseng frowned deeply at the transcript of the message and pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t good. Assuming this was legitimate and not some misguided ruse, things were far worse than even Veld had believed.

“… Sir?” Remy’s voice prodded, and he looked up as she entered their new offices. “I… heard Junon intelligence intercepted a message?”

The Turk lieutenant wordlessly offered her the sheet of paper. Remy read through it, swallowing sharply as she, too, recognized the ramifications of what it said.

“Perhaps… perhaps we should verify this. Junon has a distinct lack of personnel fluent in Wutaiian. I could go and give it a second listen. Who translated the audio?”

“I did,” Tseng replied.

“… Ah. I… don’t suppose there’s much chance of it being a translation error then.”

The Wutaiian Turk smiled wanly and leaned forward, retrieving the sheet from her grasp.

“Not unless I’ve been away from home far longer than I’d realized. I’ve already spoken to Veld. He’s not recalling us to Midgar just yet. He’s having Tres and Rude look into the veracity of this alleged operation first. But if they do find evidence of an impending attack on Midgar, we’ll be needed there. All of us.”

Remy sighed deeply and settled in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Surely they must realize how futile such an attack would be… and that Shinra would inevitably retaliate.”

“I’m sure they do,” Tseng replied, “The problem is that they may not care… or perhaps worse, that may be their goal. But there’s no need to panic just yet. This may be nothing more than a small splinter group looking to increase tensions and force someone’s hand, rather than an official edict from Wutaiian leadership. And if that’s the case, we will have ample opportunity to prevent it.”

“Yes, sir,” the other Turk breathed and she glanced around the office she’d put so much effort into preparing over the last several weeks. Tseng had little trouble deducing what she was thinking. Remy knew as well as he did that if this was more than just some troublemakers looking to spark an all-out war between Wutai and Shinra, the plans for the branch office would almost certainly be abandoned for the foreseeable future. And he knew what that would mean for her, personally. The loss of her one opportunity – aside from his untimely death and her subsequent promotion to second in command – for a true leadership roll within the Turks.

“Remy…”

“It’s… alright, Tseng. It was always a possibility. I knew that going in. And after all… I’m a Turk. I do what Shinra needs me to do.”

---

“Get off of me, you neanderthal!” Rufus grunted from his current – and rather undignified – position, trapped beneath Rude’s far bulkier form, face pressed into the floor mat, while the Turk roughly twisted his arm behind his back.

“…”

Rude glanced up at Reno, who gave him a nod. The rookie finally released his prisoner, and the executive scurried to his feet, glowering at the pair of them.

“And just what in Ramuh’s name was that supposed to teach me?” Rufus demanded.

“One… that there’s more to fightin’ than just brute strength. If you know what you’re doin’ that’s actually a pretty easy hold to break. And two… that when you fuckin’ shoot me, I’m gonna respond by handin’ your ass to you. Or, in this case, havin’ Rude do it for me.”

“That excessively expensive lunch you forced me to provide you with wasn’t enough to make up for my error?” Rufus scowled, but otherwise his protests ceased. For the moment at any rate. Reno grinned and turned to his friend.

“Should we show him how it’s s’posed to be done?”

Rude silently smirked and cracked his knuckles as he prepared for round two. Without warning, he took a swing at the redhead, forcing him to the floor in a rolling dodge. Reno winced slightly as he jarred his injured arm, but regained his feet before Rude could pivot to face him again, and swept the larger Turk’s legs out from under him, sending him to the ground… only to go down himself seconds later as Rude grabbed him by the ankle. He suddenly found himself in the same hold Rufus had been in just moments ago… but instead of struggling uselessly against Rude’s greater mass, he kicked out with his leg. It struck the other rookie’s knee, which, at the moment, was supporting a large portion of his weight, and knocked him off balance. As Rude fought to stabilize himself, the redhead slipped out of his grasp and righted himself.

He darted back, away from his opponent, in an effort to put a little distance between them before Rude recovered. The bald Turk got to his feet again.

“See? Nothin’ to it,” Reno said, looking over at Rufus. “Doesn’t matter if the guy’s twice your size if ya stay calm and go for his weak points instead of just tryin’ to squirm your way loose.”

By that point, the vice president’s scowl had largely faded and he looked genuinely impressed by the demonstration… for a moment, at least. And then he seemed to collect himself, resuming his usual air of superiority.

