Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 69: Back into the Swing of Things

Before either Turk could think of anything to say in response to Rufus’ dire pronouncement, the shrill ring of Reno’s PHS blared from the device sitting on his coffee table. He glanced briefly at his mentor, and then shrugged.

“I’m guessin’ that’ll be either Veld or Remy informin’ everyone of the news…” he commented as he hurried over to answer it. He hit the button, silencing the device and picking up the call. “Yeah? Reno here…”

“Reno, Kai is on her way to pick you up. We’re needed at headquarters, immediately,” Remy’s voice replied, with a note of urgency.

“Yeah, okay… but I can just catch a ride with –” he began, only to be unceremoniously cut off.

“No time. Kai is already en route, and she can get you here faster than the trains. We have an emergency. The vice president is missing.”

He very nearly laughed, and only the knowledge that Remy would probably kill him later if he did stopped him. He glanced up at the executive standing near the door and smirked.

“Yeah… he’s actually not. He’s standin’ right in front of me.”

“… He’s WHAT?!” the senior Turk demanded so loudly that Reno instinctively jerked the phone away from his ear. Tseng scowled.

“You didn’t bother to tell anyone where you were going, did you, sir?” he said, exasperated.

“Oh, just wait until I get my hands on that spoiled little… I’ll kill him!” Remy ranted at a slightly lower volume, and a moment later, the call cut off. Reno blinked in surprise at just how pissed off she’d sounded as he tucked the PHS into his pocket.

“Heh… I don’t think Remy’s too happy ’bout you sneakin’ out, sir,” he sniggered.

“Hmm… Then perhaps I should take my leave before she comes after me. That woman has been even more irritating than usual lately, and I have no desire to spend a moment more in her presence than is strictly necessary,” Rufus replied, turning to go. He was immediately stopped by Tseng.

“Not so fast,” the Wutaiian Turk said, crossly. “Iwill personally escort you home. And on the way, I will at least attempt to impress upon you the utter foolishness of venturing out, alone and unprotected, mere hours after declaring war on an entire country. Reno… you’ll be driving Rufus’ car back for him.”

The redhead opened his mouth to reply, only to have his PHS interrupt him a second time. He answered it immediately.

“Yes, s–”

“Put Rufus on. Now.” Veld demanded. The rookie wordlessly handed the phone over to the vice president, who grudgingly accepted it with a roll of his eyes.

“I am perfectly fine,” he stated, preemptively cutting off the Turk leader’s complaints. He paused, listening to the reply. “Yes, I have my phone… I merely have it silenced and have been pointedly ignoring it while I see to an errand.”

“Veld?” Tseng softly queried of the rookie. Reno nodded in the affirmative.

“Sounded about as happy as Remy did…”

“Hmph… I can imagine,” he replied, shaking his head.

“… Uh… you’re still stickin’ around, right?” Reno asked, only half joking. Tseng snorted a soft laugh.

“As if I have a choice? I’m gone for a month, and you’ve already been in the hospital at least once that I know of, Rufus is running all over town unaccompanied, and judging by what I could hear of your brief conversation, Remy is ready to murder someone. Quite possibly the vice president. I shudder to think what might befall all of you were I to decide to extend my leave any longer…”

“I heard that,” Rufus snapped, fixing Tseng with an irritated scowl, before returning his attention to the phone, “I wasn’t talking to you. If you’re going to insist upon retrieving me, then be quick about it.” With that, he unceremoniously ended the call and shoved the PHS back at Reno. “That man is insufferable.”

“That man is responsible for keeping you alive, sir,” Tseng pointed out. “Which, I might add, is not always the easiest task, given your propensity for wandering off at your leisure.” The Turk lieutenant shook his head, and guided Rufus farther into the apartment. “You may as well come and sit down while we wait for Veld to arrive.”

Reno briefly thought to voice a complaint… it was his apartment, after all, and the brat had most certainly not been asked to come in. But then, it wasn’t as if he could just kick him out, either. He settled on simply being supremely annoyed at having his home invaded by the uninvited guest. It was only until Veld got here, anyway.

