Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Aftertaste of Ashes ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: LilyMoonsAlias 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Hentai / Fantasy / Romance / Shounen | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 02.21.2008 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 453 | Status: Work In Progress
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Hentai / Fantasy / Romance / Shounen | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 02.21.2008 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 453 | Status: Work In Progress
"Oy! Two more over here!" Reno yelled and banged his empty beer bottle on the scarred table top.
Rude adjusted his shades and silently thanked the gods that they were in some dark and dingy dive instead of Seventh Heaven. Tifa would have removed Reno's head from his body by now over his behavior. Rude absolutely *hated* being Reno's guardian when he got in slumps like this. Watching your best friend self destruct and not being able to do anything except keep him from getting into too much trouble left a distinctly bad taste in his mouth.
A few patrons, if one could use such a clean term for the dregs of society lingering over cheap whiskey, scowled in Reno's direction as he got louder and more boisterous with each drink. It was probably only Rude's presence and Reno's own fierce reputation that kept anyone from approaching them. Well, that and the small smears of obvious blood and gray matter they hadn't cleaned from their Turk uniforms.
"I can't fucking believe Ru...the boss, man!" Reno guzzled half his drink. "On top of all the shit that went down today, you know what he asked me?!"
"What?" Rude sighed and supplied the expected response.
"He wants me to try *again* to convince Cloud to join Shinra." Reno spat an errant piece of tobacco from his cigarette on the floor in disgust. "Just because he's my lover doesn't mean he wouldn't try to run me through with that big assed sword if I even bring up the subject."
Rude took a sip of his own beer and managed to not wince at the flavor. Used to these mostly one-sided conversations with his partner, Reno waved his hands wildly and continued.
"I mean, he's still some pissed about that affair with those psycho kids a coupla months ago. Anytime someone mentions it he goes all stiff and cold." Reno picked at the label on his bottle. "Then he suddenly takes off on some 'delivery' that means he'll be gone three or four days."
Rude set his beer aside. There was no way he was going to keep trying to force that crap down if he didn't have to. He watched his partner savage the innocent paper ring.
"So, I take it he's off again."
"Yeah," Reno mumbled. "Left yesterday morning after some idiot the night before asked him how it felt to go from saving the world to taking down a buncha kids." Reno slouched even lower in his chair. "You shoulda seen his face, partner. It looked like someone cut his heart out."
Rude sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Reno, it's Cloud you're talking about here. You know he's prone to getting moody and taking responsibility too much to heart."
"Thought I had worked some of that outta his system. Man, how do you put up with Vincent when he gets like that?"
As soon as the words left his mouth Reno knew he had overstepped his bounds with Rude. Both his partner and Vincent were exceedingly private about their relationship. Reno had come to understand that it was their personal sanctuary against everything and something they guarded fiercely.
"S-sorry, partner," Reno stuttered. "I didn't mean to pry. You know me, my mouth sometimes runs off before my brain's in gear." He set the bottle carefully on the table. "Maybe it's time to go home."
Rude merely inclined his head in acknowledgement and put some gil on the table. Reno rose on steady legs considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed and followed his partner to the car. The ride to Reno's apartment was silent, but as soon as he parked the car Rude turned to Reno and let his sunglasses slide down his nose so his eyes could be seen.
"Just be yourself and be there for him, Reno. Push some but not too much. We know what Hojo did to Cloud and Vincent. It was in those damned records, but we'll never know all of it. We'll never truly understand what *years* of torture and mental abuse have done. You can't shield him from the world, either. He's not a child to be protected and I don't think he would appreciate it anyway. That's the best advice I can give you."
