Unbetaed. Censored Version, see Ao3 (same name for story and my penname) for explicit content. Swearing. More rehashed A.H.B. Scenes.

If you choose to read the explicit version: NOTE THE WARNINGS on Ao3. If you think Reno can be hard to swallow normally, you probably don't want to read about him in bed. It is significantly more explicit than what was found in the mature content of AHB.

Sorry for the length this update took to post, and for how short it is. The explicit version has a lot more in it. No promises on when the next update is either, but As Honor Burns often mentions when more is coming for BB.

Reno and Rufus' birthdays are made up by me. Reno is an Aries and Rufus a Scorpio. Mars signs unite!

Also: If you read AHB, you may recognize mention of a certain dead clone! He wasn't forgotten, just not important for Cloud's story.

Unfortunately for Reno, his determination to crack the mystery that was Cloud Strife got put on indefinite hold when the blond had been deployed to Wutai. It was more than a little depressing, considering how little time he'd been given to do any more detective work over the last few weeks.

Reno had been stuck with making sure that Hojo didn't just kill Veld behind the scenes, so he was forced to bounce back and forth between Midgar and Nibelheim. The only good thing coming of it was that he got to keep an eye out for Cloud's mother. He may not care what happened to the cryptic bitch, but he just loved getting to throw wrenches in Hojo's plans.

Sure enough, not long after arriving, Hojo had sent some of his assistants off to collect blood samples from around town under the guise of offering free health screenings. Though, from the shouting and screaming the creepy fucker had done afterwards, Reno had to guess he didn't find what he was looking for; not that he was surprised. Rufus had mentioned Sephiroth had come around inquiring about the survivors and pieced the connection between him and Strife together. Sephiroth gave the final clue as to why Hojo was in Nibelheim: the good doctor was looking for more O- subjects to fuck with.

Reno smirked a little to himself as he realized that Hojo was barking up the wrong tree. Strife got his blood type from his dear old dad; all the way back in Midgar.

"I've told you more than once, you incompetent fool! The most I was willing to provide for your little theory was the one clone," Hojo screeched at one of his assistants. Reno almost wished he had a bucket of popcorn as the two had been fighting for half an hour.

"But, Professor, the clone arrived dead. I never—!"

"And how exactly is that my problem? If you could manage to find a single person of the correct blood type then perhaps I'd be more willing to risk another clone on your project. Honestly, Kilmister, use some sense!"

Reno grinned rudely as the assistant stalked away. Watching Hojo abuse his underlings was almost as fun as fucking with Hojo's plans. Generally anything that brought misery to the lives of those running the labs was good enough to bring Reno some joy.

It happened to line up perfectly that Veld was released from Nibelheim on March, 28th; Reno's birthday. It was a good thing too, because Reno would have left his ass there if it meant missing out on spending his birthday at home with Rufus. There wasn't a single thing on Gaia that would keep him from the awesome sex he was due that night.

The Director was worse for wear these days. The burns on his arm had been so extensive that it had to be amputated, or at least Hojo said so. The twisted fucker probably just wanted an excuse to cut off limbs. Veld was given a new prosthetic, equipped with its own materia slot, but that would never replace his natural arm. Or his wife and daughter, who had ended up dying from their wounds. Reno found it a bit fishy that the Director had never been shown bodies, but Veld had insisted he didn't want to see them given the description of their burns. He supposed that it was fair that the old man remember them nice and pretty instead of melted horrors.

It left him a little giddy on the inside to think that Veld may end up too depressed to work from the tragedy, because that would give him a direct promotion to second in command. Reno wasn't very good with sympathy.

They touched down in Midgar in the early evening and Veld just disappeared. Reno couldn't give a damn, but he'd have to give the old man hell about being rude the next time he bumped into him.

And speaking of bumping into Rude. Reno ran smack dab into a broad chest covered in a black jacket and he staggered back to see Rude blocking his path. Reno grinned in greeting and held out a hand. Rude held his serious expression for all of two seconds before he grabbed Reno's hand and pulled him in for a one-armed hug.

"Hey, partner. Lookin' sharp as usual. How's HQ since I've been gone?"

"Quiet," Rude rumbled before smirking slightly. "Happy birthday, Reno. Safe to say I'll have to wait till tomorrow to take you out drinking?"

