"I'm here!" Reno announced as he closed the door behind him. He slipped the key into his pocket and began to look around at the well-decorated mansion, not very surprised that everything was a shade of either black or white, other than the occasional Shinra logo.
He didn't get to look around much, as a ferocious snarl distracted him.
Standing at the other side of the modernistic living room was a large black cat, standing perfectly still as it bared its sharp teeth. Reno swallowed thickly and didn't dare move. The beast was tensed, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
"Dark Nation," came the exasperated sigh of Shinra's new president as he pushed his wheelchair into the room. He placed a hand on the beast's head and it immediately calmed, falling silent. "Hello Reno," he greeted, sounding tired.
Reno nodded. "Yo," he said nervously, his eyes still on Dark Nation. "So, uh, what do ya need me to do?" He had come here to take care of his boss, as the Turks were all taking turns at it. Yesterday, Elena had been the one to take care of him. And now it was Reno's turn to babysit his recently injured boss.
Rufus was stroking the black beast's head slowly, seeming not to care that the same pet had been ready to rip Reno to shreds just a moment ago. "I need dinner and a bath, and then I'll be heading to bed. Elena brought over some food yesterday and there's some left over. You won't need to cook."
Reno smiled, a little relived that he didn't have to cook. What he was worried about, however, was that he actually had to bathe the man. But, he could worry about that later. "Lead the way!"
Dropping his hand from Dark Nation's head, he spun around in his chair and rolled back the way he came, Reno following him. Dark Nation slowly followed, keeping her eyes on Reno's back. If he stepped out of line, Dark Nation would have him on the floor in no time.
The kitchen was just as monochrome as the living room, only more silver with all the appliances. Rufus opened the fridge and pulled out a wrapped up plate of leftover spaghetti, which Reno took from him. He popped it in the microwave and watched as Rufus pulled himself up to the table to wait.
The table was small and black, only one chair seated at it. Rufus began fussing with the bandage on his hand, but Reno frowned. He watched the timer on the microwave as a minute and a half drained by before he turned back to the table with one chair.
"You don't get much company, do ya?"
Rufus looked up, hands still tightening the bandage. "Why do you ask?"
The microwave beeped and Reno pulled out the spaghetti, unwrapping it and grabbing a fork after a bit of searching. He put the plate down in front of Rufus with the fork and gestured to the chair.
"One chair?"
Rufus gave a shrug and picked up his fork. "I put the other chair away so I could sit here."
"Two chairs?" he asked in the same tone, looking for a glass to give Rufus a cup of water. Elena had informed him that he needed to give Rufus his pills with some water, but he had no idea where any of that was.
Rufus spun his fork on his plate to get the pasta wrapped around it. "I don't entertain much."
Reno hummed, grinning a bit when he found a glass. He walked over to the sink and filled it with water, sitting it down on the table as Rufus took a bite of the warmed spaghetti.
"Where's your medicine?" Reno asked, not wanting to go on another hunt.
Rufus pointed with his fork, still chewing.
Reno followed the point and opened the indicated cupboard, letting out a low whistle when he opened it. "How much damn medicine to you need?"
"A lot," he muttered before taking another bite.
"Apparently…" Still being watched closely by Dark Nation, Reno pulled out pill bottle after pill bottle to search for what Elena ha told him, still quietly amazed at the collection of bottles. Two different kinds of pain pills, a bottle of antidepressants, a small box of chewable immune system stimulants, a bottle of drinkable liquid to help his leg muscles relax, and a stronger pain pill that Reno bet could tranquilize a small animal.
He sat down in the chair across from Rufus and began sorting out the pills as his boss ate. He was quiet, not sure of what to say. Once he had them all laid out, with the liquid medicine poured out into the measuring cap, he got up to put them away.
Rufus kept eating, not wanting to look at the pills. He hated himself for the sorry state he was in, but it wasn't like he could change the fact that he was paralyzed. He still remembered the Turk that had pulled him out of the rubble as the building was falling, although said Turk didn't know he remembered a thing about it. It was Rufus's little secret that he admired the red-haired man for having such bravery and dedication.