Reno nodded in solemn appreciation of what was, essentially, an uncharacteristically wordy speech from Rude and hurried inside. Winter still had them in a choke hold and he really despised being cold. It didn't help any that his apartment was dark and empty, no gorgeous blond to pounce and coax into a smile. Reno shrugged his suit jacket off and padded to the bathroom. No tub soak this time. He needed the shower to scrub away the results of his job. Grimacing in distaste, Reno flicked something clingy and disgustingly squishy into the toilet. His once white shirt was a total loss. Blood and gore had soaked through the material to leave rusty stains on his skin. It was a good thing the Turks had one hell of an expense account for uniforms.
Once the shower water was satisfactorily hot, Reno settled under the punishing stream with a sigh of relief. Muscles that he hadn't known were knotted slowly relaxed in the heat. His fingers grazed over various bottles of shower gels and shampoos. Picking one he flipped open the top only to realize by the scent that he had picked up Cloud's. The familiar scent made his cock harden even as a slow burning churned his gut. Reno groaned and thumped his head against the tile. He tried to push his concern for his lover to the back of his mind and lathered his hair. The silky suds streamed through his long locks and cascaded down his body like the whisper soft touch of Cloud's fingers on his skin.
Reno moaned in memory, the sound reverberating in the enclosure, and gripped his length. He tried to mimic Cloud's touch, that touch that was so very conscious of its own strength and so carefully restrained. The fingers of his other hand sifted through his wet hair the way Cloud did when he was trying to gain Reno's attention. After a few minutes of stroking himself, Reno tightened the tunnel of his fingers and closed his eyes to better imagine the feel of Cloud's body rippling around him and surrounding him with clenching warmth.
He thrust fast and hard, his hips driving himself into his clenched fist, his right hand scrabbling for purchase on the slick walls. Behind his closed lids Reno could see the pale perfection of Cloud's skin become dewy with sweat, his back arching to bring his Turk lover that much deeper into his body. Reno could almost feel the way Cloud's body trembled on the brink of release, his hands clutching at Reno with a shivering need and a terrible restraint.
Reno came with a hoarse yell and wrapped his own arms around his heaving chest because there was no else to hold him in the aftershock of pleasure. When the shakes subsided, he swiped the shower water from his eyes and washed away all evidence of both his violent job and his climax. Viscous white and watery red sluiced away and swirled down the drain together. A quick twist of his wrist shut off the water and he stepped into the chill of the room.
Soft, snow reflected moonlight illuminated his bedroom and made the sheets look stark and cold instead of inviting. He was tired, gods was he tired, but sleep wasn't going to come easy. Even the slight buzz from the alcohol and the drowsiness from climax were fading to leave him jumpy and irritable. Worry for Cloud's state of mind and irritation that he was even worried left Reno's nerves jangled. He grunted in annoyance and pulled on some well worn sleeping pants to settle on the couch in the darkened living room with a battered blanket and his remote. Reno resigned himself to another sleepless night with only trite and over exuberant infomercials that did nothing for him as company.
********************
Rude entered his home to find Vincent, minus his cowled cloak, staring out the balcony doors at the falling snow. He knew the other man had registered his presence so he didn't bother to announce himself. He was also sure Vincent's enhanced senses would know that the blood on him was not his own. It was one of the more comforting aspects of being with Vincent, never having to explain himself if it wasn't necessary.
Vincent turned to watch Rude peel off his soiled gloves and toss them into a bin of similar items that needed to go to the leather cleaners, reddish eyes flicking over his lover's body just to confirm what his nose had already told him. Rude waved a subtle motion at Vincent to follow him as he started divesting himself of his work clothes and headed for the shower. His shades were the last thing to be removed and carefully set on the vanity top while he adjusted the water.
Rude noticed Vincent had leaned comfortably against the wall and was waiting patiently. He stepped into the shower and raised his voice slightly to be heard even if it wasn't needed. Vincent could have heard him if he had whispered.
"Reno was in a snit. We stopped for a few drinks after work." Rude heard the soft creak of leather as Vincent crossed his arms.
"Cloud's away again?"
"Yes," Rude answered and quickly washed himself. "It seems that someone brought up the cult fiasco, and he took off."
