A/N: Mmmm...food trucks.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. But I want those jeans.

"Okay, this is just mean," the red-streaked woman stated, fingers laced through those of the big, bald man beside her.

Rude looked down at her over the tops of his sunglasses. "How so?"

"I'm in Turk training and you bring me food Nirvana," she groaned. "Can I even eat any of this?"

Rude chuckled and squeezed her hand. "As your trainer, I am gifting you a cheat meal," he said, gesturing to the food trucks. "You've worked your ass off. You deserve it."

"Katrina said I had cake," Kandi laughed, slapping her own ass. "Turk Squats rule."

Sunglasses were removed as he looked down at her ass in the jeans she was wearing. "I find I have a new appreciation for them," he told her with a wink. "Very effective."

She grinned up at him. "You're a great trainer," she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. She scanned the food trucks. "Okay, so what do we want to try fi-ooh! Sushi!"

Rude laughed as he was dragged by the very enthusiastic woman to the first of many, many food trucks.

They hit the sushi truck first. Kandi ordered miso soup, edamame, and a Red Dragon Roll, scarfing them down like a woman starving.

She was still chewing the last of her sushi when she dragged him and his half eaten Bonzai Roll to the Costa del Solian truck. There, she got a burrito bowl with cilantro lime rice, black beans, cheese, chicken, corn, onions, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, and lime wedges. Rude ordered a standard burrito with the same ingredients, except beef instead of chicken.

He set a bottle of water in front of her as she shoveled the food into her mouth. "Hey, slow down and taste it," he told her with a grin. "The trucks aren't going anywhere, and you'll end up getting sick before we get to the dessert trucks."

Large brown eyes stared at him in shock. "I get dessert, too?!" She nearly shrieked.

"I told you, you earned a cheat meal," he said, sitting down across from her and unwrapping his burrito. "Besides, you're making healthy food selections so far."

Kandi stared into her burrito bowl. "Well, fuck me," she exclaimed. "You've influenced my food choices!"

Rude grinned as he took a bite. "You're welcome."

She laughed as she uncapped her bottle of water. "I gotta admit, the food is freaking awesome," she told him. "But I am glad I get to have real chocolate tonight."

"Getting full yet?"

"Dude, I'm a bottomless pit," she told him. "Ask Reno. Anytime we'd all go out, I was the one grazing off everyone else's leftovers."

He laughed and tossed her a napkin, gesturing to the guac on her chin. "Not one of those girls who pretends she doesn't eat to impress a guy?"

"Everyone needs food, Man," she said, wiping her chin. "I never did understand that mentality. Like, if you want a relationship with someone, be your most authentic self. If they don't like that, move on."

"For what it's worth, I think your authentic self is pretty cool," he told her.

She grinned. "Same," she replied, reaching across and taking his hand. "This is fun, Rude. Thanks."

"It is," he answered. He crumbled his wrapper up and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. "Ready for round three?"

Kandi gathered up her trash and stood up. "Yes!" She answered, stopping at the trash can. "You pick the next two. It's only fair."

"Sounds good," he said, taking her hand and leading her to another food truck, this one serving Kalmish Sausages. Rude ordered a beer and cheddar brat with spicy mustard. He turned toward Kandi. "See anything you want here?"

Brown eyes scanned the menu. "Yeah," she said and smiled. "I'll have a chicken apple sausage with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. No bun, please."

"Any beers with that?" The vendor asked, typing in their order.

Kandi shook her head, knowing she was still on probation, regardless of this cheat meal. "Not today, thanks," Rude answered.

"You can have one if you want," she told him as they stepped aside to wait for their order. "It wouldn't bother me."

"Next beer I have will be after your first mission," he said with a wink. "Remember, I owe you one."

She giggled. "I remember," she said sweetly, wrapping her arms around one of his. "That's in five years though."

"I know," he answered.

"You sure you're still gonna like me by then?"

Rude smiled down at her and knocked her chin gently with his knuckle. "Yeah, probably," he said. "I don't ask a lot of girls out, so when I do, it's usually because they're pretty special."

She blushed at that and bit her lip. "I'm not really," she said as they made their way back to the vendor to get their food.

"I think you are," he said, dropping his free arm around her and placing his hand to the small of her back as they found a free table.

She sat down and took up her fork, trying to cut into the phallically shaped sausage with the plastic. "You're obviously not a man-whore like Reno," she said with a grin as he sat next to her. "So, tell me about some of these special girls."

Rude chuckled as he took a bite of his brat. "Not much to tell," he answered honestly. "It's hard to date being a Turk. I mean, like trying to establish a legit relationship. I guess that's why Reno has the friends with benefits relationships he has. It's easier that way."

"Not talking about Reno," she told him, eyebrow arched. "Talking about you."

The bald man sighed. "Honestly, there was only one girl who I would consider a girlfriend," he explained. "Chelsea. We only dated for about a month."

"What happened?"

He shrugged. "We made plans to meet up for Yuletide by the big tree they usually set up in the middle of Midgar," he said. "She never showed up. Never called. Her number was disconnected after that."

"Yikes, harsh, my guy," she said, taking a bite loaded up with sausage and sauerkraut. "That's gotta suck."

"Didn't feel the greatest," he admitted. "I kept wondering what I did wrong. Never did hear from her again."

"I bet you were the side dude, and her husband was close to finding out," Kandi giggled. "She ghosted you to save your life."

Rude laughed. "Yeah, okay," he said. "Okay, your turn. Any other boyfriends before Zack?"

