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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - REQUIEM

'Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road … Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go … So make the best of this test, and don't ask why … It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time … It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right … I hope you had the time of your life … So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind … Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time … Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial … For what it's worth, it was worth all the while … I hope you had the time of your life … (Green Day: 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)')'

Cliffs. Outside of Midgar. Dusk.

Rude sat on the outcropping of rock high on the cliffs outside of Midgar. A bottle of amber liquid sat beside his bent leg, on which his hand rested, his index finger tracing a lazy pattern on the bottle as he gazed over the ruins of the city. It had been a year. Not a year since the ruin of Midgar. One year ago today, Avalanche had bombed the Sector Five reactor. The golden band still graced his finger, the inscription etched inside the band on the burnished metal were words he knew by heart.

'Time flows onward while we live and love and eventually say goodbye. Always know that my love for you is eternal and never-ending, beyond time, beyond life. Jacob & Sunami; Midgar 1509'

He closed his eyes to block out the tears. One year had past. He'd never been talkative. He'd never been one to wear his emotions on his sleeve. He'd grown up in the slums of Midgar, and unlike Reno, Rude had learned that in the circles he moved talking often got a person killed. He learned early on to keep his mouth shut and only speak when necessary. As a result, he was respected and left alone.

Rude had met Suni during his short stint in Soldier. He remembered so clearly how he'd been assigned to guard duty at the Number Five Reactor on a high security mission. She'd been working in the office, a vision in a green dress, her long, black hair pulled back into a complicated looking braid that actually seemed almost casual. She'd always smiled warmly at him and greeted him each evening when he arrived for his shift. She was beautiful, but it was the warmth of her personality that attracted her to him and drew him in. She always tried to draw him out of his quiet shell, and the friendship had rapidly deepened into something more.

She'd accepted Reno from the start, laughing and joking with him, yet always making it clear that she was "Jacob's girl". In that, she'd forged a bond with Reno that very few ever had. It was Suni that had gotten Reno to admit that he was actually seeing a woman seriously; one that he hadn't taken to bed on the first date. It had been Suni that Reno had confided his feelings in after his disastrous trip to Corel, and despite his broken heart she had made him feel like a person again. After Suni's death, with no one to keep him on a straight path, Reno had let himself sink back into the abyss.

Reno had cursed Tifa after the explosion for her involvement, but at the same time, Rude had detected something deeper during their chase across the Planet for Sephiroth and Avalanche. He remembered their conversation in Gongaga. Not the silly one about who they liked that Avalanche and Elena had overheard, but the one in the bar later. Rude had sensed the buried feelings in Reno were starting to surface. Despite his vocal protestations otherwise, Reno had never stopped caring for the busty member of Avalanche, and no amount of alcohol could drown his feelings for her completely.

"If you fucking like her so much, why don't you make a move on her?" Reno asked Rude as he downed another shot of liquor.

"I'm not going to make a move on my best friend's girl." Rude's reply was atypically long, and had Reno not been under the influence he might have detected the slightest hint of mirth behind Rude's words.

"She is not my girl!" Reno protested, not realizing that his protest was far too adamant to be believable.

This time Rude was definitely hiding a smile, even the drunkenness of Reno's mind couldn't miss it. "She's always been your girl."

"Fuck. She's yours if you want her."

Rude just laughed. "If you say so."

Reno scowled.

A slight smile escaped the normally impassive visage of Rude's features. Even on this solemn anniversary of his wife's death, the remembrance of Reno's reaction almost a year ago reminded Rude that all was not lost.

Rude had repeatedly told Reno that he accepted Suni's death, and while he had, that didn't mean that not having her hurt any less. That didn't mean that his constant reminders to Reno weren't also his own attempts at letting go. The impassive expression hid the hurt that was in his heart, and the dark sunglasses that were as much a permanent feature as his bald head and blue Turk suit hid the tears that seemed to well in his eyes as a chronic affliction.

He'd come up here with the bottle, intending to drink away the pain, but he realized that he couldn't desecrate Suni's memory that way. Instead of drinking it, he tipped the bottle and let the contents run out over the rocks of the cliff. He watched as the liquid flowed over the smaller stones, forming rivers and waterfalls before being absorbed into the dirt.

Rude let the unbidden tear slip from his eye as he stood and stared at the twisted mass of Midgar before moving back towards it. Nearly a year had passed since they'd started cleaning up the remains of the city. Sector Seven was nearly ready for rebuilding. He looked forward to the fresh start that it symbolized for all of them.

"Goodbye, my love." He whispered into the darkening night.

'Always know that my love for you is eternal and never-ending, beyond time, beyond life.' The memory of her voice answered, whispering into his mind.

Rude smiled and walked back towards Midgar. "I will always love you, Sunami."

'And I you, Jacob.'