The rain soaked the pavement in the concrete city of Edge, urchins and lost orphans seeking shelter in the shadows of alleyways and storefronts. Waiting inside the car Reno and Rude were dry and warm. Their inconspicuous company car was parked in the warehouse district. Stakeouts in the rain were the worst. The Turks were meant to be keeping tabs on the activity of a suspected new terrorist group, the 'Organization' or whatever, that had ideas of overthrowing the WRO. Power to the people, love the planet, blah blah blah. The same as always.

This was a 'hurry up and wait' kind of situation, and although Rude was fantastic, best friend, great drinking buddy, perfect in a bar fight, he wasn't much for idle chit chat. The redhead had one foot propped on the dash and was lazily twirling his EMR in his left hand, incredibly bored. He was almost hoping they'd have the opportunity to attack.

It was risky, but hey, at least they'd be doing something.

He glanced over to his partner, perfectly still, suit immaculate, and shaded eyes glued on the target.

"Sooo, how was the date?" It had been a few days since Reno's night (and very pleasant morning) with the Axel. Reno had concluded that the other redhead should join him for every shower he ever took, even if was significantly longer and neither of them spent much of that time getting clean. Baldy was always tight lipped about his dates, not the kiss-and-tell sort of guy, and teasing Rude was one of Reno's great pastimes.

"Good. How was yours?"

"Huh? What're you talking about, yo?" Reno observed the slight quirk of his partner's lips, so faint most people wouldn't catch it, and the only sign of his amusement.

"You know." Rude turned his head slightly to regard him. "So who is it?"

"Hmph. Nobody." Reno crossed his arms and stared at the building before them, his foot bouncing a little in agitation, and annoyed that his partner knew him so well. He knew Rude could read him like an open book and didn't want to give him the satisfaction. How the other man knew he'd been seeing someone was beyond him.

"Must be serious." A rumbling chuckle reached his ears. "Usually I'd be getting the full report."

"Oh, well if you really want it, yo." Reno grinned mischievously.

"No thanks." Rude grunted, leaning forward to grab the camera on the dash and snap a shot of a man with blue hair exiting the warehouse. "You up for pool tonight?"

"Uh, well...I got plans, yo." Reno scooted further down in his seat a little bit, gaze pointedly out the window, and decidedly not pouting.

"Nobody, huh?"

"Shut up."

It was business as usual in 813 Auto. They were stuck inside the closed up garage due to the awful weather, and the air was stifling in the confined area. Roxas was buried under the hood of some crappy sedan, grumbling to himself with his feet dangling a little off the ground. Axel tinkered with the delicate engine of an old sports car, covered in grime, and sweating like no other. He finally removed his shirt, unable to stand the humid heat another second, and went back to cursing at the finicky parts.

"Done." Roxas slammed the hood of the sedan closed and stretched to his full height (which wasn't all that impressive), leaning back a little to loosen the crick in his back. Axel didn't feel the amused blue eyes staring his way for a few moments, but eventually turned to see his friend leaning on the work bench and smirking at him.

"What?" Axel furrowed his brow.

"Who's your new friend?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I assume those didn't get there by magic." Roxas teased and pointed towards him.

Axel looked down at himself, ears burning when he noticed the faded hickeys along his collarbone and shoulders from his night with Reno. He'd completely forgotten those were still there. Sure, Roxas knew he was gay, they were best friends after all, but it was still awkward talking about his sex life with the straight blonde, whom he had been in love with since forever.

"Umm..." Axel was spared the embarrassment of explaining when there was a quick knock on the door from the waiting area and Kairi poked her head in.

"Ax, Rox, there's someone in the office for you."

"Who is it?" Axel said, trying to remember any appointments that day.

His sister looked vaguely uncomfortable and tucked an auburn lock behind her ear, weight shifting from foot to foot. "Saix."

There was a loud groan behind him and Axel agreed whole heartedly. When they'd opened the shop those years ago, they'd borrowed money from a loan shark that Axel had minor connections with. It was almost fully paid off (with some ridiculous interest), but visits from his blue haired former-friend were never really welcome.

"What does he want?"

"I don't know, but you'd better go find out." Kairi eyed her older brother and raised an eyebrow. "You should probably put a shirt on."

The burning from his ears spread down his neck and he hastily covered up. Roxas laughed at him a little and led the way inside.

-—-

He'd been feeling restless after spending the day in the cramped car with nothing interesting to do. The rain had finally stopped, so Reno had picked Axel up after work for a joy ride out of Edge and into the wastes beyond. He'd even trusted him to drive for a little bit, and discovered that Axel was even more reckless than him.

They were laying in a small patch of grass, his motorcycle parked nearby, and Axel was smoking and using Reno's stomach as a pillow. He ran his fingers through that bright red hair and observed the small crease in his companion's forehead. The other man had been somewhat quiet the whole evening, his laugh more subdued, and occasionally those green eyes seemed to go out of focus, looking off into some place no one else could see.

