Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 3: The Morning After

Reno woke the next morning to find himself, to his surprise, tucked snugly into bed in a very familiar room. His surprise was largely due to the fact that he’d had more than just one unpleasant dream last night… he’d half expected to find himself on the floor, likely tangled in the sheets and drenched in a cold sweat.

The reason for his unexpectedly comfortable awakening quickly became apparent. His mentor was still perched on the edge of the bed, leaning to one side at an awkward angle so that his head could rest on the headboard. Reno rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand as a vague memory of being roughly shaken out of one of last night’s dreams came back to him.

Reno slowly pushed the covers aside, trying not to wake his mentor up, too. Tseng looked like he’d had almost as rough a night as he had… and he was glad the Turk lieutenant wasn’t a light sleeper. He slid out of bed and past the senior Turk, easing him off of his perch and down onto the sheets, before pulling the covers up over him, grabbing the clothes he’d shed last night, and slipping silently out of the room, determined to let him finally get some rest.

He felt ridiculous. For fuck’s sake, Tseng had spent all night with him, like he was some scared little kid. At the same time, he was overwhelmingly grateful he had stayed… because there was no one on the Planet that made him feel safer than his mentor, and last night, he’d desperately needed to feel safe. Trying to keep the noise to a minimum, Reno dressed and then located his coat and boots, pulling them on as well, and heading out the back door. He settled himself on the steps of the little back porch that looked out over the park behind Tseng’s condo, and rummaged though his pockets until he found his cigarettes.

He lit one and inhaled deeply. There was something oddly calming about the act, and even though he knew it was supposedly terrible for him, right now, it felt like the best thing in the world. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and steam into the silent early morning air, and it suddenly occurred to him that it was Christmas morning. He snorted softly and flicked the ash from his cigarette into the snow.

Not exactly his best Christmas on record. Not the worst, either, to be fair, but he didn’t think this was going to go down as one of his favorite memories. He wasn’t even sure why the hell he was still so… bothered. Tseng had put a stop to things before any real damage could be done.

It wasn’t so much what Scarlet had tried to do that had made it so awful… it was the fact that he’d felt so utterly powerless when he knew damned well that he wasn’t. Hell, he could’ve thrown the bitch off him, no problem. It wasn’t like she had him tied down or incapacitated or anything. But the memory of Heidegger’s meaty fist clamped around his throat during Hell Week, slowly cutting off his air supply as he screamed at him had flashed before his eyes, unbidden. The thought of running afoul of yet another executive – particularly when, the first time around, it had taken intervention by Rufus to save his job – terrified him.

What the fuck else was he supposed to do but let her slobber all over him while she felt him up? He cringed at the thought. The sensation of her long, thickly lacquered nails pawing at his nether regions wasn’t likely to leave him for awhile, either. It had left him feeling cheap and used, and he’d hated every second of it.

It had also occurred to him that… that could have been his life, not so long ago. If Tseng hadn’t come along… if he’d been left to keep fending for himself in the slums… eventually he would have followed Lira to Wall Market. She’d been the closest thing he’d had to family back then, and he wouldn’t have been able to stay separated from her like that forever. Sure, he wouldn’t have jumped right into whoring himself out right away… but it probably would have happened sooner or later. That’s just how you made money in the Market.

He took another drag off of his cigarette, and stared out across the snowy grounds of the park. The Plate was beautiful. And without that one fortunate encounter with Tseng, he’d likely never have known how beautiful, because without the Turks, he doubted he would have made it up here on his own. So why did people like Scarlet have to try and ruin this for him?

---

Tseng groaned faintly as his body protested the mere thought of moving, and for a moment, he had no idea what in the Nine Hells he’d done last night to warrant this level of suffering. It quickly came back to him as he opened his eyes and realized that he was not in his own bed, but rather in the guestroom. He sat up, concerned, as a second realization hit him… Reno was nowhere to be seen.

Ignoring stiff muscles, the Turk lieutenant shoved the covers aside and made his way out into the living room, searching for his young protege.

