"Do you really believe that?"
Quistis tossed another coin into the fountain, watching the bubbles as it twisted its way to the concrete foundation to join its algae encrusted brothers. She wondered how long it would be before the shining copper surface was covered with slime. Probably not too long at all.
Her companion laughed, a low rumble that might have passed for one of the subterranean trains below their feet. It was funny. She had never heard him laugh before.
"Oh, yes ma'am. I do believe that. More than anything, I believe that."
Rufus watched her toss the coin, though he wanted to tell her that wishes were useless. The coin hit the bottom of the fountain. Or maybe it didn't. Who really knew? It was too fucking dark to see, but she insisted on making her damned useless wishes at night.
"Hmm. It seems like a shitty way to lead."
Quistis made a wish, then wiped her hands on her skirt and looked at the night sky. She had heard that the citizens of this town once had no way to see the night sky, but she hadn't believed it. No matter how large the metropolis, there was always a way to see the sky.
She believed it now.
Even with parts of the plate missing, the eternal lights of the city dimmed the stars. Pity. Star wishes were more powerful than water wishes. More...permanent. More...real. More...how a wish should be. She wanted a star, she wanted a real wish, but living in the city meant that she had to make do with rippling green reflections and starless nights.
Pity.
Looking at her face in the water, Rufus wanted to reach into that chlorinated mess and grab her coin, just to prove that she was acting like a fool. He wanted to throw the money in her face and scream until his throat was raw. But he didn't. He was calm, professional; from his high-priced suit to his slick hair, he was every inch The President. "What? Can you honestly tell me that there is a better way?"
"I don't know, but trying to rule with fear seems awfully...I don't know. There are all sorts of ways to do all sorts of things." Maybe there was, maybe not. She didn't know, but it didn't matter. The important thing was to ask, even if it did nothing. Even if everything meant nothing, she wanted to ask him.
Rufus felt her move when she dipped her fingers into the water. No. He saw her move, but he didn't feel it. He was mistaken. A part of him wanted to grab her hand and tell her to stop; he wanted to shake her until she realized that the wishes wouldn't work if a human disturbed the magic.
He bit his tongue and let her touch the water.
Maybe the water nymphs would do for her as they never did for him. Maybe they would grant her wish. Maybe not. Who the fuck knew anymore? "How much money do you think is in this thing, anyway?"
Why had nobody stolen the thousands of coins littering the bottom of the fountain? It wasn't as if there was a security camera or guards waiting to crush any potential thieves. The damned thing wasn't even important enough to be on one of the main thoroughfares of the city. It was on a fucking side street by a coffee shop in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Midgar!
A few children passed by everyday, made some bullshit wishes and tossed their milk money into the gurgling depths. The ungrateful bastards probably didn't even stay long enough to see what became of their wishes before running away to plan their next games or mad childhood fantasies. So easy. A quick grab by a clever thief. So easy.
There were a few hundred gil asleep beneath the oily surface of the water, slyly winking at passersby and whispering glass promises and slippery dreams. Why had nobody tried to take that money?
Pathetic fucks in greasy coats were on the news every night, begging for him to show a little mercy, a little kindness, a little support for their shared plight. They needed money and food, a place to stay, maybe a blanket or some medicine. They infuriated The President. He wanted to execute every one of the lazy motherfuckers, but the special interest groups would pitch an absolute bitch-fit if he did that. Why the hell did they care? Cull the herd and make the remaining members stronger. Did they understand nothing about leadership?
Were the good-for-nothing bastards too good to reach into that water and steal a few coins? There had certainly been enough arrests for prostitution and the sale of narcotics from those assholes; why hadn't they taken the easy route and just stolen the wishes of children? Some fast money with a minimum of effort. Wasn't that what being a piece of shit was all about? It would be a hell of a lot easier than sucking dick for the next fix or shooting up in some alley, praying to the opium gods for quick mercy.
"Why do you toss your money in here every night?" He was disgusted with her and shamefully jealous of her.
Quistis looked at him, trying to see past the fancy white suit and the expensive haircut. "Why do you care?"
Rufus checked his watch, as he always did when she asked him things like that. "It's late."
She shrugged. Late was late, but there were more important things than schedules. "You don't have to stay, you know. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."
Gesturing to a pair of armed officers in identical black suits waiting by a glossy limo, she winked. "Go on, Cinderella. Your coachmen are waiting to take you home before midnight. I'd hate to see that nice car turn into a pumpkin or those friendly men turn into mice..." She laughed. Fairy tales seemed different in Midgar. "...or do you use something different in this town? I imagine that you don't have mice in a city like this. You probably have rats the size of dachshunds."
Rufus ignored this. "You work hard, don't you? Why throw your hard-earned money into a fountain for some nameless bastard to steal after you leave?"
"Why?" She dipped her fingers into the water again and flicked a few droplets at his face, laughing softly when he checked his white suit for stains. Silly man. She wanted to push him into the fountain so they could dance by the light of the starless sky, but his security forces would shoot her in the head for anything like that.
"Yes. Why? Tell me why you do it." He wanted to shake her for being new, for being young, for that sliver of glittering innocence he saw. "You're still new here, so you don't know the scum in this city. Rats are the least of our worries. We have the worst kind of people here." He spat the word and wanted to tear his tongue out by the root for comparing them to the rest of humanity. "Murderers, drug dealers, rapists..."
"And you have artists and singers, playwrights and..."
Rufus grabbed her wrist. "Don't be naive. I've signed countless bills into laws that don't change a goddamned thing. The animals still fucking breed. No matter now many laws are passed, they find ways around them. They find ways to cheat. You have no idea what you're talking about when you..."