To be fair, though, for the past hour or so, he’d been far less antagonizing than he’d been that morning. The brat seemed to be doing his best to stick to their ‘deal’, by not acting like the sneering pain in the ass his reputation had, quite accurately in Reno’s opinion, labeled him as. Oh, sure, there was still the occasional insult and the snobbish demeanor… but Rufus seemed to have acquiesced to the idea that Reno actually knew what he was talking about, and that paying attention to the lesson was in his best interest. Over lunch, he had even occasionally asked questions that were surprisingly insightful for a beginner.

In fact, if he weren’t such a stuck-up little prick ninety-nine percent of the time, Reno might have even thought he could eventually get to like the son of a bitch. Eventually. Maybe.

Probably wishful thinking on his part, but… he was starting to understand why Tseng got along with the brat. Rufus certainly wasn’t unintelligent by any means… and under that layer of ice, Reno had even seen the barest hint of a sense of humor once or twice today.

“Alright… Your turn again,” Reno said, grinning at the young executive. “Let’s see how ya do against someone closer to your own size.”

Rufus smirked. “Who did you have in mind? You’re far too scrawny to fit that description.”

The redhead snorted in laughter. “Yeah? Let’s see ya take me down, then, sir.”

“Sorry ta interrupt,” a voice broke in from across the room, and Reno turned to see Saya striding purposefully toward them. She largely ignored the two rookies for the moment, and looked straight at Rufus. “The President has requested yer presence in the executive board room, sir. An emergency meeting.”

Rufus looked mildly annoyed at the summons, but merely sighed. “Very well,” he said glancing down at his watch, “Knowing the way my father likes to hear himself speak, we’ll likely have to continue this tomorrow.”

He hurried off to change out of his practice clothes, leaving the three Turks alone in the training hall.

“What’s goin’ on?” Reno asked, noting Saya’s grim expression.

“Seems Junon picked up a message outta Wutai earlier. Might be some sort o’ attack in the works,” she looked over at Rude, “Tres needs yeh. Sooner rather than later.”

The rookie nodded, and dashed off in the same direction as Rufus.

“This somethin’ serious?” the redhead asked. Saya shook her head.

“We dinna know quite yet. Tres is lookin’ inta things… But it’s got the higher ups a might worried, that’s fer sure. Come on, then. Yer with me fer a bit. I need a runner.”

---

The week was a flurry of activity for the Turks. Training, for the most part, was put on hold… though still being on medical restriction, Reno did manage to sneak in a handful of additional sessions with Rufus before more pressing concerns commandeered the majority of the young executive’s free time. Enough to determine that handguns really didn’t suit the young executive, and that a shotgun was far more effective in his hands, at any rate.

He might have just been imagining things, but the Shinra heir had almost looked disappointed when he’d been forced to inform the Turk that further practice would have to be postponed.

Reno, meanwhile, was kept busy in spite of his Dr. Ward-enforced limitations. He’d been designated the Turks official gopher… essentially seeing to it that everyone else had what they needed to do their jobs, running errands, and – much to his dismay – taking over on some of Tseng’s neglected paperwork while his mentor remained in Junon.

By the time the Friday rolled around, he was ready for a break… but it wasn’t going to be a very long one. Veld had informed the team that they’d be working split shifts over the weekend. Thankfully, he managed to somehow end up with Saturday to himself, being assigned to the Sunday contingent instead. A good thing, too, as this was supposed to be the weekend he was moving into his new place.

Of course, with Rude being on the Saturday shift… that was somewhat easier said than done. Without Rude, and his truck, the redhead had to settle for moving the few things he could carry himself on the train.

Around noon, Reno walked through the door of the empty little apartment, struggling to drag three stuffed bags in along with him. He kicked the door shut behind him and set them down, looking around, and sighed. This wasn’t exactly how he’d planned his moving day. But he’d just have to make do.

Most of his furniture was in storage… where it would have to remain until he had some way of moving it across town from Sector 5. For now, though, he unpacked his clothes into the cramped closet in the bedroom, and shoved a stack of towels into the tiny linen cabinet in the bathroom. The only kitchen item he’d brought with him – well… unless you counted the three bottles of bottom-shelf vodka from his small stash that had accompanied him on the trip across town – was dutifully set on the counter next to the fridge and plugged in, ready to make him coffee in the morning, and a sleeping bag he’d temporarily borrowed from Tseng’s apartment was unrolled in his new bedroom.

