Reno panted as he ran, his breath fogging over his goggles. He didn't mind that though, his goggles were slowly sinking down over his nose and he was seconds away from ripping them off altogether, but he knew Tseng would probably tan his hide if he did, not that he would mind that either. A small crackle passed through the small radio receiver attached to his ear. "Hurry it up Reno! You're never going to set that record if you run like that." Tseng's voice was heavy with amusement even through the static and Reno smiled as he ran faster, his legs burning after hours of the activity. He grabbed onto the climbing wall in front of him and scaled it quickly, his hands and feet barely touching the holds before they were removed again. Reno loved the obstacle courses the Turks had to go through. The strenuous exercise made his heart pound and limbs ache, but he loved it because the entire time Tseng was in his ear making comments, whether those comments be encouraging or joking Reno loved them. "Reno you realize Rodney is about three minutes away from completely kicking your ass in this course, right?" Reno hated the other recruit. Rodney had been picked up by Veld just a month before Reno and he was the most annoying and self-centered person Reno had ever met. Reno supposed that he could potentially become friends with Rodney, they had a lot in common, but it was what they had in common that bothered him. Every chance he got Rodney would talk to Tseng, pester him, or try and touch him. Reno didn't mind the talking or the pestering, everyone pestered Tseng. It was the touching that set him off. Every time Rodney so much as looked at Tseng Reno was mere seconds away from ripping his head off, which he tried to do on a regular basis when they trained together. EMR's really didn't work well for decapitation though and Rodney's head still remained intact and on his shoulders, much to Reno's chagrin. Reno increased his speed at Tseng's urging and soon caught sight of Rodney's back. He smirked and sprinted for it as fast as he could, determined to beat the brunette no matter what he had to do.
The good thing about Turks, in Reno's opinion at least, was that no one cared if they got their ass kicked by a fellow Turk, or at least they weren't supposed to care. They were supposed to feel happy, or at least pretend to feel happy, and applaud the person strong enough or fast enough to beat them. The other good thing was that in any and every exercise that involved competition they were allowed to kick the crap out of each other, something Reno really and truly loved especially as he grabbed the back of Rodney's shirt and pulled, throwing the pesky brunette's troublesome body onto the ground. Rodney yelped with surprise, obviously unprepared for Reno's attack and Reno grinned even wider as he clambered up yet another climbing wall. He and Rodney were evenly matched, neither one having the clear upper hand in their fights or races, but Reno always managed to make an advantage for himself even if he didn't have one. After both of them had healed from their 'recruiting injuries' as they were so nicely dubbed; almost everyone broke at least one bone during their recruiting and if they didn't there was a larger injury somewhere else to compensate for the lack of skeletal abuse; they had begun competing against each other in everything, both seeing the other as a very really threat standing between them and Tseng. Reno really didn't need to worry as Tseng was his and his alone, but he wanted it known that he was more than willing to fight to keep his publicly unmarked territory under his command. It had been hard for Reno to deal with the fact that someone else wanted his Tseng and that he wasn't able to tell that someone else straight to their face that a hand laid on Tseng was a hand removed, but he was more than understanding of the rules Tseng set when he knew their purpose.
Anyone caught in an inter-employee relationship was reprimanded and usually demoted as well even though everyone seemed to have inter-employee relationships; it was impossible to work with people for twelve hours a day or more and stay completely emotionless towards them like President Shinra wanted. Reno could tell who was with who just by watching during the few small minutes of free time they received. He knew that Rude was with Cissnei, no matter how little sense that made to anyone and everyone as Cissnei was simply the most bubbly and energetic person anyone had ever met while Rude was the exact opposite, and that no one else had eyes for his Tseng except Rodney. Everyone else was scared shitless of his dark-haired angel, something that amused Reno so much he often had trouble keeping the laughter that bubbled in his chest when Cissnei or Samantha cowered while they were given orders or reprimanded by his stoic companion. Tseng didn't seem to like the fact that Reno completely tread on all the rules of respect and hierarchy that were set up in the Turks, but Veld seemed to enjoy his recklessness.
Reno whooped loudly as he passed the finish line that marked the end of the obstacle course, Tseng's amused smile the only signal he needed to know that he had done well. He slumped onto the ground next to Tseng's legs and leaned against them, his lungs desperately pulling in the copious amounts of air they had been denied while he was running and jumping and climbing and Gaia only knew what to call some of the things the obstacle course forced his body to do. Tseng rolled his eyes as Reno beamed up at him from his spot on the ground, pulling Reno's goggles off his eyes and plucking the receiver from his ear. "Rodney was ahead of you up until the very end."
