The metal doors to Rufus Shinra's office heavily dragged open as a handsomely bald young man in Turk uniform and black shades walked in. His long strides were casual as he approached the desk in the center of the room before he realized that someone was behind it. The echoes of his heavy footsteps quickened, and he rushed behind to see who the occupant was. To his surprise, he found his spiky red haired comrade sitting on the floor behind the desk, a defeated mess. The carpet around him seemed to be soiled in blood and some other unknown substances, as were his clothes which were also in disarray. Before words could pass from his gaped mouth, the red haired man brushed him aside.

"Don't ask, Rude…" The red haired Turk said under his breath, his dull green eyes looking away. "It was a bad day…"

It took awhile for Rude to comprehend the circumstances, but when he deducted the present evidence, there was only one possible explanation: Rufus. His black brows furrowed over his shades and he pressed closer to draw him comrade into his arms, but the red haired Turk only drew away.

"Don't touch me, yo…" The red haired said with a quiet laugh. "You'll get dirty." He finally looked up at Rude, his eyes reflecting something that the bald Turk had never seen in them before. The orbs of green that were usually brightly ambitious and gleamed of arrogant confidence were now dull and glazed over, as if dead.

"Let's go back to our room, Reno," Rude offered from lack of other words to say. He feared that if he should say the wrong word, he would only hurt his seemingly broken partner even more.

Reno shook his head gently. "I... I'm still needed here… My work isn't done yet. Go back without me, Rude. I'll see you in a little bit, 'kay?" A half smile suspended painfully on his bleeding lips, and Rude knew that was his queue to leave.

With a nod, Rude clenched his leather cladded fists and stood. Shooting one last heart wrenching glance at the shards of his partner on the floor, the bald Turk bit his lip to keep his cool as he headed for the door. And just as he passed to the other side of the metal door, a beautiful blonde man in white passed by him. Rude kept walking, pretending that he did not notice his boss returning to devour what was left of his friend. The blonde looked over his shoulder and smirked. He knew that Rude was now well aware. He knew that he was winning, and it felt good. After all, Rufus Shinra does not lose to his subordinates.

Rude's steps grew gradually heavier before coming to a complete halt when he heard the metal door closing behind him. Standing like a statue in his spot for a moment, Rude argued with himself on whether he should stick around in case things go bad or return to the room as Reno instructed. Gritting his teeth, he spun around and silently approached the metal door once more. As he took his identification card out to open the door, he heard Reno's voice, and his hand faltered. He wanted to open the door so badly. He wanted to steal his partner away from whatever hell the boss was putting him through. He wanted to do so many things, but his solid pride would not allow him to.

Gloved hand slowly returning to his pocket, Rude turned away from the door. His back pressing against the wall by the card slot, he slid heavily into a sitting position. Head leaning against the cold metal wall, he stared at the blank ceiling through his black shades. The hall was silent and empty before him, so silent that he could hear the electricity buzzing. After a few moments more of contemplating, Rude made the resolution to go ahead to return to their room as Reno so requested.

Now standing in the doorway of their vacant room, the air was suddenly colder. Perhaps it was the cold from the metal of the building, but more than likely it was the lack of human warmth in the two bunked chamber. Rude let out a sigh as he entered and removed his shades, setting them on the night stand. Unbuttoning his jacket, he threw it lazily onto his bed and sat down on the edge. Leather encased fingers knitted together as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. It had just occurred to him that he never once bothered to ask what it was the Rufus needed Reno for. By the look of it, it seem like someone was killed in the office before he came in. The image of the blood on the carpet and Reno's clothes made him shudder inwardly and his hazel eyes fluttered closed.

Eyes opening now, Rude took a glance at the clock. It read "10:32." It had been a pretty long day, he decided as he proceeded to unbutton and remove his white shirt before untying his black shoes and slipping out of them. Slipping between his covers, Rude pulled the blanket up over his bare shoulders and soon fell asleep.

Hours had drifted by when the room to their door finally slid open. Reno limped through while cussing under his breath at the loud door. He meant to not wake his partner, but it seem that it was already too late and Rude was now sitting up in his bed. The door behind Reno closed itself, leaving the two to stare at each other in the dark. In this darkness, his poor bodily condition was masked. Reno was grateful for that much. However, as he saw the outline of Rude's figure stirring on the bed, he took a step back, falling against the cold metal wall. Everything was cloaked in black. The red haired Turk searched desperately for his partner, who seems to have been momentarily devoured by the darkness of their room. This was his impression before he was startled by Rude's warm breath over him.

Reno reluctantly looked up, surprised to find that his eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. There in the shadows before him was Rude who stood towering almost a foot over him. The red haired Turk suddenly felt threatened and pressed further against the wall, wincing at the cold steal soaking through his thin white shirt.

"What took you so long?" Rude questioned, his voice deep and cool as usual.

"Overtime, I guess…" Reno replied, his voice faltering as he did. His eyes widened as Rude drew closer to him, closing the gap between them. Desperately, he tried to press further against the wall, but there was nowhere that he could have gone. Steal is quite solid after all.

The room was perfectly quiet, perfectly still. It remained this way until Rude stirred. His burning gaze elevated from his partner before he pulled away. "Go to sleep. It's late," he muttered, getting back into his bed.

"Yeah…alright. Night, Rude," Reno replied quietly. Approaching his bed, he painstakingly stripped down, letting his clothes all fall to the floor around him. Blindly pulling out a clean pair of boxers from the dresser, he slipped them on and crawled into bed. Pulling the covers over his head, Reno curled up into a tight fetal position. Everything was throbbing, and everything hurts.

I'm glad he didn't question me, Reno thought to himself. If the lights were to be on, Rude would have definitely interrogated him. But still… Though the darkness masked the appearance, his pain was very apparent. His body was covered in bruises, and his lips were cut. He just wanted to cry to someone, but he knew that he could not. Knowing this, Reno wrapped his bare, bruised arms around himself, his green eyes fluttering closed. Knowing this, he decided that he would just cry silently to himself. And that was how his first night with Rufus Shinra ended.