Becoming, Part Two:

Below Virtue

"Reno? Reno?"

There were too many sensations at once upon waking, and Reno blinked dumbly as he tried to separate them. It was daytime, the sun poured in even through the half-shut window blinds. A needle was being extracted from his arm, leaving a faint sting to be dabbed by a cotton ball. He felt drowsy, better after sleeping but still too tired to move. He was clean, as were the bedclothes beneath him, and he could recall only very faintly being lifted up and washed under the soothing spray of a shower. He was still nude, though an unfamiliar blanket had been placed over him and covered his body from neck to toes.

"Reno."

A hand was stroking his hair, one that he knew from somewhere, and the voice was Tseng's. Reno opened his eyes to the strange sight of his superior concerned and not skillfully hiding it.

"Tseng? Yo," he said weakly, trying to smile.

"Everything's okay now." Tseng's gaze shifted to the other side of the room and went deadly cold, as did his tone. "This is your idea of discipline, General?"

Reno struggled to turn his head. There was Sephiroth, looking immaculate in his usual attire, leaning casually against the wall with a neutral expression hiding the smirk in his voice.

"What better example of punishment could there be than the humiliation of a day tied up and naked? Unless you're alleging that something else happened as well, Commander."

Someone beside Tseng made a sudden, violent move toward the general, and the Turk leader held him back. "Rude, stand down! You know we can't touch him," Tseng added quietly.

"Rude?" Reno said, looking around. "You there, partner? Say somethin', ya fuckin' mute."

"Here."

It was a sign of Tseng's concern that he didn't scold Reno for his language, merely stepped back so Rude could pick him up, tucking the blanket around the boy to wrap him securely.

"Hey," Reno complained. "Fuck off, I'm fine, I can walk."

"If you're sure you don't want him in the med lab, that's fine, I can come check on him periodically," a man whom Reno had not seen said, wearing a white lab coat and packing things into his medical bag. "Where will he be?"

"My apartment," Tseng said immediately. "I'll make sure you have authorization."

"Fuck that, I hate your place, it's boring! Tseng? Are you even listening to me?"

"Ssh," Tseng said gently, patting Reno's head again, and the teenager would have knocked the hand away had he been able to move.

"He shouldn't have any pain, there's no physical damage I can see. Just make sure he rests and eats, give him a lot of fluids, and someone from the psych. department will get in touch with you to set up counseling. That's procedure."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Tseng, I'm fine," Reno said quietly, resigned to the fact that his boss and everyone else here knew what happened. "Really. It's okay."

"If you're sure he was really, uh..." the doctor said awkwardly. "I mean, if what you think is true, he may be in shock. Denial isn't uncommon."

"Would you quit fuckin' talkin' about me like I'm not here?" Reno snapped, but the stranger only looked at him apologetically.

"Reno, it's all right," Tseng said, speaing to him at last. "We know what happened."

"I suppose I was right to be concerned that my quarters are monitored," Sephiroth said idly. "You'll be glad to know, Commander, that I can find and remove these devices myself. There will be no need for the boy to return, provided he has learned how to behave."

Reno could sense Tseng's controlled rage, as palpably as he felt Rude hold him more tightly and closely. The doctor muttered "Excuse me" and made a hasty retreat. Reno looked at Sephiroth, who was smiling at him secretively. Whatever Tseng had seen or heard recorded from the previous day, there was one thing that only two people knew so far - who and what Reno really was.

"I've learned my lesson, General," he whispered.

"That's enough," Tseng said tensely, "we're going. And General...you think I can't hurt you. But if you touch him again, I will find a way, whatever it costs me."

Sephiroth bowed his head respectfully, and Reno caught one last faint smile before they were moving, he was being carried to the elevator. Tseng was on his phone directing the other Turks, who were clearing the route to their leader's apartment so Reno need not be seen at a time like this.

His strength hadn't come back enough to do more than wiggle, so Reno knew he had no hope of getting away from his partner. But though he was embarrassed, and annoyed by all this fuss, Reno took notice of how gently these big, dangerous arms were cradling him.

"Rude?"

A pair of dark sunglass lenses tilted downward.

