This started as a drabble where Rude goes to visit his mother, and Reno goes with him. It turned into a much longer one shot so I hope you enjoy.
Zynia is my OC, and is based largely upon my own grandmother who I miss dearly.
Usual disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, but I do own my OC's. This is written for fun and not profit.
Implied Rude/Vincent pairing. Rated T.
The small wood and fieldstone cottage was set back a bit from the shoreline of Costa del Sol, right near the ridgeline where the small mountain began, though it was more of a glorified hill than an actual mountain. Though it was small and quaint, the little house looked as if it was part of the natural landscape, appearing to be an outcropping of the hill. It was the house in which Rude had grown up in, and his mother – a petite, somewhat opinionated woman named Zynia – lived in the little house to this day.
Reno and Rude were in Costa on Turks business, and Rude, of course, knew better than to not stop in to visit his mother. He only hoped Reno behaved himself this time, then chuckled inwardly at the ridiculousness of that thought.
"What's so funny, man?" Reno asked him, nudging Rude in the arm as they walked up the long, narrow gravel path to the cottage.
"Nothing," Rude lied, adjusting his sunglasses. He sighed, squinting into the afternoon Costan sun, wishing for a moment that it was not Reno by his side, but a certain dark and mysterious former Turk, who would likely shun the burning sun.
"Bet you're missing Valentine, huh," Reno murmured, surprising Rude with his apprising of the silent Turk's thoughts. Rude and Vincent had been seeing each other quietly for quite some time, and Reno had only recently found out about it; teasing Rude at first, then backing off after he realized this was actually a serious relationship.
Reno also kept the insults and jabs to himself after Rude's fist connected with his chin, quite literally driving the point home that mocking Vincent, or his relationship with him, was not going to fly.
He glared at Rude, rubbing his chin. "I got the fucking point, yo. Anyway…you know you're gonna have to tell your ma about him, Rude," Reno advised, as they stood on the front steps, Rude politely rapping on the screen door. "About Vincent, I mean."
"I know, Reno," Rude hissed, hoping his mother didn't hear that last comment through the screen door. "Ma!" he called. "It's me, Rude."
"Get your ass in here," came a voice from the kitchen. "Why are you standing out there knocking like an idiot? I thought you were a salesman, of course I was ignoring you." Zynia emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, giving her son a crooked smile, then motioned him over for a hug, waiting with outstretched arms. They looked ridiculous together, Rude towering well over a foot above his tiny mother, her height now lessened slightly from what it once had been, as she now stood with a bit of a stoop.
"Nearly sent the dog out to chase you away," Zynia told her son, looking up at him, studying him up and down. Rude chuckled, looking down at his mother's oversized bloodhound, curled up in his bed, fast asleep. "Yeah," Rude said dryly. "Digger is so threatening." The dog lifted a droopy eye and stared at Rude, then closed it again as he went back to sleep, lips flapping as he snored.
Zynia peered past Rude, staring at Reno, looking at him as if she hadn't seen him standing there all along. "I see you brought Jabber Jaws with you," Zynia quipped, an amused look on her face. She winked at Reno, smiling despite all her ribbing.
"Hey now!" Reno shot back, grinning. "It's nice to see you again, Ma." Reno knew he'd earn a smack if he called Zynia by name, or addressed her as "Mrs." Zynia was 'Ma' to everyone who knew her, whether or not they were related to the diminutive woman.
"Likewise," Zynia replied, releasing her son, and pulling Reno into a hug. "Well, come over here, don't be a stranger, you scrawny thing."
"Scrawny!" Reno repeated, in mock indignation. He really didn't mind the ribbing at all; the attention Zynia showered on them whenever they visited was not a bad thing, in Reno's mind. A pang of sadness hit him as he realized how much his missed his own mother, who had now been dead and buried for well over a decade.
"Yes, scrawny," Zynia replied, clucking over Reno. "You need to put on some weight, some muscle, like my Rudy here," she said, squeezing her son's arm affectionately. "I've already started dinner, you two like sausage, I hope?"