Reno leaned against the counter, looking at Dark Nation. "So, uh, is this your guard dog or something?"
Rufus smiled a little. "You could say that," he admitted after he swallowed the last bit of his spaghetti. He pushed the plate away and grabbed up the pills. "I've had her since I was a child."
"Huh… She doesn't like strangers, does she?"
Rufus tipped his head back and swallowed the first dose of pain pills before answering. "She's getting used to it slowly. She knows to trust my employees after a bit. She took a particular liking to Rude."
Reno looked up, a little surprised. "Seriously?"
Rufus nodded, stomaching down the liquid medicine and shuddering a bit at the sour taste. He grabbed up the other pain pills, planning on leaving the strongest ones for later. "He came this morning to help me get to work. Dark Nation didn't growl at him once."
Reno nodded a bit, turning back to the beast that wasn't taking her eyes off of him. "I always thought Rude was an animal guy."
Rufus said nothing, finishing up his pills and his water. He pushed himself away from the table and started rolling back for the living room. "I'd like to take my bath now. I can wash myself, but I'll need a bit of… assistance." He absolutely refused to say the word "help". He didn't need help. He wasn't incapable. He just needed a little assistance in some things. In… everything, really.
Reno nodded and followed him, really not liking the fact that Dark Nation stalked after him. "Got it, Boss." At least he didn't have to give the guy a sponge bath.
Rufus stopped at the bottom of a staircase, looking expectantly to Reno. "I can't get my chair up the stairs, so you'll have to carry me. If Elena could manage, I know you can."
He nodded. "Yeah, I can." He stepped forward and waited as Rufus tried to position himself, wincing a bit at the pain in his back.
When he stopped moving, Reno stepped a bit closer and thought for a moment on how he was even supposed to carry him. So, scooping him up much like the last time he had carried his boss, he placed one arm under his knees and the other on his back, heaving him up bridal style. Rufus winced a bit at the movement and held onto Reno's neck, a bit ashamed of himself. He couldn't even get up a damn flight of stairs...
"The bathroom is the first door on the right," he directed, refusing to look at the man carrying him.
"I see it," Reno informed, stepping into the open room. He flicked on the light after he gingerly set Rufus on the edge of the tub, not really surprised when he found that the bathroom was huge.
The bath tub was more like a small pool with jets on the sides. There was a bit more color in here than in the rest of the house, but not much. Just accents here and there of blue. Blue bath rugs and blue trim near the ceiling.
As Reno admired the bathroom, Rufus had begun to unbutton his shirt, having already shrugged off his suit coat. He could undress his upper half just fine, but it was the lower half he had trouble with. The half that his workers wouldn't like to undress.
Reno moved forward to take care of the clothes as Rufus removed them, setting them on the pale granite counter that held the silver sink. As Rufus began to take off the bandages on his neck and his chest, Reno came to a realization.
He had never seen Rufus naked. Not even close to it. He hadn't even seen the man without his shoes. The closest thing to naked he had ever seen was when Rufus went into the ambulance after the explosion, the back of his shirt ripped open from where a metal bar had pierced into him, rendering him paralyzed.
Reno didn't really know why that was such a big deal. It just seemed like one to him. And, when the bandages came off, he couldn't help but stare. His once flawless pale skin was now marred with burn marks and scars from where debris had cut him. He noticed Reno's staring and glared lightly.
"Don't act so surprised," he said softly, his tone a tad icy.
Reno swallowed. "Sorry… I just… I didn't realize how badly you were hurt."
"I'm fucking paralyzed, Reno," he nearly snarled. "You thought I was wearing the other bandages for fun?"
Reno shook his head. "I'm sorry."
He sighed heavily. He was angry at himself for how badly he had been hurt, but he knew better than to take it out on Reno. If it wasn't for the man standing before him, he wouldn't even be alive. "Forget it. Help me get the rest of my clothes off."
