Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 36: Jealousy

Rude heaped another serving of jasmine rice onto Elena’s plate, and refilled her wine glass, trying not to laugh at the woman’s obvious excitement.

“I’ve never stayed anywhere like that before… I mean… I’ve been to the Swan before, but that room… I didn’t know they had anything like that. And the view from the balcony was gorgeous… You could see all the way to the western shore, and it was amazing when the sun set.”

The bald Turk poured himself a little more wine as well, and settled back into his chair. “Did you try the restaurant? It’s one of the best in Midgar.”

Elena nodded, forcing herself to swallow the bite she’d just taken before answering. “We went downstairs for dinner the first night, and again for lunch the next day, and then we just kept ordering room service constantly. It was so good…” she said, giggling, “And did you know there’s a flower garden on the roof of the hotel? Reno took me up there, and we just walked and talked and drank wine and…” She suddenly blushed, eyes suddenly unable to meet the man’s gaze. “… did some other things…” she trailed off, awkwardly, reaching for her glass and downing about half of it.

This time, Rude did laugh. “Some other things, huh?” he smirked and the rookie rolled her eyes.

“Reno’s right… I do talk too much,” she said, shaking her head, and her dining companion chuckled.

“I’m pretty sure he only means that in regards to work.”

“And apparently when discussing my sex life.”

“Actually, that sounds like something he’d encourage…” Rude pointed out, snickering.

“You’re probably right,” she laughed, delicately dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “I don’t know, Rude… Before I met Reno there’s no way I’d be having a conversation like this. With anyone. I’d be embarrassed just to know that someone else knew what I’d been up to all weekend.”

Rude shrugged. “He has that effect on people.”

She sighed contentedly and took another sip of wine. “Why’d I wait so long?” she asked, “Why’d it take me so long to see how incredible he is?”

The other Turk laughed at her sudden philosophical outburst and pointedly recorked the bottle of wine. “Think you’ve had enough of that… Otherwise I’m gonna have to drive you home later.”

“I’m serious!” she giggled, “How could it have taken me so long to see what I had right in front of me all this time? Am I really that oblivious?”

Rude shook his head. “No… You’re not. Reno comes on strong, and some people find that intimidating at first. Takes persistence to look past all that joking around and actually get to know him.”

She gently fingered the locket that hung around her neck… the one Reno had given her just a few days ago. “I’ve never been with anyone who makes me so happy…” she said, smiling, “I feel like I’m constantly walking around with a stupid grin on my face lately.”

“That’s because you have been,” he teased. “So has he, for that matter. It’s a little nauseating to watch, actually. My only consolation is that eventually you two will regain your sanity and tone it down.”

“Hey!” Elena cried, laughing.

Rude grinned and finished off the remaining wine in his glass, then glanced at the clock. “Five minutes… ready for the show?”

“Oh, dear Shiva, yes! Poor Lysander… I don’t see how he’ll ever be able to get out of that cell alive,” she said, thinking back to last week’s episode. “I think this may finally be it for him…”

“Doesn’t look good for the guy…” he agreed, getting up from the table, and clearing away the dishes before joining her in the living room.

---

Reno sat, hands cupped behind his head as he leaned as far back in his chair as he safely could without it falling over, and studied his partner from across the room. The man had been quiet since he’d come in. Not that that was unusual for Rude, but he’d barely gotten a ‘good morning’ out of him.

“Okay… What the hell’s with you today, partner?” he finally asked, unable to take it anymore.

“… Nothing,” Rude replied in a sullen tone. Reno shook his head. It was almost like the guy was sulking.

He turned to the rookie for answers instead. “‘Lena? Care to enlighten me?” They’d checked out of the Silver Swan on Sunday morning – though neither of them had been quite ready to leave – and spent the rest of the day wandering around Sector 4’s shopping and entertainment district. They’d parted ways later that evening so that Elena could make her usual date with Rude for Shadow & Sword. She’d been with him until late last night, Reno was sure, gushing over that damn show. Elena sighed, sounding almost as morose as Rude did.

“Iliana died.”

The redhead blinked, not quite understanding at first. He didn’t know of anyone Rude was acquainted with named Iliana… And then it finally dawned on him.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” he groaned. “Rude, man… You need help.”

“Reno!” Elena chided, “Show some compassion. She was his favorite character…”

“Emphasis on character…” Reno muttered. He sighed in resignation. “Please just tell me this isn’t gonna be like last time…”

“… Last time?” the rookie queried, curious.

“Yeah… last time. The last time that damn show killed off his favorite character…” he he began, before pausing, a thoughtful expression on his face, “… What the hell was her name again? Matisse?”

“Martesh,” Rude corrected.

“Yeah… her. When she got killed off, Rude here decided to try his hand at fan fiction. And guess who had to read it… All hundred and seven pages of it.” He shuddered violently at the memory. “And of course I couldn’t not read it, ’cause he really wanted me to and I felt kinda bad for him and I can’t fuckin’ say no to him when he gives me that look.” He stared pointedly at Rude. “I am not doin’ that again. Not even for you, pal.”

Elena smothered a giggle at the absolutely serious expression on Reno’s face… though she suspected that if Rude actually did ask for a similar favor, he’d be inclined give in to the request anyway. The rookie stood and walked over to Reno’s desk, circling around behind him and running her hands over his shoulders.

“Be nice…” she said, leaning down to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. Reno glanced up at her and rolled his eyes. “I know you don’t like the show, but Rude and I do. We get really into it.”

Reno sighed. “Fine… I’m sorry the writers decided to make Iliana get eaten by a moogle or whatever the fuck happened this time…” he said to Rude.

Elena poked him in the ribs. “For your information, she sacrificed herself to save the man she loved from certain death in the dungeons of Nar’she.” She teared up slightly just thinking about it and sniffled. “She didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to Lysander. It was heartbreaking…”

Reno slumped forward onto his desk, burying his head in his arms, and conceded defeat, silently musing that he never should have asked. The door to the office opened just then, admitting the team’s missing member.

“Reno… Scarlet would like to see us…”

“Oh, thank Ifrit!” he cried shooting to his feet, and straight out the door, leaving his fellow Turks to commiserate on their own. Tseng’s eyebrow rose as he watched his lieutenant head for the elevator.

“… upstairs. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him so excited about having to deal with Scarlet…” he commented incredulously to the pair of them, clearly confused, before hurrying to follow.