“Reno?” he called out, growing increasingly worried as he noticed that the redhead’s coat was missing from the hooks by the door, as were his boots. Where in Leviathan’s name would he have run off to at this time in the morning? He wrenched open the front door, and was vaguely confused when he found only a thick layer of undisturbed snow on the ground. If he hadn’t left through the front…

Tseng shut the door and turned on his heel, hurrying to the back door instead… and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he spotted the younger Turk through the small window in the door, seated on the stairs and smoking a cigarette. Reassured that he wasn’t about to have to embark on a one-man search mission, he took the time to retrieve his own winter clothing and start a pot of coffee brewing, before joining Reno on the porch.

“Mornin’…” the redhead said quietly upon hearing the door open behind him.

“Good morning. I’d ask how you slept… but I’m rather painfully aware,” Tseng replied rubbing at the sharp twinge in his neck as he turned his head. Reno took a long drag off the cigarette and then extinguished the remains in the snow.

“Thanks for stayin’ with me.”

“It was no trouble,” the senior Turk assured him, “Now, come back inside before you freeze. Coffee will be ready shortly.”

Reno obediently got up and followed him back into the warmth of the apartment, nudging his boots into the corner before settling himself at the table. Tseng poured him a cup of coffee… and then one for himself, as he was fairly certain that his usual tea just wasn’t going to be enough this morning… and passed it over to the redhead, along with the sugar.

“Reno… I am so sorry I allowed that to happen last night,” he said, taking a seat, and the younger Turk looked up at him in surprise. Tseng shook his head. “I should have been there.”

“Tch… you were there. ‘Cause I definitely remember you pullin’ her offa me after I froze up. Not your fault Scarlet’s an even bigger perv than I am.”

The younger man rubbed his neck, and Tseng frowned at the sight of the now much more noticeable hickies that had darkened on his pale skin overnight. He glanced up from his coffee again.

“Can we… uh… not tell anyone else about this? It’s fuckin’ humiliating enough as it is,” Reno asked, awkwardly.

“I will have to inform Veld, at least, of the generalities of the situation… because I will most certainly not have you given any solo assignments involving Scarlet after this. Beyond that, I’ll leave it in your hands.”

“Thanks…” he sighed, and shook his head, “I just… She was all over me. What the hell was I s’posed to do? I mean… the last time I pissed off one of the higher-ups…”

“You needn’t explain. I can certainly understand your desire to avoid provoking a board member a second time. My only concern right now is your well-being.”

“I’m fine…” the redhead hurried to say, before pausing and staring down into the dark liquid in his mug. “But… uh… could I maybe… hang out with you for awhile today? If you’re not doin’ anything else, I mean…”

“I was actually going to insist. Honestly, if you think I’m letting you out of my sight so soon, you’ve finally lost your mind,” Tseng chuckled softly, and the redhead looked up at him with a faint smile.

“Ya know, I’m not your rookie anymore, boss,” Reno said teasingly. “Ya can’t just decide you’re gonna babysit me whenever you feel like it.”

“I’m still you’re mentor and your superior,” Tseng shot back, taking a sip of his drink, “I most certainly can. Now finish that so we can go and get some breakfast. You’ve suffered enough for one holiday… I won’t subject you to my cooking, as well.”

Reno snorted a laugh and downed the remainder of his coffee… but then suddenly looked up, a vague expression of horror on his face.

“… What about Scarlet, though?”

Tseng cocked an eyebrow. “I hadn’t planned on inviting her.”

The redhead rolled his eyes. “Tch… I mean what are we gonna do about her? You fuckin’ locked her in the trunk of your car last night, boss!”

“Which I very seriously doubt she’ll have any memory of. The woman could barely stand, she was so inebriated. In all likelihood, she’ll be too busy dealing with the resulting hangover today to even put much thought into how she got home,” Tseng replied, and then paused. “Though… it would, perhaps, behoove me to ensure that any security footage of the parking deck last night is… accidentally… corrupted beyond all recovery.”

Reno blinked. “You can do that?”

“Yes,” Tseng said with a slight smirk, “As it happens, I can. A little trick I learned from Tres some time ago, actually… though I’ve seldom had cause to employ it.”

The redhead laughed softly. “Man, that guy really had all his bases covered, didn’t he…?” he snickered, “… I still miss him. And the others, too.”

“As do I,” Tseng agreed. “But I’d like to think that our fallen comrades will always be a part of us. We’ve absorbed far too much from them for them not to be.”