"A hundred Gil if you get me away from this freak," the boy offered, indicating Tseng.

Rude's serious face, difficult to read but betraying anger, smirked for a moment, and he shook his head.

"Put me down, at least?"

Another shake of the head.

"C'mon, don't you love me at all?"

"Yes," Rude said simply, and Reno couldn't think of anything to say against that.

srsrsrsrs

It was weeks before Reno was allowed to return to the apartment he shared with Dazz, the second-youngest Turk, and nearly as long before he was allowed even the most boring kinds of duty. That time was mostly spent watching TV or complaining, both of which he tried to do whenever the lady from the psych. department came to talk about what had happened to him. At first, he had insisted nothing happened. She counted it a "breakthrough" when Reno admitted that he and the general had sex, but she didn't believe his insistence that it was consensual.

Neither did Tseng, who was being unusually lenient but no less annoying, hovering and ordering Reno to eat and coming into the guest bedroom at night to try to talk to him.

"Tseng, I told you, I'm sixteen, I can consent."

"But you didn't. You were tied to his bed, kept there for almost a day."

"Maybe I'm kinky," Reno retorted, crossing his arms defensively as he slouched back on the pillows. "It was Sephiroth, no one would say no to Sephiroth."

"You did." Tseng looked strange, like he was about to lose the calm that was as much a part of his face as his nose or cheeks. "Reno, I heard you on the tapes."

"Then you must have also heard me moaning and begging for more."

"That wasn't your fault. None of it was. And the things he told you about yourself are not true."

"I wanted it," Reno said, shifting on the bed to face away from his boss. "I wanted him. He was right."

A short, still silence, then Tseng adjusted the blanket, gently squeezed his shoulder and stood up, taking his weight off the mattress. Reno felt a little guilty as he listened to footsteps pause at the open door.

"Good night, Reno. Sleep well."

Reno lay awake a long time, wondering why no one could understand how free he felt. The Turks, ever his older siblings, were stopping by with junk food and stuffed animals like he was some sort of invalid. Tseng had let his reserved parental urges run wild, and Rude - though his silence was now welcome - had begun to watch his young partner the way one might watch a crack slowly splitting a vase. When they spoke quietly in other rooms, Reno was no longer his name or "the kid" but "the poor kid". No one seemed to realize he had been reborn.

After a while, Reno finally figured out that in order to get out from under Tseng's thumb, he'd have to play along. He stopped arguing and exploding, he pretended to try the therapy, he took his time easing back into his old life of duty. All the while, he wondered exactly what he had learned and when he'd have a chance to put it into practice. By night, he masturbated and fingered himself and dreamed about Sephiroth. By day, he waited for the opportune moments. It was a skill Turks learned to hone to perfection.

srsrsrsrs

Two months after the "incident", Reno secretly hid all the pens in Rod and Gun's office and generously volunteered to get more. He timed his trip into the floor's supply closet with that of Director Lehrman, head of ShinRa's Department of Public Affairs, who was a handsome man in his early forties and cut a dashing figure in his pinstripe suit.

"Good afternoon, Director."

"Oh, hello!" Lehrman said awkwardly, his hand falling away from the forms it had been reaching for. "A Turk. Reno, right?"

"Uh-huh." The boy smiled innocently. "Sir, could I trouble you to grab a box of black pens down for me? They're a little too high up for me."

Lehrman looked uncertainly back and forth between Reno's guileless expression and the indicated shelf, which was directly behind the boy and above his head. "Of course," he said, and stepped forward to lift the required object down. This put his body directly against Reno's, and the executive cursed himself quietly. He loved his wife, he tried to avoid these urges, had tried to avoid this kid...but the kid was looking at him strangely, like he was out of breath.

Trying not to get caught in those bewitching green eyes, Lehrman handed the box to Reno, who put it aside, and neither made any attempt to move away. The teenager came up to about Lehrman's chin, and was now looking up with a soft, boyish smile. Damn it, why did the child have to be innocently seductive, so fair with skin he knew would be as soft as a girl's, why did he have to be so close, any closer and the boy's flat stomach would be pressed against the beginning of an erection in a man old enough to be his father.

"Thanks. I hate being so short."

