FicWad

It was one of the few times that they both clocked out together, and Tseng was still away doing recon near Kalm, and Rude was bodyguard for the evening with the President. Things had settled down a bit in the past few weeks, but that never meant that they'd stay that way. Usually it meant the opposite. Somehow.

He'd invited her over for a beer and some pizza. Or maybe it was take-out. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last. She'd only bothered to untuck her shirt and kick off her boots once she'd gotten over there, not in the mood for anything more casual than that after winding down from work.

That was one of the reasons why she had always liked Reno once she'd actually gotten to know him. She had first thought that he was all loud mouthed boasts and impulsive action with nothing really there beneath the surface. When she'd found out otherwise, she had been pleasantly surprised.

With him, there were never any obligations as soon as they were off the clock. There was no pressure, even when he teased her or flirted half in jest or even less than that when he hadn't gotten laid in a few weeks. But there was always still that undying loyalty for the Turks - for all of them - when it came down to it. No matter what happened.

"Hey," he'd said at one point when they were both stretched out on the couch. Some old Wutaian action flick had been on that they'd both seen at least a dozen times before. Elena's feet on the table probably blocked half the screen for him since he'd settled back with his head in her lap. He hadn't asked if that were okay, but he never did. Just like she didn't mind.

"Hm?"

At first, Elena hadn't heard him; the hero had been facing off against two dragons at once. The special effects for the materia use were way over the top and full of flashy cheese, but using real magic in the movies always ended up with the cast getting hurt.

Reno moved one hand just enough to nudge her arm. "So why'd you join the Turks, anyways?"

"Oh... I thought you knew." And, for a moment, it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything more beyond that. He almost asked what, and almost said to forget it, when she spoke up again. "My sister was a Turk, too."

So that was it. Smooth. Real smooth.

"Oh shit. You mean..?"

"..Yeah. You knew her, didn't you? She never talked much about what she did after she got out of the Academy, but, I remember hearing bits and pieces here and there."

Reno couldn't help but grin at that. "Yeah. She was a damned good Turk. Hell, I was there as her support on her first mission down in the slums."

"Were you?" Elena had never heard about that. Now that she worked for Shin-Ra herself, she knew why. "I used to hate the Turks. And her, for joining and always being better than me at everything. Mom and Dad always used to talk about how great she was, and how well she did at Junon, and about how far she'd go once she'd been signed up.."

Reno almost told her that it was Tseng who'd hand-picked the girl from the Academy for her high marksmanship, but decided to let Elena keep on talking instead.

"But.. after seeing the way the Turks worked together, and what it really was like.. if only for a little glimpse.. I changed my mind. It really wasn't that I hated her. Or the Turks. It was because I wanted to be like that, too, and still be seen as me instead of just a copy of her."

Elena'd fallen silent at that point. The hero had emerged victorious after his struggle with the dragons. Reno kept up the light motion of his hand against her arm.

"Sorry about what happened," he finally said, and this time gave her arm a little squeeze.

She forced a smile and said, "It's okay," even though they both knew she didn't mean it.

They stayed like that for a long time, neither of them moving or talking as they pretended to watch the rest of the movie play out. And it wasn't until the credits had started to roll that Elena finally asked, "What about you?"

"Hm?" He'd heard her, but made her ask anyways.

She didn't mind. "Why did you join the Turks?"

"Cause of my brother," he said after a pause. "Back during the war, he'd joined before he could get drafted 'cause he said he'd have a better chance to get into Soldier that way."

"Did he?" She couldn't help but ask, even if it meant interrupting the story.

"Nah. I found out a month after I joined Admin Research that he was based out there during the New Year's Eve attack." He paused only long enough to give a light, humorless chuckle. "Working for Shin-Ra was our ticket out of Eight. Part of why I'd joined was because I thought that being a Turk would be the best way to show him up if he did go Soldier. Kick his ass once we'd both made it, or something. Guess that's never gonna happen, now."

It was his turn to fall silent, then. Only this time the credits had finished rolling, and they had nothing left to watch except for the commercials.

"I'm sorry," Elena murmured, and she brushed her hand across his forehead. And Reno just grinned like he always did and said, "It's okay," even though they both knew he didn't mean it.

Neither of them had anything more to say the rest of the evening. Neither of them tried, because neither of them had to. Or needed to. There never was any pressure, and there never were any obligations once they were off duty. But there was always the brotherhood, no matter what.