ZakuReno - this story's really deviating from the original. I'm not sure where this is going. And it needs to get back on track soon.

Echo - That's why there's sunscreen. Unfortunately Reno never remembers. He'd be riddled with skin cancer if not for mako treatment.

Spazm - my writing has gotten a bit more stable since I wrote the first version. The first one was messy... and this one's a little less messy.

Chapter 6: Sunshine Waltz in Costa del Sol

Friday came faster than anyone expected, Reno included. He had gone to bed quite late on Thursday night, after getting in a fight with a slum gang in the streets that took a little longer than he expected to end. He then had to turn in the keys for the Shinra vehicles. By the time he got home, it was past two and all he wanted to do was crash. But then he needed to pack, and that had taken longer than he had expected, and by the time he crawled into bed it was four in the morning. He was asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow.

The next morning he woke up to the loud beeps, realised it was his phone, and then remembered that he had to be at the Shinra HQ by eight. He swore for a moment, then spent a minute trying to find a pair of trousers that weren't his uniform. After getting dressed - T shirt and jeans, comfortable shoes - he checked his belongings, then left his apartment, only to be joined by Arien down to the elevator. She looked extremely grouchy, her eyes closed and earphones in her ears as she leaned onto the wall, sunglasses hooked onto the neckline of her shirt. She had kept her coat front open.

"Wait a minute," he said, then realised Arien was not listening. He tapped on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, straightened, and then removed the earphones. "Do you live in this building?"

"Yes. Tseng moved me before I joined." She yawned, stretching.

"Huh." He noticed that Arien did not bother asking him whether he did as well, and wondered why. But she had put the headphones back in again. Reno zipped up his jacket front, buttoning the flap over as well. Midgar was in winter, and it'll be cold outside, although Costa del Sol never had winters. It'll be sweltering when they got to the lodge.

The rest of the trip was in silence. Arien continued to listen to music, and by the time they had arrived at the train station, Reno had pulled out his earphones as well. They stood by the door, the handles of their duffel bags hooked around their feet, leaning onto the glass panels.

The Shinra HQ station was one of the busiest stations in Midgar, and already a crowd was gathering behind them as the train slid into the platform. The two were in the lead as they stepped out and up the stairs. It was 7:48, and it took 5 minutes to walk from the station to the building. For the first time in his life, Reno was not going to be late to go to Hell Camp. He could not but wonder whether this was an omen or just coincidence, decided the entire matter to be inconsequential, and stopped thinking.

The trip to Costa was quiet and uneventful, for which the Turks were thankful. Reno fell asleep on the plane, and then continued to sleep in the car - Rude was driving - and Arien fell asleep as well. Tseng, who was sitting in the passenger seat, noticed the odd silence between the two who would usually bicker all the way, turned to see what was going on, and noticed them sleeping, falling over one another. Arien's head was on his shoulder, and Reno's arm was flung into her lap. Awake they would immediately turn into the agents that they were, but asleep, they looked oddly childish. Well, Reno was almost as if he had stopped growing around age eighteen - or perhaps he had, after the radiation - and Arien was no better. As soon as they woke up, the bickering would begin, and this innocence would disappear. But for now, Tseng supposed he could let them sleep, and enjoy the silent interlude once in a while.

The sun shone in the distance above the sea, making the water sparkle as the waves changed its shape from one moment to another. Tseng opened the window, letting the breeze come in. Yet another year was ending, and he hoped for yet another peaceful year. Losing the young Turks a few years before had been quite a blow to their egos, although he knew it was inevitable and could not be helped. At least it looked like this new one would be sticking around; she had not come in with high expectations of heroism. No, she had known what the Investigation Sector did.

It was the third day in Costa del Sol, and the training was in full session. Or, as Reno put, "shit was hitting the fan and about to get worse". Even Rude admitted that the training was intense. Arien thought she would die by the end of it. They were being tested to their maximum capacity, because, as Tseng said, they were severely undermanned and one would have to work for two. The Turks were used to pushing the limits, but the severe sun was robbing them of willpower and energy. What the three - and Tseng, in secret - wanted to do was throw a towel onto the sand and fall asleep.