“Don’t you have even one decent piece of furniture?” the Shinra heir whined as he settled onto the couch.

“Tch… nothin’ wrong with my furniture.”

“Hmph… well, I suppose if you like cushions so cheap it feels as though you’re sitting on concrete… and ignore the mystery stains… then no, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“I’ll be sure to order a new one for the next time I don’t invite you over…” the redhead deadpanned. The pair continued to glare at one another for several seconds before the silent showdown was interrupted by Tseng’s quiet chuckling.

“I honestly can’t tell if you two have managed to become friends of some sort or if you’re moments away from trying to kill one another…”

Rufus looked positively scandalized at the mere thought of befriending the redhead, and his scowl deepened as he folded his arms over his chest and looked away. Reno merely shrugged. To be honest… he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about Rufus, either. He didn’t think he’d go so far as to call him a ‘friend’… and likely never would… but he didn’t really mind him too much these days. When he wasn’t being a complete asshat, anyway.

Tseng joined the executive on the couch, and Reno took that as his cue to settle into the chair nearby.

“… Where were you all this time?” Rufus asked a moment later, glancing up at the Turk. Tseng shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his seat.

“Wutai… mainly,” he replied. “Beyond that, I’d prefer not to discuss any of it right now. Suffice it to say, I was somewhere I knew I would left alone for awhile. I… needed time to come to terms with a few things.”

“And did you?” Rufus queried.

“… To a point.”

The vice president nodded and seemed content, for the moment, at least, to drop the matter. The conversation continued on with all of them pointedly avoiding that particular subject until Veld’s arrival was at last announced by a loud knock on Reno’s door. The redhead got up to answer it, and moments later found himself face to face with a very angry Turk leader. He glared at the rookie.

“Why didn’t you inform someone he was here immediately?” Veld demanded.

“Because there was hardly thirty seconds between Rufus’ arrival and Remy’s phone call telling him that the vice president was, in fact, missing,” Tseng’s voice cut in as the other Turk rose from his spot on the couch. “At which point he did alert her to the situation.”

“Tseng!” Veld gasped, and it wasn’t hard to spot the look of relief etched on his features.

“But,” the Wutaiian Turk continued, “Rufus is safe and it’s getting late. I think this would be a conversation better reserved for tomorrow morning.”

“You’re returning to work immediately, then?” the Turk leader asked. Tseng nodded.

“I… think that would be best. I believe I’ve spent enough time alone with my own thoughts of late. A return to routine would be… welcome.”

“Hmph… I’m not sure how ‘routine’ things are going to be in the immediate future, given that troops are already en route to Wutai, and early intelligence reports indicate a strong resistance in the more populated areas. But I think we’ll all be glad to have you back.” Veld turned to Rufus, “Sir, if you’ll come with me, your father is extremely worried about you.”

---

When Reno arrived at the office the following morning, the first thing he did was head straight for Tseng’s office, hesitantly peering through the open door, almost expecting not to see him there. When he’d woken up that morning, he’d been half-convinced he’d only dreamed that he came back. Instead, he found Tseng sitting across from Remy, going over the events of the past several weeks as she got him up to speed. The sheer level of relief must have been visible, because when the Wutaiian Turk looked up and spotted him, he set the current stack of papers they were dealing with aside.

“We’ll continue this later this afternoon,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” Remy replied with a sharp nod. She stood and made her way past the rookie with a slightly awkward smile before disappearing off in the direction of her own office. She’d been giving him that look ever since they’d ended up in bed together… as though she wasn’t sure quite how to treat him unless she was giving him an order. He was starting to understand why sleeping with one’s superiors was generally frowned upon.

“Have a seat,” Tseng called to the redhead, and Reno hurried to obey, closing the door behind him.

“Heh… I mention yet how glad I am you’re back?”

“Last night. Repeatedly,” Tseng chuckled. He sighed softly, and leaned forward. “I feel I owe you more than just the explanation I’ve provided you with thus far. Particularly given the length of my absence… and my silence.”