"When I say that I want to try?" Quistis wondered how old Rufus was? She was...come to think of it...how old was she? Twenty seven? Twenty eight? Not thirty yet...No. If she had hit thirty, then Xu and Selphie would have been pounding at her door with a noose and a bottle of rum. They were a bit sick that way. She wondered how her friends were doing. It had been months since she talked to them for longer than ten minute phone conversations. The rates from Midgar to Balamb were brutal. "Rufus, how old are you?"
"What?"
She smiled at his discomfort. Had anyone ever asked him a simple question like that? "I said, how old are you?"
He narrowed his eyes and tried to figure out what she meant. "What does that have to do with you wasting your money on..."
"Everything." Indeed it did. It meant everything and it would do nothing, but she wanted to ask him. He reminded her so much of someone she once knew, but she had lost him a long time ago. Maybe this time would be different...
Tossing another coin into the fountain, she turned without watching it fall. "Just answer me."
He hesitated, but answered her odd question with a peculiar lilt in his voice. "I'll be thirty three on my next birthday."
Quistis took his hand and smiled. "When is your next birthday?"
"Two weeks from tomorrow."
"Hmm. I'm sure that you will be forced to attend state functions, dance with dignitaries, that sort of thing?"
Rufus laughed again. "More likely than not. At least the queen of Alexandria finally died not too long ago. My birthdays have always been dreadful affairs, dancing while squeezed between those knockers. After the last party, I thought that I had seen my last birthday. She had my face crammed so far into her chest that I had to use a cocktail straw from my martini as a snorkel."
Quistis smiled at his joke, crude as it was. "Well, after you are finished with your presidential duties, will you meet me here?"
Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Don't you believe in surprises?"
"Not in my line of work. You shouldn't either."
"You're going to make me tell you?"
"Afraid so."
Quistis laughed at his serious reaction. She wondered if he knew how to have any fun at all, or if it had been stamped out of him at a far too early age. From what she had read about him and the few admissions he made about his life, he didn't know much of anything except politics. "See, the thing is, I can't cook, but I can spend some of the money that you are constantly bitching about to buy a cake and candles for you."
"That's still a waste of resources. You should know better."
Quistis kissed his cheek and stepped away from the fountain. She had a train to catch and she couldn't miss it. There wouldn't be another until dawn. "Maybe so, but I'd still like to see you make a wish one night. " If she couldn't wish by the stars and the water refused to listen to her, then maybe wishing by fire... "You'll have to blow out the candles and make a wish for me."
"I thought it was my birthday. Shouldn't they be my wishes?"
She was almost gone, but not quite. Turning just before she descended the stairs that would lead her to the subterranean train station, she playfully yelled, "Of course it is! But you can be a gentleman, can't you? Since none of my wishes are coming true, maybe you need to be the one to make them for me! After all, I'm taking your advice and saving my money for you!"
Chuckling, Rufus sat on the concrete around the fountain and watched her leave, then stood and brushed dirt from the seat of his otherwise immaculate suit. Every time he met her, he had to either visit the cleaners or buy a new pair of trousers. Funny. Walking back to the car, he turned once more to look at that goddamned fountain. Grinning, he thought he could hear the murmuring of the brackish water teasing him about his failures and blindness.
"Sir? Are you ready to leave?" The taller of his security guards opened the door to the waiting limo and patiently stood by for orders.
"Hmm?" No, he wasn't ready, but he didn't want to sit by a fountain filled with broken dreams unless she was there to toss her coins and disturb that spiteful water. "Oh yes, I'm ready."
"Umm, sir?" The shorter of the two had been one of Rufus' loyal guards since they were very young. Even so, he wasn't one to overstep his bounds and assume a position of familiarity. It just wasn't proper.
"Yes?"
Clearing his throat, the shorter guard quickly looked at his partner and received a nod. "Sir, not to put my nose in your personal affairs, but are you quite sure that you should be uhh, fraternizing with the enemy?"
Rufus laughed until tears fell down his cheeks. "Do you mean Miss Trepe, Reno?"
"Well...yes sir."
"Just because she's running against me in the next election doesn't mean that I can't be friendly, Reno. As a matter of fact, since I've always ran unopposed, I feel that it's a very effective means of obtaining information that could be used against her."
"Oh! Right sir! Of course, sir! Sorry to bother you, sir! Although...it sure looked like fraternizing to me...you know, with that kiss on the cheek and everything."
Rufus waved off the guard's apologies and took his seat in the limo, brushing an imaginary bit of dust off his sleeve. Humph. What business was it of Reno's if he wanted to meet her so she could make her silly wishes? Let her make them. She'd see the world one day, see the grit and grime, taste blood and disappointment, then she'd understand why he wanted her to give up those wishes. She'd be a formidable opponent if she wasn't so idealistic.
Smiling, he tapped his fingers on his knee and wondered what flavor of cake she would choose for him.
"Are you ready sir?"
Ready? No, but he didn't have much of a choice. There were meetings to attend and bills to review, then there was an early meet and greet with the representatives from Junon, then the presentation by the assholes that insisted on continuing the Mako research...
They knew all there was to know, didn't they? Why did they make him listen to every fucking one of their crackpot theories?
No, he had to beat the hell out of her in the election. He didn't want to see her become part of...that. He hoped that she would understand.
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Note: So, this is a short little sweet fic because I think Rufus kind of gets a raw deal sometimes. I can't really put a timeframe on this, since it's just a silly crossover, so don't jump all over me because I didn't stick to the events in either FFVII or FFVIII. I just wanted a conversation between the characters, plus I like the idea of Quistis and Rufus going head to head in an election. They both seem like really intelligent characters with COMPLETELY different mindsets and concepts of power.
And yeah, I think that they'd make a cute couple. If it isn't Quistis and Seifer, then I can see her with a character like this. Eh, it works in my crazy little noggin.