Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 26: ‘Tis the Season

“Reno?” Tseng prodded, attempting to get the attention of his lieutenant, who was currently perched on a ladder in the middle of the Turks’ private lounge.

“Yeah, boss?”

He didn’t look down. He was much too busy trying to keep his balance in his present awkward position as he placed a star on top of a slightly-too-big-for-the-space pine tree.

“Do we really have to have this discussion again this year?”

The redhead snickered quietly, but kept his focus locked firmly on the task at hand. “And what discussion is that?” he innocently queried.

“Work-appropriate décor,” Tseng returned, roughly pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. It was going to be one of those days. Reno plus any given holiday inevitably required copious amounts of supervision on Tseng’s part. And at Christmas, the man was always at his most over the top. Last year, he’d come in three hours early one morning and wrapped every piece of furniture in the Turks’ main office in festive holiday-themed paper… which wouldn’t really have been more than a minor inconvenience were it not that, once Tseng had taken a closer look at it, he’d discovered that it was covered in mating reindeer. Thankfully Heidegger had opted not to grace them with his presence that morning… Tseng could only imagine the fallout.

“Last year, you only said things have to be PC in the office,” he replied, “Unless you’ve moved things around on me overnight, this is the lounge.”

It was only with great effort that Tseng managed to suppress the long-suffering sigh of exasperation. Trust Reno to find a loophole… particularly if doing so meant inflicting his warped, and often more-than-slightly perverted, sense of humor on the entire team.

“Take them down. Now.”

“Aw, but Tseng…” he began, only to wobble dangerously on the ladder as he at last turned to look down at his superior. The Turk leader moved quickly to steady him.

“And try not to break your neck doing it, please,” he admonished. Not that such an occurrence was very likely… his second in command tended to be far too nimble for so short a fall to cause any permanent damage. But he certainly wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a fractured arm, or leg, or collar bone. The absolute last thing Tseng wanted for Christmas was to see Reno in a cast over the holidays. Again.

“But Tseng…” Reno repeated, pouting this time.

“No, Reno. No naked Santa ornaments. I mean it…” Tseng said in his most foreboding tone. He had no idea where the man had found them… or why he’d bought enough to fill the entire tree with tiny ceramic phalluses… but there was no way in the nine hells Tseng was going to let this one slide. Reno frowned, and climbed off the ladder before continuing the conversation.

“… Not even one?” He gave the Wutaiian Turk a pleadingly sad look. Tseng’s eye twitched. He hated it when Reno did that. It was obscenely hard to deny him his fun around the holidays… he’d had so few happy ones before Tseng had found him. He invariably saw visions of a sixteen year old boy thoroughly enthralled with everything Christmas outside of the slums had to offer. “Pleeeeeease?” Reno intoned.

The Turk leader’s shoulders drooped in defeat. He’d never even stood a chance… this was a battle Reno was entirely too well-equipped for and couldn’t have lost if he’d tried. The puppy-dog eyes had sealed it for him.

“One,” Tseng relented, but quickly added, “On the side facing away from the door, on one of the lower branches. Leviathan help you if Heidegger still manages to find it there.”

Reno grinned, and began removing the excess ornaments.

“Can I have a Mrs. Claus, too?”

Tseng’s gaze turned to a second box that sat next to the one Reno was placing the ornaments into as they came down. He lifted the lid and groaned. Sure enough, it was filled with at least a dozen female versions of the inappropriate decoration.

“Same rules apply,” he sighed, “And should Elena take offense and decide to finally beat some sense into you, I’m not going to stop her. In fact, I may just join in.”

Tseng knew full well that he’d been played. Reno never had any intention of leaving the tree in such a state. He’d simply gone to great lengths to make what he really wanted look mild by comparison… and now the Turk leader had actually granted sneaky son of a bitch permission to keep a set of the ornaments on the tree. And judging by his smug expression, Reno was perfectly aware that Tseng had figured out his game.

He shook his head and decided he didn’t really care. There was little danger of it actually being seen by anyone who would make a fuss, and it made his friend happy. He could live with it.

“Just tell me one thing,” Tseng requested.

“What’s that?”

“What in the world are you going to do with the rest of them?” he asked with a soft chuckle.

“Oh, they’re goin’ on my tree at home,” Reno said, happily, “My year to host the party, remember?”

“Of course.” The Wutaiian sighed in resignation. ‘Party’ was, perhaps, an overly generous term for their annual get-together. It was really just the three of them – four of them, this year, he amended – for dinner and a gift exchange… and on years when Reno was hosting, an excuse to put a rather significant dent in his stockpile of liquor.

When the redhead threw a party, it was always memorable. Or at least the aftermath was… much of the party itself was often lost in an alcoholic haze. The last time Reno had entertained for the holidays, they had somehow ended up playing strip-Monopoly… though Tseng had, mercifully, passed out long before enough property had been purchased and hotels constructed to make things interesting, leaving Reno and Rude on their own in a head to head grudge match. He’d found Reno, wearing nothing but a sock, asleep under the tree the next morning, cuddling with an empty bottle of vodka and clinging tightly to a Get Out of Jail Free card. Rude had been in an equal state of undress, clutching a fistful of play money and muttering about Park Place in his alcohol-induced slumber.

He never had figured out which of them had actually won the game.

Reno finished removing the lewd ornaments, save his permitted set of two, and set about redecorating the tree with more normal holiday imagery, primarily including actual candy canes which Tseng suspected wouldn’t last more than a day or two. In fact, the redhead was already all-too-enthusiastically sampling one… in each hand. He left him to it and headed back to the main office.

“… You stopped him, right?” a voice asked as he entered. The Turk leader raised an eyebrow, silently asking for elaboration. “The Santas… You stopped him?” Rude clarified.

“For the most part,” he replied. At Rude’s questioning gaze, he sighed. “I let him keep one. And Mrs. Claus…”

Rude smirked, knowingly. “You’re getting soft, Tseng…”

“And I suppose you could have told him no?” Tseng retorted with a slight smile. He shook his head and sighed quietly. “It was the eyes…” Rude gave a soft snort of laughter and turned back to his screen.

“Good morning, sir… Good morning, Rude!” a cheerful voice greeted them from the door, “Why exactly are we letting Reno decorate the tree with candy? It’ll be bare by tomorrow afternoon…”

“Believe me, Elena… It’s better than the alternative.”

“Sir?” she questioned, not sure what to make of that comment.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll see them at some point before the day is out. I doubt Reno will be able to resist,” Tseng replied, heading for his own office.

Elena sat down at her desk and turned to her computer to log on… only find herself blinking in surprise at the sight that greeted her. Two little ornaments, not much larger than the palm of her hand, lay on her keyboard. One an entirely too pleased – and… er… excited… – looking St. Nick, the other a very well-endowed Mrs. Claus. Neither figure was wearing any clothing, save for their festive holiday hats, and they’d been positioned rather compromisingly over the arrow keys. Elena rolled her eyes and picked them up.

“The alternative?” she asked, holding them up so Rude could see. The bald Turk chuckled and nodded. “Where does he even find things like this?”

“… Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Good point,” she said quickly, “Um… so since Reno’s busy decorating himself into a diabetic coma, I was just wondering… Do you have any idea what he’d like for Christmas?” She’d been struggling with that question for weeks now, and didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. It irked her to no end that she somehow didn’t know a man she considered herself so close to well enough to decide on a decent gift idea.

“He’ll love anything you give him,” Rude said, shrugging.

“That was… unexpectedly sappy, Rude,” she teased, smiling a little.

“Meant it literally,” he replied, “Reno doesn’t really care much about what the gift is. He’s just happy to get something.”

“It’s quite true, unfortunately,” Tseng added, apparently having overheard the conversation and deciding to weigh in, “The last real Christmas he had as a child was probably when he was around five. I’m not even certain he remembers much of it. His first real Christmas after that was when he was sixteen, not long after I recruited him. Gifts and celebration between the two were decidedly lacking. Not to sound too lachrymose, but frankly all he really wants is to know that people care about him enough to remember him. He spent far too many years forgotten and overlooked as a child.”

“Oh…” Elena said softly. The thought never would have even occurred to her if Tseng hadn’t brought it up. For her, the holidays had long been associated with family, food, and fights over who got to open the first present. Even after she’d gotten older, and she and her siblings had gone their separate ways, they always got in touch this time of year. And, of course, Nana always sent her something special. It hurt to think that Reno had largely missed out on things like that until so much later in his life… almost as much as it hurt to think that this would be her first Christmas not hearing from her brother, Bel.

“Besides… Tseng and I are in the same boat,” Rude admitted, “He never asks for anything. Doesn’t even drop hints. He’ll know exactly what you want, though… every damn time.”

“It can be a little frustrating,” Tseng agreed with a sigh, “I’ve come to the conclusion that he simply enjoys being surprised. Spending the holiday with those he cares for is far more important to him. Just do us all a favor… don’t give him anything alcoholic. There will be more than enough of that sort of thing at the party already. I see no need to add to the surplus.”

“Party?” This was the first she’d heard of any party. Tseng cocked an eyebrow for a moment, before realization hit.

“My apologies… I suppose I just assumed Reno would have invited you himself by now,” he said, looking slightly taken aback that no one had mentioned it to her, “We’ve always opted to spend Christmas Eve together. And usually Christmas morning, as well… particularly when it’s Reno’s turn to host, as none of us are in any condition to drive by the end of the night. When we’re still conscious, that is.”

“You’ve… always done that?”

“It’s a rather long-standing tradition, yes. Far preferable to being alone.”

“Reno doesn’t have any family other than us,” Rude supplied, “I have an aunt somewhere in Mideel… only ever met her once, when I was a kid. Had my dad up until last summer, but we hadn’t be close in a while. Tried going home a couple of times years ago, but it was… awkward. So I stopped.” He shrugged.

“And I’m not on speaking terms with most of my family,” Tseng admitted, “Thus, the annual party. We switch off hosting duties every year. It’s Reno’s turn.”

“S-sir? You don’t speak to your family at all?” she asked. Tseng had never mentioned anything about that, and it was a little shocking to hear, given the deep concern he had always seemed to hold for his little surrogate family.

“It would be more accurate to say that they don’t speak to me,” he replied, “It’s… not something I enjoy discussing.” There was a finality in his tone that very quickly staved off any impulse Elena had to further question him on the subject for the moment. Instead, she filed it away for later. “Of course, if you’ve already made plans, you needn’t feel obligated to make an appearance. Reno would have only himself to blame for waiting so long to extend his hospitality.”

“Oh! No, sir,” she said grinning, “To be honest, I was just going to curl up with a book like I usually do. It’s much too late in the season to try and visit my grandmother and Del… Veraheim will be completely snowed in by now.”

