Rating: T - Minor coarse language, cause hey, it is Reno.
Muse: I can't remember who said it, but I remember reading a fic where the author said something to the effect that Reno can't be a newer Turk than Rude, 'cause else he'd never get away with all the shit he pulls. Something like that. So this is Reno meeting his new partner Rude for the first time. :)
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it and I know that I'm not making one freaking penny doing this.
Please review, for it makes me happy. In my pants.
Without further ado
Reno was leaning on Tseng's desk in his usual nonchalant manner, Electro-Mag Rod resting on his left shoulder casually, but his mind was racing a million miles a minute. What had he done that was so serious he had to be called to the boss man's office, anyhow? Alright; so maybe that prank with the helicopter really hadn't been that funny, but did it really call for a personal reprimand from Tseng himself, the only Turk that outranked him?
Before Reno could reflect any more on his passed week, trying to remember any less-than-elegant behavior and pinpoint exactly what he was going to be punished for, Tseng stepped into the doorway of the office and cocked his head ever so slightly.
"Come with me," the head of the Turks said in that smooth voice of his, revealing nothing of the circumstances which would explain why, precisely, he was supposed to. The black haired Turk didn't give Reno a chance to ask and simply turned and walked out of the office and down the hallway that led to the elevators.
"Well shit, wait up, yo!" Reno grinned, trotting after Tseng with a light grin upon his pale face. "Where we headin'?"
"Down," Tseng said, and pressed the elevator button that would make it so. Reno rolled his eyes.
"Wow, thanks for clearin' that up," the red head grumbled. Tseng turned his head, the motion of his neck smooth and graceful (how can someone just turn their head and make it look so cool?, Reno wondered vaguely), and just stared calmly with his dark eyes. Reno shifted slightly under the gaze but kept his chin up, smirking a bit more just to show he wasn't intimidated. Which made Tseng smile softly, a feat that was not easy to do, but as soon as the elevators dinged open the smile was gone and Tseng was once again looking ahead, all business.
A few secretaries with files in their hands stepped out, nodding politely to Tseng and waving light heartedly at Reno as they passed. This left the two Turks to step into the elevator and it was only when the doors shut again, leaving them completely alone, that Tseng spoke.
"I want you to meet someone."
Reno arched an eyebrow, twirling his trusty EMR languidly before resting it on his shoulder again as he leaned against the inside of the elevator.
"Oh, yeah? And who's that? Do I get ta interview some possible SOLDIER's?" In Reno's slum accent the word came out sounding like 'soul-jahs'.
"No-"
"Is it a mission? I've been waitin' all week for a good one-"
"No, Reno, it's not a mission. It's a partner."
Reno stood a little straighter, his offhand attitude temporarily elapsed in his temporary shock. He was at a loss for words for a few moments. Tseng avoided eye contact because he knew what was coming and instead watched the numbers drop as the elevator descended to their destination.
"A partner!" Even the accent that would have normally drawled out the word was lost from the red-headed Turk's tone. "You've gotta be shittin' me! I don't want a fuckin' partner!"
"You may not want one, but you may need one," Tseng said calmly as ever. Reno threw his hands up and glared, his blue eyes raging.
"Oh, fuck yahself! I don't need one!"
"Everyone needs a partner, Reno. Especially you," The raven haired Turk stared at his second in command thoughtfully. "You're the best I have, Reno. I cannot deny that. But you need someone to level you out."
"Isn't that fan-fucking-tastic! A pep-talk? Really? How 'bout YOU get a partner, ya fuckin' hypocrite!"
"I have one," Tseng said simply. Reno laughed manically.
"Rufus don't count! He's just someone you're fuckin'. He don't back you up on the field."
Tseng gave Reno such a look that he knew very swiftly that he was speeding towards a direction he really shouldn't go, so he dropped that particular subject hastily.
"Well whatever. I still don't want one," Reno grumbled. Tseng sighed, shaking his head.