"Ya fuckin' know it. I'm not moving a fucking foot from that bed once I get his ass in it. So come on, gimme my damn present so I can get a move on!" Reno asked with a small bounce on his heels. He tried to peek around Rude on each side, but the fucker was just so damn tall.

Rude raised an eyebrow above his shades. "What makes you think I got you anything? I'm paying tomorrow night; that's all you're getting."

"Fuck that. You've got the goods, now hand'em over. Don't make me get violent, Rude. Ya fuckin' know I will," Reno snarled in a mock-angry tone. He started to pry at Rude's arms to get them out from behind his back. Unable to dislodge them, he planted his feet firmly on the ground and used his whole body weight to try and wrench one around. Still no dice. He threw a petulant glare at Rude, who just smirked back at him.

Finally taking pity on him, Rude pulled his hand around and pressed a small object into Reno's palm. With an uncharacteristic cry of delight, Reno started tearing off the paper on the little box. Pulling off the top, inside there was a pitch black folding knife with a silver scorpion etched on the handle and blade. Reno pulled it out of the box and felt its weight in his hand. It was heavier than most folding knives, but he liked that. Pleased with how well crafted it was, Reno grinned at Rude and leaned in close to his partner.

"If I wasn't a taken man, I'd kiss ya, Rude," Reno purred sweetly. Rude rolled his eyes, something only Reno could tell when he was doing, and snorted.

"No thanks. Now don't keep him waiting and try not to accidentally kill each other."

Reno just gave a cocky smirk and dashed past Rude. His partner was one of the only people who even knew about Reno and Rufus. Keeping it from him had been impossible back before Reno had the immunity to alcohol that he did now. Apparently, his drunken younger self had been fond of regaling Rude with R-rated stories of his and Rufus' nightly escapades.

He ran down the flights of stairs till he reached the elevator. As it drifted down toward the apartments, Reno was plotting all the wonderfully twisted things he was going to do to Rufus tonight. It was his birthday and he was going to lap up all the privileges while they were offered. Sprinting down the hall, he slid his ID and threw open the door to Rufus' apartment before shutting it behind him. It was a small miracle that no one had been around, so he hadn't even needed to be stealthy.

The living room was empty, but Reno wasn't surprised. Rufus was blunt little fucker when it came to things like this, and Reno knew he'd already be waiting in the bedroom from when Reno had called him on the way into Midgar.

Sure enough, he found Rufus stretched out naked on the bed like a debauched angel. His lips were wet and pouted, and his hands were already chained to the headboard. Reno took one look at the array of tools laid out for him and groaned in need.

"Happy birthday," Rufus purred lustily.

"Thanks, babe," Reno growled as he shed his jacket and yanked open his shirt. A few buttons flew off in random directions, but Reno didn't care. He had plenty of fucking shirts.

Over a month later, Reno was assigned to the Ancient in the slums. It was a regular job that rotated between a few select Turks, but was Tseng's favorite. Reno was pretty sure Tseng had a bit of a hard-on for the pretty girl; no matter how young she was.

Reno didn't really mind the job, but it forced him to be a lot more friendly than he was comfortable being. The girl's name was Aeris, and she was alright, but could be a tricky little brat every now and then. She often liked to slip away when the Turk assigned to look after her wasn't looking. She handled herself alright though, and Reno had a sneaking suspicion these missions would be going by the wayside soon. Tseng wasn't going to risk Hojo knowing that he had her location.

"You're too serious, Reno," she goaded as she pulled him along through Wall Market. He was trying to keep an eye on their valuables and she was here telling him he was too serious. Just because she was alright getting pick pocketed, didn't mean he was. Not that he'd ever seen her get stolen from without her noticing first. The first time he'd been assigned this job, he gave the younger girl a run down on how to survive in the slums that included a lengthy lesson on pick pocketing; both how to avoid it and perform it.

Today he was a glorified shopping companion as she got a bag of groceries to take home to her ma. She dragged him into the store and he just stood by the door as she grabbed all of her necessities. It didn't take her long and she only ended up with one bag full. After that she asked him to walk her back to her church before his shift ended.

On the way out, he could feel someone's eyes on him and he forced his features to stay relaxed. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he gave his EMR a little obvious twirl as he walked by her side through Sector 6. Whoever was watching was now following. Aeris was happily oblivious as she prattled on next to him about something or other. Reno was getting excited at the prospect of a good fight if the person trailing them proved difficult. And if they didn't... Well his shift was mostly over anyway, and lil'sis could handle herself.

