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[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Characters: Reno, Rude
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: The dynamic duo is being split up for a time. THE HORROR D:
Location: Dollet
Date: January 1804
Warnings: Turks being made of man-wibbles. =| _{and an English major mun who insists on quoting Shakespeare in the cut text}


It would be foolish to say that Rude hadn't thought about the possibility of being separated from Reno. It would also be foolish to say that Rude hadn't known things would be a bit different as soon as Tseng arrived. Rude's problem was the knowing and experiencing remain two entirely different things, and with the news that Reno and Elena would be leaving to pick up Tseng while he accompanied Rufus to Lindblum, Rude was experiencing.

He couldn't say he was overly fond of it, but he understood, to an extent. Both Elena and Reno had been injured and were recovering, while he had been mostly unharmed. Rufus wouldn't be traveling alone, and so he was the obvious choice. Together, Elena and Reno would still be able to handle just about anything that came at them (as long as they didn't try to overexert themselves) while they went to get Tseng, and when they were with the Director, they would be even more dangerous. It wasn't as if he and Reno had never worked apart, either.

The problem, he supposed, was that they hadn't been apart for long since they had found each other here. While the new aspect to their partnership (that was a relationship in itself, after all) did weigh on his mind, Rude was fairly certain that this separation would have affected them either way. That was why he was opening the door to Reno's room, even knowing that both of them had to leave shortly.

The redhead would give him hell if he left without saying goodbye, after all.

Comments

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

As Rude opened the door, Reno had just finished buttoning his shirt. He was recovering, gradually, but he was the Turk that bounced back faster than the others which meant he was probably in a worse state than he'd let on, considering how long it was taking him to recover.

Using a Potion before his partner came in had helped a lot. He could breathe a lot better and deeper, without a wheeze slipping into his respiration every few minutes.

His injured wrist was unwrapped and looked less swollen, just very bruised. He was trying not to use it much but he figured he had to when it came to riding a chocobo. Which he wasn't impressed with. Like he wasn't impressed with Rude going to Lindblum with Rufus, but he supposed that it was just the way things were and they'd both have to put up with it.

Looking up from his buttons, Reno smiled at Rude, pulling his goggles on and slipping them up to his forehead, freeing his ponytail as he did so. "You're heading to Lindblum with the President, right?" He knew the answer... but it needed asking anyway. Sorting out his supplies for the journey, Reno wrinkled his nose, his eyes on the Potions, food and gil he had with him.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Rude had caught on, though possibly not all the way. Elena was mostly better, but Reno's injuries were still bothering him, and throwing the two of them onto a chocobo probably wouldn't help. Then again, Reno did know what he was doing, and Elena (and Tseng, when they were with him) would make sure the redhead didn't overexert himself. It would be out of his hands; Rufus was, as Tseng had said, the priority, and so Rude would have his attention completely focused on him.

Nodding to answer Reno's question, Rude shut the door out of habit before leaning against the wall, surveying Reno's packing. "After you and Elena pick up Tseng, will you be returning here?" He wasn't entirely sure how long the trip to Lindblum would take, and there was always the chance that Rufus would decide to stay there. While he was sure Reno had thought of it, he was his partner; it was his job to make sure everything had been covered, and they had to communicate well or else things would get messy.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

"Mmm... I don't know. I'll contact you when I reach Treno. Or the President. Whatever." Finishing packing away the clothing he'd bought, Reno pulled out his pack of cigarettes and grimaced. Three left, and then he was going to have to find something new to occupy his mouth and addictions. He just hoped it wasn't alcohol. He'd had enough of an alcoholic's life before joining ShinRa. He didn't really need to start back on that rocky, downhill path again. It'd taken long enough to get rid of that dependancy.

Sitting on the bed and pulling one foot up, Reno rested against the wall. "Be careful out there, okay, partner? You won't have me to watch your back; you gotta watch the President's and your own." His words could've sounded quite official if it wasn't for the concern in his gaze and the slight tinge of worry in his voice.

He was just too worried something might happen to Rude. They hadn't worked on separate jobs in quite some time which left Reno feeling aprehensive.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Recognizing the grimace from the times Reno had run out of cigarettes when they were working together, Rude shifted slightly. The redhead was not exactly pleasant when on withdrawal, and this time there would be no corner store in Midgar for him to raid. He'd have to warn Elena.

"I will be. You too." He would have said something about how it would probably go smoothly; they were only supposed to be meeting Cloud, after all, and the man wasn't unstable enough to try and take Rufus out. The thing was, things rarely went the way they were planned around them, and especially in this world. Instead, Rude lowered his sunglasses slightly to look at his partner. "If you come back with more injuries, I won't be happy. And try not to piss off the chocobo, you need it."

When in doubt, appeal to the humorous side of things. It would get Reno's mind off of things a little bit, at least.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Reno smiled slightly, noticing Rude's appeal towards his sense of humour to ease his worries. "Sit down," he mumble, gesturing to the bed he was seated on.

