Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 2: A Party to Remember

Reno sat down on his couch Sunday night and let his gaze rest on the brightly lit tree in the corner of his living room… just as he’d been doing at various points all weekend. This was the first time he’d gotten one just for himself. His first Christmas on the Plate, he’d still been living with Tseng, so it hadn’t really been just his. And last year, he’d been too damn busy to go out and find one to put up, let alone decorate one. Besides… he’d gone to the party – hosted at Kai’s apartment that year – anyway. He wouldn’t have even been home to enjoy it on Christmas.

This year, though… for some reason this year, he really wanted one of his own. He supposed it just made him feel like he was… home. Even now there were times that he still found himself amazed that he could really say that. For so long, the idea of living on the Plate was just a dream… one that, deep down, he’d known was out of reach. He loved it here, and he loved having people he could call family.

His PHS decided to ruin his moment of self-reflection just then, ringing insistently from where it was making a valiant attempt at charging on the other side of the room. Reno groaned, and dragged himself to his feet again. He reached it on the fourth ring and checked the caller ID… and grinned widely.

“Merry Christmas, Lira” he answered.

“Hey, you…” his friend’s voice replied, “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Absolutely. So… dinner and sex? Or just the sex?” he asked, only half-teasing. Lira giggled.

“Why not both at once?” she queried, seductively. Reno cringed slightly.

“‘Cause the last time we tried that, I was findin’ leftovers in my sheets for two days. And a few other places I’d rather not think about…”

Lira laughed. “Alright, alright… Well, in that case, dinner first. I’m half starved, and I’m sure you are, too. I’ll be there in… say… an hour?”

“Can’t wait!”

“Well, you’d better. I won’t be real happy if you start without me,” she teased.

“Heh… better hurry, then. We’ve been swamped at work lately. I haven’t had a date in like three weeks. I gotta go much longer, I’m liable to explode.”

“Poor baby…” Lira snickered, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “See ya soon!”

The call ended, and Reno pulled up the number for a nearby Wutaiian takeout place he knew Lira liked. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could get to doing… other things…

---

“Now what’s this I hear about you not coming to the Christmas party?” Esme demanded of him, the moment Tseng walked through the door of Veld’s condo. His mentor gave a long suffering sigh.

“He’s still coming… he and a few of the others are just going to be a little late getting here,” the Turk leader said to his wife.

“Hmph… You poor thing,” she said, ignoring him, “I can’t believe that no-good husband of mine is making you work on Christmas Eve.”

Tseng chuckled as she took his coat and hung it on one of the small hooks in the entry way.

“Someone was going to have to to do it. I volunteered. No one is forcing me, least of all your husband.”

“Well… you make sure you come straight here just as soon as you’re done. I am not going to miss out on my yearly opportunity to spoil you rotten just so that the Shinra higher-ups can have their little soirée. And that goes for Reno and Sykes and Liam, too.”

Tseng raised his hands in surrender. “Far be it from me to argue with the lady of the house…”

Veld snorted in laughter as Esme harrumphed and retreated into the kitchen to tend to dinner.

“Sometimes I wonder who’s really in charge of my Turks…” he said, escorting Tseng into the living room. The Turk lieutenant glanced around.

“Where’s Felicia? Or have I been so lax in my visiting lately that she’s simply forgotten about me?” he asked. Normally, Veld’s daughter was the first to greet him when he came for dinner. In fact, if he happened to have Reno in tow, as well, it wasn’t unusual for her to be standing in the open doorway as he made his way up the sidewalk.

Veld sighed deeply. “She’s having dinner at a friend’s house tonight.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “A male friend. With strict instructions to be home by eight, or else.”

Tseng laughed and took a seat on the couch. “I trust this young man and his family were properly vetted…”

“You’d damn well better believe they were,” Veld replied. He shook his head. “She’s growing up so fast… I can’t believe my little girl is already a teenager.”

“Mmm… Which of us is going to have to break the news to Reno that his greatest admirer has found someone new?”

The Turk leader let out a laugh. “He’ll be crushed, I’m sure…” he said, teasingly. Felicia had been quite enamored with the redhead from the moment she’d laid eyes on him. Reno had always been a good sport about it, but the more of a teenager she became, the more it seemed to make him just a little uncomfortable knowing that someone so much younger than him thought of him in that way. “Hmph… but at least I always knew I could trust Reno. I’m going to have to do deep background checks on every boy in her school, just so I’m prepared for every possible eventuality, now.”

