(Authors note: I don't own any of the characters except for Suzanne and Sean. This is my first shot at a FFVII fanfic, so go easy on me. Please rate this, and I hope you like it!)

NEW A/N. PLEASE READ: Okay, I really didn't want to have to do this... I wanted to rewrite the first two chapters... but I lost my writers block, and I went back to writing the new chapters, so PLEASE don't hit me!! I will tell you this now, my lovely readers... The first two chapters of this are not my best. I think at the start I was having trouble establishing just what kind of story this was going to be. I stopped writing it for quite some time after the second chapter, and when I went back to it, basically, I said "fuck it" (yes, I said "the eff word". Sue me. It's an M fic. You opened it, so HA!) and started writing whatever came to mind. And BEHOLD!! The story improved about 100 percent. So just deal with the first two chapters, I swear to GOD it gets better. I WILL rewrite the opening chapters eventually. Maybe next time I get some writer's block. Thank you for dealing with them!! Enjoy! (the later chapters... but then again, if you like the first two, maybe the others will seem even better?? Who knows!)

Chapter 1

The wind tossed Reno's cherry-red hair around as if it were nothing as he and the rest of the Turks sped towards Rocket Town in their buggy. He ran a hand through his crimson locks and leaned back in his seat. "So tell me again why we're going to that dump?"

Tseng shot a glare at him. "First off, it's a pretty nice town compared to some we've gone to... And for the last time! I heard that's where AVALANCHE plans to go next!" He turned to face the front window again, throwing directions at Rude every now and then.

They sat in silence for another 15 minutes before Reno began to speak up again, but Tseng quickly cut in. "We're not there yet..."

Reno put a hand to his head. "Good job genius, but I wasn't gonna ask that... I'm not five, I'm 24..." He moved his hand down to rest in the open window. "How are you going to solve the whole problem of housing when we don't have any money for a hotel?" Tseng turned around in his seat to face him, pulling a sheet of paper out of his pocket in the process.

"Right here." He started. "Shinra gave us permission to take up residence in local's homes." He handed it to Reno. He looked it over, and nodded his head approvingly.

"Sweet deal you've got here..." He handed the document back carefully, and pulled out a cigarette. Right as he was about to light it, Elena pulled it out of his mouth and tossed it out of the window. "What'd you do that for!" Reno practically screamed at her.

She gave him a look of death. "You KNOW I hate smoking, so you're definitely not going to light up when we're in a cramped car right next to each other..." They continued to glare at each other as though they were arguing silently, and finally, Reno broke the stare and continued to stare off into space. He let out a deep miserable sigh and leaned back to go to sleep.

Reno...

A nudge.

Reno!

"Huh?"

Wake up, or you'll get a face full of ice!

Reno sat up and drowsily rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at his surroundings. Somehow in the course of about two hours, he'd ended up with his head in Elena's lap. It didn't last long. As soon as he opened his eyes, she'd pushed him off. "Jesus, Reno! You're even a lech in your sleep!"

He sat up again, rubbing his eyes a bit more. "Why didn't you do that right when I first laid down?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Tseng insisted I let you sleep undisturbed... Something about you being infinitely less irritating if you weren't making noise..." Reno gave her a look of contempt. They were both snapped out of their glaring contest when Tseng spoke up.

"We're here, so... We need to start looking for good housing." They both looked at him for a moment before retiring from their fight. They grabbed their suitcases and followed him into town, the cool night air blowing across their faces.

They approached the first house, and Tseng extracted the government slip. He rapped on the door, and finally, it was answered by a nice looking old lady. "Ma'am," he started. "We will be taking residence in your home until further notice." The old woman seemed more than happy about it.

"Oh, that's wonderful, dear... In all honesty, I haven't had anyone in this old house for about 10 years now. I'll be happy to. Now then, how many?" She looked behind him and counted. "Oh dear... I can only house three. I'm sorry."

Tseng turned to the other Turks. "Hear that Reno?"

Reno looked around for a moment, confused. "Me?"

Tseng nodded. "Yep. You heard the lady. You're going to need to find somewhere else to stay."

A surprised and shocked expression fell across his face. "Why me?!" He demanded.

"Well," Tseng said, looking at the others. "We don't like you." He looked at Elena again, and she nodded vigorously. "Yep. Good Turk, bad personality..." Reno drooped his head in defeat. Tseng looked to Elena. "Elena, go start unpacking the rest and preparing our rooms. I'm going to go get this idiot some housing." She nodded at him dreamily, uttering "okay Tseng" in the most attractive voice she could muster, before starting to the car.

