Reno growled and pushed the drunk man off of him. "Get the fuck out."
The man stammered a bit and his face fell, still hovering at the edge of the bed despite Reno's very clear instruction. "What?"
"I said get the fuck out! I'm sure you can remember where the door is." Reno pulled up his covers to cover his nakedness and watched with disgust and self-loathing as inebriated eyes scanned his body.
The man frowned and pulled his clothes on, walking out of the room with a sad sigh. He paused at the door and turned around. "Can I call you?"
"I don't have a phone." Reno frowned and wished the drunk bastard would just leave. He didn't know why he kept trying to have a successful one night stand, he always managed to sober up before he finished and his conquest always left disappointed and angry.
The man sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small slip of paper. "Here's my business card. I doubt you'll call me, but it would be nice if we could get together for something other than sex." The man set the card on Reno's dresser and staggered out of the room, his steps thick and uncoordinated as he navigated through the dingy apartment.
Reno curled his knees to his chest and rocked back and forth as he watched the man leave. It always happened this way. No matter how much alcohol he forced into his system, he always sobered up and pushed his conquests out of bed. He would try to continue sometimes, but he'd found that it wasn't any use. Once he sobered up he stayed sober, his hungover brain flashing pictures of Tseng across his mind's eye and letting him know just how not Tseng his unwitting partner was. That always sapped any sexual energy he had and depressed him enough to make him consider pulling out the nine millimeter he kept in his bedside table and turning it on himself. He ran his hands through his hair and shed some tears for his best friend. They were old tears and they tasted stagnant and stale when they reached his lips, but he cried them anyways. It had been over five years since he had seen Tseng last, in fact it had been exactly five years and seven days since he had seen Tseng. A week ago he had visited his mother's grave to pay some homage to her memory before going out and getting so wasted he couldn't see straight. He hadn't been able to perform that night either.
Reno had spent the first year away from Tseng in and out of foster homes, running from each one he was put in and trying to get to Shinra to find Tseng. He had been caught every time except for the last one as he had managed to get away from the home and stay low until they stopped looking for him. Unfortunately, he didn't stay low for long and they continued looking for him no matter where he went. Thankfully the only pictures of him they had were from when he was younger and didn't have the tattoos covering his scars. He had gotten the tattoos almost three years ago to serve as a reminder of what he had suffered the day he lost everything he held dear.
Reno laid down and curled in on himself, staring at the angry red numbers on his alarm clock with alcohol hazed and tear blurred eyes. His head was pounding now, the hangover setting in and the crying only aggravating his muddled senses. After the first year spent in and out of foster homes Reno had started hopping jobs. He worked in more places than he could name and so far as he knew there were some where he still worked as he hadn't had time to quit because of the suddenness of his forced departure. He was still being looked for after all the years spent out of foster care and even now, when he was twenty-one and legally allowed to take care of himself, he was being searched for. It wasn't hard to figure out why and he always knew when to run from his watchers. He had become a criminal, trying to put himself on Shinra's watch list while trying to keep from being caught. Reno knew that his only chance of finding out what had happened to Tseng was getting involved with the company that had practically bought him and since murder had put Tseng on their list, he felt that criminal activity would get him there as well. So far he didn't think it had worked. All he had seen were disgruntled cops that were sick of looking for him, none of the Shinra Soldiers had been sent for him yet. He was going to have to work harder if he wanted to get on Shinra's watch list.
Reno didn't enjoy criminal activity, his mother had taught him to be a good person and he felt like he was spitting on her grave when he broke the law, but he felt it was necessary. He wanted to see Tseng again, and if he couldn't see him he at least wanted to know what had happened to him after Shinra had dug their claws into him. He had heard stories, horror-filled stories, of what happened to the people taken to Shinra and if anything that terrible had happened to Tseng he would walk into the President's office and shoot the fat bastard himself.
