Tea

By Vagabondd

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Complete Spoilers)

Oneshot

Night had fallen and darkness consumed the now quiet lodge. The days events had drained Rude body and soul, and he was thankful for the, albeit brief, respite. His body still twinged and ached from the punishment of the day. They had all been lucky that Kadaj had only incapacitated them instead of the multitude of other considerably more grizzly options he had available to him once he'd gained entrance into the building. The thick black smoke that had billowed around the edges of the door preceding the remnants arrival had petrified him.

He hung his head at the memory and contemplated on if it was that initial jolt of fear or his own weakness that had allowed Kadaj to take out both he and Reno, and subsequently, the president.

Sighing, Rude got up from the sofa where he and Reno had been only brief moments before the attack. He needed tea. Something soothing and warm to relax him and help return some semblance of balance to his jostled nerves and thoughts. Rude wandered into the kitchen to search every nook and cranny of the cabinets for even one leaf of the small stash he'd brought with them to Healen. He had learned long ago that most places only stocked coffee, and if they did manage to put some tea bags in the rooms, they were usually too bitter for him to stomach. He disliked coffee for the same reasons, although he drank both when there were no other options and he needed the caffeine pick up.

Deciding that none of the Wutainese tea that Tseng had given him remained amongst their supplies he abandoned his search and went about preparing a pot of coffee. He cleaned out the carafe, replaced the filter, and added the grounds of one of the coffees Reno mentioned hadn't been bad.

The thought of his partner made Rude miss for his company. He enjoyed their conversations and the luxury it afforded him to be free with what he said and when he said it. He didn't particularly care to talk to too many people and had

gotten in to the habit of not saying much at all, but when Reno was around, and they were alone, he found himself drawn into numerous discussions and debates that lasted for hours, and while Rude still did not dominate the conversations, he did add his own unique twist and input to the exchange.

He thought back to what they had been talking about just before Kadaj had shown up. He hoped that the future Reno envisioned was possible; that they, as a company and as individuals, would be able to atone for the sins committed and rebuild their world. He found himself missing aspects of their old life. Reno yelling at the new recruits to stay off the landscape after he himself had just traipsed through it, that bar in that back alley in Junon where he felt almost at home.

Getting back to that was going to be difficult, but he had to have faith in the Presidents plan and their own abilities to be able to achieve it. Looking past their resounding defeat at the hands of Kadaj was going to be difficult enough, but it had to be done for the sake of their vision.

A loud thump at the other end of the house broke him of his reverie. He glanced at the clock and noticed nearly 15 minutes had passed since he'd put the pot of coffee on to make.

Silently, he cursed at his carelessness. He was supposed to be on watch for the first half of the night, guarding the President and Reno as they slept off the effects of Kadaj's attack, not standing around in a fog of thoughts and memories. He had tried, rather unsuccessfully, to get Reno to sleep the entire night and Rude would wake him up at dawn so he could then rest himself, but his stubborn partner wouldn't have any of it. He kept pointing out that Rude had also been hurt, and that he wasn't that bad off. It wasn't until Rude prevented him from falling after a dizzy spell while they were cleaning up the aftereffects of the president's geostigma episode that Reno had finally relented and had gone to shower and rest. Not before leaving Rude with a mandate to wake him up in no more than five hours, and pointing out that neither of them would be an effective guard if they were both worn out.

He was right of course. Rude felt the pulls of exhaustion as he left the percolating caffeine to investigate the origins of the noise. Once ensuring that the exterior doors were secure, he made his way to the bedrooms and carefully peered into each. The President was still lying on his back in the center of the bed, the white bandages nearly glowing in the moonlight. Rude noticed some darkening spots on the white, and hazarded a guess that they would have to be changed in the morning. Quietly he shut the door and moved on to the next. It was difficult to make out Reno's curled up form underneath the sheets and blankets, but the sound of his deep, steady breathing assured Rude that he too was alright and sleeping peacefully.

A final glance around the room told Rude that his partner's sleep had not been as peaceful as his now still form would suggest. Several books Reno was in the process of reading, and the alarm clock had been knocked onto the floor. They had no doubt bumped against the wall on their way down, causing the noise he had heard. Rude silently picked up the novels and clock, replacing them on the nightstand. He then crept back out of the room, pulling the door gently closed behind him. The smells of the long done coffee was slowly wafting down the corridor by the building's central air system, and it was almost enough to fuel his need for caffeine and the pick-me-up it would bring, but Rude decided that he'd neglected his duties long enough with his pursuit of something to calm his nerves. He opted instead to exit the building via the sliding glass back door and do a security sweep of the exterior.

The sweep took about twenty minutes, and yielded very little in the way of threats. But Rude mused, as he reentered the lodge and stood in the main room, that all his precautions and sweeps could be for not if the three Remnants decided that the President really had "mother" in his possession. Without Tseng and Elena there to help, and the three decided to attack in earnest, Rude had little doubt in his mind that the outcome would be fatal at best. He found himself in that moment of doubt hoping that he was right in comparing Tseng to a cat and he had not used up all of those nine lives.

A flash of movement to his right brought him back to the room and out of his thoughts. He prepared himself to attack the unknown intruder till the red caught his eye and he forced himself to relax. Reno moved into Rude's line of sight, waiting till he finally relaxed from his fighting stance before moving away from the door. Rude noticed that Reno was carrying something. Once closer, Rude recognized the familiar outlines of a ceramic cup.

Reno moved to stand next to Rude and offered the cup to him. Rude wordlessly took it, and stared into the dark depths. The warmth felt good against the palms of his hands. He felt Reno move away from him and back into the kitchen, presumably to get his own coffee. He was still looking at the cup when Reno returned and retook his place at Rude's side, staring at the front door to the lodge.

"What are you doing up?" Rude asked.

Reno shot Rude a sideways glance and simply responded, "I just woke up."

Rude could tell by his partner's demeanor that it wasn't the total truth, but was unwilling to press the issue. It felt good to have Reno by his side again, keeping him company during the long hours of watch.

"You should drink that before it gets cold." Reno interjected into the silence. "You look like you need it."

Reno's words reminded Rude of how physically exhausted he was, and how much the contents of the cup would help relieve a small portion of that exhaustion. He brought the edge of the cup to his lips and took a sip of the steaming liquid. But instead of the bitter bite that he'd expected, it was sweet, earthy, and familiar. He looked over at his partner, who was sipping at the coffee that filled his own cup.

"I stashed some when we got here, just in case." He responded to the unasked question.

"Thanks." Rude smiled at his partner's thoughtfulness and returned to sipping at his tea, relishing in its sweetness and smooth texture.

After a moment longer of staring at the front door, almost expecting it to billow smoke and burst open, they moved from their standing positions over to the couch. Reno threw his feet up onto the cushions, and laid down using the armrest as a pillow. Rude took up his previous spot on the couch, sitting down at the opposite end from Reno.

Reno placed the half empty mug on the end table, lacing his fingers behind his head and looked thoughtfully over to Rude. "So… Where were we?"

Rude chuckled softly and took the bait his partner was offering, renewing their earlier conversation and enjoying each other's company.