So, my only exposure to FF7 is Advent Children. But I've been watching gameplay and discussing it with my friend to understand the basics. XD Please, any feedback is welcome. This is new territory for me and my first FF7 fic. I just love Reno. ;w;

Beta read by: DragonRiderSayomi on Ao3

I know I haven't posted on here in a while, mostly been on Ao3 But I might start posting here again as well if there are people here that still want it.

"Are we sure we were given the right coordinates?" Reno asked, one elbow propped against the window to gaze outside.

There was nothing for miles. Well, nothing aside from snow as far as he could see.

"Please focus."

Reno cast Rude a quick glance with a scoff. "Yes, sir," he muttered, returning his hands to their controls. "Not like there's anything to hit out here anyway." He put forth the bare minimum effort, or just the right amount to keep Rude appeased, to stare idly out over the mountains.

He was beginning to suspect the rumors were just that - gossip. If there were any labs out here, they were doing a damn good job hiding them. That or they made a wrong turn somewhere, which was highly doubtful, he didn't make wrong turns.

"Should we call back, partner? Let 'em know we wasted our time." He leaned back and muttered under his breath, "And a total pain in the ass." All he got in a response was a sigh before they dipped down to scan the area for a closer look. That was it, one more comb over and they were ready to call it.

Apparently there was word of experiments going on, far away from any prying eyes. Experiments on people, enhancing them, sapping them of humanity to make them the perfect fighting machines; the accounts were endless it seemed.

Reno huffed out a breath and went to pull them back up when something flashed out of the corner of his eye.

"Wha-"

That was all he managed to get out when something struck their helicopter, illuminating it in blinding blue. It was so fast, it was gone by the time he got his eyes open again, but his skin tingled with subtle remnants of the electricity. They were unscathed, but he couldn't say the same for the panels.

" Fuck," he hissed between teeth as a spark flashed out in front of when he tried to touch one of the controls. "How's your side?" he asked, snapping his attention over. It was no good, Rude's was in much the same state. Gritting his teeth, the redhead grabbed his controls, ignoring the buzz through his hands. At least the gloves helped a little.

He yanked back, jerking them back up before they could strike the tip of one of the mountains.

"The hell was that, yo?" Reno asked, shaking the slight twitch from his fingers. He leaned back against the window, but saw nothing. Surely he didn't imagine it. And he was sure as hell the helicopter didn't just have a hiccup. The damn thing just got back from repairs - basically brand-spankin' new.

"I didn't get a good look at it," Rude replied, gazing out his own window.

"It?"

"Yeah. whatever it was, it was not human, I can tell you that much."

Reno hummed and sat back in his seat. "Is that so? Then there's more to this tall tale after all, huh?" The corner of his mouth twitched into a half smile. "Not so much a waste of time after all." He rolled his shoulders back, releasing what tension was left in them and leaned forward. "Well, what do you say we take a looksie?"

Rude hummed with a nod, and once more, they carefully maneuvered themselves closer to the ground, scanning right by where the strike had come from. However, neither saw a trace of anything.

"I sure as hell know it couldn't have just disappeared…" Reno whispered to himself, craning his neck as far as he could. But he still found the area clear. Maybe all the cold was making them crazy. He blinked, clearing his vision from the slight blur all the snow was bringing on. Didn't help that it was a few hours travel time to get there.

Reno rubbed his eyes with a yawn. As he pulled his hands away, there was that flash again. Much closer.

"Look o-"

The helicopter lurched again. Metal hissed around them from the blow.

" Shit, shit shit," Reno cried out, flinching back as things really started to spark. One caught on his jacket and he patted it out before it could flare up. That was the split moment the panels needed to erupt into a fire of their own. Neither for an opportunity to react before they were hit a third time, this one at the tail of the copter. The whole thing was thrown off balance without the hope of righting itself.

They only had time to brace themselves against their respective seats as it scraped the side of the mountain, throwing them farther into chaos. Reno tried to right himself, get some sort of sense of their position, but another jolt sparked and he was thrown against his window, head striking the glass. For the half a second before the darkness crept in, everything flashed in a veil of white. His only thought was:

' This is how I die, huh?'

Rude lied there for a moment after coming to. It was freezing, but there was also a heat warming half his body. Even with his eyes shut, he could make out the flames dancing just to his right. He knew he had to get away as a precaution, but the aches through his muscles had something to say about that. He huffed out a breath - since when did he listen to it?

One hand pressed to his head to ease the throbbing, Rude sat up, eyes straying to the copter, banged up and slowly being eaten alive by flames. It took a moment of staring for it to click and a swear slipped out between his teeth.

He nearly tripped through the snow in his haste, stumbling around to the other side. Reno's window was shattered, but he was still inside, head resting against what remained of it. Blood steadily dribbed from the cut right below his hairline. There wasn't time to focus on that, though. Using his elbow, Rude broke what he could of the rest of the glass and reached in. The angle was awkward, so all he could grab was his partner's jacket and just tug as hard as he could.

