Insert standard disclaimers here. Not mine, never will be, etc., etc.

Ah, let's see. These were written out of order--that's why the numbers of the parts are scrambled. I figured I'd be nice and put them in order when I uploaded them. I'd also like to note that I finished all of these long before Advent Children came out. There's a reason I'm saying that. You'll see in Scribble #4.

Shounen-ai. Tseng/Reno, Reno/Rufus pairings. Except for the final three, these were random ficlets written as background information for another timeline/universe.

#15

"Get them out of here!"

Reno looked at Tseng over the blond head curled under his chin as they watched President Shinra order the two Turks that, until this point, served as his son's bodyguards escorted out. Tseng shrugged slightly at his younger teammate, then turned his attention back to the three men on the second floor of the office where the President's desk was.

"What's gonna happen to them?"

Reno looked down at the boy in his arms. "Don't know, kid. Don't know."

Rufus wrapped his arms tighter around Reno's neck with a sniffle. "Wasn't their fault. I wandered away from them. It was just for a minute."

"I know." Reno glanced over at Tseng again. This was an inexcusable failure. Losing track of the President's son was bad enough. Letting him get kidnapped and having the rookie team show you up by getting him back? Hell, where Tseng was from, that probably would have required you to kill yourself on the spot from embarrassment alone, never mind the loss of honor.

"Tseng! Reno!" Veld's voice called them from the top of the stairs, even though the man was barely visible from where they stood. Reno started for the stairs when a hand on his arm pulled him back.

"Rufus, I think it would be best if you let go of Reno now," Tseng murmured, a hand reaching to straighten a few stray hairs on both of their heads.

"I don't want to," was the only reply.

"Tseng, it's..."

Tseng cut his teammate off with a quick shake of the head. It wasn't okay. He probably didn't want to deprive the boy of the one security blanket that he had right now, but it wasn't okay. Reno understood that much. He would have stayed with the kid if he could have, though.

"Rufus, you know your father won't be happy to see you hugging Reno like that. It's time to let go."

Rufus lifted his head and stared at Tseng for a moment, then looked up at Reno. "I know, but..."

"Hey, we'll be right here, kid." Reno grinned before crouching down enough to let Rufus down to the floor.

"Always?"

Reno nodded slightly. "Always."

That seemed to placate Rufus, and he let go of Reno's neck and slid to his feet. He wasn't a small boy, by far, and Reno wasn't upset to lose the extra weight, but he couldn't help but want to draw the boy right back into the embrace when he watched him. Fortunately, Tseng tapped his shoulder lightly before he could think about doing so.

"They're waiting."

Reno nodded and pushed himself back to his feet. He looked at Rufus one last time before following Tseng up the stairs.

He hadn't been a Turk for more than six months by now, but he knew it was best to follow Tseng's lead when dealing with their commanders. There was something about him that indicated he was far more than he portrayed himself. And that he knew far more about high society than he liked to let on.

"I understand that you two are responsible for fixing the blunder of your teammates."

Reno watched Veld visibly wince at that comment from President Shinra as the two stopped in front of his desk.

"We rescued your son from the men who tried to kidnap him, if that's what you mean, sir."

Even Tseng's normally calm voice held a few shards of ice when he spoke. Turks were Turks, Reno learned quickly, and it didn't matter how much you hated a fellow Turk at the bar during your time off. When you were on the clock, you were a team. That loyalty extended straight up the chain of command to Veld, and Tseng was protecting both the reputations of the two men that just left and his commander with his words.

"A rescue that wouldn't have been needed if those two had done their job properly."

The next speaker was the bear of a man standing opposite the desk from Veld. Heidegger, if Reno remembered correctly, commander of the entire Shinra military force, including the Turks.

A quick glance back to his side of the desk showed that Veld looked like he was ready to murder his commander. Considering the fact that the man was in charge of the Turks, and that, at least, wasn't a position that one waltzed into with no field experience, Reno had no doubt that Heidegger would be sleeping with his lights on for a few days, if he slept at all.

"A fact which doesn't matter now, as Rufus is safely home." Tseng spoke again, joining his commander in the 'Die now!' look directed at Heidegger.

"You're the rookie, aren't you, boy? What was your name again?"

And with those words from President Shinra, Heidegger, Tseng, and Veld were all staring at him.

"Reno, sir," Reno replied with a calm he didn't feel.

"Reno. You're from Sector Three, correct? Near where you found Rufus?"

"I was born in Sector Three, sir, yes" Reno shifted slightly as his partner and his commander watched him. Where was President Shinra going with that question?

"Ah, that explains how you knew the area so well, and why they thought to call you...?"

Reno tipped his head to the side curious where this conversation was headed. "Not really, since it was Tseng that got the call. I just happened to be out with him."

"I see. Still, quite convenient..."

That wasn't fair. President Shinra had to know enough about him to know that he was the one most likely to mouth off.

Reno's eyes narrowed. "Convenient, hell. What're you trying to infer by that?"

Tseng stepped towards him, hand reaching to rest on his arm, when Reno caught Veld shake his head out of the corner of his eye. Did he just read that right? Did Veld just signal Tseng not to stop him?

"He's trying to infer that maybe there was some cooperation..." Heidegger started. He shrunk back behind the President's desk when Reno stepped towards him.

"Cooperation? Cooperation! I can't even get half those guys to trust me at their backs yet, and you think somehow I'm part of some conspiracy to kidnap the boss' kid? You have got to be the stupidest bas..."

Now Tseng grabbed his elbow, and Reno closed his mouth before he went to far.

"It wasn't any of their fault, father. I slipped away to watch some children playing." Reno looked over to see Rufus standing at the top of the staircase. "I didn't mean for anything to happen, it just looked like..."

"We'll talk about this later, Rufus."

"But they..."

"Later!"

"Yes, father."

If Tseng weren't still holding on to his arm, Reno would have likely run over there to hug the boy.