Work Text:
So I cry, and I beg for you to
Love me love me
Say that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
I can't care 'bout anything but you
The Cardigans - Lovefool
Rude sighed. It was already late, far too late for his taste to be summoned to Tseng’s office. All he wanted was some well-deserved rest. He knocked on the door and could hear Tseng answer him soon after.
“Come in.”
He pushed the door open, finding Tseng at his desk.
“What is it, Sir? It sounded urgent if I had to come over at this hour.”
Tseng smirked, bending over his desk a bit. “Rude, be honest. Take off those shades and look me in the eyes. Do you love me?”
Rude had already taken off his shades without thinking, but then kept silent for a minute. “What does that have to do with business, Sir?” He raised an eyebrow, giving Tseng a questioning look.
“A dry response as always. Why do you never admit to any feelings?” the black-haired man sighed. If he himself was considered serious and stoic, Rude was the pinnacle of these things.
“I assume there is no urgent matter then, Sir?” Rude asked, putting his shades back on. He could see the disappointment in his leader’s face, so he got closer, rounding the desk to put a soft kiss on Tseng’s neck.
There was a little sound of enjoyment from the leader, but his disappointment stayed. “There’s none… except my shoulders feel extremely tense.”
Rude didn’t need to be told twice, knowing what Tseng wanted. He started massaging Tseng’s stiff shoulders with certain expertise. They spent the night together like this, Rude trying to make sure his leader was feeling good and relaxed.
---
It was the next morning when Rude sat down at his desk, sorting some reports he had to hand in from missions. There were still parts missing, the ones Reno had to write.
Right at that moment, Reno entered the office, flopping down onto the couch instead of his desk and yawning loudly. “Mooooorning..”
Rude watched him. “You’re late. Finish your reports, I have to hand them in.” There was a loud whining sound from the redhead. “Ugh, I hate paperwork. I let Elena do that for me..”
“It’s not allowed to have someone else write your reports.” the man responded, not looking up from his papers. He heard another small whine from his partner.
“I’m so tired, I need a coffee~. Bring me one, Rude.” Rude raised an eyebrow. “Make one yourself,” he said, but still got up from his desk, walking into the office kitchen.
Reno watched him go, not able to hold his laughter. Rude was always like this, he cared for everyone so deeply, even if he never said it out loud.
The man in question returned soon after, setting the cup of coffee down on Reno’s desk. Before he could return to his own workspace, the redhead swung off the couch, hugging him from behind.
“Thank you, so sweet of you~” he hummed into Rude’s ear, kissing and gently biting his earlobe. Rude groaned a little. “Now finish that report.” And with that, the man returned to his own desk, ignoring the pout on Reno’s face.
---
Later that day, Rude was called into the President’s office. “You wanted to see me, Mr. President?”
Rufus shifted on his chair, one arm resting on the table, holding his head while the free arm was petting his trusty Darknation. “I wanted to offer you a raise.”
Rude shifted. A raise? He knew he did good work, but to be offered a raise sounded too good to be true. “I’d be honored, Sir.”
“The only condition is: Tell me how much you love me, Rude.” Rufus grinned at him, scanning his face for any emotional reaction.
The usual frown on Rude’s face deepened. Rufus swore the man looked like someone destroyed his favorite pair of shades. “I don’t think that is a respectable reason for a raise, Sir.”
The blond clicked his tongue. How damn dry could someone be? “Come closer,” Rufus demanded. Rude obeyed, walking all the way to the edge of the desk when the blond pulled him even closer. “Sir…?” There was a slight confusion in Rude’s voice.
Rufus let out an amused breathe before enveloping the man in a demanding kiss.
---
That whole week has been kind of weird for Rude. Today he was sent on a mission with Reno, Elena accompanying them. It was supposed to be a simple gathering of information mission, no extreme danger was expected.
They tried to get some plans of the other, more extremist Avalanche group. Apparently they tried to attack the new President Shinra. There didn’t seem to be anyone at the place when suddenly Rude heard footsteps in the distance.
Before anyone could react with a first attack, someone pulled up with a gun, ready to fire. Several shots were fired in Elena’s direction, as she stood right in the middle of the big room.
Rude acted on instinct, sprinting to her and protecting her body as he pulled her down to the floor. Reno stared at the scene for a split second, noticing how many wounds his partner had just gained in a single instant, before attacking the enemy and finishing him off.
More enemies pulled up, so Reno radioed to Tseng who was nearby. “We’re in a bit of trouble over here. Rude’s out…” Meanwhile, Elena did her best to get herself and the wounded man out of shooting range. Since Rude didn’t move an inch, she dragged him behind a big container.
Tseng entered the scene soon after, noticing Reno fighting alone, so he concentrated on finishing the enemies off. Together, the fight was over soon. “Where’s Rude? What happened?” he wanted to know.
