Maybe just for tonight.

We can pretend it’s alright.

What’s the price I pay?

I don’t care what they say.

I want to.

NIN – kinda I want to.

6. Kinda I want to.

As they walked into Rufus Shinra’s office, Reno couldn't help but feel a little lost, he would never show it, but he felt like he was being watched, if what Tseng had told him was true, then he was on this mission, with the sole purpose of driving out Cloud. “Boss” Reno said and smiled causally.

“Reno, Tseng, how good of you to come” Rufus said as he folded his hands on his desk, looking at the two turks. “Have you made any progress?”

“Not really, sir” Reno said. “We have a bunch of dead kids, but no killer”

“Yet” Tseng cut in.

“You can leave us, Tseng” Rufus said, smiling at the tall turk. And Tseng did, closing the door softly behind him, leaving Reno alone with Rufus. “I hear the threats have changed to target you too”

‘Too, that’s a laugh, the killer knew of my private conversations’ Reno thought, but just nodded “yes, sir”

Rufus pushed a key over the desk, and when Reno just looked at it, Rufus said “Your new apartment”

Reno rose a brow “I am fine on Tseng’s sofa, sir”

“Its a really nice place, better than that hole you lived in before” Rufus said with a smile. “And a much better neighbourhood”

Reno took the key and slipped it in his pocket “thank you sir”

As Reno left together with Tseng, he couldn't help but to feel a little empty, he burned to tell Rufus that something was off here, something seemed too staged, and but something stopped him, maybe Cloud was the killer, even if it seemed very, very unlikely to him, but what if someone made it look like it was Cloud? Who would profit from that? The consequence of that was too much for Reno to comprehend. He worked for Shinra, and he didn’t get paid for asking questions. So he decided he should try and ignore this strange nagging feeling, and just do as he always did, what Rufus Shinra wanted him to.

___________________________________________________

Reno had just sat down with his coffee and was about to look at some results Tseng had gotten from the lab, as his phone buzzed, he didn’t recognize the number, but picked up non the less. “Yes?”

“Excuse me, is this Special Agent Vaughan?” a female voice said. Reno mumbled a yes, and the female voice continued, “I am Kira Blanné, and I was told that you were the investigating officer regarding my daughters disappearance”

“Elvira?” Reno said, lighting a cigarette, even if he sat in front of a big fat sign that said ‘no smoking’

“Yes” Kira said, “She called me last night” she said with a tiny voice, “And I wanted to go there, but my husband told me to contact the police”

“You know where she is?” Reno cried out loud, he fumbled for a pen, and grabbed Tseng’s test results, “where”

“She said that she was taken to Threestones, the building with the strange gargoyle,” Kira said, sounding strangely calm, like she had rehearsed this conversation with herself, in order not to get hysterical.

“But..” Reno said as he wrote it down, looking at the description he paled and went silent.

“Is something wrong special agent Vaughan?” Kira asked, and now her voice trembled, this was apparently not a part of her rehearsal.

“No, no miss Blanné” Reno said as he drew a big fat circle around what he had written, “I will take care of this right away, don’t worry, and don’t go there, you did right calling me”

“Please bring my little girl home,” Kira said.

“I will try” Reno said, and inwardly thought, ‘how many pieces of her do you want?’

____________________________________

He ran all he could, down to the morgue where he found Tseng; he hammered on the door and waved the paper in front of the little glass window in the door. Tseng looked over and nodded; putting down his tools and came out of the cold room.

“Elvira’s mom just called me” Reno panted, “if it was her, I don’t fucking know, and I don’t care”

“And this person told you... what?” Tseng said calmly.

“That the kid had called her and told her where she was so the mom could come get her” Reno said, still panting from the run, “but that is not all, man” his voice grew dark, “look at this!” He pushed the paper with the description up in Tseng’s face.

Tseng took the paper and frowned “those are my test results you ruined”

“Who gives a fuck?” Reno raved, “Just look at the damn description”

Tseng looked and then he too grew wide eyed and paled “your apartment is on Threestones, right?”

“Yes, and on my building is a headless gargoyle?” Reno said, calming down. “Tseng what the hell is going on?”

“I honestly don’t know” Tseng said as he gave the papers back to Reno, “but I think we should get there, immediately”

________________________________________

They drove to Reno’s apartment building as fast as they could, holding their weapons ready as they walked up the staircase, Reno’s heart hammered so loud that it drowned out all other noise. As they stood in front of his front door, Tseng pushed up the door and stepped inside. Reno stayed in the door, turning on his flashlight and lighting into the room, the cone slid over the bed, his TV. Nothing seemed wrong or out of place, maybe he was all wrong in his assumption, maybe it was a different flat in the same building, maybe he was getting paranoid, but if he was, so were Tseng, he had thought exactly the same as he, when he had seen that description. Then suddenly he noticed something hanging from the ceiling. “Fuck! Tseng, what the hell is that?” Reno yelled, his voice breaking.