“Then I hope you’ll decide our company is preferable and join us,” Tseng said, smiling, “I really am more than a little surprised Reno hasn’t already mentioned it to you, actually. It’s something he looks forward to all year, and I can’t imagine him being content without everyone there.”

As if on cue, the Turk in question poked his head into the room.

“Hey… goin’ out for more decorations.”

“Meaning he’s eaten most of the candy canes before they could make it onto the tree,” Tseng, somewhat needlessly, translated for the group.

“Yeah. That,” Reno replied, hurriedly, “Back in a few…” He disappeared from view, and the Turk leader turned to resume the previous discussion. Before he could say anything, however, Reno returned, grinning widely. “Oh, yeah… ‘Lena… party, my place, Christmas Eve. Don’t make other plans.” He was gone again before she could even open her mouth to respond.

“… How many of those candy canes do you think he’s had?” Rude asked.

“Entirely too many, I suspect,” Tseng replied.

---

Nothing seemed quite right. Elena groaned and planted herself on a bench. She’d been wandering the shopping district for nearly her entire lunch break, looking for a gift for Reno. For someone that, as Rude claimed, would literally like anything, she was finding it impossible to choose something for him.

Rude and Tseng had been downright simple by comparison, even though she’d agonized over those purchases as well earlier in the week. She had ultimately decided on a book on Wutaiian cuisine, filled with recipes, examples, and descriptions of regional techniques and styles, for Rude… It was something he’d mentioned wanting to try his hand at, but hadn’t gotten around to researching. The book had come highly recommended, and seemed to go far beyond the average cookbook. For Tseng, she’d chosen – with Reno’s expert help and a vow not to spoil the surprise – a bottle of cognac, which she knew was secretly one of the man’s favorite spirits.

But for Reno himself? She just couldn’t make up her mind. Everything looked like it had potential, and yet nothing did. She really wanted him to love her gift.

“Elena?” A somewhat familiar voice jarred her from her thoughts, and the rookie looked up. “Ha! Thought that was you!”

“Kel!” She smiled in recognition, as the hotel concierge took a seat beside her.

“Stayin’ outta trouble?” he grinned, “Haven’t been wanderin’ around down in Sector 2 anymore, have ya?”

“I definitely learned my lesson about that place…” she said seriously. That was not an experience she cared to repeat. She was just glad Reno hadn’t found out how close a call she’d really had. He’d probably have never let her out of his sight again if he had.

“Good,” he laughed, “Doin’ a little Christmas shoppin’?”

“Yeah. Trying, anyway.”

“Got someone hard to buy for on your list, I take it…”

“Just the opposite,” Elena said with more than a hint of frustration, “Someone who’s supposed to be so easy to buy for I have no clue which of the half a million ideas I’ve had to go with.”

“Don’t tell me. Lemme guess… Reno,” he said, smirking.

“Guess everyone has that problem,” she said, giggling softly.

“Nah… I just go with booze,” Kel replied with a grin, “Can’t go wrong with that. But I see your dilemma. Ya don’t wanna get him just anything… even though he’d like anything ya get him. Can’t blame ya… Reno’s a real decent kinda guy. Always nice to see him happy.”

“I don’t suppose you have any idea what he might want?” she asked.

“Eh… Don’t waste your time tryin’ to figure out what he wants,” said Kel, “For you? I think there are two good options. Either find somethin’ that’ll make him laugh – though knowin’ his sense of humor, that might be a hell of a shopping trip for ya – or find somethin’ that’ll make him think of you. I’d go with option two if I were you… I know how he is ’bout his fellow Turks. Unless, of course, you’d really like me to show ya where he found those ornaments he said he was takin’ in to work the other day…”

“Uh… no. No, I don’t think so,” Elena said, with a laugh, “I think the less I know about those the better.”

“Suit yourself. Well, if ya need any help getting’ ahold of somethin’ once you do come up with an idea, come find me at the Swan. Keep it to yourself, but, uh… I run a little bit of a side business. You name it, I’ve got a supplier for it,” Kel said with a wink, “Anyway, I gotta run. Gotta pick up my little girl’s gift and get back to work. Merry Christmas, Elena!”

“Merry Christmas!” she called after him as he disappeared into the crowd of holiday shoppers. Elena sat back on the bench, mulling over what Kel had told her. Getting Reno something personal seemed almost as bad as getting him something random in some ways. What if it was too personal? Though she had her doubts as to whether or not there was such a thing as ‘too personal’ where Reno was concerned… but what if he just thought it was silly?

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and placed her chin in her hands, sighing. She was at a complete loss. Elena stayed like that for a short while, watching the shoppers go by, rushing from store to store – until one woman caught her eye… or more precisely, the little boy clinging to her hand, and what was tucked under his arm, caught her eye.

A grin spread across the rookie’s face. Forget buying something… she would make him something. And she knew exactly what that something was going to be. All she needed were a few supplies. She just hoped she had enough time… Christmas Eve was only a little over two weeks away, and her sewing skills weren’t exactly expert level.

---

Elena grimaced as her finger came down a little too hard on the F key on her keyboard. Forget ‘not exactly expert level’… her sewing skills were damn near remedial. She could clearly remember Nana teaching her the basics when she was little… but, judging by the sheer number of times she’d managed to stab herself last night, her fingers had a disconnect from her brain. Three of them on her left hand were bandaged, as was her left palm where she’d somehow managed to slip with a pair of scissors. And she’d only been practicing! She hadn’t even started on the project itself yet.

“What the hell you been doin’, ‘Lena?” Reno asked, catching sight of her, “Lettin’ Snuffy use you for a chew toy?”

“Sewing,” she said, flexing her fingers and wincing.

“Ya tryin’ to sew your hand to something or what?” Reno snickered. Elena glared at him… though she had to admit, it sure as hell felt like that’s what she’d been attempting last night. “Anyway… Tseng wants you in the lounge. He’s kickin’ me off decorating duty.”

Now it was Elena’s turn to laugh. “I can’t imagine why…”

Reno had no self-control around sugar. None.

His brilliant plan to decorate with real candy canes had resulted in a mostly bare tree for the past two and a half days… and a slightly-more-hyperactive-than-usual redhead to go with it. Which, given Reno’s normal energy level, was saying something.

Both Turks jumped as the door suddenly flew open, banging against the wall with a loud crack. They were both at full attention as Heidegger entered.

“Where’s Tseng?” their unexpected guest growled at them, as he eyed the door to the Turk leader’s empty office. “The president is going Christmas shopping, and I want him to see to his security detail personally.”

“In the lounge, sir,” Reno replied evenly. Heidegger glared at the redhead, as if sizing him up.

“He’d better be,” he threatened, “Or you’re going to be on holiday duty for insubordination.”

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out. The two Turks could plainly hear him stomping down the hall, and Elena jumped a second time as another door… the lounge, she assumed… banged open.

“Well, bah humbug to you, too, ya pompous, arrogant fuckwit,” Reno muttered. Elena stared at Reno for a moment, and then slid back into her chair, laughing so hard she began to cry. “‘Lena, you are not to ever repeat that. To anyone,” he said, grinning, “I kind of enjoy living, and if Heidegger didn’t kill me, Tseng would for sayin’ shit like that while Heidegger’s in our offices.”

Elena didn’t answer him right away, as she was valiantly attempting to get herself under control. She was still giggling a little madly when Tseng returned to the office, sans Heidegger.

“Reno, I’m going to be…” he started, before peering curiously at the rookie. “What’s wrong with Elena?”

“N-nothing, sir,” she said, quickly sobering, “I’m fine…”

Tseng eyed her a little strangely, but made no further inquiry. “I’m going to be gone most of the afternoon,” he continued, “Rude should be checking in in an hour or so, and if you could manage to finish the writeup of yesterday’s interrogation, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“No problem, boss,” Reno replied.

“And Elena… please take over decorating before someone eats what’s left of the decorations…”

“Yes, sir,” Elena said. Tseng turned and headed for the door. Elena couldn’t help but start laughing softly again. The Turk leader paused and turned back.

“Alright… What’s going on?” he sighed, looking directly at the rookie.

“S-sorry, sir. Heidegger came in here first and Reno… It’s just… I’m under orders never to repeat it,” she giggled, eyes shifting toward her redheaded cohort. Tseng rolled his eyes.

“Reno… What have I told you about commenting on the executives?”

“I know, I know… not while one of ’em’s on the floor. ‘Specially Heidegger…”

“Try and remember that before you start running your mouth next time, hmm?” Tseng stressed. He suddenly smirked at him, “Or we will be reverting to our old training regime.”

Reno froze, eyes going wide. “I-I… You… Tseng, you wouldn’t dare. You haven’t done that to me in… somethin’ like nine years!” he stammered, “I’m not a fucking teenager anymore!”

“And what’s more, I’ll let Elena watch, just so she can see what will happen to her should she decide to mimic you in regards to Heidegger. I’m sure she’d quite enjoy seeing the faces you make. I know I always did…” Tseng added.

“Okay… okay… Message received. I’ll watch it. No need to get all threateny…” Reno replied, holding his hands up in defeat. Tseng nodded and left.

“What ‘old training regime’ was he talking about?” Elena asked.

“Uh… Well, see, the short of it is that Tseng managed to find somethin’ even I can’t tolerate the taste of,” he replied, “I was pretty bad about not watchin’ what I was sayin’ and who I was sayin’ it around back when I first got promoted… so every time I slipped up, that’s what I got. Drilled that lesson in pretty quick, actually.”

“There’s something you can’teat?!” Elena gasped.

“Not exactly. I didn’t have to actually eat it… Just… keep it in my mouth until Tseng said I could spit it out,” he said, nervously scratching the back of his neck, “And believe me, he took his sweet time with that…”

“What was it?” the rookie asked, somewhat incredulously. Reno muttered a reply so softly she couldn’t hear it. “What?” she prodded.

“Soap,” he said, a little louder.

“W-what? Did you seriously just say…”

“Soap, okay? He fucking washed my mouth out with soap,” Reno groaned, “… You ever had someone do that to ya? Takes for-fucking-ever to get that shit off your tongue… and nothin’ tastes right for hours afterwards.”

“I can honestly say I never have,” Elena giggled, “But I’m not sure it really worked all that well… you still swear every other sentence.”

“Ah, Tseng doesn’t give a crap about that,” Reno replied, rolling his eyes, “He was more concerned about me sayin’ somethin’ that’d get me in deep shit with Heidegger or one of the other executives. Like you did with Scarlet not so long ago. ‘Cept with me, there was never any build-up… I kinda just ran my mouth constantly with no filter.”

