Mission Failed

Summary: Tseng gives Reno a very important mission. Reno fails. Sometimes it's harder to deal with fate's consequences of failing than the boss's punishment for doing so. Mako Tears Universe. References to Zack/Reno.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the computer used to type this up and the plot bunny that hopped in my head for this. I also apologize for such an angsty fic. Yes, this is a DeathFic - however, no one dies that doesn't already die in the games/movies/etc.

'I thought you'd left me. I thought you had DIED!' Reno thought to himself, whirling the company helicopter around for another sweep of the barren cliffs below. Their mission was to find Zack and his companion and bring them back to Midgar, unharmed, before the ShinRa Army found them. It was a mission Reno was content to follow through with, too. He didn't want Zack dead anymore than Tseng did. Yeah, it was for an entirely different reason, but...

"Focus, Reno," Rude commented from his side. Reno flashed him a cocky grin in return. In truth, he was glad that Rude had said something. They'd been working together for six years - since he was sixteen and had joined the Turks! And Rude knew Reno backwards and forwards. He knew the attitude masked nearly everything that was going on with the redhead. Reno could be laughing outwardly and screaming inside, and Rude knew exactly what to look for to figure out Reno's real feelings and thoughts. All he had to do was look at those eyes.

There was something about them - something subtle and yet intense - that Rude could read. He'd known that Reno had lost his concentration, and had also known that the grin wasn't some blowing off of his reprimand. Rather, the grin was a strange, Reno-esque way of saying 'yo, thanks man! I'll keep it together from now on, pal-o-mine!' and Rude simply smiled back at the young kid. Twenty-two, and Reno was already one of the best Turks they'd seen since Tseng climbed the ranks.

Of course, it hadn't come without a price. Four years ago, Reno had spiraled into a strange depression that only Tseng and Rude could guess the reason for. It was whispered about, of course - that Reno had claimed the SOLDIER 2nd Class Zack Fair for his lover. Or perhaps it had been Zack that claimed Reno? The superiors didn't care, so long as the two completed their missions. Nothing was said outwardly, lest it get back to the President or Human Resources, either of which would take action against their forming relationship.

Reno had been a cocky bastard when he'd joined the Turks. Zack had been an overly-enthusiastic eager puppy when it came to SOLDIER. Both had an uncanny habit of irritating the living daylights out of their commanding officers and, at the same time, wriggling into the hearts of those very same officers and everyone else around them. They were good for morale, good at their weapons, good at nearly everything - except keeping proper decorum.

It was only a matter of time that they would find each other, and it had been Sephiroth who took it upon himself to begin his own little experiment by forcing the two, forcing them to spend a 'punishment' together. The rest had been history. Zack had calmed a little, some of his seemingly limitless energy spent with Reno. Reno was just too damned happy to act up as much as he typically did. He even managed to sit through a few meetings with a dopy grin plastered on his face. It was a match made in heaven... or hell, depending on how you looked at it.

Then, two years after that relationship formed, it was severed. Zack Fair, only a short time after being promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class, disappeared. At first, it was considered to be just that - a simple disappearance. But as more information came - the loss of Sephiroth, the destruction of Nibelheim, the chaos found at the reactor, all combined with the fact that neither Zack nor the army cadet that had been with him returned to base - it was looking more and more like Zack had died.

Reno had been hopeful at first, still working undeterred on his missions and keeping his upbeat outlook on life intact. But after a year, it was looking bleak and even Reno had to admit that Zack was probably not coming back. That's when the depression took root. Rude had noticed it first - the slightly distracted looks during missions, sitting through meetings without saying a single word unless prompted to, or his gaze lingering on a picture of Zack if they came across such a thing. He'd whisper the name in his sleep if they had to a mission that lasted more than one day. He'd -cry- sometimes when he thought no one could hear, and Rude could say or do absolutely nothing to comfort him.

But Rude -could- do something about it. He reported to Tseng, who kept a close eye on the redhead. And with a little effort and some much-needed down-time, Reno was back to being his snarky self. Perhaps a little jaded now, and a little more life-worn than before, but he was back cracking jokes and being that annoyingly friendly and warm guy he always had been.

