(A/N: Warning - language and lemon up ahead - don't like, don't continue!!!)

Chapter Two

After what seemed like he had been swimming for hours, Reno collapsed onto the sands of the island, dropping Yazoo roughly off his back.

"As soon as I catch my breath," Reno panted, "I am teaching you how to swim."

Yazoo looked up at Reno as his blue eyes met green.

"Why did you save me? I understand that you only took me along with you because Shinra wouldn't let you go alone. But why did you save me? You could have let me drown. Plenty of others would have taken that road. So why…?"

Reno turned over and let his head fall back against the sand as he stared up at the sky. Turning his head to the Remnant, he replied, "I had one moment of compassion. Your sorry ass should be praising me for saving you, not criticizing my actions."

"Then let me sincerely thank you for saving my life," Yazoo said with a mock bow. "Perhaps you would like to tell me that you really don't despise my guts next?"

Reno growled, "Don't push your luck Remnant."

Yazoo smirked as he looked around. "I feel a strong pulse of energy suppressing my Jenova cells. It feels like I am growing weaker with every second I am here. Maybe that is because I am Mother's son?"

"It would make sense," Reno agreed reluctantly. "This is the place where Jenova supposedly lost her heart and her hatred for man developed, correct? So maybe the island repels you because you are her son. But that makes no sense."

"Does anything need to make sense here?" Yazoo asked as he stood up. "You wanted answers, correct? Well I doubt you are going to get them by hanging around on a beach. Shall we proceed?"

The island itself was outlined with a beach that connected with the ocean. The heart of the island, however, was inhabited by forest. Reno stood up and gestured to Yazoo.

"Let's go."

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"Kraaaaaaa! If I see one more friggin tree, I swear to Gaia I'm gonna cut down this entire forest!" Reno shouted as he kicked the nearest tree.

"If we weren't following your marvelous sense of direction, then we probably would have never gotten lost," Yazoo pointed out.

Reno suddenly spun around, brought out his EMR, and raised it as if to strike Yazoo. The Remnant flinched and turned away, expecting the blow that never came. Slowly Reno lowered his EMR and looked at Yazoo's arm.

"That looks pretty bad. Why didn't you say something?" Reno asked as he eyed the trail of blood that dripped down Yazoo's arm.

"I-it's nothing. I've dealt with blood and pain before, I will manage on my own," Yazoo snapped sharply as he covered the wound with his hand.

"If you say so," Reno sniffed. "Don't know why I even asked in the first place."

They continued on until Yazoo suddenly tripped and fell.

"What is it now?" Reno asked impatiently as he glared down at Yazoo's fallen form.

The Remnant was biting his lip and clutching his arm. "It's nothing," he choked out as the blood seeped between his fingers.

"That's it, I'm going to patch up that wound," Reno said with a sigh as he knelt down beside the Remnant.

"Don't touch me," Yazoo spat.

"Ya didn't argue when I had to carry ya on my back all the way to this friggin island," Reno pointed out. When Yazoo remained silent, Reno took out his knife. Yazoo flinched, but Reno shook his head. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt ya…not now, anyhow."

Reno took off his black jacket and cut off one of the sleeves. Slicing the fabric in half, Reno gestured to Yazoo to move closer.

"Remove your leather…whatever that is. I need to get to your arm directly," Reno commanded. Yazoo unzipped the leather shirt/jacket with his good arm, and shrugged out of it so that his arms and chest were free. Yazoo then slid further and Kadaj grabbed his arm, causing the Remnant to recoil. Easing his grip slightly, Reno began tying the sleeve around Yazoo's arm as a bandage. Trying not to marvel at the muscles on the Remnant's upper arms and chest, Reno finished tying the sleeve and looked up at Yazoo.

"There, all done. I couldn't have you bleeding to death so easily on me, now could I?" Reno asked with a smirk.

"Thank you," Yazoo said almost reluctantly as his eyes met Reno's.

Reno glanced down and found that he was still holding Yazoo by the arm. Quickly letting go, Reno pocketed his knife and grabbed his EMR.

"Come on, we should get going. It will be getting dark soon, and we should find somewhere to sleep for the night."

"What about Shinra? I'm sure he would have noticed that the chopper didn't get back yet. Aren't you going to call him?" Yazoo asked.

"Oh yeah, forgot about him," Reno said as he fumbled around in his pocket for his phone.

