Blood and Chocolate

I would like to thank Okami for her pestering me about this fic. She reminded me that there are a few of you keeping track of this. Everyone, thank her for her prodding.

I would also like to thank Changelingheart for her review. I promise that you WILL find out why Vincent and Rude are OoC--even a little bit.

Now for an update!!



Vincent stared over the board in front of him. He'd given up on the numbers, the words and the scenarios that all lead tot he eventual death of Tseng at the hands of the spoiled Baby shin-ra. Now he was completely invested in Rude's next move. The black Turk had decided to stop asking questions after Vincent's retort about Cid and broke out a chess board. Now they were head to head in a heated match. Who knew that along with the brawn, Rude actually had brains? It wasn't something widely known, as the greater Shin-ra employee populace, and the gang, assumed that being partners with Reno had dumbed Rude down to nearly preschool level. I mean who else just waltzed into battle with someone like Reno? It was asking to be shot on sight, or beaten into an unidentifiable, bloody mass of gore. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but Reno wasn't known for his brains and everyone just assumed the worst for Rude.



"Check." Vincent watched Rude move his bishop into place and a frown tugged at the left side of his mouth. He study the board over before moving his knight to capture the bishop. He immediately lost the knight to Rude's. Well, at least he was no longer in check. It also allowed Vincent to check Rude's king.



"Why did you accept Reno as your partner?" Okay, so he genuinely wanted to know. Why? Because with the way Rude was playing this seemingly simple game it was apparent that Rude would work better with someone of his own mental capacity.



"What did you have with Tseng?" Touche. Rude moved his king out of harms way and Vincent followed it.



"Check."



"I accepted him because of his uncanny ability to assess a situation and point out all possible flaws in the enemy's defenses." Rude moved his queen to block even though he knew it was a bad idea. He was minutely shocked to watch Vincent back off and go into a defensive position. "He works well under duress and while drunk. And while he may seem completely obtrusive and stupid, he is far from it."



"From what, being obtrusive?"



"Stupid. Reno is not stupid, no matter how he acts." Vincent processed that information before leaning back against the cushion of the couch and studying the board. How much to tell someone he's fought along side of to save the world and yet did not trust? That was the question wasn't it.



"I knew Tseng before we were recruited. Once we joined our friendship turned sexual and became a coping mechanism for the both of us. As much as you might want to believe, Tseng and I weren't always so cold and deadly accurate." Vincent moved his rook. "I fell for Tseng after he came home from what should have been a suicide mission. The night I walked into his apartment and found him bleeding all over the place, I told him so and he left me. Or he left after he tried to shoot me." Vincent's eyes grew hard, flashing with purple for a moment before he shook it off. "He chose the job and I chose to follow Hojo."



"Check." Vince knocked over his king, suddenly not caring for the game anymore. He ran his golden claw through his unruly black locks and let his head fall back, relaxing against the couch cushion while Rude picked the game up off the floor and set it neatly aside. Rude moved to sit in the over stuffed chair and studied Vincent. "So why are you with the pilot?"



"Like I said, he's good with his hands." Vincent smiled sinfully when Rude made a choking noise. "Why are you with Reno?" Rude shrugged and looked out the window to the outside city.



"Because he's my partner."



"Have you slept with him? He does constantly smell like others-" Rude turned to him and Vincent shut his mouth.



"Once and he was drunk. When he found out what happened the next day he was beside himself." Vincent quirked a brow and Rude shook his head. "I'm going to bed."



"It's not even six yet." Rude rolled a shoulder and started up the stairs to his bed. When he made it to the bed, he slipped his socks off and just crawled under the blanket, pulling the thing over his head. He didn't like thinking about that one time with Reno. It was one of the few times in his life he tried actively to forget. Why? Because at one point he thought he loved Reno, like Vincent had admitted to loving Tseng. That night shattered any dream he had of hooking up with Reno because the red head was smitten with someone else. When that someone else died -by Rude's own hand- Reno had become a shell of his former self. Of course he still had his morals and his ideals but he wasn't as lively as he used to be.



Vincent stared at the stairs before he got to his feet and silently padded up them. When he got to the top, he leaned against the banister, arms across his chest. He stared at the lump in the blankets that was Rude for ten solid minutes before he shook his head and walked over, prodding what he thought was a bald head.



"What?"



"You want to get out of here for a little while? Maybe head to a club or a bar?" Rude poked his head out from under the blanket and turned to stare up at Vincent.



"I don't think a night on the town would be beneficial to our investigation."



"And you laying up here thinking about the past is?"



"Weren't you doing that for the better part of the afternoon?" Vincent's eye twitched but he looked away from the man.



"All the more reason to go out and get plastered don't you think?"



"Can you even get drunk?" Vincent just walked over to Rude's dresser and started opening and pawing through drawers. Yes, a night on the town would do them both wonders. Vincent might find someone to satisfy his needs with while Rude loosened up. Oh yea, that sounded good. Good enough that the thought of someone across his lap begging for release forced a growl to echo from his chest. Once he located suitable clothing, he tossed it at Rude.



"Get dressed. We'll leave the car and head out on foot, that way we won't have to pick it up in the morning."

________

Short chapter, sorry. keep posted for more.