OK, I posted my first entry of Livejournal's 30 Kisses challenge as a separate story To Keep and Cherish. Then it occured to me belatedly that I couldn't post all 30 entries as separate stories...well I could but that would be very, very messy. So I will be posting the remaining 29 entries in this story slot. They will not however be done in order. Like Reno I can be organised only so far before something gives.
So here is my second entry of the 30 Kisses challenge #16: invincible.
Disclaimer: Characters and world setting are the property of Square Enix.
Notes: This takes place during the timeline of the game itself shortly after the events at the Temple of the Ancients.
Shinra Never Give Up
He had thought that Tseng was invincible. After so many years with Tseng by his side, he just had come to assume that Tseng would always come out on top, would always outwit any opponent, would always win no matter what the odds.
Rufus Shinra sat behind his desk, the desk that had recently been his father's but which was now his and simply stared at the finished woodwork. There were piles of papers on the desk, reports of sightings of Sephiroth, reports of sightings of Weapons those guardians of the Planet, reports on the status of the project to gather large materia. He ignored them all. It wasn't like him to ignore pressing situations but the news of Tseng's death had overridden any other news that called for his attention.
In his hand was an ivory chess piece. He had absentmindedly picked it up from the chess board in his apartment and brought it with him to his office. Rufus felt a sudden pang as he realized that now the chess game that he and Tseng had been playing would never be finished. Sephiroth had seen to that.
At the thought of the silver-haired General, Rufus' hand clenched around the chess piece. Sephiroth would pay. Oh yes he would surely pay. No one got away with killing one of his Turks, especially his favorite one...especially his lover. The blond's eyes were dry. He wasn't the crying type no matter how much pain he was in whether emotional or physical. They said that no one had ever seen him bleed or cry. Well the bleeding part was ridiculous of course. People had seen him bleed especially after one of his father's beatings but it was true that no one had ever seen him cry. Tseng had come the closest to seeing him cry when Rufus had been a child but even then the blond had learned to hide his tears.
Rufus drew a deep breath and bit his lip. He eyed the reports that covered the desk. Part of him wanted to just sweep them off into a heap onto the floor. What good were any plans to save Midgar, to save the Planet when Tseng was no longer by his side? But Rufus knew that Tseng would not want him to give up. He could hear the Wutaian's calm voice in his mind.
"You are Shinra, Sir and Shinra do not give up...ever."
"I won't give up, Tseng," Rufus whispered. "If only to see that bastard pay for taking you away from me."
He reached out and picked up one of the reports, opened it and began reading. He had to start over twice because at first the words just weren't registering in his mind but he forced himself to focus and after a while the only sound in the room was the occasional rustle of paper as the blond turned a page. The light through the window grew dim as the sun set but darkness didn't come as a reddish tint was cast over everything by the glowing almost throbbing orb that hung in the sky.
Rufus set down the report he had been reading and turned his chair to the window. Meteor loomed over Midgar like some demon. In a way it was a demon summoned by Sephiroth to destroy the Planet for some mad reason that only the General could fully comprehend. And Rufus could only hope that the large Materia that his people were gathering together and which would be placed on a rocket to hurtle to impact on that glowing malevolence would stop the thing.
He closed his eyes as he realized that he would have to travel to Rocket Town to oversee the readying of the rocket that had stood there unused for so many years. For all anyone knew the thing wouldn't even be able to get off the ground now. So many things had to be done, so many decisions he had to make.
Tseng...
Rufus pushed the pain of the loss of his lover to the back of his mind. He had to be able to think clearly. There would be plenty of time to mourn if they succeeded in stopping Meteor. And if they did not succeed then it would not matter. He would join Tseng in death.
There was a sudden ringing in the room and it took Rufus a few seconds to realize that it was his PHS. He pulled it out. Only the Turks had the number for his cell phone.
"Yes?" he said. For several moments he said nothing but the expression on his face gradually changed from surprise to shock to what could only be called hope.
"Are you sure?" he demanded. "This better not be just a rumor, Reno." He listened for a few minutes more then said, "I want to be notified as soon as you land. I mean immediately, Reno."
Rufus closed the device and put it back in his pocket. He stared out the window but he wasn't seeing anything, not even Meteor.
Alive. Tseng was alive. Badly injured but alive. Even now the Turks had commandeered a helicopter and were bringing him back to Midgar where the best medical treatment was available.
And then, hours later, Tseng was there in the Shin-Ra wing of the hospital, hooked up to various machines and in a coma but alive.
Rufus stood near the bed looking down at his lover. There were swathes of bandages across the Wutaian's chest, the middle of the bandages had a slight red tinge to them. The length of the wound made Rufus shudder. Sephiroth's Masamune had ripped Tseng open. The doctor had said that some instinct must have made the Wutaian move back a split second before Sephiroth had attacked so that only the tip of the huge sword had sliced him instead of impaling him through. That was what had saved him. Nevertheless it was a serious wound and they would probably keep the man in a coma for another couple of weeks and then it would take months for him to fully recover.
Rufus then considered the irony. In a couple of weeks there might no longer be a planet for Tseng to wake up in. But if there was...if there was then Rufus would for once be there for Tseng instead of the other way around.
The door opened and a nurse poked her head in. "I'm sorry, President Shinra but you will have to leave now so we can change the dressings."
Rufus nodded. "Just give me a moment."
The nurse withdrew and Rufus was again alone with his lover. There was an oxygen mask covering Tseng's nose and mouth to help him breathe so Rufus bent over and gently kissed the man's forehead. Straightening up, he put his hand in his pocket and withdrew the ivory chess piece which he carefully placed on the endtable next to the bed. Then he left the room feeling hopeful for the first time in days.
