“Home sweet home!” declares Reno, his voice dripping with irony as he surveys the sterile and empty Shinra lab around him. He’d been assigned to collect and retrieve you on his own, with Rude on a well-earned break and his own staunch refusal to take Elena as a partner. Finding you was, surprisingly, the easy part. The retrieval was not.

Reno adjusts his grip on your arm, still pinned tight in his grasp despite the thrashing you gave him. His jacket is torn at the shoulder and there are gashes across his chest from your nails. His cheek bears a few shallow cuts, and his knuckles are raw too, but despite everything, his cocky grin hasn’t wavered.

“Gotta admit,” he adds, dragging you forward with little effort despite your resistance, “you’re tougher than I thought you’d be. Almost made me work for it.” Reno flings himself onto a leather couch in the corner of the lab, stifling a yawn. He waves at you lazily. “Couple more hours before your little scientist friends come to greet you—I’m ahead of schedule. Just get comfortable or whatever.”