Movie
By:Albedosreqium / Soyna
Setting: Gameish.
Rating, Genre and Warnings: T. Angst and Humour all rolled into one.
Characters: Reno and Rufus
Disclaimer: All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©. I do not profit from this endeavour.
Summary and Additional Information:
Contest prize for thelegendaryphoenix for the contest I ran that encouraged the torture and pain of Reno.
Reno watches a movie with Rufus while he recovers in the hospital
The Movie is © "The Princess Bride"
Reno heard a snort behind him. He turned to see Rude straightening his sunglasses and trying to hide a smirk on his face.
"What?" Reno said as he turned around to look at Rude with the bag of microwave popcorn in his hands. He had to be prepared for the evening.
"Great pants," Rude said as he looked over his glasses at him before pushing them back up again.
"If I'm gonna watch the brat, I'm gonna be comfortable," Reno said as he ran his hands over his pants. He wasn't in his suit. He found that the nurses were uncomfortable with the suit and were more relaxed when he wore casual clothing. He didn't need any stiff nurses around and since he was forced to be in the hospital at night ... well, he wore his comfy pyjama pants.
He normally didn't wear much more than boxers — and on hot nights, nothing at all — to bed, but seeing that they were in a hospital he thought he would cover up appropriately. There were a couple pairs that he bought in a nearby store. He had just made sure the size was correct before he grabbed them. The colour of the top was black, but he should have checked what was beneath it first.
It amused the nurses and doctors, so he wore them even if it was a small blow to his pride to wear fuzzy flannel pants with bright yellow and green chocobos on them. The other pair had tonberrys and cactuars. He found out the black pair had a Bomb emblazed on the ass. He was wearing something that caused people to giggle.
"Uh-huh," Rude said and crossed his arms.
"You just have a narrow view of style," Reno said as he put the popcorn in a nearby bowl.
"Appropriate is not narrow."
"You're just jealous that I got the night shift," Reno said as he popped some popcorn in his mouth.
Rude shook his head and started to walk away.
"Bye, bro!" he yelled after him. Rude gave him a wave over his shoulder and disappeared down the stairs.
He had to get ready to take care of Rufus for the evening. Not that anything was going to happen in the hospital, but they were never going to take a chance with Rufus. They had just about lost him a couple of times and he was starting to become more coherent and more like the Rufus that they all knew.
He wore a blue tank top that was baggy and comfortable, as well as matched the chocobos on his pants. He wore a pair of green fuzzy slippers that looked like crap, but they were comfortable and kept his feet warm as he walked down the hospital halls.
He felt a little bare without his goggles and with having his hair down, but he had learned his lesson about sleeping with his goggles on in the past. It was painful to wake up with dents in his cheeks.
A doctor walked by him and noted the bowl of popcorn and the other bag of pop and goodies. The man chuckled, "Movie night?"
"Yep," Reno said with a grin. "You got Dark's medicine all ready to go?"
The doctor walked over to the coffee machine and was helping himself to a cup. "You bet. It's in the fridge," he said.
Reno gave the man a pat on the back as he grabbed his bag and bowl before going to the fridge. He pulled out the container that had some chunks of meat which contained Dark Nation's medicine, pain killers and sedatives. The sedatives were the most important part.
Dark Nation still hated him and did not approve of him being in the room when Rufus was there, but didn't mind as much when he brought her dose of fresh bloody meat that was laced with medicine.
He whistled as he walked down the hall to Rufus' room, all the while giving a couple of nurses some winks. A few teased and commented on where they could find pants like his, and he noticed that one of the nurses had scrubs with little Marlboros all over it. He drew the line at having tentacle monsters on his pants.
He arrived to see Rufus resting in his bed. He was already sitting up but he was looking a little sleepy. He looked so much better than he had a month ago. He no longer needed to be hooked up to the IV's even though he still had a 'tap' in his arm for the medicine that he had to have administered. He was also still prone to dehydration, despite the large jug of water that he constantly sipped from that sat at the edge of his hospital bed.
The over-bed table already had his laptop pulled in and ready to go. The nurses set that up because of a little mistake he made by unplugging something that was important. He was no longer allowed to touch any of the electrical or wires.
Dark Nation was on a large pillow at the base of the bed. She raised her head and gave him a growl but didn't move from her position. She was still having some issues with her back or something. He didn't pay attention to what the vet said. She was still in a lot of pain and limped around. The medicine in the container made it so that she was not so grumpy when someone had to take her out for her morning walk. He hoped that Rude already took her out for her evening walk because he sure as hell wasn't going to do it.
"I got yer stuff here, ya bitch," he muttered as he put the bowl of popcorn beside Rufus' laptop and put the bag on the edge of the bed by Rufus' feet.
