Black Rainbow
Summery: Reno's unspoken past returns to wreak havoc on his already stressful life. He's in love with a boss who he feels could never look at him the same way. Reno's starting to fall apart and the only person who can put him back together is the last person he expected.
Reno/Tseng, past Reno/Cloud, onesided Cloud/Reno.
A/N: Hmm, well, with any luck this story will be just as good if not better then Crimson Clouds, hopefully…
Anyway, Please R&R! And hope you Like!
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, I'm just borrowing the characters for my own enjoyment, and yours.
Chapter One: An Unlikely Meeting
In a messy apartment the sickly glow of Mako reactors eerily lighted a bed where a red haired man slept. Suddenly there was a loud, obnoxious beeping. The red head stirred and reached under his pillow for smooth, cool metal.
One, two shots, then blissful silence. The head lifted, and he sleepily gazed down the demolished remains of an alarm clock.
'Damn, that's the third one this month.' He thought,
'Wonder if I can get the company to pay for a new one.'
He shrugged and fell back to the pillow where he promptly began to snore. Before long a vibration against his leg and a loud ringing woke him again. With a groan he pulled out his cell from his pants pocket. (A/N: Yes he sleeps in his clothes. He's a slob.)
"What'd ya want?" he slurred sleepily.
"Reno." A rich, smooth purr entered his ear and he grinned foolishly.
"Reno, if your not down here in fifteen minutes, I'll more then dock you pay."
Half asleep, the threat of his boss' words didn't register and he mumbled incoherently.
There was a sigh,
"Wake up. This is an important mission, we need you alert."
Listening to the lull of his voice caused Reno's eyes to finally close.
"Reno?"
Reno snored and the phone slipped from his hand, hitting the floor but not closing.
"Reno?"
When Reno didn't respond there was a loud fog horn sound from the phone. With a yelp Reno sat straight up and scrambled for his phone.
"What! What's goin on?"
"Do I have your attention now?"
Fully away Reno sighed,
"Yeah, Boss." He said, getting out of bed and quickly sitting back down as a bout of nausea hit him.
"We have an assignment, now get down here."
There was a click then nothing but the dial tone. Reno closed and put it away with a groan,
"Yes, sir. I really should stop drinkin so much." He grabbed a bottle off the bed side table and downed it all to ease his hangover. After giving it a minute to kick in he stood up and stretched. Under his clothes Reno was tall and lithe; his body was built not for strength but for speed. Combining speed with his skill with his Electro-Magnetic, or Mag-rod as he calls it, makes him a worthy opponent against anyone. He pulled his hair out and ran a brush threw it, then retied it back. He yawned and patted his pockets to make sure he had his keys. Reno hitched his mag-rod on his belt and replaced his gun back under his pillow, he didn't like guns but kept this one just in case. He ran a hand through his hair and set out.
Twenty minutes later he parked his heap of junk car in the employee parking level then took the elevator to floor 70, the Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department, more commonly known as the Turks. As Reno waited for the elevator to descend he reflected on the irony of what he was. The Turks were really nothing more then hired spies and assassins. They were a lie in themselves. He yawned again as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. He turned right and strolled past his office then his partner's and then stopped right outside his Boss'. The coffee machine was right outside the door and the smell was insanely strong. Reno sneezed as the smell assaulted his senses. He quickly shook his head and opened the door. A raven haired man with Wutaian features, including a black tilak on his forehead, sat at his desk signing papers. He didn't look up as Reno entered. Disliking the silence Reno stifled a yawn behind his hand. He eyed the two chairs in front of the desk but made no move toward them. The door behind him opened again and Reno causally glanced over his shoulder as his partner entered. As the man stood next to him, Reno found himself once more marveling at how giant the man was, he well towered over Reno. It wasn't just him height the man was pure muscle with dark tanned skin and ever present sunglasses that hid his every emotion. Over all he was a very intimidating man.
"Rude, Reno. Sit." The Wutaian spoke without looking up. While they seated themselves he shuffled through some folders before handing first Rude one, then Reno. Reno scanned his while his boss talked.
"The President is concerned that their may be a rebel group forming among the people. He has ordered that the Turks investigate and find out any information possible. Your first job is to investigate Midgar."
Reno frowned slightly,
"We don't even have any names to go on?"
"You may have to expand your search, I trust it won't be a problem?"
"No, sir." Rude answered.
"Now you'll need to be somewhat disguised, I'll leave that to you."
"Sure thing Boss." Reno sighed,
"Dismissed."
Half an hour later an almost unrecognizable Reno appeared from the men's room. His long crimson hair was dyed a pitch black, contrasting sharply with his pale skin. His natural impish green eyes completed his look. Muttering darkly about how he hated changing his hair he barged into his partner's office, where Rude was debating over which wig to wear. After all, a huge bald guy with sunglasses would stick out a bit. When Reno stood next to him Rude had already narrowed it down to two different styles, both were black.