Reno buried his head in his pillow and shoved his fingers in his ears, trying to drown out the ear splitting noises of honking cars and yelling people that echoed quietly through his window. He head was throbbing so hard he was fairly sure it would break in half, but he felt that he deserved the condition after what he had tried to do. Reno felt his stomach clench at the idea of some drunk pervert touching him where he wanted Tseng to touch him and nearly vomited, rushing to his bathroom as he dry-heaved in self-disgust. He began crying again, his body shaking with loud uncontrollable sobs as he seriously considered drowning himself in his toilet. The only reason he didn't actually go through with the suicide he wanted to commit was because he knew that he would never see Tseng again if he died. He wanted to see Tseng with all his heart and if he didn't soon he was sure he would die from self-neglect. He was fairly sure if had been several days since he had eaten last, the fact that nothing was coming out of his throat as he retched reminding him of the grumbling in his stomach. He ignored it though, leaning against his sink as he tried to block out the many protests from his body. He hadn't eaten in days and hadn't had anything to drink in the past day that wasn't alcohol. His head throbbed and his limbs twitched as if to strangle him for the abuse.
Reno pulled himself back to his feet after awhile, shoving his head under the tap in his tub and running stinging cold water over his alcohol drenched face. He shivered before stopping up the bottom of the tub and pulling his body over the edge of it, letting the cold water snap him back to his senses as it swallowed his pale form. Reno turned the water off before it flowed over the edge of the tub and sat in the frigid water until the tips of his fingers and toes began turning blue, his feverishly throbbing head enjoying the immersion. He washed carefully, intent on getting the feel and scent of the other man off of him. He didn't bother to dry off after draining the tub, walking back to his room and leaving large wet puddles on his unkempt floor. He grabbed some clothes and pulled them on, not caring if they matched or were clean.
Reno strode out of his apartment with his hands stuffed in his pockets, a nine millimeter riding in one of them. It was stupid to walk around Midgar unprotected, especially if you had criminal intentions. Reno's head was still pounding, but he was able to walk a straight line despite the dangerous levels of alcohol in his system. He knew exactly where he was going, the business card had had an address stamped onto it. The fuck-hungry pervert had probably expected Reno to visit at some point. Reno shuddered at the thought as he easily navigated the somewhat deserted sidewalks, ignoring the invitations of prostitutes and drunken men. He sped up when he caught sight of the office the man worked for or owned, Reno didn't know or care which as he didn't differentiate between his victims.
Reno smashed the glass window in the front of the building easily, not caring about the blood that flowed in thick red lines down his hand or the sickening snap that accompanied the loud crash. He climbed into the building, somewhat concerned about the lack of an alarm, but he didn't care enough to give it much thought. He let the security camera in the corner get a good look of his face, giving it a bloody salute before moving to the nearest desk and rummaging through it. It was amazing what some people left in their desks after work. Reno had gotten his gun from a desk and most of his clothing. He found a few dollars and some gum inside the first desk and he pocketed the money. He didn't find much of value in the rest of the desks, most of what he took was money. He found a bottle of rum inside one of the desks and laughed aloud as he sat down and began drinking it, the extra alcohol taking the edge off his hangover.
Reno didn't realize how much blood he lost until he tried to stand back up as he heard the crunch of tires in the distance, his legs crumbling beneath him and spilling him onto the floor. He tried to pick himself up as he heard footsteps rush to the broken window, but he couldn't manage to. Days of self-neglect and abuse had sapped him of his strength and his head swam as he tried to crawl under a desk to hide, knowing how futile his attempt was as he was already smearing blood all over the floor. He didn't want to go to prison, no matter how much punishment he thought he deserved he didn't want to go to prison. When his head stopped spinning enough for him to realize there were no flashing lights that were complimentary of police officers he felt his heart leap in his chest hopefully. He tried to fumble for his gun, but he knew he couldn't shoot it, his gun hand was bleeding furiously and he could tell a few of the bones were broken as he couldn't even wrap the hand around the handle. He felt it probably served him right for being so out of his mind that he couldn't even feel the bones snap, but at the moment he wasn't concerned about what he did or didn't deserve, he was concerned about staying out of prison and staying alive. He knew he had a lot of enemies in the underbelly of the plate and the chances of them following him to the building were high as he had just managed to piss them off beyond reason earlier that day. He stiffened as he heard bodies clamber through the broken window, boots crunching on glass as they landed on the broken shards. Reno tried to still his breathing and slow the beating of his heart, but he knew he would be found eventually no matter what he did. There was a trail of upturned desk drawers and blood leading straight to him.
