FicWad

Reno shook his head groggily, already beginning to drift off, Between the aftereffects of his injuries, barely eating at all for several days more than a few bites prior to the meal he'd just finished, and stress, he was so physically exhausted he could barely stand up.

Rude was quick to the convenience store, purchasing both a couple bottles of water and a bottle of the dream supressant. He was mildly tempted to walk out back where a few hushed voices spoke of stronger things, but he'd given that up ages ago. As he walked back to the hotel, he opened one of the bottles of water, taking two of the gel capsules before he returned to their room.

Their room which he forgot to grab the key to. Dammit. If Reno was already asleep, he didn't want to wake him... but then again... Rude sighed, knocking gently on the door.

Elena came back in, two bags in her hands, evidently having made a shopping run "Here, you forgot your key? let me get the manager, he has the master key."

Rude nodded, leaning against the wall. The mild sedatives in the dream supressant, combined with the exhaustion of the week, were already making it hard for him to keep his eyes open. It had been a long while since he'd taken anything stronger than a vitamin suppliment, and he already felt more guilty than he probably should have for being too weak to resist the idea of not dreaming about the world nearly ending.

Elena got the manager, and as they let him in Elena loaned him a shoulder and got him into bed. "He's already out, big guy. looks almost passed out, he must have been pretty tired."

Rude grunted somthing that sounded like it could have been either 'good night' or 'food on the right', curling up under the covers with Reno. He was asleep even before his head hit the pillow.

Reno when the demons came calling this time it was a mix of the fire when they went after the two soldiers...him eternally running, calling Rude's name, never finding him, then screaming as it collapsed, that then morphed into the tower collapsing. ..Meteor coming down. ..Rude's hand yanked out and away by one of those swirling tornados as it came down. ..he woke with a full ringing scream like he hadn't in almost 5 years, ears still ringing from it, eyes wide open and unseeing, heart pounding as if it would tear its way free of his ribcage, breathing when the scream had died off ragged..."fuck" he muttered before climbing out of bed and getting into the shower. ..wanting nothing more than to cleanse the demons away a while.

Something broke through Rude's dreamless sleep, not exactly waking him, but causing him to become slightly more aware of his surroundings. The sedative in the two dream suppressants he'd taken kept him unconscious.

He finally finished his shower, skin rubbed completely raw, though he stiill felt like he wanted to crawl out of it like a snake. ..Old habits died hard, and their death even harder when one had nearly lost one who meant everything to him. He'd used to do this every night after being pimped out, scrub himself so hard sometimes his skin bled. .. but the dirty feeling never left. Other faces had popped up in his nightmare, too. ..faces leering at him, though it was through a haze, as if he'd been drugged. He settled in next to Rude, knowing damn well he'd be asked about the red marks on his skin when they woke up, but not caring at the moment. . .he curled around his sleeping love instead.
m
When a warm, squishy yet bony mass wrapped around him, Rude smiled in his sleep. He could tell Reno's feel regardless of how conscious he was. Without a worry, he fell back into a deep sleep, a light snore issuing from him.
Michael TW Kelley: When the light came in through the windows and a robin started singing loud enough to drag him from sleep he whimpered just a little as he moved to sit up, the skin sensitized by his rough treatment of it the previous night radiating soreness as it dragged against Rude's beard, his arm feeling as if it had been skinned. he padded to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror and picking up h is hairbrush. .. he looked like stomped shit still, he wondered when he'd feel and look like his old self again.

As the sedatives slowly released Rude from their hold, one thought came slowly to him. Where was Reno? Not yet opening his eyes, Rude scratched at his face, noticing that he needed to shave. He rolled over, wanting just a few more minutes with his redhead... however, upon reaching around the bed, he was forced to open his eyes, only to see that said redhead wasn't there.

"Reno?" he called, wondering if he'd gone for breakfast... or worse.
Michael TW Kelley: "m'back here." He muttered from the bathroom, running the brush through his badly knotted hair, his skin was red, cracking in a few places, but he didn't realize that, he was just sore. . .

Rude stretched, yawned, then scratched before getting out of bed. He hadn't slept that well in weeks. Maybe Reno had the right idea with those damn pills...? Rude padded softly towards the bathroom, fully intending to relieve his morning glory one way or another.