"Everything all right?" Reno asked, plucking the clove out of the his fingers, and pitching it into the darkness.

"Mhm." Axel stretched a little making himself more comfortable. "Why?"

"You're being kinda quiet, yo."

"Long day, I guess." Axel rolled over and propped himself up above Reno, engaging him in a languid kiss. Reno hummed his approval and slipped a hand under Axel's shirt.

He broke from the slow kiss and started working his way down the pale neck before him, pausing just behind the ear. Axel groaned and shifted again, resting one leg between his.

"So...," Axel trailed off, voice a little breathy from Reno's ministrations, "um, what are we?"

"Hmm?"

"Uh, ya know, are we like friends with really good benefits or something?"

"You wanna be my girl?" Reno smirked against Axel's skin and was ready for the light smack he received to the side of his head.

"Ass."

"I'm kidding, yo." He reattached himself to slightly chapped lips, drawing lazy circle's in Axel's lower back. "Well, I'm kinda hoping you're not sleeping around."

"That make you jealous?"

"Very."

"So we're a couple?" Green, green eyes stared into his, and Reno found himself for the first time, in a very long time, really hoping that they were.

"If you want it that way, babe."

"Definitely." Axel grinned. "Let's get naked."

"I like the way you think, yo."

Axel was walking through the streets with his hood up and hands clenched into tight fists in his pockets. He was nervous, beyond nervous. He kept replaying the conversation with Saix in his head.

"It's been awhile Axel."

"Not long enough."

He had the distinct feeling that whatever it was he was headed to do was going to be extremely illegal.

"Your sister has grown up." Saix was seated behind the desk in the office, absently playing with Kairi's graduation picture.

"Get to the point." Axel didn't like the situation, and Roxas looked even more uncomfortable.

"I have a proposition for you." Cold yellow eyes flashed dangerously and Axel had the feeling that what the blue haired man was going to say was going to be more of an order.

"What sort of proposition?"

Nothing good ever happened in this part of the city. This was the place for underground activity and dirty deals. He was in the middle of the warehouse district, slinking from shadow to shadow. This was the last place he needed to be seen.

"It isn't the sort of thing we should be discussing here. My boss wants to meet with you, personally." Saix stood, handing an envelope to the redhead.

"What's in it for us?" Roxas finally spoke up. His arms were crossed protectively over his chest and his distrust for their unwanted guest blatantly clear.

"Xemnas is willing to release you of all your debt, for only a small favor."

"What's the favor?" Axel was skeptical. Men like Xemnas didn't just drop lucrative debts like theirs for something simple.

"That's something you'll have to discuss with him."

"What if we want to stick to the current arrangement?" Axel was on his guard, all kinds of alerts flaring up in his mind.

"That would be...unwise." Saix meaningfully eyed the photograph he held loosely in his grasp before setting it back on the desk and brushing past them.

When he'd opened that envelope, there was just a small piece of paper with an address, time, and a note saying only Axel needed to come. He had assured Roxas that he could take care of this alone. After all, the blonde had a fiance and much less experience with these kinds of people. This was not the sort of thing his friend needed to get mixed up in, they were in deep enough already.

"Axel, let's just forget this, report them or something. This is some heavy shit." Roxas was nervous, pacing the small office, greasy hands grasping at his short blonde hair. "You don't have to do this."

"Are you kidding? We can't turn our back on the Organization, they'll destroy us." Axel was trying to keep things together and look collected. "I can handle this Roxas, and once it's over we never have to deal with them again."

"It can't possibly be this simple."

"What choice do I have?"

Roxas sighed, collapsing in one of the chairs. "Just be careful, alright?"

Axel approached the building warily, completely on edge. He followed the instructions that were in the note and knocked on the side door five times. His hands were clammy and, for once, cold.

The panel in the door slid open and he was greeted with a single yellow eye. A moment later Saix was standing in the doorway, looking entirely too smug to be legal.

"Glad you could make it." He followed the blue haired man through a series of hallways, seeing flashes of movement and feeling eyes on his back the whole way. The place gave him the creeps and he was eager to leave.

They stopped before a large wooden door. Saix straightened the folds of the black trench coat he was wearing and knocked.

"Your guest has arrived, Superior."

"Excellent, come in." A deep voice beckoned him forth and Axel laid eyes for the first time on the man that he had been indebted to. Xemnas was tall and dark, with shocking silver hair and calculating amber eyes. He too wore a black trench coat and stood with a hand extended. "You must be Axel. A pleasure."

Axel cautiously accepted the hand, taking a glance around the room. The walls were plain concrete, there were two chairs set up across from each other, no windows, and only one door with Saix stationed in front of it, arms crossed.