“Reno… the more I hear about you as a rookie, the more it makes Tseng sound like the proud parent of the world’s biggest pain in the ass,” she teased him.

“Yeah… well… you’re not so far off,” Reno admitted, with a soft chuckle, “He was kinda the closest thing I had to a parent at the time, ya know? Hell, as far as that goes, he still is, really. Tseng’s been lookin’ after me almost since the day we met. And I was definitely the world’s biggest pain in the ass back then.”

“Back then? Are you trying to claim that you’re still not?” the rookie said, sniggering.

“Ha, ha… So very funny,” he deadpanned, “Go decorate the tree, will ya?”

---

Elena returned home that night to find a huge package waiting for her. Once she finally managed to wrangle it into her living room, she sliced through the packing tape and opened it. Inside, she found gifts. She grinned to herself and picked up the note on top, recognizing the gently sloping script immediately.

“Dear Elena,” it read, “I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday. Veraheim is beautiful this time of year… You really should at least try to make it out here to see the snow before it all melts. And be sure to bring that redhead of ours along, too! I miss him, the sweet little thing…” Elena snickered softly. Nana really was enamored of Reno. Not that she could really fault her for it. “You’ll find gifts from Delion and I enclosed… and I’ve included a little something for Reno, as well. You be sure that he gets it, and tell him Merry Christmas for me. Take care of yourself, dear, and Merry Christmas. All my love, Nana.”

Elena smiled, carefully folding the note and setting it aside before turning back to the box. The two on top were for her. The one from Nana was neatly wrapped in deep crimson paper. The second had been – very obviously – wrapped by her brother in green. She giggled and shook her head. Del was never very good at ‘neat’, but he’d tried…

She lifted the two packages out and set them under her little tree. It was more of a shrub, really… small enough to set on an end table. She hadn’t wanted to deal with the hassle of a full-sized Christmas tree this year, though she was certain Reno and Rude would have been more than happy to give her a hand getting one into her apartment if she’d asked. It was so much work, though… and she wasn’t even going to be in her apartment on Christmas to enjoy it, anyway. She’d be at Reno’s place… something she was really looking forward to.

The remaining gift was much larger than either of hers, and wrapped in the same crimson paper her grandmother had used. As she hefted it out of the box, she had a pretty good idea what it might be. She remembered getting hers years ago, and it had felt about the same. Oh, yes… Nana had definitely adopted Reno, if she was sending him something like this. She set the gift on the floor beside the tree’s table and hauled the box everything had come in over to the door to deal with later.

An impatient rattle from across the room got her attention before she could do anything else.

“Oh, alright…” she chuckled, walking over to Snuffy’s cage. The ferret was standing on its hind legs, pawing anxiously at the door. Elena quickly opened it, and let the furry creature run free. He sprinted immediately to the tree, stealing an ornament and racing off toward the bedroom with it.

“Snuffy!” Elena shouted after him, “You come back here with that!”

She hurried after him, hoping to reclaim her ornament before it disappeared into his stash… she still hadn’t managed to locate his most recent hiding place, and was missing a few pairs of earrings as well that she’d have liked to have had back. Not to mention her spare car keys…

A knock at her door interrupted her. Elena sighed and gave up on her ferret hunt for the time being, moving to answer it.

“Hey, ‘Lena!” Reno said, grinning widely as she opened it. Elena returned the smile, and stepped back so he could come in.

“Hi,” she replied, slightly surprised. Reno usually called to let her know if he was coming over, in spite of her continued insistence that he was always welcome.

“Sorry for just showin’ up,” he said. I was pickin’ some stuff up for the party on the way home. Thought I’d see what you and Snuffy were up to tonight since I was out anyway.”

“Well, I just got in, actually, so not much yet…” Elena replied, “Snuffy, though, has pulled off yet another daring heist and gone into hiding.”

Reno snickered. “What’d he take now?”

“An ornament. And he’s got at least three pairs of earrings… that I know of,” she said, sounding a little put out.

“Want me to see if I can find ’em?” Reno asked.

“If you’re not doing anything else,” she said, gratefully. She wasn’t sure why, but Reno seemed to have a knack for locating Snuffy’s hiding places, even when Elena thought she’d covered every inch of the apartment during her own search. Reno shrugged off his coat. “He was heading for my bedroom, last I saw him,” she added, taking it from him and hanging it on one of the hooks by the door.

For the next five minutes, the pair of them hunted through Elena’s bedroom for the fugitive rodent with no luck. Even Reno seemed to be losing hope.

“He’s gettin’ better at this…” the redhead commented, “Where the hell is that little –” A soft scratching was suddenly heard from across the room. “Gotcha…” Reno said, smirking. The next thing Elena knew, he’d dropped to the floor and wriggled his way under her bed.

“But… I already checked there. Twice!” Elena protested. Reno laughed, his voice muffled slightly by his current position.

“Ya didn’t look hard enough,” he informed her, “The little thief pulled some of the fabric loose from the boxspring. He’s not under the bed… he’s inside it. Come’re Snuffy…” A moment later, Reno slid halfway out, the thieving furball securely in his hands. “Here, take him… Gimme a minute and I’ll get your stuff back, too.”

Elena took the ferret, holding him firmly in her arms as Reno disappeared back under the bed. It took a few minutes, but soon he returned, stolen loot in hand. Snuffy chirped indignantly at having his stash stolen from him.

“Heh… let’s see. Three pairs of earrings, one Christmas ornament, a set of keys, a lock pick, and about four gil in change,” he said, grinning as he handed over the items, trading them for the ferret.

“Ugh… so that’s where my favorite pick went… Thanks, Reno,” she said, then turned to Snuffy, “As for you… you are on Santa’s naughty list, you little troublemaker…”

“Aw, don’t say that,” the redhead replied, petting Snuffy gently before letting him climb up to his shoulder, “You’ll make him feel bad… He just likes shiny stuff, that’s all.”

Elena shook her head, and set the earrings and assorted other items on her nightstand. The ornament, she took back to the living room, Reno following her, and returned it to the tree.

“Nice Christmas twig…”

“Oh, be quiet,” she said, smiling, “I suppose you’ve got some ridiculous monster of a tree that barely fits in your apartment…”

“Nah,” Reno replied, “It’s about the same size as the one in the lounge at work. Tried the giant tree once… it didn’t quite work out as planned. Broken windows in the middle of winter kinda suck.” His eyes fell on the large package beside the tree. “Wow… someone must like you. New boyfriend you haven’t told me about?” he teased before Elena could interrogate him about his previous Christmas disaster.

“Actually, that one’s for you. Nana sent it, and I’m supposed to tell you Merry Christmas and that she misses you.” Reno looked up in surprise.

“Nana… uh… Josephine sent me somethin’?” he asked, sounding a little shocked. Elena had to giggle softly at Reno correcting himself.

“You might as well just call her Nana,” she said, “You know she insists on it anyway, and you don’t argue with Josephine Marie Brewer, if you know what’s good for you. And yes, she sent you something.”

Reno trailed a hand over the smooth, red paper and gold ribbon.

“Go ahead and take it home with you.” Elena watched him. The look on his face reminded her of her brothers when they were little, waiting desperately for permission to open their gifts. Being the youngest, she was always allowed to go first on Christmas morning, and she could clearly picture the expression of longing and impatience both Del and Bel wore for those few minutes. Reno’s current expression was nearly identical and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Uh… actually… would it be alright if I left it here ’til the party?” he said, a little sheepishly, “I’ll never be able to resist opening it early, otherwise… I’m kinda bad about that.”

“Sure,” she said, giggling. Somehow, that didn’t exactly shock her. “I’ll bring it over then. Do you want to stay for dinner?”

“… Do you even have to ask?” he replied, smirking.

---

Once Reno had left, Elena settled herself on the couch… after making sure her fuzzy bandit of a roommate was securely locked in his cage for the night. She pulled out the basket with her sewing supplies, and picked up the first of the pieces she’d cut for her project. Practice was over… it was time to start on the real thing.

“Well, Snuffy… wish me luck,” she said, as she threaded the needle. She decided to work slower than she’d done the night before in the hopes of inflicting fewer injuries upon herself, and quickly found that it made a huge difference. She laughed a little, as she realized that that was exactly what Reno so frequently told her… that she had a tendency to rush and things would be easier if she slowed down and showed a little patience.

By the time the clock read midnight, she hadn’t gotten very far, but she was fairly pleased with what she’d done. Maybe she really could pull this off on time. It was going to take several long nights at this rate, but she was going to try her best.

Elena carefully packed her project away for the night, and yawned. It was late, and she had to work tomorrow. She stood, and switched off the lights before heading toward her bedroom.

“Good night, Snuffy,” she called over her shoulder.

---

A week later, the entire building seemed to be growing restless as the holiday drew ever closer. It became blatantly obvious just how anxious most people were to be done with work and enjoying their time off. There were only three days left until the weekend… and after that, Shinra would be shutting down, save for a skeleton crew of necessary personnel, for an entire week. Thankfully, barring any emergencies, the Turks were not among those stuck working.

Elena’s gift for Reno was nearing completion. With luck, she’d have it done even before the weekend. It was turning out quite nicely… better than she’d thought herself capable of, in fact… and she really hoped Reno would like it.

“Elena… I realize that the general mood around the building is one of utter desperation for the week to end, but could you at least pretend to be productive?” a voice behind her gently chastised. Elena squeaked in surprise and sat up straight at her desk. She hadn’t realized she’d been daydreaming.

“S-sorry, sir,” she said, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

Tseng chuckled. “It’s alright,” he assured her, “Believe me, I can relate. I’m looking forward to a nice long break as much as anyone. Well… except Reno, perhaps. I doubt there’s anyone in Midgarwho’s looking forward to Christmas quite as much as he is…”

The aforementioned Turk chose that precise moment to put in an appearance, bursting through the door in a Santa hat, with a large sack slung over one shoulder.

“Ya need me for anything, boss?” He was grinning ear to ear, and looked extremely eager to get to whatever it was he had planned.

“Not at present,” Tseng replied, “Making the rounds?”

“Rounds?” Elena asked, glancing over at the two men.

“Reno’s annual bribery of the women of Shinra with candy and gifts,” Tseng explained, rolling his eyes, “Shall I put the secretarial pool on alert that you’re on your way down?”

“Tch… don’t tell ’em. Ruins the surprise. And it’s not bribery… it’s just spreading a little Christmas cheer,” Reno corrected him, before conceding, “And… ya know… if someone wants to maybe spend a little time outside of work with me, who am I to say no?”

Tseng waved him off. Reno vanished into the hallway.

“Sir? How is it that we’re not constantly swamped with sexual harassment complaints?” Elena jokingly asked once he’d gone. Tseng chuckled in response.