Tseng came out of the kitchen and looked up at what seemed to be another kid hanging from the ceiling, just like Fedora had done. Tseng turned to Reno “Hold that light steady” and then he reached out and gently touched the hanging body.

Reno stepped inside the apartment “Tseng? What is it, why aren’t you saying something?”

“Its a doll” Tseng said, pushing the mannequin so it swung back and forth lazily in the half light.

“Man! That is some sick shit!” Reno said sounding a little shaken.

“Could you light between its legs?” Tseng said, reaching up between the mannequin’s legs, and pulled something out. Tseng slowly unfolded it, and looked over at Reno “I think someone has either played a cruel trick, or the killer changed target” he said with a whisper.

Reno snatched the paper from Tseng and looked at it, it was a photocopy of a young man, with the words ‘kitty, kitty, kitty’ written across it, with a heart over the ‘I’. “This is me,” Reno said, as he looked from the paper to Tseng, “Holy shit, this is a picture of me when I first came to Shinra” He shook his head, “how did someone get this? I mean it should be locked away with my personal file”

Tseng didn’t say anything, he just looked deeply troubled, “come, let’s get out of here,” he said.

____________________________________________________

They both sat in the car in front of Tseng’s house in silence, until Tseng turned off the engine, and looked at Reno, “Look, I would feel better if you slept on my sofa”

“Me too” Reno admitted slowly.

“Good, come I will even make you coffee” Tseng said with a little smile, trying to cheer his partner up a little.

“I need a damn drink,” Reno answered in a childish voice.

“I can arrange that too” Tseng said, and got out of the car.

Once inside they both hung their wet jackets and silently walking to Tseng’s kitchen, both in thoughts of their own. Tseng fixed them each a drink and as he handed it to Reno, he noticed how tired he looked, it was strange really for a month ago, he only knew Reno stricktly professionally, and never had much dealings with him other than the usual work related stuff, and here he was, feeling sympathy for the worn man who sat in his sofa, looking like he was ready to drop.

Tseng took the poster they found in the mannequin, and looked at it again as he sipped his drink. “You were nothing but a big kid,” he said, “I remember you like this” he said as he looked at the picture of the young Reno, “what were you? Seventeen?”

Reno smiled melancholy and nodded “sixteen” he said.

“Those tattoos” Tseng said, “you had them already then”

Reno chuckled “yes, I had them shortly before I came here”

“So its fashion from where you lived?” Tseng said with badly hidden amusement, truth is that he and the other turks had betted on what those red half-moons meant, and if they were just there to look tuff.

“No” Reno said. But wouldn't indulge Tseng further, and took a large sip of his drink, “refill” he said and looked up at Tseng with a sweet smile.

“Sure milord” Tseng grinned and went off to fix them two new drinks. Ass he returned, he handed Reno his drink and sat down in the chair opposite Reno, “ what is that ‘kitten’ thing about? Is it the same thing as the other message, does it have something to do with Cloud”? He asked

Reno nodded, “it does, but that is exactly why I don’t think he’s behind any of this” he looked up at Tseng, “I.. uhm.... when we,” Reno blushed lightly, much to Tseng’s surprise, he had never seen Reno blush, as a matter of fact he was not even sure he had thought he was even capable of it. “He would purr” As Tseng still looked confused, “Alright” Reno said with a sigh and braced himself “When I sucked him off, he would purr and miau like a cat, and so I liked to call him kitten, because.. yea you know.. sweet nonsense”

Tseng blinked, and felt the blood flush to his cheeks, that was a wee bit more graphic than he had cared for, Tseng thought he had lost his mind, as his first thought was ‘does that turn you on?’ But he just breathed ‘Oh’.

Reno noticed that Tseng squirmed in his seat, and laughed whole-heartedly “Didn’t you think we had sex?”

Tseng cleared his throat and got up in order to fetch another drink for them “honestly, no” he croaked as he snatched Reno’s glass and went to the kitchen, what the hell was wrong with him? Now images of Reno and Cloud naked flashed before his eyes.

“What’s taking you so long?” Reno asked, as he stood leaned up against the kitchen island.

“Ice, I just needed ice” Tseng said, turning around with a smile, only to look right into Reno’s eyes as the other man had stepped up behind him.

Reno tilted his head and looked at Tseng with an undecipherable look, reaching up with his right hand, running his fingers across Tseng’s jaw line.

Tseng breathed unevenly, nervously wetting his lips with his tongue, and even if the air was electric with hormones in that moment, he was still surprised as Reno’s lips met his. He remembered his own words to Reno in the car the day after the incident in his bed, he wasn’t attracted to men, and he didn’t want to kiss them either, that is what he had always told himself. But Reno’s lips felt good, and the hold he hand on his back and neck felt warm and sensual, the kiss deepened before Tseng managed to think twice, and his thoughts began to feel dimmed.

