The following morning, Reno woke to a loud buzzing. He blearily opened his eyes and was met, once again, with the reddest red, even brighter in the sunlight. Blinking a few times he disentangled himself from the body around him and staggered over to his discarded pants across the room, fishing for his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Didn't forget about guard duty?" The soft rumble of his partner's voice filtered through the airwaves and it took a few moments for the significance of the statement to sink in.

"Of course not, yo." Reno eyed the alarm clock on his nightstand. 6:45. Just enough time to do…nothing.

"Sure." Rude's disbelieving chuckle reached his ears.

"See you in a few buddy." The line clicked off and Reno sighed.

He glanced over to the man sprawled in his bed, smirking a little. Axel, though suffering a serious case of bed head and being deliciously disheveled, still looked good. Running hands through his hair, Reno dragged his feet to the bathroom for a quick shower. He prepared himself for the lashing he was going to get from Tseng for being late…again.

He was tugging on a clean uniform (6:55), and looking at prospects of being almost on time, when there was a beeping coming from another pair of forgotten pants on the carpet. He reached down and dug out Axel's phone. Flipping it open he saw there were two missed calls and a text from someone called 'Dem'.

"Dude, wtf did u go last night? U better gotten laid or something."

Reno snorted and was going to replace the phone, before pausing. On a whim, he decided to enter his number into Axel's contacts and copied the other man's number into his own. The night before had been fun, and sexy as hell.

Why not?

He put the phone back into its proper place and scribbled a quick courtesy note explaining he went to work. Sparing one last glance at Axel, he left.

Damn sun.

Axel cracked one eye open in the fully lit bedroom, groaning a little at the slight headache his adventures with tequila had left as a parting gift. He was a little disappointed, but not at all surprised, to find that Reno was missing. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his right eye and stretched a little, attempting to wake up. Yawning, he pried himself up from the sheets and meandered his way around the room collecting up his various articles of clothing.

He spotted a small post-it note next to the alarm clock and spent a moment trying to get his sleep-fogged eyes to focus on the messy scrawl.

Went into work. Help yourself to some coffee and don't steal my shit. Later hot stuff, Reno.

Axel let out one short bark of laughter, crumpling the note and tossed it into the trash can nearby. He looked around the room and observed the plain walls, high class furniture, and failed to interpret the significance of several rumpled blue suits in the corner. He wandered with his clothes in his arms through the apartment, finally locating the bathroom.

After a short shower and a swig of mouthwash, he decided to forgo the offer of coffee and instead exited the apartment, locking the door behind him. He checked through the missed messages on his phone and called up his flat-mate, prepared to grovel for a ride home.

Some night.

Reno was spinning in his desk chair, tossing his phone between his hands. It had been a little more than a week since the night at the club, and occasionally he found his mind drifting off to red hair and pale skin. Replaying the feeling of firm hands gripping him on the motorcycle and the fire behind green eyes. Axel had gotten his attention, and tomorrow was going to be another dud if Reno didn't take action.

It wasn't very usual for him to call someone, seeking a second night. He got bored easily and was content to toss people aside and move on. This new routine though, with its regular schedules and safer surroundings, made it so that sort of lifestyle wasn't really necessary. Reno had been contemplating the intelligence behind most of his friends to find someone for a steady source of entertainment and Axel was a good candidate.

Another thing that was odd was that Reno hadn't bragged about his night with the green-eyed beauty. Usually Rude would get the full play-by-play (whether he wanted it or not), and sometimes he would tease Elena with little details, just to see her sputter and blush. For some reason though, he had kept this one to himself. Something that hadn't happened in a long time.

There was something different about Axel that put him a class above the usual one-nighter. The man seemed interesting and Reno found himself wondering. What did the redhead do? Was he really able to appreciate the perfection of his motorcycle? How did he end up with those tattoos?

The questions were numerous, and as curious as ever, Reno wanted answers.

He planted his feet on the edge of the desk before him, successfully stopping his spinning chair, and rifled through his contacts until he came across 'Red'. Reno brought the phone to his ear and listened for the ring.

Axel was at the bathroom sink, scrubbing the grease off his hands, not looking forward to the weekend. Demyx was leaving on a trip to the Golden Saucer with his main squeeze, Zexion. The idea of Zexion, the quiet bookworm that he is, in the loud amusement park had Axel laughing a little.

Ah, the things we do for love.