Reno pointed to the obvious trail of blood on the floor. “He protected Elena, got shot, she must have pulled him out of the line of fire.” Tseng could see the amount of blood on the floor. This was obviously more than a scratch. They followed it to find Elena hiccuping in front of their partner. “I wanted senpai to notice me, but not like this!” She cried.
The two men got closer. Tseng inspected the wounds, while Reno tried to calm Elena down, somewhat. He wasn’t calm himself, seeing Rude covered in blood and with too many holes in his body.
“Rude, stay with us!” Tseng shook him awake. Elena had already used all the supplies of potions they had with them. The potions had slowly closed the outer wounds, though the internal bleeding couldn’t be stopped.
Rude coughed up blood, almost choking on it. “Sorry…” he whispered, struggling to speak. “Don’t speak now. You’re gonna make it, just stay awake and don’t talk.” Tseng tried to lift him up carefully.
Everything was slowly fading in front of the man, he could barely make out that all of them surrounded him, Rufus still connected via earpiece. He was going to die, he knew it, he felt that. He heard Rufus’ demanding voice through the radio. “Don’t you dare die now or I’ll be cutting all your bonuses!”
If he still could have, he had scoffed at that remark. What good would cutting his bonus do him when he died anyway? Rude took a deep breath, trying his best to speak despite the blood filling his mouth. “I always...loved you..” he coughed, “all..”. His eyes fluttered shut, drifting away into unconsciousness.
They all stared at the man. Finally, saying the words they always wanted to hear from him, only right before his death? Reno didn’t want to believe it. “Don’t you dare die now, you stupid, bald, shades enthusiastic idiot!!”
Tseng bit his lower lip. “I didn’t give you permission to die!” From the earpiece, he could hear the President answer. “Neither did I! So make sure he survives, Tseng!”
He didn’t need to be told twice, pulling the man up, Reno sprung up to help. “I will make sure he survives so I can kill him again right after for pulling this crap!” Tseng swore. How dare this stoic, silent man admitted his feelings now?
---
Several days had passed. Rude was laying in a bed in the private medical wing of President Shinra. Only the most skilled doctors and the best nurses operated there. Despite the almost hopeless chances, they saved his life. Rude survived, barely.
But up until now, the man hadn’t regained consciousness yet. The rest of the Turks were all in the big, sterile-looking room, watching him. Reno leaned back in the chair. “I remember.. Elena, why did you say you wanted him to notice you? He already did from the very start.”
Elena looked at the redhead in surprise. “Huh, what do you mean? I think he never even talked to me.” She sniffed again, still feeling bad about the whole thing. If only she would have reacted faster herself…
“Ya know, like that little cactus on your desk? He put it on there one day. And the cute pen you always use? He left it there for you. Bought it with his own money. I mean we only get the cheap pens because Rufus is a cheapskate.” Rufus gave Reno a sideglance for the remark but stayed silent. He would remember this for the next paycheck though.
The young woman started to sob again, wiping away a few teardrops. “I..I didn’t know…Senpai noticed me all along, from the very start!” “There, there..” Reno said in a soothing voice, patting her back.
Rufus got closer to the bed, cupping Rude’s cheeks in his hands. “If you don’t wake up soon, I will cut your payment for the next three months” he whispered into his ear. Rude’s body twitched once.
The man seemed to be trapped in a weird dream. Rude heard Elena cry and sob in the distance while the President wanted to cut off his payments. Why? Did he do something wrong? Did he cut Elena’s payment too? Was that why she was crying somewhere?
The dream felt so absurd and abstract. Rude shook his head, trying hard to wake up from it. His eyelids felt extremely heavy, his mouth dry. When he managed to open his eyes, he saw a clean white ceiling.
Flashbacks of the mission returned, his wounds, him dying, his confession. His confession! Rude looked around frantically, noticing everyone was present.
“Cutting payments always does the trick.” Rufus grinned, still bent over the man. Rude looked majorly confused. He thought he died. He was certain. Tseng got closer now as well. “Thought you could run away after finally admitting your feelings? I didn’t let you. None of us did.”
‘Fuck’ Rude thought. He gulped, his mouth still felt way too dry, so speaking felt almost impossible. “Haha, look at your face! Looking like you’d rather died. Just stand by your words, man.” Reno snickered, seeing something like fear in that usually reserved man’s face.
“Right. Say it again.” Tseng demanded. “Say it loud and clear.” Rufus chimed in. There was a clear resistance visible in the poor wounded man’s face. He had just woken up, he felt weak and already got mocked.
“Think about your payments.” He heard the President say. “We saved your life once, we could end it again, just very slow and painful this time.” Tseng made clear. The way his leader said it sent chills down his spine.
His voice was raspy and small when he spoke, but he tried hard to say it without coughing.
“I love you.”