"Please, take a seat." Axel immediately sat down and kept his eyes locked on the crime boss before him. "Unfortunate we have to meet under such circumstances."

"What do you want?" Axel clipped out, now desperate to leave.

Xemnas chuckled lightly, appearing totally at ease.

"Ah, Saix said you were very, how shall I put it…direct." Xemnas's speech was slow and purposeful, as if each word was chosen carefully and meant to drill into Axel's skull. "Very well. I am interested in drawing upon your talents to assist in an operation we are in the process of mobilizing. I am told that you have a certain gift with mechanics…and explosives."

"Um..." It had been a long time since Axel had made any sort of bomb. He'd always liked fire and destroying things. Back his more rebellious days, he'd been infamous for blowing up the high school science lab, and he'd done that just for kicks. As time went on, however, he realized he could make a profit and sold them on the side to different gangs for some extra cash. That was how he met Saix. "It's been a while."

"I hear it's like...riding a bike. I'm sure you can pick it right back up." Xemnas leveled him with a stare that made cold dread slip into the pit of his stomach. "These are my terms..."

Reno lounged back into the couch in his apartment, his arm lazily wrapped around Axel. Empty take out boxes and beer bottles were scattered across the coffee table, and a B-rate horror movie was on the large flat-screen in front of them. Axel had his eyes glued to the screen, snickering when the female lead ran up the stairs.

Routines, Reno conceded, had their benefits. With their regular schedules, neither man ever really had to spend the night alone, dividing time between their friends and each other. They'd been out to dinner and movies, and spent some evenings being lazy with take out and horrible television. The major upside being that most of their activities almost always ended with the horizontal tango.

A few days ago Reno had even met Axel's flat mate, Demyx. He was a rather eccentric man with a weird sandy blonde mullet-mohawk. It was a little awkward, considering said blonde had been twirling about the kitchen singing along to the radio in a bright pink apron, but he seemed alright.

Reno had yet to introduce Axel to any of his friends or acquaintances, this whole 'relationship' thing was kind of new. He wasn't really used to living like a normal person yet. Over the years he'd grown accustomed to the sacrifices that came with being a Turk, always on guard, always looking over his shoulder, always on call to do Shinra's bidding.

That had changed with these more peaceful times and the new outlook the WRO had instilled in the company. The president was a little more relaxed with security and the Turks were more errand boys than anything else. There was the occasional death threat, or upstart, like those "organization" people they'd been gathering intelligence on, but it was nothing like before meteor or even back when they were living in Healin, the crimes of Shinra fresh in the public's mind.

A chainsaw wielding psycho ran across the screen, hot on the trail of a screaming girl in a bikini. Axel snuggled in closer to him, laughing softly. Reno turned to plant a kiss on his lips, bored with the movie, and more interested in the redhead beside him. Axel grunted a little in surprise, but relaxed further into him and responded. Reno pushed him back into the cushions, stretching his body on top of his companion. Axel spread his knees apart so that Reno was resting between them, lifting his hips a bit to grind against him.

This is more like it.

It was a mutual understanding that they weren't going to make it to the bedroom, and Reno was glad for the things he'd stashed in his pocket earlier that evening. Clothes were being shed (Axel cursing a bit when his pants got snagged on his foot) and touches were getting more intimate.

In no time at all, Axel was on his hands and knees, and Reno was loosening him up with two fingers. The view was perfect, and he had front row seats to one of his favorite parts of the other man's anatomy.

"Huh, stupid bitch."

"What?" Reno paused in his activity, an indignant scowl fixed to the back of Axel's head.

"You never go in the basement when there's a mass murderer on the loose. Common sense really." It was then he noticed Axel was still staring at the screen.

"Pay attention." Reno huffed, lightly slapping Axel's backside. He then removed his fingers to replace them with something much more satisfying, driving in all the way in one quick thrust.

Axel moaned, pushing back against him and stretching out rather catlike so his hands were braced against the arm of the couch.

"Sh-shiva's tits...Reno..."

Reno smirked, and straightened up a bit to change his angle, Axel's words became incoherent and his own breath was coming in sharp gasps. The suspense music from the forgotten movie rose to a crescendo in the background and Reno continued to rock into the perfect body beneath him.

Life is good.

The last week had been both nerve-racking and fantastic. First, things were great because Axel had finally stopped thinking about the whole Roxas-getting-married thing and was able to focus on his own exploits with a certain someone. He even found himself laughing at the starry eyed look his blonde friend would get when talking to Xion on the phone. Second, it was awful, because he'd been secretly building a sample explosive for Xemnas, dreading their second meeting.

