Death and implied underage sex (abuse) warning.
Those who survived Mideel being swallowed by the Lifestream stayed on the island. They set up a little tent city close to the beach where their fishing boats were and called it both "home" and "Mideel". No one went near the site of the old Mideel. Lifestream still bubbled up through the grass there sometimes. One day a child found a puddle of Lifestream that looked like black sludge. After that day everyone moved as far away from the old Mideel site as they could.
The Lifestream was bubbling and churning now. The earth trembled but only a Cetra could feel it shudder. Out of the bright emerald liquid of the Lifestream a bubble of black sludge arose. The bubble rolled lazily out of the Lifestream and across the grass. It popped, depositing a baby into the grass. A baby with a tuft of silver hair and bright green eyes.
It was cold but the baby didn't notice. He just stared up at the sky, kicking his legs once in a while.
"Lozzzzz…" A female voice whispered in the baby's mind.
While the Turks were eating at a modest little restaurant beside the lavish one Palmer had reservations at Reno got a call from the pilot of the Gelnika II. Apparently their storage fuel tanks had sprung a leak so they had no reserves to refuel the plan on. So, with what little fuel they had left, they were going to fly to Rocket Town and refuel there. They were probably going to fix the storage tanks too. So in short the Turks were stuck in Wutai until morning.
"Great." Elena said when Reno hung up.
"Hey, it's not so bad." Reno replied. "We have plenty of mission money left and Wutai has some awesome hot springs."
Elena nodded and sighed softly. It felt kind of weird being here. Tseng had been born here. Johnny finished off his dumplings and patted his full stomach. Authentic Wutain food was way better than the stuff Reno ordered in Junon.
Once everyone was done Reno paid the check and they all pitched in to leave their waiter a generous tip.
"Okay. Let's go find a place to stay."
Reno was determined to stay at a hotel that had real hot springs. He dragged them all over Wutai until someone finally told him there was a hotel at the base of Da-chao Mountain that had hot springs. Real ones. They got directions and found the hotel with no problem.
"I'm surprised Fatman didn't book a room here." Reno said.
"Maybe he's just not a natural hot spring fanatic." Elena replied.
Reno glared at Elena, the woman smirked back, Johnny and Rude exchanged glances. Reno made his way to the front desk and got a price quote. After that he walked back to his comrades.
"We can only afford to give up enough money for two rooms." He said.
"I'm not bunking with you." Elena replied.
"Fine with me. I'll bunk with Johnny." Reno glanced at the brunette, "If that's okay."
"It's fine." Johnny replied.
"You know he's just going to molest you." Elena said to Johnny.
Reno feigned surprise and hurt, "Why Elena, how could you say such a thing? I would never molest Johnny…without his permission."
Elena shook her head in disgust. Rude and Johnny just smirked. The redhead grinned widely and returned to the front desk to book two rooms. The clerk gave him the keys and Reno returned to his fellow Turks, giving Elena and Rude their keys.
"Let's get our gear put away then we'll go scope out these 'Jacuzzi rooms'."
The foursome made their way down the hall to find their rooms. They soon discovered they were right across from each other.
"Try not to make him howl too loudly, Reno." Elena said, unlocking her door and heading inside.
"Suck my balls." Reno muttered.
"What was that?"
"I said, suck my balls!"
Elena shot Reno a dirty look, Johnny blushed, and Rude was already in "my friends currently don't exist" land.
"Let's just…check out the room, Reno." Johnny said, smiling shyly.
Reno smirked and unlocked the door, going inside. Elena sighed and walked into her room, Rude following behind her.
"Oh look, only one bed." Reno grinned.
Johnny chuckled and shook his head, "Reno…?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry if this is a personal question but do you…not like Elena?"
The man laughed, "I can see why you'd ask that and the answer is I do like her. Elena may dislike me a little bit but we're still friends. We just like to give each other a hard time."
"Oh. All right." Johnny replied with a nod.
"It's when Elena and I are giving each other the silent treatment that you should worry. Honestly I think Elena and I have a little mix of masochist and sadist in us."
Johnny laughed lightly and nodded, setting his duffel bag in a chair.
"Don't bother unpacking. We won't be here long enough."
"Okay."
Reno hefted his bag onto the bed and the pair left their room. They met Elena and Rude outside and headed for Palmer's hotel.
