☆-- a place to lay your head. (Closed) - COMPLETE

[stray_redbird]

WHO: Rude (expert_stoic), Reno (stray_redbird).
WHAT: Hitting a bump, thanks so somebody's big mouth.
WHERE: Reno and Rude's apartment.
WHEN: After Reno's proud declaration.

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[expert_stoic]

Rude stared directly at Reno, so he couldn't help but notice the way Reno was avoiding any eye contact. However, other than a crease between his eyebrows, Rude's expression was bland. However, as Reno continued to speak his expression darkened and eventually he pulled his sunglasses off his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose before replacing them. There was no way he could do this without his sunglasses on.

As soon as the cigarette touched Reno's lips, Rude ripped it from his mouth and flicked it aside. The cigarette broke when he flicked it and the pieces of paper and tobacco scattered on the floor beside them. Then, Rude paused for a heart beat before smashing his fist into Reno's face. However, he didn't let Reno go far and he grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"Don't say shit you don't mean, Reno," he growled, "Like hell I'm going to walk because of this. Idiot."

Rude wasn't expecting an apology from Reno, but he wasn't going to put up with this kind of bullshit. He didn't want Reno to leave anymore then Reno wanted him to leave. Reno was the one who said all the pretty words, but Rude wasn't planning on going anywhere.

[stray_redbird]

Reno felt the weight of Rude's gaze, which was somehow frighteningly more potent without the shield of his sunglasses. But Reno had never had much of a sense of self-preservation and a chronic case of cocky recklessness that was bound to prove fatal before he turned forty. Blatantly keeping his vibrant eyes turned away, the redhead lifted his cigarette to his mouth, still feeling his pockets down for his lucky lighter.

He had a split second to react when the cigarette was snatched from between his generous lips, the starts of an annoyed protest already working its way out in the moment Rude paused. His gaze finally lifted to Rude's face, his eyes narrowed in irritation before widening. With his eyes fully open, it was possible to notice the unusual blue-green color the mako gave them, the unearthly and beautiful brightness that Reno so often hid under half-lowered eyelashes.

Then they closed. Tightly. Reno was fast-- fast enough to try and dodge a blow if he wanted to. But, for some reason, though he seemed to register Rude's fist the moment before it struck him squarely in the face, he didn't move. Maybe because he figured they were too close for a dodge to matter, or maybe because he thought he deserved it. Either way, he only half-flinched. Stubborn though he might have been, he expected Rude to hit hard, and he wasn't disappointed, either.

The blow jarred the slender redhead, throwing him off balance and forcing him to take a staggering sidestep. He might have made it to the floor, if not for Rude's grip finding his shirt again.

"Ah, fuck. Fuck," he muttered, lifting a hand to gingerly feel out the side of his face that had been struck. That was going to bruise nice. He tasted blood where the inside of his cheek must have caught on his teeth. For a second, he was angry. Angry that he'd really been hit. Angry that Rude was taking this so seriously, and angry because a part of him actually felt sorry because Rude was taking it seriously.

But, when he looked up he had a wry smile on his face, a small one. One that was a little apologetic and a little relieved, because he was. Yeah, Rude could hit him if he wanted, he could take that. But Rude walking out on him was a different story. He was already tired of being on bad terms with Rude, because it was Rude, and if he couldn't go home at the end of the day and whine about shit with Rude, then who?

When he spoke, his voice was deceptively easy, juxtaposed with that smile, but a little subdued, as if the storm had raged itself out and all he wanted was a smoke and a warm bed. "Hey," he asked quietly, lightly, "Baby, did you really have to hit me so hard?"

[expert_stoic]

Rude's fingers were still curled around the fabric of Reno's shirt, but Reno's expression caught him off guard and his grip loosened, though he couldn't bring himself to move away. He had not expected Reno to accept his punch so easily and it was unnerving watching him give in so easily. They had fought before and sometimes those ended in fist fights, which was what he'd been expecting this time.

They'd fight until they were both bleeding and exhausted, but then things usually worked themselves out afterwards. That was how it was supposed to go. A fight and unspoken forgiveness.

However, that smile was an apology. A fucking apology.

Rude exhaled slowly, his breath seeming unusually loud in the silence that followed Reno's question. The corner of his mouth turned down into a bemused frown as he stared down at Reno. The silence stretched on and Rude lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, looking away from Reno momentarily.

"...Yeah," he said, his voice feeling rough and unused, "You know I did."

He lifted a hand and let it tangle into Reno's hair. He let his hand rest there, not attempting to pull or pet, just rest. Even he knew this was fucking weird, just like Reno apologizing was weird. Eventually, even Rude was overwhelmed by the inherent strangeness of this moment.

"Just...don't do that again," he murmured before he pulled his hand away and turned around, not able to face that apologetic smile for a moment longer.

[stray_redbird]

Maybe that was the real beauty of Reno's personality: he was always surprising someone. Even to himself, his moves were sometimes unpredictable. And though the sting in his cheek, flushed from being struck, made him wonder if he'd ought to have met this argument fighting tooth and nail, that baffled frown on Rude's face nearly made the whole ordeal worth it in itself.

