Quick A/N:

Hi Folks, well I just couldn't leave well enough alone. After I finished my Buried in Snow fic I decided to read some more RufTi stuff, which prompted me to have a dream about this pairing. I found the idea intriguing enough that I decided to write a story about it. Thank you so much for your time reading it. Please R&R

~Zeldafreak701

The helicopter came into view from a distance as it broke through the clouds. The Shinra logo emblazoned on its side as if to show the world to fear its presence and those riding in its interior. Rufus looked out of the window as the haze over Midgar became thicker with only the city's brightest lights penetrating its barrier to the early evening sky. Rufus turned away almost in disgust. In truth a change of scenery was nice, even if the atmosphere of Junon was considerably more favorable.

As the helicopter neared the plate, Rufus prepped himself for landing as he watched the ground crew scrambled below to prepare for their arrival. The helicopter landed smoothly and Rufus almost immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and went toward the door, waiting for a crew member to open it. After a few moments, it finally slid open and Rufus hopped off onto the port, his large feline companion, Dark Nation, followed right next to him.

"Hello son," President Shinra greeted with a cigar dangling from his mouth. "Glad to see you've made it in time for dinner." He turned toward the animal as it sat on the ground to Rufus' right. "I see you brought that animal with you."

"She likes flying," Rufus responded wryly. If his father was going to force him to visit Midgar for a whole week, he can at least make it a nuisance for his cleaning staff, having her stay in his room.

President Shinra took the cigar from his mouth and tapped the ashes off of the edge with his fingers. "Indeed." He looked up behind him to see his two subordinates, dressed in blue blazers, step off of the helicopter as well. He leaned in close to Rufus and hissed, "You brought them too?"

"They also like flying." He smirked.

"Don't test me, boy."

"They are here to protect me, not harm you. Though I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive." Rufus bit his tongue at the last word, hoping to pass it off as a joke after the fact.

President Shinra tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes. "Come inside," he managed to bite out. He turned around and was followed by his two body guards. Rufus followed suit, but not before turning to his own protection and gesturing them to follow with a quick nod of his head.

Once inside the building, the group of six rode the elevator down to the president's floor. The four bodyguards stood behind the executives in silence while President Shinra briefed his son about the night's events. "It's a simple press excursion. You know the drill. Shake a few hands, take a few pictures, maybe go on a couple of dates with some high profile debutantes."

Rufus grimaced. He was fully prepared to go to the small executive dinner that evening and make possibly one or two appearances in the public, but he was hoping his father had cooled a bit from Rufus' previous plans to assassinate him and possibly give him a task to perform to prove his loyalty. "How about instead of chasing skirts, I do some investigative work at the reactors, or get some details of the happenings around here?"

His father suppressed a laugh. "My, my, aren't we eager to cause trouble?"

"No trouble, father, I was just hoping for some actual work is all."

"Don't concern yourself with anything other than putting your signature on company reports."

Rufus pursed his lips, trying hard to hide his frustration. The Turks incident happened over 5 years ago now, when he was just a dumb 20 year-old kid. He'd matured since then, hoping to undo the damage. All he needed was a chance to prove himself. The paperwork he took care of in Junon was only concerned with financial reports for company employees. The reports concerning weapons development or the military said little to nothing of the actual plans in the company. While that was fairly common with financial reports, Rufus suspected that his father intentionally ensured Rufus saw as little as possible.

Rufus was led to his living quarters, untouched since his last visit. His father walked him to the door. "Dinner is in one hour. Don't be late," he said simply.

Rufus entered the apartment and kicked off boots, removed his white coat and let himself cool off a bit in the room. He fixed his hair and called for the help to put away his luggage in the usual spots: coats and shirts in the closet, shoes on the rack, sundries in the bathroom and a cautionary loaded pistol under the pillows in the bedroom. The presence of Dark Nation always made the help nervous, and Rufus enjoyed watching them squirm as they fumbled through their tasks while Dark Nation curiously sniffed at them, knowing she could tear their throats out at the simplest command. Her presence made them so nervous that they simply left the pistol on the glass cabinetry near the bedroom door, fearing entering the bedroom would set the feline off. It didn't matter to Rufus, with his shotgun on his person at all times, it was not necessary.