When they was gone, Rude chuckled softly for the first time all day. Elena grinned as well, and wandered across the room, leaning against his desk.

“So…” she began, smiling widely at him, “Did you really write a hundred and seven page fan fiction about Martesh?”

Rude shifted awkwardly, and cleared his throat. “… Yeah.”

“And did you really make him read it?” she giggled.

“… Yeah. I did,” Rude laughed.

---

Elena sighed in relief as she made her way up to her apartment later that evening. It had ended up being a long… and in the end, somewhat horrifying… day. Tseng was back in the office, but Dr. Ward had imposed a strict light duty schedule on him… meaning that Reno was still partially filling in for him on the tasks Ward had forbidden the Wutaiian Turk from handling. It had resulted in Elena being sent off with Rude to Sector 2 again… though, thankfully, this time she returned to headquarters undamaged.

Rude was doing his best not to let it show, but she could tell that he was getting frustrated. They’d set out to track down another of his missing Sector 2 informants that afternoon… and had, at least, been successful in finding her. Unfortunately, they’d found her in several pieces. Rude suspected it had been done as a message to him. Elena had felt ill for some time afterward.

In fact, it was still bothering her a little, and she would have liked nothing more than to curl up on the couch with Reno for awhile. The redhead, however, was working late, overseeing the transfer of some very valuable equipment between Sectors 1 and 6 for Urban Development. He probably wouldn’t be home for another hour or two… and he’d likely be tired when he did finally get home. She felt bad even thinking about calling him and dragging him back out so late just because she wanted someone to cuddle.

The elevator opened at her floor and she was so lost in her own thoughts that she walked right into the person waiting to board.

“Oh!” she cried in shock, “I-I’m so sorry. Excuse me…”

“It is no trouble at all, dear Elena… Running into a pretty lady is never a bad thing,” a deeply accented voice replied, and the Turk looked up, blushing slightly, as she recognized her neighbor, Antonio.

“That’s very gracious of you to say,” she replied, feeling decidedly stupid.

“Not at all… You seem a bit, ah… what is the word? Disjointed?”

She giggled softly. “I think you mean ‘distracted’… but disjointed might not be that far off, either. I had a really long day at work.”

“Yes, this I understand,” the man replied, nodding, “I, too, had, as you say, a long day. I was going to run a few miles before it is too dark to see my path in front of me. Perhaps you would like to join me? I find it is an excellent way to unwind.”

She smiled a little. “That sounds like a terrific idea. Let me just go and change.”

---

Reno dropped heavily into the driver’s seat of his car. He was supposed to have been supervising… not helping them load the damn things. He could already feel the muscles in his back and shoulders stiffening in protest of the abuse they’d suffered. The redhead closed his eyes for a moment, debating on what to do first.

He was starving… The job had taken longer than he’d planned, and he’d stupidly put off dinner, planning to grab something on the way home. He was also sore and tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall asleep… preferably with his head on Elena’s lap.

Reno cracked his neck and shoved the key into the ignition. What he really wanted right now, he realized, was to be taken care of for a little while. He loved being the center of Elena’s attention – and the way she played with his hair until he was barely conscious – but he really didn’t like just asking her to spoil him like that. It seemed… selfish. And that was the last thing he wanted to be around her.

He’d made up his mind when she’d first agreed to give this relationship a shot that she would always come first. He’d never really considered himself boyfriend material before Elena… and he didn’t want to give her any reason to come to that same conclusion.

Still, though… he was sorely tempted to at least stop by and say goodnight in person rather than calling her from his own apartment. And maybe drop a few hints that he needed a little TLC and hope she took the bait. That in mind, he skipped past the turn into his building’s lot and headed for her place instead.

Reno pulled in and parked, intent on heading upstairs as he climbed out of his car. Before he could head inside, though, a familiar laugh met his ears, pulling his gaze towards the sidewalk. He blinked in surprise as he spotted Elena… and someone else, as well.

“Ah, not this guy again…” he muttered under his breath, recognizing the muscular figure beside her in the dwindling light of evening. Elena was in sweats… apparently she’d been out running. Though at the moment she was contentedly eating an ice cream cone and talking animatedly with her disgustingly attractive neighbor. The redhead scowled and shut the car door behind him. The sound got Elena’s attention, and she quickly waved to him.

“Reno!” she called out, quickening her pace towards him, and he hurried to shove his usual grin into place before she was close enough to notice. “Are you just now getting back from Sector 6?” she asked.

“Heh… yeah. Took fuckin’ forever to get that mess with the construction equipment sorted out. They ever actually finish buildin’ that Sector, it’ll be a miracle,” he replied, moving to drape an arm over her shoulders. She ducked out of the way.

“Oh, Reno, don’t… I’m all sweaty and gross right now,” she said, as Antonio joined them.

“Ah… Hello, my friend. You are the one visiting the lovely Elena the day she tripped and needed rescuing,” the man said.

Elena laughed softly to herself. “Oh, that’s right… I never really introduced you, did I? Reno, you remember Antonio,” she said with a subtly teasing smirk, and the redhead had to try very hard to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Oh yeah… he remembered Antonio, all right. “Antonio, this is my boyfriend, Reno…”

“Hey,” he managed, without too much animosity and suspicion in his voice. Something about the guy rubbed him the wrong way. And it wasn’t that he was jealous, dammit! If either of them noticed the slight inflection in his tone, they ignored it.

“Have you eaten yet?” Elena asked, and Reno shook his head as the three of them headed into the building and stepped into the elevator.

“I literally got done right before I came over here. Haven’t even been home yet.”

“Oh, good! We can have dinner, then…” she said grinning, “All I’ve had is this.” She held up the sticky remnants of the ice cream cone. As the car deposited them on the eighth floor, Antonio turned to her with a slight bow and and gently kissed her hand.

“Goodnight, dear Elena… I enjoyed having such wonderful company for my run this evening. We will have to go again sometime.”

“I’d like that,” the rookie, a subtle blush staining her cheeks. Reno’s eye twitched, but he said nothing… only followed Elena into her apartment, watching Antonio retreat down the hallway out of the corner of his eye. “So… pizza?” she suggested.

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good,” he replied, somewhat distractedly, “So… uh… ya ran into him while you were out runnin’ again, huh?” Sure, the first time was probably coincidence. A second time though? That was pushing it a little. The last thing Elena needed was another stalker.