“Tch… you don’t owe me anything…”

“I strongly disagree,” he replied. “I think I owe you more than I owe anyone, in fact. If for no other reason than the fact that you’re the one I hurt the most.”

Reno shrugged, somewhat uncomfortably. They’d kept well away from this topic last night. Tseng hadn’t seemed ready to discuss it, and Reno hadn’t wanted to push him.

“Not the first time I’ve been –”

“I know,” his mentor cut him off, “And that just makes what I did far worse. You deserved better than simply being foisted off on another Turk without a word from me and I truly am sorry to have treated you so callously.” He sighed and shook his head. “I was too absorbed in my own pain to care about anyone else’s… Even someone I care about very much.”

The redhead swallowed against the unexpectedly thick feeling in his throat. He understood that level of grief, and he could never fault Tseng for it… he just wished that the man had let him be there for him. Because no one had been there for him when he’d lost his mother. He knew all too well how it felt.

“Why’d you stay gone so long?” he finally asked.

“Because… Mayu is not the only family I seem to have lost,” Tseng replied. Reno looked up in alarm. “I told my father the truth of what happened to her. To say he was displeased with my actions would be a gross understatement. I’ve been cast out.”

Reno blinked, confused. “What’s that mean?”

“Essentially that I am disowned, disinherited, and disavowed. My father has severed all ties with me, and thus has cut me off from the rest of my relatives as well… and I suspect that, by now, he has effectively erased any evidence of my existence from his home.”

“… He can just… do that?!” the rookie blurted out, horrified.

“It’s very uncommon… but yes, as head of the family, he can. As you might imagine, I was… rather devastated by his reaction, even having prepared myself for it. Knowing my father’s temper, it was never outside of the realm of possibility, but hearing him say it was far worse than I ever imagined it could be. Worse still was seeing how heartbroken my mother was…”

“But… how come you can’t just avoid him? Why’s your whole family listenin’ to his bullshit?”

Tseng gave him a sad smile. “I fear several of my brothers may be just as angry as he is. I wasn’t the only one who dearly loved Mayu, after all. But even so… my father’s word is absolute. He is the family patriarch, and though some of them might not wish to be quite so harsh with me, I have no desire to bring his anger down upon them as well. It took me quite some time to accept that loss. I’m not entirely sure I really have yet… but I was reminded that the Turks are my family, too, and just as important to me as those with whom I share blood. Perhaps now more than ever, all things considered.”

Reno stared at him in vague disbelief.

“… How can you be calm about this?” The rookie knew that he wouldn’t have been, if he’d had all that ripped away from him at once. Hell, he’d have been thoroughly gutted just losing one member of his little adoptive family… and he wasn’t even technically related to any of them. Tseng settled back in his chair and sighed.

“Because I have had time to process it. I was anything but calm after it happened, I assure you. In fact, I think I may have been in a state of shock for several days at first, because I actually remember very little of that period of time.”

More than anything, Reno wanted to ask ‘But you’re okay now, right?’… but he held his tongue, because he suspected he knew the answer. Tseng would either confirm what he was already thinking… or he’d lie to prevent the redhead from worrying. Reno didn’t want him to do either, so he quickly swallowed the question. Still, in the back of his mind, it concerned him. He desperately wanted Tseng to be okay…

“Reno, I have a favor to ask,” his mentor continued, and the redhead raised his eyes to meet Tseng’s, “I have not yet discussed this with anyone else and would prefer to do so in my own time.”

“Got it,” Reno replied, “I won’t say anything.”

“Thank you,” he replied, with a nod. “In the meantime, Remy mentioned that, due to scheduling conflicts, you’re a day overdue for a certain certification exam. I think we will rectify that immediately after the morning briefing.”

The rookie couldn’t hold back the grin that spread over his face. The training schedules had been all over the place for weeks now, and Remy had only just started to get them back under control with some help from Saya and Kai. He’d figured his pilot’s test would get put off for awhile, like Rude’s had.

“Seriously?!” he excitedly breathed.