When an hour had passed, Rufus toyed with the idea of arriving late just to annoy his old man, but he knew that if he wanted to earn some degree of trust back from him, arriving on time would be a good start, especially with the slip of the tongue he had when he first arrived. Rufus patted Dark Nation on the head and headed down the elevator with his two Turks escorting him. "This dinner is for executives only, so be on the lookout on the outside for any trouble." The red headed man and the blonde woman nodded back at him in understanding.

Rufus took his seat to the immediate left of his father at the head table. He could feel Heidegger's, the head of Public Safety (which was really the military), burning gaze on him as he sat down. Normally the spot to the President's left was his, but he was forced to move down when Rufus was in town. Despite the animosity, he still greeted Rufus with reasonable courtesy as he took his seat next to the young vice president. Across from Rufus sat Scarlet, the head of the Weapons Division. Despite her aging face and body, she still insisted on dressing in a provocative red dress and heels. Rufus couldn't help but compare both to a melting candle. Further down the table were Reeve Tuesti, Palmer and other Shinra executives Rufus couldn't bother to remember the names of.

With a sigh, Rufus pulled himself near the table as the multi-course dinner was being served. The guests began to talk idly of various mundane things such as tabloid headlines. Rufus hoped to extract some information of the happenings of the company in the Midgar region from the executives sitting near him. Even on the phone he was only allowed to speak to his father, who only told him of his assignments. "So what's new, Scarlet? Any new weapons ready for demonstration?" he asked.

"Kyah ha ha!" She cackled. "As if you need to ask. There's always something to show off around here."

"Any chance I can look in on one of these demonstrations while I'm in town this week?"

"Of course, Mr. Vice President. I'd be happy to arrange a-"

"Rufus is far too busy this week for any sort of demonstration," his father interrupted. "Perhaps next time he's in town."

"Sir, certainly he can make time to see our latest developments."

The president shot a glare at Scarlet. "He's too busy this week," he enunciated every word. "Maybe next time."

Scarlet smiled and nodded in agreement. "Perhaps your father's right. Your next visit we will be better prepared anyway."

"Damn," Rufus thought. He was hoping to gain some insight on the newest weaponry to see how it can effectively be used. After a few moments, Rufus looked toward Reeve who sat on Scarlet's right. The head of the Urban Development was visibly disgusted by Scarlet's presence as much as he was, but put on an air of dignity nonetheless, as he always did. "Good evening, Reeve," he said.

Reeve smiled warmly and nodded back at Rufus. "Good evening, Mr. Vice President. I trust your trip here was safe and uneventful."

"It certainly was. How are things going with the reactors? Going well I presume?"

"All is going well. Thank you for asking."

"No, thank you. If you have time this week, maybe I can take a tour with you to one of them? It would be nice to see how our company's bread and butter is faring." If Rufus could be with Reeve alone, he could ask him if there were any building plans in the works at least.

Reeve opened his mouth to respond, but President Shinra spoke before he Reeve could. "A tour of a reactor is far too dangerous for you, son. Besides, Reeve is very busy this week and must depart on a trip to Junon later in a couple of days."

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Vice President. The reactors can be very volatile. In fact I am to investigate one of our own in Junon as your father mentioned."

The third course of the meal was served just then. As the plates were placed in front of them, Rufus turned to Heidegger on his right. "Heidegger, how do the citizens fare at this time?" he asked.

"Not so well, sir," Heidegger responded, visibly annoyed that he had to address his seat usurper in such a way. "The public is growing uneasy over the recent AVALANCHE attacks lately."

"AVALANCHE?" Rufus was caught off guard by the mention of the name. He had thought they disbanded 5 years ago. "Where have they been attacking?"

"Now's not the time to discuss business!" President Shinra bellowed, doing little to hide his growing distaste. Heidegger was silenced immediately and Rufus shot a glare at his father. He was purposefully trying to keep information from getting to him, he was sure of it now. "How irritating, the bastard!" he thought.

