Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 25: Happy Birthday to You

On Monday, those Turks not presently on vacation returned to work… but one of their number had been in the office most of the weekend. And, Tseng was forced to admit, his efforts had largely been fruitless. All he’d really determined in all that time was that the “calling card” left by whomever it was that had murdered the unfortunate SOLDIER was not one that the Turks had come across before.

Which, frankly, put him right back at square one. And he was running out of people to ask.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. It was times like this that he truly missed Tres. The late Turk would have been right their with him, searching for answers, and would have been just as annoyed as he was at his lack of progress. Though, he had to admit… Rude was a more than worthy successor to his mentor. The young man shared Tres’ tenacity when it came to unearthing information. The former slum rat would have been extraordinarily proud of his pupil. He’d trained him well.

Unfortunately, Rude wasn’t here at the moment, either… which had left Tseng to muddle through the archives on his own for the past two days. He planned on putting the younger Turk to work on the problem the moment he set foot in the office again… but that wouldn’t be until Wednesday morning.

“Tell me you haven’t been working all weekend…” Kai’s voice demanded, interrupting his moment of reprieve.

“Very well… I won’t tell you,” he replied, sitting up to see her standing in the doorway of his office. The diminutive Turk sighed and shook her head.

“I knew it…” she chastised him, “You always have that look when you’ve been working too hard. Weekends are personal time, Tseng. Try using it once in awhile.”

The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly.

“I would have been quite happy to do so… but I’m afraid my weekend was interrupted before it even began. Veld will be briefing everyone at the morning meeting. A member of SOLDIER was murdered some time on Friday. The body was discovered early Saturday morning.”

“A SOLDIER?” Kai queried, “Who the hell takes on a SOLDIER and comes out in one piece?”

“That’s what I’ve spent my weekend attempting to discern,” Tseng replied, “With very little success, I might add.”

“No leads at all?”

“The victim was shot. Three times, in the head. The bullet casings were left in an intentional arrangement nearby,” he recounted, handing her a photo. “I don’t suppose you’ve come across such a signature before…”

Kai shook her head in the negative, studying the image. “Doesn’t ring any bells. Sorry.”

Tseng nodded and took the photo back, tucking it into the case folder.

“I assumed as much. I can find nothing similar in the archives, either. The closest I came was a serial murderer from nearly twenty years ago who left three unspent rounds behind, standing on end. But that difference aside, the man is long dead now, and his victims were all men. Our unfortunate SOLDIER is female.”

“So… someone we haven’t run across before?” Kai ventured.

“In all likelihood, yes. Which, naturally, is of no help whatsoever, since it widens the search field rather than narrowing it,” Tseng groused, irritated. Kai snorted softly.

“Come on. You need a break. Let’s get some breakfast,” she said, strolling over to him and seizing him by the arm.

“I’ve already eaten breakfast,” Tseng protested, but she dragged him from his chair anyway.

“Tea, then. Either way, you need to get out of this office for ten minutes before you grow roots,” she teased. The Wutaiian Turk sighed, but stopped resisting, allowing her to pull him to his feet. She did have a point. He was long overdue for a break. Besides which… he wouldn’t get any work done with her pestering him to take a break, anyway.

---

Reno yawned and rolled over… or tried to, at least. The effort was unexpectedly blocked by the warm body next to him. He opened his eyes and blinked hazily in the darkened room, straining to remember who the hell he’d gone to bed with last night, and momentarily found himself at a bit of a loss. He’d had a lot to drink last night, after all.

Deidra? No… that didn’t sound quite right. He was pretty sure it was something with a D, though. He’d run into her on the slopes Sunday afternoon. And then again at the restaurant in town when he and Rude had headed out for dinner. And then again at the bar, where they’d gone to finish out the night. At some point, he’d ended up accompanying her upstairs to her room.

Debby? He didn’t think that was it, either. Crap. He hated it when he didn’t get their name. Always made things awkward the next morning. Of course, usually when that happened, they didn’t remember his name, either, so… it kind of evened out.

The redhead rolled out of bed and quietly began searching for his clothes. It took some effort. Apparently, they’d been in a hurry to get to it last night… His things were strewn all over the room, as were hers. With a resigned shrug, he started collecting his various garments, pulling them on as he went, trying not to wake his hook-up from her slumber.

“Morning…” a more than slightly hungover-sounding voice mumbled as he was zipping up his pants.

“Mornin’… umm… Diana?” he ventured, hoping it was at least close.