"You are acting like a child. This is simply an interview. If you two do not hit it off, it's not worth putting you together. Let's just call it a trial, yes?"
The elevator dinged as they finally reached the bottom level of the ShinRa tower, the basement where all the interviews were held. A few dozen yards to go and Reno would be face-to-face with the poor bastard who had picked the wrong job.
"Then I'm makin' sure I don't like 'im," Reno muttered, smirking darkly. Oh yes. Whoever the hell this guy was, he was going down.
"Now, Reno, you go inside and talk to him. I'll be listening and watching from here," Tseng motioned to an adjacent room with a one-way mirror that looked into the room Reno was about to enter, "but I want you two to interact alone to start. If things get out of hand," Tseng shot Reno a look as he said it but Reno just shrugged and smirked, fingering the level of the EMR to it's highest setting, "I'll intervene."
"Right, right. Just let me at him, 'kay?"
Tseng motioned to the door and then walked to his observation room. Reno put on his best shit-eating grin and nodded to himself, pressing his fingertips to the doorknob and opening it with a flick of his wrist. "This shouldn't take too long "
Upon entering the room, Reno took an extra measure to not look at his interviewee for as long as possible. He studied the walls instead, noting the concrete that made up most of the windowless room. There was really nothing to it, the area itself; just a bright panel of white light on the ceiling that reflected almost too brightly on the stainless steal table that was seated in the middle of the small room and one chair in front of him. Across the table (where he hadn't looked quite yet), he was sure he'd see the man sitting in an identical one. That was it for furnishings.
Reno studied the fake mirror for a few moments, grinning widely because he knew Tseng was watching even if he couldn't see the Wutain himself. And then he turned to face the other for the first time.
The first thing Reno saw was sunglasses. The man was already suited up meticulously-almost damn there Tseng-level scrupulous-in the typical black Turk suit. But the sunglasses were something else. They made him look well, he couldn't tell. Reno supposed that was the beauty of the things; you can't read eyes if you can't see 'em.
Other than that, Reno couldn't really speculate. The man was big but the red head had a feeling the man was a lot bigger than he was making himself seem at the moment. He was also bald. And black.
"Who the fuck are you?" Reno asked, his tone mockingly polite. The man didn't say anything and Reno laughed quietly, setting the EMR down on the table, obviously letting the other see it before taking a seat. "Aren't you going to say somethin'? Anythin'."
When the sunglasses-wearing man didn't, Reno looked toward the mirror, thumbing in the bald Turk's direction and smirking.
"Hey, Tseng, I think you found me a mute for a partner," his accent was back and he drawled out the word so it sounded like 'pardnah'. "Isn't that somethin'? I wasn't aware your tight Wutain ass knew of irony."
Of course, he got no response, although he could picture the irritated frown his boss was most likely wearing at the moment.
"Rude."
"The fuck?" Reno looked at the man, no longer grinning. Had he really just called him rude? And he had just gotten started!
"I ain't rude! If anythin', you're the one that's rude! Not even anwerin' simple questions-"
"I was answering your question. I'm Rude. That's my name."
Reno stared for a moment. The man-Rude-stared back. Reno couldn't tell because of the sunglasses and because the bald one kept his face straight (he'd make one hell of a poker player, that's for sure), but he was pretty sure he was being mocked.
"Shut up, yo. Just shut the fuck up. You think you're a tough man, huh? Well let me tell ya somethin'," Reno leaned across the table somewhat, his red bangs falling in front of his face. "You ain't shit. You're probably just some goddamned muscle-man who thinks he can make it in the Turks cause he made a few bucks bouncing at a club for a few nights. Ya think ya tough? I'd like ta see you try to make it one day in my shoes."
Yes, he was trying to get a rise out of the guy. He wanted to see him get mad, to lose it and then get thrown out. Because Turks don't show emotion. They're killers. Reno wanted to make this asshole look bad so he would be thrown out and then he could move on and forget about it.