Tseng watched the entire scene with a slightly sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, noting Reno's attempts to hide himself under a desk with pity. The security camera blurred his best friends face horribly and he wished he could whack the monitor into compliance without getting a strange look from Veld. He could see thin red lines under Reno's eyes and hoped to Gaia that the scars were tattooed over instead of being that ridiculously prominent, rubbing his own tattooed over scar absentmindedly as he thought about it. "Are you sure you want him here?" Veld's voice made him lower his hand and lace it with the one that was settled against his back.
Tseng nodded, his eyes fixed on the monitor as Reno was forcibly dragged to his feet and cuffed by Shinra operatives that peeled a gun from his bloody hand, noting their lack of concern for his self-induced injury with distaste. "Of course I want him here."
"You want him to become a murderer, thief, and spy?" Veld's voice held a note of curiosity in it as he questioned Tseng, unsure of his partners motives. He had separated the two friends and now he was simply a spectator as Tseng tried to reunite them. He hadn't interfered thus far, but he had a desire to as Reno lashed out at his employees and almost succeeded in his attempts to escape. The fact that Reno was able to give two Turks trouble even when he was injured and obviously malnourished intrigued Veld, but he wouldn't admit his interest to Tseng.
"He's already halfway there." Tseng snorted, his voice stoic and steady as he watched Reno struggle as he was pulled out of the smashed window.
Reno groaned and tried to sit up, his bound hands making the action difficult. "Where the hell are ya takin' me?" He slurred drunkenly, his voice somewhat muffled by the seat cushion his face was shoved into.
The men who had captured him didn't answer, starting the car and driving away without a word. Reno managed to reposition himself by kicking out with his legs and using them to pull his body upright. He leaned back against the seat and tried to slip his hands out of the cuffs that held them behind his back. He used the blood on his hand as a lubricant and almost had one hand out when a gun barrel was pointed between his eyes. He blinked once and stopped his struggling with a gulp as he noted that it was his gun being pointed at him.
Reno stayed silent and immobile for the rest of the drive even after the gun was pulled away from his face. Once the men stopped the car he had even more reason to stay quiet when he saw that they had stopped at the Shinra building. Reno felt triumph permeate his fear as he was led up to the building by his silent escorts.
Tseng turned to Veld as they received word that the 'renegade criminal' was waiting for questioning in their holding tank. "Are you ready?"
Veld straightened the cuffs of his suit and threw Tseng a calculating look. "I don't think you should be the one to question him Tseng."
Tseng stiffened noticeably, his giddy mood completely squashed by uncharacteristic anger. He misread Veld's comment as another attempt to keep him from his best friend and bristled. "Why is that? Do you think I am incapable of doing my job Veld?"
Veld cleared his throat and backtracked, not expecting Tseng to take offense to the comment. "Of course I don't, I know firsthand how capable you are. I just thought it would be easier for him to answers if you weren't there to...distract him."
Tseng's eyes narrowed but he was able to see the sense his partner and superior spoke. "I will watch from behind the two way mirror then. Be civil to him. If you lay a hand on him it will be removed and that goes for anyone who has contact with him, understood?"
Veld chuckled and patted Tseng on the shoulder reassuringly. "We will take great pains to make sure he is comfortably restrained." Veld walked from the room with Tseng in tow, the dark haired man behind him lost in his own thoughts.