Reno knew Tseng was asking just what had happened that had allowed him to win the race; Tseng was only able to know their times because of the computer chips in the receivers that sent information on the vitals and distance from the finishing point of the person wearing the ear-piece. Reno chuckled as best as he could, his starving lungs still greedily sucking in air. "I knocked him flat on his ass. You shoulda seen it! You woulda been proud Tsengy."
Tseng chuckled, a sound that only Reno was able to hear on a regular basis, and scanned the computer that was sitting on his lap. Tseng was in charge of all the training the new Turk recruits received since he was second in command, a position he didn't know how he had obtained. He took pride in the accomplishment though, knowing that promotions weren't handed out to just anyone in the Shinra company. No matter how upset he had been about being forced to work for Shinra, he had done everything in his power to make sure he succeeded in the company, his only thought being that the more power he obtained the more capable he would be of finding Reno. He had been proven right in his way of thinking when Reno had been carted in that morning, his body battered and bloody, but very very Reno as it sat and dripped all over one of Veld's favorite chairs.
At first Tseng had been scared out of his wits, unsure of what to do now that he had Reno back again. His first thoughts had of course been to cradle him to his chest and make the hurt go away, but after Reno had started feeling better he had begun to worry. He knew that they wouldn't be able to keep their closer than friend relationship secret for long, even though they never did anything in public or even in private it was almost painfully obvious to Tseng's eyes that they were intoxicated with each other. Only Veld knew their full story, but the Turk commander kept the details to himself as he didn't want to see either of them put on the list of people that President Shinra decided to keep an uncomfortably close eye on. Rude and Cissnei were already in that department and so long as neither of them screwed up or slacked in their duties they were fine, but once there was the slightest mistake made one of them would be removed from the company and Tseng was fairly sure it wouldn't be Rude. President Shinra had something against women, having had his own wife murdered by the very Turks he employed after she had given him an heir.
Tseng didn't know which one of them would be declared a waste of funds once Shinra found out, but he was fairly sure that it wouldn't be him; he had already proven his worth time and time again. Reno, however, was new and his worth was untried and untested. The only reason Rude and Cissnei had gotten away with their relationship for so long was because they had both saved the President's life at one time or another. Until Reno showed that he could be trusted and not screw up he was in constant danger of being called to the President's office and shot. That could be said of any Turk, but for the brand new recruits it was always far more likely. Tseng remembered very clearly the first time he and the other recruits he had been trained with were summoned to the President's office. The other two had been casually shot and Tseng had been able to do nothing but stand dumbfounded as people he had begun to call friends collapsed onto the floor in front of him, completely lifeless. After that the President had stowed his gun and offered a very stunned Tseng his hand with choice words that gave Tseng nightmares for weeks. "Welcome to Shinra."
Now, however, was not the time for Tseng to worry about that, not when Reno was panting and slumped against his legs in a very Reno-like fashion. Tseng had to resist the urge to ruffle the sweaty red-hair that was fanned across his leg, Reno's pony-tail holder lost somewhere in the obstacle course. Reno smirked and tilted his head back over Tseng's knee. "Do you think I hurt him? He shouldn't be this far behind me. How long has it been now eh? Five, ten minutes?"
"Not even four." Tseng chuckled again and Reno took note of it, keeping a mental tally of how often he was able to pull the sound from Tseng's lips. So far he had made Tseng chuckle five times, something that was a bit of a record for him since no matter what he tried Tseng was determined to stay professional and stoic during their hours at work. Tseng's determination didn't keep Reno from trying though and he cracked as many jokes as he could to try and tweak the corners of Tseng's lips even a little. Footsteps pounded up the rough path towards them and Reno pouted sullenly, his now mako tuned ears picking up the very faint noise. "Rodney's almost done." Every Turk was given a low level dosage of mako when they started their training. The dose wasn't enough to give them Soldier eyes, but it was enough to enhance their senses and physical prowess. Without the small amount of mako in his system Reno probably would have passed out after the first run they took through the course. Now after run four he only felt like he had run it once.
"You don't like Rodney, do you?" It wasn't necessary for Tseng to ask the question, he knew Reno hated Rodney as anyone who had eyes could see the utter loathing Reno radiated towards Rodney and Rodney alone. Reno didn't even show Veld the same amount of hatred he showed Rodney which was saying something because Reno claimed that he hated Veld more than he had hated his own father.