Reno watched with a quirked brow as she skipped off, happy to do their leaders bidding. "Hopeless…" Tseng motioned for him to follow and they started through the rest of the town.

They wandered down the street in silence for a while, and came across a nice little house. Tseng stopped Reno. "See? Here's a nice place." He walked up to the front door, leaving Reno at the end of the walkway, and knocked a few times. A young girl with shoulder length brunette hair answered the door. She had cool blue-green eyes, and stood at about 5'4". She wore jeans and an off-the-shoulder blue blouse. "Excuse me, is your mother home?"

She scratched her head. "Uh... I don't live with my mom... I'm a little old for that..." Tseng looked a little taken aback.

"Really? How old are you? You look so young." He squinted his eyes, studying her baby face, wondering how the girl before him could be more than 16.

She furrowed her brow. "Um... I'm 20... Could you stop staring? It makes me really uncomfortable..." He blushed a little and straightened him self up again. "Are you here for a reason, or just to stare at me?" She cocked her head a little.

"Actually, I'm here to ask if it would be alright for one of my co-workers to stay with you, until further notice." His face was suddenly very business-like again.

"That's a weird request! Hell no! It's not like you can just waltz in and insist someone stay here!"

He leaned forward. "Actually, it's a lot like that..." He took out the sheet of paper and handed it to her. She read it over, frowning at the document. Her eyes traveled up to the red-head, who was currently digging around in his ear with his little finger, at the end of her walkway. She grimaced and looked back at the paper, re-reading it.

"Well… It appears I don't have much of a choice…"

Tseng took the paper back. "Yes, unfortunately for you. Try and keep him out of trouble, would you?" With that, he turned, walking back to the unruly mess of a Turk. "Well, she said you could stay."

Reno shot a glare at him. "She seemed kinda firey... I think I'll stay on the streets..." Tseng grabbed the top of Reno's head and turned it to face her.

"Have you looked at her? Just think, you're allowed to do pretty much anything... Any crime... and get away with it with this grant." Reno turned back to face him again. He stared for a moment.

"I don't think I follow..." Tseng smacked him over the head. Reno rubbed it for a moment. "I still don't-" He stopped and thought for a moment. "Ooooohh... THAT'S what you mean..." He smiled evilly. "Alright, I think I'm just fine with this plan..." Tseng clapped him on the shoulder.

"Atta boy... Meet over at the old woman's house tomorrow at 8 p.m. sharp. Alright?" Reno nodded, and Tseng left.

He turned to face the front door, and approached the girl. She stared at him wearily. As he drew near, she slowly raised her hand to her mouth. Right as he was about a foot away, she stopped him. "Excuse me... Before you make your self at home, would you do me a big favor and take a shower?" He stopped and thought for a minute.

Do I really smell? Rude doesn't complain... 'Course, he never talks anyway... But Tseng and Elena don't complain! But… MAYBE they do… Can't remember…

He pulled to collar of his shirt to his nose and sniffed it. He shut his eyes for a moment, and tried to make the smell leave his lungs, by coughing a little. "Alright then... Where's the shower?"

She started to lift up his suitcase. "Upstairs, first door on the left. Your room will be the second door on the left." He stared to head upstairs. "Wait! Don't you need a change of clothes?" He shrugged and kept going.

He stepped into the bathroom, and looked around. It was a bright bathroom, that could be suited to pretty much anyone, not at all what he expected. He expected it to be more feminine, looking at her manner of dress. He sighed and started to strip. After he'd taken off his shirt, he leaned over and turned on the shower. He took off the rest of his clothes, and hopped in.

As the warm water beat against Reno's skin, he felt he could think clearly for the first time in what seemed like years. In fact, that's why he hated showers. It seemed like whenever he showered, he was able to think, and what he thought about wasn't always pretty. He would always reflect on his life, and begin to regret more and more. He scrubbed the invisible layer of muck and filth off his skin, while he started on his normal thinking pattern. First, it was innocent thoughts of how nice it is to get a shower. Then, it would be recent events, which for the past few years involved Turks. He moved on to wash his hair. Then, he would begin to ponder why he became a Turk. And past that was blank since he always finished his shower by this point. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel. He climbed out and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist, and looked where he had previously thrown his clothes. Reno sighed and opened the door. "Where are my clothes!" He called down the stairs.

"I'm washing them! They stink!" was the only reply he got.

He furrowed his brow. "What am I supposed to wear?"