Tseng quickly checked his internal calendar that kept perfect count of all the days he and Reno had spent apart and even counted the hours. Since it was now past midnight it had been exactly five years, eight days, two hours, twenty-seven minutes, and forty-eight seconds since they had last spoken to each other. Tseng had seen him more than once, had seen him a week ago when he had gone to visit his mothers grave in fact, but he had never been able to show himself or talk to him. Reno had always been out of reach, but watched over. Tseng had watched him carefully even while he was being trained, following his progression through foster homes and helping Veld locate him when he dropped off of the Shinra radar. Reno had been harder to find than some of the most covert gangs living under the plate and had cost the Turks more time and effort to keep tabs on than any of their other potential recruits. It was only recently that Tseng had managed to make Veld sign the order for Reno to be brought in, but even after the order was signed it was hard to find him no matter how many Turks were assigned to watch him at all hours. For all that made Reno stand out he was able to slink out of sight easily.
Tseng was more nervous than he would ever admit, but he kept his tumultuous excitement to himself. He grabbed Veld by the shoulder before he entered the holding cell. "Veld, do you think he remembers me?"
Veld snorted and pushed Tseng's hand off his shoulder. "Of course he remembers you. The bastard has had nothing else to think about for the past five years! Why do you think he would forget you?"
Tseng shuffled his feet and inclined his head. "Just worried I guess." He opened the door to the observation room and stepped inside before he could embarrass himself further.
Reno slumped back against the chair his arms were cuffed to, trying to slip his bloody hand from the cuff again. The men had been smarter this time and had made the cuffs so tight that they were beginning to cut off circulation to his hands, something that was probably good when his still bleeding hand was taken into account. Reno frowned as he wiggled and strained to free his hand with minimal success, his wrist beginning to bleed as the cuff bit down on his skin. He jumped guiltily as the door opened and a dark suited and very recognizable man walked in, Reno's anger pushing to the surface and making him go momentarily blind with rage. "You!"
Veld paused, somewhat surprised that Reno recognized him after all the years it had been since he had seen him last. Veld had a new wrinkles and a long scar twisting along his cheek now, yet Reno still knew who he was. Veld recovered his composure and made sure to stay out of Reno's reach as he noticed that one of Reno's hands was already halfway out of the cuff. "Reno, I'm surprised you remember me. It's been years. We were never properly introduced actually, my name is Veld."
"Of course I remember you! You're the bastard that took my best friend away!" Reno began struggling harder, determined to free his hands and strangle the face that smiled at him kindly.
Veld chuckled and took a seat across from Reno, pressing his hands together and gazing at him over the steeple of fingers. His amusement enraged Reno and he could tell as the red-head continued to try and rip his broken hand out of the cuff, the bone snapping again with a sickening crack that he didn't seem to notice. "Unless you want to be sedated again I suggest you settle down." He could practically hear Tseng screaming at him from behind the two way mirror but he ignored the nagging of his conscience.
Reno glared at him and shoved his hand back through the cuff, purposefully making the broken bones shift against each other with a sickening snick that made the dark suited man cringe. Reno grinned and made the noise again, the pain not bothering him in the slightest. "So what'd you do with Tseng ya bastard?"
"That's not important right now." Veld cringed visibly as the grating click of bone against bone echoed through the room. "Please stop that, its disgusting."
"Stop what?" Reno asked innocently, continuing to mangle his hand with a delighted smile as Veld grimaced and looked at his hand with disgust.
Veld did his best to ignore the sickening sounds Reno was making so that he could regain his composure. "Reno, I have a proposition for you."
Reno frowned and stopped his moving his now throbbing hand. "What the hell do you mean a proposition? Do you honestly think there's anything you could offer me that would make me agree to whatever the hell you want from me? It's not like you've got anything to threaten me with besides prison and I don't give a shit about getting locked up, I'll just break out." Reno snorted and rolled his eyes. "Take my life, its not like I've really got anything to live for anymore. My ma is gone and the only other person I ever gave a damn about is Gaia knows where and could be dead for all I know. I've got a shitty apartment full of broken and stolen things and I haven't had a single moment of happiness since you took Tseng from me. Why the hell would my life mean anything to me? It's not a good bargaining tool." Reno's face fell and he slumped down in his seat, his chin touching his chest as he watched blood flow from his hand where tiny pieces of bone could be seen poking through the skin. "You've got no leverage on me. I'd probably be better off if you killed me."
