His negligence had gone too far, but it wasn't like Elena to leave someone, let alone a friend, shivering in the cold. She scowled at her own soft-heartedness. "We'll split the tent, but no funny business."
The bright blue eyes of her companion lit up. A quarter of an hour's worth of effort to convince his partner went well-rewarded. "'Course not, Laney!"
The grin that spread across his face was almost infectious; almost. Elena let her lips curl slightly, forcing it to look more like a grimace than a smile. She motioned for him to set up the tent. If he was going to forget his basic supplies, then he had to at least help her out. She supervised as he struggled to put up the plastic and canvas cloths, laughing when one of the heavy poles fell on his foot.
Once the small housing had been set up, Elena stepped in, unrolling her sleeping bag and unpacking her pillow.
"Laney."
She looked behind, seeing Reno watch her pointedly, as if expecting something.
"Need something?" She asked, her mind racing, wondering what on earth he could possibly need now.
His sarcastic drawl only angered her as he managed to point out the obvious. "Oh, I don't know. It would be nice to have a cover to sleep under. It's only twenty-some degrees out." He glanced at the sleeping bag, fit for only one person when zipped, but large enough for two, and some, when used as a blanket.
She followed his expectant gaze, glaring back up at him as soon as she realized what he was implying. "No- absolutely not. You're lucky enough to be sharing the damned tent with me. We are not sharing covers."
His expression turned from humored exasperation to one akin to a kicked puppy. He pleaded with her. "C'mon, Laney! I promised to behave, 'no funny business', 'member?" He made a show of crossing his heart, a grin spreading across his face again.
She inhaled sharply, not wanting to give in. She never understood why she couldn't say no to him. Maybe it was because she admired him more than she was willing to admit. She had noticed her admiration growing as of late. Not exponentially, but growing, none the less.
She had to put her foot down on this, though. It was to…intimate. She had never gotten used to the idea of sharing a room with someone, let alone a bed. Well, in this case, blanket. She corrected herself, silently.
"No. That's final." She stated firmly, unzipping the bag. She was excited to wriggle between the warm layers of fleece and cotton.
His pale fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist gently. "'Lena…" She looked up, wishing she hadn't. The pleading look in his eyes wasn't the usual, playful pout he gave when she refused to let him tease her. His expression seemed genuine.
"'Lena, please?" His ice-blue eyes bore into hers. She looked away quickly, snagging her wrist away as she did so.
She refused to blush in his presence. He'd been teasing her about it enough recently. He didn't need to know he was usually the reason she ended up blushing. His quirking an eyebrow at her when one of their cooperative pranks played out well, or the way his grin was so infectious. Sometimes, when he'd make a stupid innuendo, he would wiggle those goddamned red eyebrows at her, causing her to think things that she wasn't sure she wanted to think about.
"Fine, but seriously now, no touching. If I so much as feel you near me, I swear you'll end up bruised in some very tender spots. You stay on your half, and I'll stay on mine." She finished unzipping the sleeping bag, spreading it out across the tent floor.
Curling up near one edge of the thick covering, Elena shivered. She felt the bag shift slightly over her as Reno crawled underneath as well. She heard him sigh gently, and then turn his back to her. Several minutes of uncomfortable silence, his voice called quietly.
"Laney? Do you not trust me?"
Her mouth twitched, lips curling in a frustrated smirk, though she knew he couldn't see.
"Laney?" He expected an answer, and Elena was late in giving it to him.
She twisted gently, stretching her neck slightly to get a better look at him. "What do you mean? Of course I trust you."
She saw his shoulders shrug beneath the sleeping bag. "You just don't seem to, sometimes. You get distant, cold." He replied, yawning. "No big deal if you don't like me, but if you don't trust me, I can't trust you. Can't have that on missions, ya know?"
"Hmm." She nodded, understanding. "I trust you. You, Rude, and Tseng are probably the closest friends I have."
She lay back down, he stomach clenching when he turned to face her.
"You're the little sister, Laney." He yawned again. "Get some sleep. Sorry that it came up so late in the game."