On the whole, the effect was… depressing. His previous apartment had, at least, had a little furniture left behind by previous occupants. This one was barren, waiting for him to fill it.

He sighed faintly and crept out onto the balcony, looking out across the city towards the edge of the Plate. It was odd how the city just… stopped… at that point, falling away into nothing. He snorted softly and mentally chastised himself for nitpicking. Things could be far worse… So what if his apartment was empty for the time being? He had a roof over his head, didn’t he? Plate life was starting to spoil him. If he were still down in the slums, he’d be in a drafty little one-room dump with flaky heating and zero security. If he was lucky.

He needed to get out for a little while, he quickly decided. He needed to actually do something to take his mind off of the events of the past week and relax. Preferably somewhere with people around. He grinned slightly and fished his fake ID out of one of his bags, tucking it into his wallet. One nice thing about living in Sector 3… the bars over here were a little less thorough in verifying your age. And a lot more lax in studying the ID presented to them when they did bother. It was time to make the most of his weekend before he had to cut it short and go back to work.

---

Lips hungrily claimed his as his fingers twisted into her hair, pulling her closer. Dear Odin, he needed this after the day he’d had. It had felt endless.

He felt her hand drift downward, fumbling with the zipper on his pants for a moment, before finally yanking it downward and slipping inside the fabric. He groaned, eyes squeezing tightly shut and arched into her touch, and she laughed, delighted by his reaction.

Before things could go any farther, however, the unwelcome sound of his PHS broke through the haze of lust, and another groan escaped his lips… though for an entirely different reason.

“Don’t answer it,” she demanded, her fingers squeezing gently between his legs, and for a brief moment, he was sorely tempted to obey. The moment passed, however, and with a sigh, he extracted himself from her grasp. He rolled over and reached for his phone.

“… Rude here,” he calmly answered, and anyone listening would never have suspected that he’d just been about fifteen seconds away from getting laid.

“Uh… hey… so, funny story…” a familiar voice began, and the Turk rolled his eyes and cast a quick glance at the glowing red numerals of his alarm clock. Just before midnight.

“Don’t tell me. Tseng’s still out of town and you need someone to bail you out.”

“… That… and uh… bring me some clothes?”

Rude snorted softly and shook his head. It figured.

“Where?” he asked, in a resigned voice.

“Sector 3… The city police station over by The Tonberry Club,” Reno answered.

“… On my way.”

“You’re a lifesaver, pal… I owe ya one.”

‘You have no idea,’ Rude thought to himself, but held his tongue, opting instead to simply hang up, and reach for his discarded shirt. When he turned back, Margaret was glaring at him with a very displeased expression on her face.

“Let me guess,” she said, angrily. “That asshole friend of yours needs you to come save his worthless, drunk ass from whatever mess he’s gotten himself into. Again. And you’re just going to do it. Again. Why can’t that obnoxious little leech find someone else to take advantage of for once?!”

Rude shrugged his shirt back on, and found his shoes.

“Reno doesn’t take advantage of me,” he replied.

“Bullshit. Rude, that idiot blew a hole in your ceiling a few weeks ago and didn’t even apologize! And now he expects you to come post bail in the middle of the night? Why do you put up with that little creep?!”

The Turk shoved his phone into his pocket, along with his wallet, and grabbed his keys.

“Because he’s my friend,” he said, “I’ll be back.”

He moved to kiss her, but she pulled away.

“I won’t be here.”

“…”

“I mean it, Rude. I’m sick of this. Reno is toxic. He’s not good for you. For us. If you leave right now, I’m done. I won’t be here when you get back, and you can go right ahead and lose my number. If you’d rather spend all your time cleaning up that disgusting little pervert’s messes, I don’t want any part of it. It’s me or the slum rat, Rude.”

“… Don’t call him that.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Why not? That’s exactly what he is, and you know it. You should just let him sitin jail for the night instead of running to his rescue. It’s not going to kill him, and maybe he’ll finally get the message that you don’t like being treated like a doormat!”

Rude swallowed sharply. He hadn’t wanted to admit it… even to himself… but things had been growing steadily more tense between them lately. He’d tried to tell himself that they’d work it out, but… they’d been arguing more and more often. And not just over his friendship with the redhead. That was certainly the sorest point of contention between them, but it wasn’t the only one.

He didn’t want to lose Margaret. The two of them had just seemed to… click… from the moment they met, and she was the first girl he’d ever had real feelings for. He truly believed they could work it out if they just tried. At least, he was pretty sure. He wasn’t certain yet where the relationship was going… but he desperately wanted to find out.