Reno waves still looking sleep rumpled, once that nightmare had woken him up he'd slept well for the remainder of the niight. He wasn't angry with Rude for sleeping through it, not by a long shot, and after a good scrub he'd been able to put the demons to rest well enough to sleep the rest of the way through.

Rude muttered a gruff sounding, "Morning." to Reno. Not so much gruff because of any reason other than overused morning voice. He did his morning business before reaching in and turning the shower on.

With his back turned to Reno, he said, "You showered without me."

"Last night. ..couldn't sleep. ..you mad, m'sorry if so. .couldn't sleep." His own was soft, shakier than usual. of course that could be chalked up the past week, he rubbed at his eyes as he watched Rude shower, feeling faintly guilty. Rude would remember the times he'd scrubbed himself raw, which had been what had begun their ritual of showering together in the first place.

"Should've waited..." Rude paused and sneezed. "I like washing your hair." Which he did. It wasn't because he didn't have any of his own to wash, no. It was more of a togetherness thing, something that only the two of them could share. He knew it was comforting to Reno and, truth be told, it was just as comforting to him.

"Left m'hair alone...knew you'd wanna do it." and he stepped in with him, hissing as the water stung his skin.

Rude silently took out the small hotel bottle of shampoo/conditioner mix. Pouring the entire contents into his hand, he began working it through Reno's hair. Once there was a nice lather, he spoke softly.

"Your skin's red."

"Hmm. ..guess I scrubbed harder than I thought. .. " His words were nonchalant, belying the tremor that had run through him. To be honest he barely remembered getting into the shower at all the previous night, he'd been still groggy with sleep and shakey from the nightmare.

"Reno," Rude's voice left no room for dissent as he turned the redhead to face him. "You scrubbed yourself raw." He said it as if he were just stating a fact, trying not to let the slight hint of disappointment he felt into his voice.
M
"Bad one last night, yo. ..think there's some supressed shit comin' back up too. no excuses, I know, just didn't realize how much I was scrubbin'. Couldn't get clean" Again, the words were spoken in that quiet tone.

Rude nodded, soapy hands tilting Reno's head back so he could wash the lather from the redhead's hair. After watching the last of the suds swirl down the drain, he bent down to pick up the small bar of white soap, holding it up in a silent question.

Reno nodded, even if if he knew it was probably going to sting. "Not sure how else to deal...you make me feel clean. ..buit no way I wanted ta wake ya last night, you needed it.

Rude smiled lightly. Reno really did indulge him too much. Okay, so Rude indulged Reno quite a bit as well, but it was his job, wasn't it? He started soaping up around Reno's shoulders, strong hands working out any leftover tenseness there and slowly working their way downwards.

Reno hissed indeed when the soap hit, but the soreness began to fade off except in one place on his back where his scrubbing had reopened the lash wound, it bled the tiniest bit, he began to lean into Rude as the pain faded off, eyes going heavy-lidded. He seemed almost to be purring. "I love you. ..never forget it, yo, even when I get stupid."

Rude chuckled deep in his chest. "When aren't you stupid?" he joked, knowing that Reno was a whole hell of a lot smarter than he let on to most people. Rude lifted Reno away from him, silencing any protest with a light kiss. He trailed soapy fingers up to wash gently around Reno's face, fingertips brushing lovingly over tattooed cheekbones and a nose that had been broken more times than he could count.

It still had a splint from this last time. .it had been a nastier one, too, in the place along the bridge that is a horribly dangerous spot to break.

"Close your eyes," Rude requested softly before tilting Reno's head again to wash away the soap. When he was finished, he pulled Reno back to him, just holding the redhead close under the fall of the warm water.

He shivered against him. "I was so afraid of losing you in all of this madness. .."

Rude held him tighter, trying to calm the shakes with the tightness of his hug alone.

"Tell me about it." Rude knew it was best if Reno just let it out. When the redhead pushed it underneath his carefree exterior, all the pain, rage, anything would come out at some point, usually in an explosive fury followed by extreme depression. True, Rude knew that he shouldn't suppress his thoughts as well, but pots don't call kettles black around here.