"You have other clothes!" the voice said. Reno sighed and walked to his room. The walls were light blue with white trim. The bed, on which his suitcase was laying, was dark blue, and centered against the wall. He approached the suitcase, and began to rummage around in it, until he found what he was looking for, a pair of pants and boxers. He sniffed them a little to make sure they were clean, and tossed them on. Before leaving, he noticed a toothbrush sitting in his suitcase. He thought for a minute, reached in and grabbed it out. He strolled back out of his room, to the bathroom, and brushed his teeth quickly. He left it on the counter and cantered down the stairs, where he found the girl washing his clothes while wearing a mask. She turned to face him, glaring. "How is it even possible to get clothes so dirty!"

He scratched his head lazily. "By not changing them for a month?"

She stared at him disgusted for a moment, and pushed the soapy tub aside. She took the gloves and mask she was wearing, and turned to him again. "Tea?" He nodded. She walked over to the stove, grabbed the kettle, and led him into the dining room. He sat down, and she poured him a cup, then herself. They sipped at their tea in silence, when the girl finally spoke up. "So... What is your name?"

He took a sip of his tea. "Reno..."

She stared at him while continuing to drink her tea. "I'm Suzanne." He set his empty tea glass down and stood up.

"I don't give a damn about your name." He began to move towards her.

"E-excuse me?" He put a hand next to her face, and took out a knife.

"You're to do what you're told. Are we clear?" She nodded nervously. He leaned in to put his lips to hers, when he heard a small yawn from behind him.

Reno turned around to see where the noise came from, only to see a small boy. Suzanne looked over Reno's shoulder to the boy. "Sean? Go back to bed. Now."

The small boy stared for a minute. "Who is that man?"

Reno turned back to look at her again. "Didn't you say you were 20?" He stared at her in disbelief as he tried to figure out how she had had a child.

She glared at him and whispered. "He's my little brother you twit..." She regained a sweet composure. "He's just a nice man who will be staying with us for a while. Now go back to bed." The boy slowly and reluctantly walked back up the stairs. Right as he was out of sight, she glared back at Reno. "Would you really do this to me with a child in the house?"

"Please! Leave me alone! My son's in this house!"

"Shut up, lady! This'll only take a little while... And it won't hurt a bit!"

He snapped back to reality when he heard a soft voice call his name. "Reno?" He looked down into the glassy pools in Suzanne's eyes. "Are you alright? You looked as white as a ghost."

"Yeah..." He relaxed a little and blinked a few times. "I've gotta go to bed..." She stared at him confused for a moment as he walked up the stairs to his room. He threw the door open, tossed his suitcase off the bed, and collapsed onto it. He rubbed his face for a moment. "What's wrong with me?"

Downstairs, Suzanne was nervously sipping her tea.

'Are you alright? You look as white as a ghost.' Tch! Why should I be worried about that lecherous idiot! I should have kicked him out right then and there!

Her hand began to shake so badly, that she dropped her cup. She didn't feel the need to make an effort to catch it, she simply watched it fall to the ground and break. She sighed and bent over to begin to pick up the pieces.

If he hadn't stopped, he could've screwed Sean up for life...

She suddenly paused.

...But he stopped...

She sat in deep thought for a minute. "UH! What am I thinking!"

She carried the pieces to the kitchen and threw them in the trash, cutting herself in the process. She let out a yelp, mostly from surprise, and put her finger in her mouth. She turned on the sink, and began treating the wound. "What's wrong with me?"

"Hey, mister?" Reno looked around groggily as the sun spilled into his room, hurting his eyes. He winced, and shielded himself with his forearm. He looked around for the source of the sound that woke him up from his dreamless sleep. His eyes met that of the same boy from the night before.

He squinted at him and wrinkled his nose. "What're you doin' in here at dis hourr, kid?" He said in slurred tones as his eyes slowly came to a focus. "And don't call me "mister"... It makes me feel old..."

The child looked around nervously for a moment before responding. "Um... It's past ten o'clock... And Suzi says that if you don't get your butt downstairs, you don't get any breakfast..." Reno stared, while trying to kick his brain into gear to understand this. "Well..." said the boy, reminding him of his presence. "I'm goin' downstairs to get my own breakfast..."

Reno sat up and rubbed his temples. "That kid's got guts, talking to me like that..." He sighed and swung his legs over the bed, landing on the floor softly. His staggered over to his suitcase and pulled out a black shirt with thin white pinstripes on it, and some black pants. He tottered down the stairs and fell over into a chair at the table.

