Prelude: There's a beginning to everything...
Reno pulled out four little bottles of whiskey out of his back pack and, keeping one for himself, passed them to his three coworkers. The four Turks, fully suited, were standing around Rude's kitchen, waiting for the future to begin. It had been six months since Meteor hit. Today was a beautiful, sunny day in Junon, the most appropriate day for the mission they would be setting out on. "Here's to life" Reno toasted as the four downed their whiskey. Elena wiped a tear away and looked over for some sort of comfort. "Nothing changes, right," the blonde asked, and Rude gently smiled. "No matter what," he affirmed. There was an awkward silence as Reno stood up and hugged his best friend of nearly ten years. "Well bro, this is it yo?" "Yeah," Rude slowly answered, as distraction came from his doorbell. "I'll get it," Tseng confirmed, strolling over to the door with Elena in close tow.
Cloud and his ragtag bunch the Turks officially knew as Avalanche stood, obviously minus the girls. Elena, sensing trouble, cautiously stepped forward. "What do you want? And where's Tifa? Cloud shyly laughed. "Don't you know? The bride's never supposed to see the groom before a wedding, it's bad luck." Elena blushed and shrank back behind Tseng. "Yuffie's with her then," Tseng asked, and Cid spoke up "Damn straight, and boy am I glad that little brat..." Vincent hushed him and then they and Barrett walked back to Cloud's rented minivan. Cloud restlessly rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from one foot to the other. Reno wandered over and offered Cloud one of his little bottles. "I know we've always had a weird relationship, but... well, I guess were gonna have to deal with it for them, eh blondie?" Cloud took it and offered a small grin, "Guess so." Tseng threw his arm around Reno's shoulder and the two withdrew back into the house to see if Rude was ready. Elena, unsure as always, followed Cloud out to the van and got in to wait.
Rude stood in front of his full length hallway mirror, mentally preparing himself for what could possibly be the biggest mission for a Turk to embark on alone. He felt tears escape from his light brown eyes as he noticed his two bleary eyed best friends standing behind him. What really made it all real, Reno's usually askew suit was proper, his always missing tie carefully placed with a clip. Tseng had even pulled his long raven hair back into a low tail. Through his eyes, Rude had never seen the two look so professional before.
"Love you guys," the big man managed to choke out as he fought tears, and the three group hugged. Reno and Rude clung on to something they would never have again as Tseng slowly stepped away to check the living room clock. "Hey," Tseng broke through softly, "We're gonna be late, you guys ready now, or..." Reno, trying to compose himself, stepped back and went to grab his back pack. "Ready as I'll ever be," Rude answered, not so sure of himself. Tseng smiled and put his arm around his taller friend. "Let's go meet the rest of your life..."
to be continued...