Or worse, in bloodied slits across his skin, not a good thing to contemplate. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm meant to be doing this shit...but if I didn't 'd probably be dead."

Rude made a soft sound of assent. His fingers were getting pruney from the water, but he wasn't about to complain. If Reno was going to let it out, he could handle going a few hours with wrinkley skin.

but he was wrapped so tight once more all he could do was shake. What he really needed was to bust a few heads.

"You wanna head to that place just outside o' town. ..? I could use a good friggin' brawl. .." He knew that was precisely what he needed, to bust down a bar the way they used to in Midgar.. .Hell, the Seventh Heaven was the only place they'd never been thrown out of.

It HAD been awhile since they'd been out slumming. Not that Rude called it that in front of Reno, what with the redhead's upbringing and all, but that's what it was. His fingers twitched unconsciously at the thought, as did another appendage. He couldn't help it; it'd been forever since he beat the shit out of someone just for looking at him funny.

He let loose that knife-edge grin, the one that usually meant someone was going to be laying on the floor bleeding by the end of the night. "Man, when was the last time anywaone managed ta push me over the wall into limit? It was that place in Junon, eh? Come down from it an' there were people lyin' smokin' and bleedin'. ..man that was great."

A low, predatory growl slid out from between Rude's lips, the only warning Reno got before the bald man claimed his lips in a fiercely possessive kiss. He guided Reno backwards until the redhead's back was against the wall. He broke the kiss only to growl, "Remind me how it went down," then began staking his claim on Reno's neck. A reminder of how things happened the last time they went out just to cause trouble. No, Rude's idea of dirty talk wasn't a little weird at all.

"Guy tried ta pin me to the bar, then he smacked me right in between the eyes. ..Hit limit an when I did felt like I'd channeled Ramuh. .. picked him up by the throat an' he started shakin'. ..then I broke loose and just started clearin' the place. ..Hell, I shorted out the bar's entire electrical system."

Soft moans and low growls echoed up from him as he recounted it. .."Ended up killin' the guy who hit me. .. "

Rude was, and always would be, a bruiser at heart, regardless of whatever self control he told himself he had. Speaking of, he left a few love bruises scattered along Reno's collarbone, unintentionally, yet intentionally marking the redhead as his own. His hands moved down as he knelt in front of Reno, finally coming to grasp tightly on his partner's hips.
M
Reno shuddered slightly, but this time in anticipation. ..the brawls that happened when he was this tense almost always led to the most incredible sex. .. the lithe rougehaired Turk may have LOOKED tiny and weak, but he was signifigantly stronger than he looked, something which he used to his advantage when they went out for the sole purpose of causing trouble. Many people discovered that his speed and agility far more than made up for what he might lack in sheer brawn. he marked Rude as well. .."This is mine, do not touch"

Rude nosed Reno's arousal, the only warning the redhead got before Rude took him halfway into his mouth, teeth a dangerously light scrape as he sucked. The bald mad was hard, almost painfully so, but to mark, to claim his partner before they went out, he enjoyed more than he wanted to let on.

Reno's head tilted back, a gasp coming free. ..he shook as he twitched inside Rude's mouth, his legs shook. ..he almost fell into his partner, oh yes. ..this was going to be a great night. .wet hair stuck to his back as found himself pinned enough into the wall that he could about collapse and not worry about hitting the floor. "Ngn, Rude. ..fuck. .."

Rude released Reno's arousal, voice sounding harsh and raw as he muttered, "Getting to that..." He paused for only a moment long enough to leave another mark at the base of Reno's cock. He slid his body up Reno's, hand reaching out to grab the nearly empty shampoo/conditioner bottle. He moved back just enough to turn Reno around until he faced the wall. Rude gently kicked at Reno's legs with a, "Spread 'em."

Reno did just that, head still tilted back, breathing still hitched, chest heaving as if there were no oxygen in the air to be had. ..his slim back sheeted in wet crimson, his hips moving in a way that said he needed this. . .NOW.

Rude moaned as he coated his fingers with what was left in the little bottle. He pushed himself against Reno, waterslick erection pressing into the redhead's lower back as his shampoo/conditioner lubed fingers circled Reno's entrance.

Another moan sounded, this one coming from low in his gut as he pressed back into the fingers. ..it felt so incredible. ..

