Note: Thank you to everyone who commented. To those of you who played the spot the reference game, thanks for playing! The references were: Oliver, Disney's Aladdin, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you want to keep playing there are a couple tiny references in this chapter. Congrats to Darkened-Skys and Aeriths-Rain for getting references! You're awesome.

Oh and to Katakana. Thank you for reading, liking the fic and taking the time to review. But, um, this is fanfic so people write about established characters and make inferences about who they are/how they act based on what's canon. It's canon that Reno has done things that are cocky and idiotic (he's not an idiot, Turks have to be smart, but he's done dumb things especially in Advent Children), it's also canon that he drinks. Although we don't know who anyone in this game is sleeping with aside from a few canon couples, it fits Reno's personality to be a womanizer. We don't know for sure. He could be straight, bi, gay, monogamous, celibate or promiscuous. But it's not invalid to portray him as a womanizer. As for Rufus, in canon he has done things that are ignorant, cruel and bastardly. So most fanfics show them as they are, this fanfic shows them as they might have been circa age 12. So no drinking or womanizing at this age for Reno (although he's kind of cocky and could come across as idiotic just given his manner of speech) and Rufus isn't yet the person he grows up to be. I.E. the person who funded terrorists to attack his own company in order to kill his own father and later went on to rule said company which was literally destroying the planet. Also, what's with the no more yaoi comment. ((Duh, this fic isn't yaoi, it's about 12 yrs olds. Yeah 12 yr olds do date in real life, I peck kissed a boy at age 12 at the playground in the YMCA, but I am not going to write ANY sort of romance about 12 yr olds het or otherwise)) For the record though none of my FF7 fics are yaoi at this time, I do like yaoi and everyone is entitled to like whatever they want pairing wise.

Chapter 3

"Why do you care?" asked Rufus. He wished Reno would stop. He wasn't even sure he wanted to go with him, but he didn't want to be left behind either. Rufus wanted an explanation.

"I wasn't joking about the killed part," said Reno. "I might not be the nicest guy, or even a good guy, but I don't want to see you get killed. Yeah, bad things happen. Sometimes people got it comin' to 'em, and sometimes they don't, but you. You're just too shiny. That and you make a good distraction. A face like that, people will trust you before they'd trust me. You and me, we could be partners. Just stick with me, and I can teach you everything you need to know. I've got what they call street savoir faire, yo." He motioned to a ladder on the side of one of the buildings, indicating for Rufus to climb up.

"Know how," said Rufus. He continued to follow Reno. He could always leave if he wanted, after all.

"Yeah, as in knowing how to survive," said Reno. He turned to offer Rufus a hand up as he climbed onto the roof. "You said you don't wanna go home. I figure if you're down here you've got a reason to be, or there's no place you wanna go back to. So I'm saying stick with me." He gave Rufus a smile, then headed to a small shack that sat on the roof, he pulled the door open for Rufus. "As for being friends. If you really are Rufus ShinRa there's no way you'd be friends with someone like me."

"No," said Rufus. "I couldn't be your friend."

"Not good enough for you?" asked Reno; he didn't seem to mind. It was just one of those things.

"It's not that," said Rufus, "I can't be friends with you. My father wouldn't allow it. We'd get in trouble. I don't have any real friends. Most of the boys at school only want to be my friend because of who my father is. Arranged friendships. It's less about making friends so much as making alliances."

"So it's like a gang?" asked Reno.

"No," said Rufus. "It's..." Rufus stopped himself. He had stepped into Reno's home, or what appeared to be his home. A few vermin scattered and disappeared as Rufus stepped inside. He fought the urge to be sick. The place was little more than a shack with bits of furniture that looked like they'd been salvaged from the garbage, and a collection of various odds and ends from what looked like a collection of spare parts to random knick knacks. Probably things Reno had stolen, or found, most likely stolen.

"Yeah, I know," said Reno. "The place is a mess. I'm always getting stuff, haven't managed to fence much lately, but after I manage to get something running it'll be worth it."

"No, I was just," Rufus sighed. "I must sound like such a-"

"Spoiled rich kid?" supplied Reno.

"You probably don't think I have any room to complain."

"Everyone has room to complain," said Reno. "You had to have run away for a reason, right?"

"My father," said Rufus. "Well, really it's because of my mother. She died about a week ago." Rufus closed his eyes. He would not cry. Not in front of anyone, not ever. "My father doesn't even seem to care, and I don't think he cares about me either. I'm just another one of his things." Rufus' fists clenched.

"Hey," said Reno. His voice was gentler than Rufus thought possible from someone like him. "I'm not gonna say it's gonna be ok. 'Cause I know what it's like, losing a mom, and it hurts."