"Use the bowl cut one." It was Reno's favorite look on Rude. Rude put it on and Reno stepped back to examine him and shook his head,
"Ditch the sunglasses, man."
Rude reluctantly and carefully removed them and placed them in a pocket. Reno nodded in satisfaction,
"Now we're ready to spy."
"Reno, you know Tseng doesn't like it when you don't take your work seriously." Rude said sternly.
Reno rolled his eyes,
"The Boss is a stiff, man."
"And you're a pain in the ass."
"Touché." Reno said after a pause. He sneezed suddenly and cursed,
"Damn hair dye." He muttered.
"You bought the wash out kind, right?"
"Yea, mum." Reno said sarcastically.
"Well, you bitched for 3 months last time."
Reno cringed,
"Don't remind me. Man, I still feel sorry for all the blonds out there."
As Rude finished the final preparations Tseng stepped in,
"A word of advice." He said smoothly,
"After you search Midgar try Junon."
Reno nodded,
"Sure."
Tseng looked at him and a tiny smirk flitted across his face,
"Black is… a strange look for you."
"Tell me about it." He replied, fingering a jet black strand,
"But it beats blond any day."
Tseng nodded in rare agreement,
"Don't mess this up." The raven haired man warned then was gone.
'Gee, thanks for the confidence.' Reno thought, sticking his tongue out at the door and Rude rolled his eyes at the display of childlike behavior.
'Well.' Rude thought to himself,
'It is Reno.'
Maturing slightly Reno shook his head,
"That man keeps getting stranger and stranger."
Rude just grunted.
'Although he's still as hot as ever.' Reno found himself absently thinking.
'Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?'
"Reno?"
Reno looked up at Rude quickly,
"What?"
"You ready to go?"
Reno nodded,
"Yea, let's get this over with."
As they drove into the Sector 6 Slums Reno was staring out the window, lost in his own confused thoughts. Since when had he found Tseng hot? That was the million gil question. Was it a new attraction or was it something that had lain dormant in him until he could no longer ignore it? Then he began to remember something's, incidents where he had found himself admiring Tseng's body, wondering at the feel of his long raven colored hair and even daydreaming about the man. Reno mentally kicked himself and sighed, ignoring Rude's glance.
'I am officially the biggest idiot on the face of the planet. A Slum bred runt attracted to a higher born city guy. Great. What a fuck up.'
When Rude parked his car in a relatively deserted area Reno pulled himself out of his mental hole and left the car. Rude hit a button oh his key that enabled the car's security feature, anyone who touched it would be on the receiving end of a painful electric shock. A vehicle left unattended in the Slums would be completely stripped in half an hour.
Rude turned to him,
"We'll split up, we can cover more ground that way."
Reno nodded and they headed off in different directions. He stopped at the first bar he saw and sighed, this would take awhile.
Seven bars and 550 gil later Reno had no more information then he started with and the darkness was just starting to get oppressive. The only light in the Slums at anytime was artificial, the Upper Plates blocked out all sun, the only weather that penetrates in wind and rain.
Reno went to check the time and cursed, he'd left his watch behind because it was a special Turk only edition. Shrugging, he yawned and decided to check one more place, then call it quits for the day. He picked a bar closer to the center of the Sector 6 and swaggered in. It was a hazy, smoke filled, half filled bar. The drinkers ignored him as he waded through them to reach the counter. Since it was his last stop he ordered a slightly stronger drink then the other times. The barkeeper poured him his scotch and he scanned the bar as he drank. The barkeeper moved away, wiping the counter. After making sure nobody showed any interest he turned his back on them and waved for the barkeep. The man came forward and Reno did what Reno does best.
When He emerged from the bar he was just as clueless as when he went in. Reno ran a hand through his jet colored hair and sighed,
'I hope Rude had more luck then me. Hell, this is probably just some wild goose chase.'
As he started back it began to rain. Reno looked up irritably,
'Great, just what I need. Now the dye will run."
Sure enough when he examined his tail the red was beginning to bleed through. Cursing, he started to run back to the car. Soon it was pouring and he was soaked, his hair plastered to his head with his bangs hanging limply in his face. Despite the run he wasn't even breathing hard when he reached the car.
"Shit." He swore aloud. Rude wasn't there.
'He's probably nice and dry in a damn bar somewhere.' Cursing his partner under his breath he bent his head and started walking toward the nearest bar. He didn't get very far before someone ran headlong into him. They went down in a tangle of limbs and Reno saw stars when his head smacked the pavement. When he cracked open his eyes he saw a face he had never expected to see again. Spiky blond hair and glowing blue eyes.
"Reno?" The blond questioned in amazement.
Shocked, Reno closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness.
End of Chappie one.
Sorry for the short first chapter but rest assured the others will be much longer. I've got good plans for this, heheh. Review and tell me what you think about it. Cookies to anyone who guesses who the blond is. It's real hard, think, blond with glowing eyes. Hmmm?