"Tell me..." Rude ground out between clenched teeth. He wanted to take his lover with nothing more than a cry of possession, but he knew it would be better this way. "Tell me how good it feels," he breathed harshly into Reno's ear, a single finger entering the redhead.

"Feels like I'm floatin', yo. ..like everything just got transported off this shithole of a planet and got tossed face first inta that promised land Gainsborough always talked about. .. m'burnin. ..shit."

A second finger joined the first, scissoring a few times before rubbing directly over that wonderful little spot inside, the spot that made Reno makes noises that melted Rude into a puddle of physical sensation. "Go on..." he growled again, nipping at Reno's ear while his free hand splayed over the redhead's abdomen.

He leaned into him, shivering with that tiny whimpering moan that always drove Rude insane. "Like. ..like m'body's just gonna shake apart. ..feels better than the damn X did. . .though shit, you gotta admit the night I got you ta try that was the best sex we ever had. ..but hell, this feels even better."

Rude groaned, rewarding Reno with the removal of his fingers and the pressing of something else against his entrance. He pressed inside, not stopping until he was completely seated within the redhead's body. He paused, waiting for Reno to continue the impromtu game of carnal rewards.

What Rude got in return was an inarticulate sound of utter erotic bliss somewhere between a sigh and a moan and an arch that pushed him in so far he'd be sure he could feel Reno's guts gurgling around his cock. The redhaired vixen's muscles twitched as shocks ran over his nerves. ..it was. . .so fantastic, so unbelievably wonderful

All Rude could do was suck in harsh gasps of air and expel them just as quickly. The way Reno's muscles were clenching almost spasmatically around him was heaven. Yes, heaven was being buried to the hilt inside his readheaded lover.

Finally, after a few moments of not moving, he spoke. "Can you feel me?" he asked with a combination between a gasp and a growl. Rude pulled out only minutely before pressing back in fully. "Can you feel that?"

Reno screamed in pleasure, it was a differnt sound from that ringing terror-filled scream that woke him from sleep, that was high-pitched and set nerves on end. .This was more of a growl that ended in a squealing yelp. coming out with each thrust until the screams become those inarticulate mewls and then those finally die into a soft purr as he begins gasping in time with his lover.

Rude's hand that had previously been used to prepare Reno wrapped itself around the redhead's arousal. He moved his hand in time with his thrusts, an almost feral growl falling from his lips inbetween gasps. Oh yes. They were going to have fun tonight.

It always amazed Reno how the prospect of going out and busting a few heads got him going like nothing else. ..so much so that with a hard slam into him that felt like it was going to push his insides out through his mouth and that about pushed his prostate into his ribs he let out another of those inarticulate wails and came with a force that almost had the white fluid at head level.

Rude froze, feeling nothing but Reno's muscles contracting around him and the twitching as the redhead came. Were he a lesser man, he might just well have passed out, but Rude was by no means a lesser man in any form. He pulled almost completely out of the spasming man, then pushed in and spilled himself.

He almost SPILLED in Rude's arms, but he hadn't passed out this time, though he did have that silly, somewhat loopy grin spread across his face as he took in deep, harsh breaths in order to recover from that mind-robbing climax.

Rude was still shuddering and little hypersensitive as he pulled himself from Reno. He whispered something that could have been either 'thank you' or 'I love you' as he held the redhead to his chest and knelt in the still warm shower. Bless hotels and their infinate hot water heaters.

"G-guess I should dry off if we're gonna go kick some ass, eh?" The words were spoken in a rather shakey manner, but shakey from bliss.

Rude gave a noise between a chuckle and a grunt, letting Reno stand back up and standing himself. He quickly rinsed off the evidence of their union, helping Reno do the same. Once that was done, he turned off the shower and stepped onto the cool tile floor, reaching for a towel.

Reno had only his shakey limbs as evidence of their activities, something which typically eased after about ten minutes or so, which is one of the reasons that such was usually rare in the workplace. Shaky Reno in the midst of a mission is a BAD thing.

He drew his pair of tight leather pants that he wore when they went on over those trembling limbs, then the white undershirt and black mesh top. ..he usually left his hair loose when they went out as well, unlike at work where it got in the way, when they went out it created a hypnotic effect.