“No, actually I walked into him. As I was getting off the elevator,” she snickered. “He was just leaving for his run and he invited me to go with him. You order the pizza, and I’ll go take a quick shower. I smell terrible.”

“Ya… just decided to go out with him?” Reno asked, hesitantly Elena turned back to face him and smirked.

“We didn’t go out,” she laughed, “We just ran a couple miles, that’s all.”

“And stopped for ice cream…” he couldn’t stop himself from pointing out. Elena rested her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

“Reno… I told you. You don’t have any reason to be jealous of Antonio. He’s a nice guy… he’s just a little on the friendly side, that’s all. And besides, he knows you and I are together.” She frowned slightly. “Don’t you trust me?”

“‘Course I trust ya…” the redhead assured her with a warm smile, which she returned before disappearing into the bathroom. Once she was gone, Reno let the smile slide from his face. “It’s that Antonio asshole I don’t trust…” he muttered.

He sighed, irritated, and pulled out his PHS, pulling up the number for his favorite pizza place.

---

Reno shuddered involuntarily as Scarlet ‘accidentally’ pressed herself up against him… again. He and Tseng had been summoned to the weapons research department to continue yesterday’s meeting. They, along with Heidegger and Scarlet, were presently gathered around a hulking behemoth of a robot.

“We’re calling it the Proud Clod,” she said, just a little too close to his ear for his taste, and he cast Tseng a pleading look when her hand trailed suggestively over his hip. “As you can see, it’s equipped with both machine guns and laser weapons… in addition to devastating physical attack capabilities. AND a secret weapon… a specially designed materia canon guaranteed to incapacitate even the strongest opponent.”

“Impressive,” Tseng commented, as he casually stepped in between the executive and his lieutenant under the guise of getting a better look at the thing. To be fair, he actually meant it. He detested the woman on a personal level, but when it came to weaponry, Scarlet was in her element. “But I must confess, I fail to see how we can assist.” This was clearly a weapon meant for the army. Not the Turks.

“You’re going to test its offensive capabilities. By engaging it,” Heidegger piped up. Tseng’s cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

“Wouldn’t Soldier be better suited for such a task, sir?” he queried.

“Hmph… We already know it can stand up to brute force. We want to see if it can stand up to a more subversive attack,” said Scarlet.

“We’ll be conducting the test on Friday. Have your team prepare…” Heidegger said, before smirking, “Though I don’t expect any of you to succeed in bringing it down.”

“Understood, sir,” the Turk leader replied, and taking the statement as a dismissal, he headed for the door, motioning for Reno to follow him. The two men didn’t speak until they were safely in the elevator.

“Well… This is gonna be a giant pain in the ass,” the redhead groaned as the doors closed.

“Agreed.” Tseng sighed and shook his head, before giving a soft laugh. “Though come to think of it… I very seriously doubt Ward will lift my light duty restriction in time for me to actively participate.”

“You suck.”

“I want you working with Elena on this in lieu of her regular training this week,” he continued, ignoring the comment. “As Heidegger said, it’s very unlikely we’re going to be able to bring that monstrosity to it’s knees… but I’d like to, at the very least, make a valiant effort. We have a reputation to maintain, after all.”

“You got it, boss. What about Rude?”

“Include him when he has time… but only when he has time. The situation with his informants takes priority.” he replied. “Incidentally… I didn’t have to opportunity to ask yesterday. How was your weekend?”

The two men stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hall, and Reno grinned. “Terrific. ‘Lena loved it… And before ya ask, yes, we did occasionally leave the room.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Tseng chuckled, “Frankly, I neither need nor desire the level of detail I’m sure you’ll provide on the subject. I am glad you had the opportunity to enjoy yourselves, though. I’ll be curious to see whether or not she’ll be able to top that when your birthday rolls around in a few more months.”

“Tch… She doesn’t have ta do anything for my birthday. Long as she hasn’t kicked me to the curb by then, I’m good.”

Tseng cocked an eyebrow. “That’s an odd statement… particularly coming from you.”

“Eh… Don’t mind me. I’m still tryin’ to convince myself I’m not just dreamin’ all this. Seems too good to be true some days.” Tseng pushed open a door at the end of the hall and ushered the redhead inside. Reno suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, looking around in shock at their current location. “What the fuck are we doin’ down here?” he asked, nervously.

“Yer getting that B-12 shot I’ve been trying ta get yeh down here for… That’s what,” Dr. Ward said, strolling casually out of her office, syringe in hand.

Reno glared at his mentor. “You son of a bitch… You fuckin’ tricked me!”

“I apologize… but being restricted from all strenuous activity, I could hardly drag you down here as I’m usually forced to, and Rude has more important matters to attend to at the moment,” the Wutaiian Turk replied, with a smug smile. “Distracting you seems to be a far more efficient method, anyway. You don’t pay attention to much of anything else when you’re talking about Elena…”

“Aw, come on. Don’t make me do this, boss. The Doc said it was fuckin’ optional!”

“And recommended. So I’m opting you in,” Tseng calmly replied, “Have a seat and let Dr. Ward do her job.”

The redhead grumbled and perched himself apprehensively on the exam table. Ward clucked her tongue.

“Oh, for Holy’s sake, don’t look so terrified. The way yeh scream and moan about a simple little injection, yeh’d think I was going ta be performing surgery on yeh without anesthesia,” Ward said, shaking her head, “Now take off that jacket and roll up yer sleeve.” She smirked slightly. “Unless, of course, yeh’d prefer ta bend over for me instead… Either way works for me.”

Reno scowled and slipped out of his jacket, before undoing the button on his cuff and pointedly shoving his sleeve up well past his elbow.

---

“Quit fuckin’ laughin’, ‘Lena… this is serious.”

“I-I’m s-sorry…” the rookie replied, fighting to get her giggling under control, “But Reno… seriously… What in the world is that thing supposed to be? It looks like a potato with rocket engines and claws.”

“It’s s’posed to be the new weapon we’re gonna be goin’ up against at the end of the week.” He folded his arms over his chest as the rookie’s fit of laughter picked up again and Rude tried his best not to join in as well. Reno rolled his eyes and flipped the dry erase board over to the blank side. “Fine… so I can’t draw to save my life… Forget the drawing. Long story short, Scarlet’s got a new weapon. The Proud Clod. It’s a robotic heavy armor built to be controlled by two pilots, with a fuckin’ insane amount of armament, and we’re s’posed to try and take it down.”

