Picking up the Pieces

Het and yaoi in this chapter.

Enjoy.

Chapter 6. New Beginnings

Rude had spent the last hour sitting in the chair beside Tseng’s bed, they hadn’t spoken much and what little conversation they had shared had mostly concerned work.
They sat in silence together, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, it was the nature of the friendship that they shared.
While Reno was constantly trying to pull Rude out of his shell or to shock some kind of reaction from him, Tseng accepted the fact that he simply didn’t enjoy conversation. Just being here and knowing that Tseng was all right was enough for him.

Rufus had left when Rude came in, saying that he needed to have a shower and take care of some business matters. Even though Rufus looked tired and unusually crumpled, Rude noticed that the President looked better than he had in months. It seemed that things could finally start getting back to normal.

The door banged open and Reno sauntered in, his partner not seeing the need to knock… as usual. Adrian following him, looking decidedly nervous.
Rude stood up to leave, shooting a warning glance at Reno, and clapping Adrian reassuringly on the back as he left.

~

Tseng watched Reno plop down into the chair beside his bed, slouching and looking as unkempt as usual. Dealing with Reno was always a chore, even when it was just a social call like this. It’s not that he didn’t like the younger man; he just couldn’t look at him without wanting to straighten his dishevelled clothes. Not to mention that Reno’s bedside manner left a lot to be desired. He looked over the boy who had followed Reno in; at least he wore his uniform correctly.
A few awkward moments passed before Tseng spoke up.

“Reno, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Reno sat up a little in the chair. “Oh yeah! Sorry about that, yo. Tseng this is Adrian.”

“Pleased to meet you, Adrian. Welcome to the Turks”

“Thank you sir” Adrian said softly.

Tseng turned to Reno. “I heard that you were the one who selected him.” Reno nodded. “Knowing you, Reno. I probably don’t want to know how you went about that.” He said calmly, his suspicions confirmed when he noticed how Adrian blushed and looked down at the floor.

Reno bristled at that. “He’s a good Turk, boss! He helped save your ass, yo!”

Tseng’s raised an eyebrow at that. “I know. Rufus and Rude have both informed me that he is more than capable. I’m glad to have him on the team. What I don’t approve of are your recruiting methods. It’s not his ability I’m questioning, it’s yours.” He watched the other men carefully as he spoke. Reno still looked upset, but Adrian seemed relieved.

“I heard that you both made contact with AVALANCHE the other day. For the first time since Meteor Fall”

Reno’s face brightened considerably, for no reason that Tseng could see. “Yeah, they don’t seem to be too upset that the company is still in operation, yo. Of course, they still think that Rufus is dead.”

Tseng looked sceptical. “What about their leader? Has he really given up his grudge against ShinRa?”

Reno grinned knowingly. “I don’t think that Cloud’s gonna be much of a problem, sir” he shot a glance at Adrian. “Or Yuffie either”

Tseng was getting more than a little annoyed at the way Reno was dodging his question. “What exactly do you mean, Reno?”

Reno stretched in his seat and crossed his legs, looking like the cat that got the cream. “You tell him, Ade”

Adrian cleared his throat nervously. “I… ah… I’m going out with Yuffie tonight. And Reno and Cloud…” he stopped, obviously trying to think of the most appropriate way to phrase what had happened.
He didn’t have to finish for Tseng to know what he was getting at.

So, Reno has somehow managed to woo the leader of our former enemies. And Adrian is becoming involved with an important member of the Wutain royal family. Both situations certainly work to our advantage.

He knew that Reno would react negatively if he suggested that their relationships be used for the benefit of the company. So he would keep that to himself for the moment, leave them to their own devices for a while and hope that neither of them screwed up this opportunity. He was about to warn Reno to be careful not to get on Cloud’s bad side when the redhead spoke.

“Boss, I need to ask you a few things. In private.”

“Very well.” He replied, surprised. “Adrian, you are dismissed”

The brunette saluted and left quickly, “What’s this about, Reno?” Tseng asked.

“Cloud told me that I should ask you ‘where five years of his life went’, …whatever that means.”

Tseng sighed and rubbed his temple, this was one story he was not particularly fond of telling. “Do you remember the Nibelheim incident?”

“When a general goes loco and barbeques an entire town, you don’t tend to forget, yo.”