Rude smiled at his partner, not bothering to wrap the towel around his waist as he wandered back into their room. Ah, so Reno was even dressing for the occassion. Regardless of the fact that they'd just finishing enjoying each others company in the shower, Reno's attire made him smile almost ferally. Rude decided to dress his part as well. Whereas Reno played the flirt, Rude was, in both attire and attitude, the man not to be fucked with. He removed his secretly favourite blue jeans from the bag, smiling as it seemed they'd grown another tear just above the knee. That made one on one knee, one at each heel, one missing belt loop, and one tear above the knee. He added a plain black t-shirt, his watch, all his metal earrings, and black steel-toed work boots to finish the outfit.

MReno added the final touch. ..the silver chain link belt with the swastika reversed at the bottom of it. then the earring with the face chain and the nose ring...he always removed the nose ring before the rumble, of course., but it added a nice flair to the flirty bad-boy image he liked to portray when they went slumming.

Rude looked at Reno and let out a low whistle. They were, truth be told, quite the mismatched pair. But according to Rude, that was what made it all the more fun. He pocketed his wallet, leaving his Turk ID with his suit. However, as he did that, he felt like he was missing something...

His gloves! His black fingerless gloves with the studs on the knuckles. Ah, those gloves had seen many a fight; he'd had them even before he'd met Reno.

Finally, his hair was brushed completely smooth, when it wasn't pulled back into a tail and geled until it stood on end like a chocobo's feathers it fell in a soft, wavy river down his back.

Rude walked purposefully over to Reno, pulling him close and claiming his lips before the redhead could speak. After a moment, he stepped back, asking, "Ready?"

He snags his emr off the nightstand and nods. He always carried it with him, no matter what, and not just because he loved knocking the crap out of idiots with it. It had saved his ass in more than one brawl that had led to weapons being drawn.

Rude walked confidently towards the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. He turned to Reno.

"You should tell them we're going out," he said, not wanting Tseng or the President to see him dressed so casually. His face was a little pink with the thought of what kind of comment the dear blonde man would make.

"Will do, yo. " With that he knocked on the door to their room.

Elena bounced up from her seat on the floor with Emily, always the morning person. She answered the door and her jaw dropped.

"Reno?" she asked giving him at least three once-overs.

"Yeah babe, let the president know we're goin' slummin' and not to wait up."

As he closed and locked their hotel room door, Rude wondered if they would be manage to get kicked out of all three of Kalm's seedier bars.

"Dressed like that?" Elena asked, amusement in her voice. "Where's Rude?" With that, she looked into the hallway and screeched before falling into a fit of giggles that brought her to her knees.

Rude froze like a deer in headlights. Elena had seen him dressed like... well, like he used to dress when he was a teenager and in his early twenties. And that girl could NOT be trusted to keep her mouth shut.

"Tseng, sir!" she managed to call into the room behind her. "You and the President have GOT to see this!"

Rufus wheeled himself out of the hotel room and damned if he didn't have his camera phone with him. Tseng had gotten him a wheelchair from the hotel.

Oh, he was going to get Elena back for that one. Somehow, someway, the girl was going to get hers.

"That's an interesting look for you, Rude," Rufus said, pausing to take a picture with his phone and chuckle. He turned to Reno, taking a picture of the redhead as well. "I take it from the way you're dress you two will be causing trouble this evening?"

"Hell yes, sir. ..so make sure ta have a few hi-potions handy, we might need 'em."

Rufus chuckled as Elena composed herself enough to push him back into the room. "Make sure you keep up your image as Turks, gentlemen."

Rude was still frozen in place, his usually creamed coffee coloured skin a wonderful shade of red.

"Turks kick ass and disappear like smoke, yes sir. Will do, yo."

Elena closed the door, but not before winking at Reno and blowing a kiss at Rude. Yes, the girl was so getting hers.

As they headed for the company car Reno checked his emr over, the switch he noticed was a bit loose, but it would wait for the morning.
.
Rude jingled the keys in his hand, deciding that his getting back at Elena would have to wait. He had some fun with Reno to have.

"Where to first?" he asked Reno. The redhead was a little more familiar with the Kalm nightlife than he was.