Elena finally sobered enough to get a real question out. “Why us? This sounds like something Solider should be doing.”

“Heh… Tseng said pretty much the same thing. Apparently, they’re pretty confident on it holdin’ up against physical attacks. They want us to see if we can find some other kind of weakness in it.”

“Hmph… You want to find something most people wouldn’t think to exploit, who better than us?” Rude acknowledged. “Do we get actual schematics, or are we stuck working with your potato?”

Reno shot his partner a condescending look. “Yeah, we’ll get real schematics later this afternoon… redacted, naturally, ’cause Ifrit forbid they actually make this a fair fight. This meeting’s just to get you two into the loop, and maybe come up with a game plan for figurin’ shit out.”

“You said two pilots, right? Do we know who?” Elena asked.

“Scarlet’s doin’ it personally. Don’t know who’s gonna be her second, though.”

Rude snorted in laughter. “Easy victory, then. Reno can just strip naked… Scarlet’ll be drooling so badly over him, she’ll short out the controls.”

Elena snickered, and vehemently shook her head. “No way… What if it doesn’t short right away? I’ve seen what she does when she’s got Reno at her mercy. Imagine what she could do to him with the armored potato. I like having him in one piece and unmolested!”

“Tch… Too late for that. I’ve already been violated twice today. First by Scarlet, then by Ward,” the redhead replied, unable to resist joining in. “Anyway… Soon as we get hold of the schematics, I want you to take a look at ’em, partner. You’ve got a better eye for technical shit than I do. Me ‘n ‘Lena’ll start workin’ on a training space after lunch.”

“What’s Tseng going to be doing?” Rude asked.

“Sittin’ on his ass, laughin’ at us, probably… Ward won’t approve him for regular duty yet. He already tried while she was busy holdin’ me down. That’s all I got right now. Any other questions?”

Rude shook his head and stood up, heading for the door. “Nope. Let me know when we get the potato schematics.”

“Well, I have a question,” Elena said tersely once he’d gone, getting to her feet. “Why were you down in medical? Is something wrong?”

“Nah… Ward was just pissed ’cause I’ve been ignorin’ her for a couple of weeks now, so she got Tseng to sucker me into walkin’ in there,” he replied, as he turned the dry erase board over and moved to clear away his drawing. He paused and thought better of it, then left it where it was, before turning back to the rookie, surprised to see the worried expression she now wore.

“Why has Dr. Ward been trying to get you to come see her for a coupleof weeks?” she asked, suspiciously, “Are you feeling alright?”

“Tch… I’m fine,” he said, exasperated, “Ya remember all that blood she took?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, apparently whatever she did with it told her I might’ve been a little lacking in vitamin B-whatever. Not exactly life or death… but the woman’s fuckin’ relentless. I let it slip I got so much as a splinter and she’d probably want to operate…”

“Oh…” Elena said, sighing in relief, “Is that all? You had me scared for a minute there.”

The redhead snickered. “Why? I mean, come on ‘Lena… I hardly ever get sick.”

The rookie wrapped her arms around his waist, and nestled her head against his shoulder. “But I still worry… You’re not indestructible.”

Reno grinned, and returned her embrace. She was being entirely too over-protective, but hey… free hug. The door opened and he glanced up as Tseng entered.

“This weekend wasn’t enough for your two?” he chuckled upon seeing them, and Elena quickly released the redhead, embarrassed.

“Your fault, boss… ‘Lena found out ya dragged me down to see Ward and got all concerned about me.”

“Ah… Well, perhaps if you were more in the habit of actually reporting to the good doctor when asked to do so, such unexpected visits wouldn’t be necessary. I assume you’ve filled everyone in?”

“Yep.” A roll of papers tucked under Tseng’s arm caught his eye. “Those the schematics?”

“Yes… but we can take a look at them after lunch. For now, go and get something eat.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice…” Reno said with a laugh. He laid an arm across Elena’s shoulders and escorted her out. They’d only just made it into the hallway when the Turk leader’s voice pulled his gaze back toward the meeting room.

“Reno… Why in Leviathan’s name have you drawn an angry potato in here?”

---

Later that evening, Reno stepped out onto Elena’s floor. He wasn’t in a rush. The movie didn’t start for another hour… but he’d wanted to hang out with Snuffy for a bit while she got ready.

“We meet again so soon. You spend so much of your time with the lovely Elena…” an accented voice piped up before he’d made it more than a few steps. The redhead cringed, and turned.

“Antonio,” he greeted him, with a less-than-thrilled sigh.

“Perhaps a bit too much time, yes?”

“A bit too much time, no,” Reno said, flatly. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

The Costan smiled widely, and held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Of course. I do not wish to, as they say, step on any toes… But she is a beautiful woman. You cannot blame me for being enchanted by her,” He paused, looking the redhead over for a moment and chuckled, “She certainly has… interesting tastes.”

Reno’s eyes narrowed. “Just so we’re clear… she’s not available,” he responded in a tone that very clearly said, ‘Touch her and I’ll fuckin’ rip you in half’.

“Ah… Such bravado. But a woman wants what a woman wants… It is you she is wanting for tonight. Perhaps some other night, that will change,” Antonio said, his smile never wavering as he disappeared back into his apartment. Reno growled low in his throat, and turned on his heel, storming towards Elena’s door and knocking.

“You’re early,” she said, grinning when she opened it.

“‘Lena, I don’t want you talkin’ to that Antonio guy anymore,” the redhead said, joining her inside, and slamming the door behind him.

“E-excuse me?” the rookie managed, more than a little mystified.

“Just stay the fuck away from him. He’s trouble… Trust me, I know his type.”

Elena frowned, and followed the agitated redhead into the living room. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about that asshole tryin’ ta make you the next notch on his bedpost.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, not again. Reno, he’s not…”

“‘Lena, I’m fuckin’ serious. No more runnin’ with him, no more ice cream… I don’t even want you givin’ him the time of day if he asks.”

It was right about that time that he realized the rookie’s irritated frown had morphed into an infuriated scowl.

“Are you really trying to dictate to me who I can and can’t be friends with? You know… just because we’re together doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do! I will talk to whomever I want, whenever I want.”

“Yeah? Well, keep in mind that I’m not just your boyfriend. I’m also your superior. And I’m orderin’ you to stay the fuck away from him.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he’d fucked up. Not just fucked up, but done something that was so far over the line he couldn’t even see the line anymore. He quickly tried to backpedal… but before he could even form a coherent sentence, Elena’s hand made contact with the side of his face with a resounding crack. Reno rubbed his stinging cheek and blinked somewhat owlishly as he recovered from the shock. “‘Lena…”

“No. Don’t you dare say one more word! That was low, Reno… You do not get to treat me like that.”