"Quit calling her a bitch," Rufus said but there was no heat in his voice.
"She is what she is," Reno said as he opened the container and put it by her nose. He watched her daintily nibble at it, using her paw and tentacle to bring it to her mouth. "Diva."
Reno grinned as he looked over to Rufus frowning at him. "Ready for movie night, sir?"
Rufus eyed the laptop and groaned. "What are you making me watch this time?"
Reno walked around to the other side of the bed. "Princess Bride." Reno beamed as he put the popcorn bowl on Rufus' lap and grabbed the bag as he started to go through it.
"Not another lame romance," Rufus said as he put a piece of popcorn in his mouth.
Reno pulled out the soda and put two cans on the end table. Both were ginger ale, as that was the only soda that Rufus was able to stomach. There were also two bags of gummy bears. Rufus didn't like those; they were for Reno, but there was a bag of liquorice and he put that on the bed. Rufus quickly grabbed for it. He wasn't allowed treats and this was the only night of the week that the doctors tolerated him breaking his strict diet.
Reno shook his head. "I will have you know, this movie has everythin'! Action, drama, romance, death, betrayal ... it has everythin' that a person could want in a movie, yo."
Rufus groaned and rolled his eyes, then focused them on Reno's pants. "What are you wearing?"
Reno ignored the question as he pushed the table so that it was by Rufus' hips. He pressed the on button for the laptop.
"Chocobos," he said as he removed his slippers and placed them under the bed beside Rufus' more proper ones; black slip-ons. They were plain and boring. There wasn't even a cartoon character on them; only the typical Shin-Ra symbol on the back of the heel.
Rufus rolled his eyes again.
"They're cute and attract the ladies. If you're interested I saw a Moogle pair in the lobby." Reno smirked at the death glare that he received. Dark Nation finished off her meal and the plastic container skittered across the room. She made a loud yawn and Reno was glad to hear it. She would be asleep soon and he hopefully wouldn't have to worry about her pulling him off the bed in the middle of the night and hitting his head on the floor again.
"You put drugs in her food, didn't you?"
"She needs her meds as much as you do," Reno said as he positioned himself on the bed. One of the advantages of Rufus having a private room was that he had a large bed. He didn't when he was still hooked up to the machines, but now that he had some of his mobility back they had him in a big bed that was large enough to fit both of them. It was wonderful. He hated sleeping in the stupid chair.
The added bonus was the fact that the bed was always warmer and more comfortable than the hospital supplied recliner.
He could feel Rufus still glaring at him. "They were prescribed for her. I didn't just drug her indiscriminately. What kinda thug do ya take me for, yo?" Reno wiggled into a comfortable position on the bed and slumped against the pillow before he leaned forward to tap at the key on the laptop to bring up the movie.
Rufus gave him a skeptical look.
"I would only kick her around, but I'll wait until she's healed up first," he said with a smile.
Rufus snorted and reached for some popcorn. "Just start the movie already. I'm going to fall asleep while I am watching it anyway."
"It'll have you riveted to your seat, yo! It's a classic," Reno said. "It was the first movie that I got to see in the theatre. Me and some buds snuck in and we sat in the front row, which made it all the more awesome."
"You said, 'Dude, Where's My Car' was a classic as well." Rufus said as he adjusted his pillow behind him.
"You laughed," Reno said and looked at Rufus. He had been really down that day and Rufus had smiled as he watched the movie despite the pain that he was in.
"I think a few of the lines were how you explained how you have lost a few of the cars," Rufus said as he settled back into the pillows.
Reno tugged at the blankets as he saw the movie was nearly loaded. He grabbed the bowl and put it in Rufus' lap as he waited for the small green circle to light up on the screen. "I have only lost two cars."
"Two more than any other Turk."
"What can I say? I'm special." Reno grabbed a handful of the popcorn and stuffed it in his mouth. He was hungry and thirsty. He reached for the sodas on the table. He opened one and handed it to Rufus before opening his own.
"I guess that's a word for it," Rufus said as he watched Reno lean forward and hit the enter key on the computer.
Reno just smiled as he pressed a button on the controls for his bed and the lights dimmed in his room as the movie started.
As they watched the first couple minutes, Rufus turned to Reno. "You said this was an action movie. This is a bedtime story being read to a sick kid in bed."
"Shush and watch," Reno said, reached over to pat him on the arm without even looking at him. Reno could feel the glare from Rufus, but he chose to ignore it. "Eat some more popcorn."
"This is lame."
"It's not lame. Quit critiquin' and watch."
"Look at those lame video game graphics," Rufus grumbled. "Who could play a game with such blocky characters? How old is this movie? You can't even tell if they are supposed to be human."
"Are you going to complain through the whole movie?"
"Of course."
