Unexpected Friendship
Rufus Shinra was awakened from a deep sleep by a loud pounding at his door. His eyes flashed open instantly, his panicked gaze darting towards his door as fear tightened his throat. No matter how old he got he still had the same reaction whenever he heard someone pounding on his door, especially in the middle of the night. That familiar tensing in all his muscles, the urge to run that was almost too great to ignore. That awful fear, like cold steel buried in the pit of his stomach.
"It's nothing. Nothing. Probably that damned fool Heidigger or someone of the like. Stop being such a damn sissy and open the fucking door you moron. You're not a child any more."
"Right." He murmured finally, pushing himself out from beneath his blankets and donning the white robe he kept at his bedside as he walked to the door. That irrational fear was fading now and giving way to just plain irritation for having his sleep interrupted, it was much easier to be angry and irritated then afraid of events long past.
"Who the hell is it and what the hell do you want?" Rufus shouted as he reached the door, his blue eyes narrowing in irritation.
No response.
Cursing softly, Rufus eased up to the door and peered through the peephole to see... that irritating street punk who wanted to join the Turks. "What the hell is he doing here?" Rufus wondered aloud as he slowly unlatched the five locks he kept on his oor and opened it wide.
"What do you want? And what the hell are you doing here at this time of night?" Rufus asked coldly as he starred at the disheveled youth before him.
"That's not much of a welcome." Reno responded as he pushed past Rufus into the darkened room.
As he passed, Rufus caught the scent of strong liquor and some dark, musty cologne that made a shiver whisper across his spine. A shiver which had nothing to do with fear. But, then the moment passed and Reno was speaking again. "Nice place ya got here, Pretty Boy."
"Oh, please won't you come in, Reno? I'm so glad you like my room." Rufus hissed, closing the door and hitting the light switch on the wall beside it. "I'd hate to think it didn't live up to the high standards which you've set for my living quarters."
"It's big." The redhead stated plainly, mulling over the room silently, oblivious to the daggers Rufus was starring at his back. "But it's kinda bare. I really thought you'd have more stuff."
"I just sent the seven-foot porcelain elephant out for it's yearly cleaning and my new diamond-encrusted curtains don't arrive until next week." Rufus grumbled, shifting his weight uncomfortably as Reno continued his inspection, ignoring Rufus' obvious discomfort.
Reno chuckled softly, finally casting a smile in Rufus' direction before continuing to meander about Rufus' room. "Hey, I didn't know you had a sense of humor. I'm kind of impressed. Hey, is that you?" Reno asked as his curious gaze settled on a small, framed picture that sat on the table beside Rufus' bed. It was the only personal item visible in the entire room. A sly smile crept into place on his face as Reno turned and made his way towards the small table, only pausing when Rufus suddenly darted in front of him.
"I don't have a sense of humor and this is none of your damn business." Rufus spat, slamming the picture face down against the table. "Now, what do you want? If you've come to beg for your position as a Turk, you might as well just leave, because it's not going to work."
"Why should I have to beg? I brought you the mission report. My work can do all the begging for me." Reno growled, pulling the envelope from his jacket and thrusting it at the startled vice-president.
"Oh? Well, this should be interesting." Rufus returned, snatching the envelope Reno offered and crossing to his desk. Rufus sat down in a chair, taking a pair of glasses from his desk and slipping them on before opening the envelope.
"You wear glasses?" Reno queried, studying the blond's profile with new interest.
"Yes. Why do you care?" Rufus asked, not bothering to glance up from the report in his hands.
"I don't. I just thought it was kind of funny."
"What's so damn funny about it?"
"When you wear them you don't look like such a brat. They make you look older, I guess."
"How old do you think I am, Reno?" Rufus inquired, his eyes lifting towards the other man for the briefest of moments.
"Shit, I don't know... Seventeen?"
"You think I'm younger than you? You do realize I practically run the most powerful company in the world, don't you?"
"That's because you're the President's son."
"Hmph. I figured you'd say something like that." Rufus grumbled, lowering his eyes to the report once more.
"Well it's true, ain't it?"
"My father doesn't even like me. I get nothing from him for free. Despite what you believe, I've had to work for everything I have."
"Fine, whatever you say, sir. So, how old are you?"
"Twenty."
"Liar."
"No, it's true. Ask Tseng or Rude if you don't believe me."
"Heh. I'll do that. Hey, this is you, isn't it? You were a cute kid. Is this your mother?" Reno grinned as Rufus glanced up sharply, his blue eyes cold.