“Because Reno is generally quite careful not to persist if his advances are truly unwelcome,” he replied, then smirked, “Present company excepted… I seem to recall several such complaints from you after you first joined us.”

“Er… I…”

“And not undeserved, by any means,” Tseng quickly added, smiling, “He did come on quite strong with you at times. Purposefully… I might add. He was trying to provoke a reaction. And he can be a bit relentless when he puts his mind to it. But normally, he’ll back off fairly quickly if his efforts aren’t positively received.”

“What reaction was he going for? A slap to the face?” She gave a soft laugh, which Tseng echoed.

“Not specifically,” he explained, “But yes, that would probably have been one he’d liked to have seen. You have to admit… that little incident with Scarlet aside, you do tend to bow to authority rather easily. Reno wanted to see just how far he could push you before you’d stand up to him. That was, perhaps the one thing he was most concerned and uncertain about when you were promoted. Reno was quite adamant about you joining us, you know. In fact, I think he made up his mind about you the first time he ever saw you in training. Even so, he was afraid you’d end up being pushed around too much by anyone of higher rank. He didn’t want that to happen, and he chose to make it a priority to ensure that you ultimately wouldn’t allow it, even though it meant making a few painful sacrifices on his part.”

“He… did?”

“Indeed,” Tseng replied, “He hated doing that to you, by the way.”

Elena snickered softly. “Sir… You’ll have to excuse me if I find that a little hard to believe…”

“Oh, he loved every minute of making those comments, and teasing you, and slowly driving you out of your mind,” Tseng assured her, “I won’t deny that for a second, and I’m fairly certain it’s still one of Reno’s favorite pastimes. But he hated the fact that you disliked him for it. That wasn’t easy for him, you know… he’s so used to being well-liked. He’s much happier now that you laugh at his jokes instead of cringing the moment he walks into the room.”

“I still cringe on occasion,” she pointed out, grinning.

“Yes, but only because so many of his jokes are, in fact, cringe-worthy,” Tseng said, smirking slightly, “Not because he intimidates you or makes you uncomfortable.”

“You know… It’s strange to think he ever did, sir. I can’t even imagine feeling uncomfortable around Reno now. Not really, I mean. Not even when when he’s intentionally trying to embarrass me…”

“He would be overjoyed to hear that, I think,” he said, “For a time, he was terrified he was alienating you too much. Your first few months as a Turk were rather hard on him. He desperately wanted you to enjoy his company as much as he enjoyed yours, but he couldn’t let you yet… and he was always deeply upset any time you were truly angry with him for something he’d done. It took quite a bit of effort on my part to reassure him that everything would work out.” Tseng smiled warmly. “He worried that he would fail with you… which in turn meant that he would ultimately fail you. You’re his first, you know. There’s a certain amount of insecurity and personal attachment that goes along with that.”

“Sir?”

“The first rookie he’s ever taken full responsibility for,” Tseng clarified, “There were two others since he was made second in command five years ago, but he only assisted me in their training. You’re different. You’re entirely his. My roll is merely advisory this time.”

“And the other two? What happened to them, sir?”

“They were both killed in the line of duty not long after being recruited,” the Turk leader replied, sadly, “One had been with us only a month, and was even younger than you are now. We had hardly even gotten to know him.”

She felt distinctly chilled by the revelation. “He must have taken that hard…”

“We all did,” Tseng said, “But you’re right… Reno was particularly distraught. And angry. That’s why he tends to be rather more protective of you than is strictly required, I think. The person responsible targeted our ranks specifically, and had no qualms about taking down the most inexperienced among us in a very sudden and brutal way. The Shinra board ultimately decided to keep our numbers smaller after that in the hopes of minimizing losses. That’s the reason it had been so long since anyone was promoted before you were.” He shook his head and forced a smile. “But I believe this conversation is veering a bit towards the depressing side of things. In any case, Reno was ecstatic when I told him to make selections for a promotion. I actually expected him to resist, to be honest, but he was much more eager than I anticipated. I suppose enough time had simply passed that he was ready for it.”

“He told me awhile ago you that weren’t sure about me,” Elena said, snickering quietly when Tseng looked a little uncomfortable.

“Did he?” the Turk leader said, sounding vaguely annoyed with the redhead, “That’s, admittedly, not entirely inaccurate. Please don’t misunderstand… you were more than qualified in terms of skill. But you were very guarded as a recruit, and hesitant to let yourself trust your safety to anyone but yourself. I was concerned that you might not be ready to deal with the team dynamic and level of trust in your allies required of a Turk. Reno strongly felt otherwise. I’m quite pleased to have been thoroughly proven wrong on that point.”

Elena smiled, a little triumphantly. It wasn’t often Tseng was proven wrong on much of anything.

“So… if you don’t mind me asking, sir… who was your first rookie?”

“Really, Elena…” he said, lightly teasing her, “I would have thought that was fairly obvious, given how much I let him get away with.”

“Yes, sir… I suppose it probably should have been,” she sniggered.

---

The next morning found Elena and Reno alone in the Turks’ main office. Somehow, she’d let herself get talked into working her way through the redhead’s rapidly growing pile of incident reports… despite Reno being perfectly capable – and available – to do it himself.

“Hey, check it out!”

Reno’s jubilant tone pulled Elena’s attention away from the report she’d been typing up. She turned to find him pressed against the window, looking out at the city below and yelped as a sudden chill shot across the room when he pushed it wide open.

“Reno! What are you doing? You’re letting all the cold air in… it’s freezing outside!” she said, shivering. The redhead looked over at her and grinned.

“Hell yeah, it is… Finally cold enough for some snow!”

“Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to put in a complaint with Maintenance about the heat again this year…” Tseng lamented as he stepped through the door and noted the drop in temperature. He caught sight of his lieutenant seconds later, who, by then, was hanging halfway out of the opening, hand extended to catch the falling flakes. “Reno… for Leviathan’s sake, close that before we all freeze.”

“Ah, come on, boss… It’s snowin’!”

“Yes, I can see that. What I fail to see is why you feel it necessary to bring a similar climate into the office and subject poor Elena and myself to frostbite and hypothermia.” He smirked and pulled the redhead back inside, shutting the window. “You can play in the snow later, Reno. There should be plenty of it by this afternoon. Right now, I need you to meet Rude at the Sector 4 station. He’s heard a rumor that Avalanche may be using the trains – and the crowds of holiday shoppers – to move explosives onto the Plate. See if the two of you can confirm it… and if you do, put a stop to it.”

“On it.”

Tseng chuckled as the redhead streaked out of the room to meet up with his partner.

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

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

“Sir? May I ask a personal question?”

“Certainly.”

“Do you miss Wutai?”

“On occasion,” Tseng responded, “Though at this point, I’ve actually lived in Midgar for nearly as long as I did my homeland. Seasonal differences aside, I’ve been quite content here.”

“You… don’t miss being close to your family?” she ventured. She knew it was probably a mistake to bring up his family again after his vague response the first time the subject came up… but she couldn’t help her curiosity.

The Turk leader frowned, and sat down on the corner of her desk. “I’ve been wondering when you would get around to asking about that…”

“They really won’t speak to you, sir? At all?”

“It’s goes a bit deeper than that,” he said, sighing. “They have, essentially, disowned me. Or at least my father has… and he ultimately has the final say in the matter. Were anyone to to disobey him in this, they would be risking the same fate. And given how proud my father tends to be, it’s a fairly substantial risk. Though to be fair, a number of them are just as angry with me as he is.”

Elena was left speechless for a moment, wondering what could possibly have made a father so upset that he would sever all ties with his own son.

“Sir…”

“You wish to know why.” It was a statement, not a question. Elena nodded silently. “I suppose I may as well explain. Reno and Rude are both aware of the circumstances. There’s little reason to keep you in the dark. But I would ask that you do not question me any further about it once I finish. It’s… not something I’m proud of, nor something I enjoy recounting. I deeply regret what happened, but what’s done is done.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

Tseng nodded. “I had a younger sister… the youngest of my siblings, and the only girl born to my parents. Her name was Mayu, and she was a very generous and kind young woman. And… I killed her. Or, as Reno has always insisted to me… I didn’t save her. Which sounds slightly less cold-blooded, but, sadly, doesn’t alter the end result.”

“She was here to see me… That was the only reason she was here. I’d left Wutai some years before and she missed me. We had always been very close as children, and remained so even as we grew older. I was still only second in command at the time. Reno had been a Turk for less than a year, and Rude only slightly longer. The war with Wutai had not yet begun, but it was more than clear what was coming. We learned that a small terrorist group planned to make an example of Shinra by bombing the Sector 3 Pillar. It would have killed tens of thousands if that were allowed to happen, both on the Plate and below in the slums… but we had not been able to identify the members of the group. We knew approximately where they would be and when they would be there, however… so Veld made the recommendation to call in a military strike on the Sector 3 train station. A few hundred lives would be sacrificed to save thousands of others, and it would be done in a such a way that Wutai would be blamed for the carnage. President Shinra approved it almost immediately.”

“And… your sister?

“Was right in the middle of it. She was preparing to leave for home. I had plenty of time to warn her, but Veld ordered a complete communications blackout, rather than risk any information leaking. I could have disobeyed. I chose not to. And because I didn’t, Mayu died. I took her home myself. When I confessed what I had done to my father, he turned his back on me, and told me I was no longer his son. At least two of my brothers, and several cousins, supported him fully. My youngest brother and my mother were not so condemning, but could do nothing. I’ve had no contact with my father, or any other member of my family, since.”

Elena swallowed sharply against the lump that had formed in her throat. For Tseng to have done something like that… it seemed to go against everything she knew about the man. He gave her a sad smile, seemingly reading her thoughts.

“I was a very different person then. As I said… the choice I made that day is, and probably always will be, my greatest regret in life. I came very close to resigning over it.”

“What changed your mind?” Elena asked.

“Reno, naturally…” Tseng said with a soft and somewhat self-deprecating laugh, “He was still so young, and so very… Reno. I was afraid of what might happen to him if I simply abandoned him, and I couldn’t live with that on my conscience as well. So I stayed… and in the end, I was glad I did.”

“I’m glad you did, too, sir. It wouldn’t be the same here without you.”

---

When a certain pair of Turks trudged back into the office shortly before the end of the day, Rude looked nearly frozen. Reno, in contrast, was grinning from ear to ear as he shook the droplets of melted snow out of his hair while he made his way to his desk… ‘accidentally’ showering Elena with a cold spray of water when he passed her.

“Reno!” She glared at him, annoyed, and did her best to blot the moisture off of her – now significantly smaller – stack of reports without smearing the ink. The man’s handwriting was hard enough to read.

