A/N: This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story of Reno and Athena where Athena lives in a different town than Midgar and is not a Turk but she is dating Reno.

Description: Reno feels guilty after blowing up the Sector 7 area so he goes to visit his girlfriend. WARNING: There is pure lemon (barely-descriptive), language, depressed Reno, and bullying!

Basic Bio of Athena

Name: Athena Carter

Age: 18

Age of Dating Reno: 16

Family:

Mom, Melina (sister), and Dad (divorced)

Despite being praised for his work, Reno felt numbness spread throughout his body, consuming him in guilt. So many innocent people died in Sector 7 and no one cared but him and Rude. President Shinra praised Reno immensely for blowing the sector up but Reno felt so disgusted and alone like he was the only one on the planet. When his fellow workers asked how he did it, Reno merely said he just did it but he couldn't shake the guilt in his heart. So many women and children died for the sake of Avalanche.

Maybe Shinra is a monster, thought Reno, curling up against his locker. That's why Avalanche is fighting us. So many women and children…Tears of regret rolled down Reno's ashen cheeks and soaked his cheeks.

"Reno," called Rude's voice as he walked in looking around. "Ren!"

The bald man in the sunglasses found Reno curled up against his locker, sobbing profusely, and sighed. Because they were best friends, Reno would poke fun at Reno for being in pain. Rude knelt down next to the sobbing red head and patted his shoulder gently. He didn't know what to say because Reno was inconsolable at this point.

"Hey, Red," he finally said when Reno calmed down a bit, "why don't you take the rest of the day off? I'll tell Tseng you got sick, okay?"

"Thanks, Rude," said Reno hoarsely, finally standing. "I'm gonna go see Athena. She helps when it comes to things like this."

Rude nodded knowingly and walked out of the locker room to let Reno be.

…

Athena was sleeping peacefully until she heard a knock on the apartment door. She sat up and caught that it was three in the morning. The knocks grew more urgent so she abandoned her thoughts of sleep and clumsily walked to the front door. When she opened to, cold pricks of air poked through her nightgown so she ushered the stranger in.

What gave the stranger away was his red hair and she said softly, "Reno? What time is it?" Her mind was still sleep-muddled so she was really not paying attention.

"About three AM," answered Reno shakily like he was on the verge of tears. "Good morning, sunshine." He was breaking, she could feel it.

"Reno," she whispered, leading him to her room so they wouldn't disturb her sleeping mom. "What's happened? Did someone die?"

Reno sat down on her bed and buried his face in his hands. "I killed everyone in Sector 7." He groaned in distress.

Despite feeling huge shock, she sat down next to him and placed his head to her heart. She cradled him like a mama did to a baby and soothed him with gentle words. "What happened?" she repeated, knowing there was more to the story.

"Avalanche attacked Sector 7," said Reno quietly, "and it was my job to exterminate them. To kill them, I planted a bomb at the generator that kept the sector alive and Tifa tried to disarm it but it was too late. By the time we got away, we had the Ancient and Sector 7 was gone. There was nothing I could do." Sobs ripped at Reno's frame, threatening to spill over. "God, I deserve to burn in hell."

"Don't say that," whispered Athena, stroking his hair gently. "Don't ever say that."

Reno pulled himself away from her and gave her a hard look. "You don't care if I murdered people?" he asked angrily, squeezing her slim hands tightly.

"I can't judge you, Reno," said Athena gently. "It sounded like you stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Why couldn't I save them?" asked Reno despairingly.

"You're not all-powerful, Reno," she reasoned kindly, running a gentle hand through his hair. "It may be hard but once you accept this, you'll heal yourself. Don't blame yourself; there was nothing anyone could have done."

Reno didn't seem to hear her because he mumbled feverishly. "Who am I? What am I?"

"Baby, baby," she said anxiously, stroking his face lovingly. "Calm down; you're my boyfriend, and I love you."

"No, no, no," moaned Reno feverishly with his eyes closed. "Please, I can't…" Tears gushed down Reno's face miserably as he held his hands. "So many women and children…gone…" He broke off, sobbing silently, shoulders quaking.

"Shh, shh," said Athena as calmly as she could, "I'm here. It's okay, I'm right here." She stroked his messy red hair gently and lavished kisses on his cheeks, forehead, lips, and nose.

"I deserve to die," sobbed Reno, squeezing her hands hard enough to break them. "I don't deserve redemption."

"Now, you stop it, y'hear," said Athena firmly, looking into his tear-filled eyes. "You are forgiven, Reno. God forgave you. I forgive you. I love you, Reno." She said the last sentence tenderly.

Reno managed to pull himself to get her and said, kissing her on the lips soundly, "I love you, too, so much. Thank you, beautiful." Slowly but surely, he began acting like his normal self.