Tseng smiled slightly. “And I always though my father was over-protective of his daughter…”

“Should you and Viridia ever decide to have children, Tseng… have boys. When you have boys, you only have to worry about them. When you have a girl, you have to worry about all the boys.”

“Fortunately, I think Viridia and I are both quite content with our relationship as it is,” the Wutaiian Turk snickered.

“For now, anyway…” Veld teased. His expression shifted slightly. “I hesitate to ask, but… as we’re on the subject of family…”

“No… I haven’t heard from them,” Tseng replied. “Though my mother did send me a short note last month to inform me that my brother, Jian, is getting married in the spring. I’m… not expecting an invitation to the wedding.” He gave his mentor a sad smile. “They’ll never forgive me for what happened to Mayu. My father certainly won’t, at any rate, and without his blessing, neither will anyone else. Mother doesn’t hate me, at least… but… she won’t go against Father’s edict.”

Veld rested a hand on Tseng’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even brought it up…”

“I… won’t deny that I desperately wish things were different. But I believe I’ve accepted my fate at this point. It’s not the raw, open wound it once was.” He glanced up at his mentor, and smiled slightly. “I still have you. And Viridia. And Reno. And the rest of the team. That’s enough.”

---

Reno woke the following morning to the sensation of fingers lazily swirling across his stomach. As his bedmate realized that he was waking up, those fingers crept south, teasingly sweeping past his naval before making a slight detour to caress his hip, and then continuing on, down to his groin where the teasing suddenly abated and moved on to something a bit more… determined. The redhead groaned in pleasure.

“Dear Ifrit, you really know how ta wake a guy up…” he managed. Lira giggled softly.

“And now that you’re awake, what are you gonna do to me?”

He finally opened his eyes. “Name it.”

Lira’s expression turned hungry. “That’s what I love about you, Reno… you’re always up for anything,” she teased.

“Heh… hard to say no when ya already got me by the dick before you even ask…” he snickered. Lira laughed and moved to straddle him, leaning down and claiming his lips. She pulled away and flashed him a wicked grin.

“Let’s do it out on the balcony.”

“Uh… ya know it’s like… literally freezin’ out there, right?” the redhead chuckled, kind of hoping she was joking.

“I know… but it’s snowing. Haven’t you ever wanted to fuck in the snow?” she asked, doing her best imitation of a perfectly innocent look.

Reno groaned as she languidly rubbed her naked body against his. Fuck it… he could handle a little cold weather.

“I catch pneumonia doing this, you’re explainin’ it to Tseng… I gotta work tonight,” he teased.

Lira laughed, and pulled him from the warmth of the sheets, leading him out of the bedroom and towards the glass sliding doors that opened onto his balcony. She smiled almost evilly as she opened them, sending a blast of icy air and snowflakes rushing into his apartment. Reno shivered but didn’t protest as she grabbed his hand and stepped outside.

The snow was coming down steadily, and Lira reached out with her free hand to catch it, watching as the tiny crystalline shapes melted on her palm. Reno couldn’t help but think that she reminded him of some sort of beautiful snow princess like that. Lira turned around, gazing at him lustfully.

“Well? What are you waitin’ for?” she purred.

---

Rude knocked on the redhead’s door a second time, wondering if maybe he ought to have called ahead instead of just dropping by. But he’d been in the neighborhood, running a few last minute errands before most of the stores he needed to visit shut down early for the holiday, and decided to see if Reno wanted to grab an early lunch with him, seeing as his friend would be missing most of the party tonight.

He had nearly come to the conclusion that Reno, too, had left to take care of some chore or another, as well, and was about to call him and ask if he wanted to meet somewhere… when the door finally opened.

“Oh! Hiya, Rude! Long time no see!” Lira greeted him, enthusiastically. For a brief moment, Rude’s brain ceased to function. He blinked a few times behind his sunglasses, searching for some sort of reply, but found himself entirely unable to form a coherent sentence. Instead, he ended up simply gawking at the very attractive – and very naked – young woman, standing in the doorway. Lira laughed.