"Oh hells yeah, we love it," Reno replied, a huge grin on his face as he struggled to hold back a gale of laughter. Rude rolled his eyes and groaned. "Rude can never get enough sausage, especially the Wutaian kind." Reno went on. As Zynia disappeared into the kitchen again, Rude elbowed Reno – hard.
"Ow! Damn it, stop abusing me, yo!" Reno muttered, rubbing his arm.
"And stop dropping hints about my personal life," Rude growled. "I will tell ma about Vincent when I am ready to."
"All I said was that you like sausage," Reno said sullenly, stifling a laugh.
"Yes, but I know what you meant, even if ma didn't," Rude pointed out, arching an eyebrow. "Or maybe I should point out your unrequited crush to ma?" Rude stroked his goatee as if in deep thought, a smirk on his face. "Hmm, yeah. Maybe I should. Maybe I should tell her you're in love with Cloud Strife, hero of the free world, and see if she has any motherly advice for you."
"No," Reno croaked, shaking his head. "No, don't do that, yo. Fuck, man, she'd probably phone him herself to get him to talk to me."
"I know," Rude replied triumphantly. His face grew serious once again. "You know…she really does think of you as a son."
"Yeah," Reno said with a sigh, sadness lacing his voice. "Yeah, I know. I love your ma. I miss mine, ya know?"
"I know you do," Rude replied, studying his partner's faraway expression. He was pretty sure he knew where Reno's thoughts were running, and he suddenly felt bad for his partner, orphaned at a young age. The Turks became Reno's family, and the brotherhood he had with Rude was unshakable. Rude put a hand on Reno's shoulder, patting him reassuringly.
"It's okay, you know," Rude said in a low voice. "Not your fault they died." Rude was one of the few people who knew about Reno's background, that both his parents and his sister had tragically perished in a factory fire when he was just a child. It had been ruled an industrial accident, though Reno received no monetary compensation for the loss of his family.
"What, who died?" Zynia blurted, interrupting as she brought out the platter of sausage, along with buttered potatoes and onions.
"Nothing, ma," Rude replied. "Just...me and Reno were talking. About stuff."
"Reno and I," Zynia corrected, peering at Reno over her spectacles. She'd heard their conversation, of course, but decided not to press any further, Reno was obviously hurting, remembering that day. "
So, go on. Sit down, dig in, I see you standing there with your teeth in your mouth and your tongue hanging out!" Zynia told Reno, smirking.
Reno laughed out loud at that. "Am I that obvious?" he asked, stomach rumbling audibly. "Okay...guess I am a little hungry," he admitted.
"I made extra, on account of you needing to gain weight," Zynia said, with a pointed glance at Reno. She honestly did worry about him, although she teased her son's partner fairly often, Zynia did care for him in an almost maternal fashion. "Rude, please pass the butter. Gods' sake, leave some of the bread for your guest!" she said in an exasperated tone.
Rude grinned, and passed half of the loaf over, along with the butter - after taking half the loaf for himself. "Can't help myself, ma. You always made the best bread."
"Ass kisser," Zynia shot back, and Reno nearly choked on his potatoes. "What? He is an ass kisser. Always was. Sometimes it even worked."
"Your ma's got you pegged, yo," Reno drawled, chuckling. "But he's right, it is good bread," Reno said, grinning as he ripped a hunk off with his teeth. He chewed, thoughtfully, savoring the taste. It wasn't just that the bread was delicious, it was something else that Reno sensed as he sat here over a quiet dinner with his partner and his mother; something he'd been missing all of his adult life.
Home. Here, it felt like home to him, even though this wasn't his family by blood, Rude and Zynia were Reno's family, there was no doubt about that. Rude looked at Reno curiously as the redhead stared at the wall; it wasn't like his partner to be this quiet and reflective.
