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Tough Love	By : tstearns Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 808 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
The 8:00
AM whistle blew.
Metaphorically
speaking, of course. Shinra Tower doesn�t really have an 8AM
whistle, though I wouldn�t really put it beyond them if they thought it�d earn
them a buck or two extra in revenue. But there might as well have been one,
loud and clear enough to hammer it into my head that the night was over and the
day had begun, like it or not.
And believe me, I didn�t.
I trudged
alongside Tseng out of the parking garage and toward the elevators, walking
like I was headed for my own execution. Well, maybe a little faster than
that to keep up with those long legs of his. He�d parked next to my
Impala, not bothering to ask me if I had wanted to check on it or not. I
guess he�d just assumed that I�d want to see if anything was still left from it
after leaving it parked there all night. Even though Shinra Tower is
located on the upper Plate, the area�s not impervious to crime. If I�d
left it parked on a Saturday night, I�d be lucky if the carjackers left behind
a hubcap as a calling card. Midgar�s known for having some really
talented car thieves�can rip off any vehicle in under 60 seconds. And
that�s for any car with an anti-theft system installed. Almost
brings a tear of pride to my eye.
But there
it had sat just where I�d left it, in all its Powder Blue and only slightly
rust-damaged glory. I suppose some cars aren�t even worth the hunk of
metal they�re made out of, even for all the chop-shops in Midgar, who�d pick up
a rusted out Pinto on blocks if they thought they could get a buck for the
blocks.
Tseng had
leaned up against his own car and waited while I�d tried the ignition on
Betsy. Whispering a silent prayer, I�d hoped with all my heart and soul
that the car actually wouldn�t start. Maybe then I could coerce Tseng into
giving me another ride home tonight. Invite him in, offer him a drink,
just get him to talk to me again. Maybe we could� Yeah, well it
wasn�t by any stretch of the imagination difficult to picture what else I�d
hoped could happen.
So much
for that plan.
Unfortunately,
the engine had revved right to life on only the first try, and that almost never
happens without some sort of magic spell and planet alignment or
something. Now I knew the world was conspiring against me, including my
faithful loyal car that almost never works when I need it to. Except
now. Thanks a lot, Betsy. I really owe ya one.
I swore
an oath right then that the bitch was getting traded in next week.
As if my morning wasn�t already completely for shit, the stainless steel elevator
doors we waited in front of parted to reveal a lone figure hulking inside,
probably the single largest bipedal creature to exist this side of the
hemisphere in modern times, my proverbial partner in crime and personal
hemorrhoid�
Stoic.
Menacing. Motherfucking tall.
Rude.
Rude,
what a name. His real name is Rudolph, poor bastard. I discovered
that little juicy bit of trivia by sneaking a peek into his personnel file, and
he threatened to tear out my spleen and have it mounted on a plaque for me to
look at if I ever tried to call him that again. But once in a while when
I�m feeling particularly suicidal, I can usually manage to work in a good
reindeer pun or two right before I black out.
Rude is
so colossal he had to grow an extra brain in his ass so that he�d feel pain if
something fell on his foot. I once christened him the �Navy Blue
Eclipse,� complete with the ceremonial breakage of a champagne bottle right
over that chrome domus hull of his. Said he saw stars for an hour.
He�d made sure I�d seen them for a week. Still, I gotta admit it was
worth it.
Can�t
help but love a guy like that.
He can
also dish out more shit to me than I almost know what to do with. And
while I can usually hold my own against him, I wasn�t in the mood to take any
of it this morning, and with my luck, that was almost a sure-fire guarantee
that I was in for it.
Swallowing
a groan, I stepped into the elevator after Tseng and turned around to face
front as I watched the doors slide shut again. I slouched against the
back wall of the elevator and Tseng stood rigidly to one side of me, hands
clasped behind his back staring dead ahead. He was about as talkative as the
dead, too. Maybe less than that if it was possible. Rude stood to my
right, arms folded impassively over his chest, dark sunglasses perched high on
the bridge of his long nose. He hadn�t moved a muscle since we�d first
seen him.
The
elevator stirred to life and began to lift us upward, when I glanced over to
Tseng who�d only made a slight movement to reach for the elevator panel and
press a different floor than the one already lighted. Then I looked again
over to Rude who still stood like a tree growing out of the center of the
elevator, neither one still not having acknowledged anyone else�s presence
beyond the most basic of unconscious physical functions. I mean blinking
was an option, here.
