Right Here Waiting

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Characters: Rude and Reno
Progress: Complete
Summary: Reno needs to apologise...
Location: Treno
Date: January, 1804
Warnings: Reno apologising? ...we'll let you know.


After speaking to Tseng, Reno had sent the cat back into his room and headed off to the bar to spend his time there. Of course, he'd only gotten through two drinks before deciding he had to swallow his pride, man up and go and apologise to Rude properly. He'd said his sorry to Tseng and come out unscathed so maybe it'd be easier with Rude. After all, for all his closeness to the Director, there was always more between him and Rude.

Sighing and finishing his drink, Reno tossed his gil to the barman, gave him a nod and made for the stairs. Once he stood outside their room, the redhead paused. Should I do this...? I could just go back to the bar and let Tseng fix things...

No.

No, that was weak. Just pathetic, even. He was a god damn Turk. Turks didn't run away when things got hard. They got the job done because, damnit, they were Turks. Taking a deep breath, Reno smoothed his hands down his dark grey pants, fixing his black t-shirt (thankfully Dollet had better fashion than anywhere else right now...) before stepping into the room, closing the door and damn well locking it.

Rude wasn't going to run now. Sure, he could beat the man to the door but the lock would slow Rude down as well.

Looking at the bald Turk, Reno took a breath of courage and started; "We need to talk."

Comments

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

The cat Reno had picked up in the alley in Treno had found its way onto Rude's lap, giving him a "You will pet me and you will enjoy it" look before curling up. The fur felt good on his previously injured hands, the magically healed skin there a strange mix of sensitive and unfeeling for the moment; his body would have to heal it a bit more before it returned to normal. Rude had no intention of leaving the room when Reno came in; he would simply ignore him and try not to let the cat scratch or bite him.

Then, of course, Reno came in, locked the door, and said the four most dreaded words in any world.

He wanted to run, but didn't for the same reason Reno hadn't. He was a Turk, and this was his partner. As much as the two of them had been hurt in the confusion following the epitaphs, as much as Reno had hurt him... well, Rude owed him an ear, if nothing else.

Rude nodded once to show that he was listening, glancing up from the cat to look at the redhead. He'd let Reno start.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Another breath in for yet more courage and Reno crossed his arms, his eyes suddenly deciding his boots were more interesting than anything else. Or safer, maybe. Frowning, Reno shifted a few times before speaking.

"I'm the biggest idiot on the Planet. We both know that. I didn't think through rationally and I should've, concussion or not." This was already starting to sound like his apology to Tseng and Reno knew that one wouldn't work on Rude. His partner deserved even more respect than he showed Tseng and, really, Reno hadn't shown him any respect at all with his actions.

Finally deciding to move from his spot, Reno sank to sit on the bed beside him, elbows on his knees and his gaze averted. "I'm sorry, y'know? I should know you wouldn't do that to me. I fucked up big time and I don't blame ya if you don't wanna talk to me anymore..."

Honestly, he'd be heartbroken if that was the case, but he'd understand.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

As soon as Reno sat down, the cat stood and sulked off to hide somewhere. Probably, Rude thought, not wanting to be around for the conversation any more than he did. Glancing back down, Rude nodded before realizing Reno couldn't see him. Dammit, he didn't want to say things out loud.

Carefully reaching over, Rude lightly touched the redhead's arm, trying not to hit anything that might still hurt. "...You never have been very rational."

At Reno's worry that he wouldn't want to speak with him anymore, however, Rude's grip suddenly tightened. Not talking to him anymore was simply not an option, simply because Rude knew how upset Reno would be about it. "I don't want that. I've already hurt you enough, even if..." Rude shifted, looking away again. "...Even if you hurt me, too."

Rude had forgiven him the moment Reno had admitted he was wrong, but the hurt wouldn't go away that easily.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

As Rude spoke, Reno looked at him incredulously. How had Rude hurt him? He was the one who'd made a completely wrong call and snapped at the worst time possible. "Rude, no." His voice came out sterner than he wanted it to but at least Rude would understand he was saying something entirely wrong. His eyes stayed on that hand gripping his arm, his own hand settling on it as he finally looked up at his partner.

"You didn't hurt me. It wasn't even you. I was the one who fucked up. It's this god damn world. I can't keep calm here. Everything is so damn weird all the time..." Shaking his head, Reno moved to stand, pacing the room to try to cool his head a little. This was more intense than he'd wanted it to be.

Eying the explosives Rude had been making on the table, the redhead shoved his hands in his pockets as he paced. "I'm a total loser. After that copy attacked me, and the copy of Tseng, I just... I think my brain took a vacation and it wasn't exactly all there to begin with. Shit..."

Sighing heavily, the redhead moved to sit on the floor in front of Rude, resting his arm on the older man's leg and his chin atop that, just looking up at the bigger man. "You should be getting angry with me. You have the right. Hell, you shoulda beat me to a pulp for even thinking you would." Closing his eyes briefly, Reno's free hand rubbed affectionately against the inside of Rude's thigh. "I just..." and here was the sappy part, "I care so much about you that I lost all sense when I thought you'd done that... I'm sorry, Rude."

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

"I should have realized you weren't thinking clearly... that you were hurt, because you didn't know about the epitaphs." Shouldn't have let emotions get involved, shouldn't have been upset, shouldn't have gotten hurt when it was Reno. They needed each other, they always had, and he knew Reno was having problems keeping it together here.