“Still shy, I see,” she giggled. “Come on in… Reno’s in the shower…” She snickered again, and added, “… trying to warm up…”

“Uh…”

“I guess maybe dragging him out onto the balcony like that was a little silly… but it sure was fun,” she continued, largely ignoring the lack of two-way conversation. “Can I getcha anything’? Coffee’s just about ready…”

Rude still hadn’t found his words. Thankfully, he was saved from having to answer as Reno emerged from the bathroom, a towel over his head – and nothing else, much to the other Turk’s dismay – as he rubbed his hair dry.

“Lira, the next time you decide ya want me to fuck you outside, can we please do it in warmer weather?” he asked. A moment later he tossed the towel into a nearby pile of laundry and looked up, only then noticing that he had company. “Oh… Hey, Rude.”

“… I knew I should have called first…” the bald Turk finally managed to get out. Reno snorted softly in laughter and shrugged, unbothered.

“Why?” he teased, before slipping into his bedroom. He returned momentarily, dressed in a set of workout sweats, and a t-shirt draped over his arm, which he tossed to Lira. “Quite torturin’ the guy, will ya? Or… ya know… make him an offer. One of the two.”

Lira giggled and sidled over to her lover, gently kissing him on the cheek.

“As much fun as that would be, I gotta get back soon. I’ve got the lunchtime shift today,” she replied, before turning to Rude, “Sorry, sweetie… Guess you’ll have to take a raincheck.”

With that, she disappeared into Reno’s bedroom, leaving the two of them alone.

“Heh… If I’d known you were comin’ over, I’da warned ya ahead of time that Lira came up last night to… uh… give me my Christmas present,” the redhead snickered, “So… what’s up?”

“… I was out. Ended up over on this side of town. Thought we could have lunch.”

Reno grinned. “Sound great! After that workout, I’m starved. Lemme just go grab some decent clothes. Ya mind if Lira hitches a ride to the station on the way? It’s fuckin’ brutal out there.”

Rude shook his head, chuckling. “You’re not even slightly embarrassed, are you?” he called after his friend as he retreated to his room a second time.

“Nope,” the redhead gleefully replied.

---

Reno stifled a yawn and helped himself to another of the large, decadent Christmas themed cookies that seemed to replenish themselves every time he looked away from the buffet table. It was nearing midnight… but it wasn’t the lateness of the hour that had him growing ever more drowsy. It was the tediousness of the “party”.

He hadn’t been expecting anything wild, given the guest list… but for fuck’s sake. Apparently an “executive party” was really just a bunch of people standing around talking and eating and drinking for hours on end, for the most part. It might have been a bit more enjoyable had he been allowed to join them in the latter… but since he was on duty, alcohol was prohibited.

Thankfully, food was not. Tseng had told him that he could partake of as much of that as he liked… and the offerings seemed to be endless. He had yet to spot a platter that ever went empty. The catering staff was on top of things.

Even so, it was decidedly boring.

Still… it wasn’t all bad. Aside from the food, there was music, and more than a few attractive ladies. A couple of them had even ditched their dates temporarily and pulled him out onto the – largely empty – dance floor for a bit. And he’d snagged a couple of phone numbers, so it wasn’t a total waste of a night.

At the start of the party, the President had happily paraded his elite forces out in front of the crowd. For a short while, they’d been the center of attention… but that had quickly faded as guests began to gravitate towards the bar and the buffet. The executive had then simply ordered them to “mingle”. Reno, for one, had shrugged and done just that.

As Tseng was quickly commandeered by a small group Heidegger was talking to, Liam and Sykes had stuck close to the redhead for awhile, not quite sure what to do with themselves. Eventually, though, they, too, had slipped off into the crowd.

Reno wondered what the others were up to by now. Dinner was long since eaten, which meant that the presents must have been opened as well. He shook his head and laughed. At this point, most of them were probably drunk off their asses, to be honest. That’s what it typically devolved into once the liquor came out. He envied them. Being drunk and curled up under the Christmas tree sounded pretty nice at the moment. He was missing his little family.

He bit a large chunk off of the massive cookie in his hand.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Reno choked violently for a brief moment and forced the bite down before spinning to face his mentor.

“You trying to kill me or somethin’, boss?” he groused.

“My apologies,” Tseng chuckled. “It wasn’t intentional. You usually seem to sense me coming anymore…”

“So… this is what passes for a party to the rich ‘n powerful, huh?” the redhead replied, shrugging off his momentary brush with death.