“Denise,” she corrected him.

He cringed slightly. Dammit. Well… at least he’d had the first letter right.

“… It was… Randal?” she queried.

“Reno.”

Denise snorted softly in laughter, and rolled over, pulling the covers around her naked body. “That’s what I get for drinking absinthe…” she murmured. The redhead snickered.

“Yeah. That shit’ll kick your ass ‘n come back for more. Thanks for last night.”

She mumbled something unintelligible, already half asleep again, and Reno took that as his cue to show himself out. He shrugged on his shirt without bothering to button it, and grabbed his boots, slipping quietly out the door and into the hallway, making the short walk of shame back to his own quarters.

When he arrived, Rude was already awake and dressed. He smirked as Reno slipped inside.

“Have fun with your new friend?” he chuckled. The redhead snickered and shut the door.

“‘Course I did… drunken sex you barely remember is still sex. I’ll take it,” he replied, “Uh… sorry ’bout ditchin’ ya, though.”

“Hmph… I’m not complaining. I had the room all to myself last night,” Rude said in reply, “Happy birthday, by the way.”

Reno grinned and flopped down on his bed. “Heh… That mean ya found someone to keep ya company instead of me?

“No, it means I actually got a decent night’s sleep on a trip with you for once. You’re a lousy roommate, you know. Up all hours of the night,” he teased. The redhead laughed and sat up.

“Yeah… sorry. Bein’ a light sleeper sucks sometimes. Usually for whoever’s stuck with me. So… Whaddya think? Breakfast and then back out to the slopes?”

“I’m amazed you can even think about food without feeling queasy this morning, as much as you drank last night,” Rude sniggered, “Aren’t you hungover at all?”

“Eh… A little. Not enough to make me skip breakfast, though. ‘Sides… someone had to put that guy in his place.”

Their trip to the bar – prior to him hooking up with Denise – had led to an all out drinking contest with one of the locals. Reno and Rude had both matched the guy drink for drink until they’d switched over to Mideelian absinthe. Rude had very quickly bowed out after that, mumbling something about “Never again…”. Reno, though, had proceeded to drink the smug son of a bitch under the table and then some. Annnnd… aside from some brief flashes of memory that included a lot of heavy breathing and a very enthusiastic hand between his legs, that was about all he remembered before waking up in Denise’s bed a short while ago.

Rude shook his head, laughing, and got up. “Have it your way,” he replied, “Speaking of food, though, I’m gonna be leaving you on your own for awhile this afternoon. I’ll need a couple hours to do your cake.”

Reno blinked in surprise. “I just figured we’d buy one…”

“Nope. Already talked to the inn staff. They’re lending me their kitchen after the lunch rush is over,” he said, and flipped open the suitcase that was sitting on the side table, revealing a small collection of cake pans, utensils, and ingredients, “I brought everything I need but the oven.”

“… You… brought your kitchen on vacation with you?” the redhead laughed, in mild disbelief, and Rude quickly joined him.

“Just what I needed to bake a cake.”

“And people call me weird…” Reno joked, smiling. Rude shrugged.

“I made your cake last year. And the one the year before that. Can’t break with tradition.”

The redhead grinned and got up, crossing the room. “Good point. I like that tradition. I’m gonna grab a quick shower, and then we can go get somethin’ to eat. Sound good?”

Rude merely shut the suitcase again and waved him off.

---

Tseng’s renewed search for information was interrupted for the second time that morning shortly after the morning briefing had concluded.

“Is it true?” Rufus demanded, striding purposefully into the Turk lieutenant’s office and taking his usual seat. Tseng took a deep breath and let it out slowly, rubbing his eyes. Between the archive files and the computer records, he was going to have rather severe eye strain by the end of the day.

“Forgive me, sir… but I’ve been working all weekend, and have had only the minimum required amount of sleep to function the last few days. You’ll need to be a bit more specific.”

Rufus snorted. “I’ll take that as a yes, then,” he replied. “The dead SOLDIER. Have you identified the murderer yet?”

“No… I’m afraid not. Though it’s not actually an active investigation at the moment. Director Faine informed us this morning that she wishes to handle it internally in her own department. We’ve been asked not to interfere with SOLDIER’s investigation.”

“Well, that’s just idiotic,” the vice president said, rolling his eyes. “Shinra employs the Turks for just such investigative purposes.”

Tseng managed a slight smile. “Yes, sir. But the Director doesn’t particularly care for us these days. We are investigating, however. Just not… officially… at this time. Unfortunately, we’ve been hitting nothing but dead ends thus far.”