"What's up, Reno?" was all Rude said, and he knew that Reno would share whatever was on his mind if he wanted to. If not, Rude would not press him. They understood each other in this way, and always had.
"Not much, Rudy," Reno replied, finally looking back at him, wiping the crumbs from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Just - you know, I was thinking about my ma. And family."
"I'll get some more wine," Zynia declared, getting up from the table and grabbing a jug from the sideboard. "Rude, that no-good brother of yours is supposed to come by," she remarked as she filled Reno's water goblet with wine. "Where the hell is he, anyway? He's late for dinner, the moron," she muttered, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"Um….Ma? That ain't a wine glass," Reno observed, at which Zynia shrugged.
"So?" she replied. "So what, you got a little extra. Sounds like you need it, kid." Zynia then poured some for herself and Rude, and sat quietly back down. "You never talked about family before, Reno. What happened?"
"That's because, other than the Turks...I don't really have a family," Reno replied, sighing a bit as he swirled his glass around, watching the legs of the wine cling to the sides of the glass. He took a long drink, then nodded his head. "They died. Long time ago...in that fire in the garment district in Midgar."
Zynia gasped and made a motion with her hands, blessing herself in the Costan fashion, then kissing the backs of her knuckles. "Great Shiva. I remember that fire...news of it reached here, even, and they don't tell us jack shit usually."
"Yeah, we didn't exactly have cable television growing up," Rude remarked dryly. "I remember hearing about it, though. I'm sorry, Reno."
Reno sighed. His past was always a painful thing to revisit, which was why he rarely did so. But now the tale was half-told, and Reno felt obligated to share the rest. He eyed the jug of homemade wine and smirked. "Hope you got enough wine to get us through this, Zynia," he muttered.
"Well...I grew up poor," Reno went on. "Mama and Papa did their best, but all of us - Renata too, that's my sister - we all had to work in the factory so we could survive. So we could eat. 'Nata and I started young. I think I was seven when I first started, and I was eleven...when it all ended." Reno's voice dropped and he took another sip of wine.
"There was an accident - an explosion," Reno continued. "Papa tended the boiler, but the foreman was too damned cheap when it came to replacing parts. So Papa did the best he could with what he had, but it wasn't enough. Shit eventually wears down and breaks, you know? The boiler was about to blow - Papa came up and warned everyone, tried to get everyone to safety. Mama and Renata were right behind me, shoving me out the window. President Shinra - he and Rufus had been there that day, visiting. They'd been escorted out first, of course, by the Turks."
"I was the last one to get out alive," Reno said somberly, staring into his glass. He downed the rest of the wine easily, and Zynia refilled the glass automatically.
"Well, thank Ifrit you did," Zynia said softly, laying a wrinkled brown hand on Reno's arm. "You're important to my son, and you're important to me. You're family."
Reno nodded, wiping away a single tear that escaped, casting a grateful glance at Zynia. "Can I hug you?" he asked timidly.
"Of course you can, idiot," Zynia returned, smiling. Her tiny arms reached up as Reno came over to hug her, and she thumped him soundly on the back. As Reno sat back down, Zynia pulled a pipe out of her apron, along with a small silver tin. She took out a few pinches of cherry-scented tobacco and tamped it down in the bowl of the pipe.
"Ma, you're still smoking?" Rude complained, rolling his eyes. Zynia's own eyes narrowed, and she raised her hand as if she was going to smack Rude in the back of the head.
"Yes, I still smoke," Zynia snapped. "Damned right. You should have some yourself, Rude, might make you relax a bit."
"Don't need to smoke," Rude replied, raising an eyebrow. "Reno smokes enough where I don't have to, I just take a deep breath near him."
Reno laughed and took out his package of beloved Wutaian clove cigarettes, taking one out and placing it between his lips. "So...partner," Reno drawled, eyes gleaming mischievously as he lit the cigarette. "How's your love life?" he asked, carefully changing the subject. He didn't feel like talking about his painful past any longer, and of course couldn't resist a chance to tease Rude.