During the rest of dinner, Rufus sat in silence, not wanting to speak anymore, knowing he would get no more information from them this night. No wonder his dad wanted him to chase women, he wanted him out of the way so he can his precious press week without much interference. As soon as the last course was served, Rufus wiped his mouth and moved to stand up, with as much grace and restraint as he could muster. "That was a lovely dinner, all of you," he said. "I shall retire to my quarters now."

President Shinra stood alongside him. "You will do no such thing," he said forcefully. He paused and looked down at the stunned faces of his executives. His tone calmed. "You must come out for a walk with us and see our new gardens we had installed for the executives to relax."

Rufus sighed and rolled his eyes. While storming off was certainly an option, he still held his original goal of appeasing his father, to a certain extent, in mind. "I'd love to," responded Rufus, forcing a smile. "I'll have Reno send Dark Nation down, I'm sure she'd love the scenery."

His father grimaced, but consented to a nod. "We'll meet you outside," he growled.

The evening haze of the night calmed Rufus a bit. The smog over Midgar carried the light from the sunset all the way across the sky, giving it a bright orange hue. Dark Nation walked alongside Rufus while he walked behind his father and his brown-nosing executives. He shoved his hands in his pockets, scornfully. He had tried several times to get in on the conversation, but all they spoke of were major events in Junon, things he already knew about, and they refused to let Rufus steer the conversation anywhere else.

Throughout this evening walk, Rufus eyed the new plants and trees. The landscaping team certainly did a good job. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he was in an actual park, not the roof of a large building. The garden spanned several square feet, larger than most parks, and sported numerous trees and bushes, broken only by the paved paths leading throughout.

"What about you, sir?" asked Heidegger, turning around to face Rufus behind him. "When are you going to start thinking about having children and producing an heir?" he mocked.

"Yes, son," his father said. "You're not getting any younger." He laughed.

Rufus clenched his jaw. Instances where his father brought up Rufus' plans for marriage and parenthood were few and far between, but always in the company of others. He seriously wondered how serious he was about it. While he pushed for dates and outings with women, he never really mentioned children when the two were alone. He sighed at the question. "Just waiting for the right woman I guess," he shrugged. "I'm going to take Dark Nation over for walk over there." He pointed in a direction away from the group. "I'll catch up later."

Before Rufus could turn foot, a security guard came rushing toward the group of executives. "Everyone, we've had reports that members of AVALANCHE have been found on the premises!" Amid the slight gasps from the lesser executives, the guard continued, "Come, we shall escort everyone to safety."

President Shinra laughed. "If you're competent at your jobs, that rag tag group of degenerates shouldn't even make it all the way up here! Now go do your job, sir. Tell my son's bodyguards to help as well." He flicked ashes off of the tip of his cigar.

The security guard's mouth gaped, trying to find the right words. When he couldn't, he just hesitantly nodded. Rufus took the man's pathetic display as a distraction to continue his endeavor to wander off, thankful that his Turks may see some action. He only needed to walk a few moments until he didn't hear the dull patter of the group gossip about nonsense things. This was the gathering of the most powerful people on the entire planet. They should be discussing important matters, such as their latest developments in keeping the public in check or the resurgence of AVALANCHE. It was frustrating to him that they only cared to talk about useless things in his presence. And to top it all off, as a testament to his father's arrogance, the very building could be under attack by blood thirsty terrorists and he merely shrugged it off. Dark Nation brushed his leg, as if sensing his anger. He calmed down once again.

Rufus came to a large clearing and stood in the center on the pavement, admiring how the setting sun painted everything in his line of sight in a deep orange color. While the garden was a waste of money in his eyes, it did make for a nice view in that moment. He let the tips of his fingers brush the top of Dark Nation's head, feeling her arch into his touch. He continued his motions until she stiffened and looked off into the direction of a bush.

Rufus felt her movement and looked down at her. She bore her eyes into the still bushes, planted between two trees. Rufus focused his eyes, trying to adjust to the strange lighting the setting sun was providing. He thought he could make out the slightest make of white in there. But why would there be white in the bushes. It didn't take long for it to click for Rufus. His father was wrong. It seems someone was able to make it near the top floor.