Work that week had been tortuous. A few years ago he had opened up a shop with Roxas. Fixing cars, bikes, and anything else on wheels really. Axel had attempted to get lost in playing the grease-monkey, but being the dutiful best friend, he had to endure hours and hours of listening to Roxas rattle on about future plans with his fiance. The blonde was on cloud-nine, going on about how they were going to wait for summer (We were thinking about maybe having it in Costa Del Sol.), and how lucky he was (Never thought I'd find a girl so perfect. Shorter than me with the same obsession for comic books and sea-salt ice cream. What are the chances, right?)

Painful.

Somehow, Axel had pulled through, fake smile firmly in place, trying his hardest to feel happy for his friend, because that's what he should be. Happy for him, not hoping it would all fall apart.

I'm a terrible human being.

At the beginning of the week he had thought of Reno several times, musing about the mysterious redhead. The tattoos, scars, and leaving so early on a Saturday (Where did he work?) left many open questions swirling in his mind. He had realized, however, that he hadn't gotten his number or even a last name, and had already forgotten the address. Not that he would just show up at the guy's door anyway.

So, Axel planned to spend a lonely weekend in an empty apartment, drowning himself in beer and crappy television.

A buzzing from his pocket drew his attention away from his self-pitying thoughts, and he fumbled a little with the towel before extracting his phone from his pocket. His brow furrowed slightly after looking at the screen. Apparently, he was getting a call from 'Sexy'. Briefly wondering if Demyx had messed with his contacts again, Axel flipped open the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe." He instantly recognized the cocky voice and his eyebrows shot up into his hair in disbelief.

"Reno?"

"Miss me?" He could hear the other man's teasing tone and slight chuckle.

"Not really, what's up?" Axel tried to mask his surprise by sounding casual as possible.

"That's too bad, yo. I just met this good-lookin redhead the other week, and was thinking of treating him to dinner, but if he's not interested..."

"I never said that." Axel mumbled into the phone cursing his burning ears and the blush that was creeping up his neck.

"Good." He could hear Reno's grin. "How about tomorrow? Seven o'clock. I'll pick you up, yo."

"Sure. I'll text you the address."

"See ya then, cutie."

The line went dead and Axel closed his phone feeling two emotions at once. Relief at the promise of seeing Reno again and not spending the weekend alone with no distractions, and indignant at being called cute of all things.

Honestly.

The following evening Reno was cruising through a slightly grungy looking neighborhood, scoping out the address Axel had sent him. He wound up in front of a closed shop, a sign over the double garage doors declaring the place '813 Auto'. There was a window front and glass door looking into an empty and dark waiting area and several cars parked out front. Reno smirked to himself.

So maybe the guy really can appreciate a bike.

The slam of a door directed his attention upwards to where he saw Axel exiting the second floor onto a small porch and a set of stairs at the side of the building. He hopped down the steps, stuffing keys into his pocket, and looked up to smile as he approached. Reno noticed that Axel's hair wasn't tied up that day, instead it was styled back into long spikes that somehow managed to still look soft (How'd his hair do that?). He was wearing jeans, a dark blue hoodie, and scuffed tennis shoes.

"Hey there."

"Hey." Reno stood from his bike and reached up to pull Axel down for a quick kiss, confirming that his hair was as touchable as it looked. He smelled like soap and cloves, with the faint lingering scent of motor oil.

Fantastic.

"Shall we?" Reno took a seat on his motorcycle, and Axel settled in behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and sitting close. Reno took off for downtown, weaving through the streets at top speed, Axel's crazy laugh echoing in his ears.

They were settled in a booth of a Wutaian restaurant that was nice, but not fancy. Axel was fumbling a little with his menu trying to think of something to say. On the way in they'd made some small talk, but now the table was silent. Reno was leaning lazily back in his seat, holding his menu in his left hand, and his right arm sprawled across the back of the booth. He had his left foot propped up next to Axel's knee, and every so often they would bump gently when he fidgeted.

"So, uh," Axel's voice cut through the silence, and Reno's eyes lifted to his, "where'd you get that bike?"

"Built it, yo," Reno replied smugly.

"No shit?" He raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed. "What kind of engine you got on her?"

And then they were off. Axel was in familiar territory, he could talk about parts and mechanics and cars forever. Reno talked about how'd long he'd been working on it and several times referenced someone called 'Chocobo-head'. Axel ended up explaining about the shop, keeping the talk about Roxas short as possible, and how'd he'd been tinkering with cars ever since he was a kid living in the Sector 5 slums.

Turned out that Reno was born in the lower city as well, and they spent a while reminiscing about slum life and old Midgar.

Axel was halfway through a plate of lo mein, when he let curiosity get the best of him. "So, what do you do?"

Reno paused, lowering his fork back to his plate, and seemed to consider for a moment whether he should tell the truth.

