Author's note: this fic was written in collaboration with LicoriceAllSorts, my co-author, in response to my challenge to each write a version of the same scene from "Case of Shinra" from a different point of view: Licorice wrote President Shinra, and I wrote five year old Rufus. The purpose of the exercise was to show how point of view can impact interpretation of a scene, characters, and the nature of a relationship. Many thanks to Licoriceallsorts for working with me on this experiment.

Chapter One: Son

Rufus Shinra is five years old and well aware it's well past his bedtime. The floorboards creak as he makes his way down the darkened stairwell and the walls are full of shadows, but he isn't afraid. Big boys don't get scared; furthermore, he wasn't supposed to be afraid of anything because that was the sort of thing that made father call him stupid.

Except, when he opens the door of his father's study he can't help but feel a bit afraid. He doesn't want to get in trouble for being out of bed. He knows he shouldn't be up. It was just he'd heard his father come home, and Dad is hardly ever there. He wants to say hello.

Rufus gets on his tiptoes to pull open the door and peer inside. The boy wishes very much that he could run into the room and hug his father, but he isn't sure he's welcome there at all. Being told to go away would be so much worse if he actually shows he wants something.

"Dad?" he asks. He isn't quite sure how to ask for permission to come in because he doesn't want to be told no.

"Well," his father says, "Don't just stand there, you're letting the warmth out. Come in or shut the door."

Rufus hesitates a moment, unsure if his father really wants him to come in or if it would it be better to shut the door and run back to bed. However, just standing there isn't an option and without much time to think Rufus scrambles into the room and shuts the door behind him. Things aren't going well; he's already done something wrong by opening the door and waiting like that. Maybe he should have knocked or just walked in, but it is so hard to tell what his father wants from him.

I want you to be happy with me, he thinks, I want you to love me. What can I do?

Rufus presses his back to the door and fights the urge to suck his thumb because that would get him in trouble, like when he'd tried to drag his blanky around everywhere. Father had scolded him and taken it away forever. He couldn't do things that made him feel better, he had to try not to show he felt or needed anything.

"What are you doing up?" his father asks. "If you don't sleep, you'll stay a midget forever."

Rufus frowns; he hates being so small. He knows he's little, even for the boys his age. Nanny says it's because he was born early, and Rufus wonders if that's the reason Mom died. From the moment he was born he could never do anything right. Sometimes he wonders if Dad wishes there were 'take backs' in life like bad card swaps. Trade back the runty son for the wife Rufus is sure father must have loved much more than him. He'd asked Nanny once if Daddy was happier when his Mom was still alive and she'd said yes before hesitating and trying to explain that his father was also happy to have Rufus. Dad didn't seem happy to him.

When his father asks what he is doing up he doesn't have an answer, not really, because wanting to say 'Hi' would sound too stupid.

"I heard your car," he says instead.

"I brought some work home," says his father, "I'm working."

That might have meant 'go away,' but Rufus doesn't want to go. Not when he's been invited in…well sort of. Maybe he could work too or somehow help? Show his father that he really is a good son.

"What are those?" he asks, pointing to the papers his father has spread out over the table.

"Blueprints."

"Ah," says Rufus.

Then his father smiles at him and asks if he wants to see, and its all Rufus can do not to shout, "Yes!" Father is paying attention to him, is inviting to see something important. His father moves to the table and takes a seat. Rufus climbs onto his lap. It'll be easier to see from there than from another chair and it is an excuse to be closer to his dad.

"Well? What do you think?" his father asks.

"That's a lot of drawing," says Rufus. It's an honest answer, and not a terribly clever one, but Rufus knows he shouldn't hesitate when his father asks him a question.

"The architect has to put everything in. He can't forget a single detail. Or the building might fall down, eh?"

Fall? For a moment the image of the tower collapsing like a pile of blocks fills his mind. Could that really happen? Rufus doesn't to dare ask. Father can't know he's afraid.

"Look here," says the President, pointing to the blue prints. "These are the lift shafts. These are the ventilation shafts. This will be your bedroom. You'll be able to see all the way to Kalm from up there. You'll be able to look down and see our old garden. That'll be fun, eh?"

Not really. What was the fun of seeing a garden? You couldn't touch anything from so far up. "I don't want to leave our garden," Rufus let himself slip; he's not asking to stay or to take it with them, he's just telling the truth.

"Simpleton," says his father, "You can't uproot an entire garden."

Rufus knows that! He didn't mean anything by the comment, he was just…maybe it had been a bad idea to get out of bed at all. Still, he wants to know what it will be like when they move. "Will there be a garden in the new place?"

"Rufus, look at the blueprints. Do you see any gardens?"

Rufus looks back at the blueprints trying to find a word he recognizes. He knows there probably won't be any gardens. "Where will I play?"

"You won't have time for play, my lad. By the time Shinra Tower is ready for us, you'll be at school."

But Rufus wants to play, and he doesn't want to have to leave! He knows it won't be so bad, and at least Nanny will be coming with him so that will be something familiar at least, but he doesn't understand why everything he wants is taken away or denied or why he feels like he'll get in trouble for even asking. And he will not cry, because he doesn't want father angry with him again.

"Look, see this?" asks his father, ignoring how upset Rufus is and maybe that's for the best because Rufus doesn't want father to think he's weak. Rufus looks where his father points.

"This is our nerve-center, the room where I give out orders to the world."

Rufus looks at the blueprint again. Better to focus on this and not think about the move. Besides, this is his chance to show father how clever he can be.

"Amazing!" exclaims Rufus. His eyes continue to pour over the blueprint, trying to look interested. The truth is the five-year-old boy has no idea how to read a blueprint, but he can't admit that. He wants his father's praise, so he tries his best to read the plans.

