Hm...I'm not dead.
Should not be posting this. Should instead be updating ongoing stories. Couldn't resist attack of Reffieness. *Shrug*
Why no, I do not own Final Fantasy VII.
They lay tangled in the white bed sheets, limbs still intertwined, a thin layer of sweat still clinging to their bodies. He hadn't given her his heart, but now he had given her everything else. Anything she wanted. He had thought she'd wanted something more, other than a marriage contract and the beautiful diamond ring around her finger. And he was correct, but she did not want that something more from him. Her heart belonged to another.
They were both fond of each other, and the sex had been enjoyable, but that was it. She hadn't suddenly felt anything other than affection for him, nor had he for her.
Her cheek rested lightly on his shoulder, and he turned his head to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, brushing back short, dark locks.
"You are still not happy." he sensed, continuing to stroke her hair.
She didn't bother to deny it, "I'm sorry."
They lay in silence for a while, taking comfort in each others warmth. She found his striking features undeniably attractive, especially his bright blue eyes and light blonde hair. But she didn't love him.
"I knew your sheets would be white." she commented, "Don't you like green? I like green. White is boring."
He made a vague noise of amusement, "White isn't boring, I like it. I happen to think white and green go well together."
She nodded in agreement, "I think you could be right. Let's test this by decorating our rooms in white and green."
He paused for a moment, "…Perhaps, we should just decorate one room green and white. Mine is the biggest."
She knew this was his way of inviting her to share his room, share his bed. Take another step to being a 'normal' married couple. It was a big step, but she wanted to take it; meet him halfway to make him happy.
"You may regret that decision." she told him, "Green is totally going to dominate white."
He chuckled, and kissed her forehead again.
-x&x-
He'd hired decorators. She'd sent them away.
"Lock up your white suits darling, and don the cheapest clothes you own, we're going to decorate this room ourselves."
Rufus Shinra looked at his wife in disbelief.
But moments later, he was in a (white) wife beater and long swimming trunks, caked in green paint. His Empress was giggling mischievously to herself as she continued to roll on forest green paint on the previously white walls.
"The wall opposite this one is going to be green as well." she informed her husband, "You'll camouflage so well, honey!"
He raised a blond eyebrow, "Thank you, love." he said, before picking up the super size tub of stark white paint, and tipping it over her head with an air of indifference. She screamed. Loudly. Followed by a massive crash as she jumped on him in revenge.
This prompted two of Shinra's Turks to burst into the room, fearing their co-employer was being attacked, or worse. Political assassination was a frightening possibility. Thankfully, Reno and Rude entered the room armed and ready; only to find the Shinra's on the floor attempting to get as much paint of their chosen colour on each other as possible.
"False alarm." Reno observed, almost looking relieved. His partner nodded.
"Sorry guys." Yuffie apologised, before turning her attention back to Rufus with an indignant expression, "So wait, it's okay if you're the one attacking me?"
In answer, he picked up the roller she'd abandoned and began coating the paint over her face and hair. His rich, deep chuckles joined her loud, happy laughter.
-x&x-
In twelve days, they'd painted the walls, green and white furniture filled the room, and the large four-poster bed was being decorated with light, fluttery drapes. In green and white, obviously.
The Empress was stood on the bed barefoot, adjusting the drapes accordingly, when strong hands landed on her hips. She smiled.
"Wondered when you were going to move, you've been stood at the door for ages."
"Technically, I'm supposed to be guarding the door, and therefore guarding you."
Yuffie turned, smiling down at Reno; from her elevated position he reached her shoulders, "I could think of something else you could do with your time."
The Turk's eyes darkened, "I've been thinking about that all day."
She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. His hands still gripped her hips lightly as she giggled, "Being tall feels good, I could get used to it."
Reno grinned, sliding his hands down to the back of her thighs, encouraging her to wrap her legs round his waist. He captured her lips hungrily, and lowered her onto the bed. His eager fingers reached for the hemline of her shirt, but she caught his hand, pulling her lips from his.
"Not here." she whispered. Not in this room, not in this bed. Nodding in understanding, he picked her up and began to carry her towards her old room.
This was the man who had her heart. Reno, bad boy of the Turks. Only, she was married to his boss, Rufus Shinra. The Turk and the Princess been 'unofficially' together just one week before Rufus proposed the marriage contract. They discussed telling him, but decided it was best not to, and instead they simply broke off their relationship.
It hadn't really worked out.