Tseng’s eyes narrowed in irritation, he could never stand Reno’s flippant attitude to his superiors. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Cloud was there, along with a good friend of mine. His name was Zack Fair, a First Class SOLDIER. I think you met him a few times.”
Reno nodded and Tseng continued. “They accompanied Sephiroth to Nibelheim. I’m not sure why Cloud was there, he was just a normal grunt, could never make it into SOLDIER himself. Zack probably pulled a few strings, he was always watching out for Cloud, they were inseparable.”

Reno snorted. “Cloud took down Sephiroth but he couldn’t get into SOLDIER? I find that a little hard to believe, yo.”

“It’s true, Reno. He wasn’t nearly as strong then as he is now. But that’s beside the point. When Sephiroth destroyed the town, Cloud and Zack cornered him in the mako reactor and they forced him to jump into the life stream. They were both severely injured; Cloud in particular had been stabbed with the Masamune several times.
You and Rude had both been assigned to dispose of the remaining townspeople, so you didn’t see what happened…
The company should have hailed them as heroes. But instead, Rufus’s father handed them to Hojo. He kept them in ShinRa manor for five years, doing Gaia knows what to them… and then they escaped.”

“The two test subjects that we were supposed to recapture last year… they were Cloud and Zack weren’t they?” Reno asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“But I thought they were killed by some grunts with itchy trigger fingers. Why is Cloud still alive?”

“The only body we found was Zack’s. The soldiers assured us that the other man was dead too. But a few days later he turned up, seemingly unharmed and planting bombs in our reactors with AVALANCHE”

Rufus chose that moment to return, sweeping into the room in a way that commanded attention. Striding purposefully to the edge of Tseng’s bed, kissing him on the forehead and glaring at Reno until he gave up his seat. Tseng knew that they couldn’t continue this conversation with his fiancée here.

“Reno. You are dismissed. Tell Adrian that it was a pleasure to make his acquaintance.”

“Yes sir.” Reno said stiffly.

~

Reno grabbed the packet of cigarettes in his pocket the second he got out of the infirmary, not liking the way his hands shook when he tried to light one.

Five fucking years with Hojo poking and prodding at him, just thinking about it made Reno shudder. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he made his way to the elevator, scrolling through his phonebook until he found Cloud’s number.

It rang for some time and Reno was starting to get worried. When Cloud answered he let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.

“Reno?” Cloud asked, the hope in his voice made Reno smile and want to cry at the same time. You’re getting in way too deep, man, 3 days and he’s got you acting like a smitten schoolgirl a small voice spoke up in his head, but he pushed it away.

“Hey babe. Took you a while to pick up.”

“Yeah, I was on my bike. Had to find somewhere to pull over before I answered.”

“You doing anything tonight?”

There was a pause, and Reno could almost hear the other man blush. “No, actually the bar is closed tonight. Tifa and Barret took the kids to Reeve’s place…”

“How about I come over for eight?”

The smile was clear in Cloud’s voice when he answered. “I’ll see you then, Reno.”

They said their goodbyes and Reno hung up, pressing the speed dial for Adrian’s phone.

“Hey Ade, you’re meeting Yuffie in Kalm later, right?”

“Yeah”

“I’m gonna be going to Edge myself and it wont kill me to make a little detour, you want a lift, yo?”

~

After Reno dropped him off in the helicopter, Adrian waited outside the small restaurant in Kalm, a favourite of his when he had been stationed nearby before Meteor Fall. He had arranged to meet Yuffie here at seven. He glanced at his watch; she should be here any minute.
He straightened the bottom of his shirt and checked his reflection in the window. Out of a Turk suit for the first time in days, his shirt was deep red and silk (courtesy of his new salary), his pants black with a sharp crease along the seam and his shoes shone brightly in the evening sun. He smiled at his reflection, he looked pretty damn good if he did say so himself.

He had no warning before someone jumped on his back, wrapping their arms around his neck and nearly knocking him over. A quick hand the only thing stopping his face from connecting painfully with the glass.

“Hi Ade!” Yuffie squealed in his ear.

He shrugged her off his back as gently as possible and turned to her, smiling warmly despite the fright she had given him. He looked her over and his smile widened; she was wearing a deep blue dress that stopped just above her knee and shimmered in the fading light. White embroidered silk flowers adorned the edges, contrasting nicely with the dark colour of the dress. A matching white blossom was tucked behind her ear.

“Yuffie, you nearly strangled me” he said, rubbing his neck gingerly and putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

“You’d think a Turk would be a little tougher than that!” she teased, punching him playfully in the shoulder. “And I managed to sneak up on you too! It’s understandable though… few can detect Yuffie The Magnificent!”

