A Little R&R Ch. 05

Reno pulled back, tucking his tie into his jacket with a quirky grin. "We're doing what now?" he asked, sauntering toward Elena

She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg. "Demonstrate." her look added 'before I do.'

He leaned in toward her, dropping his voice. "D'you think that's a good idea?" Elena made a quick jab, intentionally drawing up short of Reno's stomach. The class erupted into snickers. His eyes followed her fist and he curled back reflexively. Regaining his composure with a smirk, he stepped back. "If you say so." He nodded to Rude. "I guess she's serious. Don't take it easy on me, yo."

With a half-cocked smile, Rude took position on the far side of the room. He had no intention of harming him, especially in front of the kids, but he certainly wasn't about to let him get off with his unique, underhanded ways. His stance said ready and his arms raised to chest height echoed the sentiment.

Reno stood back, waiting passively. His stance changed only slightly, one foot in front of the other, bent slightly back, his weight resting on the reverse foot. He looked clearly amused as he beckoned to Rude with two fingers. Rude tilted his head and obliged, rushing towards the smaller man. At the last second, he kicked up high towards Reno's chin. Reno shifted in anticipation of Rude's fist and was caught completely off guard by the kick as it connected, dropping him. He slid back across the mat, his eyes never leaving Rude.

"Good shot, Big Man," he taunted as he regained his feet beneath him. He took two short steps and swung forward with a sharp right he figured would be easily blocked. Rude ducked, swinging his momentum into his shoulder and connecting with Reno's chest. He stumbled back, another unexpected hit. He planted himself and returned volley with a back kick, catching Rude across the shoulders.

Rude grunted as his momentum carried him around. He dropped to one knee and made for a sweep to Reno's feet. Planting his hand on Rude's lowered shoulder, Reno jumped to Rude's opposite side and jabbed, connecting with the big man's jaw. Hard. Rude was knocked onto his back, stars sparking in his eyes. He curled and flipped himself back onto his feet, hands at the ready for another go, shaking his head to clear his vision.

The spry redhead backed off, grinning and eyeing Rude. He had asked for it and it looked like he was bringing it. In an uncharacteristic moment, he rushed Rude, grabbed his arm and pulled himself up to swing his legs around, sweeping at Rude's legs, using his momentum to bring Rude backward instead of his original forward thrust and toppled him onto his back. Reno scrambled to regain his footing, landing clumsily to the felled man's side and delivered a punch square to the center of Rude's chest.

Now properly winded, Rude went red in the face. Striking up with his knee, he rolled a bit towards Reno, catching him near the groin. It was a low blow, but he knew Reno was far from a fair fighter. Reno dropped to his knee, doubling up.

"The cheap shot is my thing, Big Man," he gasped, swinging his shoulder into Rude's groin to prove his point. Rude lost control over a moan as he continued to roll into Reno's shoulder. Hunched over, he forced himself several more revolutions, providing both space and a moment to regain himself.

Rude started the next round going in swinging; upper cut

Winded on impact, Reno hit the floor stunned. He rolled to the side, finding his equilibrium, then over onto his stomach to push himself partially up onto his knees and catch his breath. He raised his head suddenly, eyeing Rude with dark glee, pushing off from his crouched position, rushing again, his shoulder connecting with Rude's waist.

The class was now on the fringes of where the fight was advancing to, and many of them had backed into their classmates. Several of the students who had been in the first row were now standing flat back against the wall, watching wide-eyed. Were they expected to fight this vehemently?

Rude braced for the impact, grappling his strong arms around Reno, his chest pressing up to the redhead's back as he was carried through. They hit the floor, Reno doubled over into the bald man's stomach, his arms trapped under Rude's back, his ass in the air, and nearly folded in on himself. He wriggled in the vice-like grip, struggling to free himself. Rude squeezed him in hard, trying to find where Reno had his feet so he could subdue those appendages as well.

Unable to free himself, Reno curled into a ball, dropping his knees into Rude's thighs, hitting the major nerve that traversed it. The resultant slack grip was enough that Reno tucked in on himself and threw his feet up over his head, his body curled in a hard backbend, wrapping his legs around Rude's neck. His back arched up as he grabbed Rude's right arm with his hand and pressed his fingertips sadistically into Rude's palm, pulling it behind him.