The most concerning part was he didn't get so much as a gasp from the other man as he pulled his limp form through the window. Body still not fully working with him, Rude dragged Reno through the snow, getting far enough away from the wreckage for his own comfort.

He propped Reno up against the rock and fell next to him, breaths heaving. He turned his head to the side and scanned the redhead up and down. At least he was still breathing as well. It appeared to be steady enough as well. That was a good sign, right? He shifted to brush back Reno's bangs and shift his goggles to get a better look. He squinted at the wound. From the looks of it, it wasn't too deep, just stubborn.

Rude undid his tie and balled it up to press against the cut. Apparently that was enough pressure to elicit a strained moan from the man. Reno's eyes screwed tighter and he tried to turn from the touch.

"Are you awake?" Rude asked, leaning down to be face to face.

Reno's eyes opened just a sliver, teal shining alarmingly bright. They fell to the blood-stained tie and his lips pressed. "Y're bleed'n," he slurred, blinking rapidly, fighting with his eyelids.

Rude shook his head. "It's … not mine."

As soon as the words were out, Reno had to blink as a rivulet of blood rolled down his face, over his right eye. "...Oh." That would explain the incessant pounding behind his eyes. He took a deep breath and went to pull himself up straighter. He got one inch and instantly dropped himself back down with a sharp cry. He almost fell to the side, but lucky for him, Rude was fast enough to link an arm around his waist and pulled him back up.

"What's wrong," Rude asked, looking over his partner's body again, seeing no immediate signs.

Reno couldn't answer right away as he poured all of his focus into not passing out. After a few seconds and a deep, slow breath, he wheezed out, "Leg." He nodded towards his left and Rude followed the gesture.

He didn't need to look too hard to see the slight bump under his pants leg. Rude furrowed his brow and glanced back to their helicopter. If they were lucky…

"I'll be right back," he muttered, standing.

"Wait. Where're y'goin'?"

Rude was already walking, but he did turn to answer. "To see if the first aid kit made it."

Reno bared his teeth and tried again to pull himself up. This time he didn't even make it the inch as his haze was wearing off. "Th'fuck?" he choked out. "Are you stupid?" He leaned his head back as far as he could to ride through the twinges pulsing through the limb. "Don'think there's an'thing in there t'fix bones!" He hummed to stifle another scream. "S'n'of'a…"

He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, biting down on his lip, but he didn't open his eyes back until the crunching of snow alerted him to Rude's return.

"There's nothing for that, but there are painkillers."

"Oh g'dy."

"I also got these," he stated, tossing down a couple somewhat straight metal rods he scrounged up. "I'm going to have to set it," he said, nodding down to his injured leg.

Reno didn't react at first. Then the words clicked in his lagging brain. "Wh't? No, No th'fuck you're not. You're n'touching it." He closed his eyes again with a low hum. Getting mad was a bad choice, it intensified the thrumming against his skull.

"I think you may have a concussion."

A bitter chuckle rattled out of the redhead's chest. "Yeah, n'shit."

Rude sighed, not his usual bored one, but his frustrated, in no mood to argue one. "I'm going to go ahead and get this leg set, then we have to move. Whoever, or whatever, attacked us is still out there and I don't think we want to be around when it comes back."

Reno nodded and leaned his head back. Moving was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew his partner was right. They couldn't stay couldn't stay there, and with the helicopter totaled and no radio to call out to anyone, they were as good as stranded. The pair were in the middle of the mountains, so counting on any sort of cell reception was a no go. "Make't quick."

Rude hummed and fished out the pain meds, dumping a couple into his hand. "Take these first."

He peered down into the man's palm and scoffed. "Mig't needa couple more."

Nothing was said as Rude dropped the two capsules into Reno's hand and offered one of the bottles of water. "Should kick in pretty quickly. Those are the good ones." Reno just gazed at him as he swallowed both at once.

Then was the part neither of them were looking forward to. Repositioning himself, Rude, as gently as he could, rolled up the cuff of Reno's pants leg. Only part way up and bruising was peeking from under the fabric. He held his breath and rolled it up to the knee.

"Well, got good news and bad news," he muttered. He didn't expect a reply, not with the way Reno was breathing shakily through his nose. "It's broken, for sure. But there's no open wound." He intended to do the next part as quickly and painlessly as possible. Though, he figured that second option was out of the question. "Ready?"

He got a stiff hum as a response. That was as good as any. Holding his breath, he gripped either side of the break and shifted. It took everything in him to ignore the scream. What bothered him more was the deathly silence that followed a split second later. Rude cut his eyes over just long enough to find Reno lolled to the side. On the bright side, he could finish up without further concern of hurting him.