He looked at her standing there with her hands on her hips, looking as though she could take on the entire world and he started laughing. His hand went to his mouth, trying to stifle his giggles (which always seemed to get him in trouble). She scowled at him and pushed him a little, but it was clear that she wasn’t really annoyed.

“Sorry…” he said, wiping imaginary tears from the corner of his eye. She was still pretending to pout, so he leaned down and kissed her, catching her off guard, sliding his tongue into her mouth. She tasted sweet and she smelled of strawberry perfume. She had a devious glint in her eyes when he withdrew.

“When you do things like that, I’m tempted to skip dinner and bring you home for dessert” she said breathlessly.

He feigned a shocked expression, “Such talk from the successor to the Wutain throne! I’m scandalised!”

She giggled and pushed him inside the restaurant. Adrian confirmed their reservation at the front desk and they were shown to a small table in a secluded corner. Yuffie ordered the beef teriyaki, voicing her doubts that they would get her favourite dish right this far from Wutai. He ordered smoked salmon that came with a selection of greens and garlic potatoes.

“So? Any luck with finding Tseng?” she asked casually after several minutes of meaningless but comfortable banter.

Adrian was a little surprised at the question and he wasn’t sure how to answer. He supposed it would be okay to tell her that they had found him, but keep what had happened at Fort Condor to himself. “We found him in one piece, he should be fine in a few weeks.” He answered carefully.

“Where was he?” her curiosity obviously peaked.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, “I can’t tell you that. The circumstances of his recovery are strictly classified”

She pouted again, “I figured as much. I’m glad that he’s going to be okay though”

“Really? You didn’t seem too fond of him the last time we spoke”

“Yeah… I don’t agree with the stance he took against my country in the war, but I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to him. His family and mine have some history…”

He wanted to probe a bit further into that subject, but the look on her face changed his mind. He decided to change the subject, “So? You’re working with the WRO?”

She snorted, “Yeah, Reeve kinda roped me into it. I didn’t want to go home and he needed help. Mostly I do monster disposal in new settlements. Of course they don’t stand a chance against me!” she said beaming.

The rest of the evening passed like that, two young people tentatively testing the waters of their budding relationship and enjoying each other’s company. They stayed at their table for hours, until they were shooed out by the owner at twelve, closing time. They stood awkwardly outside the restaurant, both wanting the same thing but neither having the courage to voice it.

Sometimes things are so much easier with guys… Adrian thought to himself, there was never any of this tiptoeing when it came to other men.

“Where are you staying?” she asked finally, keeping her eyes on the ground.

“In a hotel down the street.” He shuffled his feet nervously, “You wanna come back for some coffee?”

She smiled gratefully, the tension melting away. “That sounds great!”

~

Reno landed his helicopter expertly just outside of Edge, concealing it within the ruins of Midgar. He checked the time on his phone; it was only a quarter past seven. He had plenty of time left before he had to be at Cloud’s, so he decided to go for a walk to kill some time.

He wandered aimlessly amongst the abandoned slums, coming across the church that he had chased Cloud and Aerith in almost a year ago. It was in surprisingly good condition compared to the other buildings in the area. He pressed his shoulder against the heavy wooden doors and they gave with a loud creaking sound that made him jump.

He walked up the aisle to the flowerbed, which seemed unchanged since he had been here last (before he had accidentally stepped all over them). There wasn’t a weed in sight and even though Midgar didn’t get a lot of rain, they were perfectly healthy.

Someone must still be tending them, he thought. He had a fair idea of who it probably was too. He doubted that Cloud would let Aerith’s flowers die in her absence.
He felt a pang of sadness for his new lover, at all that he had been through; Valentine’s visit earlier suddenly seemed much more justified.

“Cloud has suffered much in his short life…” was what the ex-Turk had said, and he was right. Nobody deserved to be a plaything for that psycho scientist, especially not for five years.

He turned on his heels and started the short walk to the Seventh Heaven, hoping Cloud wouldn’t mind if he was a few minutes early.

He walked through Edge carefully, not liking the disdainful looks he was getting from the residents. It had been a whole lot easier to ignore them when Adrian had been here with him. He dropped his EMR out of his sleeve, catching it with practised ease. It’s familiar weight in his hand made him feel a little better, he just concentrated on walking and in no time he found himself in front of the bar.