“Unfortunately…” a second voice drawled, as Rufus made his way up to the pair. He turned to Tseng. “Father would like to wrap things up soon. There are a number of guests who will need to be… dealt with. We’ve arranged rides for most of them. They merely need to be escorted to the cars.” He cringed slightly and glanced over his shoulder. “The… ahem… board members who are too inebriated to drive will need a personal escort, of course. And I would very much like to take my leave now, before I’m called upon to help lure them towards the elevators.”

Tseng shook his head and sighed. “Reno… round up Sykes and Liam, and have them help you begin shepherding the guests to the parking deck. I’ll take Rufus home, and we’ll deal with any remaining board members when I return.”

“On it, boss,” Reno replied, shoving the remainder of the cookie into his mouth. Rufus rolled his eyes, but said nothing about his eating habits. It seemed that the holidays were reason enough for a minor reprieve from his usual snark. Either that, or the youngest of the executives was on his best behavior tonight. He’d been surprisingly… pleasant… all evening.

“Oh… and if I haven’t returned by the time the everyone else has been seen off, tell the rookies they may leave. You and I can handle the executives on our own, I think. There’s no sense in prolonging their night, as well,” the Turk lieutenant added.

“Will do.”

“Fair warning,” Rufus commented as Reno set off, “Scarlet is three sheets to the wind and not so subtly propositioning anything that moves. Personally, I’d recommend locating a cattle prod before approaching her.”

---

Almost half an hour later, Reno stepped back into the elevator, riding it up to the party for what felt like the hundredth time. Really, it was more like a dozen or so… but dealing with drunk people seemed to make everything seem like far more work than it really was. As requested, he’d dismissed the pair of rookies – who’d looked at him with such gratitude he’d almost laughed – after the last of the guests had been bundled into the hired cars. Now he just needed to wait for Tseng to return so they could take the VIPs home, and then he could finally settle in at Veld’s place with a beer and hopefully some leftovers from Emse’s dinner.

His PHS chimed, alerting him to a new text message, and he quickly pulled it from his jacket’s breast pocket. It was from Tseng. The roads had been less than ideal, but he’d be there in a few minutes. Reno grinned and typed in a quick reply as the elevator arrived at its destination.

A few people still lingered, finishing off the food or chatting, but building security was politely urging them to head home, and most were collecting their coats as they nibbled and talked. Heidegger grunted in vague acknowledgment of his presence before he and Palmer, who was looking a little tipsy, but not overly impaired, brushed past him and made their exit. The head of the General Affairs Department still vehemently disliked him – Reno couldn’t believe someone could hold a grudge as long as that son of a bitch had – but at least he didn’t look like he wanted to murder him every time they happened to cross paths anymore.

“Sir?” a voice prodded, and Reno turned to find a young security officer peering out at him from one of the side rooms. “Er… Would you mind? I’m… um… I’m not quite sure how to handle this…” she said, awkwardly, gesturing towards the door. The redhead’s eyebrow rose in curiosity and he altered course, joining her.

As he stepped inside, he snickered at the sight that greeted him. Scarlet had found a date. She was presently in the midst of seductively slow dancing… with a coat rack.

“Tch… Don’t worry about it. I got this,” Reno said, rolling his eyes at the executive, “Go ahead ‘n get outta here.”

“Thank you, sir,” the woman breathed, in obvious relief. “Merry Christmas…”

“Yeah… Merry Christmas,” the redhead responded with a wave, before shaking his head with a slightly disbelieving laugh and crossing the room towards the Weapons Department head. He glanced down at his watch. Tseng was probably here… or almost here… by now. And Scarlet seemed to be the only board member not capable of making her own way home. If he had her waiting for Tseng downstairs, all they’d have to do was shove her in the back seat, drop her off, and head to the Turks’ party.

That thought in mind, he paused just behind her and cleared his throat. Scarlet released her hold on the coat rack and unsteadily turned to look at him, blinking blearily up at the Turk as she took a few wobbly steps toward him. One hand still precariously held a champagne flute.