It was almost as if with Rude's careful exhale, the some of tension in both of them was let out as well. Reno felt oddly deflated by the relief that things were slipping quietly back into place. Maybe he was getting older, finally getting a little mature-- because he couldn't remember the last time he wanted to feel secure about something instead of recklessly running out on the edge with it. On rare occassions, he almost preferred a place to lay his head, instead of things broken under his feet.

"Yeah, well it fuckin' hurt like a bitch," Reno complained mildly, stilling under the hand that caught and rested in his wild hair. A sign of re-acceptance? Was he finally forgiven. He leaned into the touch slightly before it was withdrawn, satisfied that he was sort of getting his way now.

There was a little touch of mischief in his expression at Rude's final reprimand that blossomed into a cheeky grin, all sass. "Ah, I don't know, baby," was Reno's teasing answer, eyes bright like they hadn't been for a few days. He stepped around Rude with light steps to try and get in his partner's face, playful now. "You're kinda hot when you're mad, y'know? I might have to try and get you to hit me again."

[expert_stoic]

Rude stopped short when Reno stepped around him and he shot Reno a bland look before he raised his eyebrows. He was amused, and admittedly relieved, to see Reno back to his usual self so quickly. But this was familiar ground for both of them and with the tension between them finally diffused, they were feel to fall back into their usual patterns. Rude had long since stopped being bothered by Reno's constant flirting. It was just something Reno did. It didn't have much significance behind it.

"...I didn't know you liked it so rough," Rude, eventually, replied with a slight shrug. Rude didn't seem the type to most people, but he could give and take teasing with Reno easily. Sometimes Reno went a little further than he could handle, but silence was always a good response in his mind. However, this time silence was far from his thoughts, "Explains some things."

The corner of Rude's mouth curled into a slight smile but he couldn't help but eye the darkening patch on Reno's cheek. He had no doubt that would leave a nasty bruise by morning, possibly even a black eye. Not that it would last long.

[stray_redbird]

It was true that Rude put up with a lot of Reno's strange and sometimes obnoxious habits-- everything from his perpetual flirting, the attempts to steal Rude's boxers, to the insistence on the pet Rottweiler that was always peeing on one thing or another. Rude was probably the only person who remembered the real color of Reno's eyes, or knew what Reno's face looked like when he first woke up in the mornings. If Rude couldn't stand Reno, nobody could. And the fact that Rude was bantering back with him was the reassurance that Reno needed-- things were patched, for now.

"Come on, baby, y'know how much I like an adventure," the redhead teased with one of his lazy smiles, sliding comfortably back into his usual sarcasm and bad manners as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. He bounced back fast. The only evidence that they'd fought at all was the bruise forming on one high cheekbone. "And you've got really good hands."

Then, to seal the deal on their fixing of things, Reno caught his friend's familiar head between his hands, coaxing it down. Pausing just a second to admire that bald head affectionately, he tilted his head and gave it a good lick, flattening his tongue against the smoothness and showing his love in all its germy glory.

[expert_stoic]

The moment Reno's hands touched his face, Rude knew what was coming, but he didn't even try to resist. Instead, he just sighed and gave in to Reno's coaxing and bent slightly so that Reno could reach. This was something else he'd grown used to ever since he started shaving his head. Even so, the feel of Reno's tongue against his scalp sent goosebumps creeping down his nape. He reached around Reno and grabbed his ponytail, using it to tug Reno's head away.

"..." He shook his head, then lifted a hand to wipe away the spit on his head before he finally released Reno's ponytail. "I get the point, Reno."

Then Rude reached up and pulled off his sunglasses before loosening his tie and pulling it over his head. It was rare for anyone to see Rude without his sunglasses or his tie, but Reno knew Rude since before he started shaving his head and even before he started wearing a tie, so when it was just the two of them it didn't matter as much. He slipped the sunglasses into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, then stepped past Reno so he could access the hall closet where he was keeping most of his clothes for the moment.

"...Think I should start looking for an apartment?" he asked as he slipped off his jacket and hung it neatly in the closet.

[stray_redbird]

Reno only gave a light sound of complaint when his face was forced from Rude's head by a firm grip on the tail of his wild hair, though the brief sulk was mostly for show. Inwardly, he was happy. It showed in eyes that were mako-bright-- not with nervous energy, or anger, but with the boundless energy that defined Reno in his best moods.

Mischievous, he tagged along with his best friend to the closet, waiting until both of Rude's hands were occupied with hanging up his jacket before fast fingers snuck around him to steal his sunglasses out from the inner pocket. Reno gave a cheeky little grin, tugging his goggles down around his neck to slide the stolen shades into his hair.

One casual question wiped the grin right off his face.

"What the fuck, Rude?" he demanded immediately, not waiting for an explanation or giving the inquiry a second's chance. His expression was open, speaking of temper, anxiousness, and surprise. "What the hell are you talking about, you bald motherfucker?"