Reno laughed. The scene changed and played out in what looked like something that one would find in Gongaga.
"What a bitch!" Rufus proclaimed. "Oh, please —'as you wish' — how utterly lame."
"They love each other and just are terrible at showin' it. It's a very common problem. It's not lame."
"It's lame! She bosses him around and he does everything for her until he is her slave and now they love each other. This sounds more like that Stockholm syndrome than love."
"You really are a spoilsport," Reno said and stuffed more popcorn in his mouth. "Watch."
They continued to watch.
Rufus huffed. "I agree with the kid, 'dead is good'."
Reno shushed him. "Watch."
Rufus rolled his eyes and continued to stare at the screen as the movie continued. He sipped the overly sweet soda with relish. He seldom got anything but water and bitter tea with lemon and honey. Movie nights were a break from the normal and despite how he felt ill the next day from the treats and staying up late, it was a nice change of pace.
The scene changed to a castle and they watched Princess Buttercup walk out in a fancy red dress. "She could be Scarlet."
Reno snorted. "Scarlet was a hussy. Buttercup is way too covered up to be wearing anythin' of Scarlet's style."
"She agreed to marry a man named 'Humperdink' who was rich; sounds like Scarlet. What a horrible name. That would drive off the best of women. To be saddled with that name would be horrible," Rufus said as he adjusted himself in the bed. The angle was only comfortable for so long with his hip. He leaned a little towards Reno. He enjoyed movie night because he would have a nice warm body beside him. He didn't mind having Dark Nation cuddled up here with him but it was the same as having a hand running through his hair when he thought he was asleep.
"Oh look, they let the princess run off with no bodyguards. Dumb. So the next scene is where she gets kidnapped."
Reno stuffed some popcorn in his mouth. "Shut up and watch."
And indeed, the next scene was just that. "Told you," Rufus said. "I understand the dynamics of kidnappers." Being at the brunt of a few in his life time on both ends, he understood it very well.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, shut up and watch the movie," Reno complained, "Or I won't allow you any liquorice, yo."
Rufus huffed but remained silent for a little while longer. "Who comes up with the names of these characters?"
"Writers."
"Morons, is more like it," Rufus said as he reached into the bowl of popcorn. Reno had his hand in there and he pushed him aside to get his snack.
They watched as the movie progressed, and the characters climbed the mountain. He rolled his eyes as the characters started to have what appeared to be a rather dainty sword fight. Reno was the one that started to complain about the scene. "Who uses sticks as swords? Even the Third Class SOLDIERs had bigger swords than that, and they didn't dance around each other to get to the kill. A piece of thin pipe is hardly a manly weapon."
"Didn't you just describe your weapon?" Rufus snorted and elbowed Reno. It also allowed him to slide a little closer to him.
"Mine has a fancy button that will zap ya," Reno said. "A hell of a lot more useful than a pointy stick, yo."
"Uh-huh and you were able to defeat ... well, the list is exhaustive." Rufus let out a big breath as Reno elbowed him. It was done a little hard and went into his ribs.
"Just watch the movie," Reno said and looked at him apologetically. He pulled out the bag of liquorice and opened it with his teeth before handing it to him. Rufus took it. Liquorice was his favourite treat and Reno always brought it on movie night.
They watched the movie in silence, each eating their treats as the movie progressed.
Reno laughed at the Rats of Unusual Size. "Reminds me of Dark Nation," Reno said and looked at him.
"She is hardly a rodent," Rufus defended. "Inconceivable."
"I don't think that word meanswhat you think it means," Reno responded with a large grin. Rufus tore off another piece of his treat and sunk a little further into the bed. He noticed that he was sliding over a bit and let it happen. He was starting to get tired again and he had to shift to take the pressure off his hip. His shoulder was now pressed against Reno's and he didn't seem to mind.
He never did.
He was just about dozing when they pronounced Wesley dead. "They can't kill the hero," Rufus complained. "This is a stupid movie."
"Watch and shut up," Reno said and patted his leg. The popcorn bowl was empty and he put it aside. Rufus didn't have the strength to pull out another piece of the red liquorice from the package and he was quite comfortable.
The situation was explained. "Mostly dead can be cured with a chocolate-covered pill," he scoffed.
"Nah," Reno said. "In the real world, it takes four Phoenix Downs, twenty-two Elixirs and forty X-Potions to revive the mostly dead."
Rufus went still and silent and was no longer paying attention to the movie. He knew that they had used a lot of resources when they pulled him out of the rubble of the Shin-Ra tower. He never asked them what it took to bring him out of there alive. It was all a blur to him during that time of recovery. He did remember glimpses of the Turks looking frantic and relieved at the same time. He was told that was two months ago. He didn't remember much right after. All the nurses, doctors and dark suits seemed to blend together; the only thing that stood out were streaks of bright red.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't have to shove a giant pill down my throat," Rufus said after he cleared his throat.