"Y-You're still growing. It was no trouble."

"Okay. But I'd still like to give you something in return," Reno whispered coyly, parting his lips and pushing his hips forward in what seemed to be an invitation.

"Like...like what?" Lehrman croaked.

"What do you want?" Hands calloused from years of writing and a carpentry hobby went to either side of Reno's waist and hesitantly stroked the lean torso over the suit shirt. "It's okay, tell me."

"Just to touch you," Lehrman blurted out. "Just to touch you a little, I won't hurt you. I would never - "

"Touch me." Reno lazily let his head rest on the cabinet behind him as the buttons were eagerly undone and Lehrman gently thumbed the rosy nipples. "Do you like that I'm this size?"

"You're perfect," the director said fervently. "So beautiful. Can I..."

Reno nodded and let his trousers be tugged down. There was no underwear to bar Lehrman's way as he reverently cupped the boy's cock and massaged, pausing to finger the balls that were perfectly small and young as everything about Reno was. Reno moaned to encourage him, thrusting for more though he knew the man wanted to fondle, not to rush.

"Your commander, Tseng," Lehrman said in a heavy voice, "if he knew about this - "

"He'll never find out. It's none of his business, he's not my daddy." Reno smirked with a feeling of power at the executive's quick intake of breath. "Do you want to be?"

Lehrman groaned, pressing his lips to the flat white stomach as the youth's erection nearly nudged his chin. "Could you...say it?"

Reno put his hands on Lehrman's shoulders, squeezing them to encourage, wanting the pressure of a hot, sucking mouth. "Daddy, please. I've been good."

Lehrman's moan was loud as a sob this time, and there was a restrained frenzy in the way he encircled and caressed the Turk, placing kisses all over. "Yes, you're good, you're so good, you make Daddy so happy. Tell me what you want, what does my little boy need?"

"I need to come, Daddy." Reno thrust just a little, meaningfully. "It hurts, will you kiss it and make it better?"

Groaning with want, Lehrman locked his ams around the boy's waist, yanked him closer and closed his mouth over the leaking erection. Eager though he was, he had no desire to cause any discomfort, so his grip remained firm but gentle. He rolled Reno's hips and sucked the boy with deep, satisfying swallows, drawing it out just enough to give the teenager an amazing orgasm that kept him on his feet.

When it was done, Lehrman refastened and adjusted the Turk's clothes with careful fingers, then raised them to caress Reno's face, answering Reno's playful smile with one of relief.

"Can I see you again?"

"Sure. Does that mean you're happy with me, Daddy?"

"Very, very happy," Lehrman moaned, cupping a baby-soft cheek with his palm. "I leave for Junon tomorrow for a week, but if you're a good boy when I get back, I'll bring you presents."

"And if I'm bad?" Reno whispered, submissively dropping his eyes.

"Then Daddy will have to spank you, just a little."

"That's okay," Reno said, nuzzling the fingers that explored him. "I know I'm only punished when I need to learn a lesson."

srsrsrsrs

Part of a Turk's rotating schedule of tasks was serving as personal, round-the-clock security for the Shinra family. Reno, being a young and relatively new Turk, was only ever assigned the younger members, and even then, not yet in situations that presented real jeopardy. A typical day of guarding the eighteen-year-old vice president consisted of Reno and Rufus sprawled out on couches in the latter's lavish apartment, eating junk food, watching action movies, playing video games. As the day drew on into evening, they would progress to drinking, and Rufus's bar was way better than Rod's.

One night they had just reached that carefree, philosophical but not-quite-falling-over stage when Rufus decided to put the next DVD on. A moment later, the huge screen showed a circular bed where three attractive and nude actors were copulating frantically. One of the two men was in the center, quite young, and he was fucking a woman of about his own age as a much older man thrust into him.

"Oh, sorry," Rufus said dreamily. "Grabbed the wrong case. I'll - "

"It's cool, yo. You can leave this on." Reno watched in silence, as did Rufus, for a minute. "So you like both? Guys and girls?"

"Don't like girls. Father says I hafta, at least a little, so I can father children and carry on the ShinRa legacy. I'd rather let the old man's fucking blood die out."