Reno frowned and launched into a quiet rant, his eyes darting down the path that echoed faintly with Rodney's footsteps. He could tell Rodney was walking now and he was pleased with the idea that he had hurt the man enough to make him limp the way his footsteps suggested he did. "I hate the bastard! Every chance he gets he tries to make a move on you! Nobody gets to make a move on you! You're my Tsengy-poo and no one else's! Why can't we tell people again?"
Tseng laughed aloud this time and Reno's dark mood lifted instantly, his body twisting as he turned to watch Tseng succumb to mirth. "Because I don't want to get shot Reno."
Reno beamed, still happy despite the moroseness of the topic they had broached. He continued to listen to Rodney's thunking footsteps that were gradually, very gradually, coming closer. "Why the hell would we get shot for being together?" Reno assumed that he and Tseng were still just barely out of Rodney's hearing range and hoped his assumption wouldn't make an ass out of him.
"We would get shot because us being together is against the rules. Besides, it wouldn't be we that got shot, only one of us would get physically punished." Tseng pursed his lips as he watched the tiny dot on his screen that was Rodney get closer and closer. "Either he's stalling or he's actually hurt."
"Probably a mixture of both." Reno shrugged and pushed himself to his feet, his limbs slightly shaky from the ridiculous amounts of exercise he had done that day. He reckoned that Tseng had changed the subject because Rodney was now close enough to hear them. The slightest hint of an eavesdropping person, no matter how small, always made Tseng switch topics and get professional again.
Tseng pursed his lips at the screen, his dark eyes flipping between Reno and Rodney's pixel. "Tell me again how you passed him?"
Reno shuffled his feet nervously, knowing that he was in actual trouble now. Tseng's beautifully dark eyes were flashing dangerously and he knew from experience that that meant trouble. "I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him down."
Tseng sighed heavily and clicked the lid of the laptop shut. "He keeps his EMR in his back pocket while he runs, he probably landed on it and it probably discharged right into his ass."
Reno couldn't help the maliciously mirthful snort that launched his head forward and pressed his eyes closed, the vivid mental image of Rodney getting an ass-full of electrical wattage far too funny for him to keep a straight face. Tseng frowned at him disapprovingly as they started down the path to help their fallen comrade. No matter how much Reno wanted to leave Rodney behind, a Turk's first priority was to take care of the other Turks; at least so long as the President wasn't around.
They found Rodney leaning against one of the climbing walls, singed and smoking slightly. Tseng sighed and swept one of Rodney's lightly twitching arms over his shoulder, pulling the electrocuted Turk to his side and carting him down the path. He caught the rather disgruntled look Reno gave him for the gesture, but he ignored it as best as he could even though he was fairly sure he could feel the residual heat from the angry glares Rodney's back was getting as they trudged up the path. Tseng knew Rodney meant well; no matter how much his advances annoyed him, but he hoped that Rodney would be the recruit removed during induction despite the sickening sensations he felt for wishing death upon someone who hadn't done anything wrong. Rodney didn't have the temperament to be a Turk though and Tseng was somewhat confused as to why Veld had brought the man in, but he knew his superior had his reasons and he didn't pry. He did give Rodney's head a rather unkind shove as it tried to rest wearily on his shoulder. No matter how bad he felt for the man he wasn't going to let anyone but Reno rest on that shoulder.
Reno could swear at Rodney in his mind all he wanted but it wouldn't change the fact that he was draped across Tseng's shoulder. Reno grinned evilly at the large burned hole in the back of Rodney's pants and wished desperately that training EMR's carried the full-charge of a regular EMR. He would have loved to see the Rodney that was draped over his Tseng's shoulder with a fully charged EMR stuck up his rear. It was a beautiful sight to imagine, Rodney twitching and seizing on the ground while Reno grinned maniacally with a very disturbed and somewhat confused Tseng in his arms. Yes, Reno's daydreams were very, very pleasant.
Tseng laid Rodney in the back of the chopper and rolled his eyes when the brunette passed out, the pain finally forcing his consciousness to the wayside. Tseng would have thought that after all the time Reno spent shocking Rodney he would have gotten used to the sensation by now, but apparently Tseng had thought wrong. He frowned at Reno disapprovingly as the far too chipper red-head clambered into the passenger seat, bouncing with anticipation as he waited for Tseng to start the chopper. Tseng couldn't help the small smile that turned the corners of his lips though, Reno's childlike bliss reminding him of the first time they had launched the rocket together. Even though the thing had practically shattered with the force of the explosion Reno had wanted to try again immediately, bouncing on his bed in much the same fashion he was bouncing in now while Tseng had picked up the pieces and tried to put out the small fire that had started on his sleeve.