And so four figures ran down the coast in the blazing sun on a Sunday morning. Long legs flexed and pumped, hair dancing in the wind. Sweat ran down the faces, decorating the skin with glistening beads of moisture. It was Wednesday, and if there was one thing all could agree on one thing, it was that this camp was hell. Reno was in the lead, sprinting rather than a jogging, earphones crammed into his ears. He ran without a shirt on, and sweat ran down in rivulets down his back. Morning runs were done early so that the blazing heat would come long after the run was over, and Reno often swam after the morning runs to cool down. It was far too hot to debate the appropriateness for running topless.

Next came Tseng, running at a steady pace; his shirt showed wet stains on the back. Arien followed, with ear buds in her ears, her hair whipping behind. Rude was last, in a white T shirt and light-coloured running shorts. He still had his sunglasses on. Their breaths were ragged, but they continued to run, their shoes kicking up the sand as the muscles pumped. They had a sparring session the day before, and the bruises were still fresh, and Arien fought the pain as she moved her legs. Reno had landed a kick on her thigh. She had retaliated - Tseng had noted to Rude that their sparring wasn't really any practice but two children fighting - but it was still painful.

Their quota was six miles, on a five minute mile. Reno finished first, as usual; he ripped off his headphones, pulling his shorts off as he ran, kicking off his shoes. He dived into the water without further ado, sinking and then floating, face up. Red hair stuck to his face.

Tseng came next, but he headed back to the cabin, taking gulps of water from the bottle as he went. Then Arien, who just turned on her heel and walked to the cabin. Rude followed suit, but reappeared moments later with Tseng, dressed in swimwear.

"Where's Arien?" Reno asked as the two men waded into the water. Rude shrugged. "Is she afraid of the water or something? I haven't seen her swim once."

Tseng slicked his hair back. "She is taking a shower," he said. "She'll be down for lunch. I believe she's doing work until then."

"She's working?!" gasped the redhead. "Is she crazy?"

"No, just diligent."

Reno snorted and began to wade out of the water. "Dude, we're in Hell Camp and she's working. I gotta stop this."

"Reno, don't…" Too late. He was already out of the water, striding purposefully up toward the lodge, his swimming trunks plastered wetly on his thighs. Tseng looked at Rude, who shrugged again, his expression illegible through the swimming goggles.

Arien was just about to get out of the shower when she heard a sharp rap on the door.

She cried "coming!", then wondered who on earth was hammering on the bathroom door to begin with. She had locked the door to her room, so either it was a burglar or some criminal equally intent on doing something that brought her only annoyance. She wrapped the towel firmly around her body, then patted silently across the bathroom, and flung the door open.

Unfortunately, Reno had sensed her coming and had taken a jump back. He stood, arms crossed, his hair wet and stuck to his scalp, feet apart.

Arien stared, then was about to close the door when Reno stuck his foot out. The two struggled for a moment, each trying to force the door to obey the will, until Arien felt her towel unravelling. She instinctively held the towel to her chest. Reno seized the chance and forced the door open.

"Nice view," he said with a smirk.

"What do you want?"

"Why aren't you swimmin'?" Reno asked.

"You got out of the water, walked across the beach and into the lodge just to ask that question?"

"Yeah. Why aren't you swimmin'?"

"I didn't bring a swimsuit, and I don't feel like buying it just to use it for a week… sir, please get your hand off me." She snatched her hand away from the doorframe, where Reno had also leaned on, his hand touching hers. His lips curved into a sneer.

"Someone's feelin' shy." He snickered. "C'mon, we're goin' shoppin'."

Arien rolled her eyes. "For what, may I ask?"

"A bathing suit? Unless you want to swim in your birthday suit. Not that I'd mind…"

"Why are you so intent on making me swim?"

Reno's face suddenly became serious. "Because," he said, each syllable deliberate, "you actually haven't rested. That, and you can use some fun. You seriously have a stick up your ass."

"That's really none of your business."

"All-right. I want to see you in a bathing suit." He suddenly took a step forward, making her step backward. Hairs dripped. "C'mon. Humour me."

"Is that an order, sir?"

"Sure, why not."

Arien subsequently kicked Reno out of her room with a promise that she'll come out as soon as she finished changing. By the time she came out, wringing out her wet hair and pinning it to her head with a clip, Reno was already waiting. He seemed to have collected what he had shed at the beach. He was also wearing a T shirt.

At least he's not wearing soggy swimmers, Arien thought. I really didn't know where to look.