He pushed the door, but it was locked, a closed sign hanging on the front. He sighed and knocked on the door loudly. He heard the sound of heavy footfalls inside and then the door opened. Cloud smiled shyly at him from the doorway and beckoned him inside. Reno entered gratefully; glad to get away from the glares of the hostile inhabitants.

He pulled Cloud into a tight hug and the blonde made a little surprised sound.

“Reno? Are you okay?”

Reno inhaled deeply before he answered, smelling the other man’s hair, the blonde strands tickling his nose. He decided to get straight to the point. “We found Tseng, and he told me about what happened to you in Nibelheim.”

The blonde inhaled sharply and went stiff in his grasp. Reno started to draw back to ask the other man if he was okay, but Cloud tightened his grip around the redhead’s waist. The movement was panicky and forceful, Cloud obviously didn’t know his own strength and Reno swore he heard one of his ribs pop. When it was clear that Reno wasn’t going to pull away again, the smaller man shuddered in his arms and buried his face against his shoulder.

“What did he tell you?” Cloud asked quietly.

Reno told Cloud the version of events that Tseng had given him, noticing how the blonde’s grip tightened on him further when he said Zack’s name. He left out the fact that he and some of the other Turks had been assigned to apprehend them after their escape. When he had finished Cloud withdrew slowly, his hands sliding from Reno’s waist and down his arms, entwining their fingers. The blonde looked up at him, and Reno felt something twist in his stomach when he saw the pain in those blue eyes. The little voice in his head tried to protest again, but he silenced it.

“Tseng’s right, Zack was always looking out for me…” Cloud swallowed thickly. “It was my fault that those soldiers caught us. If he had left me behind, he would have escaped… I was too weak, mako poisoning from Hojo’s experiments…” tears began to fall then, catching in his lashes before rolling slowly down his cheeks.

“Shhh” Reno soothed, wiping away a tear with his thumb. “It’s okay.”

Fuck, he didn’t know what to do in this situation. Maybe he was getting in too deep…

He led the other man upstairs to the bed; they undressed and climbed in together. Reno held Cloud close as he cried and eventually fell asleep.

Reno didn’t fall asleep himself for some time, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And he wondered when he had started to care so much. Had it happened in the space of a day? Or had it been lurking in the depths since he had first met the man lying beside him?

It had only been a matter of days since they had even started thinking of each other as anything other than enemies, but he couldn’t deny what he was feeling. What he was starting with Cloud reeked dangerously of commitment, something he had always avoided like the plague.

So, why aren’t you running? the little voice was back and it posed a valid question. He closed his eyes and tried to find an answer. Was it so wrong that the idea of being with Cloud didn’t make him feel like he was suffocating? That it actually made him feel good?

It was the first time that he had ever felt anything other than lust for someone who shared his bed and he had no idea how to deal with it.

~

Yuffie lay with Adrian on the bed in his hotel room; her dress lay crumpled on the floor along with his expensive clothes. The only barrier between them as he rubbed against her was her underwear. She had to tell him something important before they did anything, but the words just didn’t seem to want to leave her mouth.

Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest; she was surprised that he couldn’t hear it. When he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties, intent on removing them, she finally found her voice.

“I’ve never done this before, Ade” she said quietly, looking him in the eye. His face was flushed and his eyes unfocused but when she spoke he smiled kindly and kissed her gently.

“Don’t worry, it’ll only hurt a little at the start.” He whispered as he pulled her underwear off with one hand, the other deftly unclasping her bra at the same time. She whimpered as his hand went between her legs, moving slowly and gently, seeking entry. The blood was pounding in her ears now, as she felt his slowly slide a finger inside her. There was pain, it was sharp and stung but it wasn’t unbearable. She squeezed her eyes shut when he added a second, that hurt more, but she could feel pleasure lurking under the pain.

When she was just beginning to get used to it, and it was even beginning to feel good, he withdrew and positioned himself between her legs. She bit her lower lip as he moved forward, the pain that came brought tears to her eyes and made her grit her teeth. But after only a few thrusts the pain faded away into something wonderful.
Soon she was meeting his thrusts with her own, cooing and moaning beneath him. She felt her orgasm building and she bit into his shoulder when she came. She watched in wonder as he stiffened above her in his own release, his thrusts growing more erratic before he collapsed on top of her.

They lay like that for a while, both catching their breath, until he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. She nestled up against his chest, tracing lazy lines on his exposed skin with her fingers. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, two new lovers bathing in each other’s warmth.

