Homg! I live! -flops over- I must apologize, it's been a hectic summer.
I come bearing yet another renoxrude fic, mainly a gift for an artist on DeviantArt whom I admire and love for her artwork. She does a lot of work on this certain pairing, which I lovelovelove! X3

MarinaYoshi (her DeviantArt name. I don't know her FF name) is a great inspiration to me, not just in her amazing and amusing work, but in her increadable creativity and in her lovely personality. This is a short oneshot based off one of her pictures, because she mentioned liking a fanfic based off of it. I hope I did your concept justice, Marina!

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, and don't own the idea.

----------------

The mostly incoherent muttering of Rufus seemed like a constant, ongoing sound that could be heard all day the by Turks accompanying him. He was in a bad mood, and although that was not much of a shock for anyone, today was special. The Wutai Festival was supposed to be a happy occasion, but having to attend it was like a slap in the face for the ShinRa president, and his group of escorts. It was Reno to make the first audible comment.

"So, anyone feel like shooting me in the face and saving my sanity?" he half-mumbled, walking in step beside Rude, as Elena and Tseng walked ahead, with Rufus between the two groups. The blonde woman glanced back, the only one who did not choose to ignore Reno.

"Believe me, nothing would make me happier." Elena's reply was in a dry tone, and not one person doubted that she was going to put Reno out of her misery one day. The redhead just gave her a loose grin, to which she rolled her eyes at and then resumed looking ahead as she walked. There was a quiet sigh from Rufus as he ran a hand down his own face, trying to walk down the bustling streets and ignore his escorts' bickering.

Ever since the end of the Great War, the late president ShinRa had attended the festival every year as a phoney sign of friendship and peace. And as Rufus took his place, it was apparent that not making the obligatory visit would raise eyebrows. Ever since the young leader had given up on the 'Ruling with fear' idea, he knew that he had to keep on peaceful terms with the nation, so every year he was forced to swallow his pride and go. All of the Turks hated it as well, for their own reasons. Tseng was bound to run into his parents, whom he never liked to visit, Elena was constantly stuck with escorting the bitter president about. And Rude… well, he was stuck babysitting Reno.

It was not like he did not like spending time with his partner, in fact, he could not find a better person to be with. He could not think of a better time than the amazing nights they spent together, and the equally enjoyable mornings after. It was surprising that they could manage such a relationship, when they drove each other crazy in two completely different contexts. Generally, he loved spending time with Reno, but this yearly trip was almost unbearable. It was just that the mischievous redhead always headed bee-line to the nearest tavern the second that the president dismissed them for a few hours. Holding those long red locks of hair out of the garbage can as the other man threw up was never fun. Then getting yelled at by Tseng, and then Rufus, just added to the experience. Every year, it was the same, and Rude was possibly in a worse mood about it than the entire group combined. However, his silent, emotionless exterior hid all of that.

As the group stepped up to a large building, a traditional looking Wutai structure, all of the Turks looked up at it. It was beautiful, the wood stained a vibrant red, and the roof swooping into pointed corners while decorated with bright coloured paper decorations. Of course, most of the Wutai buildings looked like this, but this one was exceptionally beautiful, as it stood higher and more noticeable than the rest. It was obviously the house of the leader of the nation, Rufus' destination. The president stepped between the Turks in front of the and went a bit ahead before stopping again. He turned to them, icy blue eyes half closed.

"Alright," he said, straightening up and adjusting his white coat a bit on his shoulders. "Tseng, Elena, you two come in with me." he stated, ignoring the quick cheer of celebration from Reno, which was cut short by Rude's gloved hand setting on his head heavily. Rufus knew that he could not take Reno in, as he would break everything remotely damageable. The president looked to the two men, shaking his head. "You two wait for my call. Just…" he stopped, sighed, and turned around, gesturing with a hand for Tseng and Elena to follow. "don't do anything stupid." He finished blandly before ascending the steps and walking through the set of double doors. Rude caught a warning glance from Tseng directed at both of them before he and Elena walked in after Rufus.

Rude felt his hand being grabbed and slid from Reno's head before it was tugged gently. "Those sounded like pretty loose guidelines for orders to me, yo." His almost innocent tone made Rude want to shudder, recognising it immediately from every daring comment Reno always uttered during the night amongst the whirlwind of roaming hands. Before the bald Turk knew what was happening, he was being half dragged in the opposite direction. With a bit of a stumble at first, he followed without much of a choice. Although he could not see it, he could almost feel the wide grin spreading across his partner's face, and that scared him more than looking down the barrel of a gun.

As Reno lead him through the busy streets, Rude had to keep his eyes averted from the people watching them pass, despite the fact that he was wearing sunglasses. He knew they were earning some strange looks, wearing Turk uniforms in Wutai, and one man tugging the other along by the hand. If he had not held such talent in hiding emotions, Rude's face would have been tinted pink with embarrassment. The two passed the large bar completely, and this raised question, and almost concern, in Rude.

"Reno…?" he finally spoke, deep voice lined with a tone of questioning. He heard a light chuckle from his partner, although he did not look back.

"I've got something better." Reno commented, which raised even more question in the bigger man.