Then the news came - Zack Fair was alive, had been part of some secret experiment, and had escaped along with the cadet that had been with him. He'd been a -research- subject! Reno had blown a fuse when he'd found out, and ranted right to President ShinRa's face for a good half-hour about telling the Turks things like that before stalking out of the office and slamming the door behind him - leaving a slack-jawed Tseng behind to do damage control.

The orders came from the President only an hour later - Zack Fair and his companion were to be found and brought back, dead or alive. The cadet, they were instructed, was to be kept alive if at all possible. Zack Fair was expendable. Reno seethed at the orders, but orders were orders and he'd taken to the sky with Rude to carry them out. A week of searching went by before Tseng's voice issued new orders that directly contradicted the President's. Find Zack and his companion and bring them back *alive*. Tseng had some letters to deliver.

The smartass reply that Reno had given about being delivery boys was all Rude needed to hear in order to know that Reno was happy with the orders. The chopper was guided into a careful turn and and they redoubled their efforts.

Reno seemed in good spirits during the ride, his blue eyes flashing brightly as they scanned the desolate country. He hummed to himself from time to time, even smiled occassionally for no particular reason. If the Turks couldn't find Zack, after all, what chance did the ShinRa Army have of finding Zack? He wouldn't dare hop along the line of thought that the Turks were only about ten people in total, while the ShinRa Army was a few thousand. Cissnei's voice sounded in his headphones, indicating she hadn't found anything in her area. Reno admitted defeat in his own - he'd been right to equate the search to finding a needle in a haystack - and agreed to search another area.

The search continued for another two hours, Reno tapping nervously on the throttle as he manuvered the chopper around, but as the sun set that day, Tseng's voice called them back. Was it just Reno, or was there something wrong with that voice? Tseng sounded strained. They were called back to Midgar and told to land just outside the city where they would regroup. Very strange.

He found out just why it was so odd as his chopper was eased onto the ground. The ShinRa Army was dispersing as they arrived, and a pit formed in Reno's stomach. "No..." he breathed, and his partner raced to keep up with the agile Turk, who bolted immediately for the area with the most people.

Tseng grabbed Rude's arm, unable to catch Reno as he rushed past. He shook his head, his own expression haunted. "He mourned him once, Sir. He's ..."

"Go and take him away, Rude. Comfort him if you can. But don't let him fall." Rude nodded, snapped to attention as a brief salute, then began running after Reno once more.

What he found when he reached Reno's location was heartbreaking, even for a Turk. There had been no sound coming from Reno's throat. No tears falling from his eyes. Instead, he'd knelt beside the fallen SOLDIER, pulled that dark-haired head into his lap, and was just carding his fingers through the blood-matted strands. Riddled with bullets, there was no way Zack was still alive... but why hadn't his body dissolved into the lifestream, like it should?

'Why,' Reno thought desperately, leaning over to rest his cheek against Zack's cold forehead, 'was he left to find his body like this? Forced to see him so defeated?' He bent over the young man in his arms, a strangled keening sound finally issuing from his throat. "Zack..." he rasped, the tears finally beginning to fall. He didn't care that people were staring. Didn't care what they thought as he clutched at the SOLDIER, nuzzling at his cheek as though willing him to return Reno's desperate embrace.

He drew back slightly, then leaned forward once more, lips brushing first against Zack's unmoving pair, then once more over his forehead. As he did, he felt the weight in his arms lifting. "No... No.. Zack!" The whimper couldn't be stopped. The plea refused to remain chained because of something so silly as his job. A moment later, he was left with nothing in his arms but stains of Zack's blood on his shirt and jacket and a harsh, bitter cry wrenching from his throat.

Zack was gone. His body had lasted just long enough for Reno to say goodbye. Around him, people hurried this way and that, scrambling to try and find the blond kid that had been with the SOLDIER - but Reno didn't care. He didn't hear any of it. Didn't see any of it.

He barely registered the strong arm that wrapped around his shoulders, but when the arm pulled he had no strength to fight it. He collapsed into Rude's embrace, clutching at his partner as he tried to get control over his tears.

"Reno... I'll take you home, okay? You need sleep." The smooth and low-noted voice comforted. Reno gave a faint nod and let Rude lead him away from his failed mission and lost love.

[fin]

AN: There we go. Sorry it's so sad. Couldn't end this one on a happy note, though. Hope you like it, anyway. REVIEW!!! Please? I need reviews... They make an author happy.