"Stop." Reno held his hand up. "Fatman is leaving the hotel."
The Turks slipped into the darkness of a side alley and watched as Palmer left the hotel and waddled off.
"Y'know…it looks like Palmer's gotten chubbier." Elena remarked.
"Must be all that rich food he's buying with Rufus' money." Reno replied.
"Don't forget all those fancy, imported beers he's been buying." Rude said.
"He's damn lucky Rufus is too weak to move." Elena said. "Otherwise the President probably would have taken care of Palmer himself."
"Enough chat. Let's get a move on." Reno ordered.
The redhead made sure Palmer was out of sight before he left the side alley and headed for the hotel. Elena, Johnny, and Rude followed after him. Reno entered the hotel to see that the male clerk was nowhere in sight. Instead a female clerk was sitting behind the desk.
Can't spare anymore money. Gotta think fast.
"Good evening madam." Reno smiled charmingly at the clerk. "My associates and I are scouting hotels for our boss. He will be here on business next week."
Rude, Elena, and Johnny stepped up behind Reno. The clerk looked them over and nodded.
Heh. People will believe anyone in a suit.
"Our boss loves to relax in a Jacuzzi after a long day and we've heard that your facilities are the best. Could we possibly get a tour?"
The woman grinned broadly, "Yes, yes of course! Follow me right this way! MEIKO! Come watch the front desk while I give these nice people a tour!"
And people will bend over backwards for you if you're rich…or they think you are…
As the clerk lead them through the hotel Elena moved to walk beside Reno.
"Posing as someone else instead of just sneaking over the fence? This is not like you, Reno." She whispered.
"Well since I ordered Johnny to intimidate the other clerk I figured hotel security would be stepped up and… voila…" He nodded at two security personnel. "Couldn't afford to be caught."
"And what about tonight?"
"Security will have calmed by then. Trust me."
"Here we are." The clerk said.
She had lead them into a huge, open courtyard dotted with what looked like tiny houses. Reno peered into one of the "tiny house"'s windows to see a hot tub inside.
"So their Jacuzzi rooms are actually Jacuzzi…houses." Johnny murmured to him.
Reno nodded and looked the building over, memorizing its details.
"Oh these are the facilities for our more… common guests." The woman said. "Our V.I.P. facility is this way."
The female clerk led them down a path to the center of the courtyard. A bigger 'room' lay here. Reno smirked. This was definitely something Palmer would book.
"Besides the hot tub our V.I.P. room features a sauna and a mini bar." The hostess babbled on.
Reno looked the building over then looked at its surroundings, logging everything away in his mind. Once the clerk was done with her little speech Reno thanked her for the tour and the Turks left.
"All right. Back to the hotel, get drinks, and discuss what we observed." Reno said.
Still on the lookout for Palmer the Turks walked back to their hotel and got a table at the "Water Stone Bar". They ordered beer and talked while they waited.
"So? What'd we learn…Rude?"
"The V.I.P. Jacuzzi room, Palmer's most likely choice, has two exits. One in the sauna and one in the actual hot tub room. The commons only have one exit."
"Elena?"
"The V.I.P. building has four windows and the commons have two. It doesn't matter which way Palmer is facing. We will always have at least one window to look through undetected."
"Johnny?"
"The entire courtyard is surrounded by chain link fence with barbed wire curved outwards along the top. However there is a hole in the fence big enough for us to squeeze through behind 'common' Jacuzzi room number five."
"And what did you learn Reno?" Elena asked.
"With coworkers like you I won't need to lift a finger."
"Gee, I feel special."
"And you should."
The banter probably would have continued had the bar hostess not brought their drinks. Johnny twisted the cap off his beer then froze slightly. There was a hand on his thigh. Reno's hand. Rude held his beer up and Elena and Reno clinked their bottles against his.
"Cheers." Reno said, sipping his beer.
Rude looked expectantly at Johnny, "You too, rookie. Don't be shy."
"Oh!" Johnny blushed, breaking himself out of his freeze. "Sorry…!"
Johnny clinked his beer against Rude's while his other hand smacked Reno's wandering hand. The redhead chuckled and Elena gave him the eye. He grinned at her and slung one arm around Johnny's shoulders.
"Must you always manhandle the rookie?" She asked.
"Does it bother you, Johnny?" Reno replied, looking at Johnny.
As long as it's above the waist right now… "No."