Really, Rude was mad at himself. He was supposed to be the rock, the one who didn't get mad and who made sure Reno didn't get himself killed doing something stupid. Instead, he'd snapped (for Rude, it had been a snap) at his partner, who... really had reasonable doubt, not to mention a concussion. Rude had seen him break down a bit at Midgar, and since then had been trying to keep more of an eye on his partner than usual. Somewhere along the way, though, he'd forgotten to keep an eye on himself.

As Reno sat in front of him, Rude shook his head. "Bit contradictory. And you don't seem to learn from pain much." It was an attempt at a bit of a joke, if only because hearing the redhead speak about how he should act was way too uncomfortable for his taste. He'd always been a bit of a mystery to others when it came to how he behaved and thought, but Rude didn't like being told how to do things that worked just fine, in his opinion. It wasn't his style to get mad at Reno about that (others, maybe), but hopefully the redhead would take note of his decision to ward the 'you should's away.

He believed him. Reno wasn't really the type to apologize without meaning it, or be... quite that sappy without meaning it, either. Rude was frozen for a moment before finally trailing a finger over one of Reno's tattoos. "I know. And... I forgive you."

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

For a change, Reno was quiet as Rude spoke. There were no 'ifs ands or buts' about anything. He didn't have any noisy outbursts or instantly begin arguing like he would more often than he realised. He just sat there, listened and actually took in what was being said, rather than butting in. Apparently, for all is life and energy, even Reno knew when it was seriously time to just listen to someone else and hear what they had to say. Perhaps, really, it was because it was Rude.

The joke, or attempt at one, had been a bit of an eye-opener. It was Rude's way of saying "don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do" which Reno had only just realised he'd done. He knew his partner didn't like being bossed around; he took it from Tseng because he was the boss, but Reno was his partner (Second in Command position notwithstanding).

Then that finger traced his tattoo and Reno took a breath in, trying not to close his eyes. Rude said he forgave him but Reno knew he still had a lot of work to do to actually get to be where they were before. For one thing, he'd have to swallow a bit more of his pride but he could do that. It was for Rude; the one person he was completely himself with. He was certainly very open with Tseng and Elena but they could get to a point where there could be too much Reno to deal with. Rude, on the other hand, had a skill at containing him and keeping him somewhat sane.

Reaching to grasp the hand that had touched his face, Reno kissed his palm gently, just a small show of affection. Something to prove how much his feelings could grow into something considerably more daunting. Pushing up on his knees, Reno curled his arms around Rude's neck, sighing softly against his ear. "I'm sorry. Really. I can't believe I'd do something so damn stupid..."

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

Reno's silence wasn't overlooked, and Rude was thankful for it. His partner did know him better than anyone else, and really, this just proved it. Not only did he know him, but he was willing to work over what came naturally to do what was best for their relationship. That was definitely a sign.

The kiss to his palm didn't go unnoticed either, and Rude was momentarily taken off-guard. He hadn't really thought Reno was a 'small show of affection' sort of guy, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. The constant apologizing, however...

Rude firmly believed in saying what needed to be said and little else. Reno, of course, was the opposite. The redhead had already apologized once, and while Rude was fairly certain he just wanted to get his point across, the man's berating toward himself simply wasn't right.

"I know and I forgive you."

Maybe if he repeated things, it would be enough...

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Sighing slightly, Reno slumped to sit on Rude's knee, his arm draped around the man's neck. It didn't occur to him until a moment later that this was the first time he'd ever sat on Rude's lap without it being to annoy him or whilst drunk. He was legitimately on the lap of the man he was dating. Wow. Now that was something new. Not that their whole relationship wasn't pretty new. Even if Tseng knew.

"Does this leave us in a real bad place...? I kinda... kinda liked where we were heading before." Giving a grin to his partner, Reno lazily toyed with Rude's piercings on his left ear. "Tseng... he figured things out. I didn't tell him. He used his Wutaian mindtricks on me."

A slight laugh followed and he set his hand on Rude's shoulder, leaving his ear alone for now. "I guess I'm kinda... obvious sometimes..." he muttered, frowning as his gaze fell to the floor.

[piercedgloves.livejournal.com]

It was new, but Rude didn't mind. He'd long ago gotten used to Reno being in his personal space, and because it wasn't something to annoy him and the smell of alcohol wasn't invading his nostrils, it was... nice. Although if Reno cracked any jokes about Santa, he would be pushed onto the floor.

Snorting at Reno's "mindtricks" comment, Rude nodded. "Think he was waiting for it."

Reno was possibly a bit obvious at times, but only to someone who really knew them, and even then... well, Elena hadn't said anything yet. Letting his arm curl around Reno's back for support (physical and emotional, though he wouldn't elaborate if asked), the Turk only shook his head. "Nothing we can't get out of."

They were Turks, after all.

[flyboy-red.livejournal.com]

Reno had several jokes lined up, actually, but that'd only get him shoved off onto the floor and he was quite content where he was, thankyouverymuch.

With a light laugh, he nodded a little, too. "Yeah... he said it was one of those things that happens when partners are close like us." Reno was sure that must've meant Tseng had seen it happen in other Turk partnerships but he'd never ask. Aside from not really being that interested, it was none of his business since they were the only Turks now.

Tilting his head to kiss Rude in rather a loving way, the redhead removed himself from the bigger man's lap and stretched out a moment later. "C'mon, we got a meeting to suffer."

They were Turks, after all.