The thoughts of that simple fire aroused memories that were best left forgotten for Tseng, horrifying memories of very hot cigarettes pressing down into his arms and pouring the fresh scent of nicotine and burnt flesh into his nostrils. Tseng's parents had eventually paid dearly for all their crimes against him, Veld had helped him take care of them personally.
About fifteen months after Tseng had been sold to Shinra Tseng's parents realized what they had done and decided they wanted him sent back to live with them, a demand that both Tseng and Shinra refused to give an affirmative answer to. When Tseng's parents had started to get more persistent Tseng's performance had started to suffer. One night Veld had come to the bunk where Tseng feigned sleep and cried in fear and worry. The older man knew exactly what Tseng had gone through due to the nights the teen had spent crying on his shoulder after terrifying nightmares that depicted murderous parents ripping Reno limb from limb while Reno continued to try and plant a feel-better kiss on torn flesh. Veld had pressed the gun into Tseng's still awake fingers before pulling him from the bed with a quietly commanding speech. "Either you turn that gun on yourself or you turn it on your parents because there is not any force on heaven or Earth that will get you away from Shinra or your parents except death. If you die they leave Shinra alone and everything goes back to normal, except for the fact that you're very very dead and any chance you have of ever seeing Reno again is completely thrown out the window. If you turn the gun on them you get someof that revenge you want for the years of torture they put you through, and Shinra is left alone and everything goes back to normal. I suggest you decide before the President does because in his mind it's easier to cover up one death than it is to cover up two." Tseng had simply stared at Veld in dumbfounded silence, a nod the only answer he was able to give. Veld had smiled kindly and clapped Tseng on the shoulder as he lead the teen out of the building and drove him back to his old house with the inconspicuous outside.
Reno couldn't help the pleasure that coursed through his veins as Tseng prepared to fly them back to Shinra, their Junon obstacle course officially exhausted for the day now that one of them was in the backseat smoldering. Reno knew the next time they came here the obstacle course would be completely different, but he didn't much care. What he was most worried about at that particular moment was the sweeping blades of the helicopter as the engine roared to life and the aircraft was coaxed into the air by Tseng's capable hands, Reno's stomach swooping down to his toes as the chopper lifted. Reno loved flying, it was his favorite thing about being a Turk; outside of all the other things he loved about being a Turk like Tseng's undivided attention when he purposefully screwed up or did something good.
Tseng couldn't hide the pleasant grin that lit up his face at Reno's enthusiasm, his anger at the red-head dissipating like it was never there when a tiny giggle burst from the bouncing man's throat. The fact that he was absolutely no actual help as a pilot notwithstanding, Tseng absolutely loved it when Reno was his co-pilot. Every smile that cracked Reno's face almost in half made Tseng want to lower the chopper even less. He was fairly glad Rodney had passed out now; he would have had to restrain the large grin that crossed his normally stoic features had the man been awake to observe their behavior. Tseng had taken every precaution he could think of to try and keep anyone but Veld from finding out about his rather unprofessional extracurricular relationship with Reno. It wasn't like they were sleeping together; Tseng wanted to save that for a special occasion, namely Reno's induction night, but the fact that they spent most of their time in Tseng's apartment touching in some way would probably not be looked on with any kind of favorability by the powers that controlled in the Shinra Company.
Unbeknownst to the two smiling men in the front of the helicopter, Rodney opened his eyes a fraction. He felt he must've done a good job acting if he had been able to fool Tseng into believing he had passed out from his meager injuries, but as he opened his eyes he realized that Tseng had simply been distracted by his red-headed rival; who happened to be prattling away like mad again while Tseng simply smiled and tried to keep the helicopter in the air. Rodney fought the urge to growl as Tseng chuckled, a sound that was musical and envy invoking. Rodney carefully observed his two companions, noting their every action as they traveled back to Midgar.
Author's Note: Ohmigosh! There's a spy in the backseat! :O You can either hate me now or hate me later, but you will eventually hate me for this story. I can promise you that. I know for a fact that Sonya and Savannah will have their whacking shovels out by the time this story is over. If anyone else would like to join in on their 'beat-up-evil-mean-Vietta' fun; feel free. I like the pain :D
Forgive me for the OC's that are Rodney and Samantha, I just wanted extra Turks to do evil things to/with.
As for this chapter, I'd like to have it known that I started writing it at 5:30 in the morning and then had a fifteen hour period where I didn't work on it at all, and then I finished and proofread it at about 1 in the morning. Technically its Wednesday now and I started this yesterday morning, but since I haven't gone to bed yet I simply consider this a chapter that took a day to write. Any grammatical errors you find are purely my fault or dialogue based and I apologize and blame my unnoticed tiredness.