“Oh… it’s the pretty Turk…” she slurred, drunkenly, swaying as she stood in front of him. “Is the pretty Turk here to take care of little ‘ol’ me?” She cackled and polished off the remaining champagne in her glass.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, trying – but not fully succeeding – at keeping a straight face. Fortunately, Scarlet was too far gone to notice. “If you’ll come with me…”

“Oh, I’ll comewith you, alright…” Scarlet tittered, latching onto him and pressing her body up against his. Her arm wrapped around his waist as she nuzzled her cheek against his throat. “Mmm… Such a big, strong boy…”

Reno resisted the urge to groan in annoyance as she began fondling his ponytail with one hand while the other dipped below his waist, grabbing at his ass.

“… Yeah… ‘kay… I think we’d better getcha home, ma’am…”

“My place or yours?!” she belted out, laughing. Reno rolled his eyes and began the process of trying to coax Scarlet out towards the elevators… no small task, given that every few steps, the woman kept trying to get him to dance with her to music only she could hear. The redhead hoped that Veld had saved him some of the good stuff… because at this rate, he was really gonna need that drink when he finally got there.

---

Tseng pulled into the parking deck around five minutes after he’d alerted Reno to his imminent arrival. The last of the cars were just pulling out with their passengers, and the Turks’ second-in-command had no trouble spotting two of the team’s rookies heading for their own vehicles as he was making his way towards the elevators. They caught sight of him as well and paused briefly.

“Reno said we could go ahead and leave, sir,” Sykes offered, and Tseng nodded.

“Is he still inside?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright. We’ll finish things up. Are you planning on joining the party at Veld’s home?”

“Yes, sir,” the pair chorused.

“I’ll likely see you there, then, assuming we get the remaining board members home in a timely manner. If not, good night, and merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, sir!” they replied, again in unison, and then eyed each other for a moment, before breaking into quiet laughter. Tseng chuckled softly and turned back to the building’s entrance. Moments later two cars drove off into the night.

Tseng pressed the button to summon the elevator. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be too many to deal with. He would have asked for an update, but had decided that Reno’s time was better employed in wrangling their soon to be passengers and keeping thing orderly.

The elevator reached the parking deck and the doors opened… and for a very brief moment, Tseng found himself frozen in shock.

Reno’s eyes seemed to plead with him for help. Scarlet had the poor, unfortunate Turk pressed firmly into the corner of the elevator car, lips hungrily devouring his own. Tseng could already see the dark, purplish marks forming on his pale skin that implied that similar attention had recently been paid to his neck, as well. The executive’s hand was embedded between the redhead’s legs, the fabric of his undone pants thoroughly unable to conceal exactly what she was doing to him… and judging by the look of extreme discomfort on his protege’s face, he wasn’t enjoying being groped. At all.

Tseng didn’t even remember moving… but he must have, because the next thing he knew he was releasing his grip on Scarlet as he roughly pulled her off of the younger Turk and shoved her out of the elevator, into the parking structure. It took her a moment to stagger upright again, and when she did, she laughed.

“Mmm… Two pretty Turks… all for me…” she giggled, reaching for him. Scarlet stumbled forward a few steps, hands grasping for Tseng’s belt. The Wutaiian Turk took a disgusted step to one side, leaving her pinwheeling forward. She couldn’t keep her balance. A moment later, Scarlet ended up flat on her face on the cold concrete. She laughed again, and rolled to one side, mercifully opting to stay down. Tseng shook his head in vague disbelief.

“For Levaithan’s sake…” he muttered, furious, before turning back to Reno. What he saw only served to stoke his anger. The redhead hadn’t so much as moved. He was still clinging tightly to the handrail inside of the elevator car, his expression a mixture of fear and disgust. Tseng stepped inside and gently shook him, snapping him out of his daze. “Are you alright?”

He nodded, eyes still wide, and followed Tseng out into the parking deck. Reno’s hands shook noticeably as he zipped his pants back up, and moved slowly toward the semi-conscious woman… who by now was singing a garbled Christmas carol between hiccups.

Tseng scowled and tossed the redhead his keys.

“Open the trunk,” he ordered, through gritted teeth. Reno hurried to comply, unlocking the small compartment and lifting the lid. Tseng bent down, seizing the woman by the wrists and none-too-gently hauled her upright again, before slinging her unceremoniously over one shoulder and dumping her into the cramped space. He slammed the lid shut and took his keys back. “Let’s go.”

He rounded the car and slid into the driver’s seat, and while Reno moved to join him, he took a deep breath, slowly exhaling a misty cloud in the icy-cold air in an attempt to calm himself. Once his protege was safely inside, he started the engine, and set off in the direction of Scarlet’s townhome in the Sector 4 residential district.

