I don't own FF7 or its characters and make no money from writing these stories.
Elena got to the coffee truck bright and early. Sure their headquarters had a cafeteria, but the coffee truck served the best coffee around, she had already been to her office and prepped it to continue her paperwork after the important meeting that Tseng had called all of the TURK agents into...all four of them. Elena sometimes felt like a member of a dying breed and wondered what would become of them when they were disbanded as she suspected they would be. After all, there were only three veteran members and herself as the newest recruit and she'd been there for five years with no efforts being made to recruit new agents.
She smiled at the pretty young Wutaian girl, "Morning Ming" she said in a friendly tone of voice.
"Morning Helen" she replied in a bored tone as she read the newspaper.
"Elena" she reminded her as she did every morning. "I'll have my usual please" she requested.
"Two medium double, doubles coming up" Ming said, finally looking at her.
"No, one large black coffee with a short of expresso and a medium triple, triple..." She reminded her and then realized that something had Ming's attention at how she stared behind Elena and Elena turned and was eye level with a wrinkled white shirt that was unbuttoned just enough to show off a hint of man cleavage.
"Morning Reno" Ming said in a breathless voice of awe as if addressing a Rockstar.
"Morning Ming" he said. "Elena" he added when she looked up past his chest and facial tattoos and looked into his grinning blue eyes.
"I'll have my usual" he said smiling at Ming in a flirtatious way as he looked over Elena's head. "That is..."
"A triple expresso cappuccino with extra foam and cinnamon sprinkles" Ming replied."Coming right up" she said writing his name on the cup and Elena couldn't help noticing she had added some hearts surrounding his name.
"Hey, I was here first" Elena objected."Aren't you going to make my order first?" She demanded of Ming.
"I'll have your order ready after this one. I know how badly Reno needs his caffeine in the mornings" she said glancing at him.
"I need mine too and the head of the TURKS does also" she objected.
"This won't take long and then I'll get you your order, Helen" Ming said in a frosty voice.
"Elena" she snapped back.
"Don't get so worked up, yo. It's only coffee" Reno chided her.
"The meeting's starting in the few minutes. Have you even been into the office yet?" She demanded of him, thinking about how her desk was completely prepared for the day, her lights and computer were on, her plants watered, her pencils freshly sharpened, her relevant files stacked on her desk to be tackled by importance and her salad stowed away in the fridge in the lunchroom.
"I need my coffee before I go into the office" he lied. Actually he had already been to his office and had had the greatest start to his day.
An Hour Earlier
Reno let himself into his office and frowned to find it already open and his light on. Scarlet sat on his desk.
"How did you get in?" He asked her, unsurprised to see her there.
"If you're going to teach me to pick locks, I'm going to use my newly acquired skills" she purred back, eyeing him in a hungry way.
"Oh and why are you here so early?" He asked shutting his door.
"I have an important package to deliver to you" she smoothly said.
"One that you couldn't have just left with reception?" He asked her, already knowing what she wanted.
"It's for your eyes only" she said handing him an envelope, he opened it to find a pair of black lace panties inside of it. He lifted the skirt of Scarlet's red dress to find her bare beneath. He smiled at her and undid his pants and stepped forward. She was already wet when he entered her and they fucked with abandonment on his desk with her seated on top of it with her legs lashed around him. Their coupling held no tenderness or finesse, she didn't want or need or want any from him, all she wanted was an almost brutal, mindless fuck filled with Gaia shattering orgasms that Reno never failed to deliver.
Afterwards, she put her panties back on. "Thanks" she said and left without a backwards glance. He wasn't insulted by how cold she was and detached after they had coupled, they weren't even emotionally involved. She got bored with fucking old men to get to the top and sought a firm young body and Reno was the perfect solution to this craving and very, very talent in bed or on desks.
The Present
Elena couldn't help examining him, he looked slightly more disheveled than usual somehow, his ever present goggles on his forehead just under his spiky hair and Elena shuddered to think that he went out of his way to create his nest of messy spikes. She'd seen him without them a couple of times when he was in the hospital; his hair was actually smooth and straight as his rattail. His uniform was unpressed as ever and jacket unzipped as usual. His wrinkled shirt although clean, had already become untucked on one side, making him look like he just rolled out of bed and his black tie was MIA. She didn't understand his need to look unkempt in so conservative a profession. Elena's uniform was neatly pressed and fit her perfectly, while his looked like it was two times too big for him.