Veld felt his heart break for the man sitting across from him but he kept his face neutral and pleasant. "What if I told you everything I know about Tseng?"
Reno's response was immediate and animated. He sat up in his seat so fast air bubbles popped in his spine. His face lit up and his dead eyes sparkled with life. "He's alive!" Veld nodded and Reno began hyperventilating in his shocked joy. A few tears fell from his eyes and he squeezed them shut, the drops still flowing down his face as he struggled to keep a check on his loosed emotions. "Is he alright? Can I see him? Please Gaia tell me you're not lying!"
Veld watched Reno's reaction with mild amazement, surprised to find that the red-head was this emotional after one nod of his head. "I'm not lying, he is alive and if you agree to my proposition you can see him again."
"I'll agree to anything!" Reno shouted, his eyes flying open as he leaned forward and tried to pull his hands from the cuffs. His broken and mangled hand slipped loose easily and he gave a short scream as pain flooded his system for the first time since he had broken it. He ignored it as best as he could and tried to make his fumbling fingers undo the other cuff. "Let me loose! Let me see him! You've got you're yes dammit!"
Veld had seen some crazy people in his life, but he was fairly sure Reno was the most psychotic. The man had willfully broken his hand into bloody bits and was currently on his way to breaking the other one as he tried to rip it from the unforgiving metal restraint. He stood and pulled Reno's blood slicked hand to his side, doing his best to restrain him without hurting him further. "Calm down! I have to fill you in on the details of what you're agreeing to!"
Reno didn't calm down but he did stop struggling. "I already agreed! I don't care what I'm throwing myself into! Just let me see him!" He was so close to seeing Tseng he could taste it but Veld couldn't understand his frantic need. Reno had never wanted anything more in his life and it showed in his actions.
Veld gave a frustrated sigh. "You've agreed to work for the Shinra company as a Turk. You will be asked to kill, steal, spy, and obey every order given without question or complaint. You will have to go through the most stringent training ever thought of and will risk losing your life every time you set foot on something solid. Is that clear?"
Reno nodded vigorously. "I got it! I don't care! Just let me see him!"
Veld straightened and took a step back. "Stay here, I will send him in to see you."
Reno promptly began hyperventilating again but stayed still as Veld left the room. His entire body quivered with anticipation and only the throbbing pains of his hand let him know he wasn't dreaming.
Tseng watched the scene with a gaping mouth, his hands pressed against the glass to steady himself. He almost cried with relief when Reno made apparent his desire to see him. Tseng wanted to slap the red-head every time he twisted his shattered hand, knowing on instinct that that hand would never hold a gun again after what had been done to it. A gun was a Turk's best friend and closest companion, never leaving his side. Tseng knew he wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for his and if Reno wasn't able to use one he had no idea what would happen to him. There were other Turks who used less efficient weapons, but most of them ended up dying because of the sacrifice in precision. He pressed his bindi tattooed forehead to the glass and hoped that Reno would be able to compensate for the difference.
He backed away from the glass as Veld moved to fetch him, wiping dampness from his cheeks as he prepared to confront the man he had been forced to avoid for the past five years. He grabbed a first aid kit from one of the cabinets in the observation room that was normally used on injured questioners. Tseng was determined to stop the blood that was pouring out of Reno's shattered hand. Veld opened the door and nodded, the tension in the air deafening as Tseng pushed past him and stood swallowing nervously in front of the waiting room door. He gripped the knob and took a shaky breath before pushing it open.
Reno's breath caught in his throat as Tseng stepped through the door and his entire world seemed to stop spinning as he watched Tseng walk towards him, his every dream for the past five years made a reality. Tseng grabbed the chair Veld had been using and set it in front of him, sitting in it and grabbing his hand tenderly. His voice was irritated but kind, music to Reno's ears no matter what emotion was put behind it. "Why do you do this to yourself Reno?"