"Sorry Elena. You lose."
"Jackass."
"Thank-you."
After that the Turks finished off their drinks in peace. Reno wanted to order more but Rufus would barbecue his ass if he got drunk on the job. And so the only thing to do was to go back to their rooms and wait until ten o'clock.
How boring. But…then again… Reno admired Johnny's backside as he followed the brunette down the hall, I'm sure I can think of some way to entertain myself…
Elena cast a sympathetic glance at Johnny as she and Rude headed into their room.
"Don't feel too sorry for him, Elena." Rude said. "Reno doesn't do anything that the other person doesn't want."
"But still…who'd want to be touched by Reno?" She joked.
"So…" Reno sat on the bed. "Where were you born?"
"Sector 6 slums." Johnny replied. "You?"
"The town under Junon. No one remembers its name anymore. Not even me. Got any living relatives?"
"Yeah. My mom and my little brother live in Kalm. I sent them there the minute I had saved up enough money. The Midgar slums aren't safe for a widow and her eight year old son. What about you? Have a mom?"
Reno shook his head, "Dad died in the War on Wutai. Mom and older sister died when dangerous amounts of Mako leaked into the drinking water. Myself and three other kids were the only ones that survived that…"
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"I got over it…eventually…"
"My father died in the War on Wutai too."
The redhead nodded, "A lot of fathers did."
"That was the one thing I'll never understand. All these soldiers fall. They send Sephiroth in and he decimates all of Wutai…by himself in a span of two hours. Why didn't they just send him in first?"
"I dunno." Reno replied. "I never understood that either."
Johnny looked at the clock. It was eight o'clock. They had two hours to kill.
"Nervous about your first hit?" His boss asked.
"Yeah."
"Don't be. Rude and I will hold your hand through the whole thing. Metaphorically of course…"
Johnny smiled and Reno got his nightstick out. Some of Johnny's blood was dried on the tip. The redhead pulled a cloth out and cleaned the blood off.
"How's your cheekbone?"
"All better." Johnny replied.
The brunette froze slightly as Reno leaned in close and examined him.
"Hmn…"
Johnny shivered as one of Reno's fingers traced over his cheekbone.
"I can see a very thing, white scar. It'll probably fade in time…"
"It's all right. I have scars other places."
"Anywhere interesting?" Reno grinned.
Johnny chuckled softly, "I have a scar on my right shoulder blade, right hip bone, and my left kneecap."
"Battle scars, huh?"
"Yeah except for the one on my kneecap. That's a basic training scar."
"Can I see 'em?"
"Maybe later." Johnny smirked.
Reno smirked back, "I'll hold you to that."
"Do you have any scars, Reno?"
"Yeah. I've got a healed over bullet hole in my shoulder. That's all though."
"So…these are tattoos?" Johnny ran the tip of his finger along one of the markings on Reno's face.
"Yeah. Got 'em when I was drunk, decided they looked cool when I sobered up so…I kept 'em."
"They suit you…" He traced the other mark.
"Thank-you."
Johnny sat on the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. Reno grinned slightly. The brunette was still nervous.
"You'll do fine, Johnny."
--------------------------------
Once ten o'clock rolled around Reno was outside smoking. Johnny was going through his gear. There was a knock at the door. The brunette got up and swung the door open. Rude was standing there.
"Time to go." He said.
Johnny nodded. Reno re-entered the room and picked his nightstick up.
"Bring rubber, a tarp, NVG(1), and shovels. Tell Elena too." He said.
The taller man nodded and walked off. Johnny looked at Reno, confused.
"Bring rubber means rubber boots and gloves. They're in with your gear." Reno explained.
"Oh."
Johnny and Reno dug what they needed out of their bags and then they were on their way.
The sun had set long ago. The street lights burned dimly and the paper lanterns that nearly every building had cast colored light over the ground.
"Wutai is beautiful at night…" Elena murmured, watching the distant crowds in the marketplace.
"Focus Elena. You can get all femmy and sappy later." Reno said.
Reno grunted when Elena punched him sharply in the kidneys. "What did I tell you about being a sexist pig?"
Johnny looked at Rude, wide-eyed. Rude just smiled and shrugged. He was used to Reno and Elena beating on each other. The redhead straightened his coat and headed for Palmer's hotel. He knew ignoring Elena's outburst would piss her right off. It did. She stormed after Reno, Rude and Johnny followed.