Once they reached the church, he said his goodbyes and watched as she skipped up to the door and then through it. As it closed behind her, he walked away and around the corner before pausing. Sure enough, his tail immediately snuck over to the doors of the church.

Reno was surprised to see Strife's little friend, boyfriend, thing. What the hell was this kid doing down here? A dark smile broke out on his face at the chance of this having to do with Cloud somehow. Was he connected to the Ancient? That would be just delicious.

Walking quietly until he was directly behind the young SOLDIER, he spoke in a sing-song voice, "Ah. Ah. Ahh. Ya didn' actually think you could stalk a Turk, did ya?"

The black haired wonder turned around and shot him a glare that didn't fit his pretty little face. Reno just smiled a little wider and twirled his EMR again.

"What's it to you? I'm just trying to see a friend," he growled at Reno.

Raising an eyebrow in interest and amusement, Reno purred, "Oh yeah? Well she's never mentioned ya."

"Does she have to tell you everything?" the little bastard snapped. Reno gave a fake flinch and pressed a hand to his heart as though wounded by the harsh words. The kid didn't look amused.

Sobering a little bit, he started, "Why don'tcha tell me what yer here for an—," before the church door opened suddenly and Aeris stuck her head out. Reno snickered a little as the kid leapt away like she was a snake. Jumpy little fucker.

"Oh... Hi!" she said in a nice tone, directed at the kid.

"Hey, Aeris. Mind if you call off your guard dog here? I was just telling him I'm a friend of yours." Reno's smile dimmed a little. Maybe the kid did know her. That would be disappointing.

Unfortunately, she nodded and said, "It's okay, Reno. I know him."

Reno frowned outright. Well this sucked. "I don't know, sis. This guy—"

"It's fine, Reno," Aeris said with her own special brand of bite. All Reno could do was shrug and turn to leave. Arguing with her would do him no favors with Tseng later. Still, unable to crush his curiosity, he paused around the corner again and waited.

As soon as they were in the church, Reno marched right up to the door and attached a small amplifier to the wood. Putting in an ear bud, he listened.

After a moment, Aeris spoke, "So... who are you?" He fucking knew the kid was lying.

"I'm Zack Fair, nice to meet you!" Okay, so now he had a name to the face.

"I don't think we've met, have we?"

"Well, we met just now." Reno rolled his eyes. What an idiot.

"You knew my name. And you weren't with Reno... so you're probably not bad. But only probably." Reno reared back from the door and gave an offended frown. Little bitch. He'd get her back for that somehow; how dare she imply he was anything less than a Saint?

"I'm not bad at all. You see the thing is..." Go on, kid. Don't leave us hanging now.

"The thing is...?"

"I've been... dreaming about you." Gaia, this brat was one hell of a smooth operator. Reno had to force down the rising snickers at the idea of this kid using a line like that on Cloud. "Uh... I don't mean that in a weird way. I mean it literally." Oh, well then. That could be interesting. Aeris just laughed at the poor sap.

"Hey come on! I'm being serious. This has been a big mystery for me, and I'm finally getting close to solving it."

"No, no. I believe you, but you're just so silly. I wouldn't laugh if you didn't doubt what you were saying. So, go on. You've been dreaming about me, and?" He was going to need to give this girl a lesson on men and their goals. Reno wondered what Strife would say if he knew his little toy was here chatting up a pretty lady like this.

"About you and my boyfriend, Cloud." Reno had to clap a hand over his mouth to stifle the snort that erupted from him. Fuck, this kid was gold. Even Aeris seemed to find it hilarious as she laughed again.

"Not in any dirty way!" Sure, kid. Suuure.

"Okay. I'll try to be serious. Just try to explain a little more so it doesn't sound so bad." She was still laughing a little, and Reno couldn't blame her. At this point, he half hoped he was going to get to hear her shoot the poor brat down.

"We're always in a field of flowers. These flowers. And I've been having these dreams for so long now. Hell, they're not even really dreams so much as memories. But you just said, we've never met. So how can I see things that never happened?" Reno immediately stopped laughing and focused in. What the fuck kind of twilight zone shit was this?