Oh, yeah… she was pissed. And, worse, he really couldn’t blame her. He’d just taken controlling jerk to a whole new level. What the fuck had he been thinking?

“You know what?” she continued, “Forget dinner, and forget the movie. Get out.”

“But… I…”

“Out!” she said firmly, pointing towards the door. Something about her tone told him that this was not the time to try and reason with her… or even attempt an apology. Eyes wide, he hesitantly backed away and slipped into the hallway.

“Well, that went well…” he muttered to himself, as he slunk back to the elevator, defeated. Hopefully, she’d cool off in an hour or two and he could try and explain himself. Preferably without inserting his foot firmly into his mouth this time. As the elevator doors closed, he caught sight of Antonio again, leaning calmly against the door to his apartment, an infuriatingly smug look on his perfectly chiseled face.

---

Reno groaned as his alarm went off, and gave very serious consideration to simply hurling it across the room. He snatched at one of his pillows, pulling it over his face in the hopes of drowning out the noise. Finally, though, he couldn’t take it anymore. He rolled over and shut it off.

Last night hadn’t been fun. He’d tried calling Elena about an hour after she’d thrown him out… but she wasn’t speaking to him. Every call went to voicemail, and every text was ignored. He’d finally given up around eleven. The redhead yawned and dragged himself out of bed. He hadn’t gotten much sleep after that. When he wasn’t lying awake, desperately trying to fall asleep, he was caught up in his dreams… most of which seemed to be centered around the multitude of ways Elena could rip his heart out and crush it into dust.

Reno tried – with little success – to rub the sleep out of his eyes, and staggered to the shower, turning it to cold. He hated cold showers… but at least it might wake him up. He stepped into the icy stream, flinching as it made contact with his skin and forced himself to stay there for several minutes before shutting it off and drying himself down.

He dressed automatically, thoughts more on the rookie than the task at hand. He hoped that she had calmed down after a little sleep… at least enough that she’d talk to him and let him try and set things right. When his PHS rang moments later, he sighed in relief, and hurried to grab it from the table, expecting to see Elena’s name on the display. His relief was short-lived.

“Yeah, boss?” he answered. It was unusual for Tseng to be calling him so early… particularly when he was going to be seeing him in about twenty minutes anyway… which meant something was up.

“Head to the Sector 2 slums instead of the office this morning. Rude is already on his way down. He’ll wait for you at the station.”

“Don’t tell me… another informant got picked off.”

“Nearly. This one managed to elude his pursuers and contact Rude. He wanted to go in immediately. I finally talked him into waiting for backup, but be aware… he’s impatient. Don’t take the scenic route.”

Rescue mission, then… That was a nice change.

“Got it. I’m leavin’ now,” he said, shoving his sidearm into its hostler, and grabbing his mag-rod.

Reno covered the distance to the station in five minutes flat, glad he’d been fortunate enough to miss the morning rush… though he still had to run to catch the next train down or risk having to wait for the next one. He swung himself aboard the last car in line just as it cleared the platform and stepped inside, dropping into a seat.

He was finding it hard to concentrate. Every train of thought seemed to segue back to Elena. The way she’d looked at him last night… she was angry. Incredibly angry. But she’d also been hurt. He could see it in her eyes. He hadn’t meant for that to happen… he’d only wanted to protect her. And he’d screwed it up royally.

The redhead couldn’t help but wonder just how badly he’d screwed up. Not enough to ruin their friendship, he was pretty sure… but their romantic relationship? That he wasn’t so certain of. As much as Reno tried to tell himself that he was just upset and sleep-deprived and Elena would eventually forgive him, his anxiety seemed to be getting the better of him.

He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Tseng yesterday that things with Elena seemed too good to be true sometimes. It was very much the same way he’d felt when he’d first been recruited. For months after Tseng had brought him topside, he’d been convinced that he was just one stupid mistake away from being dropkicked right back into the slums and left there for good. People like him didn’t leave the slums. They struggled for years to survive and then they died there, forgotten and alone. He never wanted to go back to that life. That life had taken from him the only family he had and forced him to build a new one piece by piece from nothing. He didn’t think he could do that again.

Just like he didn’t think he could ever love anyone else the way he loved Elena. If he fucked this up, there probably wasn’t even going to be another Elena in his future. He’d end up going back to the way he used to be… taking whomever happened to be convenient to bed to satisfy his physical needs, and burying the emotional ones behind a thick veneer of sarcasm and jokes.

Reno was so deeply lost in thought that he almost didn’t realized the train had stopped. It was only the sudden influx of new passengers on their way up that roused him, and got him moving. He hopped off onto the platform, looking around for his partner, finally spotting him near the station’s exit.

“I was starting to think you’d missed the train… What kept you?” Rude asked as he approached. Reno shook his head, forcing himself to focus.

“Nothin’ that’s important right now,” he replied, “What’s goin’ on?”

“Got a call thirty minutes ago… One of mine. He’s hiding, but they’re still looking for him. Which means we might run into some trouble getting him out.”

“You know who’s after him?”

Rude nodded. “He recognized one of them. They’re with Jericho’s gang. I’m guessing Jericho is responsible for my other assets turning up dead, too.”

“Tch… The fuck’d you do ta piss that asshole off?” Reno asked, as they began walking into the sector.

“He’s never been happy about me keeping tabs on him and the other gangs. But I think I might’ve finally gone too far when I had Elena shoot his lieutenant awhile back.”

“She kill him?”

“No… just wounded. But you know Jericho. And his ego.”

“Yeah… I know Jericho and his ego, alright,” he muttered with a snort of disgust. Jericho had always been a bastard. Thought the whole sector belonged to him, and anyone who disagreed usually regretted voicing the opinion. Reno had always made it a point to avoid the guy when they were kids… Even back then, he was more trouble than the redhead wanted to deal with. The only exception had been when Jericho had forced himself on Lira one night while he’d been off working at the Lonely Dragon in Sector 3. When he’d found out, Reno had gone after him, out for blood… and ended up with a knife in his stomach for his trouble. He still had the scar. “You give any consideration to the possibility this might be a trap?”