"I remember telling you that that was none of your business. Put that down."
"I can't do that, sir. Until you admit that I'm a Turk, I don't have to take orders from you."
Rufus sighed irritably and glanced back down at the report, "Fine. I don't like it and I still don't think you're good enough for this job, but I'll go with Tseng's recommendation. He seems to think you'll do well enough. You're a Turk."
"I knew you'd see the light." Reno grinned widely, setting the picture back down on the table. "So is that your mother or not?"
"Yes, that is my mother. I..." Rufus paused mid-sentance, tensing visably as a knock sounded on his door. Setting the report he still held in his hands down on the desk, Rufus stood unsteadily.
"Yes?"
"Rufus? Open the door. I wish to speak with you."
"Hell and damnation. It's my father." Rufus grumbled, raking a hand back through his golden hair.
After a long moment, Rufus turned and jabbed a finger in Reno's direction. "You. Get under the bed."
"Huh? Why the hell should I do that?" Reno asked, frowning.
"Because I will kill you with my bare hands and stuff you under there if you don't." Rufus growled, grabbing Reno by his jacket and giving him a none-too-gentle shove towards the bed.
"Fine. You're so damn bossy. What's the big deal?" Reno grumbled, dropping too his hands and knees and slipping beneath the bed, mumbling irritably.
"And keep quiet." Rufus hissed, kicking Reno's disappearing legs irritably. "Unless you want to explain to my father what you're doing in my room at three in the morning."
"Point taken." Reno muttered, folding his arms beneath his chin and hoping that whatever this was about it wouldn't take too long.
Once he was certain Reno was well hidden, Rufus rushed to the door and opened it wide. "Hello, Father. What are you doing here at this time of night?"
"Still as paranoid as ever, aren't you?" President Shinra commented, stepping past his son and immediately setting his gaze on the row of locks on Rufus' door.
"Better paranoid then dead." Rufus stated coldly, closing the door and folding his arms across his slim chest. "What the hell do you want?"
"There's a matter I'd like you to take care of."
"Oh? I'm not surprised. What is it this time? Workers strike? Bad press? Or did you just lose the remote again?"
"Shut up, brat. I'm in no mood for your poor attempts at humor. I need you to take care of a group of rebels... your way."
"Ah, my way. You mean you want them to disappear without a trace, right? You could just say that, you know. I don't see the point of beating around the bush."
"The file will be on your desk in the morning."
"Fine."
"You will take care of this situation?"
"Don't I always? Someone has to get his hands dirty and since my hands are already as black as sin a little more blood won't make too much difference, will it?"
"Blame your mother for that, boy. I'm not the one one dragged you into the dredges. I'm the one who lifted you back out."
Rufus released a bitter laugh, "Something for which I thank my lucky stars every day."
"As you should." He responded, obviously missing Rufus' sarcasm. "You would have died on those streets if not for me. You should never forget that. Never forget that I am the one to whom you owe your life. Now, take care of the problem. Good night, son."
"Just leave." Rufus murmured coldly, ignoring the chuckle his words drew from his father's mouth as the old man left the room, shutting the door with a slam. "Son of a bitch." Rufus grumbled as he secured the locks and turned toward his bed, wanting nothing more than to fall into the empty blackness of sleep. It was only when he had his hand on the light switch that he remembered he was not alone. "You can come out now." He stated quietly, watching tiredly as the new Turk slowly emerged from beneath the bed.
"Ah... your father's kind of a bastard, isn't he?" Reno asked sheepishly as he got to his feet.
"Isn't it nice to know that life in the Shinra Suite isn't all it's cracked up to be?"
"About that... I... I don't know why I said that shit. Something about you just pissed me off.
Probably the way you looked at me. Like I was less than you."
"Don't apologuise to me, Reno. I don't want to like you." Rufus replied softly, a slight tremor in his usually steady voice.. "Don't make me."
Reno laughed, clapping the young vice-president's shoulder gently. "I don't want to like you either. So, you wanna have lunch tomorrow?"
"Lunch?"
"Yeah. I don't get my pay check until Friday and I'm hungry."
"Get out of here, Reno."
"Aw, come on..."
"Out."
"Fine, fine. So, what time you want to meet for lunch? I think I can only go until one o'clock without finding some way to annoy you if I don't eat."
Rufus smiled softly, "Fine. I'll meet you at noon at the bar on level 66."
"Sweet. See ya tomorrow, sir."
"That's quite enough, now go before I change my mind."
