Title: Boy Soldier

Author: Neldluva 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: The shit hath hitteth the fan … eth.

Author's note: Please don't hurt me too bad…

When the higher-ups of the Turks said "extended mission," they meantextended mission. Reno and Rude didn't return to Midgar for four months, and they were both eager to get away from the spying and the secrecy and the humidity. Reno was particularly twitchy on the way back. He had barely stopped thinking about Essie the entire time he had been in Wutai, and there was a small ring sitting heavy in his pocket, waiting for her. If he was going to go through with what he wanted to do, he was going to do it right.

"You okay, partner?" Rude asked, noticing yet another twitch.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Reno replied, though he kept tapping at his armrest and chewing in his lip.

"Ready to get back to your girl?"

"Yeah, definitely." Reno stilled for a moment, smiling dreamily. "She'll like it, right?"

"She'll like it, don't worry. Should I drop you off in Sector 7?"

"If you wouldn't mind, yo." Reno fluffed nervously at his hair, one hand digging into his pocket to feel the little velvet box with the ring in it.

He practically launched out of the car when it stopped in the Sector 7 slums, taking a deep breath. It felt wonderful to be back on his home turf again, rather than in Wutai, and he felt immediately more confident. He waved at Rude through the smoked glass windows to the car and started down the road.

It took quite some time to reach Essie's usual haunt, which gave Reno plenty of time to plan out what he was going to say when he found her. He just hoped it didn't all turn to gibberish when it actually came out. Spotting some whores off in the distance, he ran his fingers through his hair once more.

"Hey," he said as he walked up.

They looked him over, wondering if he was a possible client, how much money he had, but before they could decide that he wasn't worth their time, he spoke again.

"You girls know where I can find Essie, yo?"

The girls frowned. "Who?" one of them asked.

"Essie Ruiz. She used to work around here. She's got, uh, long dark hair, and brown eyes…"

"Oh yeah, Essie," another of the girls said, nodding with recognition. "Yeah, we knew her. Ain't seen her in weeks, yo."

"Oh, that one?" the first girl asked. "Thought I knew her name. Hey, wasn't she the one who…"

"Yeah," the girl said, shooting a sad glance at Reno. "There's … rumors, you know. We heard she got knocked up, and then she went to take care of it like usual, but the doctor did somethin' wrong. We heard she's dead, yo."

The word echoed in Reno's head, and the world went blank and quiet for a while. Distantly, he felt the girls walk up to him, touching him gently, asking if he was alright. He shrugged them off as he walked away, hardly caring where he went or who he bumped into.

Dead. It had to be wrong, it couldn't be true. She had told him she would wait for him. She was supposed to be right there, smiling and happy and alive…

After a while, he couldn't see anymore, so he sat down against a dirty wall, his face in his hands. When he pulled his hands away, they were wet with tears, but for a moment all he saw was blood covering his hands. He started sobbing helplessly, scrubbing his hands against his pants and sucking in deep breaths between gasps and cries. He sobbed until he felt empty and used up, and the velvet box in his pocket felt unbearably heavy. He picked it up and let it drop … let someone find it, someone who needed it.

"Hey."

Reno's musing was interrupted by a deep, powerful, nearly monotone voice, and he looked half-gratefully up at Rude.

"C'mon, kid," Rude said, sticking out his hand. "I'll get you home."

Reno sniffed, wiping his wet and snotty face on his sleeve and accepting Rude's hand up. "Yeah," he said, though his voice was a ghost of what it usually was. He was silent through the entire car ride to Rude's house, his normally expressive face blank and unreadable and stained with tears. For the first time in almost two years, Rude was worried about his partner.

He practically had to steer Reno into his apartment, putting some spare clothes into his arms. "Here, kid," Rude said patiently, pulling Reno over to the couch. "You sleep over here tonight."

Reno didn't bother to make a reply as he stripped off his suit and pulled on Rude's borrowed clothes. They were far too big, but that didn't seem to bother him as he stretched out on Rude's couch. Rude spent a few more worried moments watching him before disappearing back into his room to get some sleep for himself.

When Rude woke up the next morning, Reno was already awake, his hands folded behind his head while he stared at the ceiling.

"Hey, kid," Rude greeted, reaching over to brush the bright red hair out of Reno's eyes. "How're you doing?"

Reno shrugged a little and sat up, joining Rude at the table and pulling the hood of the sweatshirt over his hair. "Hard to say," he said honestly, watching Rude make breakfast. "Not good, not bad. Just kinda numb."

Rude nodded sympathetically and handed over some toast. "Makes sense."

"How'd you find me?"

"Followed you." Rude lifted an eyebrow at him. "You don't think I'm gonna leave my partner alone like that, do you?"

Reno chuckled a little, though there was no feeling in the sound. "I'm gonna kill him, Rude. Hurt him and kill him for what he did to her. This doctor, he messed with the wrong whore."

Rude just nodded, sighing quietly and passing Reno some coffee.