“Hmph… Be glad that’s all you got,” Rude commented, shivering, “He wanted to bring you back a snowball.”

“I just didn’t think it’d be fair if you were the only one who got one,” the redhead smirked, “Anyway… Where’s the boss, ‘Lena? Got good news for him. Nothin’s blowing up for Christmas.”

Rude’s rumor of explosives had turned out to be just that… a rumor. He and Reno had found no evidence of Avalanche, or anyone else, for that matter, transporting anything more dangerous than fruitcake in Sector 4. It had come as something of a relief. Apparently, even terrorists preferred to take the holidays off.

“He had a meeting with Reeve. I would have thought he’d be back by now, though.”

“Yeah? Huh… Wonder where he’s fucked off to now…”

“I had a small errand to run on the way back,” a voice said from the door. Reno turned, only to promptly receive a face-full of packed snow. The sudden shock of cold and wet sent him staggering backwards. He landed on the couch with a soft thump. Elena snickered as the redhead wiped the snow from his eyes.

“What the hell was that for?!”

“That was in anticipation of inevitable deluge of snowballs that will be coming my way for the remainder of the week, as you are undoubtedly still under your yearly delusion that you can actually hit me with one.”

“Shots fired,” Rude commented from his desk, smirking. Reno’s eyes narrowed as he clambered to his feet.

“Yeah? Tch… not fair to catch me off guard before we’ve even officially started, boss. Next time I’ll be ready for ya.”

“We shall see…” Tseng returned, shrugging slightly as he crossed the room toward his own office. He paused just inside the door. “Oh… and Reno?”

The redhead looked up from brushing snow off his jacket… and was immediately struck by a second perfectly aimed throw. He whined in distress as some of the icy-cold snow slid down behind his collar, leaving a trail of near-freezing water trickling down his chest.

“You weren’t ready.”

Tseng calmly took a seat behind his desk, leaving his lieutenant desperately trying to shake the snow out from under his shirt as Rude and Elena looked on, laughing.

---

By Friday, most of the building had their eyes glued to the clock, willing it to move faster towards five. Elena was no exception, and even Tseng and Rude seemed far mores restless than usual. Reno, of course, was practically bouncing off the walls.

“Hey, ‘Lena… we’re headin’ to the Phoenix Nest soon as we’re off. You comin’?” the redhead asked as the clock was ticking down the last few minutes.

“Oh… um… I can’t, actually,” she said, “I have plans tonight.” Which wasn’t a complete lie… she intended to finish Reno’s gift. It was almost done, and she wanted it finished before the weekend, because she still had to find something else for him.

She’d realized, somewhat belatedly, that she absolutely couldn’t give it to him in front of the others. But she couldn’t very well show up for the party with nothing for him. Which meant she needed a decoy gift until she could give him his real present in private… which, unfortunately brought her right back to her original dilemma. Finding something for Reno that didn’t seem like it had simply been chosen because she had no idea what else to get him. She had a feeling it was going to take her most of the weekend.

“You sure? They’re servin’ half-price peppermint vodka shots tonight…”

“Is that supposed to make me want to go?” she asked, snickering. He knew she wasn’t a fan of vodka… or most other hard liquors, for that matter. And she’d been turning down his offers of candy canes all week because peppermint always made her stomach ache terribly. In spite of the many times she’d heard it claimed that peppermint was supposed to be ‘soothing’, it usually just made her feel slightly ill.

“Alright, fine…” he grinned, “See ya at the party, then. Officially, we’re startin’ at five… but don’t be shy about turnin’ up early. I don’t mind. Oh, and plan on stayin’ the night. Trust me, no one’s gonna be in any shape to make their way home by the time I’m through with you.”

“And again I have to ask… Is that supposed to make me want to go?” she shot back, drawing a laugh from Rude across the room. Reno gave her a half-hearted glare, but a moment later, his grin returned.

“Rookie’s turnin’ into kind of a smart ass,” he commented to his partner.

“Wonder where she gets it from?” he responded dryly, as Tseng strode into the main office.

“I’m sure you’ll all be glad to know that it’s five o’clock… we’re officially free to go.”

Reno cheered, grabbing his coat and all but flying out the door. Rude rolled his eyes and followed, planning to join him at the bar.

“Not going with them?” Tseng asked, holding the door for Elena, and walking her to the elevators.

She shook her head. “Not tonight.”

“Well, at least one of you is sensible.” They stepped into the car and Elena pressed the button for the parking deck. “We’ll all probably have alcohol poisoning by Christmas morning as it is. There’s little sense in getting a head start.”

When the elevator dropped them off, she bid Tseng good night and headed for her car. The drive was uncommonly long… everyone in Midgar seemed to be trying to head home at the same time. She finally made it nearly a half hour later than usual.

Walking into her apartment, Elena first let Snuffy out, and refilled his food dish. Then she hastily made herself a sandwich – she wanted to get straight to work, but knew if she didn’t eat something, she’d be starving in an hour – and devoured it at a speed even Reno would have found impressive.

Immediate needs taken care of, she hurried to pull her project from it’s hiding place, looking over the almost-done gift with a grin. She re-threaded her needle and got to work.

---

Saturday morning dawned, cold and bright. Elena woke to find herself still on the couch… and still in uniform. She’d fallen asleep sometime around two in the morning – or at least that was the last time she recalled looking over at the clock. Much of the night after that had become a bit of a blur, and she really had no idea when she’d finally nodded off. She glanced down at the item in her hands and saw just how close she’d been to finishing… it just needed one more thing.

She dug through the basket of sewing supplies and came up with the two shiny black buttons she’d been saving as the final touch. A few more stitches, and it was done. Elena smiled happily as she held it up, looking over her work.

“Not bad,” she said to herself, a little impressed with what she’d managed to accomplish. Not a professional job, by any stretch of the imagination, but it had turned out well. Nana would be proud.

Elena set Reno’s gift into the box she’d already prepared for it, carefully blanketing it in tissue paper before placing the lid over it. She’d wrap it later. Right now, she needed a shower and breakfast. And then it was off to the shopping district, to see about a present she could give Reno in front of Tseng and Rude.

---

At four o’ clock Tuesday evening, Elena loaded the presents into her car and set off for Reno’s apartment. Heeding Reno’s warning that she wouldn’t be returning home until tomorrow, she’d also packed a small overnight bag – in which, along with pajamas and her toothbrush, she’d also stashed Reno’s real gift.

The party wasn’t meant to start until five, and she was barely going four blocks… if it weren’t for the gifts, she’d have simply walked. But the sky was looking ominous with the promise of more snow, and the redhead had said he didn’t mind early guests… and she had to admit, she was looking forward to it with the sort of nervous energy she couldn’t remember feeling since Christmas Eve as a child.

In the end, she was glad she’d left so early. The snow began to fall before she’d even made it out of the parking lot, and by the time she’d pulled into a parking space at Reno’s complex, it was coming down in earnest, adding a fresh layer to the several inches Midgar had received the over the past few days. The roads were still slick and partially snow-covered from the last round of precipitation… Had she waited much longer, she might’ve had to go on foot after all, or else risk having to abandon her car on the street halfway there.

Elena hurriedly retrieved her bag and the gifts from the back seat, struggling awkwardly to juggle the oversized package from Nana with the rest of her load. As she was wondering if it might be better to just make two trips, the largest parcel was suddenly lifted from her arms. Elena looked up, surprised to see Rude standing next to her.

“… Saw you pull in from upstairs… Thought you might need a hand.”

“Thanks,” she said, smiling. The two Turks made their way inside, lodging themselves and the pile of packages into the elevator. “Been here long?” she asked.

“Most of the day,” Rude replied, smirking, “Who do you think made dinner?”

“I thought this was Reno’s party… He’s not cooking for us tonight?”

“Reno doesn’t cook,” the bald Turk said seriously, “He inflicts suffering and despair on unsuspecting people’s stomachs…”

Elena burst out laughing at the dire description of Reno’s culinary skills. The one time he’d ever cooked for her, she’d been too hung over to even dare attempt eating anything. Surely, though, it couldn’t be that bad…

“So I guess that means dinner won’t be six different kinds of take-out, either, then,” she replied.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Rude chuckled.

The pair of them entered Reno’s apartment and were greeted by the sound of hard rock renditions of Christmas carols playing on the stereo and Reno hovering over the counter in the kitchen.

“Step away from the radicchio,” Rude said firmly, causing the redhead to jump violently in surprise. He turned around, grinning, and slowly backed out of the kitchen, hands up in surrender.

“I was just lookin’…” he said, innocently. His eyes fell on the rookie, and his interest in Rude’s efforts at dinner seemed to be forgotten momentarily. “Hey, ‘Lena! Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas,” she said, smiling at him. Reno relieved Rude of the large package, leaving the other Turk to return to his culinary exploits, and carried it over to the tree. Elena followed with her other presents… though she stopped short when she saw the decorations. “… Really?” she asked, torn between laughing and wondering about the man’s sanity. The tree was decorated top to bottom with the same naked Santa and Mrs. Claus ornaments she’d found on her desk nearly two weeks ago.

“Come on, ‘Lena… Are you surprised?”

“… No, not really,” she stated, setting down her gifts. She giggled, looking the man over for a moment. She hadn’t even noticed it when she’d first walked in, but Reno was wearing a truly garish Christmas sweater. It was largely emerald green, and decorated with knitted strands of Christmas lights.

“Ya like it? Only time of the year I can get away with wearin’ green…” he said, following her gaze. “You haven’t even seen the best part…” He pressed what must have been a concealed switch in the sleeve and the whole thing lit up. Elena snickered loudly, shaking her head. “Come on.. sit down and get comfortable. Dinner’ll be ready in…”

“Twenty minutes,” Rude supplied from the kitchen.

“You heard the man,” Reno proclaimed, coaxing Elena down onto the couch. “What do you want to drink? We’re pretty much fully stocked tonight, and I’m bartending… ‘long as I’m sober enough to do it, anyway… so just name it.”

“Just a beer, for now,” Elena said.

“Ugh… ‘Lena… You’re killin’ me. I could open my own fuckin’ bar with everything I’ve got in here right now, and all you want is a beer?” he said with an exaggerated groan as he retrieved the requested beverage from the fridge, and handed it to her.

“Some people know how to pace themselves,” a voice commented from the direction of the door. Elena glanced up and saw that Rude had let Tseng in at some point during the conversation.

“Alright, finally! Everyone’s here,” Reno said happily, “Tseng?”

“Scotch and soda,” he replied, taking off his coat.

“Not exactly adventurous, but at least there’s some decent alcohol content there…” The redhead moved off to the central counter that was lined with a multitude of liquor bottles to mix the drink.