She found blonde hair and blue eyes attractive, but not in the way she found flaming red hair and turquoise eyes attractive. Seeing each other every day, living under the same roof, was just too much.
Those eyes had pulled her in.
She gazed into them now, lying on his chest after two rounds of fantastically mind-blowing sex. He stared back, smiling slightly.
"I love your eyes." she admitted, "They're kind of hypnotic…"
Reno smirked, looking down at her with shining eyes that were not quite blue, not quite green; probably already knowing all he had to do was look at her in a certain way and she was his to command. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.
-x&x-
Yuffie decided early on that she would never get used to the feeling of having both her husband and her lover in the same room. Unfortunately, this was a frequent occurrence, and the Empress thought it was a miracle Rufus hadn't grown suspicious of her. She was sure he'd noticed how Reno was more protective of her than the other Turks, how he was the one to guard her when he went on business trips, how they'd stay up talking in the kitchen late into the night.
Though he may or may not have noticed these things, Rufus Shinra certainly wasn't stupid.
"We're leaving for Midgar in three days," he addressed his Turks, "as usual, Yuffie does not wish to go-"
"I'll stay boss." Reno volunteered. Rufus shook his head, expression unfathomable.
"No. You are coming with myself, Elena and Tseng. Rude, you're staying in Wutai."
Rude nodded. Reno's expression was carefully blank.
So this prompted the conversation;
"Reno tells you everything right? You're like, best friends. You've probably got some weird man pact going on or something..."
Rude raised an eyebrow, but smiled slightly too, "…Man pact?"
Yuffie threw the book she'd been reading at him, aiming to miss.
"You know what I mean!" she exclaimed, curling up further in her armchair.
"What do you want to know?" he asked. She fidgeted for a moment.
"Well, has he said anything, about me?"
Rude's expression was unreadable, "Many things."
"Gawd Rude, why does conversation have to be dragged outta ya?" she muttered, annoyed, "Things like what?"
He paused for a moment, "He likes you."
"Yeah?" she asked, her cheeks colouring lightly. Having confirmation from an outsider was strange, but Yuffie was grateful.
Rude nodded in response, "Obviously it is highly inappropriate, considering you're married to his employer."
Oh. Yeah. She nodded. "What should…" she didn't want to give him too much information to pass on to Rufus, "What should I do?"
He adjusted his tie, thinking. She waited impatiently for his answer.
"Well…you're already doing Reno, aren't you?"
The Empress gasped in surprise as her cheeks flushed, and she stuttered incomprehensively for a few seconds, before she realised he was smirking. "You big jerk!" she accused, standing up, "You knew all along!"
"As you said, Reno 'tells me everything'." he replied, obviously amused.
She huffed before sitting back down, "I hope for his sake that doesn't include intimate details…"
Rude chuckled. There was a few moments of silence that wasn't entirely uncomfortable.
"So…do you have to tell Rufus?" she asked.
He shook his head slowly, "I don't deem yourself or Reno a threat to his life…" he trailed off, looking at her in what she realised was a questioning manor, and she shook her head in disgust, "Therefore I see no reason to. It would only cause unnecessary trouble."
Yuffie smiled gratefully, "Thanks Rude."
He nodded to her as she retrieved her book, before sitting back down again.
"…Not that I don't trust you, because I do. With my life." she told him sincerely, "But just to make things easier on both of us, I order you not to tell Rufus about me and Reno. And you have to listen to me, I'm Mrs. Shinra. So there."
"Yes ma'am." The Turk responded.
-x&x-
"Reno…what are we going to do?" she asked quietly. He turned to her and set down her midnight ice-cream on the kitchen table as he sat next to her.
"About what babe?"
"About you and me. We can't do this forever."
The Turk stayed silent, thinking hard. He didn't want to give her up. He didn't want to possibly lose his job either.
Yuffie sighed, "I'm tired of tiptoeing round Rufus."
He nodded in agreement, "I guess…we'll have to tell him."
There was a short, tense pause. "What do you think he'll do?" she whispered.
"…Fire me. Then shoot me with his shotgun. Actually, if he shoots me first I'm kinda fired by default."
The Empress wasn't sure if he was joking or not; she tried not to think too much into it. Instead she opened her midnight ice-cream and started eating.
"So…should we tell him tonight?"
Yuffie didn't answer, staring down at her ice-cream.
"Yuffie?" The Turk asked, leaning forward to catch her eyes. She looked up and exhaled shakily.
