Summary: Reno and Rude have been friends and fellow Turks together for years. Until one day, Reno crosses a line with his teasing, and Rude reaches a breaking point. Something happens where the two end up with a much greater understanding of each other, but is it enough to help repair a damaged friendship?
Romantic pairings of Cloud/Reno, Vincent/Rude, but the main pairing is based around Reno and Rude's relationship. Loosely based upon the movie, "Freaky Friday."
Usual disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Square Enix does. This is written for fun, not profit.
Rated M for language, smut, and Reno!
If I could be you, if you could be me
For just one hour, if we could find a way
To get inside each other's mind
If you could see you through my eyes
Instead your own ego I believe you'd be
I believe you'd be surprised to see
That you've been blind
"Walk a Mile In My Shoes" - Elvis Presley
It was well known throughout Shinra, Inc. that Reno was a most horrible gossip when it came to the dating lives of his friends and co-workers. Tseng had perfected the withering glare at his second in command, any time the redhead's line of questioning became a little too personal. Elena would sigh dramatically, roll her eyes and bark, "Shut up, Reno!" or "None of your damned business!" any time Reno would quiz her about who she liked.
Rude, who was pretty much a confirmed bachelor, would generally snort in amusement and ignore Reno, giving him the usual silent treatment that seemed part of the man's very nature. Until one morning when Reno came into the Turks' office, eyes blazing with excitement as he pounced upon Rude.
"Partner," he said in a needling tone. Reno sat on the edge of Rude's desk, his coffee mug clutched tightly in his hand. "So...care to tell everyone what you did last night?"
Rude felt a drop of sweat forming at the nape of his neck. He knows. How the hell does he know? Rude grunted at Reno, and glared at him with what he hoped was a blank expression. "No idea what you're talking about, Reno."
"Oh, but I think you do, partner!" Reno pressed. "Cloud and I were out last night, yo. We saw you. Making kissy-face with Count Vlad."
"Don't fucking call him that," Rude barked angrily, surprising both Reno and Elena, who by now was blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Aha!" Reno crowed triumphantly, grinning. "So you're not denying that you and Vincent Valentine were playing hide-the-sausage in the alley outside Seventh Heaven - "
Reno's sentence was cut off when Rude's fist connected with his jaw; the force of the hit caused Reno to drop his coffee mug, which spilled down the front of his pants before falling to the floor, where it smashed into several large shards.
"The fuck was that for!" Reno snapped, glaring at Rude as he rubbed his jaw.
"Once in a while, Reno," Rude said stonily, "would it kill you think a bit, before you speak?"
"Gods, Rude!" Reno replied irritably. "Would it kill you to not fucking deck me like that?"
"That's the first time I've decked you...well, in a long time, anyway. And you're missing the point, Reno," Rude said quietly, frowning. "As always." He turned to leave, and paused at the door, glancing back at Elena and Reno, who were standing there dumbfounded. "You know, Reno," Rude said in parting. "Maybe just once, it wouldn't kill you to put yourself in someone else's shoes. When Tseng gets back, tell him I'm taking the rest of today off." With that, he turned and left.
Reno stood there, stunned into speechlessness. He grabbed a heavy paperweight from Rude's desk and hurled it at the shut door, leaving a dent.
"Calm the hell down, Reno!" Elena snapped, trying her best to diffuse the situation. She had to admit, though, she'd never seen Rude react so strongly to Reno's wiseassery.
"What do you mean, calm down!" Reno said hysterically. "My partner just fucking decked me - and left! How am I supposed to calm down!"
"You know," Elena said, in a scolding tone. "If you thought you saw Rude and Vincent together like that...you could have, oh, I don't know - maybe not called Vincent names and insulted him to Rude!"
Reno eyed Elena wearily and sighed. "Elena, I didn't just think I saw them together 'like that' - Cloud and I both saw them making out! Groping each other, really. And besides, I've called Vincent worse to his face, and he just shrugs it off! Why couldn't Rude do the same?"