~

Tseng could feel them, ripping at his clothes and pulling his hair. Hissing obscenities at him, pushing him painfully to the ground, crushing his face against the hard floor, blunt fingers digging into his hips. Hands everywhere, tears burning his eyes, their panting loud and disgusting in his ears as they took him.
Making him cry, making him bleed…

He screamed and broke free, sitting up in his bed as the last dregs of the nightmare released him. He searched the darkness with wild eyes, sure that he had been returned to his captors. That his freedom had been the dream all along. His eyes finally focused and he recognised the disdainful room in the infirmary he was confined to.

Tseng was breathing heavily, his heart beating a mile a minute, hot tears coursing down his cheeks. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed, drawing his knees up to his chest and rocking slightly.
The light flicked on and he heard hurried footsteps. Arms encircled him and a familiar voice whispered soothingly in his ear, a reassuring hand stroking his hair. Tseng clutched at his lover like a drowning man, crying for the first time since he had been freed from Fort Condor. He buried his face in the other man’s chest, trying desperately to regain control of himself.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, as his sobs slowly dissipated and his shoulders stopped shaking. He withdrew from Rufus enough to look him in the eye. He saw nothing but love and concern in those blue eyes, and none of the pity he had been afraid of.

Rufus gently brushed Tseng’s hair behind his ears and kissed him gently on the bridge of his nose.

“When can I leave here?” he asked quietly, his eyes pleading.

Rufus paused and chewed his lower lip in thought. “Come on, Love. We’ll go now, the doctor can treat you in my room if she has to.”

Tseng got out of the bed slowly, his legs wobbled a bit and he steadied himself against his fiancée. Rufus shrugged out of his long suit jacket and draped it across the other man’s shoulders, covering the open back of his hospital gown.
They made their way slowly across the hall to Rufus’s temporary office/bedroom. Once inside Tseng pulled off the flimsy hospital gown and crawled into the bed gratefully. Rufus undressed quickly and climbed in beside him.
They lay together, their limbs entangled and their foreheads touching. Tseng closed his eyes and let out a shaky sigh.

Tentatively, he leaned forward and kissed Rufus. The kiss was long and slow, stirring feelings in him that he had feared may be dead. He slipped his hand between his lover’s legs, squeezing gently. Rufus gasped at the touch and his eyes snapped open.

“Tseng, what…” he started, but the Wutain cut him off with a fierce kiss. He climbed on top of Rufus, straddling him and grinding against him urgently. “I need you” he whispered as he kissed his way down the other man’s body. Any protests that Rufus had in mind died on his lips when Tseng took him into his mouth. Tongue flicking expertly at his head. Rufus bucked and Tseng smiled around him, withdrawing slowly. Rufus mewled in protest at the lack of contact, Tseng just smiled down at him.
He leaned over and rummaged in the bedside table, finally settling on some hand lotion. He poured the thick liquid onto his hands and coated Rufus’s length thoroughly, the blonde thrust into his touch frantically.

He climbed back onto his lover, straddling his hips again. Tseng slowly lowered himself onto the other man’s length. Hissing when he was filled completely, it hurt, it hurt like hell, but he was in control and that was all that mattered. He raised himself up and slowly impaled himself again, watching Rufus’s face as he did it. His lover’s blue eyes were wide and hazy with pleasure, his full bottom lip pulled between his teeth.
He moved at a leisurely pace, servicing himself with strong smooth strokes at the same time. He never took his eyes off Rufus, the other man writhed beneath him, panting heavily and moaning encouragement.

All too soon he felt his approaching release curl in his stomach and his movement became more erratic. Slamming down on the other man, his own hand pumping furiously. His spine arched and his body stiffened as he came, coating his hand and his lover’s stomach. Rufus’s grip on his hips tightened as he came too, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, a low growl rumbling in the back of his throat.
Tseng collapsed onto the other man, panting heavily. He smiled and kissed Rufus, he felt cleansed, so much more like his old self.
They fell asleep like that, Tseng on top of his love, their arms locked in a tight embrace.

And he slept peacefully for the first time in months.

~

Rufus woke to the sound of banging on his bedroom door, he wriggled free of Tseng’s grasp. His lover blinked a few times and mumbled something sleepily, most likely telling him to find out who was at the door. He pulled the blanket up, covering Tseng’s modesty before he found his robe, wrapping it tightly around himself. He trundled groggily to the door, opening it slowly. Elena stood there, bouncing up and down. She didn’t give him a chance to say anything before she squealed.

“The doctor called sir, Rosalind’s gone into labour!”

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