"Rufus, are you coming inside to join us for tea?" his father called from far out in the distance. Dark Nation's movement shifted ever so slightly, as if she was preparing to jump.

"Not just yet, father!" Rufus called back. "Dark Nation likes it out here. I'll be inside in a few minutes!"

His father didn't respond, and Rufus took that as a sign that everyone had gone inside, leaving him by himself in the garden. He looked down to Dark Nation again, who was moving cautiously toward the bush. Rufus absentmindedly walked in the direction of the bush, but kept his gaze elsewhere. He walked around the other side of the feline and watched Dark Nation relax. He took his cue and reached his hand in the bush, felt his grasp tighten around a small arm, and yanked out the startled inhabitant onto the pavement.

"Eek!" she screamed.

To say Rufus was stunned would be an understatement. The previous dealings he had with AVALANCHE members led him to believe their members consisted of wimpy scientists and misguided teenagers. But she was neither of those things. Misguided, possibly, but she was clearly not a teenager, though she was rather young. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" he said as he withdrew his shotgun from his coat and pointed it at her. She was about to open her mouth to shout, but Rufus pushed the barrel closer to her face, causing her to fall back onto her bottom, using the heels of her palms to balance. Her red eyes widened and she closed her mouth.

Looking at this girl, Rufus saw how scantily dressed she was. She was wearing a white midriff top that could barely contain her large breasts and a tight black skirt held up by suspenders. Not exactly practical, but Rufus didn't expect from an AVALANCHE member, even if they were able to pull off the impossible task of reaching the one of top floors undetected until now. He would want to know what his father had to say when he turned her over to him and security. Rufus pondered for a moment, "How did she manage to get up here? Would she divulge that kind of information to me?" If he simply handed her over now, he'd never hear another word about AVALANCHE again unless he somehow caught another living member himself or heard useless news of it in the media. If he could someone extract something from her, he would be able to prove himself a loyal member to the company once again, regain his father's trust. Then he could set about eliminating him once more in a more sophisticated manner.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He looked at girl once again and spoke, "Get up. You're coming with me." He paused for a moment as he eased up on the barrel pointing at her. "Don't do something foolish."

The girl turned over until she was on all four and pushed herself up from the ground. Then she sat there on her back heel, still kneeling down and not moving. Puzzled, Rufus moved to grab her by the shoulder and force her up, but was stunned by a back kick that knocked the shotgun out of his hands and sent it flying several feet away. The momentum she used spun her around and she shoved Rufus to the ground, leaping over him and darting off.

The woman didn't make it far until Dark Nation pursued her and knocked her down midstride. She again got onto her back and looked up at the menacing animal growing at her, baring her teeth. For a decent fighter, she wasn't very bright, Rufus mused. Did she not see the animal ready to pounce on her when she tried to hide in the bushes? Rufus casually stood up and brushed himself off. He retrieved his shotgun and walked over to the subdued brunette who was visibly terrified by the feline.

"That was something foolish," he said, once again pointing the gun at her. She didn't avert her gaze from the feline. "Try something like that again and I'll have her tear your throat out, understand?" The woman swallowed hard and nodded. "Down girl." Instantly Dark Nation eased up as Rufus went behind her, pointing the shotgun to the back of her head. "Now let's try this again. Get up." This time she got to her feet quickly, keeping her back to him. "Hands behind your head."

The woman did as she was told. Rufus nudged at her back with the barrel. He wanted to move quickly lest she have some friends also hiding amongst the foliage. "Walk." The two worked their way through the garden as the light began to fade and the automatic lights started to turn on, illuminating the way before them. Rufus was familiar with the grounds before the garden was installed, so he made special care not to go through the main doors which would just lead to his father's pathetic tea party. He took her to a door on the far corner that led to the back stairwell. There he could have a direct path to his apartment with little chance of being detected. With security personnel likely scrambled at the lower parts of the building, he was sure of it.