Tseng laughed softly. “Yes, seriously. In fact already I’ve put in a special request that any remaining requirements be waived for Rodney and Cissnei as well. The more Turks we have capable of flying, the better. With a war now underway, it may become important to be able to put our helicopter to use at a moment’s notice, and there may not always be a senior Turk available. Having all four of our rookies as backup might well prove invaluable at some point.” He eyed the rookie for a moment as if choosing his next words very carefully. “As such, I’ve decided that immediately following your certification, you will also be taking your first solo flight.”

“W-wait… what? I’m goin’ straight from the test to flyin’ a mission?!” he replied, slightly panicked at the thought.

Tseng nodded. “Scarlet’s department has a new weapon prototype for the troops leaving from Junon. You’ll be delivering it to their field commander for transport to the front lines in Wutai. It’s nothing you can’t handle.” He smirked slightly. “Provided you don’t faint first… You suddenly look a bit pale.”

“Oh, ha, ha…” the redhead dryly replied. “Tch… you’d look pale, too, if I sprung that shit on you outta nowhere. No pressure or anything… Just gotta pass a test I’ve been stressin’ about for weeks ‘n then fly to Junon, right? No problem.”

“You’ll do fine,” Tseng chuckled as he stood up and made his way to the door, “Come on. We have a briefing to attend. And then a certification exam to take.”

---

How he’d managed to keep it together as long as he had, Tseng would never know. Recounting what had happened in Wutai had brought him dangerously close to breaking down again. Somehow he’d managed to mask it… though he was sure Reno wasn’t naïve enough to believe that everything was back to normal.

The rookie’s reaction to being told that he would be taking his pilot’s exam today was enough to bring him back from the edge. When the teenager smiled, it was infectious… and Tseng had been reminded once again just how fortunate he really was to have a protege like him. And though the rookie was slightly terrified at the prospect of unexpectedly being sent off to Junon on his own, Tseng had easily seen the excitement that was building behind the fear.

Remy would be administering the certification exam. Not that he had any serious doubts that Reno could pass it on his own, but he didn’t fully trust himself to remain unbiased in this instance – and in his current frame of mind, which seemed to be even more focused than usual on the teenager’s well-being – and not write off mistakes in favor of passing him. Remy had actually been the one to suggest it, in fact… something that had surprised him. Though she was an excellent Turk, she didn’t often openly question her superiors on command decisions. He wasn’t at all disappointed by the unexpected change, either. That tendency was one of the reasons he’d initially intended to recommend that Aaron lead the now defunct Junon branch office prior to his death. Perhaps he’d been wrong about that. It seemed that all Remy had really needed was to be immersed in a leadership role to begin to rely on her own instincts more.

Veld had very briefly detailed her performance as second in command when he’d come in this morning. Apparently things had started out rocky, but shortly before Tseng had returned, she’d begun to get a feel for it. Things had improved markedly over just the past several days, and no one seemed quite sure where the change had come from… though it was certainly a welcome one.

He made his way into the briefing room, Reno trailing him, and moved towards his seat near the head of the table. Word of his return had spread fairly quickly. It looked as though, by now, everyone had heard, as no one seemed especially surprised to see him walk in.

“Welcome back,” Sato greeted him, “About bloody time, too. If I had ta put up with Remy bein’ in charge fer one more day… That Odin-be-damned woman’s been on my case non-stop since yeh left.” The Mideelian Turk shook his head, and grabbed a seat.

“Hmph… And if I were in charge of him for one more day, we might just have had one less Turk and one more building security guard,” Remy shot back. Sato flipped her off, and Saya immediately smacked him, hard, in the back of the head.

“Can’t yeh just behave like an adult fer five bloody minutes ‘n not make me ashamed ta be kin to yeh?” she asked, rolling her eyes. Sato just grinned at her.

Tseng shook his head as he sat down. Some things would never change… and he was grateful for that.

---

“Well?” Tseng asked, far more anxiously than he’d realized he felt, as Remy and Reno stepped down from the helicopter. Remy glanced down at her checklist and made a few additional notes.

“He had some difficulty adjusting for the crosswinds above the city –” she began, only to be cut off.