"Well it's about time!" Reno looked over to see Suzanne dressed very differently in comparison from the day before. Rather than something cool and casual, she was dressed in a black tank top, baggy kaki pants, brown gloves, boots, and she had a seemingly random pair of goggles resting on top of her head. "Now hurry and eat! It's getting cold!" He stared at her for a while longer before his stomach finally got the best of him. He loaded up his plate with eggs and bacon, as Suzanne began to give her brother, Sean, instructions for the day. "You know what you can make for lunch? Good. And if you need anything, you know where I am..." etc, etc... Reno ate his last bite, and took out a cigarette. Suzanne, who seemed so into ordering her brother around, snapped over to look at him. A very frightening glare crept across her face as she began to stomp over to him. "Don't you DARE light that up in a house with a ten-year-old in it!" She grabbed it out of his mouth and threw it on the ground, stomping on it. "Don't you have even an ounce of common sense!" She then stormed back over to Sean, and continued to leave him contacts, and such. Reno leaned back in his chair.

Geez... The kid must get the stones from her... And what the hell's up with women and no-smoking rules?

She finally finished with Sean, and walked over to Reno. "And YOU! Don't even TRY to cause any trouble while I'm gone or I'll be here to kick your ass in a heartbeat!" And with that, she trod out the front door, and slammed it shut behind her. The two boys sat in silence for a while, before the younger finally approached the elder.

"So... My sister told me not to talk to you unless I had to..." He stopped for a moment, looking almost ashamed. "Did you do something bad?" He continued to stare intently upon Reno, who wouldn't take his eyes off the ceiling, while waiting for a response.

"To put it simply, I do bad things for a living, kid... Sorry to disappoint you..." He closed his eyes in hopes of the child leaving him alone, but Sean kept talking.

"Well!" He started. "What if you did a bunch of good stuff! She couldn't stay mad at you then!"

Reno stared at the kid in amazement for a few seconds, and let out a light laugh. "I seriously doubt that..." He stated simply. "I'm pretty sure she hates me with every ounce of her being..." But the child didn't seem to be listening.

"C'mon! You can keep me entertained while she's working." He reached over, grabbed his hand and began to pull him up to his room. "And when she gets home, maybe she'll change her mind about you!" Reno finally gave in, since he had nothing better to do, and went upstairs with the kid.

"Wrench!"

"So then he showed me this paper that said I was required to comply or else I'd be arrested or something STUPID like that..."

"Gimme the wrench!"

"So the guy walked up to the door, and he smelled SO BAD so I told him to take a shower and when he got in I snuck in and took his clothes..."

"I need that wrench sometime today!"

"And then he got all mad at me so I told him to go get other clothes since I was washing his and he came downstairs and I offered him tea, and..."

Cid pulled himself out from under the Tiny Bronco. "Suzanne! Get me the goddamned wrench or I'll get it myself and shove it up your tiny ass!" She stopped talking and calmly handed him the wrench.

"Sorry... Anyways... I asked him his name and he told me so I thought it was only polite to tell him mine so I did but he told me he didn't care..." She continued talking through Cid yet again.

"Can you get me a screwdriver?"

"Then he got up and held a knife to my throat and told me I was supposed to do what he said and he was about to kiss me when..." Cid hit his head against the bottom of the Tiny Bronco, and crawled out.

He rubbed his head. "SHIT! Who did you say this person was!" He yelled in disbelief.

She rolled her eyes in thought. "Well, his name's Reno. But he's not a soldier... I actually have no idea what he does..."

Cid put his hand to his forehead, and let it run down his face. He finally looked down at her. "You know I think of you almost as a daughter... right?" She nodded. "What I'm saying is, if he does anything to you, tell me. And I'll kick his ass..." She smiled.

"Thanks, Cid..."

He rubbed her head. "Atta girl..." A thought ran through his head and he stopped. "Did he...?"

She shook her head. "Nah... Sean came downstairs, so he stopped..." She furrowed her brow. "But that's where I'm stumped... Not that I'm mad that he stopped, but I'm just curious as to WHY he stopped... It's not like his kind of person..." They each stood there in silence, thinking about this. "Oh! Uh, here's the screwdriver." She held it out to him.

Cid took hold of it and pointed it at her. "Just... Careful, alright? A girl like you shouldn't be around thugs like that in the first place..."

She smiled sweetly. "I know Cid... I will be..."

He grinned and wiped the sweat and oil off his face. "Good..." He crawled back under the plane, and continued working.

Suzanne walked through the front door and kicked her shoes off. "I'm home!" Her voice echoed through the house, receiving no response. Her eyes darted all around the room as a worried expression crossed her face. Right as she began to panic, she heard a familiar deep utter from upstairs.