The two walked up the stairs in the stifling heat of the back stairwell. Rufus was so used to taking the air conditioned elevators in the building, he forgot how unbearable stairs were. Luckily they only needed to scale seven flights before they made it to the main hallway of his living quarters. He opened the door quietly and peered around the corner to see two guards near his door. He held the gun to the woman's head, hidden from their view, and moved half of his body in their sight. "Guards! Security needs assistance downstairs! There's a terrorist group about! Go!" He shouted.

The two bumbling men nodded and ran in the other direction. When he heard the elevator 'ding' from the other side of the hallway in the distance, he yanked his captive from around the corner and quickly dragged her inside. He locked the door behind them as soon as Dark Nation followed. The feline ran off into the other room, probably to eat out of her bowl. The lights were turned on, illuminating the pristine apartment decorated all in white. He saw the woman look around at her surroundings. To him, there wasn't much to take in, as he was used to this place. But this girl was a commoner; she probably had never seen a living space that had a separate room for the lounge and the bedroom, let alone multiple rooms in one home.

Rufus let his shotgun arm fall when he tired of holding it up. He took to adjusting his collar from the small amount of sweat that gathered there but was caught off guard when the girl, once again, was able to knock the shotgun out of his hands and tried to leap for the pistol on the cabinetry a few yards away. Rufus didn't have to think about how effective that one firearm could be in her hands. He didn't bother retrieving the shotgun and instead dove at her legs, knocking both of them to the ground on their stomachs. Rufus held her legs in his arms tightly as she desperately tried to kick herself free while trying to claw herself forward toward the pistol with her arms at the same time.

Amidst the struggle, Rufus managed to move himself up her legs until he was able to put his arms around her torso and move his body weight on top of her, pinning her down. He grabbed at her flailing arms and held them both in his hands, keeping her still, finally. Both thoroughly exhausted, the two lay there, catching their breaths. When Rufus finally mustered the strength, in one smooth motion he moved himself from atop her, flipped the girl on her back and pinned each wrist to the sides of her head. He noted Dark Nation's absence this time around, who was probably taking a nap. "The dumb feline."

She looked away from, her large chest heaving up and down as she still tried to regain her breath from the skirmish. Her insolence was infuriating Rufus. Normally he would only have to say a simply command to get compliance. But she fought him almost every step of the way. "You're testing my patience. You will not try anymore foolishness and do as I say so no more harm will come to you. Or perhaps you'd like to be turned over to my father and his guards? The second you leave this room security will be on you. I'm sure they'd love torturing you for every shred of information you have on AVALANCHE, then indulging in your body one by one until they send you back to your friends piece by piece. Is that what you want?"

She didn't answer; she still breathed heavily and held her head to the side, eyes closed. Rufus roughly moved both hands above her head and held them both with his left hand and used his right to grab her face, turning it to face him. "Look at me!" His fingers sank into the soft skin of her cheeks as she slowly opened her red eyes. "Will you comply now?" There was an absolute silence in the air until she slowly moved her head up and down against the white carpet. "Good." Rufus bit out. He lifted his hands off of her cheek, small cream colored lines showed amidst her red cheek where his fingers had been. He grabbed her face more roughly than he thought. He reached up to grab the pistol and held it to her head.

He stood up and yanked her off the ground. "Turn around," he said. She did so, putting her back to him. He led her into the bedroom and gestured toward the bathroom door. "Undress and take a shower. You smell like a slum dweller." She looked back at him and shot him an angry look. It was the first time she showed her true fury for him. It wasn't that he had attacked her, held a gun to her head, and threatened her, no. It was simple words that set her off. He was amused to say the least.

The woman stepped forward toward the bathroom, about to shut the door behind her. Rufus kicked it completely open before it could close completely, startling her by the sudden crash. "Nice try…." Rufus' inflection rose. "What's your name? If you don't tell me I can just call you slum scum, if you prefer."

The woman huffed. "My name is Tifa," she finally spoke.

Rufus grinned, knowing he found a sore spot. "Very good Miss Tifa. Now get undressed."