“Tch… Crosswinds. I can handle crosswinds. That was practically a goddamn tornado up there,” the redhead groused.

“… but he passed,” she finished, snickering quietly. Tseng nodded, and smiled at the redhead.

“Excellent. The delivery for Junon will be arriving momentarily.”

“Wait… I’m really goin’ now? Like right now?” he asked, clearly having expected to have a break of some sort beforehand.

“I did say ‘immediately’,” the Turk lieutenant replied. Before Reno could question him further, the elevator doors on the far side of the rooftop opened, and a pair technicians wheeled out a long metal case, secured with a heavy-duty padlock. They were followed by a very impatient-looking Scarlet. She strode up to the small group of Turks while her personnel struggled to lift the obviously heavy container into the helicopter’s cargo space.

“Be careful with that, you idiots!” she shouted over her shoulder before turning her attention on Tseng. “This is to be turned over to the to Commander Viddick, and no one else. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll see to it.”

“Hmph… You had better,” she replied, and snapped her fingers at the pair of technicians, recalling them. She moved to leave… but not before casting a very predatory – and not at all subtle – glance at the redhead. Tseng frowned, but said nothing.

It was common knowledge that the relationship between the Weapons Department head and the President had fizzled out quite some time ago. Not that long after her promotion, in fact, if Tres was to be believed… and he typically was. What was slightly less common knowledge… unless one happened to be in the business of knowing things that most people didn’t… was that Scarlet seemed to be retaliating for being dropped like an old sock by whoring it up with anyone who might make her former lover jealous. Or who might be beneficial to her career, as Heidegger was also among those she’d courted, again, according to Tres – and most of the General Affairs Department.

Tseng absolutely did not like the idea of the woman zeroing in on Reno for that purpose… and there was no doubt in his mind that he’d correctly interpreted her expression.

A moment later, however, she was disappearing back into the elevator.

“… Am I the only one thinkin’ I don’t ever wanna be stuck in a room alone with her?” Reno, somewhat nervously, asked.

“No, you’re not,” Tseng replied, and Remy, too, was nodding in agreement. The redhead visibly shuddered.

“Thought so…” he muttered, “I mean… not that it’s real hard to get me into bed, but… fuck. Scarlet scares me. And not in a good way.”

“I suggest trying not to dwell on it on your way to Junon,” Remy said. The redhead shot her a glare.

“Well, I wasn’t gonna, but thanks so much for puttin’ the thought in my head.”

Remy shook her head and escorted the teenager over to the helicopter.

“Have a good flight,” she said, with that awkward, slightly uncomfortable smile again.

“It will probably be close to noon by the time you’re finished, so you may eat on the base before returning if you wish,” Tseng added, joining them, “Just… stay out of the bars.”

The redhead cocked an eyebrow. “You grow a sense of humor while you were gone, boss?” he queried, and the Wutaiian Turk couldn’t help but chuckle.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t stick around for lunch,” Remy opined, “I got to know Commander Viddick quite well while I was in Junon. Very friendly, but he has rather more than a passing interest in the Turks and a tendency to talk. Ad nauseam. I recommend informing him that you’re under very strict orders to get there, hand off the cargo, and come straight back… and then beat a hasty retreat before he starts talking anyway. Otherwise, we might not see you again until sometime next Tuesday.”

“Duly noted,” the rookie replied, grinning. He climbed into the helicopter and dragged the door shut. Mere moments later, Tseng watched as the aircraft lifted off, clearing the communications array on top of the building and streaking off towards Junon. The Turk lieutenant let out a long breath and turned back towards the elevator. It was only about a forty-five minute flight. At most his rookie would be gone for a little over two hours, assuming he failed to heed Remy’s warning and chose to eat lunch on the base with the commander.

Nothing to be concerned about.

---

Tseng paced the length of the lounge, turned, and paced back in the direction he’d come from. Then he turned and did it again. And again. And again.

