Title: Boy Soldier
Author: Neldluva
Fandom: FFVII
Pairings: None, or lots, depending on how you look at it.
Rating: NC17
Don't read this if you don't like: Angst, sex (of the m/m and m/f sort), foul language, underage sex, questionable consent, masturbation, voyeurism (sort of), violence, blood, drug and alcohol use, prostitution
Disclaimer: Reno and FF7-verse are definitely not mine. Please don't sue, I have negative monies. The OC's are mine, though. Don't steal.
What you can expect from the fic overall: This is my version Reno's backstory, or how he got where he was in the various FF7 games and movies. It is a long, difficult journey, sometimes funny, sometimes sad. But hey, that's life.
What you can expect from this chapter: A reunion with an old friend. A sweet fluffy chapter for once
Author's note: In case you hadn't noticed, I really love Essie.
It took Reno an entire week to break out of the Turk headquarters. The interim … well, his most common complaint was that it was torture. The Turks seemed to want him at the same level in education with the rest of the candidates, which meant he had approximately ten years of schooling to get caught up on before he could participate in their classes. So it was reading and writing all morning with the lady Turk (he kept calling her Ms. Sadism, even after she told him her name was Venus), and math all afternoon with Tseng, who was just as strict as Venus was. The math actually wasn't that bad … the way the numbers fit together, adding and subtracting and multiplying logically, just worked in his head. But the reading and writing was pure torture. His writing never really improved from chicken scratch, and Venus made him bust his head over simple, boring books.
His spare time, when it wasn't spent eating or sleeping (both of which he did a great deal of), was spent attempting to escape. Though he didn't much like studying, he never planned to leave permanently … he just wanted a way out in case he needed one. That, and he was missing Essie terribly. He had to be sure she was okay after what had happened to the gang.
In the end, it was the air vents. He was still small and skinny enough to shimmy his way around inside, though it was dusty and there were sharp edges he had to watch for. Once he figured out he could fit in, he started exploring, looking for a way out that wasn't closely guarded.
That was how he came to be back in the slums, wearing clothing stolen off a guy he had mugged so he wouldn't have to wear his suit. He was still a little too clean to fit in as he used to, but it was good enough to pass. Hidden in his pockets was enough gil to buy a decent meal somewhere that wouldn't get you poisoned, the money he had liberated from his old clothes before they had been trashed. He walked with his head down, hands in his pockets, a hat on his head to hide most of his unruly red hair.
It took a good amount of wandering the streets to find Essie. She was on a corner far away from where the lair had been, leaning against a lamp post and waiting for a customer to approach. She straightened up when she saw him, though she didn't actually recognize him until he was close.
"Reno!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at him and hugging him tight. In her heels, she was several inches taller than he was, so he was shoved in the uncomfortable, hair-smelling gap between chin and shoulder. He sighed happily and hugged her back, tangling his fingers in her long, black hair.
"Where you been, yo?" she asked, backing off a little to look in his face. "You disappeared after Bones got wasted. No one could find you."
"Cuz I was livin' on the Plate, yo," he answered, pointing up. "C'mon, I'll get you somethin' to eat and tell you all about it." He reached down, squeezing tightly at her hand, and led her down the streets.
"On the Plate?" she asked incredulously. "How'd you get on the Plate?"
"Long story," he said, pulling her into one of the better restaurants and seating them at a table. Essie looked a little uncomfortable, straightening at her clothes and smoothing her hair. Reno sipped at the water that was brought, watching her. "I missed you, yo."
Essie nodded uncertainly, avoiding the waitress's eyes. "You sure we can afford this, yo?"
"Yeah, I've got plenty of gil," Reno said nonchalantly. "Anyway, they feed us real good, I ain't that hungry."
"So, where you been?" Essie asked, leaning forward and speaking quietly. "And why do they feed you good?"
Reno leaned in as well so they could have some privacy. "These guys called the Turks picked me up. I guess they saw me fightin' or somethin' and they want me to fight for them. They're sorta like SOLDIERs, only way better. They get to use guns and shit. And they work for ShinRa, so they have plenty of money to feed us. I even get a real bed all to myself, yo!"
Essie smiled, reaching over to squeeze his hand again. "That sounds real good, Reno. You happy?"