Yazoo's POV

Watching him fumble around for his phone, I couldn't help but smile. Sure, he seemed all badass and strong on the outside, but he really does have a soft heart, doesn't he? I glanced down at my bandaged arm and admired the skill with which it had been done. He really is something, isn't he?

Suddenly Reno snapped his phone shut.

"Damn, there isn't any signal here. I can't call Shinra or anybody else for that matter."

"What will happen now?" I asked him after a few moments.

He didn't respond, but his eyes clouded with regret.

"Turk…?" I asked as I took a step towards him.

Suddenly he exploded.

"I never should have come here! I never should have brought you! If I hadn't acted on my own selfish desires – if I hadn't decided to come here because of a stupid dream – we wouldn't be here! Those pilots, who probably had wives and children, wouldn't be dead! This is all my fault, and now I'm stuck with you! I'm stuck with a Goddamn Remnant who can't even patch up his own wounds! Gah, I'm such an idiot."

Reno fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands.

Not knowing what else to do, I stood there for a few seconds before slowly approaching him. Kneeling down beside him, I reached out my hand and rested it on his shoulder. He tried to shrug it off, and I lowered it, but then replaced it a moment later.

"This isn't your fault, Reno," I whispered, hoping that my voice that had been called seductive in the past would help soothe him. "This isn't your fault. Something on this island caused the machines to malfunction in the helicopters. What happened wasn't your fault."

Swiftly Reno looked up at me and I saw the tears in his eyes. "Yes it was - and now two of Shinra's best pilots plus a valuable chopper are down because of me. He's right – I am hopeless."

Not being able to take it anymore, I reached out, and pulled Reno against my chest, so that his head rested on my shoulder.

"You are not hopeless. You did everything that you could, Reno. You saved me. Remember? I am alive because of you. If either of us deserves not to live, believe me, it isn't you. Two good men are dead because you decided to save my life instead of theirs. If the blame goes to anyone, it should be me."

Reno looked up into my eyes and I saw all of the pain and anguish in his eyes slowly fade away. "I don't blame you, Yazoo."

Hearing him whisper my name sent chills down my spine, but instead of showing it, I just gazed into his eyes until he rested his head upon my shoulder.

"Thank you. Look, I know that we're supposed to hate each other and all, but please, let me stay like this for a little while longer," Reno suddenly pleaded.

Tightening my hold on him, I wrapped my arms around his back and whispered to him, "Take as long as you like…you brainless Turk."

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Reno's POV

"God, Remnant, you say I have a bad sense of direction? The minute I start following you, we end up back at the beach!" I complained as we reached the beach for the fourth time.

"Well maybe if you hadn't decided to take a different route so many damn times, we wouldn't be back here!" Yazoo retaliated.

"Great, it's getting late, I'm starving, I still haven't found the place where we're supposed to go, and now I'm stuck on the same old fucking beach where he first started! Damn it!" I shouted as I fell onto the sand.

"Well when is Shinra coming to get us?" Yazoo asked from somewhere behind me.

"He's not coming. He says that the chopper crashed before it could send a tracing signal to him, and since my phone doesn't work, we're just gonna have to sit it out."

"You mean we're stuck here? What if I never see Loz or Kadaj again? What if we can never escape? Just think, Reno, it will be you and I stuck here for the rest of –"

"Yeah, I get it," I snarled.

There was a few moments of silence before I suddenly felt Yazoo walking away. Rolling over I looked up at his retreating form.

"Where are you going?" I called after him.

"I saw some fruit trees a little way back. You said you're hungry, right? Stay there, I'll be right back."

"I don't want to leave ya alone!" I called out, but he had already vanished.

"Stupid Remnant," I muttered as I looked up at the sky. The setting sun was casting its rainbows of light over the sea, making the waters look positively beautiful. Vaguely my thoughts drifted over to Yazoo. Sure he was annoying, acted like he was a million times better and smarter than I was, and a Remnant of Sephiroth, but when compared to his brothers, he actually wasn't half bad. Actually, now that I think about it, none of the Remnants are really that bad. None of them are anything like Sephiroth, except for the whole 'Bring back Jenova, take over the world' bit. Loz is just a big softy, and sure Kadaj has issues, but hell, who doesn't?

A thought suddenly drifted into Reno's mind.

What if he was going soft on Yazoo?