Rude's vision whited out, the pain searing into his brain. He let out a loud howl, falling weak in his bear hug. Reno jack-knifed to a standing position, coming out of the zone. He blinked hard, turning back to Rude.

"Hey, you alright, Big Man?"

Rude held his eyes shut tight, teeth clenched as he fought back for control. He did not notice the onslaught of the attack had paused. Hurting like hell and wanting blood for it, Rude swung both legs up and around in a windmill kick, striking Reno in the side of his thigh. As Reno cascaded to the side, Rude righted himself, arms set in a flex that meant business until a solid crack sounded, dropping him to his knees. Elena had taken matters into her own hands and used a broom to break up the "demonstration."

"As you can see, when one is fighting, they are often focused on very little except their opponent!" She blew a stray lock of hair out of her face and tossed the broomstick across the floor. It landed with a bounce, making the only sound in the room. Reno scanned the new recruits. Many of them were staring between him and Rude with looks of shock. He dropped and slid across to Rude. "Hey, you alright, yo?"

Elena continued, "If Rude had been in a real combat situation, he would have mostly likely seen my attack and reacted in kind. However, the only known attacker was Reno and, as such, he was unprepared." Rude was on all fours, knocked senseless. His hand was killing him, and nausea crept deep from his gut. He could hear the voices, but none of it was making sense.

"Rude. Hey. Rude." Reno rubbed his hand across Rude's shoulders.

If only he could just sit down for a moment. Yes, just for a moment. His body swayed heavily.

"Hey!" Reno started, his off hand grabbing Rude's arm to try and steady him. Rude shook his head hard, his training kicking in to overdrive. He fumbled to get his feet under him, pawing at whatever stood next to him.

Reno scrambled to his feet, tugging at Rude. "Hey, you alright??"

"Huh?" he grabbed Reno's jacket and practically pulled him down to the floor.

"Elena, we're going out for some air." He tugged at Rude, trying to get him to his feet. "We'll be back in a bit."

Rude felt as if he was made of jelly, nothing was cooperating. However he managed it, he hung himself over Reno's shoulder and let himself be ushered out of the room. They hobbled for the elevators and Reno punched the down button several times. He waited impatiently until the door opened and pressed the button for the first floor. It was a good thing they didn't have far to go, his charge was damned heavy and as near to dead weight. They earned several ogling eyes as they rode the elevator to the first floor. Reno ignored them, even as they worked their way through the lobby. Once they were safely outside, he propped Rude against the wall and carefully lowered him to the ground.

"Anybody get the number of that truck?" Rude asked loose lipped. He rolled his head gingerly back to the wall, groaning as the tender muscles moved.

Reno crouched beside him, watching him carefully. "That was Elena."

Rude shut his eyes, his breath coming in more of a pant. His right hand was now at least just a large throb, something he did not want to deal with yet. Reno settled in beside him and squeezed his arm gently. "You gonna be alright, Big Man?"

This was the worst he had felt in a long time, but his sense of humor was making a very quick rebound. "No. Just shoot me now 'n get it over with."

Reno leaned forward a bit, watching Rude's face before breaking into a smile. "That's better. You scared me there for a bit. Elena must have gotten a good shot."

"Damn straight she did!" His perkiness lasted only for a second, causing him to recoil slightly with the simple exertion of his statement.

"Our little girl's growin' up, Rude!" Reno kidded, sniffling dramatically. He straddled Rude's lap, grabbing him by the lapel. "Let's have another!" Rude gave a flat half laugh, the best he could manage. "Alright, what's up? What hurts?"

Rude shifted against the wall and winced. "I think the easier question is what doesn't?"

Reno laughed. "Yea, you know, we're gonna pay for this in the morning. I guess my big question is do you need to go to the infirmary?" Or just back to our room?

Rude gave a heartier laugh than his last. His mind was finally clearing and the aches weren't so bad as long as he wasn't moving. His eyes fell to his right hand. Already he could see red peeking out from underneath the black leather cover. "Shit."

"What? What's wrong?"

Rude pulled the glove off gently, his hand revealing in maroon-tint. Every last stitch had failed, leaving everything to reopen.

"Shit, Rude!" Reno grabbed his wrist, inspecting the wound. "How the fuck did you do this, anyway?" He scrambled off of Rude's lap, tugging on his arm. "Come on, you're going to the infirmary."