Tseng carried his own gifts over to the pile growing under the tree, pausing to roll his eyes at the decorations as he did so. “I should have known he was actually serious about that…”

“Merry Christmas, sir,” Elena said as he sat down.

“And to you as well,” he replied, “I hope your trip over was less eventful than mine. Drunk or not, I won’t be going home tonight. I’m not sure I’ll be leaving at all until they’ve cleared the roads a bit better.”

“Gettin’ bad out there?” Reno asked, handing him his drink.

“Very,” he replied with a nod, “And it’s started to snow again.”

“Eh… well, you can all stay as long as you want. Or at least ’til you’re so sick of me you’re fightin’ each other to get to the door…” Reno said, hopping over the back of the couch and landing neatly between the other two Turks. He longingly eyed the gifts. “So…”

“After dinner, Reno… You know the rule,” Tseng admonished him. The redhead sighed dramatically.

“Fine…” He stood and wandered back towards the makeshift bar to make himself a drink.

“I swear, you turn into an overgrown eight year old this time of year,” Tseng teased him.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Reno returned, “Last year you called me an overgrown six year old. So, seriously… how ’bout just one before dinner?”

“No,” both Tseng and Rude chorused. Reno pouted, but didn’t press the issue any further, and meandered off to watch Rude put the finishing touches on the meal.

“Why not?” Elena asked curiously. Tseng chuckled as he sipped his drink.

“Because it’s absolute agony for him.”

“Sir!” she gasped, giggling.

“With everything I put up with from him at the office, I think I’m allowed the occasional minor retribution,” he said, smirking, “Have you heard from your family?”

“My grandmother sent gifts from her and Del,” she replied, “They’re kind of cut off out in Veraheim, so we don’t often get the chance to talk unless its in person. It’s… strange to think I won’t be hearing from Bel this year, though. It was the one time I could always count on a phone call, at the very least.”

Tseng rested a hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. “As I understand all too well. It gets easier with time, but it’s never quite the same.” Elena smiled a little shyly. It wasn’t often the Turk leader was so open with her. “Reno mentioned your grandmother sent him something, as well,” Tseng added, “She seemed quite fond of him when she and your brother were here.”

Elena motioned to the large red box by the tree. “I have a feeling I know what it is… she made one for each of my brothers and I ages ago, and she sort of unofficially adopted Reno while we were in Veraheim, so…”

“Quite fond indeed,” he said, arching an eyebrow.

Elena giggled. “That’s just how she is. If she’d stayed in Midgar much longer, I’m pretty sure you and Rude would have eventually been inducted into the family, too… Whether you liked it or not.”

“So… who’s hungry!?” Reno called from the kitchen, as Rude began moving dishes to the table.

---

Rude had outdone himself. Dinner would have put even one of Nana’s holiday spreads to shame. The rookie wasn’t sure how many people Rude thought he’d be feeding, but not even Reno was able to put much of a dent in the massive banquet… though he’d certainly given it his best effort. There was ham and pulled pork, roast chicken and beef short ribs… mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, sweet potato fries, stuffed peppers, three different kinds of salad – the man had even gone so far as to make his own dressings for them – and several offerings of various vegetable dishes.

And dessert. Dear Holy, the desserts. Reno had looked like he’d died and gone to heaven when Rude had brought those out. He hadn’t even known where to start, and Elena was fairly certain he’d sampled every one of them at least twice.

She herself was stuffed, having been unable to resist the offer of seconds. And thirds. In fact, she’d have gone back for more if she hadn’t thought she might ultimately eat herself sick if she didn’t take a break. Tseng appeared to be in much the same condition… Even their resident bottomless pit seemed thoroughly satiated for the moment. Three of the four Turks had collapsed onto the various pieces of furniture that surrounded the tree. Reno, however, didn’t appear to be suffering the same effects of the collective post-Christmas dinner food coma, and was anxiously hovering near the presents.

“Shall we wait a bit to open gifts?” Tseng wondered aloud. Elena and Rude both tried, and failed spectacularly, at repressing their laughter at the expression of pure dismay that spread across Reno’s face.

“… Quit torturing him, Tseng. You don’t let him open something soon, he’s liable to explode,” Rude said at last, taking pity on his friend. The redhead flashed him a grateful look.

“Alright… hand them out.”

Finally granted permission, Reno dove for the pile and began sorting. Moments later, each of them had their own stack of festively wrapped parcels in front of them. “I think…” Tseng began, as Reno was reaching for his first gift, “… that, seeing as this is Elena’s first Christmas with us, we should break with our tradition of beginning with the host and let her go first…”

Reno audibly whined in frustration, but sat back. “You enjoy doin’ this to me way too much, Tseng.”

“Doing what?” he asked with an innocent smile.

“Oh, it’s alright, sir. I don’t mind waiting,” Elena piped up. She couldn’t help but take pity on the eager redhead. Reno grinned maniacally and reached for the large box from Elena’s grandmother.

“And so the carnage begins…” Tseng commented, as the redhead gleefully tore into the paper. The box was opened and the tissue paper tossed aside, and Reno paused in his attack, carefully reaching in and withdrawing a beautiful hand-made quilt. It was done in deep red and pale cream, with accents of gold embroidery.

“She made this for me?” he asked, somewhat in awe. Elena nodded. Reno ran his fingers gently over the patterns in the stitching for a moment, before cocooning himself in it and settling back into his chair.

“I think she picked the perfect colors for yours. She did mine in green, ivory, and silver,” Elena said, causing Reno to peek out from the confines of the quilt.

“You have one, too?”

“Sure… you’ve seen it. It’s the one on my bed. Nana made them for all three of us when my brothers and I were little, and they’re all completely different,” she said, giggling, “Nana says you should never make the same quilt twice, so that each one is special. Told you she really likes you…”

Reno grinned and wrapped himself tighter in the quilt.

“Elena…” Tseng prodded, “Your turn.”

Elena reached for the topmost box on her stack, looking at the tag and seeing that it was from Rude. She carefully loosed the ribbon, and then started on the paper. A quiet sigh came from the still-enveloped redhead.

“You really areone of those people, aren’t you?” His face was hidden behind the folds of embroidered fabric, but she could practically hear him rolling his eyes at her.

“He won’t be satisfied unless there’s shredded paper everywhere by the end of this,” Tseng informed her.

“Damn right…”

“Oh, fine,” she huffed, and tore through the wrapping, tossing it aside.

“Better,” Reno stated. She turned her attention back to the gift and her jaw dropped.

“I… I’ve been looking everywhere for this…” she said, looking up at Rude. The Shadow & Sword behind the scenes art book from the first season had been out of print for years and was nearly impossible to find. She’d all but given up on ever getting her hands on one. “Where in the world did you ever find one?!”

Rude chuckled. “Had some help,” he said, nodding towards Reno.

“Kel,” Reno elaborated, “Anything ya need, he can get. You’re up, partner.”

Things continued in much the same vein for some time, until the last of the gifts were unwrapped and the last of the thank yous delivered. Tseng had given her an utterly beautiful silk scarf, patterned in green and pale blue. From Reno, she’d been a little shocked to receive a bottle of her favorite perfume. Where he found it and how he’d even known she liked it so much – it was certainly no lucky guess – was a complete mystery to her. She’d been carefully rationing out the last little bit she had for months because the scent had been retired more than a year ago. No one sold it anymore.

Reno himself seemed extraordinarily content with his own gifts… a rich leather wallet from Tseng, and a decidedly violent-looking video game, that apparently had been on his list for some time now, from Rude. He’d been equally pleased with the omnibus edition of “The Best of the Worst of Horror” on DVD that Elena had presented him with, having only seen a handful of the twenty plus titles in the compilation. She hoped desperately that he would be just as happy with her more personalized gift later.

Snow was still piling up outside, as Reno returned to bartending duties.

“So who wants what?” he called out, eager to share his collection, “‘Lena?”

“I’m good,” Elena replied. Despite Reno’s best efforts, all she’d had thus far was a beer and two glasses of wine with dinner.

“Oh, come on, ‘Lena… How am I ‘sposed to get you good and wasted if you won’t drink anything?”

“Easy… You’re not,” she retorted, “The last time you managed it, I drunk-dialed Tseng and woke up so hungover I thought I was going to die. If you think I’m going to let you do that to me again, you’re insane.”

“Aw, that just means you need more experience,” he said, grinning, “So, come on… live a little. Costa del Sunrise? Mako Cannonball? Ifrit’s Revenge?”

“Reno… Enough,” Tseng intervened, “If the last time was that bad, I’d hardly blame her if she didn’t trust your judgment of her limits. You forget entirely too easily that not everyone has your tolerance.”

Rude looked up from the shot he was pouring himself. “Gotta build that up over time,” he agreed.

“Okay, okay… How about somethin’ a little lighter, then? A Banora White Appletini?”

Elena sighed. “Reno, I said…”

“Cosmo Candle.”

She paused in her refusal. She actually loved those, though she rarely ordered them locally. No one in Midgar seemed to serve a really good one. “Well…” she said, a bit indecisively.

“I’m damn good at ’em,” Reno tempted her.

“Though I hate to add to the pressure, he’s not just saying that to convince you to accept,” Tseng interjected, “About the only place you’ll find a better one is Pub Starlet in Cosmo Canyon. And on that note… Reno, you’re welcome to make one for me…”

“Oh… Fine, me too,” she relented.

“Yes! Two Cosmo Candles comin’ up,” he happily replied, mixing the cocktails, and presenting them to his two guests with a flourish. He made something for himself – Elena wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed to have a truly obscene amount of vodka in it – and rejoined the group.

“… So what’s the game this year?” Rude asked. Reno opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Tseng.

“Bearing in mind that no one wants to play strip-anything.”

“Well, it was gonna be strip-Truth or Dare…” the redhead said, “But apparently you’re not drunk enough yet.”

“I will never be that drunk again… And judging by her expression, neither will Elena.”

“Standard rules?” Rude asked, looking at the redhead, who nodded. He shrugged, “Could still play, then. Just replace having to give up an article of clothing with doing a shot.”

Reno laughed and wrapped an arm around Rude’s shoulders. “That’s why I love ya, Rude,” he declared, “You always have a solution. Get some more glasses…”

Rude smirked and headed for the bar, retrieving three additional shot glasses and a bottle of single malt whiskey. He set them down on the coffee table in front of the couch and took his seat. Reno, meanwhile, had vanished into his bedroom, returning a moment later with a small black bag.