Rude finished his shower as Vincent silently mulled over his words. He had toweled off and buffed his bald head before Vincent spoke again.
"He'll be back."
"Soon?" Rude checked in the mirror to see if he needed to tidy his goatee. "It's already affecting Reno. I thought he was just going to slaughter everyone today in a rage before we even got the information Tseng wanted. Rufus may be pleased about the relationship, but Tseng won't take it well if it interferes with the job."
Vincent's eyes flashed dangerously at the implication that Rufus would even think to use his friend's tenuous affection as a hold of some kind. He felt that Reno's motives were true, but it obviously couldn't be said for others. Cloud had been used and abused enough in his short life. Vincent wouldn't stand idly by and allow it to happen again.
"Cloud is not a tool," Vincent said in an ominously deep rumble.
Rude allowed himself to sigh and rubbed his fingertips over the tension behind his eyes before reaching for his shades. Almost conflicting loyalties tugged at him. Shinra owned him body and soul, would always own him, but he had given something deeper to Vincent and Reno and, by extension, Cloud. Vincent seemed to sense his struggle and used his flesh hand to trace a line between the muscles of Rude's chest. His skin warmed and twitched at the contact.
"You need to rest," Vincent murmured.
"You're not staying?" Rude asked although the answer was already apparent.
Vincent shook his head in a way that made his spill of black hair brush Rude's skin. The fleeting touch made Rude even more sorry that Vincent wouldn't be staying. A few hours of pleasurable oblivion would help set his mind at ease.
I need to go out." Vincent let Rude draw him forward for a quick embrace. "I just need to see what's on the wind."
A brief press of lips against his mouth, and Vincent was gone, leaving Rude to go to bed alone. He made sure his alarm was set and lay down to fold his arms under his head. He wondered briefly if Reno would sleep at all, but decided it was unlikely. His partner wouldn't sleep, nor would he admit that the fact he was in love with Cloud was what made him so tense. Rude grunted and punched his pillow into softness. He needed to sleep. He would have to be doubly on guard for a while to make sure Reno didn't inadvertently do something that could cost both of them their jobs or their lives.
Rude adjusted his shades and silently thanked the gods that they were in some dark and dingy dive instead of Seventh Heaven. Tifa would have removed Reno's head from his body by now over his behavior. Rude absolutely *hated* being Reno's guardian when he got in slumps like this. Watching your best friend self destruct and not being able to do anything except keep him from getting into too much trouble left a distinctly bad taste in his mouth.
A few patrons, if one could use such a clean term for the dregs of society lingering over cheap whiskey, scowled in Reno's direction as he got louder and more boisterous with each drink. It was probably only Rude's presence and Reno's own fierce reputation that kept anyone from approaching them. Well, that and the small smears of obvious blood and gray matter they hadn't cleaned from their Turk uniforms.
"I can't fucking believe Ru...the boss, man!" Reno guzzled half his drink. "On top of all the shit that went down today, you know what he asked me?!"
"What?" Rude sighed and supplied the expected response.
"He wants me to try *again* to convince Cloud to join Shinra." Reno spat an errant piece of tobacco from his cigarette on the floor in disgust. "Just because he's my lover doesn't mean he wouldn't try to run me through with that big assed sword if I even bring up the subject."
Rude took a sip of his own beer and managed to not wince at the flavor. Used to these mostly one-sided conversations with his partner, Reno waved his hands wildly and continued.
"I mean, he's still some pissed about that affair with those psycho kids a coupla months ago. Anytime someone mentions it he goes all stiff and cold." Reno picked at the label on his bottle. "Then he suddenly takes off on some 'delivery' that means he'll be gone three or four days."
Rude set his beer aside. There was no way he was going to keep trying to force that crap down if he didn't have to. He watched his partner savage the innocent paper ring.
"So, I take it he's off again."