"I work for the WRO." Reno said evenly, before going back to eating.

"Oh," Axel said (internally grateful that Reno wasn't something weird or gross), "I've done a few contracts for them here and there. What department?"

The question was innocent enough, but Reno stopped again to level him with a slightly unnerving stare. He tilted his head and seemed to consider Axel for a moment, and then let the corners of his lips quirk up in a small smirk.

"Department of Administrative Research."

"Huh? What's that?"

"Turks."

"What?" Axel was in shock. Reno did not just say what he thought he did. No way, had to get his hearing checked, there was no way he was a...

"I'm a Turk, man. Second in command, yo." Reno's smirk widened to a full blown grin, and he seemed to find the way that Axel's eyes had widened to saucers entertaining.

"Uh..."

Well, this is unexpected.

Axel didn't personally have some kind of bad blood with Shinra or the Turks, but he knew plenty of people that did. Reno wasn't just any Turk either, he was fucking second in command. He remembered living in the slums and cowering to the shadows whenever those blue suits were spotted. He remembered the fear those deadly assassins were able to strike into the hearts of the whole city. He didn't really know what to say. Reno said he worked for the WRO anyway, maybe Shinra really was different (or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to be able to get laid and not feel guilty about it).

Axel decided to voice his safest thought, "I wasn't expecting that."

Reno quirked an eyebrow at him, clearly waiting for him to continue.

"You're, uh, not gonna like, shoot me or something, are you?" Axel cringed slightly.

Reno laughed, really laughed.

This guy is too much.

Somehow, Axel managed to be both tough and endearing, masculine and cute, all at once, and it was keeping Reno on his toes.

"Nah, I'm not gonna shoot you," Reno said when his belly laughs died down to chuckles. "This ain't a company issued mission, yo."

"What do you mean?" Axel looked slightly wary, leaning back a little.

"This, is a personal mission." Reno grinned. When Axel still looked unsure he continued. "I'm on a personal mission, yo. Gotta see if round two can live up to the standard of round one."

Then the skeptical look melted right off of Axel's face to be replaced by a disbelieving smile and he let out his own bark of laughter. Reno mentally breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been a shame if everything was ruined because the other redhead had some kind of problem with Shinra.

Conversation drifted back to safer topics, and Reno found himself enjoying every minute. Axel left little tidbits of information about his personality, and Reno collected them up eagerly. The way the other man would scratch the back of his head when relating a particularly embarrassing anecdote, or roll his eyes when talking about his friends left Reno wondering what Axel looked like when (and if) he talked about him.

Reno mostly kept things general. He was, after all, still a Turk, and couldn't go revealing everything. He did talk about his friends, sticking to nicknames, like 'Baldy', 'Tits', and 'Boss-man'. Axel seemed particularly fascinated when he mentioned helicopters, and he went on about flying and crashing, relating the number of birds he'd totaled, to which his companion laughed again.

Dinner wound down and Reno grabbed the check (Axel looking slightly miffed when he wasn't even allowed to leave a tip). Soon enough they were walking leisurely down the sidewalk back to his ride with his arm around the other man's waist and the taller redhead's arm draped across his shoulders.

He sped back to Axel's home, attempting to break the sound barrier, that crazy laugh drifting to his ears on certain daring turns. They stopped in the lot outside the shop and Reno stood to pull Axel down into a forceful kiss, burying his hands in soft red, red hair.

"So, uh," Axel looked a little dazed when they broke apart, a small smile tugging at his lips, "you wanna come up?"

Reno smirked, liking the blush creeping up Axel's neck, and liking the idea of a repeat performance even more. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

Axel led Reno into his home above his shop and found himself feeling a little self-conscious. His flat was decidedly not up to the same standards that Reno's had been. There was a gutted engine splayed across the coffee table and Demyx's beat up sitar case was leaning up against the moldy old couch that had once belonged to Roxas's grandmother. The television was old and boxy, there were various forgotten cans of soda lying around, and the lamp was still a little out whack from the last brawl he'd had with his flat-mate over the remote. The kitchen was attached to the living room to the right and he could see the dishes piled in the sink from where he was standing.

Forgot to clean up…great...

His companion, however, didn't seem to mind and pulled Axel into another kiss, this one a little more heated than the others that evening. He enjoyed the sensations until Reno's hands picked up their habit of wandering and found their way to his back pockets. Smirking, Axel broke away and started backing toward the short hallway that led to his bedroom.

Whereas Reno's room had been open and simple, and almost looking like it was barely lived in, Axel's room was the opposite.