"Here's your order" Ming said handing it to him.
"Thanks, you're an angel" he said and winked at her and she beamed at him.
"And here's yours" Ming said with less enthusiasm and Elena noticed both cups were labeled "Amanda" in Ming's distraction and frowned at this. "He's so handsome" she sighed to Reno's retreating back as he loped off in his usual disjointed way.
This gave Elena pause, never understanding why so many women seemed to find him irresistible. She thought him cute perhaps in a disheveled sort of way that she had never been attracted to.
She picked up her cups and followed him into the office and glared at his back when he didn't hold the door open for her and almost allowed it to close on her until she awkwardly placed one of the cups into the crook of her elbow to open the door. She followed the lumbering jackass into the conference room and Tseng looked significantly at the time to indicate they were late. He nodded gratefully to Elena when she set her coffee down and retreated to her usual seat and Reno sat down by Rude.
"Okay I need volunteers to become a married couple to infiltrate a popular honeymoon resort that Rufus believes is being used as a front for human trafficking" Tseng said and all the other TURKS looked at each other. They all quickly deduced that there were exactly three males there and one lone female if you included Tseng.
"Don't you mean posing as a married couple?" Elena asked him.
"No you would actually need be married. You would be using your legal names, which are untraceable to you as TURKS. It's easy to fake a marriage but it must be traceable on the marriage register to avoid suspicion. It would be just marriage of convenience and would be dissolved once you return from your fake four week honeymoon" Tseng explained.
"I ain't marrying a man" Rude insisted.
"Like I would want to be married to your brown ass even for a second. Perhaps you should bring in civilian women for this role because we're so limited? I would be happy to suggest a few" Reno suggested, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. Not volunteering of course.
"It wouldn't have to be sexual union, you would just share a bridal suite and act as a newly wedding couple while you investigate Rufus's information," Tseng said looking at each of them.
"A month seems excessive" Reno said. "Normally these things are handled within a couple of days."
"I want this to be thoroughly investigated; don't question my orders" Tseng snapped back at him.
"I'll do it, please pick me. I would love to marry you, Tseng" Elena enthused bouncing in her seat in excitement with her hand raised like a teacher's pet.
"Elena" he said and seemed to go pale under his golden skin at the idea.
"Being Elena Xu sounds so romantic, perhaps we wouldn't have to dissolve the marriage after the mission?" she enthused.
"I would volunteer for a mission of this importance but Rufus needs me in the office, so I accept you as the bride and my second in command shall be your groom" Tseng hastily added.
"Wait a second, I don't recall volunteering" Reno said shooting up to his feet.
"It's your duty as my second in command to take responsibility for missions I can't attend to myself" Tseng reminded him and he looked enraged at this.
"I don't want to be married to Reno" Elena said with so much horror in her voice that he felt offended.
"Okay, to be fair. Rude would you mind marrying either Reno or Elena?" he asked the sunglass wearing man.
"Oh I certainly would mind" Rude told them.
"I refuse" Elena said.
"You would disobey a direct order from me and face either being stripped of your rank or jail time?" Tseng asked her.
"I will do as you say" she said.
Reno's left eyelid was twitching at the idea however, "as second in command, I have a right to appoint another in my place and I chose Rude" he insisted.
"Sorry he's needed for another mission" Tseng said. "Come Rude, I'll brief you where you're going. Elena, Reno: you are to report to this address. They're a theatrical company who will handle your wedding and make it seem authentic.
"When shall that take place?" Elena asked him.
"Today, you both leave tomorrow morning" Tseng said with authority in his voice that brooked no argument, although he felt sympathy towards his colleagues, he was well aware of Elena's feeling towards him and didn't wish to encourage her. Then there was the other reason...
"I'm not going" Reno insisted.
"Oh you want to lose your position or face jail time, yo?" Tseng reminded him facetiously. "You cannot disobey a direct order from me" the taller man challenged as he stood before him
"Come on Reno, it'll be over before you know it" Elena said, softly touching his arm and leading the traumatized looking man out to her car, knowing he would be in no condition to drive. She didn't want to marry him anymore then he did her but she was going to do her job and would see he did his too as she drove them towards their unwanted fate.