As Reno had earlier predicted hotel security was now rather calm and lax. There had been one guard patrolling the lobby and no one was guarding the nearly dark courtyard. Elena perched her NVG up on her head.
"Not one guard or floodlight. I'm…amazed." She whispered.
"I'm not." Rude said. "This is the time of night when the CEOs are all having sex with their prostitutes in the hot tub. The hotel wants their clients to feel like they have privacy…"
"So that probably means there's no night vision cameras hanging around either." Elena replied.
"Doubt it. Lots of important people check in here. They don't want anything incriminating on tape so the hotel bends to their will and doesn't put up cameras."
The Turks crept quietly along the fence. They found the hole Johnny had seen earlier and squeezed through. Four of the 'common' Jacuzzi rooms seemed to be in use. They checked them all. Just as Rude said before…CEOs and their hookers. No Palmer. They stayed in the shadows and headed down towards the V.I.P. room. They reached the larger room in time to see Palmer enter it. Elena made her way to the nearest window and peered in. A small surprised noise sounded in her throat.
"Do you…see what I see?" She frowned.
"Four girls…no older than ten in the hot tub…" Reno murmured. "Palmer youdisgusting perv. Rubber boots and gloves on. Elena, you and Johnny go in through the main entrance, Rude and I will go in through the sauna."
The Turks nodded and put their rubber boots and gloves on.
"Reno." Rude said.
"Yeah?"
"Unhook your nightstick from your wrist."
"Heh…oops…" Reno grinned and unstrapped his weapon.
"You're going to electrocute yourself one of these days you dumb fuck." Rude chuckled.
"Just be ready with a Phoenix Down when I do." The redhead replied. "Come on. Let's go."
The Turks split off and headed for their assigned entrance. They timed their entrance perfectly. Not even a few seconds after Johnny and Elena burst through the main entrance Reno and Rude came in through the sauna. Palmer and the girls jumped and the man immediately started babbling.
"Rude, hold the pervert down." Reno ordered.
Rude nodded and swiftly walked up behind Palmer. He set his hands on the man's shoulders, holding him in a sitting position in the water. Elena was already helping the girls out of the hot tub, not really caring that she was getting soaked.
"Elena…take them out of here."
Elena nodded. She wrapped each girl in a towel before leading them out.
"Screwing little girls, Palmer?" Reno shook his head. "That's sick. Just fucking sick…"
Rude made a noise of disgust/agreement in his throat. Reno leaned against the edge of the Jacuzzi.
"There was always something intensely creepy about you, Fatman. I just couldn't figure it out until now. You're a pedophile. Not only will Rufus be happy when I kill you…the world will be a safer place for little girls."
"Reno please…" Palmer whimpered. "Remember I-I gave you half of the four thousand gil I stole from Scarlet's account!"
The redhead laughed, "My loyalty to Rufus cannot be derailed by the fact you gave me chump change from some dumb skank's account a year ago! Rufus wants you dead so I'm gonna kill you."
Johnny nearly winced as Reno smacked Palmer across the face with his nightstick. The man whimpered and tried to move but Rude held him down more firmly, his gloved fingers digging into Palmer's flesh. If Rude didn't want you to move…you didn't.
"Come here, Johnny." Reno said.
Johnny walked over and stood facing Reno. The older man whirled Johnny around and pulled the brunette against him tightly.
"We're going to pop another cherry, rookie. You're going to help me end his miserable life."
Johnny nodded.
"Put your hand on mine."
The brunette did so and he and Reno submerged the end of the redhead's nightstick into the hot tub. Palmer whimpered and tried to wiggle away from Rude again. The redhead pressed a button on his nightstick then slid it forward, turning the electricity up as high as it would go. Rude let go of Palmer a few seconds before the powerful electric current ripped through the water. Reno's free arm encircled Johnny's waist and the Turks watched as Palmer flailed about in the electrified water like some kind of grotesque bath toy. Once smoke started to rise from Palmer's skin Reno slid the button back into its original place and released it. The electricity died off and Palmer slumped forward, floating face down in the hot tub.
"If you have to toss your cookies no one will think less of you." Reno whispered into Johnny's ear.
The redhead released Johnny and made his way over to Rude.
"Drain the hot tub and bring in a tarp. I want to get Palmer buried before the sun rises."