Reno swallowed and pulled his hand from Tseng's gentle grip, his voice thick with emotion. "Ts-Tseng?"
Tseng brought his eyes up to meet Reno's and was almost overwhelmed by a strong desire to simply grab him and kiss his brains out, almost overwhelmed. Had he not had stringent training in self control he probably would have. The tear that rolled down Reno's cheek nearly made him throw all his rules out the window as he brushed a thumb over the wet drop carefully. "Yes Reno?"
"You're not dead? You're alive? You've been alive this whole time?" Reno was still trying to process the fact that his best friend was sitting in front of him and wiping tears from his face with a calloused thumb. "How?"
Tseng's lips twitched into a smile and he took Reno's bloody hand in his own, resuming the first aid care he had planned to administer. "I never died Reno. I just wasn't allowed to make contact with you. They felt it would interfere with my training to have contact with you. They were probably right, had I been able to talk to you I probably would have thrown my training to the wind and run as far as I could with you in tow."
Reno leaned forward and pressed his forehead into Tseng's shoulder, inhaling the sharp scent he had been desperately trying to remember for five years. "I missed you so much Tseng."
Tseng swallowed hard, pushing the lump in his throat back down to his stomach. "I know you did Reno. I missed you too."
Reno watched from his perch on Tseng's shoulder as his hand was carefully wrapped, the bones not shifting once under Tseng's gentle hands. "I kinda did a number on myself didn't I?"
Tseng chuckled and finished taping down the thickly layered gauze that covered Reno's hand. "That's an understatement. You haven't been taking care of yourself at all, have you?" Tseng had noticed Reno's paleness immediately, along with his extreme lack of body fat, the surplus of dark rings under his eyes, and the unkempt hair that reached all the way to his hips. He knew all the signs of a poorly cared for person, having been one himself not long ago. He vowed at that moment to nurse Reno back to health no matter how long it took.
"No. I didn't see a reason to." Reno shrugged, knowing his excuse was rather pathetic. He leaned back in his chair and rattled his chained hand loudly. "Can you let me loose Tsengy? I wanna give you the biggest hug you have ever got."
Tseng blushed hard and looked over his shoulder at the two way mirror where he knew Veld was watching and listening. "I don't have the key, Veld does. I'll have to go ask." He got up to leave but Reno lunged for him with his broken hand, grasping at the front of his shirt even though his fingers didn't work right.
Reno winced and gave a whimper as pain lanced through his arm, his entire body seeming weak and fragile now that he was allowing himself to feel it. "Don't go! I don't care if I'm still locked up just don't leave again!"
"I won't." Tseng sat back down, holding Reno's broken hand between his own. He gulped and brought his eyes up to meet Reno's, noting the fear and worry that was radiating from him. "Just so you know Reno, everything you do from now on will be judged. You've always been watched by Shinra, but now you're going to be scrutinized beyond imagination. You will not have a single day where there's not someone near you who will be forced to truthfully recount your actions to someone of a higher rank, not even me. If you don't follow orders they will shoot you. There are no second chances." Tseng clenched his eyes shut at the vivid mental image of Reno lying prostrate on the floor, blood flowing from multiple gunshot wounds. "For the love of Gaia Reno please just do as you're told, even if it hurts someone."
"No matter what the consequences are I will never do anything to hurt you." Reno leaned forward as Tseng looked at him intently, the dark eyes blinking with passionate confusion as he momentarily forgot that his intact hand was bound to the chair and couldn't move. He growled and rattled the chain angrily and shouted at the blank expanse of glass that Tseng had looked towards earlier, knowing from experience that the glass was two way. "Hey Veld! I know you can hear me! Come undo this godsdamned cuff!"
Tseng jumped at Reno's shouting and glared at the smirking red-head. "You do realize he's your boss now right? He could make life ridiculously difficult for you."
Reno winked and rattled on his chain again as he heard the doorknob turn. "Don't worry Tsengy, I know just how far to push my luck. I haven't been killed yet have I?"