"Apparently Rude's feeling a little...overprotective, I guess," Elena mused. "Not that Vincent Valentine needs anyone's protection," she added quickly.
"No, he doesn't," Reno agreed. "I need some more coffee, damn it," he muttered. "Fucking Rude, making me drop my mug."
"You know, maybe you should apologize to him later," Elena suggested helpfully. "After the both of you have cooled down, of course."
"The hell I will," Reno spat angrily as he poured himself a fresh mug of coffee. "I ain't apologizing for nothing. He's the one who hit me. He should be walking a mile in my shoes, and not the other way around." Reno continued to sulk as he sipped his coffee; Elena could practically feel the waves of anger still pouring off of the man, and wisely decided to end the conversation where it was.
"Guess we've got an assignment here," Elena muttered, showing Reno a piece of paper. "Here's Tseng's request."
Reno nodded, and gulped down the rest of his coffee as he took the page from Elena, and quickly scanned it. "Good," he murmured. Getting back out in the field would be a good distraction for Reno, even if he wasn't with his usual partner. Reno didn't mind working with the 'rookie', as he used to call Elena, when she was brand new to the Turks. "Let's gear up and go, Elena. The sooner we go, the sooner we get back."
"Hot date tonight?" Elena asked with a grin, as she and Reno both checked their weapons. Reno gave Elena a sideways smirk. "Yeah, well..." he began, before his face erupted into a full-on smile. "Just dinner with Cloud."
"Just dinner, huh?" Elena remarked, a raised eyebrow punctuating her sentence. "Seems like things are getting serious? You were with him last night too, you said."
"Yeah, well," Reno said, coughing into his hand as he locked up the office behind him. He blushed under Elena's inquisitive gaze, and blushed slightly. "He's kind of...moved into my place."
"He's what!" Elena shrieked, launching herself at Reno, hugging him tightly. "Oh my gods, that is fantastic! Reno's finally settling down! I'm so happy for you!"
"Shut up, Elena!" Reno hissed. They were standing in the corridor, waiting on an elevator, and Elena's cries had caused more than one Shinra employee to turn their head and stare. "And...thank you," he said gratefully, smiling. "I'm really happy with him."
"That's awesome," Elena replied, beaming. "You know, I wish Cloud had a brother. One who's not gay, that is." She giggled at her own joke.
Reno laughed out loud. "Yeah, well...you'll find someone someday, Laney," he said kindly. "Might even be someone you can't stand at first...like me and Cloud."
"Maybe," Elena agreed. "You know, I still can't imagine Rude and Vincent dating!" She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth as she caught Reno glaring at her. "Oops...sorry I brought that up."
Reno sighed as the entered the elevator. "Yeah, I'd really just like to forget about that blowup with Rude, Elena...if you don't mind," the Turk muttered. "Hopefully everything will be back to normal with me and Rude by tomorrow. Like nothing ever happened."
"Hope so!" Elena chirped in agreement. The elevator reached the ground floor, and both Turks got out, now in mission-mode.
The mission turned out to be simple and straightforward, but physically taxing, as Reno and Elena needed to do quite a bit of 'convincing' get their suspect to talk. After the man had been beaten and bloodied, the two Turks took him into custody, and brought the man back to the holding cells at Headquarters before heading back to the Turks' office. "I'll do my report in the morning," Reno told Elena, as he washed the blood off of his hands at the nearby sink. "Getting late."
"Yeah, I'll do the same," Elena said, agreeing. "You go ahead, I'll tell Tseng. I think he's in his office. Don't want to keep Cloud waiting, now!"
"Thanks, Laney," Reno said gratefully, kissing her chastely on the cheek. "You're a good fucking Turk, you know? Thanks."
"Glad you think so, Reno," Elena replied, grinning. "And thanks for finally dropping the 'rookie' bullshit."
"Of course!" Reno replied, waving to Elena as he left. "Bye, Laney."