She nodded, shivering again, before dozing off.
One of Elena's downfalls as a Turk was, she was a heavy sleeper, even on missions. While Reno and Rude could wake at the sound of a pin dropping on carpet, Elena had to be prodded in the ribs harshly before she woke. She never noticed if she shifted positions or spots in her sleep, sometimes she woke up on the floor, not remembering how she got there, or why she hadn't bothered to pick herself up and back on the bed.
This mission was no exception, but what she woke up to was not the painful stab of a finger, strategically pointed between two of her ribs. She woke to lithe, muscular arms enveloped around her waist, and chilly hands placed against the skin on her stomach, under her sweatshirt. She was tucked neatly, and comfortably, in the slight curve of a body. Her shoulders found no cushioning against a well-toned chest.
Her face grew hot as she pulled away. Her escape was thwarted when the cold hands of her captor laced fingers, and pulled her closer against his chest.
"Reno!" She hissed through clenched teeth.
"Mmm?" Was the only verbal reply she received. It was a half-hearted, incomprehensible reply, but it told her he was still asleep.
She scoffed, trying harder to pull away. His arms held fast, and she gasped when she felt his nose tickle her neck. He nuzzled his nose lightly against her, his lips barely gracing the back of her neck.
Her blush deepened with each of his movements. His lips had stopped the feather-light motions on her neck, but became more aggressive. They moved toward her jawline, carefully, as if searching. Stopping under her ear, she could feel her pulse underneath his hot breath; she felt teeth scrape gently, almost unnoticeably, against her skin. With some difficulty, she stifled a soft moan.
"Reno!"
The sharp demand snapped him awake. "'The hell, Laney? Tryin' to sleep here!"
She turned her head to face him, the red glow still in her cheeks. Her brown eyes turned stormy. "What happened to boundaries?"
Reno took a look around them. Same tent, same sleeping bag. One little change, one that made his defensive expression turn devious.
He tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her gently closer while ignoring her protests. "You could have just said you were cold, Laney."
He nuzzled her neck again, nosing his way to her collarbone. "I would have let you cuddle."
She stiffened in his vice-like grip. "What on earth are you talking about?"
One of his hands reached lower, tickling her just above the waist of her pants. He smiled when she inhaled a little too sharply. Placing his smiling lips against her sensitive collarbone he said between soft kisses. "Just look whose side of the blanket you're on." His lips trailed kisses up her jawline and his hand delved lower, finding her hip bone. He let his fingers trace a delicate pattern alone the exposed skin.
She glanced forward again, understanding instantly what he had said. She wasn't given the chance to think up a snarky reply; she let out a small yelp when she felt his cold fingers wander underneath the elastic waist of her panties. The tips of his fingers kept tracing intricate patterns on her skin, causing her to squirm in his grip.
Reno laughed as his captive wriggled her breathing heavy and uneven. "Laney" He whispered in her ear, another chuckle escaping his lips when she struggled more. "You broke the rules. You have to be punished."
He snapped the elastic on her panties, a smirk playing on his lips. He wasn't expecting her to roll them, kicking a leg over his waist to straddle him, while holding his neck in one small hand.
Her usually warm brown eyes glowered down at him, and he felt something cold and cylindrical press between his legs. "Enough, Reno." Her voice was just barely an enraged whisper, the gun she had pointed at him twitched slightly as she released the safety. "You really should have tried to keep it in your pants."
She felt bad about threatening him. It's not that she hated him for it, he was always taunting and harassing her, but he had gone a little too far this time. She hadn't wanted to pull away, but she wasn't going to let him reach any further.
She tugged the trigger gently. He winced, a new expression of fear in his eyes. She resisted the urge to smirk. She pulled the trigger with as much force necessary, about 5 pounds for her custom-made pistols, adjusting the muzzle of the gun so it aimed just below his crotch, leaving a bullet hole in the floor of the tent. Smoke rose out of it gently as she snickered, releasing Reno, and walked to the door of the tent. "I need to wash up. You pack."