Disclaimer: I own no part of the Final Fantasy franchise, the only part of this that I own in the slightest is the creative ideas that created the story :)


A Turk(ish) Romance

By: Crystal Renee

Episode 1: Flowers


He stepped inside, kicking the side of his left shoe against the glaringly white wall and leaving a thick smear of topsoil just above the molding; he repeated the gesture a few more times until a clumpy dusting of dirt littered the corner by the doorway. His shoe was still muddy, but all Reno did was shrug-- hands in his pockets-- and continue through the lobby toward the elevators at the right of the front desk. A receptionist's head bobbed up from her computer screen shortly, but she didn't bother to respond to Reno's lewd personality as he walked past.

"Tseng's waiting for your report. He told us to remind you that your thirty minutes late for a mission briefing."

"I was busy, babe, he knew where I was at." Reno paused in his step, turning around on one foot and leaning over the desk without placing a hand on the marble surface. "If he wanted me back so bad, he should have called, ya know?"

"He did." The male desk worker responded. "Multiple times, at that."

Reno leaned back onto his feet again, pulling his phone out nonchalantly from his front pocket and flipping it open. "Damn, battery's dead."

He pushed the phone back into his jacket and turned off down the hall, not bothering to speed up much more than to a casual jog. The elevator button had already been pressed, so he stood there waiting for it to descend the 46 levels, legs spread apart and his rod dangling from his wrist against his leg. Reno took a hold of it, moving his mouth lightly in his impatience, and started tapping the weapon against his left leg.

Janitorial work started complaining about the muddy foot prints across the steel-tiled flooring just as the elevator door opened; he smirked, eyes closed, as he walked inside and turned to see them trying to find the culprit of their woes. The door closed, his right eyebrow rose, and he fell back against the mirrored wall as the elevator jerked and began to ascend once again.

"Shit, maintenance needs to fix these things, you'd think the cables were tearing or something."

"Funny you said that, I was thinking the same thing."

The voice was female, slightly teasing, young and self assured; he jumped, because he hadn't realized anyone else had gotten onto the elevator with him. Reno turned his head quickly, rod slamming into the side of the elevator when he spun the rest of his body to face her. She was leaning against the left wall by the elevator buttons (he realized then that he hadn't pressed any for the elevator to begin moving anyway), arms crossed light beneath her breasts, cinnamon hair and a flirty smile splayed across her face.

Not to mention she was wearing an all black suit and tie.

"Turk?"

"Don't look so surprised, there's a lot of us you haven't met." She waved a hand by her head.

He straightened, lifting his rod to keep it from swinging. "I don't know about that."

The elevator bell sounded, door opening directly afterward; she dropped her arms, stepping forward with a slight pigeon-toed gait that caused her hips to sway just enough to grab his short-ended attention; when her back was to him, she waved again.

"By the way, you smell like a girl."

"What?"

She turned around completely, smiling at him. "You smell like flowers and dirt, like a garden."

The elevator door shut and continued on its way before Reno managed to register what she had said; he'd just gotten back from a surveillance mission on Aerith Gainsborough and she'd managed to get him to carry a wheelbarrow full of dirt and a few potted plants around the church for her. It was never good for a cute girl to think you smelled like another woman.

His lips pursed together, exasperated, and then he looked at the floor numbers.

"Dammit!"

He had missed his floor.


Author's Note: And this ends part one. Not all chapters will be this short, some will be shorter. I hope you'll continue reading!

Thanks!

Crystal Renee