Reno, for some reason, forgot how to breathe for a moment. "Sure," he mumbled, coming closer.
He decided to start with the easiest and least embarrassing thing first, taking off his shoes and socks. When he straightened up to get Rufus's pants off, he noticed that he was already trying to get them himself, looking extremely frustrated when he couldn't even push them down. Reno frowned at the sight. He didn't like seeing his boss like this. So helpless… He couldn't even change his clothes if he wanted.
"Here," Reno mumbled, pushing Rufus's hands out of the way.
He reminded himself to breathe and fought off a blush as he pulled off the pants, one hand on the clothing with his other hand on Rufus's shoulder to keep him steady. He put them on the counter with the other clothing before turning back to finish. Just one thing left… Chewing the inside of his cheek to keep himself from blushing, he slipped his fingers under the band of Rufus's briefs, taking them off quickly to avoid any hesitance. He put them on the counter as well and began to run the bath water, making sure it was warm and stealing a glance at Rufus's back.
There was a large wound that ran along his lower spine, right where that metal beam had stabbed him. It was still raw and a bit bloody, held together with too many stitches to count. Reno swallowed thickly at the memory. He had to rip that pole out… That was the one and only time he had ever seen Rufus cry.
After the water began to rise a bit, Reno stepped back to help Rufus in. The both of them were silent as Reno picked him up and placed him into the water. Rufus's limp legs stretched out before him, his feet touching the opposite side of the tub. He reached over and turned the jets on for himself now that the water was filled enough and looked up at Reno.
"I'll call for you when I finish."
Reno nodded a bit. "Okay… Do you need any help washing up?"
"No." He picked up a bar of soap and a wash cloth. "I shouldn't take too long." He leaned forward a bit to look past Reno to Dark Nation, who was sitting in the doorway and watching with a low growl in her throat. "I'll keep her around me."
Reno nodded a little more as Rufus whistled softly. Dark Nation trotted in and Reno slipped out, closing the door to leave a small crack so he could hear when Rufus finished. He leaned against the wall of the hall next to the bathroom door, exhaling heavily.
Good Gaia, what had he gotten himself into?
Wanting to distract himself, he decided to do a bit of snooping. Without Dark Nation to follow him around like a growling shadow, he figured he could have a nice little look around this colorless place.
He stayed on the second floor so he could hear Rufus, but he walked down the hall a bit to the next door. It was wide open, so he took that as an open invitation. He walked in and turned on the light, a little surprised when he was faced with Rufus's room.
The room was bland and boring, clean to a fault. He idly wondered if Rude had been the one to clean it this morning, as Rufus didn't seem to be in the right mobility to do it. The walls were plain and white, a few pictures hanging up. There was a picture of the Shinra building when it was first built, with only one reactor. There was a picture of Rufus's father with a younger Rufus, the professional portrait of that same old man that had been taken off of the Shinra property at his death, and a picture of the Shinra logo. There was a plain oak desk and a matching oak dresser, the only two things in the room other than the low queen bed in the corner. The desk only had one thing on it, which Reno picked up and looked over with a painful twinge in his heart.
It was a newspaper clip from the front page with a picture of the ruins of the Shinra building, the bolded title blaring: The End Of Shinra? Underneath was a subtitle that made Reno get a bit angry. Public hopes so.
He knew that a lot of people didn't like Shinra. But, without electricity, those people would only want it back. He knew that, when he dragged Rufus out of the rubble, the public didn't really want to save him. But, thanks to the furious Turks, Rufus was patched up in no time. Paralyzed, but alive. That alive part was all that Reno cared about, honestly.
He sat on the edge of the bed on the white sheets, looking down at a small bedside table. Curious, he opened the top drawer and found a smirk on his face. "Paralyzed from the waist down and the bastard's having sex," he murmured to himself, looking at the folded strip of condoms placed neatly next to a bottle of lube. Curious, he picked up something that rested at the bottom of the drawer, face-down and stuck to the wood. It took a few tries and some swearing before Reno got it out, flipping it over and feeling like he was about to scream at what he saw.
