Snippet #2423278

Seriously? He'd just spent the last few seconds attempting to provoke a response and the guy just wanted to sit and stare at him? Honestly, he was just going through the motions with this and his expectations and interest were already pretty low - it was like 'Oh, here's somebody new to talk to... meh...' He was already tired and worn out but in the absence of any immediate words, or anything the least bit entertaining going on, Rudy let his vision drift back to the screens behind the man, allowing himself to focus on Osono's face once again. Even now, looking at her expression frozen in a tolerant grimace, he couldn't decide whether he was concerned for her safety or not. He wanted to say not because there was a very supple and voluptuous muscled lady within reach to pine for and torment himself with. But there was a niggling in the back of his mind that kept pressing to be acknowledged. Feelings and things he didn't want to let in, lest he be forced to act upon them.

Rudy was so fucking tired and he desperately wanted to go back to the way things were. Back before Noel died, back before he even knew who Gwen Stewart or Alex or Eric Patten were. Things used to be so much simpler. There were a lot of memories Rudy looked back upon fondly, things he and Osono did on their travels together that made him smile to think of now. Even sending Agents after her and scaring the shit out of her, making her fight and run for her life, had it's moments of joy for him. But there was one week in particular that stood out above the rest. She'd been on the run for 2 years already and Rudy was taking a break from attacking her to just hang out with her and renew her trust in him. It'd been in the ass-faced middle of nowhere and they'd been trekking along the country roads because she felt like walking - Rudy didn't argue because the isolation and slow pace made it easier for him to relax. It always made him nervous to let her get around people as there was no telling what she'd do when outsiders were thrown into the mix - as could clearly be pointed out with the current Alex and Gwen mess. So, scenic country, amidst the birds and the trees, walking dirt roads, even in the rain, he was perfectly fine with. Because it meant it was just the two of them together. And it wasn't just him who liked the isolation but her as well. She acted different around people, seeming to see both threats and distractions when surrounded by a crowd.

And she treated Rudy different too. Rudy almost always had the "little brother" button on whenever they were together, but when they were alone she responded to it more readily. In a city or inside a full building he suddenly became expendable and it felt like even when she was standing right beside him, she was slipping away, ready to dart into the mass of faces and disappear. It probably came from his habit of vanishing on her before sending in his goons for an attack - because he wasn't going to get in the middle of that and accidentally become a target, of either flames or his own men. It became almost like they were racing each other to see who could disappear first to avoid the upcoming battles with all of their messy questions. Just the two of them, on those country roads, stopping in those sleepy towns, she was suddenly stationary. For once, Ozzie was relaxed and not constantly on guard, searching for a way out... looking for a way to leave him.

Walking all day on empty roads, talking her ear off about his latest fandoms and occasionally getting playfully wrestled to the dirt to let off some steam. Then eating at greasy spoons and staying at crummy motels that only ever saw business from truck-drivers and the sleepy locals. Nights spent watching whatever crap passed for television in those nondescript towns that nobody went to, laughing at old '80's porn they found in one of the rooms, clogging their youthful arteries with pizza and buffalo wings. And then finally snuggling down to sleep on one of the pair of queen sized beds amidst a blanket of snack food and wrappers. Any plans he had in place could be put off for another day and there was nothing that needed his immediate attention or focus. During that week he actually forgot, like he never could before or had the opportunity since, that the Agency was even a thing or that he had any responsibility to it. He was just a dorky kid on a road trip with his girl, no expectations and no schedules or deadlines. They didn't need to be anywhere or answer to anybody.

That week would always be first and foremost in his mind when thinking of what had been lost when Alex entered the picture. Although a day like that week hadn't happened again as tensions grew and she got smarter - while he got more playful in his approach and Noel became more possessive - the hope never left that there was another empty road and no-place town just around the bend. They'd never get that week back now. Even if by some luck, Alex decided to leave her alone, it was over. Not only would they never get selective amnesia again but now that memory, if it'd been a pleasant one for Osono too, would forever be tainted by the ever present lie shadowing his relationship with her. That was why he hated that son of a bitch, Alex. Fine. If he had to, then he'd admit it, he loved Osono and he wanted to be with her but couldn't because of that jerk and his sexy dick - seriously, how fucking long was that thing??? Even Smoking Man here wanted a piece - but also Alex had done everything in his power to pulverize any appeal Rudy could have still clung to. And now that Rudy's power was gone, he was no longer able to protect her anymore either.