He placed the rods on either side and bound them tightly with a roll of gauze. He tugged the pants leg back down and strapped the kit over his shoulder.

Rude crouched by Reno's head and gave him a firm tap on the cheek. No reaction. Kneeling there, he saw another bead of crimson roll down, so he slipped a small bandage out and smoothed it into place. Ok, now they were ready to go. He knelt until his knee sank in the snow and eased one arm behind Reno's shoulders and the other under his knees, careful of his bad leg.

All that passed his partner's lips as he stood was a thin whine.

His first priority was getting as far away from the helicopter as possible. They could figure things out from there. With him sore as hell from their landing and Reno out of commission, he doubted they'd be winning any fights if it came down to it.

He made sure his hold on the man was secure before taking his first step. With how deep the snow was, he surely wasn't going to get anywhere fast. He took a quick look around, trying to decide quickly on a path to take.

His eyes landed on a narrow pass between two of the mountains, if they could really be called that. There was no need to think about it further. That would keep them hidden enough, give them coverage on two sides, and shield them from the breeze that was picking up into gusts. The downside of this plan being, if they were followed, it could lead to a dead end with no way out and certain death.

There was no time for what ifs. He was reminded of this as Reno shivered in his arms, making the choice for him. Actual priority: keep them both alive.

A few feet of walking and Reno stirred in his arms, whimpering slightly.

"What're y'doing?" Reno asked, head rolling to the side to rest in the crook of Rude's arm. If he was uncomfortable, he didn't show it. Or perhaps he lacked the energy to show it.

"Getting us to safety."

Reno hummed and closed his eyes again. In less than a minute, his breathing evened back out. Just like that, he was asleep again. To be fair, though, Rude doubted either of the times he was knocked out that he was getting any actual sleep.

Rude lifted his feet high to get through the thick sheet of snow. It took longer than he expected, but eventually he reached the cover of the pass and was able to huff out the breath he was holding. First goal reached. Next goal: Get through. Get through if there was another end. His jaw stiffened. No, there was no if. There would be a way out or he was finding another way.

About half way through, it narrowed even more, forcing him to shimmy through sideways. He pressed his back against the rocky wall just to make sure Reno's leg never so much as touched the other. Thankfully, the thin passage didn't last long and the trail opened back up again. Opened up and into the side of one of the mountains.

"Guess that's as good as any," Rude whispered to himself, ducking under the cropping and into the shallow cave. The path did continue beyond that, but as much as he hated to admit it, his own body pleaded for a break.

Kneeling slowly, he layed Reno down. Rock wasn't the most comfortable thing, but he figured it was better than resting in the snow. He sat a few feet away and settled in, attention settled on the redhead. He watched every breath, every rise and fall of the man's chest, as if it would stop at any moment. He sighed and leaned back. To be honest, the injuries weren't exactly fatal. The head injury had him a little concerned, sure.

He'd say maybe an hour ticked by in silence. He had already patched up his own scrapes and cuts. He more than once imagined Reno's voice as he did so. But every time he glanced over, his eyes were still closed and he was still in the same position he left him.

Rude did figure, however, that maybe that was his sign to wake him and check him over again.

He slid himself over with a small hiss of his own. One heavy hand fell on the redhead's shoulder and he gave a firm shake. "Hey," he called. "Wake up."

Reno's brows pinched and he tried to turn his head away, but Rude's other hand slipped around over his cheek, keeping him in place.

"Reno, look at me."

His request was obliged, albeit begrudgingly. Reno stared daggers through him.

"I know, I'll let you sleep some more. I just need to look everything over." Reno didn't fight him as he peeled the edge of the bandage on his forehead, relieved that the bleeding had stopped. There was already a nasty bruise forming around the gash, though.

"How're you hold'n up?" Reno asked, eyes half-lidded.

Rude lightly ran his fingers over his leg, applying as little pressure as possible to make sure the rods were still in place. Everything was to his satisfaction.

"Fine," he finally answered. "But I need you to be honest, and no bullshitting."

Reno half shrugged. "It's me y're talkin' to."

"That's my point."

"Fair'nough."

"Other than the head and the leg, is anything else off."

Reno raised an eyebrow and averted his eyes to the ceiling. "Nothin' I shouldn't b'feelin'," he breathed out, blinking slowly.

"Which is?"

The redhead huffed and turned his head the other way. "What? Ya a'doctor, now?"

A low grunt, an impatient one was all Rude answered with.

"F'ne … fine." Reno turned back and took a slow breath, wincing slightly. "Jus' a 'lil nauseous. But that's prolly th'concussion an'pain meds … which, y'were right. They're pre'y good."

Rude bet they were working well considering they had skipped breakfast that morning. He was sure that wasn't helping the nausea, either. Rude peaked out towards the sky as it darkened another shade.

"Well, I hope you're comfortable enough because we're about to have to spend the night here."