A relieved smile spread on her lips as he kissed her hair gently. "It's okay, Reno," she said strongly. "Storm's over."

She felt him nod against her neck as he tenderly kissed her soft skin. Instead of pulling away like she did the previous times, she enfolded him to herself, thanking God he answered her prayers. Reno murmured repetitive "I love you's" as he held her close.

It was there that she remembered how they met.

….

She was being teased by some girls in her high school class and it reduced her to tears. They bullied her when the teachers weren't around because of the anti-hazing rules that the school impressed. Most of the schools had anti-hazing rules, due to the government calling it "hate crimes", but barely anyone paid heed to it.

The girls only bullied her because she was sensitive and they knew she'd react to it. One bullied her because of her feminine features but that was a whole other story. She, Athena, tried to ignore it but then they made fun of her parents' split and that's when the tears began to fall. The preppy bitches began laughing cruelly at her tears, calling her a big baby and a wimp. Something in Athena snapped because she pulled her body back, launched her fist towards Ashley's perfect face, and hit her right in the nose.

Due to the impact, Ashley fell backwards until one of her plastics, Bertha, caught her and glared at Athena, who sank into a defensive stance with her fists raised.

"You fucking bitch!" yowled Ashley, manicured hand clasped to her cheek. "How dare you!"

"I dare," growled Athena, tears still fresh on her flushed cheeks. "Just leave me the hell alone, you fucking whore!"

When she turned to walk away, she saw the plastics' boyfriends, or as she phrased it "fuck buddies", give her acid glares before sauntering up to her threateningly. Because Ashley and her coterie of bitches were in the cheer squad, they had the jocks at their beck and call. Athena tried to defend herself but two boys pushed her to the ground and held her arms behind her back painfully. That left her defenseless, which was what they wanted.

"Hey, Ash," said the ringleader Danforth. "Got the bitch where we want her. Feel free to slap or punch her until she apologizes."

"Thank you, baby," said Ashley flirtatiously, before throwing her fist at Athena's face.

Athena closed her eyes and let out a loud shriek.

"Did you hear that?" Reno asked Rude as the two walked down a nature path.

"Hear what?" asked Rude, looking around as if he expected someone to jump them.

Reno's turquoise colored eyes scanned the area quickly as he said, "I heard a scream—a girl's scream. Let's go investigate,"

Before Rude could object, Reno tore off down the path to reach the source of the cry with his rod in hand. Because they were specialized in stealth and distant hearing, Reno and Rude managed to get to the area without being spotted but they saw something that made their blood boil.

A group of high school boys in lettermen jackets held a girl's arms back while restricting her movement as a few bitches took turns slapping her. Suddenly, all of Reno's careful training and rational thought left him and he charged out there, EMR rod raised.

Since he was more trained in offense than those asshats called boys, he managed to knock the two pinning the girl's arms back and she was let free but looked like a horrid state. Her nose was bleeding and a few drops of blood escaped her swollen lips as tears ran down her bruised cheeks. She sported a slight black eye and her eyeglasses were broken.

Rage filled Reno's chest as he snarled at the bemused crowd. "Back off, you punks," he growled, giving them the most lethal glares. "Leave the poor girl alone or else."

"Or else what?" challenged the ringleader of the jock group.

"Or else," said Reno loudly, "I'll get my chopper and shoot you all down!"

Two more of the boys charged at Reno, intending to hit him, but he jumped aside and kicked one in the back and Tased the other with his Taser. He let them fall to the ground and gave a challenging glare to the ringleader, daring him to come forward. The boy snapped his jacket and casually swaggered up to Reno but was stopped by Rude jumping out of the bushes and socking him straight in the face.

The scantily-dressed girls ran to escaped but were apprehended by Tseng and Cissnei, who gave them steely glares. Something told Reno that the other two Turks saw what had happened and decided to defend the hurt girl. Cissnei took out her shruiken and Tseng took out his pistol as he said, "You know, ladies, you are charged with verbal harassment, gang-banging, hit and run, and that's just for starters."

"That bitch punched me," screamed the most scanty girl with a slight bruise on her face. "She deserved it!"

"The girl didn't stand a chance with so many of you," stated Cissnei coldly, "besides, this is considered a hate crime, illegal in the government. You do the math: who was really breaking the law?"

"They were," answered Reno quickly, easing the barely-conscious girl to her feet.

Tseng gave Reno a look and said, "Thank you, Reno, now you and Rude take the girl home while I call the police to inform them of this.

"Aye, aye," said Reno, saluting Tseng with one arm while his other arm supported the injured girl. "Adios, bitch-odos."

The red head slid his arm under her back while the other slid under her knees and he scooped her up bridal style. She seemed aware of the situation but did nothing to object. As the red head carried her, he studied her curiously.