"Eh." He shrugged. "They're making me learn all this shit I don't really need, and that's sorta not cool, but mostly it ain't so bad. I gotta bunk with this kid, Jenkins, and he's all tall and brainy and shit, but he's okay. Everyone walks around with sticks up their asses, especially this Turk called Tseng, but I ain't gonna get like that, yo."
Essie smiled wider, making room for the food when it arrived. "I know you won't, Reno." She started eating, wolfing the food down with the same enthusiasm she had shown when first he had bought her that cheeseburger. Compared with the girls training for Turk, Essie was scrawny and dirty and unimpressive. Her clothes were all third-hand, ragged and stained, and he knew for a fact that her shoes didn't fit. She was a direct opposite to the clean-cut, shiny girls training for Turk, and he loved her for it.
"What about you, yo?" he asked, picking at his food. "Where you been? You okay?"
"Yeah," she said between bites. "I didn't care much about Bones, so I wasn't too messed up. I found some girls who have a room, and I'm stayin' with them for now. It probably ain't anything like what you've got, but the rats ain't too bad and it's got a john, so it's good for me, yo."
"That's good," Reno said, smiling back at her. "So you're okay?"
"Yeah, Reno, I'm fine." She looked up at him, wiping at her mouth with the napkin. "Don't worry about me."
Reno pushed his plate over to her side of the table so she could eat his untouched food. "I was thinkin' … maybe you could come be a Turk with me. Y'know, and get a bed and real food and shit."
Essie looked up from Reno's food, looking hard at him. "An' have to shoot people up? Nah, that's not for me, yo. I'm fine out here, I promise. I've got the girls to look after me, and I don't have to answer to Bones. I'm cool, yo."
Reno frowned a little and picked at the table. "Okay … I just hate not bein' here to watch out for you, Es. I mean, I can sneak out and come see you like this, but it'll only be once in a while, yo."
"I know, Reno," Essie said with a sigh. "But you're gonna be good at this, yo. You already don't look as skinny, they're treatin' you real good. An' I can take care of myself, don't you worry."
Reno nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. Just be careful, yo."
Essie stood up, smoothing her clothes into place and smiling at him. "I will. You gonna hug me goodbye, Turk boy?"
Reno stood, wrapping his arms tight around her waist and nestling his nose against her neck. "Bye, Es. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay, I'll be lookin' for you, yo." She kissed his cheek lightly, right beneath the red mark on his cheekbone. "Adios, corazόn."
With that, she walked out of the restaurant, swaying a little in her heels. With a quiet sigh, Reno left through the other door and made his way back to the Plate and the Turk headquarters.
"Yes, Tseng, what is it?"
"It's about the new boy, sir, Reno. He … escaped last night."
"Escaped? How did he escape? Have we brought him back yet?"
"He returned on his own, sir. It appears he used the air ducts to exit the building and go back to the slums, where he met with a prostitute."
Veld raised his eyebrows. Apparently he kid hadn't been lying about wanting sex. "A prostitute? And what did he do with her? Who is she?"
"We are uncertain, sir. Though research has speculated that she might be a girl from a missing persons' report filed several years ago, a certain Esperanza Ruiz, known as Essie on the streets. And Reno didn't do anything with her, apart from treat her to dinner."
"Hmm," Veld said thoughtfully. "An old friend, I suppose. Will her guardians care that this missing person has been found?"
"Doubtful, sir," Tseng said with a small frown. "The father was incarcerated for murdering his wife just after the report was filed. But sir, aren't you concerned about Reno escaping?"
"Not at all, Tseng," Veld replied easily. "It just proves to me how valuable this boy may be to us. After all, if he can break into and out of Turk headquarters, then he has a head for this sort of thing. You have been tutoring him, haven't you? How is he performing?"
"Surprisingly well, sir, at least in mathematics. The topic comes easily to him. He is having more of a problem with reading and writing, though Venus assures me that he will improve over time."
"Hmm," Veld hummed again. "How is research coming on his origins?"
"Still unknown, sir. It's almost as if the boy appeared out of nowhere. There's no record of birth, not even a last name. We've found no matches for his genetics in our database. There is some speculation that he is at least partially Wutainese in origin, but I am skeptical on that, sir."
Veld smiled slightly. "You would be. Thank you for the update, Tseng. Be sure to keep me posted on any new developments with the boy."
"Sir," Tseng said with a bow, leaving the office.