1 – Ink
"I've always wondered what this one means," Rude spoke softly as he undid the bandages on Reno's left shoulder. A Wutaiian symbol emerged from beneath the bandages, partially obscured by blood.
Reno grinned. "Picked it off the wall of a shady tattoo parlor when I was young and stupid. S'posed to mean 'courage.'" He shifted his weight as Rude tended to his wound. "Asked Tseng about it a while back though, apparently it says 'soup.'"
Rude chuckled as he wrapped Reno's new bandages. Reno winced slightly as they tightened.
"Could've been worse, yo."
2 – Tidy
Rude preferred tidiness and order – this was exemplified by pristine suits lined up in his closet, his neatly organized and alphabetized bookshelf, and his distinct appreciation of color-coded sticky tabs.
Organization at home helped balance the chaotic uncertainty of his occupation. After long days of convoluted plots, red herrings, and dead-ends, Rude found refuge in neatness and predictability.
As Rude looked to the sleeping figure beside him, however – with untamed red hair, limbs splayed haphazardly, and his clothes currently strewn about the room like rumpled confetti – Rude decided there could be beauty in chaos.
3 – Bitter
Reno drank his coffee black.
Each morning, his mug was nearly overflowing with the darkest roast available which reflected back at him with an opulence rivaling the Black Materia. Reno savored every bitter sip with a contented sigh until he reached the bottom of the mug. He would then promptly follow it up by devouring a cloyingly sweet donut.
Rude once questioned his partner's peculiar breakfast habits and was met with Reno pulling him close – pale skin meeting tanned, litheness against brawn, haughty arrogance complementing stoic determination.
Reno grinned mischievously.
"The contrast makes 'em both better."
4 – Sleep
Turks were notoriously light sleepers. With one PHS ring, they were dressed, armed, and out the door.
One windy night, Rude and Reno were pulled from bed by their hair trigger senses like a pair of Hojo's reanimated creations, taut leather against fists and metallic clanging audible as they secured the premises – only to discover the source of alarm was a branch against a window.
They retreated to bed and crumpled back into each other – Reno still grasping his EMR, which accidentally discharged at some point in the night. Reno replied "m'bad" and curled up into singed covers.
5 – Sand
Sand cut against Reno in furious gusts as his ponytail whipped like a red tornado. He lied against the desert ground with his hand pressed against a wound as blood saturated his clothing.
It was a simple mission: survey Shinra's new bounty of oil fields.
Unfortunately, the sand worms were pissed about the intrusions and let Reno know as much.
Despite blurring vision, Reno recognized a fidgety, leering presence approaching him.
"If this is how it ends, stabbed to death by 1000 needles…"
"Don't count on it." Reno registered the familiar warmth of Rude's Cure spell. "I'd have to lie on your death report."
6 – Patchwork
Rude possessed a sentimental quilt stitched from clothing he acquired throughout his life. It began with a scrap from his first infant outfit and continued with a patch emblazoned "Junon Academy Prep." Another was a family vacation memento from Costa Del Sol, and the last displayed a Shinra Company logo.
Rude placed the quilt on top of his bed, and Reno indignantly scooped it up, folded it, and stowed it away.
"We can't use this! It's your frickin' life story," Reno grumbled. "Don't want it to get damaged…"
"It's a blanket. Let's honor my mom and use it how she intended."
7 – Noise
White noise helped Reno concentrate. His taste differed from ambient noises like thunderstorms, forest sounds, or crashing waves. Instead, he preferred the hum of mechanical whirring – a holdover from his childhood underneath the plate.
Rude casually observed Reno as he was perched on the couch, headphones over ears, eyes slightly narrowed and nose scrunched at the notepad and calculator in his lap, a pen dangling precariously from his mouth.
When the headphones dropped to his shoulders, Rude asked about his work.
"Budgeting for our Gold Saucer vacation so I know much gil I can blow at the chocobo races."
8 – Freckles
Rude first met Reno when he was a new recruit freshly plucked from beneath the plate. Reno's features were more gaunt, his frame more angular, and his skin much paler – almost entirely untouched by the sun.
Over the years, with regular sun exposure as a globetrotting Turk, Reno's complexion acquired a glow, and soft freckles dusted his cheeks and nose like stars emerging at dusk. Freckles trailed down his collarbone and chest where Reno's shirt never buttoned.
Rude traced these freckles like a treasure map – enthralled by the fiery flush that would ignite from his touch, like a blazing sunset.
9 – Leisure
Reno was sprawled across the couch, his feet absentmindedly nudging against Rude who was scrunched in the corner, unperturbed.
This was a rare moment of leisure – though they were still on call, the previous day had been slow, and today they hadn't been contacted at all.
Reno was playing an apocalyptic shooter game (which might have been more immersive if he hadn't already survived end times). Rude was reading a paperback titled in large, capital letters: SPIES IN LOVE.
A PHS rang. Reno quickly answered it and ascertained the details.
"Finally some action, yo! Days off are so boring."
10 – Eyes
Rude's eyes were his biggest liability as a Turk. They were windows to unfettered emotions – his bluffs could be dispelled with one glimpse, crumbling any chance of fruitful interrogation.
Reno disappeared suddenly one night. Rude questioned him immediately upon return.
"Couldn't sleep so I went to grab smokes. You and your worryin' like you're in love with me or some shit."
Reno's expression contorted into disbelief as he caught Rude's unshielded glance.
"No way – " Reno punctuated his statement by kissing Rude assuredly before pulling him close.
"Your eyes are your biggest tell, yo."
"That's why I wear shades."
-fin-