The Fall

Reno woke up spooned against a strong backside, arms around another man's waist. He quickly removed himself, half afraid of what Rufus would do if he found them in such an intimate position. Sex was one thing, but cuddling was quite another, and Rufus had never struck him as the type of person who would enjoy the latter.

But Reno felt extremely sated. He had wanted this for so long. He never had found any one who fucked him half as good as Rufus Shinra, so last night's turn of events was a very pleasant surprise. He had found Rufus' declarations of possession to be an added bonus. There must be something sick in his head, Reno decided, if he got turned on by being treated like some one's property. But he was a Turk. They were all pretty fucked up, in one way or the other. Besides, he wasn't taking anything Rufus did or said last night too seriously. The man was mercurial at best, and had seemed to be in an odd mood the night before. Reno guessed they all were in odd moods, heightened as they were on emotions.

He could see his pants on the floor and he reached for them, fumbling for that familiar pack.

"If you want to smoke," came Rufus' voice, still clouded with sleep, "do it out in the hallway. It's a disgusting habit."

"Sure thing, Mr. Vice President."

Feeling more chipper than he ever had at seven in the morning, Reno slung on his pants and shirt and made his way out to the hallway, lighting his cigarette along the way. Worry clouded his features for a moment as he looked at Tseng's door, but he knew the other man would pull through. He was Tseng, after all.

Reno was smoking outside when Rude came walking up, a large brown bag slung under his arm.

"Yo," Reno said, "what's up?"

"Just here taking over for Tseng. He left about an hour ago."

"Yeah?" Reno thought about the closed door in the room. "Did he say how long he'd be gone?"

Rude shrugged. "He said not too long. Just needed to take care of a few things."

"He seemed okay?"

"He seemed fine." Rude took off his sunglasses, narrowed his eyes. "What's going on here, Reno?"

"Nothing, yo."

Rude sighed. "And they say I'm the quiet one."

Rude opened the door and headed into the kitchen. After flicking the rest of his cigarette to the floor and stomping it out, Reno followed him. "So what's for breakfast?"

"This new health food place just opened in Junon. Franchise from out of Midgar. Something like. . . Dill's Delectables?"

"Uh huh."

"You heard of it?"

Reno smiled, heading towards the pantry. "You could say that. I think I'll stick to cereal for the day."

Rufus came out of his room then, impeccably put together in his standard white suit.

"Mr. Vice President, sir," Rude greeted.

"Rude." Rufus nodded, sitting down in front of the thick stack of newspapers Tseng had no doubt placed there before he left. As he picked up the first one Rude placed a plate of cakes in front of him, and he absently placed one in his mouth without even looking at it. Reno, who had been watching carefully, was deeply satisfied to see Rufus' skin take on a decidedly green color before he schooled it into its normal tone. Rufus placed the cake back onto the plate without another word, and promptly ignored it. Surprisingly, Rude was scarfing down Dill's food just fine.

"I think I'll read in my room," Rufus said, gathering the papers under one arm and leaving. After he left, closing the door behind him, Reno took over his seat and beamed up at Rude.

"Why are you so damned happy today?" Rude asked, eyes suspicious.

Reno only grinned back in answer.

* * *

Rufus, Reno learned, liked to have sex in the shooting range. It was usually empty except for them, and Rufus liked to bend him over that metal partition and take him from behind, moans and noises amplified by the empty acoustics of the large, narrow room.

It made Reno wonder, sometimes, exactly how many other people Rufus had done this with before.

* * *

It was an intimate moment. Naked and sweaty, cooling off during one of their more-frequent-as-late after hours sessions, sheets swirls between them. Reno would have lit up a cigarette if it weren't for the fact that Rufus would almost certainly kick him out of bed for it.

"Hey," he said, half asleep and counting sheep above his head, "what's with knocking off the old man anyway? He's going to make you president someday, isn't he?"

"He killed my mother." A casual admittance, but the heaviness of it settled like a weight on Reno's stomach. "It seemed like killing him was the thing to do."

* * *

"Reno." Rude was nursing one of his goddamned cappuccinos again, and Reno wondered if the the other Turk had been the one to ask for that stupid machine in the first place.

"Yeah?" he said, around a mouth full of cereal.