"I'll try not to get eaten by wolves again... if they come, I'm tossing the girl." He chuckled, amused at the very idea of that. Elena wouldn't let him get anywhere near her to do such a thing thus he was amazingly humoured at the thought that, perhaps, she'd end up tossing him to the wolves instead. "I can't promise anything about the chocobo. Those things just hate me or something."

Unlike Rude who seemed to attract animals. Particularly Touch Mes.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he wondered just how to go about the "relationship" part of saying goodbye and keep safe. Was he supposed to just act like they weren't sort of something or hug him and tell him to take care of himself? It was confusing since, well, if this was a girl he was leaving behind, he'd spend a good while enjoying her company before he went anywhere.

He wasn't so sure they were even remotely ready to consider that.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

"It's the hair." Moving from his spot on the wall, Rude settled down on the bed, chuckling lightly. Reno really did have bad luck with chocobos, even in this world; his wake-up under a Fat Chocobo had been far too amusing, as far as Rude was concerned.

Pulling his shades off and tucking them into the pocket inside his suit, Rude glanced over at the redhead. Even before all this, Reno had been one of the few to see him without his shades, at first because he would steal them (Rude had not been amused the first time) or because they would end up breaking (he had been even less amused the first time, and continued to be unamused whenever it happened). It was an unspoken sign of trust, most of the time -- other times, it was a sign that he actually cared about the reckless idiot.

"I'm waiting on Rufus's word to go." It was as close as he would come to all-out saying that he might have to leave at any time, and if Reno wanted to say or do something, that he had better do it. One of the earliest reports about him in the company was that he sometimes needed a bit of a push (not that it had been in those words), and there was no better pusher than Reno.

Besides, he didn't know what to do either.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Reno stuck his tongue out at his partner, giving him a light shove that didn't move Rude but nudged Reno back. He was aware of the fact that whenever he gave Rude a shove, he usually ended up on his ass (either by knocking himself over or Rude shoving back). "It's not the hair. Is it? Oh man, what if yellow chocobos don't like red?? Shit..." He wrinkled his nose up and flopped against the wall.

When Rude took his shades off, Reno's blue eyes instantly found those brown ones. He really did like it when Rude too his sunglasses off. It gave him a chance to see his best friend more open and vulnerable. He also recognised it as the sign of trust between them.

And then those words came and Reno was so used to his partner that he knew what he meant. "Heh, guess we don't have much time, huh? C'mere," he murmured, shifting to kneel, scrambling carefully towards Rude and simply giving the man a hug.

It felt strange and new, like it had when he'd broke down in Midgar, but there was an added... something that made it feel good and safe. Yeah, he knew he'd be safe with Rude, but without him was a worry sometimes.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Rude barely noticed the shove. For one thing, he was practically a brick wall, but it was more than that. Reno had always been good at slipping under his defenses, but he trusted his partner enough to let him, now. Any other Turk, especially Tseng and Elena, would have gotten possibly a raised eyebrow (especially Tseng, simply because it wasn't the other man's style), while Rufus would have been met with cool indifference. Other people, however, would experience things such as broken limbs and intense amounts of pain. Rude wasn't exactly the most social of the Turks, after all.

Chuckling softly at Reno's momentary crisis over the relationship between chocobos and his hair, he shrugged and ran a hand over his head to draw Reno's attention to it. "I don't have a problem with them."

Returning Reno's hug, it sort of hit Rude just how much smaller his partner was. The man's large mouth usually made up for it, and while he was certainly muscular (though in a way that made him ungodly fast, as opposed to Rude's slower but harder hitting bulk), he had always been skinny. While Rude would never say that Reno was fragile (he wouldn't say that about Elena, either, and certainly not about Tseng), it still surprised him at times.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Reno was becoming aware of the fact that Rude was bigger than he'd believed. Sure, he knew Rude was tall and built like a brick shithouse, but there was something about him, when he was being hugged like this, that made Reno feel a lot smaller than he really was. "Pfft, of course you don't. You were born bald and decided to stick with it," he teased, resting his head against Rude's shoulder for a moment.

He wasn't used to hugging anyone. Reno tended to punch people in the arm to show affection, even Elena sometimes, but he'd hug her on occassion. If, say, she was hospitalized, he'd hug her while visiting but... well, hugs were too... cutesy for Reno's taste.

Not this one, though. It felt warm and comfortable and as Reno pulled back, he settled on his rear and looked at Rude with a smile. "You're gonna kill my rep, man. I'm already going soft on ya," he joked, reaching out to neaten Rude's tie. "Just... I know I said, but be careful, okay? Fuck knows what Rufus wants Cloud for and if it sends the kid off the wall you're gonna be the wall between them. And that's the guy that killed Sephiroth. A good few times."

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Reno may not have been used to hugging people, but Rude wasn't really used to physical affection. It had been some time since he'd held down a steady relationship, and the only one who really bothered to invade his personal space with a harebrained idea or a friendly punch to the arm was Reno. It was an odd combination.

Rolling his eyes at the idea of killing Reno's reputation, Rude was strangely touched by the attention paid to his tie. He was always neat, while Reno was the disheveled, disorganized mess. They really were quite the pair of opposites in a lot of ways, but their partnership hadn't failed them yet.