“Guess that’s true,” Reno said, his expression thoughtful. “I mean… I’d probably still be hittin’ every target on the range but my own without Saya… ‘n Tres is the one who taught me how to pick a lock. Heh… s’pose I’ve picked up somethin’ from everybody at one point or another.” He snorted and shook his head, “‘Course I got no idea how Kai torturin’ me on the gaunlet at every opportunity as a rookie’s ever gonna come in handy…”

Tseng laughed in response. He was glad to see Reno’s mood lifting a bit.

---

Reno stuck around until after dinner, by which point he’d decided that he’d intruded upon his mentor for long enough. Tseng had tried to talk him into staying a second night, but ultimately had relented and driven him home. He’d lingered in Reno’s apartment, though, until the redhead had insisted that he would be fine and that Tseng should head home and enjoy his break.

He did feel much better. He hadn’t been lying about that. Still more than slightly embarrassed by the whole thing… and he felt decidedly icky when he thought about Scarlet now… but he wasn’t freaked out the way he’d been last night. It wasn’t until he’d stripped out of his clothes to jump in the shower that he realized he hadn’t heard from Rude – or anyone else, for that matter – all day. It hadn’t occurred to him until now, but that was a bit… odd. They’d been expecting both him and Tseng at the party at Veld’s place last night. The redhead dug through the pile of clothes until he found his phone and flipped it open.

Dead as a fucking doornail.

He snorted softly. Figured. The battery was crap lately. He’d have a shiny new PHS first thing next week, though. Veld had approved an upgrade rather than a repair, since his had been getting rather outdated anyway. Reno shrugged and plugged it into its charger before heading into the bathroom and availing himself of several minutes of blissfully near-scalding water and the copious amounts of steam it generated.

Finally, he stepped out, drying himself off and pulled on fresh clothes. About five seconds later, his PHS started ringing.

“Hey,” he answered, noting Rude’s number on the caller ID. “What’s up?”

“… Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling all afternoon.”

“Heh… sorry. Phone died on me again. I was with Tseng all day.”

“Missed you two at the party last night.”

Reno sighed. “Yeah… It’s kind of a long story, and retellin’ it’s gonna require copious amounts of alcohol. You doin’ anything tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

“Lunch? Your place?”

“Hmph… That your subtle way of asking me to cook for you?” Rude teased.

“‘Course not. I wasn’t tryin’ to be subtle at all,” the redhead replied, grinning to himself. Rude snickered.

“See you around noon.”

---

“… And he just… stuffed her in the trunk?!”

The redhead couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing at the incredulous, and slightly horrified, look on his friend’s face. By the time he got himself back under control, Rude was still shaking his head in disbelief.

“I can’t believe that Tseng, of all people, would do something so… so…”

“Unprofessional?” Reno said, grinning as he swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “Yeah… I know. If I hadn’t been totally freakin’ out at the time, I’m pretty sure I’da died laughin’. It was pretty epic. He was pissed.” He took another bite. “Hey, what’s in this anyway? It’s really good… Like, even better than your usual.”

Rude ducked his head, smiling shyly.

“You like it? I usually just use milk or cream in the potatoes… this time I switched to cream cheese and added some parmesan, too.”

“Heh… definitely a winner, Rude.”

“Hmph… Thanks.” The pair ate in silence for a few moments, savoring the ham and the various other dishes Rude had prepared. “So… what happened to Scarlet after that?”

Reno shrugged. “Tseng dumped her at home. Probably woke up feelin’ like her skull was split open and pukin’ her guts out. Hmph… ‘least I hope she did. Bitch deserves it after what she pulled.”

“… So is everything okay with you?” he asked, nodding to where Scarlet had marked him.

“Tch… aside from havin’ a really shitty night’s sleep night before last, I’m good. I was pretty goddamned freaked out after all that, though. Tseng took me back to his place and… ya know… took care of me for awhile. I’m okay now.” He licked the remnants of potato off of the back of his spoon and used it to study the bruising on his neck. “Ugh… Hope those fade before we gotta go back to work next week. For once, I’d rather not have to explain to everyone where they came from.” He glanced up at his friend. “Uh… maybe do me a favor ‘n don’t mention the whole Scarlet thing to anyone else, okay? I’d kinda rather just try ‘n forget it ever happened.”