Tseng frowned as Veld entered the room and tossed a set of keys onto the table with a good-natured huff. "Behave you two. Tseng, once you're done in here take him down to the infirmary so he can have that hand checked out."
Tseng nodded and Veld left the room, turning on the light in the observation room so that the two way glass was illuminated and anyone inside it would be visible. Tseng was glad the room was empty as he grabbed the keys and unlocked Reno's handcuff, tensing slightly as Reno lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight hug the second his hand was freed. The keys dropped to the floor as Tseng held Reno just as fiercely, his earlier restraint forgotten as he cradled his good-as-dead friend in his arms. "Reno, did you mean it when you said you wouldn't do anything that would hurt me no matter what the consequences?" Reno nodded into Tseng's shoulder and he continued. "I don't want you to do anything to try and protect me Reno. In this company if they know you have a close friend they will use them against you to make you do what they want and if you have to be punished they will go after your loved ones first. That's why Veld's wife and daughter are gone. He was careless during a mission and they paid the price."
Reno stiffened at Tseng's words, the fingers of his good hand curling into the back of Tseng's jacket. "Tseng, I don't care what they do to me, but they're not hurting you no matter what. I lost you once, I'm not going through that again."
Tseng sighed and pulled away from Reno, his body aching from the loss of heat. "Fine, I know better than to try and talk you out of anything." He stood and offered Reno his hand. "Lets go fix you up."
Reno smiled and stood, greedily accepting Tseng's hand in his own. "A little tape and glue and I should be good as new, right?"
"Of course not, you're going to need some surgery on that hand if you ever want it to work again." Tseng smiled as he pushed open the door, his heart feeling light as air now that he had his best friend keeping step beside him.
Reno gave a dramatic sigh and pouted comically. "Can't we just slap a band-aid on it and call it a day?"
Tseng chuckled as he led Reno down the whitewashed halls. "I don't think that will work Reno."
Reno's grinned widened before it fell, seriousness coloring his voice. "You'll be there the whole time right?"
Tseng stopped and quickly scanned the hall for people before turning to Reno and pulling him into a tender hug. "Of course I will be."
Reno sagged into Tseng's arms and inhaled deeply, loving the distinctive scent of his favorite person in the world. Guilt swamped his shoulders as he remembered what he had tried to do just hours ago, his mind still sick with disgust at the thought. "Tseng, when you said Shinra has always been watching me, did you include yourself in that?" Tseng nodded and Reno exhaled before continuing. "That means you know about everything I've done, right?"
Tseng frowned and pulled away from Reno, holding him close as he peered down into shame-filled blue orbs. "I know everything you have done in the past five years Reno. I know about the drugs, the pre-legal alcohol binges, the after legal alcohol binges, the theft, and all the meaningless one night stands. Not one bit of that bothers me."
Reno swallowed hard and refused to meet Tseng's eyes, staring at his blood-splattered shoes instead. "I was never able to do anything with the one nights stands. I always stopped halfway through and kicked them out. I never even kissed any of them."
Tseng felt his already lightened heart begin to soar at Reno's confession. "You never did anything?"
"No. I tried to, but I always sobered up and thought of you before things got serious." Reno blushed, embarrassed at how stupid he sounded in his own mind.
Tseng grinned and grabbed Reno by the chin, tilting the red face up to his own. "I haven't kissed anyone since you either. Not once."
Reno felt guilt wash off his shoulders at Tseng's words, his face breaking out in a happy smile as Tseng looked down at him happily. He frowned as he realized that he had to tilt his head up to look Tseng in the eye. "When did you get taller than me?"
"About year three." Tseng chuckled and planted a small kiss on Reno's cheek before taking his hand again and leading him down the hall, the blood flowing from Reno's hand starting to seep through the carefully wrapped bandage.
Author's Note: YAY! REUNITED AND IT FEEEEEEEEEELS SO GOOD! :D
Anyone else excited about this happy turn of events?