And this
was just ridiculous. Just because we�re assassins doesn�t mean we can�t
be social, too.
�Jesus,
don�t everyone talk at once. I can hardly think with all the noise.�
The
corner of Rude�s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly in what might pass as a
smirk for him. �You? Think? Don�t hurt yourself, Reno.�
I snorted
wetly, concealing my relief that someone beside myself seemed to be at least
half-willing to join the human race today. Just maybe I could annoy them
into a conversation if I tried hard enough. �Yeah, good morning to you
too.�
But that
was it. Rude didn�t rise to the occasion to insult me, and Tseng didn�t
bat a single eyelash to anything. I wasn�t worried about Rude. He�d
catch up eventually and be giving me a run for my money any moment now.
He might be big and not ever say much, but he�s not dumb. Far from it
actually, but I�d never admit that to his face. But dammit, Tseng.
Did you remember anything at all? Were you hoping I�d just casually
forget? Was last night just a fluke?
Reality
check on isle four, please.
I felt my
stomach drop like a safe, and it had nothing to do with the elevator bulleting
up the shaft. Sighing loud enough that I could hear myself above the
whine of the elevator motor, I dropped my head back against the wall and
muttered absently, �What? Didn�t anyone here get any sleep last
night? I know I didn�t.�
That did
it.
Turning
deliberately to focus his narrowed gaze on me, the marble seemed to crack
around Tseng�s stone-faced fa�ade to be replaced by a look that would make
hugging a snowman naked enjoyable. He held me that way for a moment as I
felt the blood drain from my head down to my feet, and my heart shrank to the
size of a burnt, black little pea and squeezed the air right from my lungs.
Can you
say �oh shit?� I knew you could.
�Not...another...word,� he hissed, and if I
didn�t know any better I swear I could�ve seen the frost seeping out behind
every syllable, and it had to be 72 just in the elevator alone. Lucky for
me, the elevator chose that exact moment to stop, otherwise I might have pried
the doors open with my bare hands and flung myself down the shaft. In
fact, the thought was still occurring to me more and more as Tseng�s dark eyes
continued to glitter at me with furious contempt.
The doors
opened and Tseng glided over to block the entrance with his foot. I
barely noticed the movement. All I had really come to realize was that he
was suddenly there in the entrance and that the doors weren�t closing,
and I was still being pinned like a moth to cardboard by that stare.
Barely containing a sneer, his eyes slid over to Rude for a moment, cautious,
then he stepped out and disappeared.
The elevator doors shut again and the car lurched
upward. At least I think it did. I was too busy still cowering,
wilting like a weed from the inside out from the latent image of two black eyes
glaring me down to notice.
Jesus
fuck. What had just happened?

* * *
�What the hell was all that about?�
�Huh?� The
deep, gruff voice seemed to bring me around like a splash of cold water to the
face, then I realized Rude was half-expecting me to answer him. I felt my
cheeks flush instinctively as my mind stuttered around the various possible
things he might�ve been able to decode from Tseng�s...whatever you call what
just happened. But I calmed myself and let it go. The absolute last
thing Rude would suspect was that Tseng had fucked me last night and that I was
just some na�ve son-of-a-bitch who didn�t know how to cope with the idea of
being a one-night-screw. Realizing I had hesitated way too long, I finally let
out a long sigh of resignation and thonked my head back against the wall.
�Nothing,� I said grimly. Definitely not one of my better
performances.
Nothing.
Riiiiiiiight. I only wish I was that good a liar. No big deal, hey,
everything�s just great from here. Nothing�s wrong. Nothing happened
last night, and now nothing�s making absolutely perfect sense this
morning. Not a goddamned thing.
Suddenly
the cab jilted to a sudden stop nearly knocking me off my feet in the
process. �What the--� I glanced around in a half-panic, looking for
any sign as to why in the world we would�ve stopped, ignoring the obvious logic
that if there was something wrong with the elevator itself, there�d probably,
very unlikely, be no friggin� clue as to why from in here. But as I
glanced over at Rude who stood motionless by the control panel, a deep scowl
pressing his mouth in a thin line, I realized the emergency stop button had
been switched on. I frowned back. �Rude, you asshole, what the
hell�d you do that for?�
Unfazed
and completely unamused, Rude glared at me over the rim of his dark
shades. �Reno, you can bullshit a lot of people. You fucking excel
at it. But you can�t bullshit me. What�s wrong?�
In Rude�s
own charming way, that was actually a compliment. And he was also
right. But, best friend he might be, this isn�t the kind of guy you go
running to with tears in your eyes expecting a hug. �I told you.