"Hmm... That.. doesn't make any sense." Tell us something we don't know, sweetheart.

"So you don't know anything?"

"No, not really. You said you dreamed of your boyfriend too, so maybe he knows something more?"

"I can't ask him. I don't want him to think I'm nuts if he doesn't know anything. Plus, if he does, I don't want to trouble him anymore. He works so hard as it is." What a bleeding heart.

"I can... hear something inside you. A piece of the planet? No... a person. Oh..." What the fuck did that mean? Reno wasn't well versed in the skills of Ancients, but this was getting weird. And what did this mean for Cloud?

"What? What do you hear? Hell, how do you hear?"

"You've got Lifestream inside you. Someone fused with you. I think... but that can't be possible." Reno could kill for some actual facts at this point, because nothing was adding up. Everything out of their mouths thus far sounded like crazy talk.

"What?!"

"I think that it's you." Reno raised an eyebrow at the door and frowned deeply. Just when he thought this couldn't get any weirder.

"What do you mean? There's only one me, right?"

"One would think. No. It's definitely you. What did you say your boyfriend's name was?"

"Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"I don't... know what this means. Could you bring him here? If you're dreaming of him too, then he must be connected somehow."

"How do you know all this anyway?"

"I—I can't tell." Well at least she was smart enough to keep quiet about something like that. Too damn bad for Fair, but Reno already knew so it didn't matter.

"Hey, it's alright. We've all got our secrets. You've already told me more than I thought I'd find out today. I've just got to figure it out from here."

"We've got to figure it out. If you're dreaming about me too, then I'm involved. Besides, you won't be able to interpret everything he's trying to tell you." Reno had a sinking feeling all of a sudden he'd likely be doing a lot of eavesdropping for the next few weeks, because this was too damn juicy to pass up. Plus, he was more curious than a cat and he just had to know what the hell was going on.

"He?"

"The other you. He's trying to get you to put yourself back together. It's... probably going to change you."

"Change me?"

"Mhm. Don't worry. He's still you, so it's not much. But he's much more serious. If he's here at all... Well nothing good could have happened." She sounded rather frightened as she said that. Once again, Reno was left in the dark with all the 'why's', 'what's', and 'how's he wanted to ask.

"But how did I end up with two of me inside myself? That doesn't make any—He came from Cloud?" Jack. Fucking. Pot.

"Huh?"

"This other me. I think I know where he came from. When I met my boyfriend for the first time, I got really dizzy like something had just passed through me." Interesting effect to have on people, Strife. Wonder what the snarky little blond would say when Reno asked him about this.

"So... Your boyfriend brought him to you? Is he... different too?"

"Different?"

"Well if he brought this other you with him, then he can't be quite normal, can he?"

"I mean, he's one hell of a fighter. He's so smart too. Sometimes I wonder if he knows everything or if he's just making stuff up to impress me. And he's brave. Pretty much take everything the best person you know is and then amplify it a few times, and you've got Cloud." Not exactly the description Reno would go with, but the kid couldn't be blamed before being blind-sided by Cloud's good looks.

"Can he... hear things?"

"Like what?"

"The Planet?" Reno considered this for a moment. Could Strife be an Ancient? He supposed it was possible, given how fucking cryptic his mother had been. Would that explain why he was so out of the ordinary? Maybe that would give a clue as to why he responded so well to Hojo's fuckery. That'd be something he'd have to look into.

"Maybe? I don't know. I try not to pry." Well, aren't you just useless, Fair.

"You'll just have to bring him here then! We'll get to the bottom of this together. And then you can be whole again." Yep, Reno was going to be a busy man for awhile. He couldn't wait for Strife to get back so he could check into all of this.

"Thank you, Aeris."

"You're welcome. Now turn that frown upside down. I won't have my new friend looking so miserable."

They went silent not long after that and Reno finally pulled away from the door with a small grin. He may not have gotten all the answers he was looking for, but now he had a whole ton more ammo to work with. Unfortunately, things were getting all supernatural, and Reno wasn't much of a believer. He was going to have to unravel this shit logically, because it had to have some underlying sense. But this was the biggest crack in Cloud's little shield yet. The possibility of him being an Ancient was the best theory Reno had at the moment, so he decided to stick with that until proven otherwise.

Now he just needed to get home so he could fill Rufus in on all this wonderful information.