#engineershands

The phone rang.

"My Turks are aware of their importance, to myself and the company."

She'd hoped that he'd forget. That stupid coffee date that he was so keen on organizing, the thing he always wanted to make sure that she kept. Partly, she had forgotten, so tangled up in last minute deadlines and dues. “Can you blame me for forgetting? You’d forget too if the President was up your ass.” She felt Reeve lean closer and set the coffee aside after another long drink. “Oh, plenty.” She said with a small grin. “We’re experimenting with its effects when combined with materia-loaded weapons. To see if it can amplify the effects, or better yet if it can keep the materia running longer without needing to be recharged or reworked.” Her fingers curled around a nearby materia, sliding it carefully into its slot. “Want to take her for a spin?”

War was not something that Tseng had ever encountered before. He had trained for it, martial arts and sword battle, from the time he was a young boy. Initially as an heir, but with the birth of the Emperor’s daughter, he had been trained as a warrior. It was now his duty not to rule, but to protect. To fight for the great land of Wutai whatever it should choose to do. And with its expansion into areas rich with coal, they had encountered the ShinRa Corporation. With the same ideals, mining coal and burning it for energy. And meeting had turned into skirmishes, skirmishes had turned into war. But their weapons were more advanced. Of course, Wutai had things that ShinRa did not. Great minds, like the one that Tseng had been assigned to escort to the battlefield. Reeve, a man with a mind sharper than many he had met, who had studied sketches and stolen blueprints to come up with a counter to ShinRa’s methods. With the ship docked, they had joined the army’s command camp, presenting Reeve’s information and planning for an attack the following morning. He should have been sleeping. Preparing for battle. But he had left his own tent, moving through the encampment until he found Reeve’s, stepping inside and bowing slightly, one hand coming to rest on the hilt of his katana, which he carried even outside of his armor. Paranoia, some might have called it. “I hope I haven’t disturbed you. Your plans are quite advanced, I wanted to congratulate you on it.”

Tseng watched Reeve, his breath already rising in soft pants. To be so mercilessly teased for hours, between texts and glances, and to come to Reeve's apartment that night to a chess board? He could have killed him.A low growl left him, removing his jacket and sitting down across from Reeve, glancing over the board."An interesting bet. I'm sure you have further plans to torture me somehow."

"Is that so?" Scarlet tipped her head, her hands reaching up to pull her hair free of its confines, cascading done her shoulders in soft curls. Her eyes traced down the man's body, moving closer to check where his arms were bound to the bedframe. Firm, he wasn't moving anytime soon."I hardly believe it. But maybe if you can prove yourself worthy, I'll untie you, and let you do whatever you wish. But you must be a good boy."She slid her leg across him, straddling his hips and pressing down against him, rocking with a slow, calculated pace. Her fingers reached out, curling around the lit candle beside the bed and raising it, dripping a line of wax down Reeve's chest. Her lips split into a predatory grin watching him shift beneath her, eyes drinking in every movement. Seeing him unravel would be the ultimate pleasure. Plus when she climbed over his face and saw exactly what that mouth of his could do.

“Recently enough to not kill me, Reeve,” The blond easily walked around the other his cane looped over his arm for the time being as he read over more paperwork. Are you worried for me?” 

Reeve is annoying. Frustrating. The absolute last person that Scarlet ever wants to win over. But his damn coffee dates are constant, unending, the best for both of them. She can decide what is best for herself, and perhaps it's skipping out on a few weeks of his foolish dates and avoiding him whenever possible. It feels like fire until she stops in front of his apartment door, still wobbling from the bender she sent herself on. He looks concerned. She hates that, and she kisses him just to get that look off his face, or so she tells herself.He can only avoid her advances for so long. It's a frustrating series of her attempting her games, only for him to rebuke her. Frustrating, for a woman so used to playing men like instruments. If he doesn't bend to her will, how is she supposed to control him? She calls him a doormat so often, but he fights back. It finally comes to a head one night after dinner, after she slides into his car and kisses him and tries to touch him and he slides away again, murmuring that it's time to take her home. You idiot, don't you want me? He proves her wrong, kisses her far more times that night, over five and beyond. She convinces herself she's won.It becomes easier to deal with it. To accept this. He still pisses her off, certainly, but they have found so much common ground. She lets him stay with her more and more nights, and he does the same. She even kisses him, twice, the day it all becomes clear, tells him with excitement that they are going to catch those little AVALANCHE bastards and be done with this whole thing. But he'd betrayed them. Betrayed her. Lied to her this whole time. When the military police take him into custody, Heidegger has to drag her away because she won't stop screaming at him, or trying to hit him. You lied to me, you bastard, you lied to me!With ShinRa in the dust, Scarlet escapes. But it's difficult. There's always that connection, and the distances warps it. Degrades her. When she finally returns to Edge, a city built out of Midgar's destruction, Reeve looks awful and she knows she must look no better. She doesn't trust him, tells him that hundreds of times. But she helps his efforts, because she's bored and she's missed his plans and schemes. Creating things, that had always been a common ground. And when successful creation together earns him a kiss pressed on without thinking, she starts to retract. He grins at her, that goddamn annoying grin, and kisses her again. She hates him, how smug he is.