Kandi shook her head. "None," she answered. "And he and I were never in an official relationship. I was bounced from foster home to foster home growing up and then kicked out of the system by 17, so no hope of meeting someone then. Started at the Honey Bee after that. Met Zack, and the rest you know. Hooked up with him regularly, as well as Re and Seph on occasion."

"I thought you guys were dating," Rude told her.

"No," she answered, sitting back and taking a sip of her water. "How do I explain this? Zack was my best friend. He was my hero. He saved me from the Hive, you know? He gave me a chance to be something more than my body. There was attraction, definitely. I mean, he was a total hottie; and, of course, you see the awesomeness that is me, so you know he wanted a piece of this."

Rude laughed and nodded. "Of course," he agreed.

She grinned. "It worked for us," she said. "Maybe it was fucked up, but whatever. I'll always love him. He's just…Zack. He's special."

"Damn," Rude grumbled. She arched an eyebrow at him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "If I'd have known you guys weren't dating, I would have asked you out a helluva lot sooner than this."

Kandi laughed and leaned against his shoulder. "Oh, would you have?" She teased. "How much sooner?"

"That day Reno and I ran into you and Akalara at the café when you were out shopping."

She snorted. "And I made faces in the reflection of your sunglasses?"

Rude laughed and dropped his arm over her shoulder. "That was pretty cute," he admitted. "Especially when you were checking your teeth and nose."

"Oh, my gods, you're crazy!" She cackled.

He looked down at her, a gentle smile on his face. "Yeah, maybe," he said. "But you left an impression. I thought you were probably the most confident, cool person I had ever met, not to mention the most beautiful."

Brown eyes met his. "I don't think I've ever been called 'beautiful' before," she said softly.

"Pity," he murmured, eyes darting down to her lips. "Because you are."

Kandi felt her eyes closing as Rude moved closer to her, anticipating what was happening. Suddenly, her lids flew open, and she backed away. "Wait."

Rude pulled back instantly. "Right," he said, shaking his head. "Sorry. Way too soon for that."

"No," she laughed grabbing his shoulders. "Were you seriously going to kiss me after I just ate a crap ton of sauerkraut?!"

Dark eyes blinked and he grinned. "Honestly, I've been dying to kiss you since that day up in your office. I really don't give a shit what you've been eating."

Kandi leaned in. "Gods, same," she said, grinning as their lips met.

Rude felt her arms go around his shoulders, one of his wrapping around her waist, his other hand cupping her cheek. He kept the kiss simple, barely slipping his tongue between her lips; but it was a struggle to do so. After a moment, they pulled apart, smiling at each other.

"Honestly," she whispered, licking her lips. "I wanted you to kiss me in the dojo."

Rude groaned and kissed her again, a little less chaste this time. She giggled against his lips, and it was everything. Trailing his thumb over her bottom lip, his eyes caught hers. "Round four?"

Kandi grinned and nodded, nipping at his thumb playfully. "Your pick again," she said.

He rose to his feet and reached for her hand, pulling her up and against him. "Any preference?"

"Nuh uh," she replied. "I got the first two, you get the next."

Rude looked around at the food trucks. "I'm dying for a milkshake," he told her.

"Yes!" She exclaimed excitedly, walking with him as he led them toward the dessert trucks. "I was hoping you'd say that!"

"Chocolate with whipped cream and a cherry on top?"

"Classic," she agreed. "But no sharing! I get this is a date, but I want my own."

Rude laughed. "Of course," he said before ordering the two milkshakes.

Kandi grinned when he handed her the frozen dairy treat. "Oh, my gosh, I have missed you," she purred, licking the whipped cream off the top and plucking the cherry off the stem. "I will probably regret this tomorrow when we are training, but right now, I really don't care."

They walked hand in hand through the park, drinking their milkshakes. "Have you checked in with Ram and Katrina yet?" He asked. "I don't want them to come after me."

"Oh, right!" Kandi laughed, dropping his hand for a second to get her phone out of her pocket. She slid it open and sent a quick text to the other women, letting them know she was having a blast. "There. That should satisfy them for a little while."

"It's smart you all look out for each other," he told her. "Really good plan."

"Yeah, I was a little surprised when they told me about it," she replied. "I've never had anyone care like that. I mean, anytime I'd go out before, it was with the whole group. I went out with one guy solo one time, but he was a jerk. Not dangerous, just opinionated about the whole Hive thing."

"How'd that even come up in conversation?"

"He asked what I did for a living, and I told him I was currently a secretary but had worked at the Honey Bee prior to that," she shrugged. "I'm not ashamed of what I did to survive, but there's a lot of people who will judge the crap out of a person for that."

"You'll get a similar reaction being a Turk," he stated.

"They just see you as hired killers, huh?"

Rude nodded. "We're asked to do some less than savory tasks," he said. "The vice-president seems less inclined to that particular part of our job than his father is."

"Maybe he'll be a better president one day."

"Maybe," he agreed.

Kandi took his hand and laced their fingers together. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm full," she said with a grin.

Rude returned the grin. "Should we call Reno to document this rare occurrence?"

The red-streaked woman pinched him in the side. "Ha fucking ha," she giggled. "Seriously though, I think my stomach shrank! No more bottomless pit!"

Rude checked his watch. "It's about 10:30. Do you want me to take you home?"

She shook her head. "No," she said, squeezing his hand as they continued walking. "Not yet. I like being with you."

"Likewise," he answered, leaning down to kiss her gently. "I like being with you, too."

A/N: Such cuties!