“I’m almost certain it is,” Rude replied, “That’s why I agreed to wait for you.”

---

Elena sat at her desk, scowling intently at the door to the Turks’ main office. After what he’d said to her last night, Reno could’ve at least had the decency to be on time today so she could glare at him until she had the opportunity to rip him a new one in private. She’d been silently rehearsing it all morning, and he wasn’t getting off easy.

She just didn’t understand why he felt so threatened by Antonio. It wasn’t as if the guy had done anything inappropriate. If anything, he seemed perfectly accepting of the fact that she was involved with someone and not looking for anyone else. He was just… friendly. And besides… even if he had tried something, Reno knew she wasn’t the type to cheat.

And even then… a little jealousy she could forgive. It was actually kind of cute, in a way, that Reno was still a slightly worried someone else might be able to compete with him for her affection. But pulling rank on her like that? That had ticked her off. Relationships were complex enough without throwing their job into the mix… and after so much time being trained to stand up for herself – by the redhead himself, no less – she wasn’t about to let herself be bullied by someone with authority over her. Even if that someone was Reno.

“What exactly did that door ever do to you?”

Elena squeaked in surprise and turned in her seat to see Tseng standing in front of her desk, looking at her with a rather bemused expression on his face. She took a deep breath, and shook her head.

“I’m not really mad at the door, sir. I’m mad that someone hasn’t walked through it yet so I can be mad at him instead.”

The Turk leader’s eyebrows rose in curiosity. “And just what has ‘someone’ done to earn your ire so early in the day?”

The rookie sighed. “Reno and I had a fight last night,” she said.

“About …?” Tseng prodded, and Elena’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“About my neighbor,” she replied.

Tseng chuckled softly, and pulled up a chair, taking a seat across from her. “Is this the ‘Antonio’, I’ve been hearing so many rumblings of disquiet about?”

“H-he told you about that?”

“Insomuch as he asked my opinion,” he said with a gentle smile, “He wanted to know if I thought he was making too much of it.”

“Well, he definitely is,” she said, firmly, “You would think he’d trust me…”

“He trusts you implicitly, Elena. His misgivings are centered entirely on your friend, Antonio. And… I must confess that based on what Reno’s told me, I share them to some extent.”

Elena blinked, taken aback. “… Sir?”

“I will certainly acknowledge that it’s entirely possible you’re right, and Reno’s mistrust is rooted in his own insecurity…” He looked at her rather pointedly. “And make no mistake, he is more than slightly insecure when it comes to your relationship. More than I think you realize. But I know Reno… He’s never been one to make wild accusations, and he has exceptionally good instincts when it comes to other people.”

“But Antonio hasn’t done anything that would justify that!” she insisted.

“He’s taken an interest in you, which I think is more than enough to put Reno on edge. From what I’ve been told… which is admittedly secondhand knowledge and probably a bit biased… this man is somewhat… drawn to you.”

“That’s hardly a good reason to act like a complete jerk…”

Tseng leaned forward, resting his elbows on her desk, propping his chin up. “Elena… Do you really not understand why Reno might be just a little overly-cautious about someone paying you unwarranted attention? I don’t think I need to remind you that it didn’t end well the last time. He still blames himself for that, you know…”

Elena’s eyes widened slightly. It hadn’t occurred to her that Reno might not be threatened by Antonio, so much as he sawhim as a threat to her. She still didn’t think Antonio was anything more than he appeared to be… but putting things in that context certainly made the redhead’s demand that she avoid him a lot more understandable.

“Let me see if I can guess what happened,” Tseng continued, seeing realization set in, “Reno went off on something of a tirade about how he doesn’t want you to have anything to do with this man without really saying why.” Elena nodded. “And I expect you took offense to such treatment… not only for yourself but also on behalf of someone who, as far as you are aware, has done nothing to deserve such vitriol.”

“Yes, sir…” she admitted.

Tseng smirked, shaking his head. “The two of you are entirely too much alike sometimes. You both have a tendency to speak without considering the consequences of your words… particularly when you’re emotional.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I never have managed to fully break Reno of that habit… though believe it or not, he’s considerably better about it than he used to be.”

Elena stared down at her hands, and wished she’d tried at little harder to understand why Reno had been so upset last night. “I owe him an apology, don’t I, sir.”

The Wutaiian Turk reached forward and patted her hand comfortingly. “Yes… And he owes you one as well. I’m afraid it will have to wait, however. He won’t be walking through that door for awhile yet.”

“Sir?”

“He and Rude are below in Sector 2 attempting to extract one of Rude’s informants before the people who have been systematically eliminating them catch up to him. I suspect they’ll be gone most of the morning.”

The rookie internally groaned. She didn’t want to wait. She hated waiting.

“In the mean time… I could use a hand going over Scarlet’s schematics in preparation for Friday’s testing,” he offered.

---

“Got another one. To the right of the building with the yellow door… crouching in that alcove.”

“… That only makes four. Seems too easy.”

“Tell me about. And I haven’t seen Jericho yet, either. If this is a fuckin’ set up, he’s gotta be watchin’ from somewhere. He’s too full of himself not to be.”

The two Turks had climbed to the top of a small building, and were presently studying the situation below. They’d had little difficulty locating the old warehouse Rude’s informant had taken shelter in… What had been far more troublesome, however, was losing the tail they’d picked up shortly after leaving the station. It had taken much too long to distance themselves their shadow, and longer still to reach their current location undetected. There had been spotters everywhere… though both men were fairly confident they’d slipped past unseen.

Now, though, they had a new problem. It was painfully obvious that the area was being watched… not quite so obvious was just where those watchers were hiding. Between the two of them, they’d spotted four of Jericho’s men, but neither of them actually believed for a second that was all there were. The gang leader was known for brute force and numbers. If he’d gone to all the trouble of luring Rude down here with one of his informants, he wouldn’t risk letting him, and whoever came in with him, walk out alive by only throwing a handful of thugs at them. They had to be missing something.

“What’dya think, partner? This guy really worth the hassle?” He didn’t like leaving some poor schmuck in there on his own with a target on his back… but he didn’t much like getting his ass handed to him, either.

“… I abandon him, word’s gonna get out. Jericho will make sure of it,” said Rude. “Half the reason my people are willing to talk to me in the first place is because I do whatever I can to keep them safe in exchange. You know that.”

“Yeah…” Reno sighed. “Guess we don’t have a choice, then. You get your guy… I’ll keep ’em distracted.”

