Categories > Games > Final Fantasy 7
In Remembrance
0 reviewsReno and Rude visit an old friend (and former lover) of Reno. Set post Advent Children, with flashbacks to Before Crisis
0Unrated
They paused in front of the building a minute, watching the way the late afternoon sunlight spread across off the matte black stone of the outside.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Rude's voice was soft.
Reno looked over at him, then down at the bottle of 100 Needles Tequila in his hand, and just nodded. He didn't really trust himself to speak right now.
The Shinra Memorial Building had been one of the few structures in Midgar to survive the devastation of METEOR. When Edge had begun to spring up on the outskirts, there'd been talk about moving the cremains to another building, but in the end, Rufus had decided to leave it where it was.
Perhaps, he said, it was fitting that the many Turks who'd died during his father's term as President remain in the city they'd died fighting for.
Rude held the door open, and they walked inside. Tseng had finally managed to talk Reeve into running an electrical line from the plant in Edge to the building. How, he had insisted, could one properly honor those who had fallen in the darkness? Reeve, despite his comment about what did you expect when you built a building with no windows, had eventually complied.
Reno and Rude both knew exactly where the plague they were headed for was, but they still stopped periodically to stand in front of the shrines to others they'd known when they were young. So many had died then, and only their names remained, engraved on small metal plaques that were already beginning to darken with age.
Chyris. Raife. Two-Guns, whose dying words had been that if they put his real first name (St. John) on his shrine, he'd haunt them for the rest of their lives Elena's older sister, Belinda.
Finally, they came to stand in front of the reason they were here. Reno reached out a finger and traced it over the metal letters: Roderick Mikhail Asquith.
Reno smiled. "Gods, he hated that name."
He'd been Rod from their first meeting, fresh out of Turk training and ready to take on the world for the greater glory of Shinra. Reno's first partner, they'd looked so much alike that Chyris used to call them 'The Terror Twins.' At sixteen, they'd been the youngest of the Turks, and it seemed that they just gravitated together in defiance of those who were older (by, at the most, one or two years).
They'd started out double dating, sometimes sharing the same girl, and then, somewhere along the line, the girls hadn't mattered any more, and it had become just them. Them against the world, Rod used to say, and even now, 13 years later, Reno could close his eyes and remember exactly how he'd looked; the sound of his voice, the crooked front tooth that'd given him a smile that was damn near irresistible.
Not that Reno'd tried to resist. Rod had been his first real lover. The fact that it was forbidden by Shinra policy, that being found out could mean expulsion and probable death hadn't made any difference. It had only made the time they spent together all the sweeter.
They'd both grown up in Sector Seven, with a natural distrust of the Upper Plate, but also with the desire to sample everything that being a Turk laid open to them. That they'd managed to do so much in three short years sometimes amazed Reno.
He'd never known who ratted them out, though he'd had his suspicions. He'd known that the glamour was beginning to fade for Rod, that three years with one person was probably the longest he'd ever hung around in his short life. He'd known, too, that Two-Guns had been eying him when he thought Reno wasn't looking. Two-Guns and Rod had been best friends since they were kids, and Reno had always realized, somewhere deep inside, that he considered Rod his personal property.
His first real taste of love had also been his first real taste of what jealousy could drive a man to. It was only Tseng's personal intervention with Veld (and, in turn, Veld's intervention with President Shinra) that had kept them alive. But they'd been separated, with a stern warning from Tseng that Shinra did not give second chances. They'd been lucky to escape with their heads intact, he'd said. If they were caught fraternizing again, there would be all manner of hell to pay.
It was, of course, the supreme and final irony that, while he'd been paired with Rude, whose original partner, Raife, had been killed by AVALANCHE, Rod had ended up with Two-Guns. There were times when he honestly believed the guy had somehow or other bought Old Man Shinra off to get what he wanted.
Wrapped up in his own grief, he hadn't even noticed that Rude was always there for him. The man had been openly sympathetic over what'd happened, at least around the other Turks, and it would only be later that Reno would realize Rude must've been grieving himself. He and Raife had never been lovers, but they'd been partners for nearly six years, and it was well known that Raife was the only Turk at Shinra who could actually make Rude laugh out loud.