Rufus cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Just what did the Turks do that managed to annoy the Director of SOLDIER to such an extent?” he queried.

Tseng grimaced at the memory. “I’m rather surprised you don’t remember. As I recall, you had to replace your private secretary during the fallout…”

“Oh for Ramuh’s sake… Don’t tell me she’s still holding a grudge over her daughter’s poor taste in men…” he said, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“I’m afraid so, sir. Though I think it has more to do with the canceled wedding than the girl’s choice in last minute flings,” Tseng replied, and then added, “Frankly, though, in my view Faine has no grounds for complaint. From what Reno told me after the fact, he was given no indication the girl was even seeing anyone, let alone engaged, and she was just as… eager… as he was.”

It was a detail that still irked him. Reno was, of course, far from blameless in the event… but he had been enticed back to her apartment with her under thoroughly false pretenses. Tseng himself had never seen a ring on the young woman’s finger the many times he’d ventured upstairs to Rufus’ office and she certainly hadn’t advertisedher engagement in other ways. In Director Faine’s view, however, it was all Reno’s fault that her daughter remained unmarried… and that somehow made it the Turks’ fault as well.

“Hmph… I really don’t know how you’ve put up with his antics for so long. And of course, as soon as there’s real work to be done, the slum rat takes off for parts unknown and leaves it to everyone else,” Rufus said, sneering slightly.

Tseng merely shook his head, vaguely annoyed at once again having to defend his protege to Rufus.

“Sir, Reno has, in the past month and a half, been poisoned on assignment, nearly died, and lost a close friend to a tragic accident. He needs a break, for his own mental well-being. Besides which… the trip happens to be for his birthday. It’s today.”

The younger man’s eyebrows rose in mock surprise. “Is it? I always just assumed he crawled out of the slime under some rock in the slums. Are you telling me some poor woman actually gave birth to him?”

Tseng couldn’t help it. The comment, and its utterly straight-faced delivery, drew a genuine laugh from him. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

“Sir… really…” he chuckled, “Must you?”

Rufus cast him a somewhat mischievous smirk. “If he must, then so must I. You know perfectly well that your pet slum rat never misses an opportunity to mock me.”

“He’s not even here right now, sir.”

“I don’t see why that should matter.”

The Wutaiian Turk sighed and leaned back in his chair. He smiled.

“You know… there are times when I honestly can’t tell whether you enjoy Reno’s company or truly can’t stand him.”

“Well, that’s a rather simple question to answer. I can’t stand him,” Rufus declared, though Tseng had more than enough personal experience with the Shinra executive to know when he wasn’t being entirely serious, “When is he due back in Midgar, anyway?”

“Tomorrow evening,” Tseng replied.

“I’ll note it on my calendar… so that I’ll be sure to remember to avoid your offices. The last time he returned from one of his little birthday trips, all he talked about for a solid week was the Ramuh-be-damned Gold Saucer,” he muttered, “Keep me apprised of this SOLDIER investigation you’re not officially conducting, if you would.”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng said, biting back a quiet snicker of amusement.

---

Reno positioned himself at the edge of the incline, gazing down at the steep slope ahead of him. Snowboarding was fucking fantastic, he’d decided. You know… once you got past that whole feeling of “what the fuck did I do, I’m going to fucking die” the first few times you did it. Now that he had several dozen runs under his belt, though, he was far more confident, and enjoying every second of flying down the glacier as fast as the board could carry him.

So much so that he was going to give the jump a shot. Rude had talked him out of it yesterday, insisting that it was only for experts… and the redhead had grudgingly agreed, because on one run he’d gotten close up view of someone making said jump and had seen just how fucking high it could launch a person. He didn’t mind heights, but dear Ifrit… That had to be an almost twenty foot freefall. The last time he’d fallen from that height, had been on the gauntlet… and that incident had resulted in surgery to fix his shoulder.

But today… he really wanted to try it. And since Rude had disappeared after lunch to go make his birthday cake, there was no one there to dissuade him this time. He was pretty sure his friend was making it out to be a lot worse than it really was, anyway. Rude hated heights. There probably wasn’t much of anything that would get him to try launching himself off of a ski jump. Besides… if he fucked up, it was all snow at the bottom, right? That’d cushion his landing a little, just like it had his first time down the slope.