“Watch yourself. I don’t like this.”

“You ‘n me both, partner…”

The pair split up, Rude moving along the rooftops while Reno headed for the street. Since there was little he could do until they managed to flush a few more of the gang members out, the redhead opted to go after the four he knew about first.

One man was waiting in an alley… slipping behind him was trivial. Reno caught him from behind, his forearm pressed against the man’s throat, and hauled him back, dragging him farther into the shadows. The struggle was brief. It wasn’t long before his target silently passed out. Reno dropped him to the ground. He briefly considered finishing him off… but it wasn’t likely he’d be waking up anytime soon, and even the Turks tried to avoid needless killing. He was no longer a threat, so he left him where he was.

His next victim didn’t get off so easily.

Reno thought he’d had him, but at the last moment something gave him away. He wasn’t sure what. Regardless, his quarry turned, and lashed out with a blade. The redhead barely had time to dodge. He hit the ground to avoid it, and swept the other man’s legs out from under him, sending him sprawling onto the concrete. The man recovered far faster than he expected, however, and in one fluid movement, threw himself at the redhead, trying to pin him with the knife poised above his throat. Reno saw it coming, and caught his attacker’s arm.

“Get the fuck offa me,” he growled. Without warning, the redhead brought his knee up between the other man’s legs… who’s howl of pain was swiftly cut off by a sharp blow to his esophagus… giving Reno the upper hand. He grabbed the knife, forcing it upwards beneath the man’s ribs. He was bleeding badly by the time Reno shoved him aside. “You can thank my girlfriend for that little move…” he said, smirking as he left the man. In retrospect, it might actually have been kinder to finish him off, rather than leaving him to bleed out… though given that the fucker had just tried to slit his throat, Reno wasn’t feeling overly kind at the moment.

He moved on to the third lookout.

---

Rude watched his partner from above as he swept through the known targets on the street. He’d just dispatched number three with another sleeper hold and was heading for the fourth and final man they’d spotted earlier. That one was going to be trickier. The lookout was perched on a second floor ledge, mostly hidden by a tattered banner. There really wasn’t a good way to sneak up on him… which meant Reno would have to either opt for a direct approach, which would leave him completely exposed for however long it took him to get up that wall, or risk taking him out from a distance and advertising their presence to anyone else that might be in the area. Neither option was ideal.

His PHS vibrated silently in his pocket and he pulled it out, glancing at the screen and the message from Reno now displayed there.

“Gonna have to shoot the last one,” it read. Rude sent back a brief acknowledgment and asked his partner to wait. If Jericho’s people were going to find out they were here, he wanted to be on the way out with his asset when they did. He moved quickly down to the street, and found himself crouched next to a dumpster, a short distance from the door to the building. Reno wasn’t far off, and the man nodded to him silently. Rude sent him a new message.

“Keep watch. Open line.” Moments later, his PHS vibrated with an incoming call, which he answered before tucking it back into his pocket. Going in alone meant he’d be out of Reno’s sight… but at least now his partner could hear him if something went wrong. Rude covered the few steps it took to reach the door and slipped inside.

His first thought was that it was much too dark. A line of windows ran along the top of the wall near the ceiling… Even though the area was mostly mako-lit, there should have been at least some light coming in. Rude tucked his sunglasses into his jacket’s breast pocket and waited for his vision to adjust to the darkness. When it finally did, he could just make out something covering each of the windows.

He frowned at the distinct possibility that those coverings were a recent addition, and kept close to the wall, straining to hear anything that might indicate that he wasn’t alone here. He was met with silence as he moved forward, and cautiously left the meager cover of the wall to cross the open space. His informant had told him he’d hidden himself in a small office space at one end of the building, and Rude could see the outline of a small door at the far end.

Halfway there, the lights came on, nearly blinding him.

“Nice of you ta take me up on my invitation, Rude…” a voice called out from above him, and he shifted his gaze to a narrow metal walkway some forty feet off the main floor of the warehouse. Jericho was there, the informant kneeling next to him with his hands, apparently, tied behind his back and tape over his mouth. “After what you and that little bitch did to my second, I figured I owed ya some payback. Got a reputation to keep up, ya know?” He rested his foot on the informant’s shoulders. “Knew you’d come out to play if I started messin’ with your snitches.”

“… I’m here. What now?” he asked. This wasn’t good… Jericho had the high ground, and probably several of his men in hiding as well. And he had a hostage…

“Now? Now ya die, of course. You’ve been a pain in my ass for too fuckin’ long, ya piece of Shinra scum,” he called down. Jericho grinned. “But first…”

He shoved the informant forward with a kick to his back, sending him toppling off the walkway with a muffled scream. Rude watched him plummet, only for his fall to be suddenly arrested as the rope around his neck went taut. He heard the painful snap of the man’s neck as he was jerked to a halt, mere inches above the floor, swinging lifelessly from the rafters.

“Didn’t want him runnin’ off to another one of you Turk bastards…” Jericho said with a shrug, laughing at Rude’s angry expression. “Kill him.”

Rude somehow hadn’t noticed the two men moving toward him… he’d been too focused on Jericho and the informant… but he certainly saw them now. And in spite of the stealthy approach, he was ready for them. The first one went down easy… and stayed down. Rude’s first punch had caught him under the jaw and his second had slammed into the side of his head. He was out cold before he hit the ground.

The second attacker was faster, however, dodging out of the way before the Turk could make contact. Rude recovered swiftly, however. He delivered a brutal kick to the man’s knee and heard a very satisfying crack before he, too, fell, writhing and nearly sobbing in pain.

Those two dealt with, he took cover behind an old piece of machinery before another wave could begin… and it was fortunate he did, because the next sound he heard was gunfire.

“Get out where I can see you, ya fuckin’ coward!” Jericho shouted over the noise, and Rude very nearly laughed. Surely the son of a bitch didn’t think he was that stupid. For the moment, he simply waited… and a few seconds later, Jericho found out exactly what the Turk was waiting for.

There was a loud crackle and one of Jericho’s men screamed… and then fell from the walkway to his left. Rude looked up to where he’d been perched, but Reno had already moved on. He smirked.