The words held little malice. In fact, there was a subtle something that was suspiciously like bewilderment, and maybe even a touch of hurt. Cocky and carefree Reno gave a shit about so few things-- but, without a doubt, his best friend was one of them.

"Jesus, you're not still mad, are you? Come on, for fuck's sake Rude, I wasn't serious when I said that shit," his voice made his words pushy and he spoke a little too fast, his hands finding Rude's sleeve as if to say: don't go.

[expert_stoic]

"Reno. Reno," Rude nearly shouted as Reno continued to babble out questions without giving him a single chance to respond. He hadn't expected that kind of reaction from Reno at all, since he had only planned on staying here until he found a place of his own. After all, Reno's couch was hardly a comfortable place to sleep since it was much, much too short for his height.

"What does this have to do with being mad?" Rude asked as a crease formed between his eyebrows. When Reno grabbed his sleeve Rude blatantly stared, but without the protection of his sunglasses Rude soon forced himself to look away. "Hell. Reno. You..."

Rude dropped his gaze to the hand holding his sleeve and, seeming oddly nervous, he shook off Reno's grasp. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he slammed the closet door shut with his free hand. Hadn't they just made up?

"...You're expecting me just to stay here? There isn't even a place for me to sleep, Reno." He managed to keep his tone bland, but he was completely confused and no matter how he tried to disguise it, Reno would likely be able to tell.

[stray_redbird]

"Why the hell shouldn't I expect you to jus' stay here?" the redhead asked back a little sharply, his anxiousness making him visibly irritable, "If you don't like the fucking couch, there's room enough on the bed, yeah? I swear I won't kick. I mean, fuck, you're walkin' out on me 'cause you don't like my damn couch?"

Obviously, the fact that they'd agreed Rude was only staying until he found a place of his own was of little relevance to Reno, who had long decided he liked having his best mate on hand and in his apartment. Maybe it was making up for the two years work had taken Rude away from him, or just the naturally possessive part of his personality that so often decided to make him publicly call Rude "his" all the time.

His expression was stubborn, as if he thought if he wasn't pushy about it-- if he didn't put his foot down about this-- then Rude really would go. Reno was selfish enough that it didn't really matter to him if Rude wanted to go or not. Maybe he was missing the point, but it sufficed to say, he honestly didn't care.

[expert_stoic]

Rude fell silent in the face of Reno's offer and accusation; however, it wasn't because Reno was right about him 'walking out.' He hadn't even thought of it like that nor had he expected Reno to be quite this possessive. He stared at Reno, bemused, as he fumbled for the words to say. Although, he wasn't going to go anywhere near the bed sharing issue.

"Fuck. Reno," he looked away as he reached up to rub the back of his neck, "...I won't go then."

Aside from the constant mess, Rude did enjoy living with Reno and after this it was clear that Reno still needed him around. He wasn't devoted to the idea of leaving, it had just seemed like the most convenient option given the size of Reno's apartment.

Rude glanced at Reno one more time before he pulled open the closet door again and fished around in his jacket pocket. After a moment, he found his pack of cigarettes and tapped one out of the carton for himself before holding out the pack towards Reno, wanting to replace the cigarette he'd broken earlier.

[stray_redbird]

Reno opened his mouth as if he had expected Rude to protest and had already prepared a verbal counter attack, but stopped, backtracking. His expression could be summed up in one syllable: oh. It was like he had built up fire and temper for another argument, then had been abruptly deflated with a single sentence. But, then again, Rude always could manage to do that to him.

"You wont?" the redhead asked a touch suspiciously. For the second time that night, a potential fight had been oddly averted with little incident. Maybe they were getting better at this. After a second, Reno repeated himself, though the words were made into a reassured statement, rather than a question. "You won't."

Relief, again. A rare quiet fell between the pair as Rude offered Reno a cigarette from his pack. Reno eyed them for a long moment, then quirked a wry smile, reaching out instead to snag Rude's for himself. He dug out his lighter and lit up with all the practiced ease someone who thrived in vice.

Blowing a mocking, smoky kiss at his partner, he let his wry smile linger, the sharp edges of his voice smoothed out by the poison curling warmly in his lungs. "Thanks, baby."

[expert_stoic]

Rude gave Reno a disgruntled look as his cigarette was taken right from his fingers, but he refrained from commenting and just took a new one from the package. He caught it between his lips, slipped his light from his pocket and flicked it open, the metallic click unnaturally loud in the silence between them. After sliding his lighter back into his pocket, Rude took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled slowly, the smoke drifting from his lips. He didn't smoke even half as much as Reno did and while in Russia he'd stopped altogether, but he'd quickly fallen back into his old habits once returning to Italy.

The silence stretched on with only the smoke drifting between them, but the moment was lost when Rude made to step past Reno. He clapped his hand on his partner's shoulder, then continued off down the hallway. Peanut yipped from another room, but Rude didn't bother going to investigate just yet.

"...Should put ice on that," he said as he paused in the doorway leading to the living room. He was relatively content now that things were settled between them and it was relief to be able to relax with Reno again.