In My Darkest Hour, You Were There - Reno (Final Fantasy VII) x Turk Reader

Chapter 2

"You want us to drop the plate?!" Reno exclaims as Tseng finishes the briefing.

"Yes," is the single, scarily matter-of-fact word that comes out of Tseng's mouth.

"But that'll kill like 50,000 people!" you add, eyes wide in shock and your stomach swirling at the prospect of what you've just been asked to do.

"It is a necessary step to stop a threat to public order," Tseng says, and your boss is unnervingly calm given the gravity of the situation, "If this operation is approved, you are expected to carry out your duty as always, whatever it takes."

"If it gets approved?" Rude asks, and he's by far the calmest out of you, him and Reno, but you've known him long enough to be able to tell that even he is shocked by this.

"Yes. There's been some... conflict between Reeve and Heidegger that they are trying to resolve," Tseng informs you, "In the meantime, you are to be on standby at your stations awaiting approval."

"Stations? As in plural?" Reno asks, his eyes narrowing, and your heart sinks as you realise what that implies.

"As in plural," Tseng nods as he echoes Reno's words, "Reno and Rude, you are to proceed to Sector 7, and if the operation is approved you are expected to engage the plate separation as planned. Y/N, you are to oversee things from the ground. You have an organisational role in this. It is a high intensity and highly important job critical for the success of this operation, so I expect you to carry it out with the diligence and attention-to-detail we have come to expect from you."

"Wait, I'm not going with Reno and Rude?" you ask, the realisation making your voice weaker than you'd like.

"That is correct," Tseng confirms, making your heart drop, "You are to remain at HQ and direct the operation, as well as informing us of any movements from Avalanche. You must also be prepared to deploy to Sector 7 yourself should we need additional strength and reinforcements."

"But... Why aren't we all going together? Y/N could direct the operation from the helicopter, right?" Reno asks, his voice tense.

"To be frank, this operation is highly dangerous. We cannot risk deploying all of our highest ranking operatives at once. I too will be taking a separate helicopter, as a precaution."

Your eyes widen and you have to suppress a gasp at what Tseng is implying; this operation is so dangerous, there's a chance that one, some, or all of you won't make it back in one piece. Tears prick at your eyes at the realisation, which you swiftly blink away as you force yourself to avoid looking at Reno - if you do, you're certain you'll break.

"I assume everything is clear. Do any of you have any further questions?" Tseng asks. Other than wanting to ask permission to punch his lights out, you don't have any, so you shake your head, as do Reno and Rude,

"Nah, completely understood, boss," Reno says, and you can hear the anger lacing his voice, although your usually fiery boyfriend manages to stay calm and professional - somehow.

"Very well. Make your final preparations. You are to depart to your stations in one hour."

You, Reno and Rude nod, before heading out of the office. The usual joviality is gone; Reno has his fists clenched and his brows tightly furrowed together, and you can see the tension in Rude's jaw as he tries to process what's happening. Meanwhile, you're desperately hoping you're going to hold it together until you make it out of earshot of the office, as if your composure breaks you know you'll cry, which you absolutely cannot do in front of your boss, or completely lose your shit, which also wouldn't exactly be a good idea. You don't want to do this, and you can tell Reno and Rude don't want to either, but you're all well aware of the consequences should you fail to carry out your jobs or at least push to the very last in an attempt to do so. It's not something you want to think about, but it's a hefty weight over all of you as Shinra's demands have been escalating, culminating in this god-awful mission.