It was a picture of Reno, smirking at his first day of work as a Turk, short hair and all. He remembered having that picture taken, remembering that it had originally been taken by Rude when they became partners. Reno just wanted to boast about his new job, so he demanded that Rude take a picture.
So how had Rufus gotten it…?
The sound of a loud thud broke Reno out of his daze and he stuffed the picture back. He got up and ran into the bathroom, Dark Nation spinning to snarl at him.
"Fuck off," he snarled back at the animal, going to Rufus's side. "What the hell are you doing?"
The answer to that was obvious. Rufus had tried to get out of the tub on his own, only causing him to fall on his side on the floor. His teeth ground together in pain at his position, one of his legs stuck under the faucet of the tub.
Reno sighed and helped him up carefully, getting his legs to settle and putting him on the edge of the tub again. "Don't do that. You know you can't move on your own."
"I can damn well try," he snarled, glaring at his legs to silently curse them for not moving.
Reno sighed again and got a couple towels from under the sink, putting one around Rufus's shoulders to catch the water dripping from his washed hair and placing another across his lap. "Wait here and don't move. I'll get you some pajamas." He walked out, ignoring the still-growling Dark Nation.
He went back to Rufus's room and rifled around in his dresser to find a clean pair of underwear, some sweatpants, and a plain white shirt. At this point, Reno was wondering if his boss was colorblind. Even his clothes were monochrome.
He came back to find Rufus petting Dark Nation. When he came closer with the shirt, Rufus seemed to notice his presence and wiped at his eyes. Reno paused, blinking a bit as he frowned.
"Were you crying?" he asked quietly.
"No," he lied sharply, not looking up. "There's… bandages under the sink," he mumbled softly, reaching up and beginning to untie what was around his head.
Reno put the clean clothes on the toilet after putting the lid down, looking under the sink and grabbing a roll of bandages. When he turned back to Rufus, he was staring again.
There was a scar running up through his hair, but it wasn't too big. It was held together by stitches, much like his sliced eyelid. His eye was sewn shut to help heal the gash, his blonde eyebrow tainted with a bit of blood. He said nothing, only holding his hand out for the bandages.
Reno handed them over, watching as the blonde began to wrap his chest, his back, his neck, and his face again. Reno had the random urge to bring up the picture he had found in Rufus's drawer, but he didn't think now was the time. He was quiet as he watched, the only sound being Dark Nation's low growling. When he finished wrapping himself up, he gave the leftover bandages to Reno in exchange for his shirt. He pulled on the loose fabric and reached for his pants and underwear, but Reno beat him to it.
"I don't need you ending up on the floor again," he muttered, picking up the towel and trying not to stare. He started at the end of Rufus's legs, discovering that putting clothes on was a lot harder than taking them off. It was a lot of awkward moving on Reno's part, but he eventually got Rufus dressed in his pajamas. He offered a hand, which Rufus took.
"I'm ready for bed," he said softly, clearly feeling the effects of his medicine by now. He would fall asleep right there if he could.
Reno picked him up again, feeling his heart pound as Rufus leaned against his shoulder in his exhaustion. He carried him into his room, gently placing him on the bed. Holding Rufus's legs up with one hand, he pulled back the covers and tucked him in, but he didn't leave just yet.
"Are you about to fall asleep?"
Rufus sighed, looking at his ceiling. "Honestly, I wish I could. I haven't been sleeping much lately. You're more than welcome to leave, if you wish. I can take care of myself." He flinched a bit when Dark Nation jumped on the bed, sleeping on the other side of her master and nuzzling his hair. "I have Dark Nation to keep me company."
"Alright…" Reno put his hands in his pockets, not sure how to bring it up. "Well, I found something earlier."
Rufus rolled his head to look at Reno. "What?" he asked, confused. "Were you snooping?" His eyes narrowed as Reno's guilty face proved the accusation. "Reno," he scolded.