Unfortunately, subtlety wasn't a word that was in Two-Guns vocabulary. At least he and Rod had been as discreet as they could. Two-Guns all but rubbed it in Old Man Shinra's face that he and Rod were lovers. Chyris said later that the guy had a death wish; she'd been his original partner, and he'd drawn Tseng's wrath more than once for taking stupid chances. He truly believed, she said, that he was bulletproof. It was a common belief amongst the populace of Midgar that Turks couldn't be killed by anything short of cutting off their head and putting a stake through their heart, and Two-Gun had apparently bought into the belief with a vengeance, dragging Rod with him all the way.
And so they'd gone out together; ambushed by Fuhito and Sears. Rod had been dead by the time Rude, Reno, Chyris and Victor had arrived. Two-Guns had lingered on long enough to make his threat of eternal vengeance and curse AVALANCHE and all its members to the depths of Tartarus.
As the ambulance finally arrived, the medics trying to fight their way through the crowd that had gathered, he'd turned his head long enough to look at Reno and mouth 'I'm sorry.'
By the time they reached him, he was dead as well.
Reno looked over at Rude, standing there silent, hands crossed in front of him, and managed a small smile. "Time for the ritual, yo?"
Rude nodded as Reno unscrewed the cap on the tequila and took a long gulp. Then he filled the small vase mounted about the plaque bearing Rod's name. 100 Needles had been Rod's drug of choice.
"Stupid fuck." He said softly, but there was no real anger behind the words. He'd forgiven and forgotten long ago, because life is only so long. He knew, now that he had Rude, that it would've never lasted anyway. Eventually, Rod would've tired of him and moved on; if not to Two-Guns, then to someone else.
Wish a sigh, he took another swig, walked back down to Two-Guns plaque and poured the rest of the tequila into his vase. Then he looked at Rude. "Take me home, Aibou."
Rude just smiled in return and slung an arm over his shoulder. Later tonight, back in their own apartment, maybe he'd cry a little for Rod and Two-Guns and all the others who'd died before they ever really got a chance to live. Rude would comfort him then, holding him close, and eventually, they'd make love and Reno would realize again how lucky he was to still be alive.
Because in the long run, he and Rude had been the ones that won. And that had to count for something, right?
"You sure you wanna do this?" Rude's voice was soft.
Reno looked over at him, then down at the bottle of 100 Needles Tequila in his hand, and just nodded. He didn't really trust himself to speak right now.
The Shinra Memorial Building had been one of the few structures in Midgar to survive the devastation of METEOR. When Edge had begun to spring up on the outskirts, there'd been talk about moving the cremains to another building, but in the end, Rufus had decided to leave it where it was.
Perhaps, he said, it was fitting that the many Turks who'd died during his father's term as President remain in the city they'd died fighting for.
Rude held the door open, and they walked inside. Tseng had finally managed to talk Reeve into running an electrical line from the plant in Edge to the building. How, he had insisted, could one properly honor those who had fallen in the darkness? Reeve, despite his comment about what did you expect when you built a building with no windows, had eventually complied.
Reno and Rude both knew exactly where the plague they were headed for was, but they still stopped periodically to stand in front of the shrines to others they'd known when they were young. So many had died then, and only their names remained, engraved on small metal plaques that were already beginning to darken with age.
Chyris. Raife. Two-Guns, whose dying words had been that if they put his real first name (St. John) on his shrine, he'd haunt them for the rest of their lives Elena's older sister, Belinda.
Finally, they came to stand in front of the reason they were here. Reno reached out a finger and traced it over the metal letters: Roderick Mikhail Asquith.
Reno smiled. "Gods, he hated that name."
He'd been Rod from their first meeting, fresh out of Turk training and ready to take on the world for the greater glory of Shinra. Reno's first partner, they'd looked so much alike that Chyris used to call them 'The Terror Twins.' At sixteen, they'd been the youngest of the Turks, and it seemed that they just gravitated together in defiance of those who were older (by, at the most, one or two years).
They'd started out double dating, sometimes sharing the same girl, and then, somewhere along the line, the girls hadn't mattered any more, and it had become just them. Them against the world, Rod used to say, and even now, 13 years later, Reno could close his eyes and remember exactly how he'd looked; the sound of his voice, the crooked front tooth that'd given him a smile that was damn near irresistible.