"Yours too?" asked Rufus.

"Yeah," Reno said. "Few years back. I was about nine. Never had a father, he took off as soon he found out he'd knocked her up. She did the best she could for me, yo, but you know how things are. Or, I guess you don't, but you can guess. Never had much, then when she died I had nothin'. Figure squattin's a cheap way to get by until I'm old enough to rent for myself. 'Til then I'll save money. Gotta be careful though. I don't want to go into the system, who knows where they'd put me. Probably jail with what I've done."

"How old are you?" asked Rufus. Reno was taller than Rufus by a head, but the boy didn't look too much older. However, he did seem older; or rather he seemed more grown up in some ways.

"Almost thirteen," said Reno. "Well a few months off, my birthday's in January. What about you?"

"I'll be twelve at the end of November," said Rufus.

"Right," said Reno. "They said you were eleven on the TV."

"Huh?"

"Well, it's been all over the news, about Lady Shinra getting killed. TV, papers, radio. Most places had coverage of the ceremony - the memorial or whatever. Caught some of it."

"So you believe me now?" asked Rufus.

"Well, I don't know you well enough to say if you're a good actor or not. You might be, if you're anything like me, and I think we might have more in common than you'd think. But all the same, I'm the sort of person who knows when something's an act and when it's the truth. When you started about your mom; that's not the kind of thing that can be faked. So what are the chances you just lost your mom too. Besides, you look like her. Same hair and eyes, she was shiny too. Her picture was all over the TV, y'know?"

"Yeah," said Rufus. "Everyone loved her. Except my father."

"Then he's an idiot," said Reno. "And if he don't love you he's an even bigger idiot. Come on, you managed to get out the Shin-Ra building, and they probably have someone watching you all the time, right? Then you survived a fall from upper plate. Your dad better watch out, you're gonna do things he never could. Things he wouldn't have the guts to do."

Rufus actually laughed. "So I take it you've given up on the idea of us staying together?"

"You have somewhere to go back to, kid," said Reno. "And even if you hate it, it's better than here, yo. I've been lucky, and survived the way hounds do, by being mean and being smart, and doing what it takes to survive."

"Do you think I'm too innocent to survive in your world, Reno?"

"No, kid, it's not that" he said.

"Could you please stop calling me kid," asked Rufus. "I'm not that much younger than you and it's getting on my nerves." Almost as much as Reno saying yo all the time. It made him sound utterly juvenile, not to mention moronic. Then again, Rufus supposed it was a slum thing, and Reno couldn't help it. So he'd let that slide, but he wouldn't abide the older boy being condescending.

"Sorry," said Reno. "Didn't mean nothing by it, yo. But you are younger than me. So, what should I call you?" Reno laughed. "Mr. ShinRa? Sir?" He rolled his eyes. "No way, I don't work for you, yo. But I know you're not gonna let some slum rat call you by your first name, right?"

"I..." Reno had a point. Ordinarily someone like Reno wouldn't have been allowed to address him by first name. "Call me Rufus. Even if we can't really be friends, for now at least, there's no reason for formalities." He liked the idea of being Rufus to someone, instead of just a Shinra, instead of just the heir to the Shin-Ra Corporation.

"Rufus it is then," said Reno.

"So you were saying?" asked Rufus.

"I think you could make it," said Reno. "I just don't think anyone should have to if they have another option. Food and a safe place to rest, clothes to wear. People looking after you. Even if your dad's a jerk, I think you can manage. Besides, sooner or later those Turks of his will drag you back, conscious or not. It's what I would do. For your own good too. You're Rufus freakin' Shinra. You know how much you're worth? What people would pay, what people might do? You're not safe down here."

"Am I safe with you?" asked Rufus. He hadn't trusted anyone, save for his parents, for a long time. Everyone had a motive. Reno was a boy from the slums, a desperate boy who'd readily admitted to doing whatever it took.

"Practically saved your life once already, didn't I?" asked Reno. "I'll look out for you, kid, and I may be scum, but I'm not the sort of scum to turn on a friend. Well, if you and I could be friends. I get why we can't."

"Someone like me doesn't have the luxury of having friends," said Rufus.

"You still need someone to look out for you," said Reno.

"I have a lot of people looking out for me, highly trained, very well paid people."

"Well, if you wanted to hire me…" said Reno. "I'm kidding. Look Rufus, right now, you're pretty all alone here and you haven't been very smart about this whole thing. Like shouting that you're Rufus Shinra? You're lucky no one took you seriously."

"I did," came a man's voice. The boys whirled to see a man standing in the door. Reno recognized him as one of Don Corneo's goons. Behind him stood three more men, all were armed.