Reno ushered her out and drove her - he had taken Tseng's car without asking - to one of the closest shopping centres. There, he picked out a swimsuit, which was promptly rejected by the woman who seemed far more interested in snorkels than swimsuits. After he repeatedly picked out grossly inappropriate swimwear and got them rejected, he finally brought a white and black one-piece that adequately covered the body.

"That one," she said with barely a glance.

Reno looked disgusted. "The beach's where the girls all shed to get the boys, and you're wearing this?!"

"I'm not trying to get anyone." She took the hanger from his hands, and marched off to the cashier. They returned to the beach, with Arien quiet and Reno commenting on all the ones that he had brought that she could have picked out instead. Finally, Arien, exasperated, broke his flow.

"First off, I can't wear most of the stuff you brought, because they'd fall off," she snapped. "They're for girls with bigger breasts. Second, I'd rather cover myself up than expose, so I won't wear bikinis. Third, why do you care?"

"Because I don't want to watch dudes in swimmers."

"Don't you have anything better to watch?"

"Not really, nope." He grinned as they slid into the parking space. Arien was already opening the door when Reno pulled on the brakes; she stepped out and walked away without a word of thanks, but Reno had a feeling that she was just dying to get away from him.

Of course, Reno didn't let her go without demanding reward for his efforts. He did not really give a damn that his efforts were extremely unappreciated, and had bugged her until she agreed - reluctantly - to take a swim in the water.

"All-right, all-right!" She said finally after Reno had demanded she take a swim. "I don't know why you're dying to make me swim. It's not part of the training."

"Call it an order from the boss."

"You aren't my boss," she retorted, but she got up anyway. "I'm changing. Get out."

"Aww…" He pouted, but Arien pushed him out of the room. The lodge had extremely thin walls; Reno could hear the cloth rubbing against cloth, the creak of the bed. And then the door opened. She had sunglasses on her nose as she stood in her swimsuit.

Reno grinned at her as Arien walked by, pointedly ignoring him. Her raven hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing heeled espadrilles that made her hips sway. They probably should have bought appropriate footwear along with swimwear, but neither of them had remembered. Well, Reno didn't mind. Nope, not at all.

After the swim, the Turks returned to the lodge.

Arien was making lunch - the four took turns making meals, except for Reno, since everyone knew he would probably set the lodge on fire instead of producing something edible - when Tseng came into the kitchen. Reno, who had been forced to help her out, was looking inside the fridge, and Arien was stirring something in the pan. She looked away from the stove just as Reno exclaimed, "A ha! Found it!". He then handed something to the woman, and saw Tseng standing in the doorway. "Yo, Boss."

"I just received communication from Rufus Shinra," Tseng started. Arien looked at him to indicate she was listening. "One of the research staff took off last night with the blueprint for the new CRX-17. The Section AA has been searching for them since, and I just received a report that the man is here in Costa del Sol."

"He tries to run away from the Shinra Company and decides to go to… where all the operatives are?" Arien asked. "Isn't that too fortuitous?"

"I believe he was not aware that we'd be here. Our objective is to retrieve the blueprints. Rufus would have sent someone else, since we are on leave, but unfortunately, as Arien said, all the operatives that can handle this matter are here for the next week. This is urgent. Classification S."

Reno, who was leaning onto the wall while listening, looked at Tseng. "So, who's going for this shit job?"

"You and Rude," he said.

"What!"

"Arien will be manning communications. The files are on your desktop. Make sure you do not fail. The blueprints cannot fall into the wrong hands. Is that clear?"

"Why ain't she goin'?" Reno ignored Tseng's question and jerked a thumb to the woman who was innocently using a pepper grinder.

"She already has close contacts with the Intelligence, and she is still new to the team. You will not expose the junior needlessly to danger, will you, Senior Agent?"

"Fine, fine! I'll do it! Jeez!" Reno grumbled. Tseng sighed as he left, wondering if those two would ever get along together. He was already hearing Reno telling her something about women making better baits for pasty nerds, and Arien retorting that Reno would make a far better bait if dressed properly. Those two seemed to pick fights just for the sake of it, and Tseng wondered - not for the first time - whether adding DeVir to the team was a good decision. But too late now, and apart from her constant arguments with the redhead, she indeed was a reliable operative, as Whistler had promised. He would just have to deal with it. But when forced to work together, the two did indeed work well together. So maybe the pair still had a shot.