When they broke the kiss, Reno looked at Tseng with a strange intensive look and a little smirk spread across his lips, he slowly moved his hands down and undid Tseng’s belt with a expert move, and Tseng’s pants hit the floor with a little clang as the belt buckle hit he linoleum on the kitchen floor. His hands followed the curve of Tseng’s hips, pushed under the waistband of the other man’s boxers and rested his palms on Tseng’s firm ass.

Tseng was about to object, but then Reno kissed him again, and he was lost in a velvet haze of their tongues battling for dominion, he felt Reno push him backwards two steps, which was hard to take with his pants around his ankles, but then he bumped against something that would have to be the refrigerator.

With a slow move, Reno pushed Tseng’s boxers down, freeing the already hard erection, Reno couldn't help but to purr all the way from his chest and into Tseng’s mouth, as he ran his hand over the silky soft skin. He ended the kiss, biting Tseng playfully in his bottom lip; with a lucid move he dropped to his knees, and before Tseng could object, wrapped his lips around his erection. Using his left hand to pin Tseng against the refrigerator, he used the other to move in sync with his mouth, as Tseng began to moan softly, Reno removed his left hand from Tseng’s hip, and unbuckled his own belt, unceremoniously grabbing his own cock, pumping it hard.

As Tseng reached his climax, his knees buckled and he had to grab on to the handle on the refrigerator, He faintly felt something wet and hot on his leg, but he didn’t really think about what it was. Opening his eyes while still catching his breath, he looked down on Reno who sat on his knees, and looked up at him, also breathing shallowly. His lips slightly swollen from the friction, and little droplets of semen were stuck on his lower lip. For a frantic moment, Tseng wondered where the rest had gone, even if he knew already.

When Tseng didn’t say anything, Reno just stood up on shaky legs, pulling his pants back on, wiped his mouth in his sleeve, and reached for the drink that Tseng had fixed for him before all this. He smiled secretively, as he took a large gulp of the drink, leaning up against the kitchen counter, looking at Tseng.

Tseng pulled his pants up and buckled his belt, with a shaky hand he to reached out for his drink.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,” Reno said softly.

“No you shouldn’t” Tseng said, and then smiled a little embarrassed “it was very pleasurable, and very wrong”

Reno lifted a delicate eyebrow “wrong? Well mister Tseng, I am very sorry if I offended you while sucking your cock”

“Reno..” Tseng said with a pleading tone “that’s not what I meant, you are my partner, and its wrong to have any kind of sexual ..uhm encounters between colleagues”

“Rude and Elena is humping” Reno stated in childish defence.

“Who told you that?” Tseng snapped.

Reno looked at Tseng like he had fallen from the moon, “Elena of course, the night she was here, and you went to Shinra” as Tseng looked very confused, Reno continued in a whisper “she told me you had asked her to wait here for me”

Tseng frowned “I never did that, when was this?”

“The other day, when you know we woke in your bed, she fucking told me to just go sleep there because you wouldn't be home” Reno said, pouring himself another drink.

“I had a call that I should go to Shinra, but as I got there, the building was closed, and there was nobody there” Tseng said slowly, “my God Reno, this is bad” Reno nodded thoughtful, “Besides I know Elena is not with Rude, because she has been seeing mister Shinra for years”

Reno’s head snapped up, and he almost dropped his drink “Ele.. She is doing Rufus?” Tseng nodded affirmative, “Then why the hell would she tell me she was doing Rude?”

“To make you..” Tseng started

“Stay clear of him” Reno ended, and before Tseng could say anything more, Reno ran to his jacket and grabbed his phone, dialling Rude’s number. “Rude, pick up man” he said walking back to the kitchen, as Reno had almost given up, the phone was picked up, “Reno!” he heard Rude’s voice say in the other end. “Rude, man, am I glad to hear your voice, are you alright, I mean.. “ Reno raved.

“Chill bud, I am fine” Rude laughed, “I was just sleeping, you know that is what us mortals do at night”

“Oh” Reno said, feeling stupid, “Rude?” he whispered “be careful, something is wrong here, seriously wrong, don’t trust anybody, and I do mean anybody”

“I’m sure you have your reasons for saying that” Rude said, “You can count on me”

“Thank you” Reno said, almost sighing loud of relief before they hung up. Reno looked at Tseng and dialled Clouds number, when the answering machine clicked, Reno said “Cloud? Would you just fucking call me?” he said sounding annoyed and scared at the same time, Tseng thought to himself that he had never seen Reno this upset, had he really ever seen this man have any emotion at all, within the last four days he had seen every variety there was, and still a scared Reno was really alien, Cloud was a fool if he had truly left this behind, he had a loving, sensual and caring partner, and knowing Reno, properly loyal to death. Tseng made a mental note of cursing Cloud out the first chance he got.

TBC