However, that's not what happened. Instead, Rude just sort of smiled-almost, not quite-and shrugged. This infuriated Reno almost to the point where he was envisioning sticking the EMR right into the guys eye socket and pulling the trigger. Instead he just grinned evilly and leaned back in his chair. Damn. This guy was better than he thought he was going to be.
Next came the silent treatment.
For the next twenty minutes they just stared at each other, not saying a word. Reno just sprawled out in his chair, his blue eyes never leaving Rude's face. This gave him a lot of time to really study the guy, at least physically. He was naturally bald and had a nice, defined jaw. A small amount of facial hair, trimmed, the rest clean cut. He wondered what color his eyes were and then decided it didn't matter. He also noted the broad shoulders and wondered just how big this guy really was. The suit covered a lot of things but he was also willing to bet the guy really was all muscle.
It was Reno who broke the silence first, making the sore 2-0, Rude.
"So tell me 'boutcha self."
Rude shrugged, glancing around without looking over his sunglasses.
"You're supposed to be my partner."
"That's telling me 'bout me, not 'bout you," Reno scoffed. Rude finally looked back at him.
" I'm a weapons expert but I prefer hand to hand combat," Rude offered, not exactly monotone. Reno found himself liking his voice. It wasn't Tseng-calm, but it was collected.
"Oh, eyuh? What type of weapons?" Reno asked, not so much intimidating anymore as simply curious.
"Explosives."
Reno perked right up.
"Fuck yeah! That's " he caught himself before he showed too much enthusiasm and then shrugged, half rolling his eyes. "Yeah, that's alright, I guess. You know. Whatever."
There was some more silence. Reno fidgeted for a while and then sighed, glancing around. Rude stayed still, seemingly staring right at Reno the entire time. Again, sunglasses, so he wasn't sure-but it seemed that way.
"The fuck you lookin' at?" Reno finally spat. Rude's answer was without hesitation.
"You."
" Well, fuckin' stop it."
"It's not my fault you're the most interesting thing in the room. Besides, you were looking at me, too."
Reno could barely stop the blush that covered his pale cheeks. But then again, when you're caught, you're caught. So instead of saying anything he just huffed and muttered something under his breath.
"Whatever. I'm outta here," Reno stood and marched out of the room.
"Well?" Tseng intercepted Reno in the hallway on the way to the elevators. The redhead seemed flustered and Tseng himself didn't have a clear idea if anything that just happened was good or bad.
"Well what! The hell you want me ta say?" Reno growled.
"What did you think?" Tseng asked.
In the middle of the hallway, Reno stopped and glared at nothing in particular. It stayed like that for a few good moments, Tseng waiting patiently.
" He's fuck it. Let him try," Reno muttered. Tseng blinked.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Why not? I ain't got nothin' on him if I don't see how he operates in the field, yo. If he can keep up " Reno shrugged and Tseng nodded.
"Perfect. Your first mission together is three days from now. Until then, I want you two to get to know each other a bit more."
"And how the hell do you suggest that? I'm not going to take the fucker out on a date or some shit," Reno grinned. Tseng grinned back and all of a sudden Reno didn't have a good feeling.
"No. You two will be living together."
"HUH!"
The elevator door dinged open and Reno watched open mouthed as the raven-haired Turk stepped into it fluidly, grinning and dark eyes shining. "Have fun, Reno. See you in a few days."
"YOU BASTARD! NO WAY! NO FUCKING WAY!" Reno objected, but the doors had already slid shut. Cursing not so quietly under his breath Reno turned around and nearly ran smack into Rude. They both fell silent. After a long while of glaring at each other (well, Reno glaring, Rude just staring noncommittally), Reno growled.
"What!"
Rude extended his hand and Reno stared at his EMR. He must have left it in the room when he stormed out. After a few more moments of silence, Reno sighed dejectedly and snatched his precious Mag Rod out of his new partners hands.
"Fine. Fuck it. Your house or mine, partner?"