That thought in mind, he lined himself up with the double black diamond route that would take him to the ski jump and took off. The redhead laughed as he sailed past other skiers, weaving adeptly around the obstacles and getting ready for the real thing with a few of the smaller jumps built into the run.

“This. Is. Awesome!” he crowed, passing through a short man-made tunnel, his voice echoing off of the walls of the enclosure. He shot out the end of the tunnel and back into the bright sunshine of early afternoon. The jump was just ahead, and he was bearing down on it a lot faster than he thought he’d be.

But… that was good, right? The faster you went, the better the jump. The next thing he knew, the snowy ground beneath his board gave way to… nothing. Reno swallowed nervously as his momentum propelled him upwards into a wide arc. A moment later, he felt the familiar sensation of freefall in the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened as he saw the ground rushing up towards him. Hard-packed, snow-covered, unforgiving ground.

It was right about then that it occurred to him that maaaaybe he should have listened to Rude…

“… Oh, fuck me…” he groaned, and braced for the inevitable impact.

---

It still needed something. Rude frowned at the cake he was decorating, and drummed his fingers on the counter, trying to figure out what the something was.

It was only a small cake – there were only two people to eat it, after all – but in terms of sheer sugar content, it could probably send a raging behemoth into a diabetic coma. He only planned on having one slice himself. A small slice. The rest was for Reno.

It was the same basic recipe he’d used for the first birthday cake he’d ever made his friend, and he smiled at the memory. That… had been a rough year for them. The Meaningless War had pushed them all to the breaking point. Tseng had lost his only sister and gone off the radar for nearly a month. They’d lost Luca. And just when things had finally started to look up, Fuhito and Istev had planted a bomb at the treaty signing… and taken out three more Turks in the process. Four, if you counted Rodney, though, frankly Rude rarely felt generous enough to do so. Reno’s birthday had been a bright spot for him that year… one of the few good memories he had of it.

And then he realized what he was missing. The shaved chocolate on top. Rude swore softly under his breath. He hadn’t packed that. Not that the redhead was likely to notice, with the copious amounts of chocolate already on the cake… but it still annoyed him a little. Rude was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to his cooking. He sighed and shook his head. At least it was mostly just decorative… it wouldn’t really affect the flavor, and that’s what was important.

He finished his creation off with a collection of brightly colored candles. Twenty of them… which on such a small cake looked slightly ridiculous, but he was pretty sure his friend would approve. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was better than he’d forgotten the decorative chocolate shavings, after all. They probably would have melted into a pool of sugary sludge under the miniature bonfire that would eventually be blazing on top of the dessert.

He chuckled at the thought and carried the cake over to one of the kitchen’s refrigerators for safe keeping until after dinner.

His job finished for the time being, Rude cleaned up his workspace and gave the inn’s wonderfully accommodating kitchen staff a friendly wave before making his way back upstairs and out into the first floor lobby… which was right about when he spotted a familiar figure making its way through the main entrance. Rude could only shake his head in disbelief as he walked over to meet him.

“What happened?” he sighed, noting the sling that held Reno’s left arm at an angle against his chest.

“Uhh… Ya know that thing ya told me not to do?”

Rude groaned. “You didn’t…”

“… I did,” the redhead sheepishly admitted, before hurriedly adding, “It’s not that bad. I just… ya know… dislocated my shoulder a little. The doc in town said it’d be fine, long as I didn’t aggravate it. Which… I guess means no more snowboardin’ for this trip…”

“I knew I’d regret letting you out of my sight for more than five seconds,” Rude snickered, “Two hours on your own, and you manage to do something that’ll land you on medical restriction as soon as we get home.”

“Tch… don’t remind me. I’m not lookin’ forward to explainin’ this to the Boss when I get back.” He cringed slightly. “Or to Ward. Doc’s gonna fuckin’ rip me a new one soon as she sees me…”

“Better enjoy your birthday, then… sounds like it might be your last,” Rude teased.

“Shut the fuck up, man,” Reno said, rolling his eyes, “Just tell me there’s gonna be cake…”

“Oh, there’s cake, alright,” Rude said, smiling in amusement. “Seriously, though. You okay?”

“Yeah… I’m fine,” the redhead replied, wincing as he reflexively shrugged in response, “Just a little bruised is all. Shoulder still hurts, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was before they put it back into place. Hmph… and of course it would be my left arm.”

“Look on the bright side. At least Tseng can’t make you do paperwork until you’re cleared this time…”

Reno laughed. “Yeah, I guess there’s that.”