Reno laughed; Rufus always lost his boarding-school manners when he drank. "So how do you fuck, if the prez doesn't approve?"

"I disguise myself, go to the brothels under the plate."

"So you like younger guys?"

"Yeah, mostly. This one place, the Velvet Chain, has the most exquisite boys. Some are like virgin girls, so shy and timid, they even cry a little when you take them." Rufus smiled, just a little drunkenly. "But my favorite ones are cocky and defiant, till you get them in bed, and they'll do anything you ask and writhe like they fucking love it, and I pick ones that remind me of you."

"Me?" Reno wasn't quite as surprised as he pretended to be. "Really?"

"Shouldn't...shouldn't've said that," Rufus mumbled, shaking his head and sipping a glass of cold water to cool his flushed cheeks.

Reno edged a little closer on the wide, semi-circular couch and rested his chin on a cushion. "What do you make them do? It's okay, I want to know."

Rufus took a long swallow from another glass, and that seemed to buoy up his confidence enough to answer. "Usually the same stuff each time. But sometimes, I make them act things out."

"That's hot," Reno said carefully. "Like..."

"One of the managers has dark hair like Tseng. I had him wear it in a ponytail and fuck the one who looks the most like you. He's not a real redhead, I make him dye it, but he's so pretty, with green eyes. I've watched him get fucked a lot of times, but they're always Cured after, so they stay tight, and I bought a replica of your electromagrod, and I fuck him with it."

Reno continued to move closer, watching the vice president's wistful expression and beginning to notice other evidence of arousal. "Anything else?"

"His name is James, they call him Jamie. I found a guy who looks like Rude, and I bought him a suit and dark glasses, and I brought him to the Velvet Chain and made Jamie ride him, with the manager who looks likes Tseng guiding his hips. Then I told Jamie to say no and pretend he didn't want it, and they took turns taking him, then I held him and I fucked him real slow."

Rufus's hand had wandered to the crotch of his expensive and rumpled pants. He stroked a little, then yanked his hand away with another shake of his head.

"Shit, I need to shut up, you're not s'posed to know this," he mumbled. "I'm sorry, man. If you want to go - "

"I don't. Why would I want to leave?" Reno was sitting next to Rufus now, but because of the way the couch curved, it was more like they were sitting opposite each other. "We're friends, right? And I'm your guard, your Turk. I belong to you."

"You don't have to worry, man." Rufus reached out to squeeze the younger's hand, then the knee it rested on. "I wouldn't do nothing to you...that's why I go to places like that, so nothing'll happen with us."

"What if I want something to happen?" Reno asked seductively. He slid closer, so that the hand on his knee shifted too, until it was brushing his crotch. "You want the real me?"

"You don't hafta...I'm not my dad, I don't make people," Rufus mumbled, even as his hand turned to cup Reno's half-soft cock.

"You're not making me, I'm offering. I want you to do whatever you want with me." Reno unzipped his pants and pushed them down, so Rufus's hand was now playing with him directly, nothing blocking him. "You like the idea of watching people fuck me?"

"Always wanted t'see what you look like coming, and being taken," Rufus murmured, eyes glued to the erection that he was only brushing lightly, so it would last. "Thought'd be kinky with Tseng, and I bet Rude has a huge cock, and you're small..."

Instead of getting annoyed, Reno gently pushed forward into the cupping hand. "Not all of me is small. See, you've made me grow."

"Mmm," the vice president said happily, despite the words that followed. "Shouldn't be doing this. You're younger than me, and not s'posed to fraternize."

"I'd let men fuck me so you can watch," Reno whispered. "I'd go with you to that place, and let every seme pound me while you get off."

"Ohh," Rufus groaned.

"I'm your Turk. I'm yours. Tell me what you want me to do."

"Take off your clothes," was the immediate, unsteady response, and Reno complied, making a bit of a show out of it. "Gaia, you're so hot. I've wanted you since the moment I saw you."

Reno settled himself on Rufus's lap, legs on either side of the vice president's, facing him. He brought their upper bodies together and arched his back a little, letting his head tilt to give Rufus access to his neck. Taking this permission more quickly than he would have sober, Rufus kissed the curve of jaw down to the shoulder, exploring the lean young frame without hesitation.