“Oh, for Titan’s sake,” Kai said at last, rolling her eyes. “Will you stop doing that? You’re making me dizzy just watching you…”

The Turk lieutenant ignored her and glanced at his watch. Two hours, sixteen minutes. Far too early to start worrying. Unfortunately, the logical side of him was steadily being drowned out more and more by his emotional side. There really was nothing to worry about. It was an easy trip and one that Reno had made a few times already.

With a copilot.

What in Leviathan’s name had possessed him to send him out on a solo flight barely five minutes after being certified?! Anything could happen to him, and he’d be out there on his own.

“Hey, Rude… you got handcuffs on you?” Kai asked. The rookie looked up from the intelligence reports he was sorting through and nodded. “Toss ’em here, will ya?”

The rookie obliged, but Tseng wasn’t paying either of them any attention. He was far too focused on his own worries. He knew he was being ridiculous. He knew Reno was more than capable of handling a simply courier mission. And he knew that there was no reason to think anything would go wrong. That didn’t seem to stop several increasingly horrifying worst case scenarios from working their way into his imagination.

There was an audible snap and the Wutaiian Turk was suddenly jerked to an abrupt halt, mid-stride. In confusion, he glanced down at his wrist and found it handcuffed to the armrest of a nearby chair.

“Kai, take these off of me. Immediately!” he demanded.

“No,” she replied, and settled back down onto the couch before picking up a can of soda and taking a long swig. Annoyed, Tseng reached into his pocket where he kept his spare handcuff keys… only to find them missing. A faint jingling from Kai’s position drew his gaze back to her.

“Looking for these?” she asked, dangling the keys and shaking them, mockingly.

If looks could kill… Kai would have been dead about six times over.

“Kai!” he growled.

“You need to relax. It’s your first day back, and you look like you’re halfway to a nervous breakdown already. The kid’ll be fine.”

Tseng scowled at her and glanced down at the metal cuff encircling his wrist. He hated using this technique… but he was not about to be ordered around by that woman and told to ‘relax’. He grit his teeth and braced himself for the pain he knew would accompany his escape… and then with a firm grip using his free hand, dislocated his thumb where it joined his wrist. The crack was moderately sickening… and as expected, it hurt. But it allowed him to slip free from his restraints. Once loose, he forced the digit back into place, grimacing as he flexed the hand.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kai muttered, rolling her eyes. “If that’s your idea of relaxing –”

“I do not appreciate your commentary, Kai,” Tseng said, clearly angry. “Nor do I appreciate being chained to the furniture.”

“Hmph… Fine. Keep driving yourself nuts, then. Can’t say I didn’t at least try to help.” She drained her soda and crushed the can in her hand before tossing it into the trash. With that, she slapped his purloined keys down on the table and stormed off.

Tseng pocketed them and resumed his pacing.

“… You do seem a little stressed out, you know,” Rude said, though when Tseng turned back to reply, he’d already gone back to his reports. The Turk lieutenant glanced at his watch instead.

Two hours, twenty-one minutes.

---

He should have listened. He really should have listened. But goddammit, by the time he’d made it to Junon, found the guy he was supposed to report to, waited for him to stop talking, and finally got Scarlet’s stupid whatever-it-was unloaded, he’d just wanted some fucking lunch.

Commander Viddick had invited himself along. The rookie’d had to endure a nearly hour-long, very one-sided conversation about how the Junon base really ought to be in charge of the Turks’ recruitment and training programs, and didn’t Reno agree, of course he agreed, and another thing…

At least there had been food.

And he definitely owed Viridia flowers or money or his very soul or something for swooping in and rescuing him from his nightmare. She’d lured the commander away to talk about some security issue or other that Reno was pretty certain didn’t actually need talking about and then briskly motioned behind her back for him to run.

He ran.

All the way back to the helipad, in fact, not even waiting for her to disengage herself from the commander so he could thank her. As he was strapping himself in, his PHS chimed with a text message. Curious, he read it before starting his pre-flight checklist. It was from Rude.

‘You coming back or what?’

‘Wasn’t sure for a while there. Leaving now. Tell Remy next time I’ll listen to her,’ he typed back, and pocketed the phone.

~end chapter 69~