If he was perfectly honest with himself, that was another thing he missed. Not Noel herself, because good God, the woman was obsessed and in all their play sessions she was probably attempting to kill him, only to be dissuaded half-way through by her overwhelming lust - not that Rudy was complaining; on the brink of bloody, gasping, terrifying death and being forced to orgasm was exactly where he wanted to be every time. No, mostly he missed how simple she'd made things for him too. As obsessed about Osono as she was, nothing compared to how obsessed Noel became with Rudy and it was extremely easy to play upon that. All he had to do, after a few days of hanging with Osono, doing the "little brother" thing, was launch a half-assed attack, simultaneously scaring Osono back into her defensive shell and appeasing Noel with a lame attempt to do his job. Then, he'd meet up with Noel - while being fully aware of the direction Ozzie ran - attempt to 'apologize' for screwing up again, allow her to punish him, to ease her own guilt at playing such a passive part in their continued failures, and then they'd spend the next few days fucking until she grew tired of torturing him. As he went running after Osono again, Noel would clean up the mess, send in another request for a team to aid him in the capture and then she'd wait for his signal before sending the troops in. Over and over. There was a certain lack of obligation in the system they'd set up as well, a barely acknowledged yet deliberate ignorance in the game that allowed it to continue being played.

On the surface, Rudy was a bit disgusted with how stupid and malleable the women in his life were but he'd actually loved the way things were. He didn't want to be here, dealing with the fear that his target was dead or possibly in a coma. He just wanted to run to Noel, snuggle up to her and let her do horrible things to him, make her happy enough that she'd come here and deal with Patten and all these boring, powerful people herself. And then he'd wake up in the morning, look at the HSA and Ozzie would be blinking with a small fire somewhere. Then, magically, Eric would be appeased, Ozzie would have dumped Alex and Rudy would be able to run right back into the spot that was surely still there waiting for him to occupy it.

Right around then, Rudy became aware that Smoking Man had been talking to him... for a while, it seemed, as he caught the tail end of the conversation. "Duuuude, you're really boring," Rudy said with a shrug and a dorky grin. "Totally my bad but I didn't catch any of that. But let me go ahead and take a guess at the synopsis of it: 'something something Alex and I'm a really stuffy European dude.' That's probably what I would've gotten out of it anyway, even if I had been paying attention."

Scratching at the top of his head, Rudy shrugged again and got up from his chair, his speedy voice only slowed down a few notches due to his fatigue. "Listen, I'm really freaking tired, Crowley, and Alex is the last person I wanna waste any more energy thinking about right now. I'm not even sure what the hell you want me to say. He didn't do anything. When I saw him with my target, I tried to murder him and he just stood there while I shot some invisible armor wearing dude. In fact, despite not even trying to dodge the shot, it didn't look like he even knew the guy was there." Rudy paused dramatically and lazily pointed with a thoughtful finger. "We might want to check up on the possibility that he's developing secondary powers, like the ability to suddenly materialize human shields out of thin air." He thought about it a moment longer, hastily threw away the few jokes springing to his tongue, and then shook his head when he realized he didn't give a flying fuck. "Don't worry about any trade or stupid shit like that. It's not like you know anything that I fucking want or need anyway - unless you happen to know the significance behind the existence of cats and dogs on Capri, in the series Battlestar Galactica? Seriously, loved it, but there's so many questions that are still bugging me about the finale. Anyway, as much as your offer to sit here and listen to you drone on even more about Alex is tempting, I think you've already properly prepped me for bed with what you've said so far. No homo."

"Alright, Jean Reno," Rudy said with another jerky shrug as he walked towards the door. "I'm gonna head off to find somewhere to crash for the night. You keep it real, bro, and if I never have to see your boring, faggot ass again, it'll be too soon." Not waiting for a reply, Rudy waltzed out of the vault and left the office, wandering into the hall while stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. When he was alone, he automatically took out his phone and checked the HSA again. There wasn't even a flicker of surprise in him at all when the results showed up blank and he was beginning to wonder what he was even looking for anymore.