Nonsense, the Remnant was his enemy by nature – he had affiliated himself with Sephiroth, and had fought against Shinra and his friends. Yazoo and his brothers had wreaked havoc on the world, and had to be locked up. But now that I have spent time with him, gotten to see his kinder side, I have to wonder – what if Yazoo really isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be? Regardless, he still deserves torture and prison for his crimes, but what if he really hadn't meant to do what he did? What if he didn't really know the difference between right and wrong? Nonsense, no matter what, Yazoo did the crimes, and now he must pay for them. But it's been over a year since Sephiroth vanished, and every day Yazoo has put through almost torturous tests – is it time to end this torture?

I looked up as Yazoo came back carrying an armful of fruit. Maybe I'll decide after I get to know him better.

"What's wrong?" Yazoo asked as he sat down beside me. "You look confused."

I shrugged and reached out for what looked like a pear. "It's nothing. Have a hard time finding all this fruit?"

"Not really – as we were wandering, I made mental notes wherever I saw a fruit tree."

"You can do that?" I asked, amazed despite myself. I'm lucky if I remember what day of the week it is.

Yazoo nodded. "Ever since I was younger, I have had a knack for remembering anything – clothes, dates, faces, locations – it just comes to me at will."

"Well that can be useful," I replied as I lay back down.

"It has its advantages," he agreed.

I could feel his eyes on my face, and looking up at him I saw him staring at me intensely.

"What? Do I have something on my face or something?" I asked him.

He gave a smile – and not one of his fake smirks, no this smile was real – and he shook his head. "No, I was just thinking."

"You? Thinking? Oh Gaia, I think the world is coming to an end," I smirked.

He started laughing, and I couldn't help but smile at how it sounded like bells. I let my eyes roam over his face, gazing at the scars that lined his face.

Nodding at his face, I asked, "Shinra gave you those?"

He reached up and touched a hand to his own face. "Not him personally, but two of his slaves – Tseng and Elena, I believe their names were. They were still sour about when Kadaj, Loz, and I captured them and tortured them. They decided to return the favor."

"Do you regret capturing them?" I couldn't help but ask.

Yazoo gave a sigh and fell onto the sand beside me. "I had never really wanted to capture them. It was mostly Kadaj's idea. Believe it or not, Turk, I don't really like the idea of hurting other human beings, no matter how much they may deserve it. At least, not physically, anyhow."

"So why did you do it?"

He turned his head and our eyes met yet again.

"Kadaj told me too. He may be my younger brother, but whenever I looked into his eyes, I would see Sephiroth gazing back. There became a point where I thought he wasn't my brother anymore. When I told him my concerns on how he was becoming too much like Sephiroth, he hit me. All my life I had been raised to believe that Sephiroth was always right about everything and that I was to do nothing but obey his every will and live up to his legend. But I never wanted to be like him. And then when I saw what Kadaj had done to those Turks, I just…couldn't take it anymore. I confronted him, but he overpowered me, and forced me to follow him."

"You know, you don't have to follow him or Sephiroth anymore," I said softly.

"Yes, but I still wish to pay for my sins – I hurt so many people, for whose lives I destroyed. And not four hours ago, I just ruined two more lives – the lives of those pilots. Now I am to spend the rest of my life repenting for my sins."

There was silence before I whispered to him, "You know, I don't blame you for all that you did. I don't think I ever did. I blamed Sephiroth and Jenova and Kadaj, but I never blamed you or Loz personally."

His eyes held confusion. "But why? Everybody else does. Why shouldn't you?"

I took a breath and said, "I'm not sure. I guess that if somebody asks for forgiveness, I should forgive them, no matter what they may have done to me."

"That's either very foolish or very mature of you."

"Do I look like the mature one to you?" I asked with a laugh.

This brought a smile to his face, and I suddenly sat up. "Let me see."

"See what?" he asked as he, too, sat up.

"I want to see the full extent of what Kadaj and Shinra did to you. Let me see your back…please."

"Why…?" Yazoo trailed off.

"I want to know the damage that has been caused against you. Not that it will change what I think of Shinra or Kadaj – I just want to know what it caused you physically. Please let me see."

He stared at me for so long in silence that I thought he was going to say no, when he suddenly unzipped the front of his leather jumpsuit and turned around, presenting his back to me.

"Look and remember, Turk," Yazoo said with slight malice.

Instantly I gasped at the sight. Bruises and scars criss-crossed over his back; burn marks changed the color of his skin so that his normal pale complexion was now a mix of brown and black. But the one scar that stood out more than the others was a deep wound that went from the top of his left shoulder, to the bottom of his right hip. Blood stains had dried over his back, leaving painful memories on his skin.