Rude glared at Reno as Zynia cackled. "You know, that's a good question! Rude, you never tell me anything," his mother complained in a teasing tone.
"That's because there's nothing to tell," Rude said firmly, giving Reno a look. "Just like there's nothing to tell about Reno and Cloud Strife."
"Cloud Strife!" Zynia blurted, puffing on her pipe. She blew out a smoke ring as she sat back in her chair. "...Cloud Strife. The moody blond with the big sword?"
"And Reno's unrequited love," Rude supplied helpfully.
Reno snarled. "Oy! And what about your clandestine affair with Valentine!" Rude audibly growled as he stood up, glaring down at Reno.
"I told you," Rude hissed, "shut up about my personal life. I will tell ma when I'm ready."
"Tell ma about what?" Zynia asked, a mischievous smirk on her face. She slowly stood up, and waved her hands at Rude. "Sit down! So, you didn't want to tell me about your young man, hm, Rudy?"
Rude's eyes bugged out; he was flabbergasted, as was Reno. "What the – Reno! Did you do this? I swear, I'm gonna break your ass – "
"Don't look at me, Rude!" Reno protested, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't do anything! I swear, I didn't tell her nothin'."
Zynia laughed. "It's true, Reno didn't utter a word, it was your friend, who showed up earlier." Rude looked at her blankly, and Zynia rolled her eyes. "He said you and Vincent – that is your young man, isn't it? - said to look you up next time he was in Costa, and he did. Only, you and Red here hadn't arrived yet." Zynia puffed on her pipe again, one last drag as she savored the rest of the tobacco. She placed the pipe next to her wine glass, intending on cleaning it later. "Oh, I meant to tell you after dinner," Zynia added nonchalantly, grinning.
"Friend?" Rude blurted incredulously. "What friend? Who - ? Where the hell is he?"
"Close your mouth, you look like a gaping goopafish when you do that, Rude," Zynia snapped. "Your friend. The pilot. He flew in earlier, said he wanted to rest, so I left him out on the back porch, in a hammock. He's been out like a light since I gave him some of my homebrewed firewater," she added with a snort.
"Highwind!" Rude muttered indignantly. Reno held back a giggle. So it was Cid Highwind who had let the proverbial cat out of the bag this time.
"Uh…didn't know Cid was going to be in town," Reno remarked, giving Rude a curious look.
"And I don't recall inviting him here," Rude retorted. "I think he invited himself."
"Oh hush, Rude," Zynia said, waving her hand. "Rude…why didn't you tell me, about Vincent? You're so damned private, boy. Now, tell your mother what's going on."
"Come on, ma," Rude muttered. "I was going to…eventually. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it, and, well…it's complicated." Complicated because Vincent is technically thirty years older than he appears…
"How I'd feel about it?" Zynia replied, almost indignantly. "What, because you love a man? And you do love him, I can tell by the look on your face."
"I'm gonna kill Highwind," Rude growled, shaking his head, ignoring the import of what his mother had just said. Zynia corrected this immediately by smacking Rude in the chest. "Ow! Ma!"
"Don't 'ow, ma', me," Zynia snapped, as Reno stood by, grinning at Rude who continued to glare at him. "I need to know, are we planning a wedding here, or what?"
"Ma!" Rude protested futilely. He sighed, shoulders drooping slightly. His mother had the last word; she always did. "It's…too soon to make us pick a china pattern, okay?" The Turk's handsome, tanned face finally broke into a smile.
"But if Vin and I ever do get married," Rude continued, gazing levelly at Reno, "this right here is my best man."
Reno grinned widely, and clapped Rude on the back. "Of course I will. You're my brother."
Zynia beamed triumphantly. "And at least you're not late for dinner, unlike Rude's good-for-nothing…where the hell is he, anyway?" she muttered, padding out toward the back porch. "Gonna wake up the Captain now, so you can kick his ass for being a big mouth."