"Your old man is the top of the food chain, Rufus. And he's going to be sitting right here, right at the top of greatest building ever built since history began."

"You oversee the world," says Rufus, and one day Rufus will too, and he hopes his father thinks he's good enough for such a big task. At the moment he feels very small.

"That's about the size of it," says his father, and ruffles Rufus's hair. The boy smiles at the touch; father seems happy now.

Then his father takes a pencil and underscores a word. "And can you tell me what this says?"

Is this a test? Rufus doesn't feel prepared but he'll try. He recognizes the letter H, and he knows what sound that makes. "Huh - huh - hospital?"

"Why would there be a hospital on top of my building? Use some common sense. It's Helicopter. Helicopter, son. He-li-cop-ter. Can't you read?"

"It's a big word," he says, but what he means is he's sorry. Now he feels like he's failed. Rufus eyes go back to the blueprint, as if he can will himself to read something in the plans. He has to show his dad that he really is smart! Unfortunately, he can't read the plans at all, so instead he says what comes to his mind. The building is really tall, and if there isn't a helicopter on the roof, then couldn't Dad get trapped?

"Father?" asks Rufus. "Where's the escape route?" If there isn't one, maybe father will be happy he was smart enough to think of it. Maybe he can actually be helpful!

Rufus is met by a look of confusion. "Escape route?" asks the President. "What?" It seems as if the man has no idea what his son could possibly be thinking.

"If an enemy attacked," said Rufus, trying to explain, "you'll need some way to escape."

"Ah," said the President. He nods, understanding what his son had meant. "Shin-ra Company has no enemies."

That doesn't make sense. Why would they need the army, the SOLDIERs, the weapons and the Turks if there weren't any enemies? Most of the people father works with seem to have something to do with fighting…someone. Rufus is going to interrupt with a child's ever questioning 'but'; however, his father goes right on speaking before he gets the chance.

"Even if there were, the President's Office is on the seventieth floor. No one would be able to attack there."

"But Mr. Palmer said the enemy can attack from space!" saya Rufus, throwing his arms into the air as if to pantomime an explosion.

"Palmer said what?" asks the President. His eyebrows furrow, and Rufus knows right away he is angry. Mr Palmer is going to get in trouble. Rufus hadn't meant to get him in trouble. He likes Mr. Palmer. He is head of the Space Development Division, which is very exciting, and he always seems to have candy. Besides that Mr. Palmer is always happy to see him and listens to what Rufus has to say, which he likes more than anything.

Rufus hopes Mr. Palmer won't be in too much trouble. But he doesn't worry too much. Mr. Palmer had told him being scolded is part of his job, so it would be fine, right? As long Rufus hasn't made his father mad at him, he doesn't care. But it looks like he has made his father angry.

"Father, I'm sorry," he blurts. Once again he fights the urge to cry, because he knows that would only make his father angrier. "I…I'm kind of sleepy." Rufus rubs his eyes for effect and to make sure there is no sign of tears.

"Listen, Rufus. It's as you say," continues President Shinra, ignoring his son's apology. "I will have an escape route built in case the enemy attacks. But let me make this clear, Rufus. I won't use it. It will be for you once you become president. Of course, there's no guarantee you will take my place."

"Dad—" Rufus tries to break in. He's really done it now. His father doesn't think he is worthy of being President one day. Was it really that bad? He was only trying to be clever and helpful!

"Ha! Escape? Me? Escape?" The President gives a barking laugh and shakes his head.

"Dad, I'm sorry!" cries Rufus. This time, his father takes notice.

President Shinra looks down at his son. "Why are you apologizing? Do you admit your idea was wrong?"

"Yeah," says Rufus with a nod. He was wrong, and he is sorry he said anything.

"You're such a simple-minded one!" says the President.

Rufus hadn't meant to be simple-minded. It was just, there was nothing else that Rufus could think of when he looked at the plan except that there should be an escape route. The Office is so high up, and Mr. Palmer said that there could be an attack. He wants his father to be safe.

"We will mark out the escape route with something that really stands out, so you can find it," said the President. He draws out a pen and writes an 'L' on the blueprint. "There, now don't forget it. 'L' for "Loser."

Rufus doesn't want to look at the blueprints anymore. He can't think of anything to say. Does Dad think he's a loser for even making the suggestion? He wishes he knew what to say.

He'll remember this conversation all his life, and always be wondering. What can I do not to be a loser? What can I do to make him see, to be what he wants me to be, what I'm supposed to be! Even when his love and longing for approval turn to a teenager's resentment, and then a young man's hatred, Rufus still longs to show his old man that he isn't a loser. Even if it means killing his own father and burning his precious empire.

Endnote

As this fic was created in collaboration both Licoriceallsorts and I are posting this fic on our individual accounts. On my account I have chosen to post Rufus's section first, followed by The President, to differentiate the fics and to test whether which version of the story if presented first impacts how readers respond.

My version of the fic incorporates some aspects of the version I had previously written for "Life is Stronger than Death" but changes the circumstances of Rufus's mother's death to conform to Licorice's head canon as the challenge was to write the same version of the story.

There is no canon answer to what became of Rufus's mother, all we know is that she died, she did not die on Rufus's exact date of birth, and her birthday and date of death might have been significant to the President, everything else is up to interpretation. While my head canon as inspired by RedCherryAmber and the Poem My Last Duchess, is that the President himself killed Rufus's mother, what I enjoyed most about this challenge is it shows that Rufus's relationship with his father would have been much the same in any case. The the primary reason for Rufus's poor relationship with his father is how his father treats him and the lack of understanding between the two men.