Before I could help it, I had reached out and was stroking the deepest scar from his shoulder to his hip. Yazoo gasped at the feeling, but when I removed my hand, he choked out, "No, don't stop. It's just…it feels so…please."

Slightly blushing at the sound of his needy voice, I slid both hands from the bottom of his waist, slowly up his back, feeling the bruises and marks under my fingertips as my hands reached his shoulders. All the while he gasped, even giving a moan. Leaning forward, I pressed my chest against his back and started to rub his shoulders, massaging the damaged skin. He gave a shaky moan of pleasure as he leaned back against me.

"You don't need to feel remorseful anymore, Yazoo. You are free of Sephiroth, now. Free of Kadaj, free of Shinra, free of everything. Now you can stay here with me, where you can be totally free. Would you like that, Yazoo? To stay with me and be free?"

He didn't respond right away, just giving another sigh as my hands spilled over his shoulders to trail down his chest. Leaning his head into my lap, he hummed a yes, and gave another moan as my fingers moved down to his waist. Pulling the zipper of his jumpsuit lower, I found myself dipping my hands below his pant line to the soft flesh underneath. He suddenly gasped, and his eyes met mine as my hands stopped. I found that his face was slightly blushing, as I'm sure mine was.

"Don't stop now, Reno," he half-moaned my name.

Leaning down, I let my hair fall onto his face as leaned down so that my face was inches from his.

"Yazoo," I whispered as my heartbeat sped up.

Reaching up, he began unbuttoning my shirt as my eyes never left his.

"What are we doing?" I whispered as he finished undoing my shirt.

Suddenly he sat up, turned around, ripped off my shirt, placed one soft hand on my chest, and cupped my face with the other.

"Forgetting our sins," he whispered before his lips crashed onto mine.

The kiss started out sweet and soft, but then turned more passionate as I felt his tongue lick my lips. Giving a soft gasp, he took the opportunity to shove his tongue into my mouth, exploring my wet cavern. I then began licking his own tongue, and we began a heated battle of tongues as his hands roamed my chest. I moaned into his mouth, and this only excited him more as his hands tweaked with my nipples, raking my chest and abdomen with his nails. I gasped at both the pleasure and the pain, and he moaned into my mouth as his hands dipped into the back of my pants, caressing my ass. Quickly his hands roamed to where my fly was partially undone, and his fingers began slowly, almost antagonizing slowly pulling down the zipper. Well I was going to have none of that. Swiftly removing my pants so that I was in nothing but my boxers, his lips then began attacking my face.

Kissing first my chin and then down my neck, leaving marks in their path, his tongue, lips, and teeth grazed all the way down to where my waistline was. As he looked up at me with eyes filled with passion, I suddenly straddled him and pressed him against the sand with me on top.

"Yazoo…I…" I started, but then he pressed a finger to my lips.

"Reno…it's alright. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'll underst –"

He was cut off when I pressed my lips to his, shoving my tongue down his throat as I tore the jumpsuit off him. To my amazement, he didn't wear any underwear below his suit. As I took in his length – which was pretty damn big, if I ever saw one – he ripped off my boxers and pulled me fully against him. As we grinded our errections together, I found myself moaning, "I want you, Yazoo. Cum for me."

He moaned back as he suddenly entered two fingers into me. I cried out at the sudden pleasure as his fingers dug deeper inside me, widening me, and filling me with lust.

Stroking his member, I heard his sigh as I bent down and licked the flesh below all the way down his member and back up again. Hearing him moan my name sent chills down my spine as I took his member fully into my mouth. Giving a cry, he bucked his hips off the sand, and I moved with him. Letting go of his dick with my teeth, I licked the precum off my lips and moved back to kiss his lips. His hand dug through my hair, removing the hair tie and spilling my red locks over both of us.

"I want you now, Reno. S-stop joking around," he pleaded.

"Fesity, are we?" my eyes shined with passion and humor. "Fine, but be ready."

"I was born ready, Reno," Yazoo moaned as I shoved myself into him.

Giving a cry, he screamed my name as we started a rhythm of thrusting and digging as I explored the walls of his insides. When it was finally time for him to cum, we both ended up screaming as we both came over the sand.

The setting sky and the rhythm of the waves, plus the deserted island, were the only ones that gave witness to my 'adventures' with Yazoo.

(A/N: So many chapters left, and so little time. Hope you guys enjoyed, please review, and onto the next chapter!!)