Sequel to "Betrayal and Redemption".

Setting: Despite OC's, both stories fit within ffvii, post AC.

Rating: M

Warnings: Explicit erotic content, mature themes.

Pairings: Reno/OC, possible others (have one in mind, but don't want to promise anything)

Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from ffvii or it's characters. In fact, I think Reno owns me.

A/N: I just couldn't stay away from Reno and Bryn. I didn't want "Betrayal and Redemption" to end, possibly because it was my first fanfic, and possibly because I enjoyed the way it turned out, and now, months later and completely unexpected, a sequel has finally formed in my mind. Is reading "Betrayal and Redemption" absolutely required before reading this? Probably; that's where Reno meets Bryn and their relationship is built, and there will be other references to "B&R". For those who have not read it, I am pretty sure I can say on record that Bryn is NOT a marysue. I went to great lengths to build her character and bring her to life in the ffvii world in a realistic way, and think I succeeded. I will try to continue that. Not to give anything away, but if marysue-ness occurs with any other characters, it is intentional.

Feedback is welcome. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy.

fire mystic

Assignment

Reno sat slouched in the chair, his gaze unwavering from Tsengs face.

Tseng had the decency to flinch under that glare, turning away slightly and clearing his throat. Rude and Elena were intentionally keeping their gazes averted as well.

"I'm sorry, Reno. I don't know what to tell you. She saved Rufus' life. He's willing to give her anything she wants, and what she wants right now is to train with you."

Reno leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"It's not the training part I'm worried about Tseng. It's the other part you mentioned. About Rufus giving her anything she wants."

Tseng raised a speculative eyebrow. "You don't really think it's going to come down to anything like that, do you?"

Elena coughed lightly.

"You know, Tseng, maybe you should pay attention every once in a while."

Tseng was clearly disbelieving.

"Have I missed something?"

She shook her head, her tone far too innocent. "No, Tseng. Not you. You would never miss anything."

It was Rudes turn to cough, his face flushing red as he turned away to inspect a spot on the wall. Reno couldn't help but snicker. It took quite a bit to get that kind of response from his partner.

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

Elena sighed, nodding. "Of course I'm being sarcastic. Open your eyes, Tseng. It's not like she hasn't made it clear over the past couple of weeks that she wants Reno to pay attention to her. It's becoming annoying, and, to be honest with you, we're all fed up with it."

Placing hands down on his desk, Tseng sat forward and faced Reno again. "Then perhaps you should make it clear to her that you're not interested and refocus her attention to what it should be on. Her training. In either case, need I remind you that orders are orders, and if it does come down to requiring something more than training, you are expected to follow orders?" He didn't like reminding Reno like that, but he could not get into a situation where Reno couldn't follow orders because of his personal life.

Reno ran a hand over his face.

"Fine. Whatever." He hoped desperately that he could make it clear that he was not interested. Strangely enough, he never thought turning a woman away would be a problem for him. Now, however, there was only one woman he was interested in, and he so didn't want to mess that up with crap from work.

Rude opened the door for him as he got up to leave, and there, outside the door, was the object of their current discussion.

Dara.

She was leaning casually against the wall across the hall, talking to and laughing with one of the lab technicians.

Reno stopped short. Okay, maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Dara's unwanted advances weren't advances at all. Maybe he didn't have to worry about anything more than training her.

It was strange, how she became the newest Turk. Rufus had been in Midgar when a disgruntled citizen chose to make his displeasure with Shinra abundantly clear, not to mention personal. Why he had gone without at least one of his Turks, Reno still couldn't figure, but it had turned out to be unnecessary, as this woman had interfered, managing to dispatch the man quickly, secure Rufus' position, and return Rufus to his office within a half hour of the attack.

Rufus had been so impressed that he had recruited her that day, supposedly making an offer any sane person could not refuse.

Dara had proven herself exceptional in the first weeks of training. She seemed to be talented in every aspect of training, to the point where people would stop, watch, and even cheer her accomplishments.

Reno hadn't been impressed.

He had been suspicious.

She was good. Too good. Talent was one thing, but there came a point where talent wasn't enough, and she had passed that point much too quickly. No one moved through training that fast, that easily. In fact, he would bet a month of his salary that she had some type of training previously.

As if to drive that feeling home, Rude had expressed the same to him within the first week.

Their hackles were up. The only people who needed to see through it were Rufus and Tseng, and frankly, Reno was surprised that Tseng had not picked up on it sooner.

Dara turned her gaze on him as he walked out of the office and turned down the hall, and Reno knew that his hopes of getting out of this without complications were slim to none.

Damn.

"Dara, could I speak with you for a moment."

Thank Shiva for Elena. She was mastering the art of interference lately, doing her best to keep Dara distracted from her blatant attempts for attention.

"Not now, Elena. I need to talk to Reno."

He even hated the way she said his name.

"He's off for the day, Dara, and you and I need to work on a schedule for the range tomorrow before I go home."

Reno turned the corner, crashing through the door to the stairwell, uninterested in whatever response Dara came up with. He bolted the railing and landed nimbly a story down, a fancy little piece of footwork that was usually reserved for missions, but that he used now to make sure he had distance from any possible pursuit.

Reno slammed into his apartment, planning a shower and a change of clothes before heading out again. He despised the bad feeling he had about what was going on at work, and was going to do his best to wash the remnants from his body and calm down.

He turned the corner into the bedroom and stopped short, silently berating himself for being so careless, so noisy.

He could have woken her up.

Bryn was curled up on the bed, and despite the noise he had made, she was still sleeping peacefully, her breathing even and deep below the blanket she had pulled up over her body, and her hand flexing slightly where it rested on the pillow in front of her face, which was hidden in a fall of hair. Reno wanted to run his hands through that hair, feel the texture of it, tangle the long strands in his fingers as he held her to him.

No; he denied himself, walking across the room as he removed his shirt. Shower first. He wasn't touching her while feeling like this.

He set the water to almost scalding, scrubbed his skin pink and lathered and rinsed his hair twice before he was satisfied. He dried off quickly, roughly toweling the moisture from his hair, and dropped the towel in the hamper on his way out the door. Padding across the floor, his body relaxing from the shower, he nimbly climbed up on the bed and slipped under the blanket, taking Bryn gently in his arms and molding his body to her back. She turned at the contact, brushing hair from her face as she faced him and wrapped herself around him, grinding her body against his as she lifted her face and pressed kisses into his throat. Reno groaned in satisfaction, his body hardening.

"You're certainly good at surprises. I didn't expect you to be here."

"I missed you." She was practically purring.

"I missed you, too. I'm glad you're here." He murmured.

She raised her lips further to meet his, lips already parted, her tongue seeking and twining with his.

"I was dreaming of you," she panted between kisses.

"Really? And what was I doing in this dream?"

She reached down between them and guided his hardness into welcoming heat, gasping at the filling pleasure, wrapping her legs tighter around him.

"Hmmm. Something like this."

Reno's eyes drifted closed as he wrapped his hands in her hair as he had wanted to do since he walked in the room, plundering her mouth as he thrust into her.

Work forgotten, his night was definitely looking up.