Rude looked up into Reno's face. "You mean you don't remember?" His brow was pinched, crushed, that the clever Turk had no clue. He clambered to his feet, swaying somewhat unsteadily, resting his shoulder against the concrete side. Reno blinked, thoughts pulling at the back of his head. Was he really that shit-faced he didn't remember Rude being at the club? He had met those two boys and he went home with them... The realization hit him.

"Jesus... you..."

He didn't want to admit he accidentally done this to himself and he certainly didn't want Reno feeling guilty for something he had no control over. Rude simply smiled. "Tequila. Hit the glass too hard on the counter."

"You were at the club last night." Reno's mind raced. Rude really didn't want to answer. He shuffled his feet towards the front entrance. "No, Rude. Wait." He looked at Rude's hand and stammered. "We should get that looked at. Rude, I can't remember a whole lot about last night other than meeting up with a couple of people. Were you there?"

Rude gave him a steady silent look and held it. Yes.

"You were there. How long were you there?"

His voice was raspy. "Not long. Just enough to get a little loose..." he dropped his voice as he turned his gaze. "Elena and her crew drug me out." He hefted a short laugh. "Had me dressed... well, you saw me this morning." He lowered his head. The aches were biting now. He rolled his shoulders and neck.

"Then you were up at the bar." His thoughts were whipping by, desperately trying to remember the night before, the haze from lack of sleep burning holes in anything he managed to dredge up. It suddenly hit him, his eyes growing wide with recognition, slack-jawed as the memory played a fuzzy tune through his head. He glommed onto Rude, shoving him against the wall. Rude swayed, nearly giving out under the additional weight. He held his arms weakly around Reno's shoulders, his energy drained.

Reno looked up at Rude, clinging to him. "You did that, didn't you? How? How did you do it? Where?"

"I told you, Tequila shot. Grabbed it... too... hard, " He gave another half laugh, his heart breaking. He didn't want to tell him why he had grabbed it hard enough to smash. Tears sprung to the corners of his eyes.

"Rude...." Reno choked on the tears burning his throat. "Rude... did you see me at the bar?"

His head went buzzy. Emotions churned and fought with each other, driving Rude's mind numb. The only words he could focus on were the words he barely put forth in a whisper.

"Yes."

"It was you in the doorway as I was going up the stairs." He released his death grip on Rude's jacket and stood, swaying in place. He grabbed Rude's wrist and pressed his palm against his face. "This was because of me." He nuzzled into Rude's palm. The wound burned with every rub, but Rude let him do as he pleased. It was minimal to him, considering how much he had already put him through in his own mind. He removed his sunglasses and wiped his eyes, watching the scene before him.

"You were jealous," he whispered, Rude's palm burning against his cheek. Rude ran a hand through the spiky tresses. He knew in the seat of his soul he had been jealous, but with all of his avoidance and the sheer strangeness of recent events, he wasn't sure if it was justified. He sighed, his eyes crinkled in a sad way. Reno's eyes opened and he dropped Rude's hand, realizing what he was doing. "We should, uh. We should go get that looked at." He took a step toward the building and stopped, turning back over his shoulder and attempted jovial charm. "You need help, Big Man, or can you do it yourself?"

Rude stood himself upright, feet much more secure beneath him. "Just no cheap shots, ok?" he joked, trudging along behind.

"Hey, you started it," Reno stated, his voice losing the raw current.

~*~*~*~*~

Reno stifled a yawn and tugged at the neck of his shirt. Lack of sleep was definitely starting to catch up with him today. He was half way through the day, just had to last another five hours and he was home free. Five hours seemed so far away as he stared at the computer screen, reviewing the reports Tseng had assigned him to proof. He shifted in his seat and yawned again. Why did today have to be so damned boring? It hadn't started out that way that was for sure.

He shook himself awake. He had never really slept off the alcohol from the night before, hadn't drank any water to speak of, and he only ate half of his sandwich at lunch. He questioned his sanity at watching Rude catch his few hours of sleep instead of joining him. Propping his chin on his hand, he stared down the report, eyelids heavy with other plans.

Rude knocked at the door, pushing it open before he was even invited in. He only stuck his nose in partway. "Is it safe to come in? Nobody's... naked, are they?" He had learned the lesson the hard way. Even though Reno would say to come in, it might not always be a good idea at his recommendation. Reno's head was against his desk, his arm flung out to the side and draped over the front, a puddle of drool pooling on the ruled tablet under his cheek, blurring the words "Call Rufus" he had scribbled and underlined.