"Sorry," he said quickly. "I just wanted to know why there's a picture of me in your sex drawer."
Rufus suddenly turned beet red in horror at Reno's discovery. His mouth opened to say something, but all that came out was a bit of a squeaking noise before he shut his mouth and glared up at the ceiling. "That was nothing," he said tensely, closing his eyes and pulling the blankets up to his chin. "Goodnight, Reno."
"Right… G'night," he mumbled before leaving the room, shutting off the lights as he did.
Reno couldn't sleep at all that night. He was laying in bed, staring up at his ceiling in the dark. He could hear the people that lived above him walking around and the sound of his mother's snoring through the thin wall, but he wasn't thinking of either of those things. Those weren't the reasons he was still awake.
He was thinking about that picture.
He came to one conclusion, and one conclusion only. There was no other reason for that picture to be in a drawer with condoms and lube, along with the tissues on top of the table, other than something that made Reno embarrassed. His picture served as masturbation material.
Once he gave up on wondering why the hell Rufus liked him that way, he eventually gave himself the steamy mental imagery of Rufus lying in bed, picture in one hand and cock in the other. Reno closed his eyes a bit to keep that in his mind, having an accurate representation of what a naked Rufus looked like. And the sheer size of him…
With Reno hardly noticing what his body was doing, his lower lip was trapped between his teeth to muffle any sounds he might make as his hand slid down his bare chest and underneath his dark boxers. He had no idea why he was doing it, but he didn't think about it in fear of losing the mental image he had created. He began to stroke himself, his heart beating a bit faster and his breath hitching. He lifted his hips and pushed down his boxers to give himself more access, not opening his eyes.
After a few minutes, he finally opened his eyes and let go, using his hand to look for the glass of water he always kept by his bedside. He found it after a clumsy search, nearly knocking it over in the process, and dipped his fingers into it, making sure they were dripping a bit before slipping his hand back under the sheets to continue stroking himself. The grip on his lower lip got tighter as he closed his eyes at the feel, imagining Rufus sucking him off.
Blonde hairs tickling his thighs, blue eyes smoldering up at him… Hands dry from the weather holding him steady as his plump lips traveled up and down his shaft, taking him in all the way with a nonexistent gag reflex…
As the water dried, his brain switched to another scenario. He began to suck on his free fingers, imagining himself returning the favor. His brain switched gears again, leading the path down a more pleasurable situation. Reno, sprawled out shamelessly on Rufus's plain bed in his colorless house, panting and moaning as Rufus moved inside of him.
Wanting to pursue that feeling, he lowered his saliva-coated fingers down and under his hot body, shamelessly thrusting them into himself. He let a moan slip out, but didn't worry about it too much. His mother could sleep through an atomic bomb. He was safe if he let out a few moans now and again.
Reno didn't care that he was masturbating to the thought of being in a sexual situation with a man. He was comfortable with his sexuality, proud of being bisexual. He had been with men before, but nothing more than a one night stand at a gay bar here in the Loveless district. He got bullied, if you could put it that casually, of his sexuality around the slums, but he didn't care. So long as he loved himself, he was fine. And the fact of Rufus's new found interest didn't hurt…
He didn't know how long he kept it up, but his brain kept a firm hold on the fantasy it had. All he knew was that it was midnight when he started, and it was nearing half past. So maybe he did know how long he had been at it. He just didn't care.
No sooner than he wondered what it would feel like to have Rufus's cum inside of him, he ground his teeth and moaned long and hard as he came, arching up. He was glad he had kicked his sheets off by then, but he still had to do laundry with the mess he just made.
He took a few minutes to remove his hands and catch his breath, amazed and confused at what he had just done. Never, never ever, did he think he would be masturbating to Rufus Shinra. He had always thought the president was handsome, but he never imagined a sexual relationship…
He cleaned up the mess with some tissues from the bathroom, throwing them all out and staring at his messy bed. He put his boxers back on and climbed in to get some sleep, too tired to bother with the mess.
He had no idea what he was going to tell Rufus tomorrow.