Reno shoved his hands in his pockets as he rode the elevator down to the ground floor, and began the short walk from Headquarters back to his apartment, where he knew Cloud would be waiting for him. A smile lit his face as he imagined Cloud greeting him at the door, sans clothing...
Six months, Reno thought happily. Six months that Cloud and I have been together. It seemed the most unlikely partnership, if Reno really thought long and hard about it; here were two former enemies, who had tried to kill each other multiple times; yet, somehow, they'd been able to put that behind them.
Opening the door to his apartment, Reno frowned as he thought back to the earlier exchange between himself and Rude. He was beginning to feel a bit guilty for his teasing remarks regarding Vincent. Rude was right, he thought. If anyone teased me like that, about Cloud...hell, I'd want to deck him, too. Reno sighed, then grinned as he saw Cloud bustling about the kitchen, apparently preoccupied with preparing their dinner.
"Hey," Reno called softly to Cloud, who was bent over the open oven door, checking on something. "Smells delicious. What'd ya make?"
Cloud stood up and shut the oven door, and turned to face Reno, smiling. "Lasagna," he replied, greeting the Turk with a passionate kiss. "Mmm. Missed you."
"Missed you too," Reno replied, sighing, as he sank his face into Cloud's neck - falling into him, really. "Been a hell of a day."
"We'll talk about it over dinner," Cloud said, kissing Reno again. "By the way...I moved the rest of my stuff in today."
Reno regarded Cloud with a smile. "Really? I would have helped you with that, you know," he said.
Cloud chuckled as he grabbed two beers out of the refrigerator, handing one to Reno. "Reno. I really didn't have much left. Just my laptop and a few other things. Really, it's okay. So...what's on your mind? Bad day?"
"You could say that," Reno muttered, swigging his beer. He belched upon swallowing. "Rude and I...had a disagreement. He kind of punched me, and stormed out of the Turks' office."
Cloud frowned at this, and reached out to touch the bruise on Reno's jaw. "Is this where he hit you? I noticed that...just assumed it happened out on a field assignment. I wouldn't think your partner would do that to you."
"I deserved it," Reno admitted guiltily. "I...kind of teased him about Vincent. Maybe I went too far."
"Well, hopefully he'll forgive you," Cloud said hopefully. "I mean, how long have you guys been friends, and partners?"
"Too long for me to even remember, yo," Reno said. The oven timer went off, and Reno glanced over at Cloud, who had already started heading to the kitchen.
"Dinner's ready," Cloud declared, taking the dish out of the oven and setting it on a cooling rack, while Reno went to the cabinet to fetch dinner plates and cutlery for the table.
"That was phenomenal, Cloud," Reno declared, after consuming his third piece of lasagna. "Man. How'd I get so lucky? Not only are you sexy as hell," he purred, pulling the blond into his lap, "but you can fucking cook, too."
"Mmm," Cloud murmured. "I'm lucky too, you know."
"Really, now," Reno said softly, nibbling Cloud's ear. "How's that."
"I'm lucky," Cloud said huskily, rising to his feet and pulling Reno with him, "because of what you're about to do to me in bed."
"Oh," Reno replied, grinning. "That." He and Cloud practically raced each other to the bedroom, falling onto the bed as they pounced upon each other. Clothes were quickly shed, as Cloud pulled Reno down on top of him, his face flushed, and his arousal poking Reno in the hip.
"Inside me," Cloud pleaded, nipping on Reno's shoulder - he knew enough by now, just in the six short months they'd been together, that the redheaded Turk liked a bit of pain to accompany his pleasure.
"Fuck," Reno groaned, as he slid himself inside of Cloud, feeling as if he might come immediately, surrounded in tight heat as he was. He moved in and out of Cloud, trying to hold off from his orgasm in an attempt to make it last as long as possible. He shut his eyes tightly as he thrust in, and out; as he looked down, he felt something inside him come undone as he saw Cloud touching himself, moaning loudly with his head thrown back and his slack mouth hanging open.