But Reno… Reno had clicked with him, too. He’d hadn’t actually known him that much longer than Margaret, to be honest… but he felt like he’d known him half his life. And for someone as painfully shy as he could be at times, that sort of friendship was hard to come by.

He sighed, frozen for the moment in indecision.

---

Reno jumped up at the sound of the cell door opening.

“Oh, thank Ifrit…” It was about damn time. He smirked and stood up, heading for the exit.

“Not you,” the officer stated, and cast a glance over the redhead’s shoulder, and motioned his cellmate toward the corridor. “You. You’re bail’s been paid. You can go.”

The Turk grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest as the other man in the station’s drunk tank smugly got up and walked out. As he passed by the redhead, he swatted him on the ass and leered drunkenly.

“Almost sad to leave such a pretty… lady… behind,” he cackled.

“Keep your hands to yourself, pal… unless you wanna lose ’em,” Reno growled… though it was hard to look intimidating in a miniskirt and faux-leather halter top. That was the absolute last time he was going to that joint. He still didn’t know which of the fuckers had run off with his own clothes. And his wallet, his phone, his keys… his dignity… The next time he got it in his head to try and run a scam for a little extra cash, he’d stick to playing pool. At least with pool, he was a lot less likely to get scammed himself. Poker was definitely not his game.

The only answer he received was a loud laugh, as the other man was escorted out.

Where in the nine hells was Rude, anyway?! He’d called him almost an hour ago! A few short minutes later his question was answered.

“Donovan! You’re out of here, too!” the officer called out as he returned to release the redhead from his cage.

“‘Bout damn time…” Reno muttered scurrying into the hall and following the officer up to the front desk, where he easily spotted his fellow rookie waiting for him. “The hell took ya so long?”

Rude didn’t answer… he just looked the younger Turk over for a moment and shook his head before tossing him the set of workout clothes he’d brought with him. Reno grinned and gratefully pulled them on over what little he was currently wearing. Rude wordlessly turned and strode out to the street where his truck was waiting, the redhead not far behind.

“Aren’t you even gonna ask?” Reno asked, playfully. “It’s a hell of a story…”

Rude turned the key in the ignition and and put the vehicle in gear, pulling out of the parking space and into traffic… not that there was much at nearly one in the morning.

“So I met this girl… and her cousin…”

“I don’t care,” Rude stated, cutting him off, and the redhead blinked in surprise. He looked up at him, apologetically.

“Okay… so you’re obviously pissed at me. I mean… I know it’s late ‘n all.”

“Margaret dumped me.”

“… Oh. Ouch. Yeah, I can see why you might not be in the best of moods,” he responded, cringing slightly. He’d kinda wondered if maybe something like this was coming. In spite of always sounding happy when the subject came up, Rude seemed to be talking less and less about his girlfriend over the past few weeks. Initially, Reno had just assumed that it was because the woman was still pissed at him for the whole blowing-apart-Rude’s-ceiling fiasco… but the longer it went on, the more Reno had started to suspect that everything wasn’t all peaches and cream in girlfriend-land. Even when Rude mentioned having a date, it wasn’t with quite the same enthusiasm he’d once had.

To be honest, Reno had never been particularly fond of Margaret. She was awfully high-strung. Not to mention high-maintenance. And by now he was pretty well-convinced that she hated his guts. But she did seem to genuinely likeRude, and she made him happy. That was what was important, so the redhead had, by and large, kept his opinions to himself.

“So… what happened?” Reno ventured. Rude’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t answer right away. “Rude? Come on, man… What’s the matter? There anything I can do? ‘Cause you know I got your back… Just ask.”

Rude gave a soft sigh and shook his head.

“It was you or her,” he said at last, as they exited the freeway and stopped at a light.

“W-what’d’ya mean it was me or her?” Reno hesitantly asked.

“… She told me if I went to get you, she wasn’t going to be there when I got back.”

The redhead stared at him for a moment, disbelievingly. He’d know that he wasn’t exactly Margaret’s favorite person… but damn. Tseng had been right when he told him that ultimatums were the best way to kill a relationship. And as much as he felt bad for his friend right now, he was damned glad that he’d listened.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” he said at last, still staring the other rookie, wide-eyed. “Why the fuck didn’t you just leave my sorry ass to rot? I’m not worth givin’ up a girlfriend for…”

Rude didn’t answer. Reno sank back against the seat as they turned a corner. He could already feel the sharp stab of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Personal opinions on Rude’s taste in women aside, he’d effectively just ruined his best friend’s relationship. Even if it was because Margret had forced Rude to make that choice… it was still over him.

