Routine
A present For Navi the Rabid Pixie
By sephylover608It was one big race. People rushing through their jobs at work, Rushing through their chores, rushing through their meals. On and on and on. An eternal quest to finish everything as quickly as possible, to rush through life. Because you never know, today could be the day.
Today could be the day. The one, fateful day upon which your entire life seems to be left in the shadow of. The day that you spend the rest of your life looking back upon; whether glad or ashamed. You could make it big. All those dollars spent on little slips of paper upon which a thousand gil depend finally paying off.
Or it could be the day your lucky streak ends. The day a trusted ally stabs you in the back and steals your life away. The day you find the notes from your wife's current lover.
It was one of those days for Rude. He could smell it. The air was thick with potential, filled with an overwhelming sense of expectancy. Rude could feel it. And he didn't like it. Surprises were supposed to be his forte. He didn't like to think that he didn't know what was going on.
Rude sighed and stood up from his desk. Rolling his shoulders to loosen them, he turned to look out the window. One would suppose that being so high in the Shin-Ra tower would be great. A wonderful view, a feeling of superiority… But not so. All you got from being this high was a headache from lack of sufficient oxygen.
Rude growled under his breath. This weird feeling in the air was causing him to be contemplative. Not at all like his usual self. This wasn't a good day.
Rude grabbed his briefcase from the side of his desk. It wasn't really for papers, of course. It was more like an elegant yet discreet gun holster, housing his favorite handgun and Uzi.
Today he would go home early. Nothing really important was going on that required his presence. Nodding his head slightly as he surveyed his neat office, he turned to the door.
His office was perfect, in his opinion. Orderly, clean, and completely devoid of any personal belongings; any items that would reveal any sort of individuality or emotion. Just like Rude. His office was a perfect analogy of what he himself strived to be. An unreadable, mysterious, enigma.
Rude opened his door and strode purposefully down the hallway. He passed a few people as he went, but spared them no outward consideration. Though by the time he drew level with them, he had already identified all their possible places of concealment and categorized them as to how large of a threat they were. Rude was good at his job.
When he reached the end of the hall, his journey was suddenly halted. A redheaded man about 5'7" stood blocking the way, a cocky smirk plastered on his pale face. Rude stood for a few seconds, staring down at the man, ferverently hoping he would let Rude go in peace. The man's emerald eyes stared right back, unblinking and mischievous.
Finally, he relented from the unwanted staring contest.
"Reno." He stated blandly, silently asking his partner to get to the point quickly, for once.
"Rude." Reno replied, his tone slightly mocking. " Heard the news yet, buddy?" the Turk drawled slowly. Rude just stared at him. "The prez just went off to some foreign place called Gagazet. Ever heard of it?"
Rude had to fight to keep the shock out of his face. It couldn't be. Not now. Things were going so well, they didn't really need her help?
Reno grinned evilly, seeing right through Rude's blank façade. "You guessed it, Rude my man! The wondrous lady Reigna is coming back to Midgar." Rude couldn't help it. He groaned aloud. Perfect. Just perfect. Lady Reigna was coming back to Shin-Ra.
The witch was a self-important nobody with the crazy notion that she could see the future. And for some reason, President Shinra was completely enamored with her. Her last visit at the Shin-Ra tower had ended badly when the president had discovered her with Heideggar one night.
But rather than having her executed, he merely sent her back to her hometown of Gagazet. And now, apparently, he was back at her door, begging for forgiveness. Either that, or he had finally gotten an ounce of sense and was going to watch her burned alive. But Rude sincerely doubted the later.
Reno grinned at Rude sympathetically. "Here's the plan." His partner began with a grin. "We find her, tie her up, stuff her fat arse into a honeybee outfit and drop her off at the don's place!" Reno flourished his hands and smirked hugely. "Wadda ya think?"
Rude was sorely tempted, but resisted the notion through sheer willpower. He shook his head regretfully. Reno sighed, the grin fading slightly. "Same old place, then?" He asked somewhat unhappily. Rude smiled slightly, and nodded. "9 o' clock" He stated.
Reno flashed him one more brilliant smirk, then loped off down the hallway.
Rude turned back to his own destination, and continued on, the small smile still on his face.
The dim bar was busy and overcrowded. The scent of unwashed bodies mixed unpleasantly with that of the substandard alcoholic drinks that no one really knew the contents of, even the maker. Boisterous men shoved each other aside to get to the counter and the many scantily clad barmaids. The entire establishment reeked of poverty and slight desperation.
Yet despite all this, this bar remained Reno and Rude's favorite. Neither really knew why, or even bothered to vocalize the query. Perhaps it was a simple attachment to the place. Or perhaps it wasn't so much the bar they liked, as it was the atmosphere. It was that of an overwhelming sense of mortality, People rushing about to accomplish as much as they could as quickly as possible. It was somehow alluring to the hardened Turks.
Rude pushed his way through the congregation, scanning the familiar benches for the shock of red hair that always identified Reno. He quickly spotted it, and muscled his way over to his partner. Reno grinned a greeting, but no words were said. It was probably too loud to hear anything that was spoken anyway. Rude liked it this way.
He sat down on one of the dingy stools, and let himself relax into the familiar sights and sounds. He breathed the first deep, relaxed breath he'd had in ages. Pure bliss.
Reno pushed him a drink. Rude didn't even have to look to know what it was. Shot glass of cheap liquor. Same as always. Just like Reno had his same pint of foaming amber something. Rude had never bothered to ask. He probably never would. He didn't really want to know in the first place.
Rude tipped back his head and up-ended his shot glass. The barmaid passed him another. Same as always. Rude thought over all the strife that awaited him at ShinRa once Reigna arrived. She seemed to have some strange obsession with him. Not a good thing.
Rude emptied his second glass as he pushed the problem to the back of his mind. All that mattered now was the only consistent thing in his little world. After hours drinks with Reno. Though he may have to kill his own family tomorrow, or burn a church full of innocents, at least he could always count on this.
It was routine. Rude liked that.
Owari