If Scarlet had any memory of this at all, he was going to be in a great deal of trouble… but the Nine Hells would freeze over before he allowed an assault like that on one of his Turks to continue unchallenged. Reno, for his part, seemed to be in something of a state of shock… and Tseng could understand why. He’d already had one run-in with an executive that had ended badly awhile back – to say the least. He couldn’t fault the young Turk for panicking slightly when faced with a situation that would almost certainly have a similar outcome if he made the wrong decision.

“… I didn’t know what the fuck I was s’posed ta do…” he heard the younger Turk whisper.

“Calm down. It’s over,” Tseng said, though he felt somewhat hypocritical saying that. At the moment, his own mood was far from calm. In fact, it was bordering on homicidal. Were he less of a professional, he would have been seriously considering driving Scarlet out to the edge of the Plate and turning her loose to stagger off of it. He was certainly enjoying the momentary fantasy, at any rate. They drove in silence until they reached Scarlet’s home.

“Stay in the car,” the Turk leader said, popping the trunk, “I’ll deal with her.”

He received a vague nod from the redhead, and hurried out into the cold. He rounded the car and lifted the lid of the trunk. The department head was curled into an awkward ball, head resting on his spare tire, out cold. Tseng snorted in contempt and dragged her out.

He carried her inside and dropped her on the couch in her living room like a sack of potatoes, before turning on his heel and storming out, slamming the door behind him. When he returned to his car, he found Reno huddled close to the heat vent, and realized that he hadn’t even bothered to close the door in his hurry to be rid of the woman. The Wutaiian Turk quickly shut the trunk and climbed back inside, swearing under his breath in his native tongue… and saw Reno flinch rather violently.

“Reno?” he tried, a bit concerned. He hadn’t seen that sort of reaction from the redhead in quite some time. Then again… it wasn’t often that he allowed his self-control to slip like this, either, and the few times he had, his protege had more than once been the trigger for it. He sighed. “It’s not you I’m angry with… surely you must know that.”

Reno didn’t answer, but he did visibly relax.

“I’m sure our own Christmas party is still going on at Veld’s… if you’d still like to go.”

“No thanks,” the redhead said softly before lapsing into silence again. Tseng frowned, and began to worry.

The senior Turk mentally kicked himself. He never should have left a him alone with Scarlet. Especially after Rufus’ warning. He knew she had more than a passing interest in his protege.

“Perhaps you should come home with me tonight…” he found himself saying. The thought of simply dropping Reno off and leaving him on his own didn’t sit well. He wanted him close right now.

The rookie shook his head and forced a grin. “What for? I’m fine… Nothin’ to worry about.”

Tseng studied him for a few more moments and then put the car in gear and pulled onto the road.

“You’re coming home with me tonight.” This time it wasn’t a suggestion. Traffic was non-existent… he cut across two lanes and turned in the direction of home instead of Reno’s apartment. Reno didn’t argue.

They pulled into the parking lot some time later and the redhead followed him to his door without comment. Tseng turned on the lights, taking Reno’s coat and hanging it, along with his own, on the hooks by the door. It took little effort to coax the younger man into his guest room.

Reno stood at the side of the bed, his back to the Turks second-in-command. “Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning.” He turned to go, only to be summoned back by the redhead’s soft comment.

“Somehow managed to avoid shit like that all the years I was in stuck down in Two as a kid… Guess my luck finally ran out.”

Tseng turned at the sound of Reno’s voice, and closed the distance between them, resting his hands on his shoulders. He calmly urged him out of his jacket, along with most of the rest of his clothes, leaving him in only boxers and his shirt.

“Into bed,” he ordered, as gently as he could. The redhead obeyed, climbing under the covers, and curling up on his side, his back to the door.

“Tseng?” he queried in a small voice.

The Wutaiian Turk settled himself on the edge of the bed, and placed a hand between Reno’s shoulder blades, slowly stroking his back.

“I’ll stay until you’re asleep. And I won’t go far, after.” The younger man finally relaxed then, but Tseng continued to soothe him until he was certain he was out. He had a nagging feeling he’d be spending at least some of his vacation undoing whatever damage that woman had caused.

If he’d thought he could have gotten away with it… he’d have inflicted some damage of his own on her.

~end chapter 2~