"Hit me." She glared, and ran upstairs. She flung the door open to find Reno and Sean sitting on the floor playing blackjack. "Hit me." Sean dealt a card to the elder. Reno smiled and laid down his cards. "Ha! 21! I win again..." Sean let out a frustrated sigh. "Care to play another round?" Reno looked up at Suzanne as though noticing her for the first time, then Sean turned around.

"Hi Suzi! Reno taught me a new game." Reno raised his hand in a slight wave.

Suzanne simply stared, searching for a reason to look down upon the man she desperately wanted to consider filth. "You... You..." Then a thought sparked. "You taught him how to gamble! What's next? Heavy drinking!"

He stared at her calmly. "We weren't betting anything." Her face fell, but quickly changed to a glare when she saw the clock.

"It's 8:10..."

Reno gazed intently. "...So?"

She maintained her stern stare. "Your friend said to meet him at 8:00. Go. Now."

He let out a sigh and leaned his head back. "Nah... They expect me to be late anyway..."

She gave him a look that could kill. "I said go... NOW." He looked at her, somewhat bored. He shrugged, stood up, and began to walk out, shoving his hands in his pockets on the way. Turning back to Sean, smiling, she asked. "So... What do you want for dinner?"

Sean glared a little. "You shouldn't be so mean to him..."

Her expression hardened. "That's my choice Sean..."

"Mom would've tried to be nicer..." He said coldly.

"You know nothing about our mother." She hissed. Tears filled her eyes, and she left the room.

Reno downed his glass of whiskey in a single gulp, and moved right onto his next, not really listening to Tseng's plans for their course of action. He would listen in on the occasional mention of his name, but aside from that, he was just enjoying the free drinks.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin our shifts. Elena?" Elena nodded to Tseng. "You take the 6 am to noon shift. Reno, you've got the noon to 6 shift, since you seem to favor sleep over everything else..." He watched him down another drink. "Except for maybe a good cup of whiskey… Anyway, I'll take the 6 to midnight, and Rude's got the midnight to 6 am. We'll stick to these shifts until they show up, or we receive further notice from Shinra. Any questions?" Elena raised her hand.

"Sir, do we have any sort of signal to alert the others of their arrival?" Tseng nodded.

"There's not an exact signal, but this is a small town, so we'll probably hear any signs of a struggle or a fight." Elena gulped. "Now. Reno, you can go back home, and we'll turn in. Don't forget your shift."

Reno drank the last of his whiskey. "Yeah, yeah..." He supported himself on the table, and helped himself up. He put a hand to his head for a moment, and staggered out the door.

Suzanne rolled over in bed and looked at the clock. "12:30... Where IS he?" She let out a deep sigh and buried her face in her pillow. Jesus, Suzanne... He's a jackass... Stop worrying about him... Right as she thought this, she heard the door creak open, and slam. A thump on the hard wood floor downstairs rang through the house. She sat up and watched her door. A slurred mumble of the word "shit" sounded, along with steps going up the stairs.

Her breath began to become unsteady, not sure what was to come, when finally, Reno pushed the door open, letting it swing on the hinges, while he simply stood in the door frame. She let out a loud sigh of relief. "Oh god... Reno you scared me." He didn't respond, but began to walk uneasily towards her, until he was finally sitting on her bed gazing into her eyes.

She stared into his heavy lidded eyes through the dark, and began to feel a little uncomfortable. "Reno... Could you please go to your own room?" He leaned forward, and gently touched his lips to hers. She pulled away, wide-eyed and shocked, but he grabbed her wrists and pushed her down on the bed, looming over her. She struggled a bit. "R-Reno! Get off of me!" He leaned down and softly began to kiss her neck. "Reno, I'll tell Cid! He'll kick your ass!" He responded to this with a complement.

"You're beautiful..." She blushed almost to the shade of his hair. He continued to kiss her, when suddenly, all of his weight drop down on her. His breath deepened, and he lay there, perfectly still. Suzanne squirmed around a little under his weight.

"Reno?" He didn't reply. "Reno, seriously. This isn't funny. Get off." A very soft snoring began to echo in her ear. "Great... He's asleep..." She glared at the ceiling for a moment, and shyly looked at him. Her eyes traveled over his face. He seems so laid back all the time... Not how I would've pictured a Shinra officer... She squirmed around briefly, working one of her arms out from under him to pat his drunken head lightly. But he's still an ass… A sigh left her lips, before she settled down for the night and gave into her dreams.