"Metal Chocobo, yo, right at the edge of town. They play that speed metal shit you love to dance to, and the guy at the door gives free samples o' that X shit that made the bedtime fuck so spectacular last time." He grins widly.

Rude smiled, looking a little more dangerous and driving a little faster than usual. Something about old habits dying hard, he guessed. Back in the day, he was a total speed metal freak, moshing until an actual fight broke out. The little pills though, those were more Reno's thing. Not that Rude hasn't enjoyed them -- and he had IMMENSELY -- he just preferred something a little less touchy feely when he was out to break some skulls.

"They also have the Skull Cracker mixer you like. .you know, that thing that's a mix o' the rum that's almost pure alcohol and Jaegermaster and absinthe altogether? Shit, yo, one o' those would fuck evena SOLDIER up."

The drink so called because you usually FELT like you had a crack in your skull when you woke up the next morning.


When they arrived, Rude cracked his knuckles and shut the car off. He sat for a moment, barely hearing the sound of the music inside, but smiling nonetheless. As much as he denied his past, it was good to relive it every now and again. He exited the car, walking a little cockily towards the door.

Reno put his arm around Rude's waist almost as if DARING one of the patrons to say something.

Rude's hand rested firmly on Reno's backside, his thumb hooked in one of the beltloops. He walked Reno to the far end of the bar, head bobbing a little to the music. Yes, a couple Skull Crackers and he'd be ALL set.

When Rude went to the bar to get their drinks, some whackadoo came and sat next to Reno, whispering in his ear. "Hey, babe. ..what are you doing with a lug like that anyway? You are ENTIRELY too fine to waste your time on a bruiser like that." before sliding his hand up Reno's arm. Reno spluttered in disbelieving fury. ..Rude had his back turned, chances are he hadn't seen the idiot. .. but he stamped his foot on top of the guy's foot HARD with his heeled leather boots, eliciting a cry of pain before he drew his emr out and started swinging at him.


No, Rude hadn't seen it, but he had heard the telltale sound of Reno's battlecry. However, Rude was fully aware that Reno could take care of himself, and ordered them four shots of top shelf tequila, along with a Skull Cracker for him and some bizarre fruity thing that had fog rolling off it for Reno. The redhead had a strange facsination with the most bizarre of drinks.

Reno was doing just fine. ..until the thing turned into a full-scale brawl when a couple of the guy's buddies came over to help him out. Reno was poetry in motion when he fought, and he was giving the guys what for, bodies flying everywhere.

Rude cracked his neck, downing two of the shots and taking down half his drink before a flying body hit his back, making him spill a few drops. He set the glass down gently, turning with a growl and a flying fist. He walked across the fallen guy, stomping down extra hard on his hand and feeling the bones break under his boot. He walked directly into the fight, dodging a few of Reno's errant attacks as he stepped right into motion.

"Shots at the bar," Rude said, pushing Reno towards the bar and taking his place in the middle of the brawl.

He started toward the bar, downed his shot, then headed back out into the brawl, as he did he heard something that sounded like a soft click. .."Uh, partner. ..was that the sound of a safety being turned off?"

He stood back to back with his partner as he said this, his shifty eyes running through the crowd, trying to find the source of that sound. He found it in a way he didn't want when the loud report of a fairly high caliber pistol exploded in front of him. ..he dove in front of his partner and lover, and was flung into him like a rag doll. ..he could hear the bartender calling the local police reporting one of his patrons had a gun.


Where did the shot come from? Rude thought, holding Reno as his eyes darted around the room. There. Over by the band. The small guy with the stupid grin that spoke of too much alcohol and too few brains. Rude gently set Reno down, then ran at the guy with the gun, tackling him into the stage.

Reno attempted to push himself to his feet, blood pouring from high on the left side of his chest, high enough that most vital organs were likely to have been undamaged, settling himself onto the stool with a pained grimace. .. waiting for the cops to arrive and with it likely medical personnel. He held a hand to the wound, trying to staunch the blood the best he could, though even now his face was going a dim waxy color that spoke of encroaching shock.