"I will be. I'll make sure they meet in public; Cloud will be less likely to do anything there." It would also be less controlled, but Cloud had specifically said that Rufus wasn't supposed to have any Turks with him. He wasn't exactly easy to hide (then again, neither was Reno). Conditions weren't ideal, but they rarely were. "You too. We didn't have many problems when we were there, but Treno can be hostile, and you're injured." Being a Turk or wearing the uniform didn't mean anything to anyone but people from their owl world, after all, and there was always a chance that someone would get lucky.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

"Pfft... I can handle the guys in Treno. Plus, Elena will be there." Reno chuckled lightly, leaning into his partner, rubbing slightly at his ribs. "It'll be a couple days, the trip, but we'll set up camp and I'll call you or something..."

Reno wasn't entirely sure when or where they'd set up camp but he figured it'd happen and then he'd make time to talk to Rude if they could both get away from who they were with. It'd be difficult but he'd at least check in. Elena would probably want to check on everyone, anyway, considering how motherly she was. Sure, she was the youngest Turk but Reno was aware of how quickly she switched from calculating mind to everyone's mom.

"I wonder where we'll all be going when we're done with this... I don't wanna come back to Dollet again. It's boring, y'know?" He gave a laugh, his hands finding Rude's tie again, almost like a nervous habit. Straightening it more, he looked up at him, his blue eyes flickering with some sort of unidentifiable emotion before they found his hands again.

Swallowing dryly, Reno said nothing else, simply straightening a tie that was already in pristine condition.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Rude was fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to get away from Rufus, but he would certainly be able to take a call. It wasn't like they were going to talk about anything that made them look like there was something more to their partnership than best friends who work together. Besides, Rufus would likely be interested in their progress as well.

Cocking his head to one side, Rude studied his partner. He wasn't sure what the slight flicker in the redhead's eyes had been, but the change of topic made him 'hm' slightly. "You're restless."

They hadn't had any missions to go on, and while they had been busy during the monster invasion, the combination of no work and injuries was bound to get to Reno. Going to get Tseng would be good to get some of the edge off, but it wouldn't have the same amount of adrenaline the redhead required to be satisfied.

Moving both of his hands up, Rude grasped Reno's hands on his tie, stilling them. "We may have to return, but Tseng will speak with us, and Rufus, and likely set about to find a better location." There was no 'perfect' place, but Rufus had next to no influence here. If Tseng could find a way for Rufus Shinra and the Turks to make an impact again, he would. Rude had a lot of faith in his boss; the man had earned it.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

"Ah..." He blinked at Rude's hands as they gripped his own, looking up at him again a moment later. "Yeah..." He really was restless. He was a very lively and energetic person. It just wasn't in him to sit still and do nothing for so long and, add in injuries, he was going absolutely stark-raving mad at times.

Nodding slightly, Reno slid his hands out of Rude's, just resting them on the bed. "Yeah, we'll get everything cleared up when Tseng's about. Things run smoother with him." He gave Rude a smile, shifting to lean against him, burying his face against his partner's shoulder. "I gotta spend like... two days on a chocobo." He really didn't want to see another chocobo after the last incident but getting an airship would be way too costly right now.

Looking up at his partner, Reno reached to gently brush his fingers over the facial hair. "Gonna miss me?" A big grin came then, and he waited for Rude to grunt at him or push him away.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

He snorted slightly, ruffling Reno's hair, mostly to try and irritate him. "Builds character. Maybe you'll bond." Reno had teased him mercilessly about the Touch Me, so it was only fitting that he teased him about his troubles with chocobos a bit in return.

At Reno's question, Rude huffed slightly. "Idiot." It was said affectionately though. Of course he was going to miss him. Reno was his best friend, even without the job and the latest development.

"Though it might help this headache go away." Not likely, seeing as he'd be watching Rufus at all times and wondering if Reno had managed to rebreak his ribs. Besides, he'd long since learned to deal with any headaches that came from dealing with his partner.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Reno gave a laugh and flopped back to lay on his bed, managing to convincingly disguse the wince of pain. "You're an ass sometimes, Rude." Although, that was said rather affectionately too and he looked over at his packed bags, tucking an arm under his head. Not long now until they'd all be split up and end up with only phones to talk to each other.

It was weird. He used to enjoy the time he spent away from Rude, Tseng, Elena and Rufus but now he felt concerned about it. It probably had something to do with them living in each other's pockets.

"Hey, you should get going; Rufus will wanna get moving soon," he murmured, stretching a little more. He wanted to just get the trips over and done with so the five of them could work on whatever they'd do next.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Chuckling lightly, Rude shook his head. They were quite a pair, if nothing else. Before they were partners, they had been different; enough that anyone who had known them before, like Tseng, would know how big of an improvement this was for the two of them and their social skills.

Rude nodded, frowning slightly. Reno was right; it was time for him to go and do his job. Besides, Reno and Elena needed to head out to get Tseng soon, too. Standing up, straightening his suit out of pure habit as he did so, the Turk looked back at his partner. "I'll see you soon. Don't get hurt again."