Rude nodded and went about draining the hot tub.
"Get me a tarp, Johnny. There's one outside."
Johnny nodded then stopped short. "Rude?"
"Yes?"
"Where do you think…those girls came from?"
"I don't know. Elena will find out probably. I can't see her just letting something like that go."
The brunette nodded slowly and went outside. Reno was standing in the dark, having a smoke. All Johnny could see was the cigarette's glowing end.
"How're you doing, rookie?"
"Better than I thought I would be." Johnny saw a folded green tarp on the ground and picked it up.
"You're fairing well." Reno said. "I think you'll make a fine Turks."
"Thank-you…"
Johnny returned to the hot tub which was almost drained. All the water was running into a drain in the center of the room.
"Unfold the tarp and lay it down there."
Johnny did as Rude asked. Reno re-entered the room just as the water finished draining.
"I'm a dumb fuck." Reno said. "We should've taken fatass out of the tub before we drained it."
"Yeah. I thought of that when it was too late." Rude replied.
Johnny scratched the back of his head. He hadn't thought of that at all.
"Well…looks like we're going to get dirty, boys." Reno said, nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Great." Rude replied.
Rude, Reno and Johnny spent the next forty minutes hefting and rolling Palmer's body out of the Jacuzzi. They nearly dropped it once and Johnny was turning greener and greener. They finally managed to set Palmer on the tarp and Johnny ran outside to vomit into the bushes. Elena patted him on the back gently as she passed by and entered the Jacuzzi room.
"Help Rude roll Palmer up." Reno said.
Elena nodded and went to help. Reno went about the task of cleaning the hot tub out and getting it set up again. The hose the staff used to fill the hot tub was in a locked compartment but Elena briefly stopped helping Rude to pick the lock for Reno. Palmer was wrapped and ready to go and Reno was filling the hot tub when Johnny walked back in. Elena smirked and handed him a stick of gum which he chewed eagerly, grateful to get the icky taste out of his mouth.
"You did well." She said, smiling lightly.
"Thanks." Johnny nodded.
"I found Palmer's room key. I'm going to get his stuff and check him out." Rude said.
"Your voice is too deep to be Palmer's. Take Elena with you and have her use her man voice to phone the front desk."
"My man voice is an imitation of you y'know." Elena grinned.
"I realize that thank-you." Reno replied.
Elena chuckled and she and Rude set off to get Palmer's stuff and check him out.
"Someone is going to get a slimy, cold surprise when they use this tub but at least it doesn't have chunkies of flesh floating in it…"
Reno put the hose away and made sure the compartment locked again.
"Okay. We've got everything we need. Let's go."
Reno took one end of the tarp and Johnny took the other. They grunted and groaned and moved the body outside.
"We're going to have to cut a damn huge hole in the fence to get him through…" Reno muttered.
They picked up the body again and headed back to the hole in the fence. It was really dark and neither was wearing their NVG so they kept tripping over things, but they made it. Reno was using his wire cutters to widen the hole in the fence when Elena and Rude joined them.
"We checked Palmer out and took all his stuff." Elena said. "Rude has Palmer's account card. Rufus can drain what's left of his money out of the account."
Reno nodded and they squeezed Palmer's wrapped up body through the hole in the fence. The man's large body was easier to carry with four people and they headed into the woods behind the hotel.
"Thank god they constructed a little forest behind their hotel. I really didn't want to walk to the edge of town with Fatman." Reno grumbled.
Rude pulled two shovels from his bag and he and Johnny set to work digging. They took turns digging until they had a fairly large and deep hole. They rolled Palmer's body into it then dumped all his belongings on top of him.
"Fucking pedophile." Reno muttered as he started to fill the hole.
It was nearly one in the morning by the time the hole was filled, the dirt patted down, and the fake slabs of grass put back and neatly pressed together. However their effort was worth it. It didn't look like the dirt had been disturbed at all.
They trudged back to their hotel, sore and dirty.
"Ah yes…the wonders of being a Turks." Elena sighed ever-so-sarcastically.
"Now do you see why I chose a hotel with hot springs?" Reno grinned.
Everyone walked back to their room and Reno showed Johnny his 'laundry baggie'.
"Just shove your dirty suit and gear in here." He said, handing Johnny the big, plastic baggie. "There's a back-up suit in your duffel bag. You'll have to clean your other one when you have time."