“You might want to give up now,” he called out to the gang leader as another gunman went down, and then another. Rude drew his own weapon, now that he had the opportunity to break cover, and took out a fourth man at the far end of the building. After that, things were nearly instinctive for the two of them… Reno dealt with the Jericho’s men from above, and Rude took care of the ones below, along with any who managed to survive the fall from the catwalks. When he was confident it was clear, he ran for the stairs at the side of the building, and climbed up to where Jericho was now trapped… and looking far less smug. Reno approached from the opposite end of the walkway, effectively pinning their target between them.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell ya us Turks don’t work alone?” he asked, mag-rod held loosely at his side, ready to be used if the man came toward him. Jericho backed away from the redhead, turning to run… only to realize that his path in that direction was blocked by the much larger… and angrier… Rude.

“Fuckin’ Shinra…” he spat, “You think this shit is over? Think again!”

Something dropped onto the catwalk with a metallic clank, and a split second later, a cloud of smoke filled the air. Rude aimed for the gang leader, but by then he’d lost track of him… and Reno was directly behind the bastard. He couldn’t risk firing blindly.

A moment later, however, he heard the familiar crackle of Reno’s EMR and a gunshot, and something dropped from the walkway, landing on top of a pile of broken crates and various other odds and ends some twenty feet down. Rude smirked… Jericho hadn’t stood a chance. The smoke finally began to clear, and he started towards the other end, expecting to see Reno grinning victoriously.

The sight of an empty catwalk and an open window at the far end, however, told him something was very wrong. He quickened his pace, nearly running and stopped just above the pile, looking down.

“Reno!”

The redhead neither answered nor moved.

---

Tseng found Elena curled in on herself in the chair next to Reno’s bed. Every few seconds, she would raise a hand to her face, and wipe her eyes.

“He’s going to be fine. They were only keeping him sedated because Ward was concerned about possible injuries to his back. The x-rays showed no damage. He’ll be waking up in an hour or so.”

“I know,” the rookie sniffled. “Dr. Ward already told me.”

Tseng walked further into the room and let as hand rest on Elena’s shoulder. “Then what’s wrong?” he asked, gently.

“I just keep thinking… the last thing I said to him was ‘Get out’. He tried calling me so many times last night, and I refused to pick up. What if this had been a lot worse? What if that had been the last thing I ever said to him?”

“That’s a lesson every Turk learns sooner or later. Every day we come into work, there’s the possibility we may not return home. It’s never wise to let disagreements fester for too long. It’s a hard lesson… but a good one to take to heart.”

She sniffled softly and sat up straighter in the chair, wiping her eyes again. She reached out to the unconscious redhead, and stroked his hair back. “Has Rude found any trace of Jericho, sir?” she asked.

“No… and I’ve ordered him to return for now. I don’t want him down there on his own so late, particularly in Sector 2,” Tseng replied, “Why don’t you let me take over for awhile? Go and get some dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You should eat anyway. You skipped lunch. Go… I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Elena sighed softly and stood up. “Yes, sir…” She made her way to the hallway, hesitating at the hospital room door for a moment, before at last disappearing from view, her footsteps echoing slightly on the tile. Tseng claimed the chair the rookie had just vacated, settling in next to the redhead.

“You’re going to drive that poor girl mad with worry one of these days,” he chuckled softly and leaned back. He hadn’t been there long when he heard the soft creak of the door behind him. Turning, he discovered Rude peering inside.

“Still out?”

Tseng nodded. “It shouldn’t be much longer, though.”

“Where’s Elena?”

“I thought it wise to send her off to the cafeteria before she passed out from hunger. She’s rather upset… I don’t know if Reno mentioned it to you or not, but it seems they had an argument last night and didn’t part on the best on terms.”

“Thought something was bothering him…” Rude replied, “Didn’t have time to discuss it, though.”

“What’s it like in Two?”

“Not good. Jericho’s disappeared, and there’s a rumor going around he’s dead. Can’t confirm that one way or the other, though… I don’t know what kind of damage Reno managed to do to him before he fell. We didn’t take out anywhere near the entire gang… but it was a pretty sizable chunk, and from what I’m hearing, a lot of his top people were there. The other gang leaders are already trying to stake their claims on his turf,” he said, “At this point, even if Jericho turns up, I’m not sure he’ll have the power he needs to hold his territory. He may just cut his losses and run to one of the other sectors. Either way, Two’s gonna get real bad, real quick.”

“That… is unfortunate,” Tseng said with a sigh. Sector 2 certainly didn’t need a gang war… but if the balance of power really had shifted as much as Rude seemed to think it had, it was likely inevitable. Short of sending in Shinra troops to quell the violence – and unless important assets, like the pillar or the trains, were at risk it was very unlikely to be approved by the executive board – the sector was not going to be a pleasant place to be for awhile.

“About the only good thing that came out of this is that my informants feel safer now, and they’re talking again. Word’s getting around fairly fast that Jericho was the one attacking them.”

“That’s something, at least,” the Turk leader agreed.

“Can’t you assholes keep it down? How’s a guy s’posed ta get any fuckin’ sleep around here?”

Tseng turned away from his conversation at the unexpected interruption, to find the redhead grinning at him.

“It’s about time you woke up…” Rude stated, “We’ve been waiting for hours.”

“Not my fault you two got nothin’ better to do than stare at me…” Reno joked, “So… what’s the damage this time? Gotta admit, other than a splittin’ headache, I’m not really feelin’ it.”

“Surprisingly little, considering you knocked yourself out after you took a twenty foot fall into a pile of scrap. Ward is keeping you overnight for observation in case of concussion, but barring any such complications, you’re free to return to work tomorrow morning.”

“Huh… Don’t remember fallin’… or much of anything else ’bout how I ended up here, for that matter.” The redhead pushed himself up in bed, taking stock of the various monitors tracking his heartbeat and oxygen levels. He smirked slightly.

“Don’t even think about it,” Tseng said, flatly. He’d seen that look before… usually right before the prankster yanked off an electrode or three and sent the medical staff into a panic.

“Tch… You could at least let me have a little fun, boss…”

Tseng shook his head and turned to Rude… “Before he gets himself into too much trouble and we’re all thrown out for instigating it, perhaps we should contact El– ”

“Reno!” a voice cried from the door, relief evident.

“Nevermind…” the Turk leader finished, smiling as the rookie crossed the room, ignoring the other two Turks, and threw her arms around the redhead.

Reno blinked in surprise, but gently wrapped his arms around her as well.

“Uh… ‘kay, not that I’d ever complain about a seriously hot blonde throwin’ herself at me, but… Who’s this and why’s she so happy to see me?” he asked, confused.

~fin~