The girl was fair skinned with a slim figure and long dark brown hair. Despite her beatings, she looked rather pretty because her face was petite and delicate and she had long, slender limbs. Her figure was slim with accurate-sized breasts but her style wasn't what Reno called "in".

She wore a sheer long sleeved dark blue top that complimented her womanly form but the black velvet sweats made her look homely. Her hair was styled in a newer fashion, though, with the popular side swept bangs but it fit her so much.

Reno felt like he wanted to know her because she seemed so natural and innocent like a light.

"Hey, you coming to?" asked a drawling man's voice when Athena woke up.

Through her sore eyes, she saw a tall, lanky lean man with dark red hair that was tied back in an untidy ponytail. His red spikes were carelessly styled but it made him look natural. His face was pale and weary looking like he was sleep deprived but had two red symmetrical red tattoos near his turquoise eyes. A few dark rings circled around his eyes like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in ages but judging by his Men in Black uniform, how could he? His smile was kind and he wiped the dried blood off her lips with a warm wet rag like a gentle person would.

"I don't recall asking for your help," she said weakly.

"Oh, sure," said the man sarcastically, "and I'm supposed to just stand by and watch an innocent person get hurt? Me and Rude came to your rescue when we saw you getting pwned. I'm Reno Sinclair, nice to meet you."

"My name is Athena," she said with a slight smile that showed through her wounds. "Athena Carter, nice to meet you."

It was that day that marked their relationship as friends…and soon they became more.

…

When their passionate kiss ended, Athena let out a breathing sigh and said, "Reno…" It was a beg, a request, a plea. Reno, in turn, took off his blazer and unbuttoned his white shirt but when she tried to take it off in a frantic pace he captured her hands in his and told her they had the rest of the night so there was no need to hurry. Slowly, she calmed down and allowed herself to be subdued by Reno, who gently removed her nightgown and hooked his fingers around her panties but didn't remove them.

Silently yet swiftly, Reno took off his pants and kicked his shoes and socks off. Only left in their undergarments, the two shared another passionate kiss and slowly removed their last remainder of clothes.

"Before we do this," breathed Reno huskily, "I wanna know if you're a virgin."

"Yes," she whispered, "but I want to lose it to you because I love you so much."

"I love you too," said Reno gently, "but if I hurt you, let me know and I'll stop."

She nodded, silencing him with a loving kiss.

…

The two were caught in a loving embrace and their bodies moved as one like lovers since the dawn of time. Their caresses were gentle, loving enough to calm the other and their passion burned bright like a Roman candle. The feelings they felt for each other would never fade away because they grew to know and love each other. A deep synchronization formed between the lovers as their moans, full of passion and need, merged as one song. As their much-needed climax gave way, the two held each other and said how much they loved the other before being caught in the tides of slumber.

Athena smiled in her sleep, pleased to know that the storm was over.

…

The afternoon sun roused Athena from her sleep and she sat up, holding the comforter to conceal her naked body. She ran a hand through her mussed hair and she looked to her left and saw Reno dozing like a cat curled up in the sun. A gentle smile grew on her face as she ran her fingers through his tangled red hair gently.

It was nice to see him look so in peace from the contrast of the previous night. His face was full of joy and peace as he rested in her bed, naked like the day he was born. When Athena stood up, his arm elongated out as if he was feeling for her but she slipped her robe on and slipped out of her room quietly so she wouldn't wake her lover.

Neither Mom nor Melina were around so she must have been home alone but she honestly wondered if they heard the event that transpired the previous night. As memory served, she wasn't exactly quiet and neither was Reno so she was going to get busted. It was worth it, though, because she loved him very much.

"Hey, mi princesa," said Reno huskily, kissing her robed shoulder in greeting. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't know you were gone?" His turquoise eyes, so full of love and joy, were dancing in a teasing way as he smiled his trademark smirk at her.

"Ren," she said gently, stroking his cheek. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes," answered the red head genuinely. "I know that you love me no matter what wrong I've done and that you will always be there for me as I will be for you."

"I love you," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you more," said Reno, cradling her to him.

…

A week later, Athena found out she was pregnant with Reno's child and when she told him he just lit up and gave her a long embrace. The words he whispered were so gentle and loving that she held it in her heart forever: "No matter what changes in our lives, I will always love and cherish you as you've done for me."

Athena knew that as long as she had Reno by her side she would never feel unloved or alone because he gave her as much love as she needed.

A/N: A very sweet ending! I hope you all enjoy this little oneshot! Read and review because that makes me feel better! Speaking of updates, though, I will get to work on "Soldier Director" ASAP so be patient for that one!

Here's the song that played in my mind when Reno and Athena were making love:

Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars

You all should check it out because it's a great song! Well, till next time my darlings!