Rude's eyes were strangely serious as they narrowed down on him, almost worried. "Reno. You fucking the vp?"

Reno could feel the milk shoot out of his mouth in surprise, but the only sound he heard was a "tsk tsk"ing noise from Rude's general vicinity.

* * *

Tseng came back to Turks HQ after a few weeks, all business as usual, and no one had asked him where he had gone. Still, he spent most of his time in his own room or out in the world outside, and the rumor going around was that he was looking for Veld.

He finally came back to Rufus' room a few months after that, and Reno and Rude went with him. Two other Turks had been keeping watch over the vp, and Reno had the suspicion that Rufus had been the one to call Tseng over. It irked him a little bit as Tseng disappeared into Rufus' room, door closing behind him, and he and Rude went to sit in the living room with Kora and Jin.

"How's baby-sitting going?" Reno asked, quick to make himself comfortable on the couch.

Jin shrugged. "Boring. Beats just hanging around headquarters, though."

"At least the beds are soft here," Kora said, Reno nodding in agreement.

Tseng spent almost two hours in there, Reno checking his watch more and more frequently as the time went off. It pissed him off that those two were off plotting something, pissed him off that no one else was included in their little brainstorming session. But Rufus finally came out, followed by Tseng. All of them perked up a little, sat up a little straighter, as Tseng came to address them.

"We've received information," Tseng explained, "that Shinra is holding Veld in Midgar. We will be using Rufus to get him out. At twenty-two hundred hours, Reno and Kora, you will be transferring Rufus to the landing pad above Shinra Towers, where two SOLDIERs will intercept him. At o-eight hundred hours three days from now, they will release Veld to us outside the Midgar gates."

There was silence for awhile, the more rookie Turks not even daring to say anything, but then Rude's cough was breaking.

"With all due respect, boss," Rude said, "once the vice president is back, President Shinra will kill us."

"It's the best deal they would give us," Tseng replied. "Jin, Reno, Rude, you will be coming with me to receive Veld. Prepare for the worse and be on your toes. Although there is the potential that President Shinra may be convinced not to make any rash decisions."

Reno's eyes flickered to Rufus with the last comment, but the young vice president was as unreadable as always.

"I'll go get the helicopter ready," Reno said, brushing off his pants as he got up.

He was doing the last of the check on his bird when Tseng and Kora came up to the pad, Rufus in between them. He watched as Kora jumped into the back and as Rufus turned towards Tseng. He started up the helicopter blades.

"Remember where your loyalties are supposed to lie," was the only thing Rufus said to Tseng, and Tseng nodded. Rufus then climbed aboard the helicopter and took his seat next to Reno. They were lifting off then, airborne, making the trip to Midgar in silence.

Shinra Tower rose up out of barren wasteland, and Reno felt a pang of longing as he saw it. Midgar was his home. Shinra Tower was his home, the place the Turks would go back to as the regular employees would leave, and he had been away for so long.

They landed on that familiar pad, a landing Reno had made countless times before, and he was cutting off the engines. He climbed out to open the door for Rufus, and the vice president stepped out of the helicopter and into the cool air of Midgar above plate.

"Rufus," Reno started, the name foreign on his tongue after so many years of non-use. "You're not going to let them kill us, are you?"

Rufus stared at him for a moment. "No. Not this time."

Reno didn't really believe him. But he figured if Shinra was going to go after him now, he might as well make his moments count. His hands twisted in Rufus' coat, pulling the other man towards him, and then their lips were clashing together in a frantic, urgent kiss. He could feel one of Rufus' hands tangle in his hair, the other reaching around to rest on his lower back, a position surprisingly intimate. He pulled away when he heard the door leading out to the pad open, two SOLDIERs coming out, and he jumped back into the helicopter. Kora was desperately trying not to look in his direction, her cheeks a furious red, but then he had the helicopter up and ready to rendez-vous with Tseng.

* * *

Rufus didn't know how long it had been since he had been to the countryside. His limo rode past rolling, green hills and grazing chocobos, and Rufus almost felt a sense of homecoming. But he had always disliked the countryside, had stopped going as soon as he was old enough to defy his father. The limo rolled to a stop outside the gates of what looked to be a cemetery, peaceful and shaded with elm trees and shrubbery.

His door clicked as some one opened it for him, and he got out to walk towards a distant, cloaked figure.