Nothing. Now start the elevator.�
�You�re lamenting.�
�What?!" I didn't even know he
knew that word. "I am not lamenting.� Just for the
record I don�t lament. Lamenting is for pussies. I genuinely
suffer.
�You are,� he insisted.
�You don�t wanna know,� I answered curtly and
took a step toward the control panel to thumb the switch myself. Rude
moved to block it. Any further attempts on my behalf to move him would�ve
been about as productive as relocating a mountain armed with nothing but a
garden shovel and a little red wagon. The guy probably shits as big as me, for
Christ�s sake.
�What happened to your arm?� For Rude,
that was about as concerned as he gets. Touching�
My
wrist. Apparently the little treatment Tseng had given me the night
before had actually worked, since I�d all but forgotten about it. But it
hadn�t taken away the giant bruise coloring my pale skin. In fact it
looked like hell and was about the most disgusting thing I�d ever seen.
To anyone else it probably seemed like a miracle the thing was still attached
and hadn�t rotted off my arm completely. Yuck.
Self-consciously,
I pulled it back and tucked it underneath my other arm, folding them across my
chest. How to explain this one? �Er, I uh...�
�Did he do that?� Rude demanded.
I blinked
up at him in surprise. The problem with knowing someone so well is that
the reciprocal is also true, and it was getting more and more difficult to
conceal all that I was trying to avoid telling Rude, and no way was I gonna
admit anything I didn�t have to. Shit, any more of this and he�d probably
figure it out on his own. But hearing that your best friend and your boss
slept together the night before was a little too much information to swallow at
8 AM. Rude is about the straightest arrow in the quiver, so to speak, not
that I�ve seen him display any sort of homophobic tendencies. There�s
even tons of opportunities to do that around this place if you are so inclined,
Rufus Shinra having been rumored to swing a little that way himself, but Rude
never seemed to give a damn. Then again, Rufus was our boss--our boss�s
boss. What are you gonna do, waltz up to him and call him a fairy to his
face? Not bloody likely. So you shut your mouth and pretend not to
notice: don�t ask, and sure as fuck, don�t tell. I just didn�t know how
Rude would react to knowing such a thing about me, particularly when I�d
practically just discovered all this for myself. But I couldn�t have him
going around suspicious and conjuring up his own stories for the rest of the
day. Dammit, I was going to have to put on my game face and shove all my
little personal traumas about Tseng aside for now. Right now Rude needed
to hear the truth. He deserved the truth. So I was gonna
give it to him straight.
Sort of.
�Aw, for
fuck�s sake, no!� I vehemently denied. �Jesus, no. You know
Tseng would never lay a hand on us.� Like that anyway. I did
have a few bruises here and there in places a lot more inconspicuous than my
wrist that Tseng had given me the night before, but those had been a lot more
consensual, if I recall... Ok, down boy. Not going there right now.
�I went out for a drink last night and when I left I got into a fight with two
guys in the parking lot. I just happened to get the short end of the
stick, heh...� That�s it...just omit the �we� from that story. I
reached into my jacket and pulled out the electric telescoping rod, extended it
and tossed it to him.
�Looks like you were the short end of
the stick.� He gave me one last glance-over and then looked at the
rod. �What�s this?�
�My new weapon of choice,� I grinned.
�Acquired it last night from one of my pals.�
�Hmm.� Rude studied the baton for a
moment, then swiftly twirled it between his fingers before handing it back out
to me. �Decent weight. But you should go to the infirmary and have
them wrap your arm.�
�Great idea,� I agreed a little too enthusiastically,
taking the baton back. �In fact, why don�t you start the elevator and we
can go there right now.�
�What happened between you and Tseng?�
He crossed his arms again stubbornly and waited.
Caught
off-guard (though I clearly should�ve predicted Rude wouldn�t be as easily
distracted as that) I stammered to find something to say. There were just
too many damn windows open to that statement and all that came out was some
sort of choked response that sounded like I was trying to say something in
Morse code. I stopped, sighed and rammed my fingers through my hair and
glared back at him. �What makes you think anything happened?� Oh
yeah, good one, Reno...
He
exhaled tiredly and if I could've seen his eyes, I knew they'd be
rolling. Rude can be a very patient person...as long as you get to the
point. "Because you're stalling. What'd you do this time to
piss him off?"
"What
makes you think I intentionally did anything?"