The Organization leader wanted to check the quality of Axel's work. Xemnas had promised that if everything was up to standard he'd be shipping over supplies for the Organization's big project, and upon completion Axel would be out of debt. A week was a long time, and the tension was killing him. Sometimes Roxas would stop and stare at him worriedly, opening his mouth to say something before abruptly closing it. Even Demyx knew something was up and had noticed the redhead spending more and more time holed up in his room, saying he was too busy to go out and join the guys for a night on the town.

Roxas offered to help several times, but Axel adamantly refused. This was a burden he would take on alone. A few bombs and everything would be done and he could walk away. He felt a great weight of responsibility crushing down on him because he'd been the one to originally get them mixed up with such a shady crowd.

He still didn't know the purpose that Xemnas was going to use his creations for and, quite frankly, he didn't care. Axel justified his actions by convincing himself that if the gang leader wanted explosives he'd find them one way or another, and at least this way everyone that mattered most would be safe. He kept up a mantra in his head of it's fine, and I don't have a choice.

He wished he was betting at lying to himself.

That was how Axel found himself approaching the nondescript building in the warehouse district, this time with a small duffle bag clutched tightly in his hands. His hood was again drawn up, the telling red of his hair tucked away. Just as he was about to knock the code onto the heavy metal door someone grabbed his upper arm and his heart leapt into his throat.

Axel nearly jumped out of his skin and turned his head around so fast his hood flew off and he gave himself minor whiplash. He was met with Saix's cool smirk and reminded himself to breath.

"What the hell?" Axel hissed, nerves now completely fried.

"The Superior wants to meet with you in a more secure location. Come on." The blue haired man started half dragging him away towards a dark car parked nearby. Axel was too shocked to notice another car waiting further down the street, and he certainly didn't feel calculating brown eyes watching him.

Elena snapped a few more shots with her camera before turning to the head of her department. "Think he's involved?"

"Undoubtedly." Tseng took note of the direction their suspects had driven off and debated if there was any way to follow.

"There's been more activity here lately, maybe they're finally going to make a move." Elena babbled a little while stretching in the cramped passenger seat.

"Perhaps you are correct. Let's get back to headquarters and run him through the system."

"Yes, sir."

Today was Reno's turn on paperwork duty and it was absolutely thrilling.

Not.

The redhead rubbed his left wrist and sent a glare at the sheets spread before him. Office work was terribly dull and it was one of the less glamorous aspects of being a Turk. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, letting his mind wander to more entertaining thoughts. Thoughts of green eyes and crazy grins. He was meant to go drinking with Rude that night, but was considering cancelling.

Damn. I'm falling hard.

There was a quick knock before a blonde head popped around his office door.

"Sup Laney? You're back kinda early, yo." His curiosity was instantly piqued, their surveillance was supposed to last for another two hours.

"Tseng's called a meeting in his office." Elena opened the door all the way and leaned against the frame. "We got a hit on someone in the system."

"No shit? So they finally slipped up." Reno hauled himself out of his chair and followed his fellow Turk out of his office and down the short hallway.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The other guys we've spotted have been covered up or had no criminal background we can track. Then this guys comes along and he's got a record, but for stupid trivial things." Elena led the way into the meeting room where Tseng and Rude were already examining a file and several freshly developed photos.

"Hey Boss, what's Blondie talking about?" Reno approached the table and took a seat next to his partner.

"We managed to identify a new target this afternoon. He's listed, and we have his location. He has a record...DUI, indecent public exposure, one count of arson that was dropped because he was a minor...nothing to link him to an anti-Shinra group such as The Organization." Tseng was absently flipping through the photos and files looking for further clues.

"So who is he, yo?"

Rude passed him a copy of the file along with one of the snapshots from earlier that afternoon. "Axel Flurry."

Reno's eyes darted between a grainy black and white photo of Axel following their blue-haired prime suspect into a car and a mugshot of a much younger Axel, with no tattoos and only ugly scars decorating his cheeks. He kept staring, willing the images to change, but there was no question that the Axel before him was his Axel, or at least who he thought was his. Burning hot denial and fury boiled Reno's insides and he felt the sharp sting of betrayal. Only years of training and discipline kept his expression schooled and professional.

"What's the plan?"

"Keep watch on him. Considering how he was approached I would guess he's a minor pawn in whatever plot The Organization is forming." Tseng lifted his eyes to his second and noted that the redhead looked a little tense. "Everything alright?"

"Sure, yo. I could take the first night's watch if you want. Been cooped up in this stinking office all day, I could use some real work." Reno let a lazy grin spread across his face and tried to appear natural.

"I'll take you up on that offer. Elena and I will return to our previous location to keep tabs on their base and Rude, you will stay with the president as an extra precaution." Tseng rose from his seat and nodded at the Turks, the meeting adjourned.

Reno absently bumped knuckles with his partner and waved to Elena on his way back to his office. His thoughts were racing and he was having an internal debate of whether he should warn Axel to run while his still could or shoot him himself.

Babe, you better have a good fucking explanation.