Not that Reno'd tried to resist. Rod had been his first real lover. The fact that it was forbidden by Shinra policy, that being found out could mean expulsion and probable death hadn't made any difference. It had only made the time they spent together all the sweeter.
They'd both grown up in Sector Seven, with a natural distrust of the Upper Plate, but also with the desire to sample everything that being a Turk laid open to them. That they'd managed to do so much in three short years sometimes amazed Reno.
He'd never known who ratted them out, though he'd had his suspicions. He'd known that the glamour was beginning to fade for Rod, that three years with one person was probably the longest he'd ever hung around in his short life. He'd known, too, that Two-Guns had been eying him when he thought Reno wasn't looking. Two-Guns and Rod had been best friends since they were kids, and Reno had always realized, somewhere deep inside, that he considered Rod his personal property.
His first real taste of love had also been his first real taste of what jealousy could drive a man to. It was only Tseng's personal intervention with Veld (and, in turn, Veld's intervention with President Shinra) that had kept them alive. But they'd been separated, with a stern warning from Tseng that Shinra did not give second chances. They'd been lucky to escape with their heads intact, he'd said. If they were caught fraternizing again, there would be all manner of hell to pay.
It was, of course, the supreme and final irony that, while he'd been paired with Rude, whose original partner, Raife, had been killed by AVALANCHE, Rod had ended up with Two-Guns. There were times when he honestly believed the guy had somehow or other bought Old Man Shinra off to get what he wanted.
Wrapped up in his own grief, he hadn't even noticed that Rude was always there for him. The man had been openly sympathetic over what'd happened, at least around the other Turks, and it would only be later that Reno would realize Rude must've been grieving himself. He and Raife had never been lovers, but they'd been partners for nearly six years, and it was well known that Raife was the only Turk at Shinra who could actually make Rude laugh out loud.
Unfortunately, subtlety wasn't a word that was in Two-Guns vocabulary. At least he and Rod had been as discreet as they could. Two-Guns all but rubbed it in Old Man Shinra's face that he and Rod were lovers. Chyris said later that the guy had a death wish; she'd been his original partner, and he'd drawn Tseng's wrath more than once for taking stupid chances. He truly believed, she said, that he was bulletproof. It was a common belief amongst the populace of Midgar that Turks couldn't be killed by anything short of cutting off their head and putting a stake through their heart, and Two-Gun had apparently bought into the belief with a vengeance, dragging Rod with him all the way.
And so they'd gone out together; ambushed by Fuhito and Sears. Rod had been dead by the time Rude, Reno, Chyris and Victor had arrived. Two-Guns had lingered on long enough to make his threat of eternal vengeance and curse AVALANCHE and all its members to the depths of Tartarus.
As the ambulance finally arrived, the medics trying to fight their way through the crowd that had gathered, he'd turned his head long enough to look at Reno and mouth 'I'm sorry.'
By the time they reached him, he was dead as well.
Reno looked over at Rude, standing there silent, hands crossed in front of him, and managed a small smile. "Time for the ritual, yo?"
Rude nodded as Reno unscrewed the cap on the tequila and took a long gulp. Then he filled the small vase mounted about the plaque bearing Rod's name. 100 Needles had been Rod's drug of choice.
"Stupid fuck." He said softly, but there was no real anger behind the words. He'd forgiven and forgotten long ago, because life is only so long. He knew, now that he had Rude, that it would've never lasted anyway. Eventually, Rod would've tired of him and moved on; if not to Two-Guns, then to someone else.
Wish a sigh, he took another swig, walked back down to Two-Guns plaque and poured the rest of the tequila into his vase. Then he looked at Rude. "Take me home, Aibou."
Rude just smiled in return and slung an arm over his shoulder. Later tonight, back in their own apartment, maybe he'd cry a little for Rod and Two-Guns and all the others who'd died before they ever really got a chance to live. Rude would comfort him then, holding him close, and eventually, they'd make love and Reno would realize again how lucky he was to still be alive.
Because in the long run, he and Rude had been the ones that won. And that had to count for something, right?
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