“Sure,” Rude nodded. “But let me know if you need someone to talk to. For a change. Don’t make me have to dump you in the company pool to get you out of your own head like I did back when we were rookies.”

Reno snickered loudly and polished off the remaining food on his plate. “Ya know… I never actually hated it when ya did that to me. It was pretty effective,” he replied, grinning widely. “Always liked the pool.”

---

Tseng leaned back into the cushions, eyes drifting shut as Esme poured him a second cup of chamomile tea. He glanced over at her and smiled.

“I’d nearly forgotten how nice it is having you spoil me, Esme,” he chuckled.

“Well, if you allowed me to do it more than just at Christmas time…” the woman replied.

“Hmph… you’ll notice no one is pouring me tea or baking me fresh cookies,” Veld teased from an armchair across from Tseng.

“You hate tea, and you certainly don’t need any more cookies. You’re going to be working off the ones you’ve already eaten for weeks,” Esme retorted, good-naturedly, with a soft laugh before returning to the kitchen to see to her baking. Veld chuckled and shook his head.

“I walked right into that…” He turned his attention back to his second in command. “And as for you… are you finally going to tell me what happened to you and Reno the other night? You’re message that you couldn’t make it was rather vague.”

Tseng sat up slightly, taking a sip of tea. “There was an… incident… with one of the board members.”

“… I’m not going to be getting an earful from Heidegger about a certain redhead again, am I? Because as much as I so enjoy being verbally eviscerated, it’s really not how I want to start off the new year.”

“No sir, I’ve already dealt with it, and seen to mitigating any potential fallout. But… neither Reno nor myself were in much of a mood to continue the festivities afterwards.”

Veld sighed and shook his head. “Well? What did our dear Reno do this time to get himself into trouble?” the Turk leader asked jokingly. Tseng frowned.

“It was my fault, not his, sir. I made the mistake of leaving him to wrangle Scarlet while I escorted Rufus home. She was… not entirely sober at the time – which Rufus specifically warned me of, incidentally – and apparently decided somewhere between the eighteenth floor and the parking deck that Reno was to be her next… conquest. He was not exactly amenable to her advances, but, for obvious reasons had little recourse but to allow them.”

Veld’s eyes narrowed. “What did she do?” he demanded.

“I would not hesitate to classify it as sexual assault, sir,” Tseng replied in a clipped tone, “When I arrived, she was kissing him and… groping him… rather violently. He still has several visible marks from her, and was understandably somewhat shaken. I removed her from his person, and she eventually passed out… after making some rather inappropriate advances towards myself, as well. I returned Scarlet to her apartment and took Reno home with me.”

“I see…” Veld said. He was silent for a moment, as he processed the information. “Were any of Reno’s injuries significant?”

“No, sir… it was limited to some minor bruising. Though he was quite upset for some time afterward. I kept him with me all day yesterday. I couldn’t bear to leave him alone,” Tseng replied, feeling the same fury he’d felt in the parking deck surge to the forefront of his mind at the mere thought. He quickly clamped down on it. “I should mention that he has stated that he would prefer to forget the incident… and clearly any sort of formal charges against a board member might lead to… complications. But I would strongly recommend against placing Reno on any of Scarlet’s details in the future if it is at all possible to avoid it. And certainly never on his own. I believe I’ve mentioned to you on several occasions that she’s been eyeing him for some time now. I’d prefer not to see her behavior escalate again.”

“Agreed,” Veld nodded, “How is Reno now?”

“He seems… reasonably alright. I think once the initial shock of the situation had passed he was more easily able to cope. But I intend to keep an eye on him for a time.”

Veld sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You know, Tseng… there are times when the Company is extremely fortunate the Turks place a very high value loyalty.”

“There are times when I occasionally wish we didn’t. I can think of several places I would have preferred to leave Scarlet last night other than safely in her apartment,” the Wutaiian Turk said with a scowl.

“I’ll… just pretend I didn’t hear that…” Veld chuckled, drawing a faint smile from his lieutenant, as well.

“Thank you, sir.”

~end chapter 3~