"Yeah," Reno mumbled. "Left yesterday morning after some idiot the night before asked him how it felt to go from saving the world to taking down a buncha kids." Reno slouched even lower in his chair. "You shoulda seen his face, partner. It looked like someone cut his heart out."
Rude sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Reno, it's Cloud you're talking about here. You know he's prone to getting moody and taking responsibility too much to heart."
"Thought I had worked some of that outta his system. Man, how do you put up with Vincent when he gets like that?"
As soon as the words left his mouth Reno knew he had overstepped his bounds with Rude. Both his partner and Vincent were exceedingly private about their relationship. Reno had come to understand that it was their personal sanctuary against everything and something they guarded fiercely.
"S-sorry, partner," Reno stuttered. "I didn't mean to pry. You know me, my mouth sometimes runs off before my brain's in gear." He set the bottle carefully on the table. "Maybe it's time to go home."
Rude merely inclined his head in acknowledgement and put some gil on the table. Reno rose on steady legs considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed and followed his partner to the car. The ride to Reno's apartment was silent, but as soon as he parked the car Rude turned to Reno and let his sunglasses slide down his nose so his eyes could be seen.
"Just be yourself and be there for him, Reno. Push some but not too much. We know what Hojo did to Cloud and Vincent. It was in those damned records, but we'll never know all of it. We'll never truly understand what *years* of torture and mental abuse have done. You can't shield him from the world, either. He's not a child to be protected and I don't think he would appreciate it anyway. That's the best advice I can give you."
Reno nodded in solemn appreciation of what was, essentially, an uncharacteristically wordy speech from Rude and hurried inside. Winter still had them in a choke hold and he really despised being cold. It didn't help any that his apartment was dark and empty, no gorgeous blond to pounce and coax into a smile. Reno shrugged his suit jacket off and padded to the bathroom. No tub soak this time. He needed the shower to scrub away the results of his job. Grimacing in distaste, Reno flicked something clingy and disgustingly squishy into the toilet. His once white shirt was a total loss. Blood and gore had soaked through the material to leave rusty stains on his skin. It was a good thing the Turks had one hell of an expense account for uniforms.
Once the shower water was satisfactorily hot, Reno settled under the punishing stream with a sigh of relief. Muscles that he hadn't known were knotted slowly relaxed in the heat. His fingers grazed over various bottles of shower gels and shampoos. Picking one he flipped open the top only to realize by the scent that he had picked up Cloud's. The familiar scent made his cock harden even as a slow burning churned his gut. Reno groaned and thumped his head against the tile. He tried to push his concern for his lover to the back of his mind and lathered his hair. The silky suds streamed through his long locks and cascaded down his body like the whisper soft touch of Cloud's fingers on his skin.
Reno moaned in memory, the sound reverberating in the enclosure, and gripped his length. He tried to mimic Cloud's touch, that touch that was so very conscious of its own strength and so carefully restrained. The fingers of his other hand sifted through his wet hair the way Cloud did when he was trying to gain Reno's attention. After a few minutes of stroking himself, Reno tightened the tunnel of his fingers and closed his eyes to better imagine the feel of Cloud's body rippling around him and surrounding him with clenching warmth.
He thrust fast and hard, his hips driving himself into his clenched fist, his right hand scrabbling for purchase on the slick walls. Behind his closed lids Reno could see the pale perfection of Cloud's skin become dewy with sweat, his back arching to bring his Turk lover that much deeper into his body. Reno could almost feel the way Cloud's body trembled on the brink of release, his hands clutching at Reno with a shivering need and a terrible restraint.
Reno came with a hoarse yell and wrapped his own arms around his heaving chest because there was no else to hold him in the aftershock of pleasure. When the shakes subsided, he swiped the shower water from his eyes and washed away all evidence of both his violent job and his climax. Viscous white and watery red sluiced away and swirled down the drain together. A quick twist of his wrist shut off the water and he stepped into the chill of the room.