"Did you discover Wutai's solid drug ring?"

This time the laugh was sarcastic, and the redhead looked back. He stopped and turned to fully face Rude, making a bit of a childish face at him. "Funny." He replied, one hand sliding up and gripping Rude's tie at the knot. The smaller man gained a smirk as he tugged on that, too, but much more lightly. It was then that Rude noticed that they were pretty much out of the main area of the city, and the roads were more rough and lined with more plant life. "C'mon, just trust me." He heard Reno purr in an almost hushed tone before feeling their chests press together. Instinctively, Rude's arms slipped around Reno's middle.

"Remember the last time you said that?" Rude replied just as quietly, thankful for the fact that nobody else was around, since their lips were almost touching. He could feel the other man's hot breath on his face, but it did not last long. There was another chuckle before his arms were empty, and the world suddenly became a lot brighter. Rude swore and shut his eyes tightly as the harsh Wutai sun hit his now-unprotected eyes, and Reno ran off laughing with his sunglasses. After a short moment, Rude opened his eyes and chased after the redhead, who had disappeared into the wilderness that surrounded the town. He called after Reno, shouting and swearing at him and only receiving what sounded like a proud laugh in response. Seeing the intense red hair zip around a mass of large rocks, Rude was quick to follow. His eyes lay on something that was definitely not what he expected, and the big man struggled to slow his momentum as he dug the heels of his expensive shoes into the ground. He managed to stop, at the sacrifice of his footwear, at the edge of what looked like a small body of water. By the steam floating up from it, it was apparent that it was one of Wutai's natural hot springs, and Rude had almost made a header right into it.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Rude suddenly felt hands press on his back gently. Then, within seconds, the gentleness proved fake as he was shoved foreword, and he hit the water with a large splash. A very undignified moment of flailing limbs and angry curses later, he was sitting in the hot water, his uniform soaked, and a loud laugh ringing in his ears. The poor man looked up at Reno, and his eyes narrowed with unmistakable anger. Of course, Reno was unphased as he collected himself and gave yet another wide grin.

"How's the water?" he quipped, tilting his head to the side a little. As Rude got to his feet and trudged through the hot spring towards him, the redhead's sense of victory and smugness seemed to grow as he beamed.

Rude growled, letting out the longest string of incoherent sputtering of rage known to the planet, before reaching the edge. Reno stepped back to avoid the hand trying to grab at his legs.

"I still think that you're adorable when you're mad." Reno chuckled, daring to lean closer to rude before shoving him back in as the other tried to climb out. "Besides, why would I miss a chance to see you dripping wet?" he asked after the second splash.

"I could kill you." Rude stated in a serious tone, obviously not very impressed with being pushed into hot water and getting his entire uniform soaked. This time, when he came closer to the edge, he was successful in grabbing Reno's hands and dragging him into the water with him. This time he was the one to grin as he heard a very satisfying yelp, and splash as water flew everywhere. Reno came back to the surface, gasping for air, and looking like a red drowned rat as his bangs hung over his eyes and goggles. Instead of looking angry, his initial reaction was a pounce the sent Rude back a bit, struggling to gain his footing in the water. The pressure of lips against his, and his blazer being pushed down his shoulders sent shockwaves down Rude's spine.

The sound of wet shirts and blazers hitting the dry rocks were drowned out by the sound of kisses and movement in the water, was the two found themselves sitting comfortably in the hot springs, holding on to each other and wasting no time in letting their tongues explore. Feeling fingers trace the details of his chest made Rude shiver again, but breaking the kiss seemed impossible, even if he wanted to. His own fingers trailed down Reno's spine, and he was pleased with the soft moan he earned in response. As his hand ended up at the redhead's hip, he felt something attached to his belt. Realising what it was, both men gasped at the same time and managed to tear themselves away from each other as Rude unclipped it. He lifted the ruined phone to above the surface, and they both stared at it for a moment before their gazes turned to each other.

"Tseng's really going to kill us." Rude stated quietly, a tint of actual fear in his voice. Not only was this a cell phone that belonged to the company, but now there was no way they could be contacted. And when they did come back, they would be soaking wet from head to toe. They were just lucky that Reno did not have his EMR with him, or else they would have been zapped as it hit the water. Despite the amount of trouble they would be in, Reno's lips pulled into yet another smile and he took the phone from Rude's grasp. The redhead tossed it to the shore, where it bounced off onto the bushes. His long arms them slipped over Rude's shoulders and around his partner's neck.

"Then we might as well make it worth the hell we're gonna be in." he whispered, voice in a dark purr as lips moved against the wet skin of Rude's neck. As if the incident had never happened, all care was thrown away, and the dance of roaming hands and lips was resumed. The only gasps after that were the pleased ones as the other man's hand would happen upon the right spot, and the rhythm of kisses and moans continued at an increasing pace that drove both men insane.

As he raked his hand through Reno's bright red hair, Rude made sure to savour every second of this, as he knew that their trip to Wutai was going to come to an end at some point – something he never thought he would hate. He still had no clue where his sunglasses were, but for a rare moment, he actually didn't care.