“So for those who may not know the rules,” he said, looking pointedly at the rookie, “When it’s your turn, the person to your right draws a card from the bag. Each card has a question and a dare. You choose one. If ya end up not likin’ what you chose, you can do a shot and try your luck with the other option on the card… but if ya go that route, ya can’t go back to the first option. If you still can’t stand to do it, you can pass, but ya gotta do two more shots. Last man standing wins… first one unconscious has to live with the shame ’til my next Christmas party. Isn’t that right, Tseng?” He grinned wildly at the Turk leader.

“And, as always… the host goes first,” Tseng smirked, as he drew a card for Reno, “Which would you like?”

“Dare, of course,” he replied.

“Mmm… Who wrote these? This isn’t your handwriting…” the Turk leader commented, “I can actually read it.”

“Heh… Neighbor used ’em at a party a while back. Let me borrow ’em. I haven’t looked at them, either, so I don’t know what’s on ’em.” he said. Tseng glanced at Rude, snickering.

“In that case… this is going to be a very interesting game,” the Wutaiian said, “because it says you have to let the player of your choosing paint your nails.”

“Pity I don’t keep nail polish on hand.” Reno grinned smugly at his superior.

“I’m sure I have some,” Elena said, hurrying to get her bag. She dug through it, coming up with a tiny bottle of fiery red polish. Reno’s eyebrows rose.

“Never seen that on ya…”

“Oh, I don’t wear it…” Elena explained, “It’s the same color as the paint on my car. I had a scratch awhile back, and this was much easier than taking it in and having someone retouch it for me.”

“Resourceful,” Tseng commented, chuckling at the sour look on Reno’s face, “Well?”

Reno sighed and held his hands out to Elena. “You do it. Don’t think either of them have much experience with this shit. Plus you’re still mostly sober,” he said, “Meanwhile… Tseng’s turn.”

The Turk leader tossed the bag to Rude as the rookie got to work on the impromptu manicure. Rude selected a card and glanced over at his superior.

“Truth,” he requested. Rude snorted a laugh.

“… What do you call your boss when he’s not around?”

“Several things I almost certainly shouldn’t,” Tseng replied. Elena had to pull the tiny brush away from Reno’s nail before her laughter made her hand slip.

“… Not really an answer,” Rude pointed out.

“I’ve become rather fond of the term ‘fuckwit’ lately… though I can’t really take credit for it,” he said looking pointedly over at Reno, who was trying desperately to contain his mirth and hold still for Elena.

“It does fit Heidegger nicely,” the redhead agreed.

“Done,” Elena said, placing the brush back in its bottle. Reno glanced down at his nails, and shook his head.

“‘Least it matches my hair…”

Rude passed the bag over to Elena. “Dare,” he said, before she even drew a card.

“Tell the group where you are ticklish and let another player tickle you,” she read. Rude’s eyes went wide behind his shades and Reno cackled loudly.

“Oh… bad luck there, partner,” he said with a maniacal grin. The bald Turk hurried to grab the bottle and pour himself a shot. “NO!” Reno cried. Rude smirked and downed it.

“Truth.”

“Dammit! I really wanted ‘Lena to see that…”

“What is you’re most embarrassing phobia?” she read, and Reno’s grin quickly returned. Rude glanced at the bottle a second time, debating, but finally groaned.

“Clowns,” he said awkwardly. Reno choked on a mouthful of his own drink.

“Clowns?!” he sputtered, “Rude… you’re not serious…”

“… There’s just something… wrong… about them.”

“Clowns…” Reno repeated, disbelievingly.

“Says the man who’ afraid of…”

“OKAY! Okay…” he said, quickly cutting his friend off, “You’re totally right, clowns are creepy as fuck. Movin’ on…”

“Wait, is this one I don’t know about? I want to hear what he was going to…” Elena started to say.

“Movin’ on…” Reno interrupted, and motioned for the bag. She held it out to him. “Uh…”

“What’s wrong now?”

“… My… nails aren’t dry yet,” he muttered, drawing a laugh from the entire room. “What? If I gotta have ’em painted, I don’t want ’em to look like crap.”

Tseng reached into the bag and drew a card, holding it up for the redhead.

“Truth or dare, ‘Lena?”

“Er… Truth, I guess.” Reno looked particularly pleased by her choice… which, in turn, worried her greatly.

“Tell the person to your right what their best physical attribute is,” he read, then snickered, “… Oh! I guess that’s me, isn’t it?”

“Oh, for Odin’s sake…” Elena groaned, “This game has to be rigged…”

“Nope… totally legit,” Reno assured her, “Tell the truth, or do a shot and take the dare. You’ll really like the dare…”

“I… um…” she began. It wasn’t a difficult question… it was just that her answer seemed so cliché. He was going to laugh at her. She sighed, and decided that, given the look on the redhead’s face, the dare wasn’t worth the risk. “I like your eyes,” she answered, “I’ve always thought you had really pretty eyes.”

To her surprise, he didn’t laugh at all. He actually looked rather… touched. Tseng pulled a second card.

“Reno?” he prodded the man.

“Huh? Oh, dare… come on. You know me.” He eyed his superior with a challenging look.

“All other players must roll a die. Allow the player with the lowest number the option of either kissing you or slapping you in the face.”

Reno snorted in laughter, and glanced at the bottle for a moment. “Ah, what the hell…” he said after a moment’s thought, “Go ahead and roll. Think there’s some dice in the cupboard next to ya, Rude.”

Rude shuffled through the small cabinet, which Elena noted was filled with various games, decks of cards, poker chips, and the like. It took a minute, but he eventually located the needed article and handed it to Elena.

“Ladies first,” he chuckled. Elena rolled… and groaned loudly as the die landed on a two.

“Oh, good…” Reno sighed, “I didn’t really wanna get slapped.”

“What makes you think I won’t?” the rookie quipped.

“You’re too nice to do somethin’ like that… ‘least not if I don’t actually deserve it, and I don’t think I’ve managed to insult ya, humiliate ya, or torture ya to quite that extent tonight. Yet.”

“I’d suggest holding off on your victory celebration until the rest of us have rolled, Reno,” Tseng cautioned him, giving the die a roll himself. Reno laughed as it came up on a six.

“I’m not real worried.”

Rude picked it up next, and tossed the die onto the table. Tseng quickly fixed Reno with an I-told-you-so expression. The redhead stared at the lone dot shown on the die and groaned loudly. He and stood up, walking over to Rude.

“Just try not to bruise me, huh, pal?” he said, somewhat pleadingly as Rude rose as well, moving into prime slapping position. Rude smirked, and cocked his arm back. Reno visibly cringed when he began his swing, and instinctively shut his eyes. Rude’s hand stopped barely an inch from the other man’s face, as he unexpectedly grabbed the redhead in a hug, and planted a kiss on the top of his head.

Rude released him back to his seat on the couch. Reno was speechless for a moment, as the other three Turks sniggered quietly at his shocked expression. Eventually, however, he recovered.

“What the hell was that?” he managed, at last, with a laugh.

“Not gonna hit my best friend on Christmas,” Rude replied, shrugging nonchalantly, and pouring himself a shot of whiskey just for the hell of it.

The game went on for nearly three hours. Tseng had been forced to go an entire round, prefacing everything he said with “Praise be to the golden chocobo”.

Rude admitted to once having woken up in Reno’s bed with a set of triplets, the worst hangover of his life, and no memory of the previous night – including the whereabouts of the aforementioned redhead – which had resulted in him swearing off Mideelian Absinthe for as long as he lived. Mysteriously, Reno hadn’t been willing to divulge his own memory of that night… though Elena got the distinct impression that he did, indeed, remember it.

Reno had consistently chosen ‘Dare’ for the entire game, only opting out once when his task would have been to lay on the floor and let one of them sit on his back until his next turn. He’d dismissed it as being entirely too easy, and instead had answered a question about losing his virginity… in far more detail than anyone had really wanted to hear, to the point that Tseng finally had to intervene and put a stop to the increasingly lurid descriptions. Naturally, the very next round, the redhead was dared to give the player of his choice a lap dance, and had happily repaid Tseng for the interruption… Elena was fairly certain she’d noticed Rude surreptitiously aiming his PHS at the spectacle.

Elena had chosen a shot over answering the question about her most embarrassing date… She wasn’t about to hand any one of them that kind of ammunition. Instead, her dare had been to give another player a piggyback ride. Reno had been the only choice by default, since she wasn’t entirely sure she’d even have been able to manage it with one of the other two men. Even with the light-weight, slender redhead, it had been a struggle… though that might have been more due to the fact that she was starting to feel just a little tipsy following her second Cosmo Candle of the night than any real difficulty at carrying him around on her back.

By the time they finally ran out of cards, Rude was barely clinging to consciousness, and Tseng had passed out entirely four rounds earlier. Reno was decidedly drunk, having been drinking steadily throughout the game in addition to the occasional shot, but still seemed relatively lucid… if a bit uncoordinated. Of the group, only Elena remained largely sober. She’d overwhelmingly lucked out with her cards – with a handful of exceptions, nothing had pushed her too far out of her comfort zone – nor did she make of habit of downing drinks one after another in between turns like some people – and so she hadn’t imbibed nearly as much as the others.

Reno yawned and glanced over at the clock, which currently read 1:22am.

“Huh… Guess you ‘n me are gonna have to call it a tie,” he said, slurring a little as he dragged himself off the couch and walked – far less gracefully than usual – over the the closet, “Gimme a hand, will ya? Or ‘least make sure I don’t fall over…”

Elena joined him, and he began piling pillows and blankets into her arms. Between the two of them, they quickly saw to it that their fellow Turks were both warm and comfortable for the night where they’d fallen asleep. Reno carefully tucked a blanket around Tseng and tossed a third pillow onto the couch.

“You can have my room, ‘Lena,” he said with a tired, but very happy, smile.

“I… what? Reno, you don’t have to do that. I’m fine out here. Really…” She hated the idea of kicking him out of his own bed for the night.

“I know I don’t have to do it… I wanna do it,” he replied, “So just let me, okay?”

“Reno…”

“‘Lena, come on. I may be tired as hell… and very drunk…” he said grinning, “But I’m not gonna be able to sleep knowin’ you’re stuck out here on the couch listenin’ to Rude snore when you could have my nice soft bed all to yourself.” He wrapped an arm around her, staggering slightly, and began leading her toward his bedroom, grabbing her bag along the way. He gently coaxed her through the door, and turned to head back to the couch.

“Wait… Reno…”

“I’m not gonna argue this with ya,” he firmly stated.

“Okay, fine… but, wait. There’s something I still need to give you.”

Reno turned back to look at her, an eyebrow rising in curiosity as he watched Elena rummage through her bag and pull out a carefully wrapped box.

“What’s that?” he asked, walking unsteadily back into the bedroom.

“It’s… um… your real Christmas present…” she said, blushing a little, “I didn’t want to give it to you in front of everyone, because it’s kind of… well, just open it…” She thrust the box into his hands.