"I'm yours," Reno whispered, unbuttoning the elder's shirt. "Take me. Take me any way you want. I want to be taken by you."

"I sh-shouldn't," Rufus stammered, his conscience trying to assert itself. "We're drunk, man, I'm taking advantage."

"Okay. Maybe I should offer myself to your father. I've caught the prez looking at me like Heidegger eyes a buffet. Maybe he'll do it on that huge desk in his office."

Rufus's eyes narrowed. "My dad can't have you. I won't allow it."

"Really? Perhaps I'll go now. You can't stop me."

Reno found himself pinned on the wide couch cushions, with Rufus hovering above and holding his wrists, a possessive anger in his eyes. He let go only long enough to shrug off his pants.

"You're my Turk. Don't fuckin' let my father touch you."

"He wants to," Reno taunted. "Claim me first, punish me."

"Punish..."

"You want to take me dry? Hurt me? Make me bleed, make me cry like Jamie?"

"Can't do that, can't hurt," Rufus muttered, shaking his head.

Reno grabbed a tube of lubricant out of his discarded pants and offered it. "Slick yourself, but not me. I don't want slow and gentle, I want to feel you burning into my skin."

Rufus Shinra, his superior, his employer, did as requested, numbly anointing himself with a thick, cautious layer of the clear gel as Reno lifted his legs for Rufus to position any way he wanted. Sober, the vice president would have been careful and apologetic, showing the heart he had to hide from his father. Intoxicated, he drank in the sight of Reno laying invitingly in wait and fell eagerly into him, giving him the feverish pounding the boy so craved. Afterwards, Reno used the Restore materia he'd taken to carrying and, relieved of pain and re-tightened, coyly suggested that he was ready for more.

"Want to, I want to," Rufus moaned, holding Reno's warm body close, fingering him with something like tenderness. "But I can't go again yet."

"Get the electromagrod," the redhead whispered. "Fuck me with your toy."

They ended up using most of Rufus's toy collection; this play paused each time Rufus felt recovered enough to use his own flesh. It was incredible, the pleasure and intensity and possessiveness his surrender brought out in the young Shinra. More then possessiveness, Reno realized when Rufus kissed him and washed him and asked to sleep holding him.

All through this admittedly great sex, something had been missing - more of it, more that would never be enough. Sephiroth's words lingered like a curse, or perhaps only a promise. Reno consented to lay in Rufus's arms, hollowly echoed back fragments of the sweet things murmured to him, but at the same time, he thought of his next conquest, the one he couldn't pass up and finally knew how he would obtain.

srsrsrsrs

Rod very conspicuously didn't gripe about Reno's being underage when he brought out the wine. He even felt a tremor in the hand he passed a glass to and steadied it with his own, gazing with gentleness at Reno's weak and sad smile. The boy shifted a lot as he settled into his preferred living room cushion, focusing his eyes downward to flicker up only as though to reassure. Reno sipped this time, needing to be and appear sober and in control of his inhibitions. He had just slowly finished his second glass when Rod edged closer and cleared his throat, uncharacteristically hesitant.

"How are you doing, kid?"

"Don't all the Turks know?" Reno whispered, adding a soft sniffle.

"Hey." For once it worked to Reno's advantage that he was still a kid more than a Turk; Rod's hand went past his shoulder and started to gently rub his back, now and then sliding through the hair gathered into a ponytail. "Have I told you I love this hair of yours?"

"I think everyone has."

"Is it...okay that I'm touching?"

"I'm glad you're not afraid to," Reno said, scooting closer. "Everyone else thinks I'll shatter if they get too close. Rude doesn't even pry me off the sides of buildings anymore."

"It'll get back to normal. We're all just worried about you. We don't know the right things to do or say."

Reno opened his arms to Rod with feigned shyness, as though it took great courage propelled by great need to do so. Rod gathered him up immediately, leaning back and holding the boy to his chest. Reno felt his red hair being pet and had to hide his smile in Rod's jacket; people always wanted to touch it.

"Is why you wouldn't," Reno began, "because it hurts so much that the bottom has to be forced?"