"Because
you live to annoy the bejesus out of him. No, don't interrupt me, you know
you do. It's this sick little game you play and I'm getting tired of
it. You do everything in your power to get under his skin and then when
he finally explodes at you, you sulk. I've worked for Tseng longer than
you have, and I can tell you that he's never lost it, outright. You, on
the other hand, bring him about as close to the edge as anything I've ever
seen. That's not a good thing with Tseng, Reno. He's not there to
be your friend or to sit around and shoot the shit with you. He's your
boss. Nothing more. And you better knock it off, or you're gonna
get canned one of these days�or worse."
Wow.
It was perhaps the most he's ever said to me at one time. Not very
eloquent, but extremely effective. I'd give it a 7.2 on the holy-shit-o-meter.
Stunned into silence, I stood there for a moment and digested what Rude had
said.
He's
not there to be your friend... He's your boss. Nothing more.
And that
summed it all up right there, didn't it? That's just what I am to
Tseng. A lackey, a lap dog, another goddamned cocksucker.
And yes, I'd done that last part very well, hadn't I? Fuck.
I snorted
as casually as I could feign. "Yeah, Rude whatever. Can we
just go now? Not that I don't enjoy being locked up in an elevator all morning
with a big, sexy hunk like you, I'm just not in the mood."
Rude
frowned. "Prick," he muttered and flipped the switch, stirring
the elevator to life again. [Translation: 'Hey, I'm just trying to watch your
back, here.']
"Asshole,"
I muttered back. [Translation: 'Yeah, man, I know. Thanks for
caring.']
The
elevator slowed to a stop on some random floor, and Rude scooted over next to
me to make room for the wave of people piling in and pushing us back into the
corner. "You know, our little talk is far from over," he said
out of the corner of his mouth to me. "You still didn't tell me a
goddamn thing. How one person can talk as much as you do and say so
little is nothing short of real talent."
When
nearly everyone had stacked in, I replied in approximately the same tone,
"Can it� Rudolph." Heads turned. Oh, did I
say that too loud? Well�damn. My bad.
Slowly,
dangerously, a low snarl began to work its way out of Rude's throat, but just
as the elevator doors began to close, I spotted an opening through the masses
and bolted through the crowd and outside the car, not caring who I was knocking
over in the process. I turned around triumphantly and widely grinned back
at Rude who proceeded to turn the color of a ripe tomato, and waved cheerfully
to him as the elevator doors swished shut in front of me.
"Buh-bye!" I chirped. The last thing I saw was Rude
gnashing his teeth. He was pissed.
And it
had been sooooo worth it. I hated to think what he might do to me once he
finally caught up to me later, but I couldn't help but burst out laughing right
there on whatever floor I'd landed myself on, despite the odd looks from
passersby that I was collecting. It had been damn funny to see the look
on his face. But my laughter abruptly halted and the grin fell off my
face when I realized what a total fucking ass I�d been �not just this morning,
not just last night�more like the past six months.
Six
months my energy had been devoted to doing everything in my power to get Tseng
to even blink once my direction without any success and now that I'd finally
had it, that was supposed to be it? Screw that. Had it been worth
it? Hell yeah. But I wanted more. Much, much more.
Rude is
99.9% right most of the time. I will argue with him and debate him until
I've run out of breath and vocabulary, which, for me, can be a very long
time. There are still some arguments we've had that have gone on
unresolved for months now, but that son of a bitch is almost always right.
I hate him for it. Which is why I continue to argue with him, it's part
of my stubbornness, I just can't let him win. But not this time. I
don't care what I had to do to prove it, Rude had to be wrong just this once.
There was a personality inside Tseng somewhere. I'd seen it. There
had to be a way to get it out of him again...
I glanced
down the polished marble corridor and, after determining what floor I was on,
decided to go off in search of a smoke lounge, green soda and the infirmary,
pretty much in that order. As I wandered off in search of my quests, my
thoughts wandered back to Tseng and left me with a mushy feeling of angst and
confusion. How could he have been so accepting last night and totally a
different person by the morning? It wasn't an hour ago he'd been curled up
next to me on his bed. And not 15 minutes had passed when he'd nearly
killed me with that look.
What the
fuck?
Was I
ever going to figure him out?
What do I
do when I see him again?
Where's
the bathroom on this floor?
Apparently
I didn't know a number of things. Whoever said 'ignorance is bliss' can
blow me. One thing was for certain, though:
The more
things change�the more they really seem to suck.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Tough Love