"I don't want to hurt him."
Reno cringed, "I'm sorry Yuffs."
The Empress gazed at him sadly, "Not tonight. We'll tell him tomorrow…or maybe the day after."
He raised an eyebrow sceptically.
She bit her lip, "Okay, just give me a few days to work up to it."
-x&x-
Unfortunately, those few days turned into a few weeks. Yes, Yuffie knew she was a coward.
When Rufus Shinra found his employee in bed with his wife, he wasn't as betrayed and angry as he thought one would be in such a situation.
But still, he was pretty fucking angry.
He didn't shout the clichéd line, "What the -insert expletive here- is this?" He already knew exactly what this was, and he only had one question to ask (through gritted teeth.)
"Why?"
Both the Empress and the Turk jerked from their light slumbers at the sound of his familiar voice. Wide silver eyes met piercing, light blue; before light blue shifted to eyes that were not quite blue, not quite green. The glare he sent that way could've wiped out the ice from the entire Icicle Area. No one said anything for a long while.
Rufus turned from the repulsive scene stiffly, leaving the two lovers alone. He was murderously enraged at his Turk and his Empress, but he was also infuriated at himself. He'd thought Reno felt something for his wife, but hadn't confronted him about it. How did he not see? And all this time, he'd been doing everything in his power to make her happy. He sneered mockingly at himself. He probably would have never found out if he hadn't stopped by her old room to ask if she was going to sleep in 'their' bed tonight. In the room they'd decorated together.
He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, and felt an extremely unfamiliar burning sensation coming from his eyes.
-x&x-
Breakfast the next morning was a tense affair. In fact, 'tense' was an understatement.
It was Reno and Rude's turn to guard the ex-President and his wife.
They stood either side of the doorway behind Rufus as he sat eating at the table. Yuffie sat opposite him, slowly nibbling on her own breakfast, keeping her head down. Rude caught Reno's eye, and then tilted his head toward their co-employer. The red-head nodded slightly, and his partner nodded to himself in understanding.
There was a heavy, almost suffocating silence as Rufus finished his first meal of the day. He wiped his mouth with a soft napkin before raising his eyes to his wife. She was picking at her food, somehow looking upset, anxious and guilty all at once.
"Yuffie?" he asked, tone neutral, "Are you finished?"
She nodded mutely as she placed her chopsticks down. Her husband stood, and gestured for her to do the same. Then he turned and began to head out of the door, "Come."
Reno moved to follow also, until Rufus stopped next to him with an expression of antipathy.
"Turks, stay here." his tone was powerful and commanding, with a slight edge of malice.
A warning look from Rude and Yuffie stopped Reno from replying. He reluctantly (but wisely) stayed quiet, facing forward rigidly. His employer continued out of the doorway and down the hall, with Yuffie slowly following. The red-head grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze as she passed.
He led her down the hall until they were well out of earshot of the Turks. Then he stopped and turned to face her abruptly.
She gulped nervously, "Rufus I'm-"
He held up a hand to silence her as he shook his head, "I'm not angry with you, Yuffie. Not anymore."
His wife blinked, "Huh?"
The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly, "You don't love me, I don't love you. Never have, probably never will, married or not. Reno feels more for you than I do."
The Empress couldn't believe what she was hearing, "I-I don't…understand. Are you accepting me and Reno being together?"
Rufus sighed, "I would've preferred if you'd told me, but yes."
Yuffie's eyes filled with tears, and she was about to thank him profusely, but he continued speaking.
"To an extent."
She blinked, and the tears spilled onto her cheeks. Her husband stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, making quiet, soothing noises. "Don't cry, darling." he murmured. She laughed through her tears as she buried her head in his chest; the pet names had always been a running joke of theirs. "I think we should get a divorce." Rufus suggested lightly, rubbing her back.
"I think that's a good idea." she replied, but squeezed him tighter, "It's not like you to be so forgiving."
"You forgave Shinra." he responded, "You forgave the Soldiers, the Turks, and me, after all the harm we'd done to the planet. You still married me."
Yuffie nodded into his chest, "You couldn't atone if I didn't let you."
Rufus pulled back slightly to gaze at the Empress. Placing his hands either side her face, he used his thumbs to wipe away the damp tear tracks from her cheeks, "Thank you, Yuffie."
He kissed her tenderly, and she kissed back just as gently, both wordlessly saying their goodbyes.
Thoughts? Go on, humour me. You know you want to.
xoxo