The arms immediately tightened, then loosened a bit. "Kid, you don't have to be forced. That's not the way it's supposed to be, and it doesn't hurt much if it's done right. I promise."

"Would you have done it right if it had been you?" Reno asked softly. "If you'd been my first?"

"Of course I would've." A hint of wariness had crept into Rod's voice, but he still held on.

"Would you..." Reno buried his face in the elder's neck and nuzzled, a cute and sexual motion that had not yet failed him once. "...show me?"

"Oh...kid...I - "

"I just want to know how it's supposed to be. I want something better to remember."

Continuing to press his lips to Rod's neck, Reno began to unbutton and open his shirt to gain further access. Rod lifted his hands to gently draw the boy away and instead pushed his jacket off and began to guide him down to one of many cushions. Several times Rod tried to make a feeble objection, but Reno's mouth was too clever and tempting a target. Every time the elder Turk made a move to separate them, he found himself tossing a pair of pants away or bringing his face closer to study the need in the not-child's green eyes. He wondered absently if they had ever been as young as Reno was supposed to be. Jade but not jaded.

"Kid, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, and if you're gonna call me 'kid' now I might as well be fucking Tseng."

"Gaia, don't bring up Tseng," Rod groaned as he lubed his fingers and plunged them inside.

The heightened sensitivity that Sephiroth had observed did not surprise Rod, who put it down to a mixture of arousal and fear. The one he was glad to see, the other he was determined to ease. Backing off now would only frustrate Reno and send him into the bed of someone who'd likely be less caring, and frankly, Rod also just didn't want to stop. He marveled at the lack of cringing and crying on Reno's face, the pleasure that was there instead. If it was what he needed...what they both wanted...

Three fingers in, Reno whined, "Okay already! Just - fuck - now, now, just fuck me!"

"Try to relax." Rod lifted the teenager's legs further up to wrap around himself. "I'm gonna go easy. Tell me if you want to stop."

"Okay, just - oh, fuck - yes yes Gaia fuck - "

The exquisite tightness Rod was feeling was kept in the back of his mind. He concentrated on keeping his thrusts at the same rhythm Reno's hips were striving for, hitting the prostate each time, lingering a little to rub at it. Reno pulled at his hair, his shoulders, his back, frantic but never frightened, trying for faster, harder.

"Hey," Rod whispered, "don't rush. You want to remember this, right? Ssh, just lay back and feel."

Both to play his part and show his trust in Rod, Reno obediently slowed down. Curiosity was also a motivator. All his sexual experiences so far had been hard, dirty, fast, like the world was ending with each orgasm. The tenderness of Rod's thrusts and hands felt incredible, but strange. A part of Reno wondered how it would have all been if Rod had been his first...then he locked that thought away and concentrated on breathing himself toward that plateau in sight.

Rod seemed to be heading the same way, by the sounds he was making, and though he was drawing it out, neither of them could go much longer. Reno knew Rod would try to get him off first, but he wanted to feel Rod come in him without the soul-searing distraction of his approaching climax.

"Fill me," Reno gasped, clenching purposefully. "Fill me, let me feel it!"

It worked, Rod cried out loudly and spilled, but there was only a moment of that full-everywhere feeling before Reno followed, clinging to the body on top of him as his own shook. It was a longer orgasm than usual; Reno didn't consider that to mean anything except that Rod could hold him through it, whispering comfort he didn't need. For whatever reason, his heart absorbed it anyway.

When the twin sounds of their breathing had quieted, Reno automatically reached for his clothes. Rod gently brought his hand back, hugged the smaller body close to him and grabbed a nearby blanket to cover them.

"Hey, stay here and rest for awhile, okay? I want to keep an eye on you for a bit, just for my own peace of mind. You want a Cure? Okay, let me do it...there. How do you feel?"

Reno smiled, feeling guilty and embarrassed and not sure why. "I'm good. Really, I - "

"Just for a little while. C'mon." Rod arranged them face-to-face, their legs a tangled jumble and his mouth lingering over Reno's forehead. "I love you, kid. But it can't happen again, all right? Until you meet someone right for you, what we just did will have to be enough."

No, Reno thought. It'll never be enough.

THE END