The bald man poked his head the rest of the way through. Stifling a laugh as he snuck in, he quietly shut the door. How cute, he smirked. The opportunity was too good to pass up as he pulled out his phone and dusted the little lens off.

Click!

Rude snickered to himself. So this is what it's like to be devious. His mind went to work again, thinking up something better to do. He cranked his voice up as high as he could go. "Reeeno... Reeeeno..." he waited to see what would happen. Reno snorted, and then continued snoring. Rude stifled a snicker. "Come on, Reno, show me your stuff..." Reno mumbled something and waved his hand sleepily. Rude needed something to hit a homerun with. He took a moment to think it over. . "RENO! I thought I told you to meet with me today, why the hell haven't you done that yet?" he hollered, his voice dropped lower to mimic Rufus.

Reno jerked awake, the chair he leaned in sliding out from under him. His cheek hit the desk as he was dumped from the chair and onto the floor. He attempted to stand and cracked his head against the desk, dropping him back to his hands and knees on the floor. Finally scrambling to a kneeling position, he peered over the edge of his desk, eyes lighting on Rude.

"You ass..." he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Rude was doubled over in laughter, his face turning purple as Reno reached behind him for his chair, hand waving at the air before grabbing the leather cushion. He pulled it toward him and flopped into it.

"I'm sorry, it just had to be done." He wiped fresh tears from his eyes as he chuckled himself together. It was only then that he noticed the lack of "stuff" that would have prevented his chair from moving at all. "What the hell happened in here?" He eyed around the room, a bit surprised. "Get a new cleaning lady?"

Reno rubbed his cheek, wincing in pain. "Nah, I... cleaned." Hopefully it wasn't too obvious he was dodging something.

Rude stuttered. "Cl- cl--cleaned? YOU??" Rude ripped off his sunglasses and leaned right into Reno's face. "Who the hell are you and where's the real Reno!?"

The redhead picked up his notebook and shook it. "I am the real Reno." He replied dryly, opening his drawer to drop the notebook inside. The cube promptly fell apart, the contents sliding down the face. Reno tossed the front of the offending furniture onto his desk and bent to pick up the pieces.

"Tseng told me I needed to clean up my office. And I did."

Rude took the corner of Reno's desk for a seat. "Old Iron Pants Tseng, eh? I've just got to know, is it money or a bet?"

Reno looked up at Rude, dropping the rest of his drawer and its contents onto his desk. "Whadda mean?"

He took a second longer to reply. Something wasn't sitting right.

"Those are your two favorite categories, that is, unless he's finally managed to get you under his finger for once." The thought stuck like glue. He knew it was review time; his was pending just this week. He flashed a smile. "So how much is it for? And who's gonna lose?"

Reno laughed and leaned against his desk. "Eh, that. The bet's against Tseng. Rufus paid me to do it. But that goes no further than you and me. What I wanna know is what Rufus is getting out of Tseng. He paid me 300 gil to dress like this today." Reno set the pieces of wood up on his desk and attempted to put them back together. "Now that I think about it, though, I have to think I should have asked for more. Wait," he paused, looking up at Rude. "Unless you were talking about my office?"

Rude looked a bit confused, but it passed momentarily. "Actually... both."

"Ah. Yea. The office thing was my choice, sorta."

Rude caught onto the word. "Sorta." He replaced his sunglasses with a smooth line. "What is this 'Sort of'?"

Reno didn't particularly feel like explaining to Rude that he was hurt and slightly pissed about not having any sort of closure on anything and destroyed his office. He cleared his throat, looking more intently at the drawer he was failing to get back together again. Rude could see something was churning. He broke the moment with a smack on the desk.

"You're never going to believe what you did."

Reno jumped, the pieces of battered wood clattering together in a heap. "What did I do?"

Rude bore a full out grin and leaned in close. "You got me the rest of today off." He wiggled his now heavily wrapped right hand. "They don't want me doing anything today to aggravate this." He sat back upright. Reno felt like an ass for causing the problem in the first place. His eye twinged a bit before coming back with a smart retort.

"So all I have to do is fuck myself up and I get to go to bed? Sign me up!"

"I'm not quite sure how they would have found out, but the nurses were claiming you bit me during the demonstration." Rude laughed, his forehead wrinkling. "And they were asking me all sorts of questions. Weird ones."