Rude gently guided his injured friend over to the large fireplace at the far end of the room and sat him down on one of the plush chairs that surrounded it.

“Stay here, and try not to do anything else to hurt yourself,” he said, as straight-faced as he could manage, “I’ll get us some hot cocoa.”

The redhead rolled his eyes. “I think I can manage not to fall down the fuckin’ glacier again while you’re gone,” he snarked. Rude turned to go… but then reconsidered and smirked as he reached into a pocket. Before his friend could react, he snapped one half of a pair of handcuffs onto his uninjured wrist and attached the other half to the arm of the chair.

“… Just in case,” he stated, and turned to head back down to the bar for their drinks.

“You’re hilarious, Rude,” Reno deadpanned in response, “And why the fuck do you even have these?! We’re on vacation!”

---

Tseng knocked on the door to Veld’s office, and was shortly granted permission to enter. He slipped inside, shutting the door behind him.

“Anything?” Veld asked, looking up from one of the other Turks’ field reports. Tseng shook his head.

“No, sir… I can find absolutely no reference to the calling card we found at the murder site in our archives. And I have been very… thorough… in my efforts. None of my local contacts are familiar with it, either. I had planned on letting Rude try his luck when he returns, unless you had some other need of him.”

“Not at present… He’s all yours,” Veld replied. “I’m afraid Remy hasn’t been any more successful with her assignment than you have. If SOLDIER has learned anything regarding the case, they’re not in the mood to share with us.” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “I detest having my hands tied like this.”

Tseng chuckled softly and took a seat in front of Veld’s desk. “What about Sato and Kai?”

“They’re still watching Ms. Sunder’s apartment… but Faine has stationed a guard. They haven’t been able to get inside. Which is unfortunate, as the fact that she is having it guarded tells me there’s likely something relevant there.”

“I’ll take over for them tonight. I’m sure they’d welcome the relief.”

“No,” Veld said, decisively, “You will go home and get some sleep tonight. Don’t think I’m not aware of just how many hours you put in over the weekend.”

“But –”

“That’s an order, Tseng.”

“… Yes, sir,” the Turk lieutenant, replied. “You’ll call me if there are any new developments?”

The older Turk snorted softly. “No, I absolutely will not, unless I have no alternative.” Tseng opened his mouth to respond, only to be swiftly cut off by his superior, “And if you insist on protesting, I’ll make those vacation days I offered mandatory.”

Tseng laughed quietly. “Yes, sir.”

“But on the subject of our non-investigation… since you’re already commandeering Rude’s services upon his return, do us all a favor and enlist Reno’s as well. He has a reliable contact in Wall Market… Have him check in with her about our mysterious assassin.”

“I had already intended to,” the Wutaiian Turk said, nodding. “Incidentally… Rufus has caught wind of this, and has apparently taken an interest. How… discreet… should I be in regards to keeping him informed?”

“He’s the vice president of the company… I see no reason to withhold information. Though… it would probably be wise to ensure that he’s aware of the issues between the Turks and Director Faine. The last thing I need is that damned woman storming down here to scream at me again.”

Tseng found himself smirking slightly at the memory. Faine had spared no details regarding the unfortunate… misunderstanding… between Reno and her daughter and her daughter’s former fiance, and Veld had been forced to simply stand there and endure it. It hadn’t been especially amusing at the time, but in hindsight…

“Wipe that smirk off your face right now,” Veld ordered, “It wasn’t funny.”

“No, sir. Of course not.”

Veld sighed. “I will say one thing for that protege of yours… He certainly has made the last few years interesting.” The Turk leader suddenly mirrored Tseng’s earlier smirk. “My one consolation is that when I finally retire, you will sitting in this chair. And he will likely be sitting in yours. Have fun with that,” he said, in a joking tone. Tseng snorted softly.

“Retire? You? Sir… I’m hardly the only workaholic in the office. Both myself and Renowill probably be retired before you finally get around to it,” he returned, laughing.

“If I weren’t a married man, perhaps. But, as I am, I think my wife might have something to say about that…” Veld snickered.

---

Ah… room service. He could definitely get used to people just bringing him food whenever he wanted it. Reno grinned slightly at the sight of the plateful of ham and potatoes that Rude was setting in front of him.

They’d originally intended to eat at the restaurant in town… but the redhead’s injury has made those plans less appealing than they’d been earlier in the day. Instead, Rude had ordered up from the Inn’s little bar and grille downstairs, and they’d settled down at the table in their cozy little room to enjoy the last few hours that remained of Reno’s birthday. Reno picked up his fork and took a bite, savoring the salty and somewhat sweet taste of the meat.