"You're a hard man to get a hold of," Reeve Tuesti said to him, pulling his coat closer together as they fell into step. It was fall. The seasons were something Rufus had never been able to get used to when he was outside Midgar, the golden and red leaves of the trees strangely disconcerting to him.

"Duty calls," Rufus replied. "Why did you want to meet with me, Reeve? And why here, of all places?"

"It's peaceful here," Reeve replied, but he didn't answer Rufus' first question just yet. Instead, they walked down the cobblestone path in silence, enjoying the fresh air.

"You know," Reeve finally said, "I've known you since you were five. And I always thought you would grow to be a better man than your father."

Rufus scoffed at that. "As though that fact wasn't plain to see."

Reeve ignored him. "It's hard to believe that you were once a child once. Scared and clinging onto that kitten, determined not to show it."

Reeve stopped, and they turned to face an unmarked grave. It was small, nondescript, and as Rufus looked down at it he felt an emptiness tug at his stomach.

"You never did know what became of her," Reeve said, voice solemn. "I always felt bad for that. When you barged into your father's study, a little boy asking for his mother. . . it was heartbreaking."

"I found out," Rufus said, surprised to find his voice so small, "eventually."

"I thought you deserved to know where she was buried." Silence, stretching between them. "Rufus. . . I'm very interested in seeing you live up to your potential. Please, no more attempts on your father's life. One day you'll be the president. One day, the Turks, SOLDIER, me, we'll all be working for you. It would be wise to start cultivating us as assets, instead of seeing us as your father's tools."

"As though I need you to tell me that," Rufus replied, but he realized he had only recently started seeing things that way. He could hear Reeve walk away, and he was grateful for it. His legs had gone weak, and he kneeled down in front of the unmarked grave. His cheeks felt suspiciously wet.

He wished that he had brought flowers.

* * *

Fuck. Shit. Reno was livid as he made his way to the executive floors of Shinra Tower. Other workers didn't even dare get in his way, anger coming off of him in waves. He hadn't believed it, was still in shock.

"The Turks will be allowed to come back to Shinra," that goddamned SOLDIER had said, "if they carry out their orders to execute Veld."

And Tseng had done it. Tseng had fucking done it. Reno remembered the moment that had passed then, a moment that had seemed to stretch into time. Tseng had looked into Veld's eyes, and Veld had smiled, nodded. And then he was dead.

Rude and Jin had been as shocked as he was, but Reno was the first one to move, to race towards headquarters, because he knew that Rufus was behind this. He knew that Rufus had been the one to reinstate the orders to kill Veld.

He all but crashed into Rufus' office, the blond man barely even looking up at him.

"What the fuck kind of game are you playing at?" Reno yelled. "What have these last three years together even been about?"

"Reno." The coldness in his voice was enough to drain Reno's rising anger, made him freeze in his spot. "Veld knew too many company secrets."

"You could have let him go," Reno said, but his voice lacked the power that it held just moments ago. "You know he wouldn't have said anything to anyone."

Rufus stood, getting out of his chair to walk towards Reno. His close proximity made Reno shiver a little, made him start as Rufus took a limp wrist in his hand. When Rufus spoke, his voice was almost gentle. "Reno. Tseng did what he had to do as a Turk. The loyalty of a Turk is always to the company. It is absolute, unwavering. It is not something that can flicker and sway in the face of human emotion. Veld understood that from the beginning, he expected to die for his decision, and now Tseng understands it too."

Reno nodded dumbly.

"You'll understand, one day."

Some one was knocking on the door then, and one of the executives was coming into the room.

"Vice President Shinra, the Turks are back."

Rufus nodded. "Come, Reno."

They made their one down to the lobby of the executive level, a large, pristine space. Several of the other Turks were there. Cora, Jin, Rude, and that new girl, Elena. And, leading them, Tseng, his eyes vibrant with some new kind of conviction.

"Mr. Vice President. Tseng and the Turks, reporting for duty."

Reno felt a pang of jealousy, seeing some semblance of emotion strong in Rufus' eyes as he shook Tseng's hand. It was rare to see, and it was certainly something that Rufus had never seen fit to cast Reno's way. Respect.

"Welcome back, Tseng."

Tseng bowed, like a knight come back to royal court. "The same to you, sir."