Johnny nodded and took his baggie from Reno. He took all of his gadgets and other things out of his pockets before shrugging off his muddy coat and dropping it into the baggie.
"Since we're getting half naked…can I see your scars?"
Johnny smiled crookedly and nodded. "Sure. Come here."
Reno pulled his coat off and started unbuttoning his shirt as he walked over to Johnny. The brunette unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off his shoulders.
"There's a scar on my right shoulder blade. It's not very visible though…"
Reno leaned in close. There was a long white scar curved along Johnny's shoulder blade. "Yeah, I see it. Want to see my bullet hole?"
"Sure."
Johnny turned and Reno showed the man his only battle scar.
"Some fanatic shot at Rufus and I took the bullet. They had to dig it out of my shoulder."
The brunette examined the circle of ridged flesh on Reno's shoulder. "It looks…neat."
Reno chuckled, "Thanks."
Johnny blushed slightly as he and Reno removed their pants.
"Better get used to seein' me in my underwear, rookie." Reno teased.
Johnny laughed then pointed to a small, yet visible scar on his kneecap. "That's the scar I got from basic training. I fell on the obstacle course."
The blush on Johnny's cheeks intensified as Reno stepped close and hooked one finger into the band of his underwear, pulling them down just far enough to see the scar on his hip bone.
"This one is fading." Reno murmured.
"Yeah."
Reno released Johnny's underwear and sat on the bed to pull his socks off. Johnny headed to his duffel bag.
"If you're coming in the hot springs don't get dressed yet." Reno said. "They always forget to pack us swimsuits. We gotta sit around in our underwear."
"Guess I'll have to remember to always wear underwear." Johnny muttered before he could stop himself.
Reno laughed, "That's a sexy mental image, Johnny."
"Shut up." Johnny blushed.
The redhead laughed again. "Come on. I need a soak."
Johnny nodded. He pulled his socks off and followed Reno out into the hallway. The brunette was glad it was so late. There were no other guests up and about to see them running around in their underwear. Elena and Rude emerged from their room in their underwear too. Elena was wearing a baggy shirt that covered her though.
"You're a pussy, Elena." Reno teased.
The woman smirked, "Suck my non-existent balls, Reno."
"Maybe later."
Elena laughed and set off down the hall. The three men followed her outside. They had to climb a small set of stairs carved into the side of the mountain before they reached a fenced-in, well-lit area. Reno stuck his toe in the nearest hot spring and grinned.
"Oh yeah, baby. Heaven."
The redhead slipped into the spring and sat down with a long sigh. Elena joined him shortly after. Johnny dipped his toe in then joined his comrades, sitting on Reno's other side. Rude sat on the edge of the hot spring with his feet dangling in the hot water.
"Don't be a pussy, Rude. Get in." Reno smirked.
Rude didn't reply…verbally anyway. Instead he extended his middle finger, briefly flipping Reno off. Johnny smiled crookedly. He noticed that Rude was still wearing his sunglasses.
I guess that answers my earlier question about if he wears them at night…
Elena wet her hair then leaned back with a content sigh. "Okay, I admit it…it was worth you dragging us all around town."
"I rock." Reno replied smugly.
Once Rude got used to the temperature he joined his friends in the water. Johnny felt much better than he did before. He felt the tension and ache in his muscles melt away.
"So Elena…where'd Palmer pick the kiddies up from?" Reno asked.
"The girls told me that he 'rented' them from their orphanage. Said that their matron has 'rented' them out to quite a few people before. Can you believe that? Bloody disgusting. I dropped them off at a Temple where they'd be safe…then I went to the orphanage and threatened to blow the matron away."
"Think she got the point?" Rude asked.
"She had better of." Elena replied. "I'm taking my vacation days to come back here and check up on her."
"Fight the good fight, princess." Reno smirked.
Elena chuckled and splashed the redhead slightly. After that the Turks slipped into a comfortable silence and they sat there enjoying the hot spring and the quiet night.
Rude was the first one to head off to bed. He didn't like to get pruney. It was some quirk he'd had since he was a kid. Elena was the next to leave. She had been dozing off right there in the water.
"So? What'd you think of your first day as a Turks?" Reno asked.
"It was…interesting. Certainly an emotional rollercoaster."
"I think you'll do well, Johnny."