Elena swallowed nervously as he ripped into the wrapping paper. “I hope you like it… I worked really hard on it… but I-I don’t do that much sewing anymore…” she said as he lifted the lid off of the box. As he pushed aside the tissue paper, he went silent, and for a moment, very still, before reaching in and slowly lifting out the little stuffed bunny she’d put so much effort into for him. He let the empty box drop from his fingertips to the floor.

She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. A moment later, when Reno took a shuddering breath, Elena suddenly realized why.

“R-reno…?” she said softly, concerned, as she gently tilted his face up to look him in the eye, and saw the tears. “Oh… oh, no… oh god, Reno, I-I’m sorry… This wasn’t what I wanted. I never meant to…”

She was quickly cut off, as Reno threw his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

“Don’t apologize…” he said, laughing softly, “Do not fucking apologize. I’m not upset… I’m just way too plastered right now to keep my feelings in check.”

“So does that mean you like it?” she asked, “I know it can’t replace Mr. Foo-Foo… but…”

“‘Lena…” Reno pulled away from her and smiled. He wiped his face with his free hand, though it didn’t do much good. “Of course I like it. I love it…”

Elena gave a relieved sigh, and then grinned.

“So now will you let me sleep on the couch?” she teased, “Unless, of course, you really want to explain why you’re cuddling a stuffed bunny to Rude and Tseng in the morning…”

“Heh… fine. You win,” he agreed, “Do me a favor and grab my quilt for me, though?”

“Sure,” she replied, and hurried off the retrieve it. When she returned, Reno was curled up under the covers, the new bunny hugged lovingly against his chest. For a moment, she thought he was already asleep, but he roused himself as she spread the quilt over him, tucking him into bed.

“Thanks,” he murmured sleepily, “‘Night, ‘Lena… Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Reno,” she said softly, before jokingly adding, “Good night, Mr. Foo-Foo Junior…”

Reno snickered. “Nah… pretty sure this one’s a girl,” he replied, yawning. Elena shut off the light and turned to leave him to sleep… but not before she heard him add, “Think I’ll call her El…”

---

Christmas morning, Elena woke to the sound – and smell – of bacon frying, and muted conversation. She yawned and opened her eyes, finding herself staring directly at Reno’s Christmas tree and its ridiculous x-rated ornaments. It seemed she was the last one awake, because neither Tseng nor Rude were where she’d left them last night.

“Don’t even think about it,” Rude’s voice warned, a bit louder than the background conversation had been previously.

“Alright, geez…” Reno responded, “You’re always so touchy about anyone tryin’ to help ya in the kitchen… And keep it down, will ya? You’ll wake up ‘Lena…”

“I trust you didn’t go too overboard with her after I finally passed out?” Tseng’s voice commented, “I distinctly recall reminding you to be considerate of other people’s alcohol tolerance at some point in the evening.”

“Ah, relax… Fuck, you’d think I’m in the habit of pourin’ booze down people’s throats against their will. She was practically still sober when we finally went to bed. Hell of a lot more sober than me, anyway. Or either of you two. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Elena heard the sound of ice clinking in a glass.

“You want another?”

“God, yes,” Tseng replied, “And some aspirin.”

Reno snorted softly. “Ya know, if you did this more than once a year, the next morning wouldn’t be so bad…” There was a quiet shuffling, and Elena heard what must have been the freezer door being opened because a second later came the sound of more ice being added to the glass.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he dryly replied. Reno seemed to be back to bartending this morning… liquids being poured and mixed could be clearly heard from her position on the couch. There was a soft thunk as something was set down on the table. “Thank you.”

“Bacon’s done… you gonna wake her up so she at least has a chance of getting some before you steal it all?” Rude asked. The question was followed by a loud smack. “… Put that back.”

“Ow…” Reno whined, rather unconvincingly, and Elena couldn’t help but giggle.

“I believe we have an eavesdropper in our midst,” Tseng observed. She heard one of them cross the room, pausing behind the couch. She glanced up, and found Reno leaning over her smirking.

“Yep, she’s awake,” he called back to the others, chuckling lightly. Elena sat up, faintly blushing as all eyes in the room were suddenly on her while she stretched. She was surprisingly stiff after a night on Reno’s couch. “Mornin’,” he said, in a teasing tone.

“Um… morning,” she replied, a little embarrassed, as Reno rounded the couch. She shrieked in surprise when he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, carrying her to the kitchen, and setting her down at the table. “What was that for?” she laughed.

“Rude’s not servin’ breakfast ’til everyone’s at the table, and I’m fuckin’ starved.” He took the seat next to her and looked over at Rude expectantly. “Well?”

The bald Turk made a soft sound of amusement, and set down the plate of bacon he’d been holding out of Reno’s reach.

“If you want some, I suggest you take some before it’s inhaled,” Tseng advised her. He looked more than a little rough this morning, not at all his usual pristine and polished self, and was nursing a Bloody Mary.

“You’re not having any, sir?” she asked, picking up a slice and nibbling at it, unable to resist taking the opportunity to poke a little fun at the normally dignified Wutaiian. She’d never seen Tseng in such a state, and strongly suspected it was a truly rare occurrence.

“I think I’ll stick with eggs and toast for the time being,” he replied.

“Tseng’s hungover,” Reno supplied, smirking. The Turk leader rolled his eyes.

“I’m fairly certain she’s figured that out by now.”

“Yeah, but seriously… How often do I get the chance to say it?” the redhead pointed out. Rude, meanwhile, had brought scrambled eggs, toast, and sausages over to the table, finally sitting down himself. “Tch… I coulda made all of this, ya know.”

“And if I wanted food poisoning for Christmas, I’d have let you,” Rude replied.

“For fuck’s sake…” Reno groaned, “It was one time. And it was almost eight fucking years ago,” He glanced over at the rookie. “Geez… Ya accidentally make a guy puke his guts out for twelve hours straight, and he never trusts your cooking again.”

“Suffering and despair,” Rude murmured ominously, looking directly at Elena, and she snickered as she served herself some eggs, remembering their brief conversation the previous afternoon.

---

It was early-afternoon before Tseng deemed the roads clear enough – and himself recovered enough – to make the trip home. In the hours prior, the four of them had cleaned up most of the mess from the night before, and Reno’s apartment was probably as neat as it had ever been.

“Sure ya don’t wanna stay awhile longer?” Reno asked.

“Much as I’d like to, Midgar is expecting more snow shortly. Unless you’d like me to simply move in for the next few days, I think it would be wise to take the opportunity while it’s still viable,” Tseng replied.

“Yeah, alright,” Reno sighed, “Guess that means you two are takin’ off, too, then.”

“Probably better,” Rude commented, as he gazed out the window, “Looks like it won’t be long.”

Elena joined him. The sky had darkened considerably, and the wind was picking up, causing the snow already on the ground to drift.

“Hey, so if we’re snowed in on Monday, that means we don’t have to come in, right?” the redhead mused, as he handed Tseng his coat.

“In the unlikely event that actually happens,” Tseng chuckled, “No, I will not expect you at work.” He turned to the door, heading out. “Otherwise, I’ll see you all bright and early Monday morning.”

“Heh… See ya, Tseng,” said Reno.

“Goodbye, sir,” Elena piped up, and Rude nodded a farewell to him.

“… I’m out of here, too,” Rude said once he’d gone, collecting his coat and his gifts, “Phoenix Nest as usual on Friday?”

“Long as we can get there,” the redhead returned with a grin.

“You coming, too?” Rude asked the rookie.

“I think my liver needs a nice long rest after last night,” she replied, “But we’re still on for the Shadow & Sword new years special on Sunday, right?”

“Of course,” he nodded, “Later.” Rude slipped out the door, leaving Elena the last to depart.

“Can’t talk you into stayin’, either, I ‘spose…” Reno said. She laughed softly.

“Someone has to feed Snuffy soon or he’ll gnaw through the bars of his cage,” she said, “Besides… aren’t you sick of all the company yet?”

“Me? Please,” Reno smirked, “I love havin’ people around. ‘Specially you guys. People get sick of me long before I get sick of them. There is one thing I gotta do before you leave, though…”

“What?”

“Just come’re…” he said, leading her over to the couch, and gently urging her to sit. Reno disappeared into his bedroom, and a moment later returned with his new bunny and joined her. He pulled out his PHS and wrapped an arm around her. “Smile,” he said, grinning widely. Elena giggled, and he snapped a picture of the three of them.

“I’m surprised you’re willingly allowing photographic evidence,” she teased him.

“Makin’ an exception, just this once,” he replied, “I used to have a photo like that from the day I got Mr. Foo-Foo… but I was stupid and lost it when I was little. Thought it’d be nice to finally have a new one.” He held the stuffed bunny in his lap, looking it over, as if memorizing every detail. “I still can’t believe you went to so much trouble. Ya coulda just bought one…”

“It wouldn’t have been the same. And… you’re worth it,” she said, hugging the redhead, “You really mean a lot to me, Reno, and I wanted you to know that.”

“Fuck, ‘Lena… You’re gonna make me cry again, and this time I can’t just write it off as bein’ drunk,” Reno snickered. Elena joined him, giggling.

“So… You’re not really naming it El, are you?” she wondered aloud.

“Would it bother you if I did?” he asked, seriously.

“No… I guess not. I just thought you’d pick something more… I don’t know… special.”

“Yeah, well… At the risk of soundin’ like one of those ridiculously sappy holiday shows, you are special, ‘Lena,” he said, “So she’s getting named El, and that’s final.” Reno glanced out the window, where the sky was growing more ominous by the minute, and sighed. “I don’t think that snow’s gonna hold off any longer. Unless you’re gonna walk, better get outta here while ya still can.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said, following his gaze. She stood up and hurried to shrug on her coat and collect her things. Reno escorted her to the door.

“See ya, ‘Lena. Do me a favor and call me when you get there so I know you made it in one piece, okay?”

“I live like four blocks away. And I don’t remember you demanding that Tseng or Rude check in,” she teased.

“That’s ’cause they already know I expect ’em to do it,” he replied, grinning, “Just humor me, huh?” Elena returned the smile, and turned toward the elevator, leaving Reno behind. She made her way to her car, and looked up at the sky as the first snowflakes began to fall. Elena climbed in and started the engine, and as she did so, her PHS chimed softly.

She pulled it out, thumbed open the notification, and laughed. Reno had sent the picture he’d taken to her phone… along with the mostly-joking message, “Not to be used for blackmail purposes.”.

Elena tucked the phone back into her pocket and put the car in gear, pulling out of the parking space and heading for home. All in all, it had been one of the best Christmases she’d ever had.

~fin~