Soft, snow reflected moonlight illuminated his bedroom and made the sheets look stark and cold instead of inviting. He was tired, gods was he tired, but sleep wasn't going to come easy. Even the slight buzz from the alcohol and the drowsiness from climax were fading to leave him jumpy and irritable. Worry for Cloud's state of mind and irritation that he was even worried left Reno's nerves jangled. He grunted in annoyance and pulled on some well worn sleeping pants to settle on the couch in the darkened living room with a battered blanket and his remote. Reno resigned himself to another sleepless night with only trite and over exuberant infomercials that did nothing for him as company.
********************
Rude entered his home to find Vincent, minus his cowled cloak, staring out the balcony doors at the falling snow. He knew the other man had registered his presence so he didn't bother to announce himself. He was also sure Vincent's enhanced senses would know that the blood on him was not his own. It was one of the more comforting aspects of being with Vincent, never having to explain himself if it wasn't necessary.
Vincent turned to watch Rude peel off his soiled gloves and toss them into a bin of similar items that needed to go to the leather cleaners, reddish eyes flicking over his lover's body just to confirm what his nose had already told him. Rude waved a subtle motion at Vincent to follow him as he started divesting himself of his work clothes and headed for the shower. His shades were the last thing to be removed and carefully set on the vanity top while he adjusted the water.
Rude noticed Vincent had leaned comfortably against the wall and was waiting patiently. He stepped into the shower and raised his voice slightly to be heard even if it wasn't needed. Vincent could have heard him if he had whispered.
"Reno was in a snit. We stopped for a few drinks after work." Rude heard the soft creak of leather as Vincent crossed his arms.
"Cloud's away again?"
"Yes," Rude answered and quickly washed himself. "It seems that someone brought up the cult fiasco, and he took off."
Rude finished his shower as Vincent silently mulled over his words. He had toweled off and buffed his bald head before Vincent spoke again.
"He'll be back."
"Soon?" Rude checked in the mirror to see if he needed to tidy his goatee. "It's already affecting Reno. I thought he was just going to slaughter everyone today in a rage before we even got the information Tseng wanted. Rufus may be pleased about the relationship, but Tseng won't take it well if it interferes with the job."
Vincent's eyes flashed dangerously at the implication that Rufus would even think to use his friend's tenuous affection as a hold of some kind. He felt that Reno's motives were true, but it obviously couldn't be said for others. Cloud had been used and abused enough in his short life. Vincent wouldn't stand idly by and allow it to happen again.
"Cloud is not a tool," Vincent said in an ominously deep rumble.
Rude allowed himself to sigh and rubbed his fingertips over the tension behind his eyes before reaching for his shades. Almost conflicting loyalties tugged at him. Shinra owned him body and soul, would always own him, but he had given something deeper to Vincent and Reno and, by extension, Cloud. Vincent seemed to sense his struggle and used his flesh hand to trace a line between the muscles of Rude's chest. His skin warmed and twitched at the contact.
"You need to rest," Vincent murmured.
"You're not staying?" Rude asked although the answer was already apparent.
Vincent shook his head in a way that made his spill of black hair brush Rude's skin. The fleeting touch made Rude even more sorry that Vincent wouldn't be staying. A few hours of pleasurable oblivion would help set his mind at ease.
I need to go out." Vincent let Rude draw him forward for a quick embrace. "I just need to see what's on the wind."
A brief press of lips against his mouth, and Vincent was gone, leaving Rude to go to bed alone. He made sure his alarm was set and lay down to fold his arms under his head. He wondered briefly if Reno would sleep at all, but decided it was unlikely. His partner wouldn't sleep, nor would he admit that the fact he was in love with Cloud was what made him so tense. Rude grunted and punched his pillow into softness. He needed to sleep. He would have to be doubly on guard for a while to make sure Reno didn't inadvertently do something that could cost both of them their jobs or their lives.