"Thank-you."
Johnny wet his hair and slicked it back. Reno took his goggles off and unbound his ponytail.
"Damn…haven't done that in a while." He smirked, setting his goggles and hair elastic at the edge of the spring.
Reno submerged himself completely underwater, feeling the small current run through his hair. The redhead surfaced and slicked his hair back before leaning against the edge of the spring.
"Well…I'm going to head back to the room."
Reno nodded and Johnny got out of the water. He shivered. It was chilly being out of the water. The brunette headed back to the room he shared with Reno.
The redhead stayed in the water for twenty minutes before he finally willed himself to move. He probably could've just slept there but he didn't want to pass up a chance to bunk with Johnny. Reno picked up his goggles and put his hair elastic back in before getting out of the spring and heading back into the hotel. He entered their room. It was dark but there was a light on in the bathroom. The bathroom door was open just slightly and Reno peeked into to see Johnny standing at the sink brushing his teeth…completely naked.
Damn former President Shin-Ra and his 'no humping while on duty' rule. Maybe I can convince Rufus to throw his old man's rule out…
Reno retreated to his duffel bag before he was caught staring. He found a clean and dry pair of underwear in his bag and pulled them out.
"Just about done in there?" He asked.
"Y-yeah." Johnny replied, sounding embarrassed.
A few minutes later Johnny emerged from the bathroom in his own pair of clean underwear. Reno was slightly disappointed but didn't let it show.
Oh well. At least I got to see his lovely ass…
"Bathroom is all yours."
"Thanks."
Reno entered the washroom and peeled his wet boxers off. He dried off and changed. The redhead took the toothbrush that was packed for him out of its plastic wrapping and brushed his teeth. With a yawn Reno exited the bathroom, turning the light off. Johnny left the curtains open so the room was bathed in grey moonlight. The redhead slipped into bed and yawned again. He looked Johnny over. The brunette was lying on his side, facing away from him.
"Hey Johnny…"
"Mmn?"
"Want to be all domestic like and spoon?"
Johnny smiled softly, "Sure."
Reno smirked and pulled Johnny close to him, spooning against the younger man. He decided to press his luck and gently ran his hand down Johnny's abdomen. The brunette's hand settled on top of Reno's. The man expected Johnny to stop him, not slide his hand further downwards. Reno forced himself to stop once his fingertips brushed against the band of Johnny's boxer briefs.
"Reno…"
Bloody hell… Reno bit into his lip harshly and he ignored the throb between his legs that answered Johnny's whimper.
"Sorry rookie…" The redhead murmured. "Can't hump while we're on duty. I don't know why…guess if you're thinking about the great sex you had last night instead of the job that can distract you…"
Johnny laughed softly. "So what were you doing exactly?"
"Leading you on…" Reno grinned. "Actually I just wanted to see what you'd do. I expected you to stop me."
"Then you need to learn more about me…boss."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Perhaps."
"Hmn." The redhead smirked and gave Johnny's ear a none-too-gentle nip. "Remember that whimper for when we're off duty. That was hot."
Johnny laughed softly. "I'll remember. Goodnight Reno."
"Night Johnny."
Johnny slowly closed his eyes, his hand still settled on top of Reno's. The redhead gently dug his fingernails into Johnny's flesh before dozing off himself.
TBC
(1)NVG Night Vision Goggles.
Wow. Long chapter… ;; I hit a wall a few times while writing this chapter but Kenji helped me get through it. So thanks to Kenji (smooch) R&R Please :).
Author's notes:
Q: Is Reno sexist?
A: No, he's not. He said this: "Focus Elena. You can get all femmy and sappy later." just to piss Elena off (it worked XD;) and this "My loyalty to Rufus cannot be derailed by the fact you gave me chump change from some dumb skank's account a year ago!" is just his opinion of Scarlet, not women in general.
Palmer's death: The only thing I know about death by water and electricity is what I've seen in the movies. So if wearing heavy duty rubber gloves and boots wouldn't protect the Turks from electrocution I apologize for my lack of knowledge and hope that you can put reality on hold for that scene.
Loz: I read as much material as I could on Advent Children and no one seems to (for sure) know where the SHM came from and where they were for 2 years. What happened at the beginning of the fic is just my theory. It's not official or anything. And yes, I know Loz isn't two years old. He's going to age more rapidly since he isn't human.