"You sure pout when you're given medicine, yo," Reno said as he grabbed a piece of his liquorice.
"It tasted awful," Rufus defended and then turned his eyes to the movie. "At least you didn't cart me around in a wheelbarrow."
"Could have used one. Your ass was heavy, yo."
Rufus chuckled and slapped at Reno but he didn't have any strength in the hit. He buried himself deeper into his side and allowed his eyes to droop as they watched the movie to completion.
The credits started to roll and Rufus could barely keep his eyes open. He felt Reno reach over and run his hands through his hair for a brief moment and whisper to him if he was still awake.
"That movie was sappy," Rufus complained.
"It was everythin' and a little bit of sap," Reno defended and ran his fingers through his hair like last time.
Rufus hadn't realized that he had his head resting on Reno's arm and he slowly lifted it. He was feeling a little light-headed as he moved to get back to his spot on the bed. He felt the bed starting to lower as Reno expertly tucked him in, gave him a sip of water before he settled him down.
"I can settle myself in," Rufus said in a sleepy voice and hated that it slurred a little.
"Uh-huh," Reno countered. "Let's get your legs straightened out so they don't cramp up, yo."
"I'm fine," Rufus grumbled as he tried to move his legs, but they didn't want to cooperate like they should. Reno got out of bed in his horrible chocobo pyjama pants and moved his legs so that they were straight, gently rubbing them to help the circulation. "That's not necessary."
"I don't want ya wakin' up screamin' with a leg cramp like last time, yo. Scared the shit out of me." Reno ran his hands over his legs a few more times and Rufus had to admit that it felt good, and he felt his eyes drooping again.
"I'm fine."
"Uh-huh."
Rufus watched as Reno shut down his computer and pushed the table aside. He came to his side of the bed, hiding the liquorice in the end table and giving him another sip of water. He took it all in stride as the bed was lowered further and the lights dimmed in the room.
Reno pulled on the curtain to block some of the light from the hallway. It wasn't long before Rufus felt Reno crawl into bed with him again, settling under the blankets and he instinctively leaned against his warmth.
"I want French toast for breakfast before Tseng can stop them from serving it," he whispered. He was sick of Cheerios.
"As you wish," Reno chuckled.
Rufus opened his eyes and could see Reno smirking down at him. "Say that again, and Nation will use your leg as a chew toy."
Reno laughed harder. "Again?"
"Shut up and go to sleep."
"As you wish," Reno said again in a whisper and ran his hand through his hair again. Rufus grumbled at the treatment, but was too tired to complain any further as sleep finally overtook him.
Rufus was rudely woke with the sound of Reno screaming, a loud thump and the bed moving for a moment while a large weight settled in beside him.
He opened his eyes to see Dark Nation curling up beside him and nestling in the place where Reno once was. He was going to ask where Reno was but he saw a head of red hair peaking out on the side of his bed.
Reno stood up, looking rattled and quite adorable in his chocobo pyjama pants, messy hair and angry look on his face. "Mutt," Reno grumbled and then turned his blue eyes to him. "I think she needs stronger painkillers."
"I think she is feeling just fine," Rufus said as he stroked her shoulders.
The curtain was thrown roughly back. Tseng and Rude were standing on the other side, both with their gun drawn. Reno rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "If ya wanted Dark dead you should have let 'er rot after Cloud got her, yo."
Tseng and Rude both silently holstered their guns. Rufus could see their lips twitch. Tseng spoke first. "I see things are all normal here." He straightened his jacket and walked toward the bed as if assessing to make sure everything was. He seemed satisfied with what he saw. "Reno, get in your suit and get Rufus his breakfast."
"Yo, I'm off shift now," Reno said as he fought with his hair and tried to straighten it out.
"You slept through your shift, you can fetch him breakfast," Tseng said and turned to leave the room. Rude followed him easily and shook his head as he walked.
"I hate your mutt," Reno said simply.
"Just get my breakfast and something for Nation," Rufus said as he fumbled with the button controls of his bed.
Reno glared at him. "You're not getting French toast," he muttered as he grabbed for his slippers.
"What happened to 'As you wish'?" Rufus yelled after him.
"Whatever, 'Buttercup'," Reno called back as he turned at the entrance of his hospital room, flipping him off as he walked away.
Rufus patted Dark Nation on the head. "He'll get me French toast, girl," he whispered. "If he doesn't, you can bite him. He called you a rat, you know." She grumbled under his touch but didn't move. He leaned back and waited for his breakfast, reaching for the now warm water that was at his night side table.
"And ice too!" he yelled.