“Heh… I think this is my new favorite birthday,” he said, smiling, and Rude snorted softly in laughter.

“That’s what you said about your nineteenth birthday at the Gold Saucer, last year.”

“Said it about my eighteenth, too… ’cause Tseng came back,” he replied, “And I’m pretty sure I said it about the one before that, too… I can’t help it if it keeps gettin’ better every year.”

Rude choked on the sip he’d just taken from his exorbitantly expensive bottle of Ultima Ale, nearly spitting it out.

“If your idea of ‘better’ is having your arm in a sling because you managed to pull your shoulder out of joint, I don’t think I even want to know what you’d consider a bad birthday.”

Reno picked up his own pricey beer and took a drink. “I’m in an awesome place, havin’ an awesome time, with my best friend. Who cares about my stupid shoulder?” he replied, and then turned his gaze on the bottle in his hand, “Man… this shit is good…”

“… Sorry I had to go with plan B for your present,” Rude said, but Reno just shook his head.

“Tch… come on, man. I told ya it was a long shot when ya first brought it up. I mean… yeah, I was hopin’ you might find somethin’… but I knew the odds. Mom’s gone… and I’m just gonna have to make do with the memories I still got of her, like I always have. You tried your best. I can’t ask more than that.” He smiled somewhat sadly, and raised his beer. “To the ones we can never really forget.”

Rude mirrored his smile and raised his own bottle in salute before drinking. The list was getting to be a long one. Not just his mom. Everyone he’d lost. They would always be a part of him, and as long as he remember them, they’d never be entirely gone. Though… sometimes that could be painful, too. Especially when the loss was still fresh.

He shook his head, banishing the thought. Cissnei wouldn’t have wanted him to be sad every time he thought about her… and certainly not on his birthday, of all days.

“You’re thinking about Cissnei, too, aren’t you?” Rude suddenly said.

“… Yeah,” Reno admitted, and laughed softly. “Can’t even be all depressed about it, ’cause I know she’d be ticked if she knew… And Cissnei’s not someone I’d ever wanna piss off. Odds are I’d end up on the receiving end of one of her pranks in retaliation…”

Rude snickered, and turned his attention on his plate. “Remember when she about gave me a heart attack waking me up in the middle of the night in Nibelheim?”

The redhead grinned in response. “Remember when she glued the door to the lounge shut ‘n Veld spent half the day interrogatin’ me ‘n Sato, trying to figure out which of us did it?”

Rude blinked.

“Wait… that was Cissnei?” he queried, the shock evident in his voice… so much so that Reno burst out laughing. “I honestly thought it was one of your pranks…” he continued, which only made the younger Turk laugh harder.

“I think Veld did, too… and to be fair, I was kinda complicit, since I caught her in the act ‘n just pretended I didn’t see anything… but he didn’t have any evidence on me, and I wasn’t about to rat her out if I didn’t have to.”

Rude shook his head, snickering. They ate in relative silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet of evening. Reno polished off the remaining food on his plate in record time, and waited, somewhat impatiently for his dining companion to finish.

“Tch… ya know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were takin’ your time just to make me wait longer for that cake,” he joked,” eyeing the the sumptuous dessert that sat on the side table on the other side of the room, tormenting him with its chocolaty goodness.

“I could eat slower, you know…” Rude teased.

“Asshole,” Reno snickered. A few minutes later, the older Turk, too, finished his plate and took a moment to clear the dishes out of the way before bringing the cake over. He set it in the center of the table.

“Got a light?” he asked, and Reno was only too happy to toss him his lighter. In due course, the candles were lit, and Rude looked over at him, “Make a wish…”

“What? No singin’?”

“I don’t sing. Besides… by the time I finished, the frosting will have melted off the cake with all that heat,” Rude chuckled. The redhead snorted a quiet laugh and happily blew out the candles. He leaned back in his chair, grinning, while Rude cut them each a large wedge and passed him a clean fork.

“This really has been a pretty great birthday,” the redhead sighed happily, “Thanks for comin’ up here with me. And makin’ the cake. And buyin’ the beer…”

“Just don’t expect me to take any of the blame when Tseng finds out about your shoulder…” Rude snickered, digging into the dessert. The younger Turk simply rolled his eyes in response. “Happy birthday, Reno.”

~end chapter 25~