“Fuck… I’m sorry, Rude.” It was barely more than a whisper. His friend remained silent for a minute or two, and instead turned into the parking lot of Reno’s new apartment building.

“… Don’t be.”

The redhead looked up in surprise.

“It was my choice, and I chose my friend. My best friend. You’re… like family.” He managed a somewhat sad smile. “Probably wouldn’t have worked out with Margaret anyway.”

He opened up the door and hopped out, and Reno did the same.

“Yeah… well… You’re still a dumbass for pickin’ me over someone you love.”

Rude snorted softly and dragged the redhead into a one-armed hug. “You’re a bigger dumbass for saying something that ridiculous. I literally just told you you’re like family. Come on. I know you’ve gotta have booze up there. You owe me a drink.”

“Heh… Fair warnin’. It’s the cheap shit. Haven’t had time to properly stock the place yet,” Reno snickered. He quickly sobered, however, as they made their way into the elevator. “Hey, um… I really am sorry about Margaret, pal. I’ll make it up to ya. Promise.”

“Hmph… I’m not working tomorrow. You wanna make it up to me, get me good and drunk tonight.”

---

Rude groaned as he attempted to roll over, only to find himself trapped in the warm confines of a sleeping bag. It took him a moment to remember where he was through the haze of a well-deserved hangover. He didn’t remember much of last night, but from what he did recall, the way he currently felt was mostly his own fault. Even Reno had tried to cut him off at one point before essentially shrugging at the futility of trying to prevent him from drinking himself into a temporary oblivion and passing him another bottle. His head throbbed painfully as he slowly sat up, looking around.

The room was largely empty, save for a few partially unpacked bags and the sleeping bag he was currently enveloped in. He fumbled with the zipper along the side, releasing himself from the warm little cocoon and staggered upright, making his way out into the other room.

It, too, was empty, and the rookie rubbed his eyes blearily, trying to ignore the bright sunlight that was streaming through the windows. He glanced down at his watch and noted that it was almost eleven. No wonder he was alone. Reno had been due at work hours ago for his obligatory weekend shift.

He vaguely wondered where the redhead had slept last night, as Rude had apparently taken the only makeshift bed and there wasn’t a stick of furniture to be seen elsewhere. He shook his head… gently, mindful of his headache. He should have taken Reno back to Tseng’s place last night, and wasn’t really sure why he hadn’t. He supposed he’d just assumed that the redhead would have been busy moving, as planned, on his day off and thus would have preferred his own apartment. Which, in retrospect, was kind of stupid, since Rude had been planning on helping him with that very task before their time off had been halved.

He stepped into the little kitchenette and snorted a quiet laugh. A bottle of aspirin was sitting in the center of the counter, waiting for him. He was only too happy to accept that offer.

After swallowing four of the little pills, he leaned back against the counter before fishing his phone out of his pocket. He sighed, seeing no missed calls… no texts. Nothing. He’d been hoping that Margaret might have calmed down a bit and decided that she’d gone a little too far, but either she was still angry enough that she wasn’t interested in talking to him, or… she’d really meant what she’d said last night. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he wouldn’t mind it being the former. He didn’t want to break up with her.

But he wasn’t about to let her dictate who he could be friends with, either, nor was he going to let her continue to shit all over said friends. Yes, Reno had his issues. Yes, he had an absolutely filthy mind at times. Yes, he had practically no filter and could be a pain in the ass.

But, he hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Reno that he was like family to him.

Reno… he was a kindred spirit. He’d felt it from the moment they’d met. Rude had never had to explain to him that, in spite of a relatively happy childhood, there had always been a nagging loneliness he’d felt growing up. Probably because the redhead was intimately familiar with it himself. Reno understood that side of him and shared in it. And, more than that, he seemed to perfectly fit that hard to explain void in his life. The more time they spent together, the more he came to think of Reno as the brother he’d never had until now.

He wished that Margaret would reconsider and give the redhead a chance… or at the very least just go back to avoiding the subject altogether… but deep down, he knew that wasn’t going to happen. And if he had to chose between the two of them… well… he’d already made that choice. And he didn’t regret it for an instant.

~end chapter 57~