Rude slammed the guy with the gun's hand down until he heard the bones crack and watched the gun skitter away as it was dicarded. Rude hauled his arm back, then punched the guy across the nose.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you?" he snarled, caught up in the moment. "You don't." He punched him again, feeling his nose break. "Bring a gun." Another punch, knocking out several teeth. "To a bar fight." A last punch, followed by a headbutt that rendered the guy unconscious.

The bartender looked up as Rude approached after knocking the guy senseless. "He did this to another gay couple that came into the place 6 months ago, too, though he fortunatly missed the guy he was aiming at."

"As for his friend, he hits up the guys that come in here coupled, drugs them, and most of those are never seen again. Your friend was smart to turn him down."

"Excuse me," Rude said to the bartender, turning to see that yes, there was a guy crouched over the unconscious gunman. "That him?" At the bartender's nod, Rude stalked back over. He picked the guy up, giving him no chance to say anything more complicated than "HEY!" before he slammed him into his knee, the joint pressing hard and breaking several ribs.

The guy sputtered, reaching into his pocket in a swift motion he brought out his own pistol, aiming it straight at a point between Rude's eyes "Put me down if you want to live. ..'cause once I've put a bullet through your skull I'll go back and finish the job. .. after I've had a little fun fucking him first.

Reno was shot, that much he knew, and there was no sane way he could think of to get that gun out of his face. Unless...

A slow, sadistic smile broke across Rude's face. He lowered the guy a little until the pistol was at lip level. Slowly, very slowly, he leaned a little forward until his lips touched the barrel.

"Make it count," he said, licking the tip of the gun's barrel.

The guy began pulling back the trigger.. .until Reno in a flurry of adrenaline charged motion came up behind the guy, his emr tagging him in the back of the skull. ..delivering a furious shock that felled the guy, and wouldn't you know the switch chose just that moment to come completely off, causing a short which delivered Reno a healthy shock as well. He could only be thankful as darkness swallowed him whole that he hadn't had the thing on high.

A little voice in the back of Rude's head mentioned that he was still alive, even after a gunshot... not to the head. To the shoulder. He'd seen the flurry of red hair and heard the sound of the electromag rod, which would have caused the guy to spasmatically pull the trigger. However, as Rude fell backwards and a blossom of red bloomed almost unnoticable on his black shirt, he wondered just where the redhead had gone.

As he fell he would see Reno on the laying on the floor on his back, still twitching from the shock the now useless weapon had dealt him, though it had done him the favor of pretty much cauterizing the gunshot wound as it had hit his chest when he had fallen, which had considerably slowed down his blood loss.

Rude frowned. All he could hear was his heartbeat in his ears. He looked over at Reno, noticing offandedly that they had matching gunshot wounds. How cute.

"Sir?" a voice broke through the beating sound above him. "Sir? Are you okay?"

Rude wanted to tell him that yes, actually, he was peachy, but instead he focused on the pair of people that were hauling Reno onto a gurney. The week just kept getting better and better.

Reno finally stopped twitching with a low, almost gutteral moan. ..his green eyes flying open he began trying to fight the emts, his brain at the moment utterly scrambled by the electricity which had zipped through him. .. he could feel his heart thudding in a disordered manner, another after-effect of the jolt.

Rude was a little busy with the nausea the paramedic was causing him. Seems the man decided it was in Rude's best interest to have the bullet fished out of his flesh on the barroom floor. The combination of pain and liquor were not mixing well with his stomach.

"sir, sir, calm down, please!" One of the paramedics was discovering just how strong the slender ingenue was as they tried to keep him from hurting himself further. "Where's my poartner, dammit!" He yelled as another one pinned his arms and yet another one started removing the bullet which was shifting around inside the wound with his struggles. "Fuck you're hurting me! Stop, stop God dammit!"
m
"He's right here," the paramedic that was working on Rude called. He had almost worked the metal slug out.

Rude's stomach convulsed, causing a dry heave, followed by the contents of his stomach splashing onto the bar's floor. His head was spinning a little, and all he could think about, other than the pain, was getting away from his own vomit. Only rockstars and drug addicts got their own vomit on them. Oh, and invalids, too, but Rude wasn't thinking about those.

The Reno suddenly went silent. ..that was a bad sign typically. ...only when in physical or emotional pain was Reno normally quiet, but when accompanied by the shouts of paramedics and the bustle of medicine bags and the sound of one yelling "Clear!" definately not good.