"Reno," Cloud whispered hoarsely, as he rose to meet Reno's thrusts. "Oh, Reno, come with me - " he muttered as he came, hot and sticky in his clenched fist. Reno placed his hands on Cloud's hips and bucked even harder, grunting as he felt himself release. He reluctantly withdrew from Cloud and collapsed on top of him, sweaty and exhausted...but entirely satisfied.
"That," Reno gasped, kissing Cloud's sweat-soaked forehead, "was the best. I love you."
"I love you too," Cloud murmured drowsily. "I...am completely spent now. Exhausted."
"Me too," Reno whispered. "Guess I'll sleep well tonight." Within moments, the two were curled into each other, still naked, as they drifted off into a pleasant haze of sleep.
Reno did sleep soundly, but tossed and turned a few times during the night when he was having strange dreams. When dawn broke, he still felt exhausted, but could not recall the troubling dreams that had interrupted his sleep.
So tired, he thought, turning over. He reached out a hand for Cloud, expecting his fingers to come in contact with the familiar blond spiked head he knew resided on the pillow next to him. Reno frowned, as he grabbed a handful of hair, but it was long, and smooth - like silk. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw a pair of wine-colored ones staring back at him.
Reno froze, his heart in his throat. Vincent fucking Valentine? he thought, trying to will himself awake. This has to be a dream, he reasoned. I'm still asleep. That's it. That's gotta be it. He rubbed his eyes hard, as if trying to rub the image of Vincent out, and rub the image of Cloud back in.
Nothing changed. "What the fuck just happened?" Reno demanded, his heart racing. "Where's Cloud?"
Vincent smirked, still staring at Reno. "What happened?" he repeated quietly, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Well, to start, we made love. And what's this about Cloud? Were you expecting him over here for some reason?"
"Vincent Valentine!" Reno bellowed, bolting upright in the bed. "What in the blue hell are you doing here?"
"I live here," Vincent replied dryly. "Rude, you are acting very strangely," he continued, concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm not..." Reno began. I'm not Rude! he wanted to shout. Yet...
Yet. Reno looked down at his hands, his body. They were...Rude's hands. Strong, and powerful, capable of crushing a man's windpipe with little effort.
"Sorry," Reno murmured apologetically. "Bad dream. Gotta pee." He got out of the bed quickly, not knowing where he was going. "Uh...bathroom?" he asked Vincent, who was looking more concerned by the minute.
"It's the same place it was last night, Rude," Vincent replied, pointing a finger at the door opposite the bed. "Right over there. Are you ill? You're not acting like yourself at all."
No shit, Dracula! Reno wanted to yell, but wisely kept the barb to himself. "Yeah. I'm not feeling like myself today," he muttered, laughing at the absurd truth behind his reply.
He went into the bathroom and quickly closed the door, and looked in the mirror. "Holy shit," he whispered, touching a hand to his bald head - Rude's bald head. "If I'm him, does that mean - he's me?" Reno hesitantly touched the waistband of Rude's underwear. "I really gotta pee," he muttered. "This feels...kind of weird. I gotta touch Rude's dick now?"
Reno decided that he would shut his eyes tightly, and go about his business that way, without looking. He reached into his underwear- Rude's underwear, and withdrew his member, emptying his bladder. As he felt Rude's girth fill his hand, Reno's eyes flew open - he couldn't help but look.
Rude, as it turned out, was endowed. Massively endowed. Reno was just able to wrap his hand around the widest part of the cock, which by now was beginning to stiffen, the more attention Reno paid to it.
No, I shouldn't...do this...it's like I'm jerking off Rude! Reno told himself. "Gods damn it, it feels good though," he muttered, as he stroked himself up and down, moaning. "I have got...to get myself...one of these..." he whispered, panting.
A/N: Reno is a dirty, dirty bastard. But we knew that, right? :) Thanks to wwgost for dialogue help with Reno's last line.
Next chapter: Rude has a...well, a rude awakening himself, and an interesting chat with Cloud over breakfast.