It was cluttered and crowded. A toaster was dismantled on his desk next to a picture of his sister's wedding. Clothes and boxes threatened to breach the borders of his closet, and pictures and posters were scattered about the walls, recounting some of the finer concerts he'd been to, his favorite car models, and the most memorable moments with friends.

Axel started to work his hands under the hemline of Reno's shirt once they were in his room, resuming their previous make-out session.

"Nice place." Reno mumbled against his lips.

"Yeah right." Axel rolled his eyes, lifting Reno's shirt over his head, and then promptly latched himself onto the other man's neck. Reno hummed his approval, tilting his head and burying hands in long red hair. Axel moved to his ear and was pleased to hear a sharp intake of breath.

Ah hah…

He mercilessly began nipping and sucking on Reno's ear, pulling himself closer, and rubbing slightly against him. Reno gave a sharp tug to his hair and brought him up into a fierce possessive kiss. Axel groaned, and put his hands to work undoing the belt of his companion. Reno's hands moved to similarly undress him, and Axel broke away to quickly pull off his hoodie and beater. They crashed together again, feeling skin on skin, the room getting hotter around them. Axel lowered himself to the futon bed, taking Reno down with him.

Gods...

This night was going very similarly to how their previous encounter had unfolded. Everything had been hot breath, tangled limbs, groping, petting, licking, moaning, and it was getting intense. Reno had Axel splayed out before him, bent almost in half, and was working him into a frenzy using some handy items he had magically produced from under the low bed.

"Uhn...Re-reno..." Axel's voice was breathy and filled with lust, green eyes temporarily clenched shut.

"You likin' it, hot stuff?" Reno was grinning, rocking into the beautiful body beneath him, and enjoying the fantastic view. Axel snapped his head forward and sent Reno almost a glare.

Suddenly, Reno found himself being slammed into the hard mattress on his back, Axel flipping them over without disconnecting their bodies. The redhead above him had both hands spread across his chest, holding him down, and green fire further pinned him in place.

"Oh yeah, babe, I like it." Axel, the grin spreading across his face positively evil, began riding Reno. He set a brutal pace rolling his hips and bouncing slightly. Reno rose off the bed to meet him halfway. Impossibly hot hands left his chest as Axel sat back, running those hands along himself, continuing his groans and mumbling, breath getting erratic, and sweat soaking the long locks of hair framing his flushed features.

Reno was gripping those pale, pale thighs enough to bruise, muttering out his own curses and encouragement. ("Fucking hell...A-axel...so fucking hot..."). There was a heat building within him and nothing to stop it. He slammed into the other redhead at full force and allowed himself to let go. Axel practically howled above him, joining him shortly after, and collapsed next to him on the bed.

He spent a moment enjoying the afterglow and absently tossed the condom into a waste bin nearby. Reno looked over at his companion when he felt himself being cleaned off. Axel smiled at him, almost shyly, and how that was even possible after what they'd been doing was beyond him. Apparently, Axel was done being the sexiest thing that had ever graced the planet and was back to being the cute tough guy, full of contradictions.

The scent of smoke and spices filled the room, Axel was leaning back into the pillows dragging on one of his cloves, and Reno on a menthol. His body was still buzzing a little, a dull ache making itself known in his lower back.

Totally worth it.

"Pussy cigarettes."

"Screw you." Axel playfully flicked his ash in the direction of the other redhead, who then patted down the still burning embers with mild panic and surprise.

"Crazy, bastard. You're gonna set the bed on fire, yo."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Axel flashed him a lazy grin, feeling relaxed with some nicotine in his system.

"Hmm." Reno hummed and leaned over him to snub his smoke out in the ashtray on the nightstand. He stayed there, an arm on either side of Axel a contemplative look on his face. "So, what's with the tats?"

"Huh?"

"The tattoos on your face, yo."

"Oh that." It wasn't exactly an uncommon question, but not one that he often responded too. The answer was a little embarrassing and brought up a few bad memories. "They cover the scars."

"What?" Instead of using his voice, Axel guided Reno's left hand to his cheek, letting him feel the uneven plane of the skin. "How'd that happen?"

"It's kind of personal." He almost whispered, he wasn't ready to share the details yet. Only three people alive knew that one. His eyes locked with Reno's. "What about yours?"

"Personal, yo." Reno smirked and pulled back to lie next to him.

"Hmph. Of course it is." Axel snaked an arm around his companion's waist, pulling him to his chest. "You have work in the morning?"

"Nope. Don't have to be in 'til noon, yo." Reno said, voice indicating that he was already starting to drift off to sleep.

"Good." Axel buried his face in hair that smelled like cigarettes and ozone and sex and Reno.