Clear? Yes, Rude would like someone to both clear themselves from his bullet wound and clear away the vomit that seemed to have taken on flanlike properties and was trying to attack him with stench.

"Got it!" the paramedic shouted joyfully.

Rude was relieved. There was no longer anyone digging around under his skin like some kind of parasite, which did wonders for his condition. However, the smell of his own vomit caused him to retch again, dry heaving as nothing was left in his stomach.

Reno's body jerked silently as the paddles were applied. .. the nice jolt from the weapon combined with the blood loss had caused ihs blood pressure to plummet to the point where those irregular beats had become dangerously so. . if Rude happened to look over at that moment they would see his form settling, the partner of the one not wielding the paddles swiftly reaching in to check for a pulse, then shaking his head as the one with the life-saving implement yelled Clear again and dropped the paddles down.

"Take it easy, sir," the paramedic told Rude. "I'm going to apply a mid-level recovery spell to aid the healing and prevent infection."

Rude was rather glad of the current days. Back when he first started as a Turk, paramedics weren't equipped with materia or potions, making the loss of life more prevalent, especially in rural areas. However, now all paramedics were equipped with a recovery materia and two potions each, and they were trained to use them.

After a third application of the paddles a soft coughing sound could be heard. ..one that indicated they had finally gotten some sort of deccent pulse, the lithe redhead stable enough to treat finally. in a tiny, squeaky voice he whispered "Rude. ..shit can't see. . .why can't I see?"

Just for good measure, Rude retched again, a little bit of stomach acid joining the previous vomit on the floor. It got Rude to thinking...

"How many people have vomited on this floor?" he asked no one in particular.

However, Reno's voice finally made its way to his ears. "Reno," he said, voice sounding rather worn out. "Open your eyes."

He'd see that they were open, but severaly bloodshot, some of it pooling across the the irsies, tinting the green a wierd color. .probably from the shock and then having had the paddles used on him to revive him. "Calm down sir, as soon as the blood clears itself your vision will return."

mRude looked at Reno, looked at the paramedics, then looked over at the bartender.

"I think I need another drink," he said flatly.

"I'm not tellin' ANYONE about this. ..an' someone get our drinks off the bar please, shit. .fuckin' a it hurts. .."

"Would you like us to take you to the hospital, sir?" the paramedic asked Rude as he helped the bald man stand.

Rude didn't hesitate. He turned to the bartender. "I would like a flaming redheaded slut." He'd had more than enough with hospitals in the past week. If he was good enough to stand and drink, not nessisarily in that order, he was good enough not to be admitted to the hospital.

"Ya got me, yo, just as soon as they get me patched the resta the way up."

"Sir, you really should-"

"I don't give a flying Wutain slut what I should do."

"But you had to be revived sir."

"Like I said, I don't fucking care, I've seen ENOUGH of the inside of a hospital ward this past week, I ain't fuckin' dyin' anymore, cast the fucking spell and let me the fuck alone."

The bartender handed Rude the flaming shot, muttering about it being on the house. Rude raised it in the general direction of Reno, then downed it.

Wow. That hit the spot. Every empty spot of his stomach, in fact.

Reno in the meanwhile winced as the damn paramedic fussed over him a while longer then finally cast the spell and left him alone. "I'll take a flamin' fag, yo! No, make that two."


That previous slow, sadistic smile crossed Rude's face. The shot had given him more mental clarity, and he looked over at the pair of unconscious gunmen.

"That can be arranged, partner."
M
Reno laughed then winced. "Shit yo. ..was I really. .." He didn't complete the sentence, simply downed the drink the bartender brought over with a soft shudder.

Rude wasn't entirely sure. He'd been a little out of sorts while the liquor and the pain were swirling about in his head and stomach. He just grunted in response, picking up his half empty Skull Crusher.

The paramedic passed them both medical releases, Reno muttering "The boss is really gonna love this" when he noticed his gave a recommend for a week leave on it.

We're here because we're already on a week's leave, Reno," Rude mentioned, taking a drink from his beverage and shuddering slightly. Ah, that's where all the alcohol settled to.